Chapter 10

Gray texted Jack and Mason when he got in the car. Meeting an informant. Home ASAP. I love you. I'm sorry.

A few seconds later, his phone vibrated. He glanced at it at the next red light. It was Mason. We love you too. Be careful.

A few seconds later another buzz. Stay safe. That came from Jack.

After Gray parked one street over from Orange Park, he sent a return message. I have backup. Don't worry.

He took a deep breath and checked his gun, even as he prayed he wouldn't need it.

He approached the picnic hut from the side with the most tree cover. At first, he didn't see anyone around. The cold had probably deterred any teens who might've used the park as a make-out spot.

Just as he reached the hut, he saw a figure approaching. Jenna?

He held himself still, ready to react if necessary but as the person came closer, he could see that it was a young woman. She couldn't have been over five feet tall. When she moved into the light of a streetlamp, he could see her face better. He guessed she was sixteen or seventeen.

When he took a step toward her, she pulled a gun from her pocket. "Stay back."

Fuck, now it didn't matter that he had backup. She could drop him faster than anyone could react.

Stay calm. Talk to her. You're good at this.

Not as good as Jack.

Good enough.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"You're not going to take me in either."

"I just want to hear what you have to say." That he wanted to get her into protective custody wasn't something he needed to mention, not with a gun pointed at him and her hand shaking.

"I give you my word I won't touch you. You can put that down."

She shook her head. "Listen and don't talk."

Gray did as he was told. He had no intention of dying without setting things right with Jack and Mason.

"Andreas's wife died in a car crash six months ago."

Gray wanted to explain that he knew all about it, but he stayed quiet. Andreas's deals had gotten more violent since then and he'd behaved more irrationally.

"There's a man. I don't know his name. He's tall, fit, mousy brown hair. He's not hot or anything, but he's not ugly either. His eyes, they're just blank like there's nothing there. But there is. Rage. So much rage. He loved her."

"Loved who?" Gray risked the question.

Jenna huffed. "Andreas's wife. Aren't you listening? He's known her his whole life, says he always loved her."

"Who did he say this to? You?"

She shook her head. "I just listened. You learn a lot if you listen."

Gray nodded. If she'd been working for Andreas, Gray was sure that was true.

"He was talking to Billy, then Billy stormed out and this man took Lisa. She'd been talking to Billy when the man came in."

Gray had so many questions—was Lisa the first girl who'd been murdered? Why did he take Lisa but not Jenna? Gray stayed silent, though. He was afraid he'd spook Jenna if he interrupted.

"I snuck out and followed him." Tears began to roll down her face and she sniffed, trying to hold them back.

Gray wanted to comfort her, but he knew that was out of the question.

"The man took her to the park, to the place where she was found." That answered Gray's first question. "He told her she had to die, that we all had to die. He said Billy took his love from him and corrupted her, having her around all us whores. He said she wasn't a slut like we were and that Billy had turned her."

Love gone wrong. That motive hadn't even been on Gray's list.

Jenna was crying freely now, and Gray ached for her. "I wanted to stop him. I meant to stop him, but I froze. My legs wouldn't work. I… I couldn't move. I thought he would…"

Gray could only imagine how terrified she'd been. He wanted to say something to make her feel better, but he needed her to keep talking, and nothing he could say would take her pain away.

"The fucker stabbed her." Anger cut through her grief. "The knife went right up into her chest. Her eyes went wide and she bled all over the place. Then she was dead, just like that. The blood was dark, so dark, blacker than the night."

She looked at Gray then, and he nodded, letting her know he'd heard her.

"I couldn't save her."

"He would have hurt you too," Gray said.

"I ran. I just ran back to Billy and didn't say anything."

"You could have come to us, to the police." Gray knew the words were stupid as soon as they were out of his mouth.

Jenna shook her head violently and her gun wavered. Gray held up his hands and took a step back.

"Police don't care about us. They just want to bust us. They don't care that we can't survive without selling ourselves. At least Billy… He never hurt us, never even made us fuck anyone."

Gray hated just how much of her anger at the authorities was deserved. "So are you saying…?" How could he ask what he wanted to without offending her?

"None of us fucked men, okay? Billy only pretended we did so no one would think he was soft. Marcy, his wife, she took care of us. We did work for him—entering data in spreadsheets, other office work and cleaning his house—but we didn't do nothing illegal."

Gray doubted the figures in those spreadsheets represented any legal earnings, but data entry was a far cry from underage prostitution. How had Andreas managed to hide this rather philanthropic effort?

"Do you believe this same man killed Andreas and the other girls that were at his house?"

She nodded. "I'm sure of it."

"What about Danielle?"

"She'd left. She didn't want to be in debt to Billy. She said she was going to earn enough to be on her own."

"Do you think the same man killed her?"

"Probably. If he wants us all dead, I doubt he'd care that she'd left."

Gray's mind buzzed with questions. Had the killer tracked her to Whittaker's? Or was she contacted by the killer and told to meet him there? Was he connected with Whittaker somehow and wanted him to take the blame? "Did anyone else hear what the man said to Andreas?"

"Why? Because no one's going to believe a teenage whore?"

She was all too right. Even if she'd never sold herself, no one would believe that now. "The more witnesses there are, the more solid the case, no matter who those witnesses are."

"I wanted to ask Billy a question, but when I saw the man, I hid behind the door."

That explained why she wasn't taken. "If I showed you a picture of the man, would you recognize him?"

She nodded.

"Could you describe him to an artist?"

She waved the gun around again. "I'm not letting you take me anywhere."

"I need your help to catch this man."

"I can't let you take me. I can't be penned up." Her voice shook and so did her hand.

"Were you penned up some other time?"

Tears began to fall again. "I can't talk about that. I don't ever talk about that."

Gray held up his hand. "All right. You don't have to. Where are you going to go now that Andreas is dead?"

"That's none of your business."

"Like you said, not everyone is as good to work for as he was. I could help you find a place to stay."

"No, I'm fine where I am."

"I need you to talk to an artist so we can get a sketch. I'll also show you some pictures of Andreas's associates. That's all. I'm not going to arrest you."

Her gun hand was shaking even more now. "This man didn't work for Billy. He hated Billy, hated everything he did."

"Do you think the man will kill again, or is it over because Andreas is dead?"

She shook her head. "He said we all have to die. That's why I have to keep hiding. I'm leaving now, and you need to stay right there. I don't want to have to hurt you."

"At least let me ask a few more questions."

She shook her head. "I've been out too long. They could be tracking me. I'll call you. Meet you again later."

"I can protect you. If you come with me, I'll find a safe house for you. You won't be in a cell, I swear it." Gray took a tentative step toward her.

Her aim steadied. "Don't move. I mean it."

"I want to help you."

"You seem all right, but I don't want anyone's help." She backed out of the picnic hut.

Gray contemplated his chances of getting her gun and neither of them getting hurt. They were slim, so he had to let her go.

As soon as she turned and started to run, he dialed his backup. "Jenna is on the run and she has information we need. She's in dark clothes just leaving the park on the Orange Avenue side. She's armed with a handgun. Do not use force. Do not spook her."

He took off after her then. She didn't have much of a lead, but she seemed to have completely disappeared. Finally, he saw a flicker of movement a few houses down the road from the park entrance. The figure disappeared into a side yard.

He ran, trying to be quiet, not wanting her to hear his feet hitting the pavement. By the time he got there, she was gone. He looked for a few more minutes, but neither he nor the patrol officers who'd come as backup saw her again. Eventually, he was left with nothing to do but pray she'd call him again and go see if he could manage not to fuck things up worse at home.