The Big Gamble - Michael Mcgarrity [90]
“What do you want me to do?” Greer asked.
“Talk to me, off the record.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Do you want to be a whore?” Vialpando asked.
Greer dropped her head. “No, but I don’t want to die, either.”
“You won’t, I promise.”
Greer looked up. “I’m strung out.”
“That won’t kill you,” Vialpando said.
“You don’t understand.”
“Make me understand.”
Tears ran down Greer’s face. She wiped them away. “I owe money to people.”
“To Cassie Bedlow, I bet.”
“You know?” Surprise filled her voice.
Vialpando nodded, got the desk chair, positioned it near the bed, sat, and leaned forward, not so close as to break into Greer’s personal space, but close enough to keep her focused on him. It was time to get to the nitty-gritty.
“We know all about it,” he said. “How she set you up with the tuition loan and reeled you in when you couldn’t pay it back. Maybe even got you started on drugs. You’re not the only one she’s done it to.”
“I know.”
“But I don’t think Bedlow would kill you.”
“Not her,” Greer said.
“Who?”
“This man, this boy.”
“What happened?”
Greer took a deep breath to compose herself. “We were down in Ruidoso on location. The whole class. It was kinda like a big deal because we were finishing school and the photos would complete our portfolios. Cassie told me I had to pay her back right away for the tuition, plus interest. I told her I couldn’t, and she said I had to work it off, that she had a job for me.”
“Then what?”
“This boy drove me to El Paso, where a man and a woman were waiting.” Greer started sobbing, her face twisting into a look of disgust.
Vialpando gave her a minute before saying, “Go on.”
“They did me, all three of them. The boy put a gun to my head while he was on top of me. He said if I ever failed to do what I was told, I’d be killed.”
“Then he beat you,” Vialpando said.
“No, that happened the next night in Ruidoso when I turned my first trick. They killed him for hurting me, I’m sure of it. It was in the papers. I went to Cassie and asked her about it. She said I would end up the same way if I ever said a word.”
“I need names and places, Sally.”
Greer gave him what specifics she had. The man was Luis Rojas. The woman was called Debbie, and the kid Fidel, but she didn’t know their last names. The trick who’d beaten her was Felix, an Hispanic male. She’d picked him up at the Indian casino while Rojas and Fidel watched.
The house in El Paso was like an estate, and by the way Rojas acted, was probably owned by him. The cabin in Ruidoso was a rental, Casey’s Cozy Cabins. Rojas had driven her there with the trick. Fidel, who was assigned to keep an eye on Greer, followed in another car.
“We’re going to have to go over this again,” Vialpando said, “in greater detail.”
“Will I be safe?” Greer asked. The makeup covering the bruise on her cheek had been washed away by tears, and her eyes were red.
“I’ll make sure you are,” Jeff said gently, reaching out to pat her hand. “Who’s the lawyer you were supposed to call?”
“Leo Silva,” Greer replied.
The fifth partner, Vialpando thought as he opened the door and motioned for a detective to enter. “This officer will stay with you,” he said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Sally Greer wasn’t listening. She dropped to her knees at the side of the bed and curled up in a ball, crying in long, jerky sobs.
Vialpando stepped into the adjacent room just as Ramona took off the earphones and swiveled in his direction.
“Wow,” she said, flashing him a smile. “You got more than I bargained for.”
“What next?” Jeff asked. “It’s your call.”
“We need to get as much out of her as we can and then find a safe place to stash her under protective custody.”
“I can arrange that.”
“I’m worried that she may still be being watched. Can we use one of your female detectives to pose as