“Any idea who?”

“I wish.” To Shayndie, Decker said, “ Did you recognize any of the men?”

A quick shake of the head.

“You’re sure about that?”

“It happened very fast,” she mumbled. “I was scared.”

But Decker felt certain that the girl was holding back. “Have you talked to your parents since it happened?”

Wide-eyed, she shook her head furiously. Then she grabbed on to Chris. “Can we please leave, Mr. Donatti. I’ll do anything you want. I swear I will. Anything! Just don’t make me go back with him.”

At that moment, the little girl meant her every word. For Donatti, she would have spread her legs in an eye blink. It made Decker sick to the core.

“Please, Mr. Donatti?” Shayndie begged.

“Sure. You did a good job.”

“Thank you!” She burst into tears.

“Wait here a moment, Shayndie. I want to talk—”

“Don’t leave me!” She glommed on to his body. “Please, don’t—”

“Stop it!” Donatti plucked her off his body, as if he were dusting off a piece of lint. He spoke low and menacing. “You wait here, understand?”

“Don’t make me go with him.” “Did I say that?” He took her by the shoulders and shook her hard. “Did I say that?”

“No.”

“You shut up, you stay put, and let me get rid of him! Then we can both go back.”

Tears were pouring down her cheeks. But she nodded okay.

Donatti took several large strides forward, looped his arm around Decker’s back, and drew him out of Shayndie’s earshot. With her protector at a distance, Shayndie started to move toward him. Immediately, Donatti warned her back with a look. To Decker, he said, “She’s a virgin.”

Decker regarded Donatti’s face. “How do you know?”

“Because I asked her.”

“And you think she’s telling the truth?”

“I know she is. Before I nailed her, I asked her. I told her it was very, very important that she tell me the truth. I told her I didn’t care a rat’s ass one way or the other, but it had to be the truth. Because the one thing I hated was being lied to. She swore. She wasn’t lying. She was a virgin.”

Decker took in his eyes. “A few seconds ago, you said she is a virgin. Present tense.”

Donatti looked at him in mock confusion. “Did I say that?”

“Yes, you did.”

Chris smiled enigmatically.

Bastard. Decker said, “Okay, Donatti, where do we go from here?”

“I’ll contact you.”

“What about her parents?”

“Nothing until I contact you. You tell her parents, all bets are off. You tell her parents, that also means you broke your word. That means you’re a dead man.”

“Then it’s a good thing my will’s in order. When will you contact me?”

“I don’t know. You’ll have to be patient.”

“Patience is my middle name. Right now, I’m inclined to poke around closer to home. See if I can find out who these religious guys are, now that I know she’s safe with you. I’m assuming that my nosing about won’t step on your toes?”