Page 51 of Gypsy Angel

“Yes! That’s it! Wait…how do you know that?” Jennings asked, suspicion in his voice.

“Because Georgiy is my older brother. As I said earlier, I was supposed to have married Krieger, but even when I didn’t, my family stayed loyal to him, and they are in business with him. Georgiy is a close second when it comes to pure evil behind Symon.”

Pratt sat down in the chair next to Diesel, leaning forward, placing her clasped hands on the table as she looked at Raven’s adoptive parents. “What do you know about Katrina Barlow? You said she was in a group home, but that was all you stated.”

“Not much, other than what she told my daughter. It’s rare for her to come here. She goes to school and then that’s it. She talks to our daughter a lot, mostly by phone. She stopped coming around here when she found out Peter was a former cop and that my sister was still one. We offered to let her stay here when we found out she was at the group home, but she wouldn’t.”

“What do you know about her parents? Has Raven told you anything?” Diesel questioned, realizing Pratt’s train of thought.

“Just that her mother was in prison for murder. Katrina doesn’t really talk about her past very much.” Sarah Grace softly informed Diesel.

“What does she look like? Katrina, I mean. Does she do the goth thing? Does she dye her hair?”

“Not sure what you mean by the goth thing, but her hair is black. She wears all black, the couple of times I had seen her. But her t-shirts had funny sayings on them or rock bands type of things. No long jackets or the thick boots with heels or anything like that.” Peter thought back, scratching his head as he looked at Diesel.

“Did Raven have a boyfriend?” Sgt. Brocard asked, shooting straight to the heart of a theory.

“No. I think Raven mentioned Katrina having one, but she didn’t like the guy. Someone she knew from the group home that also went to their school. Said the guy was a jerk.” Sarah Grace admitted, chuckling at the memory of the conversation with her daughter. “She had asked me if something was wrong with her. When I asked her why she would think that, she told me Katrina picked on her about not wanting to date while in high school. Claimed everyone had a boyfriend at least once while in high school. I told her I didn’t. I didn’t have my first real boyfriend until my freshman year of college.”

“And he was a dumbass.” Nadia grumbled, sending her sister a glare, causing both Sarah Grace and Peter to laugh. “Guy was a real loser who thought all women were to do his bidding, wash his laundry and do his schoolwork.”

“Ah, I know the type. Married one of those, then dumped his ass. He’s now with a washed-up stripper and I married way better when I divorced his loser ass.” Pratt laughed as she winked at Sarah Grace. “Something tells me you did too, ma’am.”

“Yes, I did. I met Peter while I was on the ER rotation at Las Vegas General. We’d only been married a year when I had been diagnosed with cervical cancer. I was petrified he was going to leave me because I couldn’t give him children. The man is a saint. I was truly blessed when I met him. Then a couple of years later, after I’d been declared in remission, Nadia blessed me, letting me know about a beautiful baby girl who needed a forever home. The first day I held Raven, I was so afraid I’d wake up and it was just a dream. She’s really an amazing young girl. She’s very sweet. Everyone loves her. She goes out of her way for her friends, especially those at school.”

Sarah Grace got choked up talking about Raven. Diesel reached across the table to grip her hand. “Thank you for taking care of her and giving her the life I wouldn’t have been able to give her. I appreciate that more than you know. You and Nadia have made sure I knew she was doing alright through the years, and it let me know that Krieger and them didn’t win every year. Thank you!”

“You think this Krieger and Symon have her?” Peter asked, taking the conversation to important grounds.

“That’s what we are thinking. If she looks as much like me as you have all said she does, then I’m afraid so.”

When Sarah Grace handed Diesel the photo of Raven, she pulled it from a frame. Diesel’s breath held as she got her first good look at her daughter. She couldn’t take her eyes away from that photo.

“Holy shit, Diez. She’s literally a fucking carbon copy of you! If you didn’t dye your hair, the blonde that you do, she would be you!” Pratt’s voice held amazement as she looked at the photo over Diesel’s shoulder.

THIRTY-SIX

Instead of sending someone else to the group home where Katrina and her supposed boyfriend were residents, after seeing the photo of Raven, Diesel had decided that she, Sgt. Brocard and Pratt would go to the group home themselves to speak with the director, especially now that they knew a boyfriend was involved. After checking in with the front desk, the three women waited for several minutes before a harried woman came rushing out to meet them.

“Hello. I’m Cynthia McBride, the director of the group home. How can I help you, detectives?”

Diesel studied the short woman with the curly blonde hair who was plump with her clothes out of sorts, as if she hurried to get dressed and just grabbed whatever was the closest thing for her to grab. Shaking hands with the woman, she noticed the palms were damp, as if she was sweating. Was it her normal disposition, nerves, or something else? She couldn’t tell just yet.

“Ms. McBride, thank you for seeing us on short notice. Nadia Delvino told us you would see us.” Diesel advised the woman, wiping her hands on her jeans when she pulled her hand back.

“Ah, yes. Ms. Delvino and a few of her officers have been looking for Katrina. I don’t know where the hell that kid is. She’s been a pain in the ass since the day she got here.”

“How so?” Pratt asked, studying the woman, like Diesel, not liking what she saw.

“Not following rules. Staying up late, talking back, refusing to help with the chores around the home. Had a few calls about her missing classes, things like that,” McBride huffed, as she righted her shirt and jacket.

Diesel couldn’t help but look over at Sgt. Brocard who quirked an eyebrow at the movements. It was like the woman was nervous. They knew she didn’t live there, so why were her clothes messed up how they were? Diesel pulled out her phone and sent Pratt a text:

‘Yo, check out the way she’s righting her clothes. Is it just me who’s suspicious of this twit or are your alarms going off too?’

When Diesel looked over at Pratt as she pulled out her phone and read the text, she caught Pratt’s shake of her head before she tilted her head to the side, truly studying the woman. Yep, Pratt was about to ask something that would set McBride on edge.

“What about Katrina’s boyfriend? Isn’t he a resident here?” Sgt. Brocard asked, trying to head it off just a little bit longer.

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