Detective Orr and Billy Grecko calmed her down as Sanchez left the room. When he came back, Lisa's sobs had trickled down. "I called the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department," he said. "A missing-persons report was filed on a Debbie Martinez almost two weeks ago by her husband. They're suspecting foul play."
"Is the husband a suspect?" Detective Orr asked.
"They wouldn't tell me," Detective Sanchez said, sitting down in front of Lisa. He was an intense man, with black hair and a large, bulbous nose set square in the middle of his face. He looked at Lisa. "They may want to talk with you, though."
Lisa nodded. She felt a sudden sense of relief that her story was being verified. She still felt bad about everything that had happened, but she felt a sense of vindication that the authorities were taking her seriously. They were already looking for Debbie, and she would do anything possible to speed up the investigation. "I'll talk to them," she said. "Did you tell them that Debbie's probably dead?"
"1 told her she might be the victim of a homicide and that we were talking to a potential witness," Detective Sanchez said. He traded a glance with On. "Why don't you tell us the rest?"
Lisa tried to wrap it up without crying too much. She only broke down twice-once when she told them what she had done ("I… I sold that baby and her mother for my own life!" she sobbed), the second time when she broke free and escaped. Both detectives nodded sympathetically and took notes. They asked for physical descriptions of Al, Animal, and Caleb. Lisa provided that and more. "When Debbie came in, she referred to Caleb as Tim," she said, looking at them with watery eyes. "Tim Murray. I didn't get Al's last name. And Animal, she called him Jeff."
Detective On jotted this down. "hey took you to your bank, right?"
Lisa nodded.
"Do you remember which teller you spoke to?"
Lisa shook her head. "I don't remember her name. She was little… black hair maybe."
'hat's okay," Detective On said. "I'm sure once you see her you'll remember."
When Lisa was finished, they asked her to start over and tell them the story again, right from the beginning. Lisa protested. "I've already told you twice!" she exclaimed to Orr.
"We just want to hear it one more time," Detective On urged. "You might remember something else."
Lisa didn't want to live through the nightmare again by repeating it. She looked up at William Grecko, who nodded. "It's okay," he said. "One last time."
So she relived the nightmare again. Nothing new was revealed in the narrative. Detective On nodded when she finished, then glanced at his partner. "Would you be adverse to taking a ride with us up to Big Bear?"
*Big Bear?" Lisa asked, curious. "Why Big Bear?"
"Debbie Martinez and her husband Neal have a cabin there," Detective Sanchez said. "That where this Tim Murray guy took you-Big Bear, that is. We're hoping you might be able to recognize the cabin they took you to."
Lisa felt her stomach revolve in her abdomen. "1 don't want to go back there," she said, her throat drying up.
"We'll be there with you," Detective Orr said gentry. "It'll be okay.'
"I… I don't know if I can recognize it." Lisa's heart was pounding. Her hands were shaking. As much as she wanted to help the police catch these bastards, she did not want to go back to that house. "I mean, Tim had me blindfolded during the drive. And… when they carried me out to the van to… to get Alicia and Mandy-" She choked back a sob. "-they had me blindfolded. They had me blindfolded all the way to Garden Grove."
%et's just try, okay?" Detective Orr asked.
Lisa took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. She felt so nervous and scared. What if they re back there, waiting for me? — They'll find out," she said, hearing her voice crack. "They'll find out I told you and then… then they'll-:"
Detective Orr moved to her side of the table. He took her hand. His voice was soft and soothing. "You'll be under our protection. Nobody will see you. We'll ride up in an unmarked car with tinted windows. Nobody will see you in the car. You won't even have to get-out."
Lisa was looking down at the scarred table. "1 don't know," she said, her voice cracking.
"Lisa Miller is afraid that the people who did this to her will come after her and her husband," William Grecko said, clearing his throat." They stole her purse, her identification, her credit cards. She's afraid they'll track her down." "
"You'll be under our protection the whole way," Detective Orr said, his voice urging but gentle. "Just a quick trip up, we'll whisk you in to the San Bernardino Sheriff's Station to talk with some people there, then we'll drive you by the Martinez cabin. We'll cruise around the surrounding area. If anything seems remotely familiar to you, tell us."
"But I didn't see anything!" Lisa protested. Her eyes were filling with tears again.
"It could be anything," Detective Sanchez said. "Sounds you may have heard. The sound of the tires on asphalt or a dirt road maybe.'Iurns you may have made. All that can help in determining the location of the cabin."
"Debbie said that the cabin we were in… where Tim had us… prisoner… was the closest one to them," Lisa said, looking up at Detective On.
"Apparently, the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department talked to the residents nearby," Detective Orr said, looking from Lisa to William. "They didn't get anywhere." He leaned forward, the urgency clear on his face. "Please, Mrs. Miller."
Lisa saw the look on Detective Orr's face. He was serious. She looked up at William Grecko, who nodded. Trembling, Lisa turned to the detective and nodded. "Okay." She sniffled. "Okay."
"I'd like to accompany my client," William Grecko said.
"You can come," Detective Orr said, rising from his seat. He motioned to Detective Sanchez. "We're on! Let's go."
They made the drive up in two hours. Lisa sat in the backseat of a blue sedan with William Grecko. Detective Off drove, while Sanchez rode in the front passenger seat. Brad hadn't wanted her to go. He had protested as they were led down corridors to the parking lot outside. She hadn't wanted to go either, but she didn't know what else to do. Fortunately, William had calmed them both down, saying he would take care of everything. Then he had turned to Detective Orr and told him in no uncertain terms that when they arrived back in Orange County he was having Brad and Lisa whisked out of the state to a safe house for their protection. "1 don't know if you can do that; Detective Orr had said.
"Lisa is a victim," William Grecko had replied. "She is not a suspect, nor is she officially a witness to a homicide. She saw some pretty horrible things and she herself was the victim of a kidnapping, but that's all you have. In fact, you have no physical proof that Debbie Martinez is dead yet, and I hardly think that the Orange County Sheriff's Department is going to place my client in protective custody until you find the men responsible for Lisa's abduction and attempted murder."
"Don't give me any of that-" Detective On looked pissed.
But William had remained firm. He'd raised his hand, his features stern. "Will you guarantee that my clients receive twenty-four-hour-a-day protective custody, starting right now?"
"I can't commit to that and you know it And besides, I don't have the authority to-"
"'hen until you do, you deal with me and my rules" Lisa and Brad had watched the exchange with a sense of numb detachment. Lisa felt her confidence in William Grecko's abilities as an attorney blossom; previously, she hadn't had much regard for him, but now she could see why he was one of the most sought-after criminal defense lawyers in Orange County. "You need to talk to Lisa, fine. You give me twenty-four-hour notice and I will make sure that she is available to you here in Orange County. Until then, as long as the perpetrators who committed these crimes are free, Lisa and Brad are in danger. This means they will be under my protection. My protection, my rules."