A sigh. “Yes, honey, I think it’s okay. I think it’s time we tell the authorities.”

Seconds passed…then the door opened.

32

The girl was a stick figure: one-dimensional arms and legs with almost no body. She had thin brown hair—long and straight and dull. Wide waiflike brown eyes were set over small lips. Her nose was red and dripping. She wiped it with a bony finger.

“She has a terrible cold,” Doreen said.

“Go upstairs, Mrs. Frammel,” Decker told her. More force was in his voice. “We’ll be fine.”

Doreen looked at Erin. The young girl nodded.

“I’m leaving the doors open,” Doreen announced. “Shout if you need anything.” Then she started the journey up the steps. Decker waited until he heard the footsteps recede. Then he sat on the edge of the bed. She was sitting on the opposite corner, legs tucked under her wasted body, head against propped pillows.

Decker pulled out his notepad and a small tape recorder. “Do you mind?”

She shook her head.

“I need you to talk, Erin. The recorder doesn’t pick up head movements.”

“You can record it. I don’t care.”

“Good.” Decker adjusted the volume, then set the machine in the middle of the bed. “How long have you been using?”

Erin’s eyes jumped around, landing on the machine.

Decker said, “I’m not going to bust you. I’m just curious.”

“I dunno. Over a year.” She rubbed her nose, then got up and closed the door. She plopped back down onto the bed, bouncing the tape recorder as she did so. “That’s why I stayed with Darrell so long. He supplied me.”

“What happened to the biker you took off with?”

“A real bummer.” She straightened her spine. “I thought he was gonna be my meal ticket…but then he made me work for it.” Her mouth turned downward. “Asshole.”

“What about Darrell?”

“He’s an asshole, too. A sick puppy, but so are most guys. But he didn’t make me work for my shit. All I had to do was give him what he liked, the way he liked it. Sex games—him and her.”

“‘Her’ is Ruby Ranger?”

She nodded.

“What kind of sex games?”

She shrugged.

“Did he take movies?”

“None that I saw.” She sniffed deeply. “The two of them…they liked to pick up teenagers at a party…screw them…mess with their heads. That’s what they really liked to do…mess with their heads.”

“How’d you meet him?”

She scratched her scalp with a dirty nail. “The biker that I went off with ran with a pack. The leader gave me to Darrell for money. Weird. Like they sold me for a grand or something.”

“Sold you?”

“Yeah, but it turned out okay. I didn’t have to turn tricks.”

“What did you have to do?”