Lorna’s eyes fluttered and her hands twisted together, every once in a while twisting an invisible ring on her finger, turning the area a burning red. ‘I don’t remember what time it was. All I can say is that it was beginning to get dark. And I don’t know if she or any of them went willingly or not. Like, they all seemed totally drugged up, you know. And they were always escorted out by two guys, always the same ones.’

‘Two guys?’

‘Yes. The other guy was a little bit shorter than the other one. He had blond hair, still pretty muscular, but not as much as his friend.’ Pink suffused Lorna’s face when she admitted, ‘I just thought all the girls were maybe hookers, you know…’

Something in the way she said all the girls struck Alyssa as odd, so she asked, ‘You said “all the girls.” Do you mean these four, or were there more?’

Lorna seemed surprised by the question. ‘Oh, lots more. That’s why I thought they were just working girls.’

Like a boulder sinking to the bottom of the lake, so did Alyssa’s stomach. If what she suspected was accurate, having sex was involved, but she didn’t think the girls had been given a choice in the matter. On the heels of that thought came another: If it’s a sex trafficking ring, Rachel, Jersey, and Katelyn could still be alive. And while their lives would never be the same, with the right help, they could find a way through their abuse – whereas there would be no coming back from being dead.

‘Lorna, why didn’t you come to the police as soon as you realized you recognized at least two of the girls?’

Eyes glowing with moisture, Lorna shifted her chin down and stared intently at the frayed edges of her jeans. ‘I was too scared. Am I going to jail now?’

It was clear the girl was terrified and probably with good reason. ‘What do you do at the hotel?’

‘I work the night shift at the hotel desk.’ Her voice quivered with fear that she’d be arrested for not coming forward sooner.

Alyssa risked placing a hand on the frightened woman’s shoulder. ‘Lorna, I’m not going to take you into custody for waiting. I understand you’re scared, but right now, I need you to focus so you can help me find these girls. Can you do that?’

A commotion outside the door drew Alyssa’s attention just before there was a knock and then Tony poked his head in, Joe directly behind him.

Her palm covering her mouth to suppress a scream, Lorna shot out of her seat, grabbing her chair and putting it, as well as the table, in front of her. Tony’s hands shot up to show he was safe even as he accurately read the situation and backed out again. Maintaining eye contact with Lorna, he directed his words to Alyssa. ‘Hal said to let you know we were back. Come hunt me down when you’re finished here.’ And then he and Joe were gone.