“Megan,” Doyle said, always so gentle at the moment it mattered most. “Detective Larkin is going to figure it out, whether you tell him or not. Remember, we want to keep Reynold from hurting you or any other kid, ever again.”

Her still-chubby cheeks grew a rosy pink before she sniffed loudly. “I don’t want anyone gettin’ in trouble.”

“No one’s in trouble,” Doyle insisted.

“You won’t tell them it was me who said something, will you?”

“I promise.”

Megan looked down at her hands wringing the blanket on her lap. “The F station. Sometimes… when you got no couch, you can go there for the night.”

“Other kids spend the night on the platform?” Doyle asked.

“Not the platform,” Megan said with a despondent shake of her head. “In the tunnel. That’s where I met Gary… Monday night.”

Doyle asked, “Had you seen Gary there before?”

Another small headshake. “No. I think he found out about our hangout from Creepy Dicky.”

“Who’s Creepy Dicky?” Doyle asked, hastily jotting down everything Megan said.

“He’s this old guy. Everyone calls him Dicky. He lives in the tunnel. He’s been there since forever, I think. Sometimes he hangs out with us and no one really wants him there because he’s always strung out, but he’ll bring chips or Gatorade for us, so…. I haven’t seen him in a while, though.”

“How long is ‘a while,’” Larkin butted in.

Megan said, “Last Friday. Maybe he finally OD’d.”

Larkin was staring at Doyle as he asked, “Could you describe this man.”

“Right down to the last gross little skin tag on his face.” Megan made a noise and shivered melodramatically before asking, “Why?”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

It was 4:42 p.m. and Larkin stood outside Megan’s hospital room, watching through the window in the door as Doyle sat in the vinyl chair Larkin had previously occupied, the overbed table’s height adjusted and situated in front of him, as he worked on a composite sketch of Creepy Dicky. Larkin placed his cell to his ear, watching Megan swing her legs back and forth over the side of the bed while gesturing animatedly with her descriptions. Larkin put in a call to the Major Cases Squad at 1PP and filled the responding detective in on Megan’s kidnapping, subsequent rescue as it related to Cold Cases, and relayed her current location in hopes of promptly passing responsibility for her to a more qualified unit in the department. He answered a few questions, confirmed her age, suggested that due to the circumstances of the kidnapping, it wasn’t a matter for SVU, but he’d leave that for Major Cases to decide, then hung up.