“No.”
“And you just went?”
“Well, it was a bunch of us, so I felt safe. And…and it sounded exciting. Charlie even said there would be some real celebrities there. I mean, some A-listers, not like old dudes. And I could meet them. And then he said I’d be given a ride back to my house.”
“What happened after that?”
“We drove to this building in New York.”
“Do you know where?”
“I don’t know New York. I’d only been to the city one time when I was a kid. But the building they took me to that night had a doorman and a private elevator and stuff like that.”
“So you went up there with all the others?”
Jewel shook her head. “See, the thing was, everybody got sort of separated. I ended up by myself heading up in the elevator. I was scared, but what could I do? I mean, I was already there.”
“What about Charlie?”
“He sorta disappeared. I didn’t see him in the van. Everything happened so fast.”
“Then what?”
“The elevator opened right into someone’s apartment. I never seen a place like that for real. I mean, it was like being in a movie. I mean, Jesus. I didn’t know nobody lived like that, not really.”
“And then what happened?”
“A woman came out to greet me.”
“Describe her,” said Pine.
“She was maybe thirty-five, sandy hair. Shorter than me. I…she just looked normal.”
“Lean and fit with freckles?”
“Yeah, that sounds like her, and she did have freckles on her face.”
Pine looked at Blum, who said, “Probably Lindsey Axilrod.”
“Okay, what happened next?” Pine asked Jewel.
“She said that I was to make myself comfortable and someone would be out shortly. She asked me if I wanted a drink.” Jewel stopped for a moment. “I…I didn’t know what to do. I mean, I’m only fourteen. So I told her just a Coke. She came back with it and I sat down and drank it.”
“And then what happened? Did someone else come out to see you?”
Jewel shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. “The…the next thing I know, I woke up in bed. I was naked. And…” She bent over and sobbed.
Blum put her arm around the girl’s shoulders. “I know this is so terribly hard. So painful for you. Just take your time, Jewel, take all the time you need.”
A minute later Jewel composed herself, wiped her eyes, blew into the tissue Blum handed her, and continued. “There was a man lying next to me in the bed. He was naked, too.”
“Do you remember what he looked like?”
She nodded. “Older, white guy, maybe sixty with gray hair. He was snoring really loud.” Jewel wiped at her eyes. “I was totally freaked out. I didn’t know what the hell had happened. I mean, I was drinking a Coke and then this? But then when I sort of looked around, and the sheets…I…I knew that…” She seemed unable to say it.
“That he’d had sex with you while you were unconscious?”
She nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “I got out of bed really quiet, I didn’t want to wake him. I ran to the door and opened it…and…”
“Was someone there?”
Jewel nodded. “The same woman. She had my clothes, all ironed and on hangers. She helped me get dressed. She calmed me down. She got me a ride home.”
“So they drugged your Coke, and the man had sex with you?”
“I was so scared.”
“And when you got home, did you report this to the police?”
“I was going to, but…”
“But what?” said Pine.
“I got a call on my phone. I don’t even know how they got the number. It was a man.”
“And what did he say?”
“That if I told anyone I’d get in big trouble.”
“Jewel, you were raped. You were drugged and then raped.”
“I know, but—”
“But what?”
Looking even more miserable, Jewel stuck her hand under her bed and pulled out a pillowcase. She held it up and dumped the contents on the bed.
It was cash, a lot of it.
“Where did you get all that?” asked Blum.
“That’s the part I didn’t tell you. The lady who helped me, she gave me two thousand dollars that night. Said it was to help me get over it.”
Pine looked at the money. “Jewel, that looks like a lot more than two grand.”
“It is. Because—”
“Because you went back?”
Jewel started talking fast. “They told me they’d pay me every time. Pick me up and take me back. I’d be home before Momma would get off work. One time they even flew me on a helicopter to New York, and we landed on top of the building. It was, like, unbelievable.”
“And Jerome?”
“He didn’t know. At first. But then he caught me coming back in one night. I tried to blow it off. But then he’d been asking around. He knew I suddenly had money. I bought some stuff, a ring and some earrings and a real Prada bag and a new iPhone and some cool clothes. I never let my mom see them. She would’ve been all over me. But Jerome found out. He got on my case about it big-time.”
“And did you tell him the truth?”
“Some of it. He was real upset. Told me to stop going. And I did. I really did.”
“But after the first time, they didn’t still drug you, did they?”
“No.”
“Was it the same man each time?”
“No. It was always different guys. But they all looked the same to me. Old white guys. But…”
“And what?”
“But once I did it with a woman. She was old too, maybe forty.”
Pine said, “Did you recognize her, or the men?”
“No.”
“Did they talk to you?” asked Blum. “Mention a name, anything about themselves?”
Jewel looked down and shook her head. “I wasn’t there for them to talk to. They just wanted me for one reason.”
“You’re underage. That’s statutory rape,” said Pine.
“They might not have known. Look at me, you think I’m fourteen?”
“Doesn’t matter. That’s why they call it statutory.”
“You really think they got Jerome to do what he did because of me?”
“I think it’s a safe bet, yeah,” said Pine.
“Then I’m the reason he’s dead.”
“No, you’re not. But you can help us find out who did it.”
“I’ve told you all I know.”
“No, you haven’t. When did you stop going to that place?”
“They called the day before Jerome got killed.”
“Can I see your phone?”
“Why?”
“I want to run the number they called from.”
“I already checked. It’s blocked. No number comes up.”
“When they called, what did they say?”
“That they weren’t going to bring me anymore.”
“Did they say why?”