Southern Comfort - Fern Michaels [83]
Kate could only imagine what the or else meant.
“What happened to the girls? Where did Mateo take the other girls who came with you? We searched the house and didn’t find anyone else.” Unless they hid themselves extremely well, Kate thought. But that was highly unlikely, she realized, given how thoroughly they’d searched the place.
Rosita dropped her chin once again. Several minutes passed before she looked up at them. “That man, the American, came to the house. He said he was there to pick up his—” Rosita stopped as though she were afraid to continue.
“It’s okay, Rosie. All you have to do is tell what you remember,” Tick finally said. Kate could tell he was in full cop mode. Totally law and order, no bullshit. She was glad because she had a feeling she was going to need an extra hand.
The child nodded, taking Tick at his word. “The American man said he was there ‘to pick up his . . . whores.’ ” The last word was barely a whisper.
Kate caught Tick’s gaze, saw the dark vein in his neck beating wildly. This was worse than she’d even imagined. Prostitution.
Pete looked shocked. Sandy was still on the phone with Jelly.
“And that was when you decided to hide?” Kate questioned.
Rosita nodded. “The girls were very frightened of the American man. He called them bad names. He touched them in places where he shouldn’t, too. I did not want to go anywhere with that mean man. I knew I had to save myself, and that is when I decided to hide. I thought since I was on US soil, later I could locate my parents myself. I just kept waiting for the right time to leave. Then some people came and I thought it was the American coming back to get me, so I didn’t dare go outside. I saw boats and then you . . . and then I was saved. I owe you my life. All of you.”
Kate was shocked, as she’d never heard such passionate words from one so young.
Sandy stepped back into the kitchen. “I told Jelly everything. He’s sending Josh and Roy to Cuba ASAP. On the QT, of course. He said he would be here this afternoon.”
Kate had one more important question. “Rosita, if you saw the American man, the one you say is mean, could you identify him?”
She nodded. “I will never forget his face, Miss Kate. Never.”
Chapter 19
Lawrence Tyler paced the length of his room at the Southernmost Point Guest House. He kept reliving the scene with that bitch Kate Rush back at Mango Key. He planned to make her suffer if it was the last thing he ever did. She had humiliated him beyond anything he’d ever experienced. And that goddamn bird. He’d kill that mangy ball of fluff and make a dream catcher out of its feathers.
Nothing was going as planned. He was back at square one, which wasn’t really square one since he’d never had a plan to begin with. He’d hightailed it to Mango Key in hopes of orchestrating a big bust at that compound. Then nothing. He’d been made fun of, picked on, walked on, and crapped on. No wonder his father didn’t want anything to do with him beyond boasting that his son was a big-shot DEA agent. Other than his professional status, he’d been a disappointment to his parents as far back as he could remember.
He’d spent most of his early years at one boarding school or another when really all he ever longed to do was stay at home and go to a regular school like real kids did. He’d watched dozens of movies and television shows where kids got up in the morning and their moms always had smiles on their faces