They crept between the vehicles and up to the front of the house. The front porch was the length of the house, about ten feet deep and thirty-five feet long, with just one low step that ran the length of it. Josie shone her light along the porch, from left to right, to the far right corner where there was a chair, and froze.
She held her light steady on what appeared to be a person, hunched up into a ball and hiding behind the chair. Nick made a move forward and Josie grabbed his hand. “Stop,” she said, keeping her voice low. “I’m the cop. This is my jurisdiction here. You need to back off.”
He hesitated but pulled back without a word.
Josie took a step forward and called out, “This is Police Chief Josie Gray. I’m coming up to talk to you. Can you tell me your name?”
There was no response.
Josie stayed off the porch, walking through the sandy front yard, carefully avoiding the cactus plantings and landscape boulders. When she reached the end of the house she could see the person was female, with her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Long black hair fell over her shoulders and on both sides of her legs. She was wearing ankle boots, shorts, and a T-shirt.
“I’d like for you to nod your head if you can hear me,” she said.
Josie took a few steps closer. Her gun was still drawn, but held down to her side so she wouldn’t alarm the woman if she suddenly looked up.
“Are you hurt?”
Josie stepped onto the porch and the woman flinched, pressing her balled-up body farther into the corner.
Josie pulled her cell phone out of her shorts pocket and called Brian Moore, the night dispatcher for the PD. “Brian, it’s Josie. Is Marta available?”
“Yes, ma’am. She’s sitting at the intake desk doing paperwork. You need her?”
“I do. I also want you to call the sheriff’s department. Send backup to my address.”
“Emergency?”
“Yes.”
“Injuries?”
“No. But I need backup as a precaution.”
“Yes, ma’am. Hold the line.”
“Hang on. Who’s on duty at the sheriff’s department?”
“Dave Phillips.”
“Tell him we have a possible immigration issue. Let me talk to Marta.”
Seconds later Marta came on the line.
“I’m on my front porch. There’s a female, most likely in her teens or twenties by the way she’s dressed, curled up in the corner. She hasn’t spoken yet.”
Marta broke in. “I’m walking out the PD now. Headed that way.”
“Okay. Brian said he’d send Dave Phillips too.” Josie went on to describe the car that had driven by her house and stopped. “Obviously someone’s looking for this person. I’m guessing it’s an immigration issue or a domestic. Just keep an eye out for any other cars on your way out here. If you see a mid-sized car as you approach Schenck Road, follow it and call me immediately. There shouldn’t be anyone out here this time of night. Got it?”
“Will do. Be there in ten.”
Josie slipped her phone back in her pocket and shone the flashlight on the porch floor so she wouldn’t spotlight the girl. She crouched down and lowered her voice.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m going to scoot the chair out of the way so we can talk. Okay?”
When the woman didn’t answer, Josie reached out and slowly dragged the chair from her. As the wood scraped across the wooden decking she cringed again, burrowing her head down farther like a child attempting to hide.
Josie turned back to Nick, who was standing just behind her watching. “Would you get a bottle of water out of the refrigerator?” she asked.
He left and Josie stood again, taking small steps until she was directly in front of the woman. “My name’s Josie. Can you tell me your name?”
Josie continued to ask questions and converse quietly, trying to establish herself as someone friendly who wanted to help. When Nick came back and handed her the water, she opened the lid and held it toward the woman. “Water?” She repeated the word in Spanish.
Josie touched the water bottle to the woman’s arm. She flinched but raised her head enough to peer at Josie. Her eyes were wide and unfocused. Josie heard Nick make a sound behind her. She knew that he’d seen the look too many times through years of negotiations, but seeing a person in that kind of pain never got easier to take.
“She’s in shock,” he said.
When the woman heard his voice she cried out as if slapped and buried her head again, dropping the water bottle onto the porch. Josie set the water upright and turned to Nick. “I hate to think what’s happened to her. Can you wait out by the car, and I’ll try and get her inside?”