Chapter 15
As his phone connected to the car’s Bluetooth, it buzzed.
Caleb didn’t give him a chance to say anything before his partner launched a verbal barrage. “The man was back.”
“What? Do I need to return now?”
“I don’t know. He did something to Eliza and Bridget, but the medical staff think they’ll be okay.” His partner sounded agitated. “He hasn’t been very good at harming them.”
“Am I supposed to say that’s good?” Todd wanted to hit something, as fear and anger rose inside him, and he had nowhere to direct them. “I’ll turn around now.”
“No, stay there and finish talking to whoever you need to. Then we’ll meet at Rosie’s and talk to the busboy.” A moment passed as Caleb mumbled something. “I’ve got an off-duty officer stationed at Eliza’s door. She won’t be left alone anymore.”
“That’s good.” He should have thought of that.
“None of us thought she was still in danger.”
“We should have. If her brother and parents were killed, then she’s in danger too.”
“Until we can prove that we were doing the best we could with the information we had.”
Todd knew Caleb was right, but it didn’t mean he liked it. “Is Bridget okay?”
“She will be. The best they can guess is that she and Eliza were injected with insulin. The test results aren’t back yet, but they treated them with glucose. Bridget isn’t acting drunk anymore.”
“What?”
“Yeah, that’s what hypoglycemia looks like in many people. Fortunately, neither of them is diabetic, so it didn’t send them into crisis immediately.”
“I have one family to talk to here, then I’m coming back.”
“You can’t do anything here to help them.”
Todd pinched the bridge of his nose and forced himself to calm down. He knew Caleb was right. He couldn’t get there for two hours even if he left that moment. “Principal Hayes gave me the name of one of Eliza’s classmates to talk to. She and her mom are at home until five.”
“Then you’d better get over there. Maybe when you’re done there, we’ll know if Sydney and Dani were successful at getting a judge to open the adoption records.”
“I’m not holding my breath.” Nothing had gone the way they’d hoped.
“Maybe not but have a little hope. We’re doing the right things. At some point things will start breaking our way.”
Todd didn’t bother to remind Caleb of all the times it didn’t work that way. It was enough to keep moving forward right now. He put his car in drive and followed the GPS instructions to the house. “Call if you need me to leave earlier.”
“I’ll meet you at Rosie’s around seven.”
Eliza’s classmate lived around the corner from the school, close enough to walk most days. When Todd knocked on the door, a thirty-something woman opened it. “You must be Officer Westmont.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She extended her hand. “Lorie Angle. I haven’t explained to my daughter that Eliza’s been hurt. I’d like to keep it that way if possible.”
“I’ll do my best. Maybe you and I could talk first.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know if there’s much I can tell you. My daughter became friends with Eliza when we moved here. Small towns can be tricky, but Eliza was kind to her. They had a couple of sleepovers.”
“Did you ever socialize with the Brandenbergs?”
“Oh no. They were too preoccupied with their son to spend time with us. By the time we moved here, they were almost conspiracy theorists about what had happened to their son.” She glanced over her shoulder as if checking on her daughter.
“I wondered if we should let Anna play with Eliza, but Chuck said it was important for Eliza to have time with a good family.” She shook her head. “Can you imagine putting it like that?”
Todd made a mental note. “Why did he think they weren’t a good family?”
“It was clear to see that Eliza was neglected. She lost weight the last couple of months they lived here.”
“Maybe because she was grieving her brother.”
“At first I thought that, but then Anna asked if she could take extra lunch to school so that Eliza could have some. Of course, I said yes.”
“Did you report any of this to the police or Division of Children and Family Services?”
“No, we talked about it, but it seemed like as long as we could keep an eye on her and she wasn’t being physically abused, we should wait.” She looked at him with hooded eyes. “Did we make the wrong choice?”
“I don’t know. Did Eliza have a cell phone?”
“Not at first, then the month before they moved, she did.”
“Did she say where she got it?”
“I didn’t think to ask. I just assumed it came from her parents.” She worried a hangnail on her thumb. “I guess that was na?ve.”
“Maybe. Do you have the number?”
“Anna will.”
“Did Anna stay in touch with Eliza after the Brandenbergs moved?”
Mrs. Angle shook her head. “It surprised me. The girls had spent so much time together the months before the move. Then within a week, it was like they’d never been friends. Anna spent two weeks crying and then moved on.”
“Did she give you a reason for the change in their friendship?”
“No.”
Todd considered what he’d learned. “This has been very helpful. If I could talk to your daughter for a couple minutes, I’d be grateful.”
“All right. She’s in our backyard.” Mrs. Angle led the way down the hallway, pausing to straighten a painting of Big Ben, then walking through a pristine kitchen to the back door. “Anna, I have a gentleman who’d like to talk with you a minute.”
A girl who looked like she’d just had a growth spurt jumped off the swing while it was in motion, but her mom didn’t even flinch. Anna’s dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and if the freckles dotting her nose were any indication, she liked spending time outside.
She came right up to him and stuck her hand out. “Hello, I’m Anna.”
“I’m Officer Westmont.”
She frowned at him. “Is Eliza okay?”
“Why?”
“She hasn’t called me for a couple days. She promised she’d always call or text. And she’s missed for the first time.”
Mrs. Angle inhaled a breath. “Anna, you told me you never talked to Eliza.”
“We don’t talk. Not really. It’s mostly texts. I just want to know she’s safe.”
“Why wouldn’t she be safe?” What did this young teenager know that all the adults around her had ignored?
“It’s not safe for her to be in touch with anyone here. That’s why she had to leave. Her parents did something that she doesn’t quite understand other than they had to move fast. Parents need to think more before they disrupt their kids’ lives.” Anna looked at her mom with a mildly accusing glare.
“Anna.” Her mom drew out the two syllables.
“She said it was stupid, so as soon as she could get a new phone, she did.” Anna shrugged her slim shoulders. “We were careful not to talk, but it was good to know she was still okay.”
“Is she living with her parents?”
“Of course.” She wrinkled her face like that was a dumb question.
Her mom looked at Todd with concern. “Who else would she be with?”
“We’re not sure.”
Anna paled and ran inside.
Todd watched her flee. “Should we follow her?”
“I don’t know. Let’s give her a moment.” Lorie Angle blinked a few times as she straightened the citronella candles on the patio table. “No one warns you how temperamental thirteen-year-old girls will be.”
Actually, he was pretty sure people did, but he didn’t correct her.
A minute later, Anna came flying back outside, a phone in her hand. “Look at the text from Eliza. I didn’t think about it when it came. Well, other than it was odd. But she says here that her parents are away.”
She pulled up a thread and handed it to him. About two weeks earlier, when Anna had asked if Eliza was okay, Eliza said maybe. Then she said her parents were away.
“Did you ask her anything about why they were away?”
“I should have but didn’t. I had a couple big tests and got distracted. What if she wanted me to ask questions and I didn’t?” The girl’s eyes filled. “I’m the world’s worst friend.”
“From my perspective, it sounds like you’ve been a good friend to her.”
“Is she going to be okay? It’s not like her to go days without reaching out. It’s like she needs someone to know she’s okay. Everyone needs a person, Officer Westmont. And I’m her person.”
He pulled lightly at her ponytail. “I’d say she’s lucky to have you. I hope she’ll be okay, but we’re trying to find her parents. She needs surgery, and we can’t find them.”
Anna gasped, then she turned to her mom. “Can we go be with her? She needs someone she knows to be with her.”
“I don’t think they’ll let you in her room, sweetie.”
“I might be able to get you in if you come.” Maybe having a friendly voice would help Eliza fight her way back to them. “But I have to warn you, she’s not going to look like you remember while she’s in the hospital.”
“Mom, can we please go?”
“Maybe in the morning.”
“She needs us now.” Anna’s lower lip trembled. “She needed me when she sent this text and didn’t know how to ask.”
Mrs. Angle looked at Todd with a question in her eyes.
“I think they’ll let you in long enough to confirm for yourselves that she’ll be okay.” Todd tried to infuse hope into his countenance. “I think a visit would help Eliza. She’s been surrounded by strangers since we found her. She must be scared.”
“Found her?” Mrs. Angle’s gaze sharpened.
“Yes. It’s a long story, but this is truly touch or go.”
She processed that then nodded. “Pack an overnight bag, Anna.”
Anna whooped and then ran back into the house.
Todd waited until she was out of earshot. “I have to warn you, Eliza is in the ICU at Bryan West in Lincoln.”
“What happened?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” He looked down at the phone Anna had left behind. “Do you mind if I scan the texts between Anna and Eliza for a minute?”
She waved toward the kitchen. “I’m going to check on Anna. Make sure she packs the right things.”
Todd nodded but was already scrolling back to locate the thread’s beginning.
The girls had started texting months earlier.
Somehow, Anna had kept her mom in the dark.
Why? Did Eliza ask her to do that? It felt like something was right outside his frame of reference.
Just out of reach. He should see something he kept missing.
What was it?
He scrolled through simple messages from one young teen to another.
Notes that said one girl was still okay.
Why would Eliza make sure her friend understood that?
It wasn’t normal for girls that age to be concerned about safety. At thirteen, they should be whispering about boys and wondering what high school would be like in another year or two.
He kept scrolling and saw that occasionally, about once a week or two, Eliza would say something about where they were. She was using her middle name.
That was it.
This had the hallmarks of witness protection or a family hiding.
The move in the middle of the semester.
The way as far as the parents knew, Eliza and Anna had lost all contact. But the enterprising thirteen-year-olds found a way. The lengths Eliza took to have someone know she remained out there.
What compelled her to ensure someone knew, even if it was another kid?
Why not go to an officer?
Did that feel dangerous?
Or did she think she wouldn’t be taken seriously?
It was certainly possible that if she’d come to the Waverly police or Lancaster County Sheriffs, they wouldn’t have really listened. It didn’t speak well of his fellow law enforcement, but he knew if he’d met her before finding her he would have likely thought she had an overactive imagination.
He pulled out his phone and took a couple of screenshots. Then he forwarded them to Caleb before calling his partner. “Do you have any ideas how to connect with the Marshals to see if Eliza’s family was in witness protection?”
“Hello to you, too. And that’s quite a leap.”
“I know, but something’s been bugging me all day. We couldn’t find anything about the accident or her family. And in the screenshots I just sent, Eliza told her friend she was using her middle name. Why do that if you weren’t changing your identity?”
“Huh.” There was a muffled sound as if Caleb had pulled the phone away to look at the images. After a moment, he was back. “That’s an interesting theory. The question is why they’d be protected.”
“Maybe they found something about what Ryan found that got him killed. And that’s what necessitated protection.”
“That’s quite a leap.”
“Sure, but it’s worth checking. Unless you’ve got a better idea.”