Page 26 of The Girl from Devil's Lake

Joanna was struck by how cold Elena’s hand was. Clearly the young woman was careworn and utterly terrified.

“¿No te sentarás?” Joanna asked. “Won’t you sit down?”

Elena darted over to one of the two visitors’ chairs in front of Joanna’s desk, but when she took a chair, she perched on the very front of it as if prepared to flee the room at a moment’s notice.

“I’m assuming Captain Peña has told you that on Saturday my officers found the body of a young boy we think may be your son, Xavier.”

Arturo translated and Elena nodded.

“You are not under arrest. The purpose of this voluntary interview is to determine if the body we found is that of your son.”

Once again a nod followed Arturo’s translation.

“Captain Peña will accompany you to the actual interview, one that will be recorded. While there, one of my investigators will read you your rights, but once again, you are not under arrest. Since your presence here is voluntary, you may stop the interview at any time. At some point, my officers will probably ask to swab your cheek in order to obtain a DNA sample. DNA is the only way we’ll be able to positively determine the child’s identity.”

This translation took a bit longer. Elena nodded again, then asked a question of her own in return.

“She wants to know if she can see him,” Arturo said.

With her heart aching, Joanna shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said. “The body isn’t here. It’s at the morgue, but he has been gone too long. No mother should have to see her child the way he looks now.”

This time, after Arturo’s translation, there was no answering nod. Instead, Elena Delgado lowered her face into her hands and wept uncontrollably, while Arturo patted her shoulder in a vain attemptto comfort her. At last she quieted, raised her head, and blew her nose into a hanky.

“Are you ready?” Joanna asked.

“Sí.” Elena said shakily. “Estoy listo.”

Joanna led the visitors out of her office and down the corridor to the interview rooms. The door to one of them was open with Lt. Carbajal and Detective Howell already seated inside. Joanna made the introductions and waited for everyone to be seated before she left, closing the door behind her.

Back in her office, Joanna found that the monitor on her desk had been turned around to face the two visitors’ chairs where Garth Raymond and Joanna’s CSI, Casey Ledford, were already seated.

“It’s started,” Garth reported, rolling Joanna’s chair away from her desk and into the room so she’d be able to see, too. “Jaime just read her rights.”

The beginning of the interview was strictly routine, and even though Jaime conducted the interview in English, Joanna was able to follow the answers in Spanish without having to rely on Arturo’s translation.

“What is your name?”

Maria Elena Delgado.

“What is your date of birth?”

September 11, 2004.

“Where were you born?”

Mexico City, Mexico.

“What is your son’s name?”

Xavier Francisco Delgado.

“What is his date of birth?”

October 14, 2019.

“Who is the boy’s father?”

At that point Elena hesitated and turned questioningly to Arturo.