Tess sat in the boardroom for the editorial meeting and realized she was going to be very busy for the next weeks and months while the case was prosecuted.
"Why don't you tell us what you know about potential victims who might fit the Jane Doe."
"Sure," Tess said.
Tess gave a list of the missing girls in the four neighboring states that were in the correct age range and hair color of the victim recently discovered in the forests near Bellingham. Given the timing of the girl's death, which was estimated to be at least six months or more based on the state of the remains, it was likely Tracy Kemp.
"I interviewed Tracy Kemp's mother and brother yesterday. She wasn't really emotionally capable of speaking with me, but the brother, Alex, was helpful. He said that Tracy had met some young man who promised her work as a model for a children's clothing catalog before she disappeared. It's a common way of luring young girls. They hang around bus stations or the mall looking for girls who are alone or look troubled in some way and befriend them, tell them how pretty they are and how they'd be perfect for movies or modeling. When the girls go along with them, they're drugged and raped, sold directly into the circuit or are kept and used. They set them up in really seedy motels and hotels and then the men come in one after the other. The girls are beaten and kept drugged so they can't or won't escape."
"Evil bastards," Norm Howard said across from Tess. "I hope the whole bunch of them are put in prison for life."
There were murmurs of agreement around the table.
After the meeting, Tess sat down at her desk and started working on her list of people to contact. It was then she saw Craig come into the newsroom, a camera slung around his neck, his camera case backpack on his back. He had on sunglasses and looked like he'd just come back from a shoot. She felt bad for him. It had been weeks since Rachel had left him, and he'd taken some time off from work. This was his first full week back and he was gradually becoming more sociable. At least, as sociable as he had ever been before he met Rachel.
She got up from her desk and went over to his. "Hey, Craig. How are you?"
He glanced up at her and shrugged as he removed a lens from his camera and put it in a compartment in his backpack. "I'm okay."
"Have you heard from Rachel?"
He glanced up at her quickly and then looked away. "If I had, I wouldn't tell anyone. She's hiding. She doesn't want to be found."
"Do you know if she's okay?"
He shook his head. "Not saying either way."
"I take that as you have heard from her and she's fine," Tess said.
"No," he said and finally turned to face Tess. "Don't take it as that. She hasn't contacted me. She never contacted me. She just up and left without a word. I don't know if she's alive or dead."
"I'm sorry," Tess said. "I hoped you knew. It's just that I'm worried about her."
"You don't think I'm worried about her? And Sadie?" He shook his head. "I feel sick to death every day that Sadie was raped by those men. I feel sick to death every day that I didn't go with her when she asked me, but it's too late now. She deleted her Facebook and Instagram pages. I have no idea where she is, and she hasn't told me."
He turned away and Tess could tell by the emotion in his voice that he was still completely broken by what happened. She didn't blame him. He was in love with Rachel and saw his future as her husband and Sadie's adoptive father. That was all gone in one day and now, he was alone again and had no idea if she was alive or dead or if he would ever see her again.
He blamed himself for not going with her when she asked, but he hadn't understood what was happening. She hadn't told him the truth, probably to protect him from what happened.
Tess sat on the chair beside Craig's desk.
"You couldn't have known," she said and reached out to squeeze Craig's arm. "She didn't tell you. How could you know?"
He shook his head and sighed heavily. "I was a coward. I couldn't imagine leaving everything and starting over -- especially when I had an exhibition coming up." He turned to look in Tess's eyes, and she could see the pain in them. "She had to face it alone."
"She had Mickey," Tess said. "Mickey helped her."
"It should have been me," he said, his jaw firm. "It should have been me who helped rescue Sadie and killed those men. I would be with her and Sadie now wherever they are, and she wouldn't be alone. How is she surviving? What is she doing for money? Where are they staying?" He stared off in the distance, blinking like he was fighting off tears. "The money we had in our joint account is all gone, but it couldn't have lasted very long. She'd have to pay for hotel rooms unless they slept in the car or van. I read they took a van."
Tess nodded. "Yes. According to Mickey, they took her father's van and went south." Tess shrugged and made a face of helplessness. "She's a survivor, Craig. She survived abuse and ran away from home and started over."
"But she has Sadie now," Craig said. "Even if she gets a job, what will happen to Sadie? She should be in school. How could she go to school? Rachel took her out of school. She'll be a year behind..."
Poor Craig was clearly distraught about Sadie and Rachel, surviving on their own -- maybe in Mexico.
She reached out once more and laid her hand on Craig's arm. "I'm sure if she was in real trouble that she'd contact someone. Maybe her foster family. Maybe you. Keep hopeful."
She knew that was cold comfort for Craig, but what else could she say?
"If you need someone to talk to, give me a call. We could go for lunch or for a drink."
He turned back, his eyes bloodshot. "Thanks, Tess. I know you're trying to help, but there's nothing any of us can do. It's up to Rachel, now. I’m taking a few days off, to work on a project. I won’t be in for a while."
She nodded and got up, slipping her arm around Craig's shoulder and giving him a brief and awkward but heartfelt hug.
“Okay, take care. If you need someone to talk to, you can always call me.”
Then she went back to her own desk, her stomach in a knot at how upset Craig was.
She hoped Rachel and Sadie were doing okay, wherever they were.
But she didn't hold out much hope.