Page 34 of Merciless Obsession (The Bloodline #2)

ZIORA

“ T hank you for meeting with me.” I stepped inside the family’s home, bypassing the father of the girl I was here to talk to.

“You some kind of private investigator?” he asked, closing the door behind me.

“Something like that.” I looked around the dining room.

I got notice about another kidnapping except this girl ended up getting away.

She was the first girl to escape one of the abductions and I was eager to speak to her.

Me and Emmet were still working on finding out who ran the site he located and we were searching every inch of the web to get information on The Veil or anyone who might be connected.

Three days had passed since Ezra revealed the lead to me and in that time I’d been working around the clock to find something to get our foot in the door.

Yesterday I woke up and found a message in my Shadows of Silver Stone email about Sasha, the girl I was here to see today.

“You can take a seat.” He nodded toward the table.

“You’re investigating the kidnappings?” a woman, already sitting, asked, looking me up and down.

I pulled out a chair and took a seat. “I am. My name is Ashley,” I told her, using my alias. I didn’t like using my real name for safety reasons and to keep my identity hidden. “I’m sure you heard about the girls going missing, Mrs. Henry.”

“It’s Ms. Henry. We’re not married.”

“We’re not even together,” the dad mumbled.

“Excuse me, sorry, Ms. Henry, your daughter was the first to get away from her abductor.”

“I told you that defense kit would come in handy,” Ms. Henry boasted.

Her dad glared at her. “Maybe if you took time and actually mothered her she wouldn’t have been walking in the first place!”

“I have to work, Josh. That punk ass hundred and fifty you send every two weeks for child support barely helps with my light bill!”

“Yeah that’s why you’re always going to the damn court for an increase as if I don’t have other kids to provide for.”

“Not my damn problem.”

“Excuse me, Ms. Henry. Mr….” I cut in.

“Just call me Josh.”

“Josh. Where is Sasha right now?”

“Sasha!” Ms. Henry yelled, causing me to jump. “Come here!” She pulled her phone out and tapped the screen.

Josh shook his head and pulled a seat out between me and Ms. Henry and sat. A few seconds later Sasha came walking into the kitchen.

I tried to keep my face neutral but the girl hardly looked fourteen.

She was wearing a crop top, her belly button pierced, the leggings she wore hugged her wide hips.

She had a face full of makeup and hair that went down just above her ass.

Her nails were long and colorful. Sasha was average height, but shapely for her age.

“Yeah?” She blew a bubble and popped it before chomping on her gum.

“Come sit down,” her mom said.

“What the hell are you wearing? I done told you about them little ass shirts and having all that shit on your face,” her dad chastised.

Sasha rolled her eyes. “Nothing is wrong with my outfit, Dad.”

“I think she looks cute.”

“You letting her dress like that is the reason somebody tried to snatch her ass up!” His eyes bulged and his voice elevated.

Ms. Henry waved Josh off and faced me. “She’s here, now what do you need from her?”

I cleared my throat and waited for Sasha to finish texting on her phone before I spoke. “Sasha, can you tell me what happened the other day when the guy tried to take you?”

She flipped her hair over her shoulders and pushed out an annoyed breath. “How many times do I have to tell this story?”

“As many times as it takes to find out who tried to take you!” her dad interjected.

“Fine.” Again she rolled her eyes and blew another bubble.

“I was on my way home from the big sister program for girls at the community center. I noticed a car tailing me and the sun was starting to set so I planned on cutting through the park. A small SUV came right up on me and there was a woman in the passenger seat. She was asking for directions. I went to tell her where she was looking for when the back door opened and a man attempted to pull me in. I always walk with my mace in my hand so I just started spraying and took off running.”

“And you normally take the same route home?”

“Yep.” She popped the p and picked her phone up. Her long nails tapped the screen.

My eyes went between her parents. I ran the story over, it wasn’t anything spectacular. I wasn’t sure if this was the normal way they took the girls but it was efficient enough to get the girl target before someone could blink.

“Anything else you can remember?”

Sasha shrugged. “Nope. I guess I left later than normal but that was because Ms. Rubin was helping me study for a test, but that’s it.”

“Ms. Rubin?” That name sounded familiar.

“Yeah she runs the community center and is in charge of the big sister program. My big sister didn’t come today so Ms. Rubin was helping me.”

I thought about the information for a second. The community center had been around since I was a kid. It was a great place for kids to go and stay busy without getting in trouble. They offered different sports and programs for kids and after school tutoring too.

“The big sister program is basically like a mentoring thing, right? Older kids volunteer to help preteen girls and boys.”

She nodded, keeping her eyes on her phone.

“Sasha was failing math and science so we thought it would help her. She was also hanging out with the wrong crowd,” her dad explained.

“Hey!” Sasha complained when he snatched the phone out of her hand.

“You can stay off this damn phone for two seconds to answer questions.”

“I told her all I know!” She shot me an annoyed look. “Anything else?”

I started to tell her no when something clicked for me. This wasn’t the first time I saw that one of the girls was connected to the community center. I thought back to when my sister was taken. She wasn’t in the big sister program but she did go there for tutoring when she started failing reading.

“Look, I need to get ready for work. Do you need anything else?” Ms. Henry asked, pushing up from the table.

“Um, no I think that’s it.” I stood as well. “Sasha, I’m glad you got away.”

“Do you think you know who tried to take her? The cops think it was random and told us not to worry. But with all the other girls being around my daughter’s age, I’m not convinced,” Josh mentioned.

“I have an idea, but until I have proof it’s just a thought. I don’t believe it was random though. I would keep an eye on your daughter and make sure she doesn’t walk anywhere alone.”

After saying my goodbyes, I left the house and was heading down the driveway to where my car was parked on the street when a familiar face came walking toward me.

“Ms. Lambert. What are you doing here?” Police Chief Hugh Bolden asked.

The two of us had history. He was number one on my shit list, after the lead detective on my sister’s case. I felt neither of them did enough to catch the real predator. More than once Bolden threatened to throw me in jail for obstructing a police investigation.

“Just came to talk to Sasha Henry.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I hope you’re not here causing trouble and sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

Squaring my shoulders, I matched his annoyed demeanor. “I hope you’re here to actually solve a case for once.”

His lips pressed together tightly. “Go home, Ms. Lambert, and leave the policework to the police.”

“If the police did their job properly then I would.”

“Your sister’s killer was caught. We did our job.”

My skin ran hot and my stomach churned. My hands balled at my sides. “Your police fucked up and he was able to walk free! Speaking of, I saw Detective Watz kicked the bucket. Hopefully the new one you assign isn’t as sloppy as he was.”

Hugh’s jaw ticked. “Go home, Ms. Lambert. You’re not helping anyone by sticking yourself in the investigation. Why don’t you go home and cook something or fold some laundry.”

He brushed past me.

I had to take a couple deep breaths to calm myself. My short nails dug into my palm. My jaw hurt from how hard I was clenching it.

Chief Bolden was a big pain in the ass. The only cases he cared about were ones that would make him look good, like big drug busts. Missing girls from rough upbringings weren’t high on his list. He was a misogynistic old prick.

When I got to my car, instead of heading east to go toward the bridge, I headed for the community center.

I never hung around the center. I was too busy trying to make money to help me and my sister get away from our parents.

Outside of tutoring I thought the community center was the best option for my sister because it kept her away from home when I wasn’t there.

I didn’t know Ms. Rubin personally, but my sister always spoke highly of her.

We spoke a couple times when I stopped by the center to get my sister and she seemed passionate about what she did.

When I got to the community center, the parking lot was empty. I checked the time and saw it was a little past four. If I remembered correctly, it didn’t close until six.

I parked in front of the building, keeping my car running, I unbuckled my seat belt and climbed out of the car. When I got to the door I saw a note taped to it stating the center was closed for the rest of the week due to plumbing issues.

I grabbed the doors and attempted to open them but it was locked.

“Fuck.” I closed my hands on the door and moved my face close to it to look inside through the glass. It was dimly lit inside. The hallway lights were on overhead, but the rest of the place looked dark.

Sighing, I knew I would get no further here, at least until next week when it was open again.