Simon Says_. Walk (Kate Morgan #6)(16)
Author: Dale Mayer

 

“Maybe she was ashamed. It seemed she was holding something back, so I went to her apartment to ask her. Instead I found her there, dead.”

 

“So you came to ask her questions about the kidnapping?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Christ,” he lamented. “I don’t even know what to think anymore. I would have sworn that she’d have told me anything.”

 

“Okay, so let’s reverse that. What would she never tell you?”

 

First came a dead silence on the other end, and then he exploded. “If, for whatever reason, she was seeing her stepfather, our stepfather, again. I would never allow that to happen, but … I also know that it’s not something I have to worry about because it’s never something that she would ever do.”

 

“Right. Did she really hate him?’

 

“She absolutely hated him,” he confirmed, his tone belligerent. “But I could see him doing this maybe.”

 

“And yet you were just saying that you didn’t think so.”

 

“No, I don’t see Patricia going to him, but I do see our stepfather seeking her out. Now I can’t stop thinking about it,” he snapped into the phone.

 

“I will talk to him, and you need to not talk to him, do you hear me?” she ordered, her voice hard—to try and get it through Terry’s head that she couldn’t have any interference in this.

 

He hemmed and hawed.

 

“I mean it, Terry. If you do anything to him, talk, yell, it could impinge on the case, giving him a good chance of getting away with this, if he had anything to do with it. We don’t know that he did, so we need you to back off and to let me talk to him.”

 

“Fine. You can talk to him, but, if he doesn’t give you any answers that make you happy, you let me know. I know which buttons to push.” And, with that, he disconnected.

 

She stared down at the phone, frowning, because, of course, if ever anybody could push buttons, it was definitely family, as she well knew. She sat eyeing the phone for a little bit longer, as she contemplated her options. When Rodney poked his head around and approached her, he asked, “What’s next, boss?”

 

She snorted at that moniker. “I talked to the brother. I think I’ll talk to the stepfather. Plus I need to roust up this one guy, Stone.”

 

“Stone?” Owen repeated from his corner of the office, as he twisted in his seat to face her. “You mean, the pimp?”

 

She asked him, “Do you know him?”

 

“I don’t know him,” he clarified, with an eye roll, “but I know of him, most of us do. He has a long history here.”

 

“A decent history or is he one of the biggest assholes on the earth?” Kate asked Owen.

 

“Decent history, as far as pimps go,” he relayed. “If we tell him that he has to lay off, get rid of or take girls in for medical care, et cetera and more, he usually complies fairly quickly.”

 

“Do we ever stop him from being a pimp?” she asked.

 

“We did, and then he turns around and does it again. He’s still a pimp. You can’t expect perfection, but he is one who tends to look after his girls, more so than others. On the other hand, he beats them if they’re in trouble or if they don’t bring in enough money.” Owen shrugged. “So a pimp is always a pimp.”

 

“Jesus, so apparently the brother bought his sister off this guy.”

 

“And that’s possible. I’ve heard a couple other cases like that. Sometimes I wondered if Stone was kidnapping young girls and holding them ransom, but he says that he never kidnaps them, and we’ve never had anybody charge him with that or even imply that. Usually he finds junkies on the street, and he tries to get them before other guys do because, of course, pretty young girls don’t stay pretty on the streets for long. So you need a constant stream of them.”

 

“Why would Stone have allowed this guy Terry to buy his sister?”

 

“I hate to say it, but chances are, she looked less than pretty, and much-less-than-pretty costs him because he can’t command as high a price.”

 

“Jesus, so what then?” Kate asked him. “They dispose of the not-so-pretty girls when the pimps turn them into this in the first place?”

 

Owen held up his hands in surrender. “Absolutely. Don’t shoot the messenger.”

 

She groaned at that. “Fine, I’ll go down and have a talk with him.” At that, Owen eyed her with slight alarm. She narrowed her gaze. “What? Is that a problem?’

 

He shrugged. “Just so you know, he doesn’t like women much.”

 

“Just so you know, I don’t like pimps much,” she snapped right back.

 

He flashed a grin at her. “Would you mind if I come with you? I almost want to see the fireworks.”

 

“Too bad.” Rodney rose from his desk. “I’ll go with her.”

 

“You guys, is there any way to check the history on pimps, so I can find out if she was with another pimp beforehand?” Kate asked her team. “I’ve asked the brother, but he doesn’t know anything about it. I need to track down the stepfather and see where he is. If there’s any chance he’s local, I want his ass in here for questioning. Supposedly he lives back east, but where was he when Patricia was killed?”

 

“Oh, we can get right on that.” Owen smiled.

 

“And what about … you’ve got other cases too, don’t you?” she asked him.

 

“Yep, sure do,” Owen confirmed, “but we’re getting this one rounded up, so we should be good to go to give you guys a hand because, of course, we only have a few days and …”

 

“I know,” Kate interrupted, “and then it’s off to the next case.”

 

“We caught two more,” Lilliana announced, as she walked in, clearly overhearing Owen talking about their workload. “Gang fight down on the East Side. Only so much help we can give you.”

 

“Got it,” Kate acknowledged, lifting a hand at Owen. “Thanks for the thought.”

 

“Hey, if I can get there, I will,” he muttered, turning to look at Lilliana. “Two dead?”

 

“Two dead, two in hospital, and, as we saw, … badly sliced,” she added.

 

And that’s all Kate heard, as she walked out with Rodney.