Page 91 of Forged in Steele

“Be that way. Don’t tell us your name and rack up the fines,” Jared said. “But tell us more about your work with Holloway.”

She fired a testy look his way. “If I won’t give you my name without a deal, why do you think I’m going to turn on Holloway without one?”

“There’s no deal to be had here when you’re being uncooperative,” he said. “The best we can do if you decide to talk is tell the DA you helped in our investigation into the missing baby.”

“Don’t play me for a fool,” she said. “As a social worker, I saw deals go down all the time when the DA wanted something. A missing baby is something you want help with. So get me that deal.”

She sounded convincing, but was she really a social worker?

“If I do,” Jared said. “You have information that can help find the child?”

“I have information on Holloway. You’ll have to decide if it will help your investigation.”

“What kind of woman are you?” Bristol had enough of this woman’s behavior and jumped to her feet, planting her hands on the table. “So callous about this baby’s life. You’re a social worker, for goodness sake. A job that exists to help others.”

“Judge me all you want.” Pam slunk down in her chair. “Get me a deal or you get no information.”

Jared cast the woman a scornful look and went to the door to hold it open for Bristol.

Anger surged through her body, and she marched out. She stopped to look at the deputy on duty. “Take her back to her cell. She’s of no use to us.”

“Wait,” Pam called out.

Bristol turned back to the doorway.

Pam sighed and dropped her arms to her sides. “Fine. It’s Pam Vogel.” She crossed her arms again and added her birthdate.

Bristol wouldn’t show the woman how relieved she was to get this information so she schooled her expression. “Give us a minute.”

She and Jared exited the room and left the deputy in charge of Pam. They went to the booking computer to look up Pam’s name.

Bristol performed the search and stood back as the computer churned. She started sweating as time was disappearing so rapidly and there was nothing they’d been able to do to help Luna.

“C’mon. C’mon. C’mon.” She pounded the top of the monitor, and Pam’s record finally populated. “No priors. Lives in an apartment in Vancouver. Her DMV record said she didn’t lie about recently moving here.”

“I’ll call Reed and ask him to get a warrant to search her apartment.” Jared grabbed the office phone and made his request. “If you get the warrant before we finish up here, conduct the search the minute it comes in.”

They returned to the interview room and took the same seats across from Pam.

She sat up in her chair. “Well? What’s going on?”

“We were just confirming you were who you said you were and that you didn’t have a prior record.” Something Bristol already suspected because her prints hadn’t returned a match, but there could always be a glitch in the print database so best to confirm it.

“Of course I don’t.” She narrowed her eyes. “And I shouldn’t be here now. What I did wasn’t illegal. I just asked people questions and filled in a form.”

“Ah, yes,” Bristol said. “But you impersonated a social worker from Multnomah County, and that’s a criminal offense.”

“But Iama social worker.” She sat forward and planted her hands on the table.

“Not in Multnomah County,” Jared said. “But we’ll be glad to speak to the DA on your behalf if you’ll give us additional information about Holloway.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything you know.”

“I first met him on a dating app after I moved here.” She rolled her eyes. “Cliché, I know. Turns out he was two-timing me with his assistant, but we hit it off as friends so kept in touch. One day he asked if I wanted to make some extra money working for him. All I had to do was assess prospective parents.”

“Besides the questionnaire, what did he want to know?” Bristol asked.

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