“That’s fine. I get it.”
“Let’s start with where they’re headed,” she said.
Otto unfolded the map in front of Ryan. It was a Texas road map the dispatcher had in her files for transporting prisoners.
“I can tell you. I don’t need a map. He said we were going to take the interstate the whole way. He made a big deal about driving the speed limit so we wouldn’t get pulled over. Driving that junked-out van you couldn’t go seventy anyway.”
“What kind of van?”
“One of the big white ones. It had benches in the back. It holds twelve people.”
“An Econoline van?”
“That’s it,” he said, nodding.
“How fast will it go?”
“Sixty max.”
Josie had pulled up a map application on her phone and said, “From here to El Paso takes about four hours. It’s another four hours from El Paso to Albuquerque. You think Josh would drive all night?”
Ryan nodded. “If he went and picked up Isabella, and he had those other women with him, he’d want to get rid of them. He’s freaked out right now. And Macey has to be driving him insane.”
“Why do you say that?” she asked.
“When anything happens that’s not according to plan, she just can’t handle it. When she found out Renata was killed, I bet Macey’s brain about exploded. She has to know you guys think Josh did it. And now they’re driving that crappy van with all those women in it.”
Josie looked at Otto. “Josh was driving his Camaro when he picked up Isabella.”
“After what he did to her, I’m sure he knew she wouldn’t get into that van with him again,” said Ryan. “I can’t believe he got her to go with him at all.”
“Macey’s probably the one who approached her at the motel. She probably gave her some reason why she had to leave. Once she was in the car, they had her,” Otto said.
“Where’s the van parked?” Josie asked.
“Josh said he parked it behind the rock quarry.”
Josie faced Marta who was still observing from the back of the room. She had already picked up on Josie’s intent.
“I’ll go now. The quarry’s a good thirty-minute drive from here. I’ll call you as soon as I check it out.”
“Thanks, Marta.” As she left, Josie turned her attention to Otto. “Let’s assume Josh and Macey got Isabella at eight-thirty and drove her out to the quarry. It’s a thirty-minute drive. They’d have been there by nine.”
Otto broke in. “There’s an old contractor’s shack out there that hasn’t been used in twenty years. I bet that’s where the other women were being held.”
Josie nodded, feeling like they were finally hitting their stride. “The earliest they could have left the quarry was nine oh-five. It’s southwest of town, so that adds another thirty minutes to their trip to El Paso.”
Otto picked it up. “They left Artemis at nine thirty-five. They’ve been on the road a little over an hour. There’s only one decent route to the interstate. So they’ve already made it through Marfa. They have to be on their way to Van Horn to catch Interstate 10 to El Paso before I-25 to Albuquerque.”
Ryan started nodding his head. “That’s what he said. Interstate 10 to 25.”
Josie left Otto and Ryan in the room and went to talk to the dispatcher for the sheriff’s department.
Juan Smith was standing at the copy machine when Josie entered the dispatch room. He was in his late twenties, married to a local schoolteacher, and was a loyal, dependable employee. She was glad he was on duty. Josie quickly brought him up to speed.
“Can you get with DPS to get state troopers, Border Patrol, local cops, anyone who will respond, set up around the Van Horn entrance ramp?”
“I’m on it.”
Juan sat down at the dispatch console and took down Josie’s information about the van and the driver and passengers they were looking for. A few minutes later she was back in the interrogation room.
“Let’s talk about your situation,” she said, sitting down again across from Ryan.
Josie always hoped at this point some good might come out of this kind of tragedy. Maybe Ryan would get his life turned around before jail terms became a way of life.
“I’ll do anything you want,” he said.
“That’s a good answer.”
An attorney would point out that Ryan didn’t actually cross the border with the women, but Ryan didn’t know that technicality was in his favor. And he was currently so thankful not to be sitting in a jail cell with a sexual predator sign hanging over his head that Josie was sure he would continue to cooperate.
“I’d like to cut you free. I won’t file charges tonight if you can promise me a few things.”
“Anything you want. I swear.”
“First. No contact with Josh or Macey Mooney.”
“Okay.”
“However, we may ask you to contact him if things don’t go well tonight. Will you do that?”
“Yes.”
“But if he calls you tonight, don’t answer the phone. If we find you tipped him off about what’s happening? I promise you jail time.”