Chapter 10 - The Girl in the Car

The girl couldn't have been more than twelve. Dark curls, a denim jacket, a face pressed flat with terror against the glass.

"Who is she?" Elena asked.

Miles zoomed in on the registration sticker. Victor's car had stopped at the gate for twenty-eight seconds. The girl had held up a sheet of paper against the window.

It said HELP MY MOM.

I called the officers back, but Victor's phone was already disconnected.

Elena stared at the image.

"I know her. That's Lucy Finch. Her mother cleans offices at the port authority. She lives in the apartment below mine."

"Why would Victor take her?"

"Her mother testified about missing maintenance records last month. Everybody told her to keep quiet."

Elena covered her mouth.

"Lucy came to my apartment yesterday. She said her mom hadn't been home since Tuesday."

I wanted to tell her everything would be fine. I had spent my life making promises I didn't earn.

Instead I called Detective Mara Bell, the financial-crimes investigator Abigail had recommended. She listened without interrupting while I explained the forged hospital papers, the attempted transfer, and the girl in Victor's car.

"I need copies, not favors," Bell said. "You can have counsel present."

"I have things to tell you about my business too."

A pause.

"Then bring a lawyer and your best memory."

When I told Elena, she crossed her arms.

"Are you serious about going to the police?"

"Yes."

"Even if it costs you everything?"

I looked toward the greenhouse. My mother was sitting under a blanket with the rain tapping overhead. Dr. Park was helping her practice a single, difficult sentence.

"Everything already cost too much," I said.

That evening I learned Lucy's mother, Dana Finch, had photographed alterations in the original Pier Nine incident archive before the files disappeared. Victor had apparently been looking for the copies.

Bell sent patrol units to Dana's apartment and the places Victor was known to use. None had seen him.

At nine, a courier delivered a small cardboard box to my gate.

Inside was Camille's yellow ribbon, damp with fresh rain, and Lucy's denim jacket.

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Beneath them lay a note in Victor's neat handwriting.

BRING TERESA AND THE TAPE TO PIER NINE. COME ALONE.