“You would’ve caught it too. You’re a good cop.” She pushed open the door to the conference room. “Are you hungry?” Sam asked the girls.

Amber looked to Ginger to answer for both of them.

“I could eat something,” Ginger said.

Amber nodded in agreement.

“How about pizza?”

Their eyes lit up with delight that even Ginger couldn’t hide. “That’d be really good,” Ginger said.

“Can we have cola too?” Amber asked.

“Absolutely.” Sam handed Freddie two twenties. “Get enough for us too. And a house salad.”

He rolled his eyes at her request and left to order the pizza. When he returned, he joined Sam on the other side of the table from where the girls were seated.

“Here’s the deal, ladies,” Sam said. “I’d like to know if you saw our murder victim around the hotel before he was killed. It would help us very much if there’s anything you can tell us about him or the circumstances of his death. In return for your help and cooperation, we’ll ensure that you never have to return to that motel or have anything further to do with Bruce.”

Ginger let out a snort of disbelief. “And how will you pull that off? He’s probably already here waiting for us to be released so he can take us back.”

“He may be here, but it’s not to take you back. Our officers are going into the motel and arresting everyone as we speak so we can figure out what’s been going on there. You’ll make our jobs a hell of a lot easier if you just tell us.”

“What do you think has been going on there?” Ginger asked.

“If I had to guess, I’d say you’re both runaways or perhaps you were abducted or somehow lured into a web of sex slavery and prostitution. Am I warm?”

Judging by Amber’s bug eyes, Sam’s assessment was spot-on.

“How do you know?” Amber asked in a whisper.

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen it before. We recognize women in distress when we see them. I brought you here because you were the two youngest women there, and I wanted to get you out while I could.”

“We’re not the youngest ones,” Ginger said softly.

As Freddie sucked in a deep breath, Sam’s stomach turned with revulsion. “Where are they?”

“There’s a house,” Amber said haltingly. “I’m not sure where it is. They blindfold us when they take us there.”

“I can tell you where it is from the motel.” Ginger closed her eyes and began to speak. “You leave the parking lot and take a left.” She continued with a dizzying array of directions that Freddie frantically tried to keep up with.

“You memorized all that despite being blindfolded?” Sam asked.