“I hate that woman,” Brad said. “There’s no guarantee that she knows anything and, if she does, that she’ll tell us. The DOJ is still playing games with her, and I wish they’d just locked her up. Instead, she’s sitting in the county jail.”
“She’s not high up on my list of beer buddies, either.” Ryan frowned and glanced back at the crime scene. “If there’s a new player in town taking out the rest of Trejo’s gang, they could go for her.”
“And that would be a bad thing?”
“Murder is always a bad thing. They killed a kid, Brad. Don’t let your hatred for Rollins cloud your judgment.”
Ryan was right. But Brad didn’t have to like it.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Lucy had worked several cases related to the sex trade, but she wasn’t prepared for Mona Hill.
Rather, she was partly prepared because of the files Tia had sent over. She knew, for example, that Mona’s childhood was sketchy. She’d been raised by a single mom in Houston who’d been in and out of prison for prostitution and drugs. Mona appeared to have raised herself or lived with relatives during her mother’s imprisonment, because there was no record of her going into foster care. In fact, there was no documentation on Mona until she was eighteen. Everything Tia wrote was conjecture she’d picked up over the years, though Tia noted that there was no juvenile record, sealed or otherwise.
When Mona was nineteen, she’d pled guilty to attempted murder and had spent eighteen months in a California prison. There was no explanation as to why the sentence was so short, and Lucy made a note to look into it. There might be something there that would give her insight into the woman.
Mona had been arrested multiple times since her release from prison: California, Nevada and Texas all had arrest records. But she’d never served more than a night in jail—all the cases had been dismissed or pled out with a fine. She’d starred in legal pornography for years before moving to San Antonio four years ago, where she took over part of the sex trade. According to Tia, at least a third of the “working girls” in San Antonio worked for Mona at least part of the time. A client called a special phone number, told her what he wanted, and she got it for him—charging a premium. The johns paid Mona for the “referral” and paid the girls directly, so no girl ever gave Mona money.
Tia had listed Mona’s known associates, and in her notes wrote that she suspected at least one judge had been compromised—but if Tia knew who, she hadn’t put the name in the file.
The question Lucy most wanted answered was why Mona had sent Elise to James Everett. There had to be a specific reason, over and above that his regular girl Bella was sick. If she had been sick.
“Barry,” Lucy said as they were driving to Mona Hill’s residence, “I think we should talk to Bella first.”
“Why?”
“Because this whole thing feels wrong. Bella gets sick and Elise is sent to Everett instead—after she either killed Harper Worthington or witnessed his murder.”
“You’re jumping to a conclusion.”
“Am I? A witness put Elise at the motel at Worthington’s time of death; she then goes to Everett and that’s where we find Worthington’s phone. It’s like someone is dropping breadcrumbs for us to follow. I feel like we’re being led from point A to point B because that’s where someone wants us to go.”
“The evidence hasn’t been that easy to obtain,” Barry countered. “We’re good investigators, and we have access to a lot of information and resources. Plus, young prostitutes aren’t the smartest girls on the street.”
“I know what you’re thinking—Elise took the phone, probably wanted to sell it or get information off it, and accidentally left it in Everett’s room not realizing that tracking the phone would be so easy.” Lucy just didn’t believe it. It felt off to her, and she couldn’t explain why. “It seems too coincidental.”
“Let’s assume that Elise was involved in Worthington’s death,” Barry said.
“That’s an easy assumption.”
“What if she was ordered last-minute to take over Bella’s client?”
“Okay,” Lucy said.
“Okay? You’re giving in too easily.”
“I’m not giving in. I think it’s possible. But that’s why I want to talk to Bella before Mona Hill knows what we want. If this woman is as dangerous as Tia thinks, she may intimidate Bella into silence.”
Lucy looked up Bella’s address from Tia’s records. “Well, dammit,” she said. “Mona Hill owns and lives in a twelve-unit apartment building west of downtown. Bella rents an apartment from her. Bella isn’t going to talk to us, especially at her apartment.”
“Because someone will rat on her.”
Lucy nodded. “Tia might be able to track her down and talk to her off-site. Can I send her a message?”
“You don’t have to ask me.”
Lucy hesitated, then said, “I don’t really know what my role is in this investigation.” There. She’d said it.