than I am, twenties, maybe thirty, tops. The woman was about my height, five-five. The man was a little taller, but not much. Maybe five-nine or-ten.”
“Did they have accents?” Mei asked. “Could you tell where they were from?”
“The man had a Jersey accent. It was really strong. But I don’t think the woman was from around here.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know. She just sounded different, kind of like my friend Mary.” She looked at her mother. “You know, the one from Detroit? And she called soda pop.”
“So she’s probably Midwestern,” Lara said. Which didn’t help them much.
“What about the license plates on the SUV?” Victoria asked.
“I didn’t see them.”
“Any idea where they took you?”
“No, I couldn’t see.”
Nick leaned across the table toward her, his gaze intense. “How about the car ride? Could you tell how long you were in the SUV before you stopped? Or how long it took you to get to Central Park last night when they dropped you off?”
“Maybe half an hour? Maybe a little longer... I couldn’t really tell. It’s weird how when you’re blindfolded you can’t judge the time. And when they pulled that gun on me, my mind went blank. I started hyperventilating...”
“What about noises?” Nick persisted. “Did you hear anything unusual on the way?”
“Not really. Just sirens and horns, jackhammers, that sort of thing. Typical city sounds.”
“Did you go through a tunnel or over a bridge, anything that would have given the tires a different sound?”
She shot him a helpless look. “I don’t think so. But I don’t really know. I’m sorry. I was just so scared...”
“Don’t be,” Nick said, just as Victoria looked about to intervene. “It isn’t easy to stay calm in a situation like that. You did fine.”
She’d done more than fine, Lara thought, her respect for the young woman rising. Given her ordeal, she’d emerged in remarkably good shape. “Any idea where they kept you?” she asked.
“Not the location, no. But it was in an alcove studio apartment, just one small room and a bathroom. I figured it had been vacant for a while because the air seemed stale. You know how empty houses get? Maybe it was condemned. The wood floor was kind of slanted, and the balcony was boarded up. And the furniture was awful, really old and ugly. The sofa was an orange-and-brown plaid. And the kitchen was harvest gold.”
“How about windows?” her mother asked. “Could you see outside?”
“There was a small one in the bathroom, but it faced another building. I tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. It must have been nailed or painted shut. That’s how I got the black eye. They caught me trying to open it. They punched me as a warning so I wouldn’t try to escape again.”
“They’ll pay for that,” Victoria promised, and Anna shot her a grateful look.
“What floor were you on?” Cass asked.
“The third, I think. I tried to count the stairs when we were going up, but I lost track because they were holding on to my arms so tight.”
“Did you see anyone else while you were there?”
“No, just those same two people. They brought me food a couple times a day, take-out stuff like pizza and subs. Except for that woman at the end.”
“What woman?” Victoria asked.
“Last night, when we were leaving. We were in the hall. They’d blindfolded me again, so I couldn’t see. But I knew there was another woman there because I heard her speak.”
“What did she say?” Lara asked, her hopes ticking up again. She realized it was unlikely, but they needed some sort of break in this puzzling case.
“I don’t know. We’d started toward the stairs. The man was holding on to my arm. And then someone bumped into me, the woman, I think. The man got nasty. He yelled at her to watch out. And then she said something back.”
“What?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know. It sounded like chew... Doy-chew. Or doy-um-chew. But that doesn’t make any sense.”
Mei sat up straight. “Sure it does. That’s Cantonese. It means I’m sorry, or excuse me.”
Victoria frowned at that. “Your abductors weren’t Chinese, were they?”
“No, they were definitely Caucasian.”
“But that woman who bumped you was.” Mei sounded excited now. “That could help a lot.”
Nick didn’t look convinced. “I don’t see how. There are tons of Chinese people in New York.”
“Still...” Victoria’s eyes turned thoughtful now. “Did you hear anything else?”
“Not really, just that music every night.”
“What music?”
Anna wrinkled her nose. “Old stuff. Your kind of music, actually, like Journey and Survivor. It was coming from below me. It was muffled, but I got the impression I was over a bar. They played the same songs every night...sometimes several times a night. “Eye of the Tiger.”
“Don’t Stop Believin’.” And Michael Jackson. They played him endlessly. I got so sick of “Beat It,” I wanted to hurl.”
Mei’s entire face lit up. “It was probably a karaoke bar. There are lots of them in Chinatown. There’s one, Minnie’s, out by the courthouse, that specializes in 80’s songs. I’ll bet that’s where it was.”
“It’s not much of a lead,” Victoria said. “But it’s definitely worth checking out. You want to do that, Mei, since you seem to know the place?”
“Sure.”
“Good.” Victoria glanced at her daughter, who was stifling a yawn. “Let’s leave it there for now. Anna needs to rest. If she thinks of anything else, I’ll let you know.” She turned to her daughter. “Wait for me in the hall, okay? I’ll walk you out.”
“Okay. I wish I could be more help...”
“You did great,” Lara told her. “Seriously. Every little bit helps. And don’t worry. I promise we’re going to catch these guys.” They had to—because, despite the brave front they’d put on for Anna, they all knew they’d dodged a bullet this time. They’d been damned lucky that she’d survived.
Victoria waited until the door closed, then turned to face them, her tight-lipped expression reflecting Lara’s thoughts. “All right, people. We don’t have time to waste here. What’s our plan?”
Xander
