Who’s talking?’
‘
Where’s the girl?
’
‘I don’t understand. Tell me what’s going on, Cat.’
‘
Where’s the girl?
’
‘Cat? Come back to me, Cat.’
‘
I’ll protect you. It’s okay. I’ll protect you
.’
‘Who’s talking, Cat?’
‘
I’ll protect you
.’
‘Cat? What’s happening? You’re safe. Trust me, Cat, it’s Vincent. Talk to me.’
‘
BANG
.’
‘What’s going on, Cat?’
‘
Oh, no, no, no. He’s dead. They’re both dead. Oh, God
.’
‘Your father?’
‘
He killed him
.’
‘What? Who?’
‘
Sirens
.’
‘Talk to me, Cat.’
‘
I’ll protect you
.’
‘Everything’s okay. What’s my name, Cat?’
‘
Come out, it’s okay
.’
‘My name, Cat. Who am I?’
‘
Stride. My name is Stride
.’
8
‘So?’ Maggie asked as Stride climbed into her yellow Avalanche, which was parked beside the ship.
Despite the frigid morning air, he lowered the window. He liked it cold. ‘Cat was there. She was on the boat.’
Maggie nodded but otherwise didn’t react. Her fingers drummed the steering wheel as Guns N’ Roses played on the radio. It was a big truck for a little woman, and she needed blocks to reach the pedals. She drove insanely fast, and the streaks and grooves in the paint testified to numerous collisions. Sergeant Guppo had suggested that the truck be registered as a weapon with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in St. Paul.
‘Anybody see anything?’ she asked.
‘No, they were busy with the other girls.’
‘Whose party was it?’
‘Leonard Keck.’
Maggie stopped drumming. She clicked off the stereo and gave him a Billy Idol snarl with her upper lip. ‘Lowball Lenny? Seriously? That sucks. K-2 will want us treating him with kid gloves.’
‘Yeah, the story is that Lenny left before the girls arrived. Convenient, huh?’
‘You think he hung around for the fun?’
Stride shrugged. ‘Everybody knows Lenny’s a playboy. I saw a condom wrapper in the lounge on the upper deck. Who do you think gets the top floor in that party?’
‘Okay, so what about Cat?’
He held up the evidence bag with the knife. ‘I found this down below.’
‘So you think this is legit? Someone really came after her last night?’
‘I don’t see any reason to think she’s lying.’
‘It could be a random assault. If someone saw a bunch of girls boarding the ship, this guy might have waited to see who came outside. It doesn’t mean anyone was targeting her specifically.’
‘That’s true,’ Stride said, ‘except for the other incidents she told me about. What did you find out about Cat’s background?’
Maggie didn’t need notes. It was all in her brain. ‘Nothing much that you don’t already know. Catalina Mateo, sixteen years old, daughter of Michaela Mateo and Marty Gamble, both deceased. Her mother had no living relatives other than her sister Dory, who was deemed unfit to care for the girl. Her father’s parents were alive, but were elderly. Custody went to a cousin of Marty’s, William Green, and his wife Sophie. They were named Cat’s legal guardians and still are. They have a house in West Duluth near the Oneota Cemetery.’
‘What’s the story on the Greens?’
‘Sophie Green is a secretary in a real estate office in Superior. William Green does highway construction labor. We’ve had reports on him for minor stuff, fights, drunk and disorderly, the usual busts for someone who hangs out at Curly’s Bar. I also found a couple arrests for him in Minneapolis in the last three years.’
‘For what?’
‘Solicitation,’ Maggie said. ‘The most recent was a month ago.’
‘What about Cat?’
‘It’s what you would expect, boss. The girl is vulnerable. I talked to the principal at Denfeld, who says Cat is absent from school as much as she’s there. Too bad, because the principal thinks she’s smart as hell.’
‘Arrests?’
‘Nothing yet, but don’t kid yourself – she’s spending a lot of time on the
‘
Where’s the girl?
’
‘I don’t understand. Tell me what’s going on, Cat.’
‘
Where’s the girl?
’
‘Cat? Come back to me, Cat.’
‘
I’ll protect you. It’s okay. I’ll protect you
.’
‘Who’s talking, Cat?’
‘
I’ll protect you
.’
‘Cat? What’s happening? You’re safe. Trust me, Cat, it’s Vincent. Talk to me.’
‘
BANG
.’
‘What’s going on, Cat?’
‘
Oh, no, no, no. He’s dead. They’re both dead. Oh, God
.’
‘Your father?’
‘
He killed him
.’
‘What? Who?’
‘
Sirens
.’
‘Talk to me, Cat.’
‘
I’ll protect you
.’
‘Everything’s okay. What’s my name, Cat?’
‘
Come out, it’s okay
.’
‘My name, Cat. Who am I?’
‘
Stride. My name is Stride
.’
8
‘So?’ Maggie asked as Stride climbed into her yellow Avalanche, which was parked beside the ship.
Despite the frigid morning air, he lowered the window. He liked it cold. ‘Cat was there. She was on the boat.’
Maggie nodded but otherwise didn’t react. Her fingers drummed the steering wheel as Guns N’ Roses played on the radio. It was a big truck for a little woman, and she needed blocks to reach the pedals. She drove insanely fast, and the streaks and grooves in the paint testified to numerous collisions. Sergeant Guppo had suggested that the truck be registered as a weapon with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in St. Paul.
‘Anybody see anything?’ she asked.
‘No, they were busy with the other girls.’
‘Whose party was it?’
‘Leonard Keck.’
Maggie stopped drumming. She clicked off the stereo and gave him a Billy Idol snarl with her upper lip. ‘Lowball Lenny? Seriously? That sucks. K-2 will want us treating him with kid gloves.’
‘Yeah, the story is that Lenny left before the girls arrived. Convenient, huh?’
‘You think he hung around for the fun?’
Stride shrugged. ‘Everybody knows Lenny’s a playboy. I saw a condom wrapper in the lounge on the upper deck. Who do you think gets the top floor in that party?’
‘Okay, so what about Cat?’
He held up the evidence bag with the knife. ‘I found this down below.’
‘So you think this is legit? Someone really came after her last night?’
‘I don’t see any reason to think she’s lying.’
‘It could be a random assault. If someone saw a bunch of girls boarding the ship, this guy might have waited to see who came outside. It doesn’t mean anyone was targeting her specifically.’
‘That’s true,’ Stride said, ‘except for the other incidents she told me about. What did you find out about Cat’s background?’
Maggie didn’t need notes. It was all in her brain. ‘Nothing much that you don’t already know. Catalina Mateo, sixteen years old, daughter of Michaela Mateo and Marty Gamble, both deceased. Her mother had no living relatives other than her sister Dory, who was deemed unfit to care for the girl. Her father’s parents were alive, but were elderly. Custody went to a cousin of Marty’s, William Green, and his wife Sophie. They were named Cat’s legal guardians and still are. They have a house in West Duluth near the Oneota Cemetery.’
‘What’s the story on the Greens?’
‘Sophie Green is a secretary in a real estate office in Superior. William Green does highway construction labor. We’ve had reports on him for minor stuff, fights, drunk and disorderly, the usual busts for someone who hangs out at Curly’s Bar. I also found a couple arrests for him in Minneapolis in the last three years.’
‘For what?’
‘Solicitation,’ Maggie said. ‘The most recent was a month ago.’
‘What about Cat?’
‘It’s what you would expect, boss. The girl is vulnerable. I talked to the principal at Denfeld, who says Cat is absent from school as much as she’s there. Too bad, because the principal thinks she’s smart as hell.’
‘Arrests?’
‘Nothing yet, but don’t kid yourself – she’s spending a lot of time on the
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