Page 63 of Trust No One

“Cuff him. We’ll take him and drop him off at a police station. This young woman can tell them what he tried to do.”

Dev wiped down the wallet carefully, then slid it into Kingsley’s pocket. As he pulled out a flex cuff, he heard the sound of raucous male voices. A group of eight or nine teens appeared, three of them holding basketballs. As they reached the hard surface, the young men with the basketballs began dribbling them. Passing the balls from one guy to another.

“No time to cuff him and load him up,” Mel said. One of Kingsley’s legs twitched, and Mel grabbed the woman’s hand as she watched the group of boys approach. “Let’s get out of here before Kingsley wakes up and sees us,” Mel said.

They ran to their rental car and slid inside. As Dev drove away, Mel glanced at the basketball court. Kingsley was on his hands and knees, his head almost touching the ground.

“Faster,” she told Dev. “Before he turns around and sees our car.”

Dev accelerated. The tires squealed as he turned the corner, and the park disappeared from view.

“What’s your name?” Mel asked, turning to look at the frightened young woman.

“Graciella,” she said, her breath hitching.

“Where do you want to go, Graciella,” Mel asked.

“I was trying to get to Chicago,” she said. “My sister lives there. The money he was supposed to pay me was the rest of what I needed for the bus.”

“Forget the bus,” Mel said. “We’re going to put you on a train. That’ll get you to Chicago faster.” And more safely. Buses had to make occasional stops, and if Kingsley knew she was on a bus, he could follow it.

He wouldn’t be able to catch up with a train.

Mel opened her wallet and took out all the cash she had, about a hundred dollars. “Take this. We’ll drop you at the train station. You need to get on the first train to Chicago. I don’t want to give that guy time to find you.”

“Don’t worry,” the woman said with a shudder. “I don’t want to stick around, either.”

“Grab my wallet,” Dev told Mel. He tapped his right front pocket.

Mel dug her fingers into the pocket of his jeans, and the heat of Dev’s thigh beneath the pads of her fingers made her heart skip a beat. She tugged on his wallet hard and finally the warm leather slid out of his pocket.

“Give her whatever cash I have,” he said.

Mel found another two hundred dollars in Dev’s wallet and turned to hand it to Graciella.”

The woman’s mouth quivered. “Gracias,” she said. “You saved my life, now you’re giving me money to go to my sister. How can I repay you?”

“You can repay us by getting safely to your sister’s house,” Mel said. “And by not telling anyone what happened here.” She smiled. “Except your sister. You can tell her. As long as you swear her to secrecy.”

Mel grabbed her phone and typed the train station into her mapping app. A few moments later the route appeared on the screen. “Fifteen minutes away,” she told Dev.

Fourteen minutes later, they pulled up in front of the train station. Mel turned to Graciella. “Once you buy your ticket, stay with the crowds,” she said. “Get some food to take with you and get on the train as quickly as you can. Good luck.”

“I don’t know how to thank you,” Graciella said. “You saved my life. If not for you, I’d be dead on that basketball court.”

“Getting to your sister’s safely will be thanks enough. Do you have a phone?”

Graciella nodded, patting her pocket. “I do.”

“Good. May we have your number? In case we need to talk to you?”

The young woman nodded and rattled off a string of numbers.

“Thanks,” Mel said. “I’ll text my number to you, in case you need to talk to me. Have a safe trip.”

“What are your names?” Graciella asked. “So I can pray for you.”

Mel glanced at Dev, and he gave a tight nod. “I’m Mel, and this is Dev,” she said. “Be careful and stay safe.”

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