No Woods So Dark as These Read online

  She opened the manila folder and read what she had written. “Choo Choo liked his coke. Wished he could go back to Louisville but it was still too dangerous for him there. He wouldn’t say why. Only that he hated all the effing hillbillies around here. All the effing dirt. Hated the Porta-Johns and had knocked one over when he was drunk on grain alcohol. Everybody was glad to see him go and hoped he never came back. And that’s all anybody knows about him.”

  Flores said, “We got the same story. He was mean, short-tempered, and would steal anything that wasn’t nailed down. And he did not like to share. Not a very neighborly attitude in a place where sharing is a means of survival.”

  “We got a little more about Suzi and Lady D,” DeMarco told them. “Suzi was the Vietnamese girl. Thought to be under twenty-one, because she made some comment about not being able to get a drink in town. Lady D was closer to thirty. Had stretch marks from having at least one baby. And, allegedly, she would do anything and anybody for crack or heroin. They came here with Choo Choo and they left with Choo Choo. In the Santa Fe he stole in Kentucky. They weren’t here for more than a couple of weeks. No idea why they left.”

  Boyd said, “That should be enough for us to ID them all. At least one of the three had to have left some kind of record behind. I’ll call Carmichael and have him contact Louisville.”

  “At least it’s something,” DeMarco said. He looked around. “Where is that kid?”

  Jayme took out her phone and called Miller’s number. The call went to voicemail. She said, “Chase, we’re pulling out. If you don’t want to walk back home, meet us at the cars. We’re heading back now.”

  They retraced their path through the pine forest, more somber now, Boyd and Flores in the lead and speaking softly to one another, DeMarco and Jayme a few yards behind. He touched the lump the duck carving made in his pocket. “Thanks again for the duck,” he told her.

  “He wanted to give it to me. Free. I gave him ten dollars anyway. You should have seen all the pieces he’d made.”

  DeMarco slipped his hand into hers. “It’s strange, isn’t it? We go in there feeling sorry for them, but they don’t want our help. They just want to be left alone.”

  “They do seem happy. But they don’t care much for the kind who come and go.”

  “Like Choo Choo, Suzi, and Lady D.”

  “Those three were running from something or somebody in Kentucky, I bet. Laid low here for a while. But what made them pick up and head for Otter Creek?”

  DeMarco shook his head; he had no idea.

  They were close enough to the cars to see them through the trees when running footsteps pounded up from behind. They turned. Miller and a girl. She looked tiny in a man’s quilted coat, dirty orange, the sleeves nearly covering her fingers, the hem hanging mid-hip over baggy, rolled-up jeans.

  Miller was grinning and out of breath, panting as he came to a halt in front of them and said, “We need to take her with us. She knows Reddick.”

  Forty-Five

  She looked young, too young, and DeMarco was reluctant to acquiesce on Miller’s word alone, especially because Miller’s story was so rushed and pixilated. “She needs to get out of here. The guy could come back anytime. She knows Reddick, Choo Choo, the females, but she doesn’t want to be here anymore, needs to get her head straight. I told her she could come with us.”

  Jayme was looking back and forth from the girl’s face to DeMarco’s eyes, so when Miller stopped talking, DeMarco gave Jayme a little nod, then said to the girl, “Why don’t you come sit in the car with Jayme and me for a minute while we figure this out?”

  Jayme took the girl’s hand and said, “We’re not cops, sweetie. You’re safe with us.”

  And when Jayme started walking toward the car, the girl, with a last frantic glance at Miller, followed along.

  Miller started after her, until DeMarco touched his shoulder and said, “You wait here.”

  “Hey, I’m the one who found her. You wouldn’t even have known—”

  “Wait here,” DeMarco said.

  Jayme sat in the back with the girl, DeMarco in the front passenger seat, his body turned to face the girl as directly as possible. He smiled, but said nothing.

  Jayme said, “What’s your name, sweetie?”

  “Cookie,” the girl said. She looked no more than fifteen, frightened, her face with a few pale freckles, long hair too black for her skin, her fingernails short but painted black, ears poking through the stringy hair showing three piercings each but naked of any jewelry.

  “What’s your real name?” Jayme asked.

  “Georgina,” she said after a moment’s hesitation. “My mother calls me Georgie.”

  “How old are you, Georgie?”

  “I’m nineteen.”

  “You don’t look it. Are you really?”

  “I’ll be twenty in February.”

  Every question Jayme asked was voiced as a compliment, lacking any suggestion of accusation. She’s so good at this, DeMarco thought, and strove for the same tone when he said, “That’s my birth month too. The twelfth. Aquarius. What are you?”

  “I’m Aquarius too, but on the cusp. The eighteenth.”

  “Uh-oh,” Jayme said. “I’m surrounded by Aquarians.”

  The girl smiled. Looked down at Jayme’s hand still holding hers. Made no effort to withdraw it.

  Jayme asked, “So did somebody bring you here against your will?”

  Georgina shook her head. “I wanted to come. But I don’t want to stay here anymore.”

  “Okay, we can help you with that. Right, Ryan?”

  “Of course,” he said.

  “Who did you come here with?”

  “Some guy.”

  “Oh, I know him,” Jayme said, which made the girl’s smile broaden.

  Georgina said, “He picked me up in Wheeling. Told me he knew a place where life was easy. Where I could have anything I wanted.”

  “Did he hurt you in any way?” Jayme asked.

  Another shake of her head, more adamant than the last. “I just… I don’t want to do this stuff anymore. I want my life back.”

  “We can get you home if that’s what you want. Where do you live?”

  “It’s not good there,” the girl said. “That’s why I left.”

  “Okay,” Jayme said. “Do you have other relatives somewhere?”

  “Yeah but I don’t want to see any of them yet. Not the way I am now.” The girl touched her hair, flicked a strand over her ear.

  “What’s your natural color?” Jayme asked. “Judging by your skin tone and those beautiful blue eyes, I’m going to guess brunette.”

  Georgina nodded. “It needs cut too. I don’t like it this long.”

  Jayme squeezed her hand. “Sweetie, we’ll take you anywhere you want to go. You’re an adult, so it’s your choice to make.”

  The girl thought for a few moments before she spoke, then did so with her eyes cast down. “I think I need to be around other people for a while. People who can help me stay on track.”

  Jayme nodded. Patted Georgina’s hand. Then turned to DeMarco. “Ryan?” she said. “What do you think?”

  “I think,” he said, “we need to get us some lunch and figure out the best options. Anybody here like pizza?”

  Georgina lifted her eyes to his and smiled.

  “I knew it,” he said. “Aquarians love pizza.”

  He turned in his seat, popped open the door, climbed out and called to the others, who were waiting beside Boyd’s Jeep, “Pizza on me! Chase, you can ride with Boyd and Flores.”

  Miller’s sullen glower bloomed red. “Why can’t I—?”

  But then DeMarco was inside his car, and slammed shut the door.

  Forty-Six

  Not only did DeMarco not want Chase Miller participating in the rest of the conversati
on, he did not want Boyd and Flores eavesdropping and making Georgina nervous. As he drove toward the interstate, he told his phone, “Pizza shops Washington PA,” then handed the phone to Jayme.

  “Whoa,” she said as she scrolled through the list. “Over twenty places. This town loves pizza.”

  “Any with New York style?” DeMarco asked.

  “Hmm…yep. Ricci’s? Plus it’s the only one with five stars.”

  “Gets my vote,” he said.

  She punched it in and passed the phone back to DeMarco. He took a quick glance at the screen before setting the phone in the cup holder. Eighteen minutes. He set the cruise control at 55.

  “I’m curious.” He glanced in the rearview mirror. “How did you and Chase find each other?”

  “What do you mean?” Georgina said.

  “I guess what I meant is, where were you today when he found you?”

  “Where I told him I would be.”

  I knew it! he thought. This time he looked in the rearview mirror toward Jayme, and found her questioning eyes meeting his.

  “So I guess you must have heard us knocking,” Jayme said to the girl. “Between the four of us, we hit every door or looked inside every single container.”

  “Yeah, we were in one of them,” Georgina told her. “Chase said just to ignore it, we’d catch up with you soon. Which we did.”

  “Gotcha,” Jayme said.

  DeMarco asked, “So how long have you and Chase known each other?”

  “I don’t really know him. I just met him today. My friend Lori said I could trust him.”

  “And Lori lives up our way?” he asked as nonchalantly as he could.

  “She lives near Jamestown. Where the dam is? I’ve never been there. She says there’s a place where there are so many fish that—”

  DeMarco chimed in to finish the sentence. “—the ducks walk on their backs. Yeah, I know that place. It’s a big attraction up there.”

  “That’s what Lori said.”

  “So I guess Lori and Chase must be friends?” DeMarco asked.

  “She said she sees him at the Goodwill store sometimes. He works there. He was asking her about some other people whose names I must’ve mentioned to her, those ones who got murdered, and she called to tell me about that. And then I guess she must’ve told him that I was looking for a ride out.”

  “Well, that makes sense,” DeMarco said. “I just wish Chase had told us we were coming to pick you up.”

  “I’m sorry,” Georgina said. “I thought you knew.”

  “Don’t worry,” Jayme told her. “All that matters is you’re here, right? We got to meet each other.”

  Georgina said, “I don’t know why he didn’t tell you.”

  “Hey, that’s Chase,” DeMarco said. “That name is perfect for him, isn’t it? We have to chase him down to get any information out of him.” He hoped she couldn’t see the flush of anger in his neck. He said, “Georgina, how long has it been since you’ve had a good piece of New York–style pizza?”

  “Long time,” she said.

  “It’s my favorite. And if you say it’s your favorite too…I just might start believing in astrology.”

  Four seconds later, she said, coquettishly, while sharing a secret grin with Jayme, “It’s my favorite too.”

  Forty-Seven

  Pepperoni pizza, salads, iced tea and coffee. Jayme was quick to seat Georgina between herself and DeMarco, with Flores, Boyd, and Miller across the table from them. The troopers followed Jayme’s lead and kept the tone of their questions light, allowing Jayme to do most of the questioning, with Boyd silent as usual, Flores offering only an infrequent comment. On occasion, when DeMarco sensed a heaviness descend on the young woman, he leaned close to tease her or crack a joke. Miller made a single attempt to join the conversation, but, when his comment was ignored, he seemed content to slouch in his chair and glower.

  Jayme: “So where did you say you’re from originally? Was it Wheeling?”

  Georgina: “We lived outside the city.”

  DeMarco: “It’s freezing cold in here, isn’t it?”

  Georgina: “Not really.”

  DeMarco: “What’s that coat rated for? Minus forty?”

  Georgina grinned, eyes averted. “I wouldn’t know.”

  DeMarco: “It’s none of my business, but you might find it easier to eat if your sleeves weren’t dangling in your food.”

  Georgina unzipped her coat and shrugged it off so that it hung over the back of her chair. “Does that make you happy?”

  DeMarco: “If it makes you happy.”

  Her body seemed diminished by half without the coat, arms and shoulders thin in a red Oglebay Festival of Lights T-shirt.

  Flores, with a nod at the T-shirt: “I’ve always wanted to go there. Is it as pretty as people say?”

  Georgina, with a shrug: “I guess.”

  DeMarco to himself: She comes from money. The way she held her knife and fork. Her enunciation.

  Except for the passive-aggressive attitude, her mannerisms were more like Jayme’s than anyone else’s at the table, all four of the others with blue-collar backgrounds. The difference between her and Jayme, he guessed, was that Jayme had grown up loved, handled gently, supported in all she did. Georgina’s pitch-black hair, the chewed black fingernails, the thrift store coat, the drug use and other behavior he didn’t want to think about…it all pointed to a life of polite disdain and belittlement that grew into a desire to hurt those who had hurt her.

  But now she had grown to despise herself, who she had made herself into. How quickly she had responded to his and Jayme’s kindness! Just as Hero had.

  Jayme: “Would you mind if we talk a little about Luthor Reddick now? It would be helpful if Troopers Boyd and Flores hear this too.”

  Georgina: “Do you think he killed those people?”

  Jayme: “We just don’t know that yet.”

  Miller: “He went to Lost City to buy drugs. This whole thing is about drugs. Drugs and prostitution. Tell them, Georgie.”

  She lowered her head, dropped her hands away from the table.

  Miller: “He had a connection with her boyfriend and—”

  DeMarco raised a finger and cut Miller off with a look. Then, to Georgina: “As far as you know, what was Reddick up to when you met him?”

  Georgina: “He was talking to the guy I came there with.”

  Jayme: “About what in particular?”

  Georgina: “Buying drugs. Crack.”

  DeMarco: “Who was doing the buying?”

  Georgina: “Reddick wanted to. But Slick didn’t have it on him. He said he could get his hands on four or five cookies to start.”

  DeMarco thought, Crack cookies. And her nickname is Cookie.

  Jayme: “So they made a deal?”

  Georgina nodded. “They shook hands. But it wasn’t long after that we heard about what happened to Choo Choo. I woke up two mornings ago and Slick was gone.”

  Jayme: “You think he was afraid the same thing would happen to him?”

  Georgina: “He was scared, I know that. We both were. I still am.”

  DeMarco: “You’re with us now. Nobody is going to let you come to harm. Okay?”

  Georgina: “Okay.”

  Flores: “I’m a little confused about the whole timeline here. When did you meet Choo Choo, Lady D, Suzi, and Reddick? Was it all at the same time?”

  Georgina nodded again. “They came back with Reddick about…a month ago? It was right after Slick and I got here. Slick sold them some weed and coke. That was the first time I saw any of them. Lady D told me they used to live there. And Reddick, he was…”

  DeMarco: “Take your time.”

  Georgina: “He told Slick he ought to put me to work. Said he had a clientele that would make us all a lot of mone
y. And I told him to go screw himself.”

  DeMarco: “Good girl.”

  Jayme: “And it was how long before you heard about the murders that Reddick came to talk about the crack cookies?”

  Georgina: “A couple weeks maybe? But almost right away the deal for the cookies fell through. Slick told Reddick by phone, said he’d keep trying, and then he told me afterward that Reddick was seriously pissed. So when we heard about what happened to Choo Choo and the girls…”

  DeMarco: “Gentleman Slick up and disappeared on you.”

  Georgina nodded; sat with her hands in her lap. “That’s everything I know about them,” she said.

  Jayme: “You did great, sweetheart.”

  “I mean,” the girl began. Then she shook her head and looked down at the table.

  Softly, because of the glimmer of moisture in her eyes, DeMarco asked, “You mean what?”

  After a few moments, she raised her eyes to him. “I keep thinking about D and what happened to her. Her and Suzi both. But D and I were friends.”

  He nodded, said nothing, held her gaze with the softness of his own.

  “She wanted out of all of that craziness too. She just wanted to go home.”

  He said, “Lady D told you this?”

  She answered with a nod. “It was just that one time that we talked. But I don’t know. I liked her. We both knew we’d screwed up our lives. We just didn’t know how to make things right again.”

  He asked, “Was Choo Choo holding them against their will?”

  “He wasn’t tying them up or anything like that but,” and again she shook her head. “You can’t understand until you’ve been there.”

  DeMarco did not intend to refute her, though he believed that he did understand. Threats, drugs, maybe a nasty slap now and then. Rape, probably. All these would have been Choo Choo’s tools. Break down an already splintered spirit, take away her last shred of dignity and self-worth. No wonder D had seemed sad and aloof to Miller’s contact. And no wonder Georgina and she had become friends so quickly. Two gullible girls from nice homes. And the one who called herself Sylvia made a third.