WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:09.839 Chapter eighteen, Freedom present. She cracks one eye open and surveys her surroundings. 2 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:13.439 She has no idea where she is. This is a second morning in 3 00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:17.879 a row. She's woken up in a strange place. Using just the one 4 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:23.079 eye, Freedom looks around, groaning. It hurts to look, It hurts 5 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:27.120 to move at all, and her head is pounding. As she takes in 6 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:31.399 the bedside table next door with the black alarm, clock, phone, and 7 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:36.960 bible. She suddenly remembers she is in a motel. She feels around underneath 8 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:41.960 the sheet. She still has all her clothes on. She feels something underneath 9 00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:47.000 her stomach. Reaching down, she retrieves her cell phone. It is almost 10 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:53.200 dead. Flipping onto her back, she moans with the effort. Freedom rubs 11 00:00:53.240 --> 00:00:57.200 her eyes and tries to remember the events of the night before. It all 12 00:00:57.240 --> 00:01:02.479 comes back to her in one whoosh. Glasses, the drinks the Native American 13 00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:07.879 assholes. As if on cue, Her left middle finger starts to throb. 14 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:11.400 She holds it in front of her face and notices it has an ace bandage 15 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:17.640 wrapped around it. Freedom next remembers Glasses pushing that guy up against the wall 16 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:22.319 at the bar and telling him he was a federal marshal. She can't recall 17 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:26.280 anything else. Freedom shuts her eyes and tries to remember what happened after that, 18 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:32.079 but after a few minutes she gives up. She assumes she is in 19 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:36.959 Glass's motel room. She recognizes it as the Super eight and New Kingman. 20 00:01:37.640 --> 00:01:42.560 There aren't too many other places to stay around these parts. Glasses is gone 21 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:47.280 and Freedom is alone. Pulling the covers away from her, she swings her 22 00:01:47.319 --> 00:01:51.560 legs over the side of the bed and shuffles over to the bathroom sink that 23 00:01:51.719 --> 00:01:55.760 is against the far wall of the motel room, her head pounding worse with 24 00:01:55.840 --> 00:02:00.840 every single step. On the sinc counter, she finds a note scrawled on 25 00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:07.000 hotel paper and barely legible handwriting, had to go hope you are okay. 26 00:02:07.080 --> 00:02:13.840 The note is not signed. Freedom takes a shower using the motel issued soap, 27 00:02:13.879 --> 00:02:17.240 shampoo, and conditioner. She dries off, toweling her hair, and 28 00:02:17.319 --> 00:02:22.960 puts on her clothes from the night before. They smell like stale cigarette smoke. 29 00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:27.639 She's beginning to feel a little better. She uses the yellow pages that 30 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:30.599 are in the nightstand table to look up the number for a cab company. 31 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:36.680 Only one of two in the Kingman area. She orders a cab for herself 32 00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:40.000 and goes to wait for it in the lobby of the motel. She grabs 33 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:44.520 her purse that is neatly placed on the lone chair on the way out the 34 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:50.280 door. Once inside the motel lobby, she makes herself a cup of coffee 35 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:53.719 from the coffee pot that is next to the check in desk. Alongside the 36 00:02:53.719 --> 00:03:00.240 coffee pot is a plastic sea through breadbin in which sits one plain bagel and 37 00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:07.719 one small blueberry muffin wrapped and plastic shrink wrap some Continental breakfast. Freedom thinks. 38 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:12.199 Sitting down in one of the vinyl chairs along the wall, she picks 39 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:15.719 up a magazine and flips through the pages, sighing as she crosses and uncrosses 40 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:22.479 her legs. The fat Native American woman behind the desk ignores Freedom and turns 41 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:27.840 her gaze past her to watch the television against the other wall. Jerry Springer 42 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:31.120 is on, and the fat Native American clerk laughs every time one of the 43 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:37.479 guests stands up to threaten another one. Outside the front door, she sees 44 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:42.000 the yellow taxi pull up. Freedom tosses the magazine on to the table. 45 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:46.479 On her way out, it slides on top of the other magazines and falls 46 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:51.120 to the floor. She hears the Native American clerk her rumph as she bangs 47 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:54.560 out the door. Freedom slides into the taxi and gives her address to the 48 00:03:54.680 --> 00:04:00.360 driver. She puts in her headphones and listens to music on her phone until 49 00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:06.199 it dies about ten miles outside of town. Arriving home, Freedom flings a 50 00:04:06.280 --> 00:04:12.360 wad of cash at the driver and hastily exits the cab. Lydia and A 51 00:04:12.520 --> 00:04:15.160 two are playing with the hose in the front yard. They both stop and 52 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:19.480 look up at her as she walks toward the door of the trailer. Where 53 00:04:19.480 --> 00:04:24.920 have you been? Lydia asks, hands on hips. The hose she let 54 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:29.120 slide out of her hands emits a trickle of water on the desert ground. 55 00:04:30.439 --> 00:04:34.279 Yeah, where have you been? A two echoes his sister, also placing 56 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:40.879 his hands on his hips. What cituya? Freedom asked them, picking up 57 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:45.120 the hose and flinging it to the side out of her path. Mind your 58 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:48.959 own business, she finishes, opening the door to the trailer as the kids 59 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:55.079 go running after the hose. Freedom enters the living room, throws her perts 60 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:58.680 on the couch, and turns left. Into the kitchen to find something to 61 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:03.439 eat. Starving and could use a drink. Hannah's in the kitchen feeding the 62 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:09.079 baby. She looks up when Freedom comes in. Without a word. Freedom 63 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:13.399 opens the refrigerator door, grabs a beer and a piece of celery, and 64 00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:17.160 pops the top on the beer. She swigs down a few gulps, and 65 00:05:17.319 --> 00:05:21.240 watching Hannah out of the corner of her eye, sets down the beer and 66 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:27.319 bites into the celery stalk. It makes a loud, crunching noise when she 67 00:05:27.399 --> 00:05:33.040 does. Hello, she says to Hannah in between bites. Freedom picks up 68 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:38.519 the beer again and pushes the bottle to her lips. When Hannah doesn't respond, 69 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:43.920 Freedom puts the bear down again. What what is it with everybody? 70 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:48.639 She asks? Where were you last night? Hannah asked, wiping baby food 71 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:53.920 from Summer's mouth. She lets out a little squeal and claps her hands. 72 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:58.639 Freedom waves at the baby and smiles back at her. She is still waving 73 00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:02.680 when Hannah speaks up again, this time more fervently. Where were you? 74 00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:09.360 Freedom jumps up to sit on the counter and crosses her legs. I was 75 00:06:09.399 --> 00:06:14.839 out where, I don't know, I barely remember. Had a lot of 76 00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:19.079 drinks. She tips the beer bottle towards Hannah again. Besides, since when 77 00:06:19.079 --> 00:06:25.279 do you care where I go? Were you at the Sundowner saloon? Hannah 78 00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:30.480 asked, turning toward Freedom, placing the baby spoon on the counter. Summer 79 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:33.600 squeals again, this time out of frustration, and leans toward the spoon as 80 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:39.079 if to grab it. Freedom picks up the baby spoon and, dunking it 81 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:43.959 in the food, reaches over Hannah and feeds it to Summer. Summer gurgles 82 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:47.120 happily and moving her arms in circles, throws a spoon down, where it 83 00:06:47.160 --> 00:06:54.399 clatters on the floor. Yeah, I was how come, Freedom, still 84 00:06:54.439 --> 00:06:58.399 focusing on the baby, puts her hands over her face and then draws them 85 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:02.279 away, making a surprise his face when she does. She repeats this two 86 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:09.519 more times. Summer squeals and laughs with delight. Hannah turns towards Summer and 87 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:15.120 speaks, again, who were you with this regular from the truck stop? 88 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:19.360 Guy never takes off his sunglasses, so I call him glasses Pretty clever, 89 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:27.680 hunh Were you involved in a fight? Hannah's look as serious now? Yeah, 90 00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:31.000 some asshole wallapies with tiny dicks thought it would be funny to try to 91 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:35.360 fuck with me? Glasses beat him up? Did he say he was a 92 00:07:35.399 --> 00:07:43.120 federal marshal? Hannah is directing all of her attention toward Freedom. Freedom uses 93 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:47.319 finishing the celery stick. Yeah, some kind of cop, I think. 94 00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:55.399 Do we have any twinkies? Vegetables ain't ideal for a hangover. Hannah grabs 95 00:07:55.439 --> 00:07:59.800 Freedom's arm and shakes it. Listen to me, Freedom, did he say 96 00:07:59.839 --> 00:08:05.480 he was a cop or a federal marshal? Freedom shakes her arm free of 97 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:11.279 Hannah's grasp a federal marshal? Okay man, Freedom hoops off the counter. 98 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:18.199 How often does he come around? Hannah asks about once a year. He's 99 00:08:18.199 --> 00:08:22.360 a really nice guy. Just hangs out at the truck stop. You know, 100 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:28.519 eats stays in New Kingman. Why the twenty? Questions? Hannah nods, 101 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:33.039 wringing her hands nervously. Summer starts to whimper because no one is paying 102 00:08:33.080 --> 00:08:37.759 any attention to her. She beats her hands on the baby tray table as 103 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:43.120 tears start to wallop in her eyes, her cheeks flush red. Instead of 104 00:08:43.159 --> 00:08:48.200 responding, Hannah squeezes around the counter and disappears into the back of the trailer, 105 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:52.320 toward Freedom's room. As she walks, she calls over her shoulder, 106 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:56.960 where did you get this? Freedom cranes her neck around to the right and 107 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:01.759 catches sight of the teddy bear Hannah is holding at arm's length. She reaches 108 00:09:01.799 --> 00:09:05.399 for her beer on the counter, raises it to her lips, and drains 109 00:09:05.480 --> 00:09:11.759 the rest of it in one gulp. Oh, that thing. Niewa gave 110 00:09:11.799 --> 00:09:16.679 it to me. She bought it at the church rummage sale. Freaky huh. 111 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:20.120 Hannah turns the bear around to study it, cocking her head to the 112 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:26.159 side, as if reminiscing this used to be your bear, you know. 113 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:33.320 Freedom turns back around. It did. Harry said it belonged to that other 114 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:39.559 Hualapai family that moved. I gave it to them. Hannah responds, it 115 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:43.720 was yours a long time ago. Harry doesn't remember. Why did you give 116 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:50.279 it to them? Hannah hesitates, thinking I thought you didn't need it. 117 00:09:50.919 --> 00:09:54.039 You didn't need to remember. I wanted you to start your life fresh here. 118 00:09:56.080 --> 00:10:01.559 Freedom is confused. You mean when you adopted me, yes, Hannah 119 00:10:01.559 --> 00:10:05.159 responds, You have always told me I was adopted, but you have never 120 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:11.519 told me where I came from. Hannah opens a small linen closet that is 121 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:15.279 in the hallway next to Freedom's bedroom, and places the bear on the top 122 00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:20.120 shelf, nestled among the sheets. You do not need to know, But 123 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:26.720 what if I want to know? Freedom is adamant now some day, Hannah 124 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:30.840 says, in a manner that tells Freedom she is through talking about the matter. 125 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:35.600 You always say that some day, Why not? Now I'm old enough. 126 00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:41.559 Hannah's mouth moves into a straight line, and she walks across the living 127 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:46.639 room to rejoin the baby. She sits down and spoons more baby food into 128 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:52.200 her mouth. Some day you will know. Freedom grabs her purse from the 129 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:56.720 couch and heads toward the front door. She needs to get out, to 130 00:10:56.759 --> 00:11:01.799 go somewhere to think. That's fine. Then she hisses at Hannah, opening 131 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:07.120 the front door and placing a foot halfway down on the step. Don't tell 132 00:11:07.159 --> 00:11:11.559 me I'm leaving, and I have no idea why you don't want me to 133 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:16.080 know. With that, Freedom barges out the door. She never hears Hannah 134 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:22.720 as she replies quietly, because what you want to know can hurt you. 135 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:33.799 Chapter nineteen, Jessica present from the closet, She hears her father speaking to 136 00:11:33.879 --> 00:11:37.600 the men in hushed tones. She is amazed she can hear them as far 137 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:41.559 away as they are out by the pool, but with the force of her 138 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:46.080 body, she is able to scoot her chair toward the hallway. After five 139 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:48.399 minutes of this, she has moved enough to be able to see around the 140 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:52.879 doorway of the closet, and Jessica realizes the back door has been left wide 141 00:11:52.879 --> 00:12:00.440 open. She sits still and listens. Jessica didn't expect her father to come 142 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:03.759 home. Her mother had made it sound like he had taken off. Finally, 143 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:09.360 she was constantly getting calls from her mother. If Lisa Walker was having 144 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:15.080 a panic attack, she called Jessica. If Lisa Walker was set with her 145 00:12:15.080 --> 00:12:18.960 father, she called Jessica. And once a month or so, Lisa Walker 146 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.120 called Jessica to report that her father was missing, that he was definitely, 147 00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:28.799 without a doubt, gone for good. This time. He never was, 148 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:35.440 but Jessica had to admit to herself that she was also surprised Martin Walker had 149 00:12:35.480 --> 00:12:39.120 never left one morning and never come back. She would have felt bad for 150 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:43.639 her mom, but they both would have been better off. Martin Walker was 151 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:48.759 nothing but trouble, a liar, a low life, a bottom feeder, 152 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:54.200 and a criminal. Jessica was sure of it. How else did Jessica explain 153 00:12:54.279 --> 00:12:58.080 the fact that she had been attacked in her own house, tied up and 154 00:12:58.200 --> 00:13:03.600 assaulted, and her mother had been killed. Her mother had been killed. 155 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:09.960 Jessica had been so pumped up with adrenaline for the past few hours that she 156 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:13.799 hadn't had time to focus on this alarming fact. She was too busy fighting 157 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:18.320 for her life, screaming and trying to break free from her restraints and trying 158 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:24.120 to fight off her attackers that she hadn't even let it sink in. But 159 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:28.360 the minute Jessica had said it out loud to her father, she had known 160 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:33.519 her mother was dead, killed by Mexican thugs, and she was never coming 161 00:13:33.559 --> 00:13:39.159 back. Jessica was alone. Her father was worthless if he even stayed alive. 162 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:45.360 As Jessica listens to her father beg and plead with the men, she 163 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:50.480 starts to cry again silently. She never really liked her mother all that much, 164 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:56.519 but she never wanted her to die, not like that, not tortured 165 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:01.759 and shot in the head by murderous street rats. This was all Martin's fault. 166 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:05.720 If they want to kill him, they should just go ahead and do 167 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:09.759 it, Jessica thinks, hopefully she will be spared. She can't think of 168 00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:13.799 any reason why they would want to come after her. She has no money, 169 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:20.519 nothing they want. Jessica is sure it's Martin they are after. How 170 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:24.360 ironic that she was summoned home on the day they decided to find him. 171 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:31.639 She thinks about how they had called her Nicole. Who is Nicole, she 172 00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:35.919 wonders, and why do they think I'm her? She knew no Nicole's growing 173 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:41.559 up, and to her recollection, her parents had never mentioned the name before. 174 00:14:41.559 --> 00:14:46.559 Maybe the Nicole they wanted was someone totally different than her, and the 175 00:14:46.679 --> 00:14:52.000 thugs had just made a mistake. Maybe this was all just a huge misunderstanding. 176 00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:56.000 Maybe Martin was clearing that up right now. As much as she wished 177 00:14:56.000 --> 00:15:03.000 it's so, Jessica strongly doubted it. Jessica listens as her father's voice grows 178 00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:07.600 louder, more insistent. She cannot make out the words. All she hears 179 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:13.879 is garbled sounds. She leans forward in the chair, thrusting her torso forward 180 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:16.960 through the closet door to hear better, but she ends up tipping forward, 181 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:22.919 the chair crashing down to the floor with Jessica landing hard on her side. 182 00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:28.240 Her cheek smashes into the wood, catching the bruise from the man's punch that 183 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:35.279 is forming rocks solid over her eye. Ow she cries, wincing in pain. 184 00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:39.039 She is on the ground with her head facing toward the back door, 185 00:15:39.320 --> 00:15:43.360 which she can clearly see in front of her, albeit at a ninety degree 186 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:48.399 angle. Suddenly, one of the men's bodies blocks the sunlight streaming into the 187 00:15:48.440 --> 00:15:52.879 hallway as he stands in the middle of the doorway on the outside. He 188 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:58.440 is yelling at his partner, motioning with him to come toward him. Jessica 189 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:02.080 tries to scoot the chair back out of the hallway, but because of her 190 00:16:02.120 --> 00:16:07.120 prone position, she cannot. She sees the man turn around inside the doorway 191 00:16:07.159 --> 00:16:11.639 and look down. He catches sight of Jessica lying on the floor, still 192 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:18.080 tied to the chair. Oh, Jessica says, again, trying even harder 193 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:22.480 to scoot the chair back into the closet. No, she screams, as 194 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:26.679 the man comes toward her, running shouting to his accomplice as he runs. 195 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:32.840 He reaches Jessica and in one swift motion, picks her chair off the ground, 196 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:37.279 slamming it right side up. And hard. Jessica's headspins and she cries 197 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:42.159 out again. The man rears back his hand and slaps her across the face. 198 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:51.039 Don't fucking move. His thick accent is punctuated by the harshness of his 199 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:56.159 words. Jessica nods, biting her lip to try to keep from crying again. 200 00:16:56.840 --> 00:17:00.759 The tears come anyway, and roll down her cheeks before her lap. 201 00:17:02.200 --> 00:17:06.319 The man becomes distracted by the other man's voice, and he leaves the closet 202 00:17:06.359 --> 00:17:11.799 as swiftly as he came in. Jessica sees the second man dragging her father 203 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:15.200 by his arms, tied behind his back, into the kitchen. There, 204 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:21.039 the first man helps the second tie her father to a chair again. Martin 205 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:25.240 turns his head to the left to look at Jessica helplessly, then turns back 206 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:32.599 toward his captors. Please don't hurt my daughter, Martin begs, which daughter. 207 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:36.440 The first man says, taking out a cell phone and jabbing at the 208 00:17:36.519 --> 00:17:41.839 keys on its face. Jessica, Please don't hurt Jessica, Martin replies. 209 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:48.039 The man ignores Martin and keeps punching numbers into the cell phone. He turns 210 00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:52.519 away from him and paces back and forth in the kitchen, the second criminal 211 00:17:52.599 --> 00:17:57.039 stands next to Martin, arms crossed, the gun hanging down under his arm 212 00:17:57.079 --> 00:18:03.480 at his side. He stares at Jessica. Jessica begins to grow uncomfortable with 213 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:08.319 his stare and cries out to her father Dad. She begins until the second 214 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:14.440 man puts his forefinger up against the bandana covering his mouth. He waves the 215 00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:18.079 gun around in a circle. The first man pulls the phone down from his 216 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:22.799 ear and cries out to Jessica to shut up or I'll kill you. He 217 00:18:22.839 --> 00:18:27.559 then puts the phone back up against his ear. He begins speaking in rapid 218 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:33.119 fire Spanish. Jessica whimpers. Martin looks over to his daughter and speaks, 219 00:18:34.200 --> 00:18:38.160 Jessica, don't talk. They'll kill us. I'll get us out of here. 220 00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:42.279 What did you do, Dad? Why do they want to kill us? 221 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:48.359 Jessica is crying again. I don't know, sweetheart, I didn't do 222 00:18:48.440 --> 00:18:52.480 anything. Just be quiet and this will all be over soon, I promise. 223 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:56.839 The second man goes over to the counter to grab the duct tape. 224 00:18:56.319 --> 00:19:02.119 He stretches out a long piece the tape, scratching and creaking as he does. 225 00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:06.960 He tears it off with his teeth and walking over to Jessica, tapes 226 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:11.960 it over her mouth. Jessica rise around in the chair. The first man 227 00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:15.079 ends the call on the phone. I promise you, I can get you 228 00:19:15.079 --> 00:19:21.799 your money. Martin says. How. The man says, flipping the top 229 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:26.319 of the phone open and shut. Where is it? It is with my 230 00:19:26.440 --> 00:19:32.400 other daughter. She is the only one who can access it. Jessica is 231 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:37.799 shocked. Nicole, The man says, where is the other daughter? His 232 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:44.960 accent grows thicker the more anxious he gets. Yes, Nicole, Martin agrees, 233 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:48.000 only I know where she is. You let me live and I will 234 00:19:48.039 --> 00:19:52.279 take you to her. I swear I will take you to her. The 235 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:56.759 first man nods toward the second man at the roll of duct tape in his 236 00:19:56.880 --> 00:20:02.119 hand. You take us to her. You and your daughters live, or 237 00:20:02.200 --> 00:20:07.720 maybe one dies. We will see. The second man stretches out another piece 238 00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:14.240 of duct tape and places it over Martin's mouth. The man laughs diabolically. 239 00:20:15.160 --> 00:20:27.319 Jessica's continuous screams are muffled. Chapter twenty Ryan passed. Ryan hadn't dated much 240 00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:33.039 after his divorce. He was too focused on the job and at the beginning 241 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:37.039 didn't have time. He worked day and night and loved his job. He 242 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:42.119 realized he was a cliche, the gruff, single cop married to his job 243 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:48.119 who drank too much, because for a while there he did. It started 244 00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:51.759 out as a good time, a great time with the other guys on the 245 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:56.599 job. Ryan was in his mid thirties, still felt young, still looked 246 00:20:56.680 --> 00:21:00.880 young. He was the initiator, the instigator. He'd work a twelve hour 247 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:06.240 day and then ask whoever was still lurking round the office if they wanted to 248 00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:11.160 go for a beer for an hour. A beer turned into multiple beers, 249 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:15.000 and those turned into shots, and the hour turned into an all night long 250 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:21.680 every time. Typically on those nights, Ryan would take a girl home with 251 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:26.799 him. He didn't date, but he did screw plenty random beautiful young girls 252 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:32.319 up to four or five nights a week. The guys at work started calling 253 00:21:32.440 --> 00:21:37.880 him the closer because he closed almost every time. They would watch in awe 254 00:21:37.880 --> 00:21:41.599 as Ryan would pick the girls up at the bar, have them gazing up 255 00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:44.960 at him, starry eyed for the rest of the night, and then leave 256 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.480 with him car keys in his left hand, perfect round random girl's ass cheek 257 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:56.559 in the other Ryan found that he could get girls extremely easily back in those 258 00:21:56.720 --> 00:22:00.319 days, it was simple. He just flashed a smile, then he flashed 259 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:06.599 his badge, smile badge, or vice versa. If he felt like mixing 260 00:22:06.599 --> 00:22:10.480 it up a little, all he had to do was talk about the undercover 261 00:22:10.599 --> 00:22:15.960 stings, the dangerous criminals, the high speed chases, and those girls would 262 00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:19.599 get soaking wet. Hell. All he had to say was Federal Marshal, 263 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:26.880 and the chicks wide eyed, breast heaving would drop their panties. Why would 264 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:30.759 Ryan want to date when he could pull all the pussy he ever wanted, 265 00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:34.640 any time, anywhere. He didn't miss Jenny one bit, and he didn't 266 00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:38.880 miss being married. He had his job, He had the boys, and 267 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:45.039 he had the women. Life was good. And then things started to change. 268 00:22:45.640 --> 00:22:49.960 One by one, his buddies started dropping off. One got married, 269 00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:56.240 then another. Another buddy got married for the second time, another for the 270 00:22:56.359 --> 00:23:02.279 third. These were the same guys who swore over Budweisers and shots of Jamison 271 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:07.319 as late nineties pop songs played on the jukebox in the bar that they would 272 00:23:07.400 --> 00:23:12.519 never get married or get married again. No way, not for me, 273 00:23:12.680 --> 00:23:18.160 man, Nope, never again, they'd promise after their breakup or divorce or 274 00:23:18.200 --> 00:23:26.960 annulment but they all did all bit the bullet again. Ryan found himself standing 275 00:23:26.039 --> 00:23:30.640 up in more and more weddings or sitting in the pews watching his friends exchange 276 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:36.599 vows with Donna or Susie or Amanda, and he thought them pathetic and weak. 277 00:23:37.160 --> 00:23:41.880 They were cliches of themselves, and Ryan found that to be unacceptable. 278 00:23:42.599 --> 00:23:47.720 What he also found unacceptable was the fact that there were fewer and fewer of 279 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:52.440 the guys to go out with after work. Years before youth was on their 280 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:56.480 side. Ryan and the guys could drink, smoke, shoot the shit, 281 00:23:56.200 --> 00:24:00.920 and screw women all in one night until the sun came up, and still 282 00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:04.960 show up for work the next day bright eyed and bushy tailed. Those times 283 00:24:06.039 --> 00:24:10.839 were gone. Ryan noticed the years wearing on him. He found he couldn't 284 00:24:10.880 --> 00:24:14.200 perform as well the next day on the job. After drinking all night. 285 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:18.599 He was tired and worn out. He wasn't sleeping. More and more of 286 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:22.079 the guys begged off on the nights out, explaining that they had to get 287 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:26.880 home to their wives, their kids the suburbs. They had to catch the 288 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:32.920 five fifty seven metro train, or needed to beat the horrendous beltway traffic. 289 00:24:33.160 --> 00:24:38.000 Ryan thought they all sounded like pussy whipped losers, so out of a little 290 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:42.079 bit of spite, he would go to the bar anyway. He didn't have 291 00:24:42.119 --> 00:24:47.359 a wife to answer to, any kids, to provide for any traffic to 292 00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:51.599 beat. He was free as a bird and could do whatever he wanted. 293 00:24:52.440 --> 00:24:56.079 So we went to the bar like usual. Only difference was now he was 294 00:24:56.160 --> 00:25:03.839 going to the bar alone. Ryan tried to convince himself that alone and lonely 295 00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:07.839 were two different things, and for a while, for him they were. 296 00:25:07.880 --> 00:25:11.880 For a while, Ryan was content to sit at bars alone, drink, 297 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:18.799 smoke meet women until d C passed the law denying patrons the right to smoke 298 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:22.640 in the bars. Then the women dried up. All of a sudden, 299 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:29.079 It wasn't so easy for Ryan to meet women. These women weren't as interested, 300 00:25:29.319 --> 00:25:33.839 wouldn't give him the time of day, and they were older. They 301 00:25:33.880 --> 00:25:40.160 looked older and acted older, and older women Ryan found were not as impressed 302 00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:45.319 with a smile and a badge or vice versa. These women did not want 303 00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:52.240 to screw some playboy bachelor closer who hung out at bars every night and got 304 00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:56.160 off on the fact that he chased around the dregs of the earth. Criminals 305 00:25:56.240 --> 00:26:02.000 all day. No, these women wanted relations and ships with stable men who 306 00:26:02.039 --> 00:26:06.519 wanted a family and who caught the five to fifty seven metro train every night. 307 00:26:07.480 --> 00:26:11.160 These women weren't excited by the fact that Ryan chased around criminals all day. 308 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:18.240 They were scared by it. Ryan wasn't just alone. He was lonely. 309 00:26:18.920 --> 00:26:22.839 He hated to admit it, being the big, bad Federal Marshall cop 310 00:26:22.920 --> 00:26:26.519 he was, but he was. He found himself looking more and more forward 311 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:33.000 to his yearly pilgrimages to Peach Springs to see her. He never missed a 312 00:26:33.079 --> 00:26:37.559 year, and for a few years, just because he had nothing else to 313 00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:41.480 do, Ryan went more than once. It was his sole vacation. He 314 00:26:41.559 --> 00:26:47.119 didn't have any other place to go, nor the desire. Before she worked 315 00:26:47.119 --> 00:26:51.279 at the truck stop, before she was old enough to drive, Ryan would 316 00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:55.400 be forced to park his car near the edge of the school and wait until 317 00:26:55.400 --> 00:27:00.000 the kids came out for recess to see her. He would wear his sunglasses 318 00:27:00.359 --> 00:27:03.319 and never got out of the car, but still never felt more like a 319 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:10.279 pervert in his entire life. Except that wasn't the case, not even close. 320 00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:15.440 Ryan knew that if anyone caught sight of him sitting in his car with 321 00:27:15.480 --> 00:27:19.720 sunglasses on outside of a schoolhouse watching the children. He would be in huge 322 00:27:19.880 --> 00:27:25.680 trouble, but no one ever did. For years, he sat and just 323 00:27:25.839 --> 00:27:30.640 made sure she was okay. One year, a few weeks after he returned 324 00:27:30.680 --> 00:27:37.519 from Peach Springs, his buddy on the Federal Marshal Force, Jeremy, cornered 325 00:27:37.599 --> 00:27:41.200 him and told him that his wife would not stop nagging him about setting Ryan 326 00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:47.319 up with one of her friends. He begged Ryan to please just go out 327 00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:51.200 with him and his wife and her friend Friday night, a double date for 328 00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:56.759 just a few hours. Jeremy said he'd owe Ryan if he did. He 329 00:27:56.880 --> 00:28:00.279 just needed Ryan to do this so his wife would shut up and leave him 330 00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:03.480 alone. It was the last thing Ryan wanted to do, but he could 331 00:28:03.480 --> 00:28:07.279 tell by the look in his eyes that Jeremy was desperate, and so he 332 00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:14.400 agreed to one night. A couple of hours Friday night. When Ryan showed 333 00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:18.920 up to the restaurant, an Italian joint with red checkered tablecloths and keanti by 334 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:25.240 the glass, Jeremy and his wife were already there. Jeremy waved him over, 335 00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:27.960 and as Ryan made his way through the crowd by the bar, he 336 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:33.240 caught sight of his date sitting next to Jeremy's wife. Her name was Isabel, 337 00:28:33.559 --> 00:28:38.759 and she was a knockout. Part Brazilian, part Chilean, and part 338 00:28:38.839 --> 00:28:45.559 white. Isabel had dark brown, almost black hair that cascaded over her shoulders. 339 00:28:45.640 --> 00:28:49.680 Her eyes were wide set and chocolate colored with green flex in them. 340 00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:55.599 She wore a bright red lipstick that offset her light, creamy complexion, a 341 00:28:55.680 --> 00:29:03.440 complexion surprisingly white in color considering her heritage. She wore three tiny gold bangles 342 00:29:03.480 --> 00:29:07.759 on her right wrist that glinted and sparkled, and a tiny gold watch on 343 00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:11.079 her left. She wore a red dress to match her lips, a dress 344 00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:17.000 so low cut Ryan could almost catch a glimpse of her nipples. Her breasts 345 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:21.440 were enormous and jiggled over the top of the dress every time she laughed or 346 00:29:21.519 --> 00:29:25.720 moved. When she and Jeremy's wife got up to go to the bathroom, 347 00:29:26.279 --> 00:29:30.759 Ryan caught a glimpse of sky high heels and the roundest, juiciest ass he 348 00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:34.759 had ever laid eyes on. He thanked Jeremy profusely for forcing him to come 349 00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:40.279 to dinner with the sexiest woman on the planet. Left a few minutes later, 350 00:29:40.680 --> 00:29:45.279 and within the hour was screwing Isabel up against the wall of his apartment, 351 00:29:45.799 --> 00:29:48.440 then in his bed, then in the shower, then up against the 352 00:29:48.480 --> 00:29:56.200 wall again. She moved in two months later. Ryan didn't know how things 353 00:29:56.200 --> 00:30:00.319 had moved as fast as they had. He supposed it was Isabel's powers of 354 00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:07.880 persuasion, or her breasts or her ass. Regardless, Ryan had a new 355 00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:11.799 roommate. She was thirty three years old and worked as a front desk receptionist 356 00:30:11.880 --> 00:30:18.160 at a used card dealership in Silver Springs. At first, Isabel was fun. 357 00:30:18.839 --> 00:30:23.440 She would cook for Ryan pastas and other traditional Brazilian dishes for him to 358 00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:27.720 devour. When he came home after a long day at work. She would 359 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:32.359 go out to bars with him and they would sing and laugh and dance and 360 00:30:32.440 --> 00:30:36.599 get drunk together, with Ryan being the envy of every man in the room. 361 00:30:37.480 --> 00:30:41.759 And at the beginning, she always wanted sex. Isabel's appetite was insatiable, 362 00:30:42.119 --> 00:30:48.000 and Ryan was more than happy to satiated. They would spend whole weekends 363 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:52.519 lying in bed, eating food and drinking wine, only stopping to sleep and 364 00:30:52.640 --> 00:31:00.000 screw. Ryan was content. Life was good, and then about eight months 365 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:06.279 in, with no warning, things started to change. Ryan felt Isabel grow 366 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:11.079 cleanier. She would demand he come home at earlier hours, even though she 367 00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:15.799 knew he couldn't. She no longer wanted to go to bars and dance and 368 00:31:15.880 --> 00:31:19.160 drink and get drunk. Instead, she wanted to stay home and cuddle and 369 00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:26.640 talk about the future, their future. She wore sweatpants and ratty t shirts 370 00:31:26.680 --> 00:31:32.640 almost exclusively, hiding her ample breasts and shapely thighs, which were starting to 371 00:31:32.720 --> 00:31:36.640 grow. Ryan noticed one day as she sat down next to him on the 372 00:31:36.680 --> 00:31:41.720 couch, her once loose pants now clinging to her legs and butt. Isabel 373 00:31:41.839 --> 00:31:47.960 started whining about money. She wanted more of it to replenish their pots and 374 00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:52.359 pans in the kitchen, to paint the walls in his apartment, to redo 375 00:31:52.440 --> 00:31:56.240 the tiny bathroom. She wanted to go shopping on her days off with Ryan's 376 00:31:56.279 --> 00:32:01.519 money. She dropped hints about getting married married as her Brazilian and Chilean mother 377 00:32:01.680 --> 00:32:07.640 was horrified that Isabel was unmarried at thirty three years old and living in sin 378 00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:13.200 with a man in an apartment, and she found every opportunity to talk about 379 00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:16.960 the family of four children she and Ryan were going to have. Every day 380 00:32:17.119 --> 00:32:22.799 she would remind him that her clock was ticking and she wasn't getting any younger. 381 00:32:24.359 --> 00:32:29.920 Ryan was blindsided by this change in Isabel. He felt as if he 382 00:32:29.960 --> 00:32:34.160 had missed a memo somehow. When he could get away from the apartment, 383 00:32:34.319 --> 00:32:38.319 which was not very often because Ryan found it easier to stay than endure the 384 00:32:38.359 --> 00:32:43.400 wrath and crying that was so often put upon him by Isabel. If he 385 00:32:43.519 --> 00:32:46.440 did, he would ask his pals on the Force what in the world had 386 00:32:46.480 --> 00:32:52.559 happened to the smoking, hot girlfriend he once had. They all laughed at 387 00:32:52.599 --> 00:32:57.039 his naivete, clapped him on the back and told him that that girl was 388 00:32:57.079 --> 00:33:00.559 gone, that he had better shit or get off the pond. Shit meaning 389 00:33:00.599 --> 00:33:05.720 put a ring on her finger and give her the baby she wanted, and 390 00:33:05.839 --> 00:33:10.720 get off the pot meaning kick Isabel to the curb for good. Ryan hadn't 391 00:33:10.759 --> 00:33:16.559 plans to do either one. He knew he was intensely unhappy for the millionth 392 00:33:16.599 --> 00:33:22.240 time in his life, but he had no intentions of doing anything about it. 393 00:33:22.799 --> 00:33:28.119 The next week he left for Peach Springs. He had literally ducked out 394 00:33:28.160 --> 00:33:31.599 of his apartment in order to avoid being hit by the plates Isabel had been 395 00:33:31.640 --> 00:33:37.000 throwing at his head when he left. As he hit the open road. 396 00:33:37.319 --> 00:33:40.720 He breathed the sigh of relief, the memories of her sobs and questions of 397 00:33:40.759 --> 00:33:45.160 why she couldn't go with him on his business trip fading away with every mile. 398 00:33:46.359 --> 00:33:52.000 Ryan had told her that this was business dictated by the top brass and 399 00:33:52.079 --> 00:33:57.039 that Ryan was on a covert, secret mission to a location disclosed only to 400 00:33:57.119 --> 00:34:01.720 him and Sam. He felt no guilt whatsoever as the lies passed his lips. 401 00:34:02.559 --> 00:34:08.239 Isabelle was not placated. Instead of driving to the super eighth like he 402 00:34:08.360 --> 00:34:14.079 normally did, this time, Ryan boldly drove to the dirt road that led 403 00:34:14.159 --> 00:34:17.079 up to the trailer park where she lived. He felt out of sorts and 404 00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:22.159 out of control, and he needed to make sure that she was okay now 405 00:34:22.199 --> 00:34:27.480 more than ever. He sat in his car, hidden from view, sunglasses 406 00:34:27.519 --> 00:34:31.719 on, staring straight ahead for four hours until he caught sight of two people 407 00:34:31.800 --> 00:34:39.199 coming into view. It was she walking with another Huallapie girl. Every year 408 00:34:39.320 --> 00:34:45.760 she looked the same to Ryan, a little vanilla colored girl walking, playing, 409 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:52.559 laughing, shouting with other browner, darker children. Until now there was 410 00:34:52.599 --> 00:34:58.199 something different about her from the year before. Ryan studied her intently as he 411 00:34:58.280 --> 00:35:04.079 did the math to determine her age. He realized was shock that she must 412 00:35:04.079 --> 00:35:09.400 have just turned seventeen two weeks before. Instead of the limp and scraggly, 413 00:35:09.440 --> 00:35:14.400 dirty blonde hair she had worn as a child, her hair was brushed out 414 00:35:14.440 --> 00:35:20.559 in full and glinted almost white under the desert sun. Her eyes sparkled a 415 00:35:20.679 --> 00:35:24.159 darker brown than Ryan remembered, and as she threw back her head and laughed, 416 00:35:24.440 --> 00:35:29.039 he could see a light shade of lip glass gleaming on her thin lips. 417 00:35:29.800 --> 00:35:32.920 She was taller now, and her walk was more aggressive. She was 418 00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:37.039 still skinny and flat chested, but there was a fullness to her thighs and 419 00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:42.960 a wideness to her hips that Ryan had not noticed before. She wore a 420 00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:47.280 loose, fitting off the shoulder shirt that showed off her collarbone and narrow shoulders. 421 00:35:47.920 --> 00:35:52.840 She had a confidence to her walk and an aggressive, yet demure air 422 00:35:52.880 --> 00:35:57.639 about her that seemed to shimmer in the heat. She was no longer a 423 00:35:57.679 --> 00:36:01.960 little girl, Ryan realized, with the confusing mixture of surprise, sadness, 424 00:36:02.039 --> 00:36:08.559 and delight. She was radiant, magnificent, resplendent. She was a woman. 425 00:36:10.159 --> 00:36:15.599 Ryan gazed at her for a long time, feeling her freedom, her 426 00:36:15.679 --> 00:36:20.079 youth, her femininity. As he took her in, he realized what he 427 00:36:20.159 --> 00:36:23.920 found most pleasurable about looking at her, What made her the most stunningly and 428 00:36:24.079 --> 00:36:30.880 dazzlingly beautiful in his eyes, was the fact that she looked luminously happy. 429 00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:35.960 It had been a long time since Ryan had seen a woman he cared about 430 00:36:36.239 --> 00:36:42.480 look happy. Isabel moved out one month after he returned from Peach Springs. 431 00:36:43.119 --> 00:36:46.039 Ryan was not surprised to find he did not miss her, nor was he 432 00:36:46.119 --> 00:36:51.760 surprised when she left. He came home one day after work to find a 433 00:36:51.840 --> 00:36:57.119 note on the table, her belongings gone, a forgotten bottle of shampoo the 434 00:36:57.199 --> 00:37:00.639 only proof she had ever even been there at all. Ryan had found her 435 00:37:00.679 --> 00:37:07.440 gone less than twenty four hours after he had called her nicoll by mistake for 436 00:37:07.480 --> 00:37:13.039 the second time. He guessed that was the last straw, not that he 437 00:37:13.159 --> 00:37:13.719 blamed her.