on the other hand, wasn’t registered, since she had purchased it solely for the purpose of making private calls. Not that she generally made any such calls, but she had always hoped her love life might one day reactivate itself, and when it did, she didn’t want anyone, much less Ray Ortega, listening in.
Meanwhile, this phone’s day—or rather, its night—had apparently arrived.
Bracing herself, Kristie entered the phone number, then began to count the rings. One, two, three—
“H-hello?”
The plaintive voice brought a lump to the spinner’s throat, but she banished it and spoke confidently into the phone. “Hi, Randy. My name is Melissa Daniels, and it’s my job to help little girls in trouble. I’m six feet tall with flaming-red hair and a black belt in karate. And I’m not afraid of a damned thing in the whole damned world. How does that sound to you?”
Dead silence greeted the announcement.
“Randy? Are you still there?”
“I already told the police—”
“I know what you told them. I also know why you told them that. I’m very proud of you, Randy, but you and I both know there’s more to be done, don’t we? And we have to act fast. Right?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s because you’ve never done this before. But I’ve saved hundreds of children, so I know exactly what to do. Just stay on the phone with me, and keep listening to my voice, and everything will be fine. Okay?”
He didn’t reply, but the sound of rapid breathing told her he was beginning to panic.
“Take a deep breath, sugar. I’m going to ask you a question, and you’re going to answer it yes or no. And after that, we’re going to go find Lizzie and bring her home. Okay?”
A small sob that sounded suspiciously like his sister’s name was his only response.
“Are you ready for the question, Randy?”
“Y-yes.”
“Okay. When Coach Horton talked to you today—”
“I can’t talk about him! Please don’t make me! If I do—”
“If you do, he’ll hurt Lizzie? That’s all I needed to know.” Kristie’s pulse began to race. “Horton told you she’s alive, right? That’s why you confessed—to keep her alive. You did the right thing. The smart thing. The only thing. And now with your help, I’m going to make sure he never has a chance to hurt her again.”
“You don’t understand! He doesn’t have to do anything to her. He already did it.”
“Did what?”
“He buried her in the dirt, in the middle of the woods, and he’s the only one who knows where she is. If he gets arrested, we’ll never find her and she’ll run out of air. Oh God, now what? I promised him—”
“Randy! Listen to me. Take a deep breath.” She waited a moment, then demanded, “What color hair do I have?”
“R-red.”
“And what am I afraid of?”
“Nothing,” he whispered.
“And how many little girls have I saved?”
The boy was silent for a few seconds, then answered in a voice rich with innocent hope. “Hundreds?”
“You bet your ass, sugar. So, what do you say we make it hundreds plus one?”
Chapter 2
The next morning, SPIN headquarters was buzzing with news of Kristie’s successful—albeit unconventional—foray into fieldwork. Never in the three-year history of the elite service had a spinner directly contacted a suspect or witness, much less interrogated one.
“We should have known you’d be trouble after the way you made monkeys of us at the interview,” David Wong told her as they sat drinking coffee in one of the spacious cubicles that housed the tools of the spinning trade—reference books, faxes and phones, along with the most sophisticated computers, software and peripherals available anywhere.
Kristie laughed with delight. “Don’t look at me. Melissa deserves all the blame for that interview. And she deserves some credit for last night, too. But really, it was Justin Russo’s willingness to bend a few rules that saved Lizzie’s life. I hope he’s getting some strokes, too.”
“Any update on the little girl’s condition?”
“She’s doing okay, all things considered. Thank heavens that creep didn’t really bury her.” Kristie shuddered, remembering the first tense minutes after Justin had arrested Horton. The coach had refused to talk without a lawyer, and the cops had been frantic, not knowing where to start digging. Meanwhile, a small team had torn Horton’s house and vehicles apart, and once again, resourceful Justin Russo had come through, spying an almost imperceptible variation in the striped wallpaper that decorated Horton’s bedroom. Seconds later, Justin had pried open a flat-paneled closet door and had pulled little Lizzie Rodriguez into his arms.
Patting Kristie’s hand, David told her, “Why don’t you ask Ray for the rest of the day off? You must be beat.”
“I’m fine.”
“Kristie!” Ray’s secretary called out from across the expanse that separated the spinners from their boss’s office. “Ray wants to see you,” Beth added.
“I’ll be right there,” Kristie called back, pleased that she was finally going to hear her supervisor’s reaction to the prior evening’s adventure. Ray had taken a big chance hiring her, given her lack of on-the-job experience, and in her first six months at SPIN, he had become both mentor and friend, praising her talent and giving her some of the best cases. Now his faith in her had been justified. She could only imagine how proud he was.
“You might want to tilt his office blinds closed, just in case this turns out to be the big day,” David suggested slyly.
“Pardon?”
Her friend grinned. “People have been hugging you all day. I figure when Ray takes his turn, you guys might not be able to stop. And frankly, it’s about time.”
“Me and Ray?” Kristie glared. “Are you nuts?”
“No, just perceptive,” he said, chuckling. Then he seemed to realize he was the only one laughing, and cleared his throat. “Sorry. Taboo subject.”
“It’s not taboo. It’s not a subject at all. Ray and I are just friends.”
“Right.”
“David! I’m serious. There’s nothing going on.”
“I know that. You’re both too disciplined to have an affair on the job. I just thought—” He shook his head. “Are you saying you don’t have the hots for him? Not even a little?”
