Текст книги "Thread of Betrayal"

Автор книги: Jeff Shelby

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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 13 страниц)

THIRTY-FOUR

“Can we stop at a drugstore or something?” Lauren asked. “I feel like crap.”

We were nearly to Oceanside, a straight shot down the interstate from San Juan Capistrano, past the power plant in San Onofre and the marine base in Camp Pendleton. To my right, the ocean hugged the coast, choppy waves crashing in to the shoreline as we flew past.

“Sick?” I asked.

She made a face. “Probably just hungry. I don’t know.”

I nodded.

“We’ll pull off at the next exit,” Anchor said from the front.

We passed the harbor and the old Holiday Inn and then took a cloverleaf exit and parked in front of a twenty-four hour drugstore.

“Be right back,” Lauren said, getting out.

“I made a phone call,” Anchor said. “No passenger lists on the commuter trains.”

I frowned. I wasn’t sure how I’d missed hearing him on the phone, unless I’d dozed a little, too. “Yeah. Figured.”

“ I think I’m getting access to video surveillance,” he said.

“What?”

“I saw cameras at the depot,” Anchor said. “Monitored ticket and boarding areas.”

“You can tap in?”

He shook his head. “No. Having recorded feeds sent to me for download. And from this Oceanside station we’re heading to. If your daughter was on there, we’ll have a good idea of where to go.”

I should’ve been surprised, but I wasn’t. Anchor had shown an incredible ability to get nearly anything we needed and was able to do it quickly. I’d stopped wondering how he was getting it and how powerful Codaselli really was and instead wished I’d run into him the day after Elizabeth had disappeared from Coronado.

“I should have it by the time we get to the depot,” Anchor said. “We can take a look at it there.”

I nodded.

“And I’ve made some initial inquiries about your former colleagues and what we talked about,” he said. “I’ll know more in a bit.”

“Do you ever sleep?” I asked.

Anchor chuckled. “Mr. Codaselli pays me extremely well to not sleep.”

“How long have you worked for him?”

“As long as I can remember,” he answered. He nodded at Kitting. “Ellis, too. People tend not to leave Mr. Codaselli’s employ.” He turned in the seat to face me and adjusted his glasses. “And that isn’t sordid in anyway. Mr. Codaselli is generous and looks out for the people who are loyal to him. We’re treated incredibly well and it would be difficult to match his employment elsewhere.”

Kitting nodded in agreement behind the wheel.

“Mr. Codaselli has a long memory,” Anchor continued. “If you do a good job for him, he doesn’t forget. And he believes in rewarding people who do well for him. Not just large things, either. Whatever your job is, if you do it well, he recognizes that.” He paused. “It’s why I’m here. It’s why Ellis is here. What you did for Mr. Codaselli? He won’t forget that.” He smiled. “Ever.”

The neon lights above the store flickered.

“You said his health was alright,” I asked. “How’s he really doing?”

“He’s managing,” Anchor said. “He’s a very tough old man.”

“Cancer is usually tougher than most.”

Anchor nodded. “Certainly. But he’s probably already lasted longer than he should have. He tends to will his way through life.”

He made it sound like Codaselli was some sort of noble benefactor who was the world’s greatest employer. While I was grateful for the help he was providing, I knew better. Codaselli may have been generous to those in his favor, but he was probably ruthless to those who were not.

I was glad I was in his favor.

Lauren emerged from the store, looking a little more awake and wide-eyed. She climbed back into the car.

“Where’s the medicine?” I asked, noticing her empty hands.

She looked at her hands. “Oh. I took it in there. Just got one of those travel packages for a buck.” She looked at me. “Just some stuff to settle my stomach.”

“You alright?”

She hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

Kitting caught my eye in the rearview mirror. “We good?”

I nodded and he directed the car out of the parking lot and back down the freeway. We took the Mission Avenue exit and headed west toward the Pacific.

The transit center was a couple blocks from the ocean, in a redeveloped part of Oceanside. The city had long been the ugly stepsister of San Diego, known for not much more than housing Camp Pendleton and gangs. But the city had attempted to clean itself up and revitalized the areas closer to the beach, hoping to draw tourists to the shore and condos along the water. The transit center was a part of that revitalization, a hub to connect visitors with San Diego and make it easier to travel back and forth and avoid the snarl of standstill traffic that had become Interstate 5.

The center was a stark white building with Spanish accents and arched walkways, paying homage both to the area’s heritage and the fact that what was old was new again. Save for a couple of homeless guys on the curb passing a paper bag back and forth, the lot was empty. Kitting pulled into a slot right near the tracks.

“You talk to them,” Anchor said to Kitting. “Mr. Tyler and I will walk the building.”

“And Ms. Tyler,” Lauren said, annoyed.

“Apologies, Ms. Tyler,” he said quickly. “Wasn’t sure how you were feeling.”

“I’m fine,” Lauren said, getting out.

Kitting headed toward the homeless guys. The three of us walked the perimeter of the building. Like always, I half-expected to see Elizabeth sitting right there, waiting for us, wondering what took so long. But, like always, she wasn’t. There was no trace of her.

Five minutes of walking around the building and peering in the windows gave us nothing else.

But Kitting was walking back toward us with one of the homeless guys.

The man was somewhere between forty and sixty, an overgrown gray beard hiding brown, wrinkled skin. A black knit watchman’s cap covered his head, long gray tresses spilling out of the sides. His jeans were dirty and torn and he had a brown field coat over several layers of shirts. His work boots were covered in sand.

He stood up straight next to Kitting, eyeing each of us.

“This is Ben,” Kitting said to Anchor. “He might be able to help us.”

“Ben, my name is John,” Anchor said, then gestured at Lauren and me. “These two people are looking for their daughter. We think she may have been here. Might you have seen her?”

Ben looked us over, then cleared his throat. “I might have.”

“Might have,” Anchor repeated. “Can you elaborate?”

Ben tugged on his coat, pulled it tighter around him. “Probably could, yes sir.”

Anchor reached into his pocket, pulled out a wad of bills and peeled two off. Twenties. He handed them to Ben. “I’d like to do this without the dance, Ben. If you’re able to help us, we’ll be happy to compensate you accordingly.”

Ben took the twenties and deposited them into a coat pocket. He glanced at Kitting. “The girl he described. Think I saw her a few hours ago. Not sure when cause I don’t wear a watch. But woulda been a few hours ago.

That would’ve made sense if she’d ridden down from Capistrano. The timing worked.

“She was alone?” I asked.

“At first, yeah,” Ben said, nodding, then clearing his throat again. “She was inside the station. Only reason I noticed was cuz of me and Jesse.” He nodded back toward his friend on the curb who was watching us intently. “Me and Jesse kinda keep an eye on things around here.”

“How do you mean?” I asked.

“We been around awhile,” he said, shrugging. “Try not to bother nobody, but it’s kind of our home. So we look out for folks, I guess. Sometimes some folks show up who oughta not be here. Bangers sometimes. Kids looking to take advantage of tourists.” He shrugged again. “So we keep an eye on things. Anybody looks like they got a bad idea, we let ‘em know it’s not the place. We can handle ourselves.”

I nodded, letting him continue.

“So if a teenage girl who looks a little lost shows up, we notice,” Ben said. “Didn’t try to talk to her or nothin’ because we probably woulda just scared her. But we saw her—think Jesse saw her first—and we kept an eye on her to make sure she was alright. Made sure no one took a run at her or nothin’.”

“What was she wearing?” Lauren asked.

Ben eyed her for a moment, then cleared his throat. “I know what you’re getting at ma’am and I don’t blame you. But I’m not so drunk that I’m making up the only teenage girl to come through here tonight.” He fished the money out of his pocket and held it out to her. “I ain’t doin’ this just for the money. She was here and if I can help you, I will.” He shook his head. “Little girl shouldn’t be riding trains by herself.”

Lauren hesitated. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…I’m sorry.”

He put the money back in his pocket. “Had a daughter once. No idea where she is now, but I hope she’s doin’ better than me. And I hope she’s safe.”

Lauren nodded, clearly wishing she hadn’t said anything.

“Anyway,” Ben said, looking back to me. “She was here alone and the station was kinda empty last night. It was late. Not much goin’ on. So she was alone for most of the time.”

“Most of the time?” I asked.

He made a face. “Couple of local girls got with her after a bit. But they didn’t hassle her or nothin’. Seemed like they were just talkin’ her up. Or maybe she was askin’ them for directions. I dunno.”

It was strange seeing Elizabeth through someone else’s lens. I was trying to picture her sitting at the station, how she sat, what her voice sounded like in person, what she would’ve talked to those girls about. It was like watching a movie that wasn’t in focus. I could make out pieces of it, but not the whole.

“So we didn’t pay her much attention then,” Ben continued. “Thought she might just be settling in and waiting for a ride or something.” He frowned and brushed the greasy strands of hair away from his face. “But then Netty showed up.”

“Netty?” I asked.

Ben nodded. “Local girl. Runs with some of the bangers. Likes to try and hassle me and Jesse when she’s bored. Goes out of her way to drive through puddles if she sees us sittin’ on the curb and thinks she can soak us.” He shook his head. “Crap like that.”

“Lovely,” Anchor said.

Ben nodded again. “Yeah. Some people, they’re just like that, I guess. Anyway, Netty showed up and she knew the two girls with the girl you’re lookin’ for. And she was all friendly and everything, but I’m tellin’ you. There ain’t nothin’ friendly about Netty.”

A cloud passed in front of the sun, momentarily dimming the sky. A soft breeze blew across the lot and I shivered harder than I should have.

“Train pulls in,” he said. “Southbound. Jesse elbows me. All four of ‘em got on. They were on before we could get across the street to ‘em. If we’d been watchin’ more, we might’ve been able to get to ‘em before they got on. But we weren’t.” The lines around his mouth deepened. “I woulda liked to warn that girl that goin’ anywhere with Netty was probably a bad idea. Not sure if she woulda listened to an old man like me, but I woulda tried.” He winced and shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

Lauren sighed audibly. Kitting’s eyes scanned the area. Anchor looked at me.

“It’s okay, Ben,” I said. “Not your fault. And you’ve given us more than we would’ve had if we hadn’t talked to you. So thanks.”

He nodded. “Just sorry I didn’t know someone was lookin’ for her.”

“You know Netty’s last name?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No. Just Netty. And I only know that because one of her friends yelled at her to knock it off one time when she was trying to soak us. Locked it away so I wouldn’t forget it.” He thought for a moment. “But she’s always got all of this jewelry hanging from her ears. Feathers, hoops, you name it, she’s worn it.”

I nodded. “Okay. Thanks for your help, Ben. Appreciate it.”

Ben nodded.

Anchor offered his hand to Ben. “Thank you. To both you and Jesse.”

Ben took his hand and held on for just a moment, then pulled his hand away.

I spotted the thick fold of bills Anchor passed him before he shoved the wad in his pocket.

Ben looked at me. “I hope you find her.”

I pulled a card from my pocket and handed it to him. “Me, too. And if you ever want to find your daughter, give me a call.”

Ben studied the card for a moment, then looked at me. “You do this a lot? Look for kids?”

I smiled at Ben, truly grateful we’d run into him. “More than I’d like to, Ben. More than I’d like to.”

THIRTY-FIVE

“That’s her,” I said, staring at the iPad screen. “At the ticket window.”

We were back in the car and the AC was filtering into the backseat from the front vents. Anchor had taken a minute to boot up the iPad, then passed it over the seat to me.

A black and white closed-circuit feed showed a split screen at the Capistrano terminal: left side the ticket window, the right side a long shot of the boarding platform. Military time ticked away in white numbers on the bottom. Elizabeth was standing at the ticket window.

Lauren leaned in closer to me, up against my shoulder. “Yeah. Definitely.”

She passed several bills across the metal counter to the cashier behind the glass partition. There was no audio but they appeared to be talking a little bit. Elizabeth gave a nervous laugh, then tried to smile, but it came off as something masquerading as a smile. The woman behind the partition passed a small white piece of paper back to her and then Elizabeth stepped away, out of the view of the camera.

I watched the left side for another minute. No one else stepped to the window.

I switched my gaze to the right side. The platform was mostly empty. An older lady stood with a small roller bag next to her. A man was on the far side of her and I couldn’t see his face.

Then Elizabeth appeared between the woman and the camera. A small backpack hung on her shoulder. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. She was too far from the camera and the footage was too grainy to get a good look at her face, to see any emotion in her expression. She sighed noticeably a couple of times, her shoulders rising and falling. She looked around quite a bit, her head rotating from side to side. I couldn’t tell if that was because she was scared or bored.

Finally, the train came and she followed the old couple up the portable stairs and disappeared from the camera.

I handed the iPad back to Anchor. “Absolutely her.”

He nodded. “Hang on. The other feed from here in Oceanside should be ready now.”

“You got it already?” Lauren asked.

Anchor nodded, staring down at the screen.

She looked at me. I just shrugged. She shook her head, looked away.

Anchor passed the iPad back over the seat and Lauren leaned in to watch with me.

The screen looked nearly identical, split in half with a ticket window on the left, the platform on the right and the military time down in the bottom right corner. The window side again showed Elizabeth buying a ticket, but it appeared as if she barely spoke to the cashier this time. No nervous laughter, no half-smiles. She stepped out of view of the camera.

I waited for her to show up on the right side.

She finally did, a girl about her age talking animatedly to her, two others trailing behind her. Her hands were tight on the strap of the backpack, as if she was worried it might get taken from her and she was listening to the girl next to her, whose mouth was still running. The girl had long, curly black hair, multiple piercings in her ears and wore tight skinny jeans and a gray hoodie. The two girls behind them were dressed similarly and appeared maybe a bit younger than Elizabeth and the girl she was talking with.

“That’s Netty,” Lauren said. “The one she’s talking to. The earrings.”

I nodded and watched.

The train came quickly and Elizabeth took a step back from the steps, almost like she was changing her mind about going.

The two girls behind her stepped in closer, crowding her.

Netty’s face went from animated to…hard. No smile, no expression. Her mouth was still moving.

She put her hand on Elizabeth’s elbow. Elizabeth started to move it but Netty kept her hand on it and Elizabeth winced.

They all paused for a long moment.

Then Elizabeth nodded and went up the stairs.

Netty followed close behind her and the other two girls boarded behind them.

Then the train pulled out and they were gone.

I touched the rewind button and watched it play again. Then I touched it again and watched it one more time.

I handed it back to Anchor. He raised an eyebrow at me.

“She didn’t want to go,” I said, glancing at Lauren. “I think she was changing her mind. Those girls forced her on.”

“Alright. So we head to the downtown depot?” Anchor asked.

I stared out the window. We were so close, but we couldn’t catch her. And it seemed like each time we missed her, things got a little worse. The mugging. Aaron Simmons. The AMBER Alert. Now these girls. I wasn’t sure how many more chances we were going to get to catch her.

“Yeah,” I said. “Hurry.”

THIRTY-SIX

The clouds had cleared and the sun sat directly in front of us as we drove southward. The northern part of San Diego County had exploded since I’d last spent any real time there, nearly every empty space filled with homes, businesses and people. What used to be considered a place that you only went when you had to was now where many San Diego residents called home. And with the surge in population in the northern counties, the southbound traffic on I-5 had snarled even further and even in the middle of the day, we were doing less than the speed limit, stopping and surging every few minutes.

Lauren clung to my arm in the back seat, her arm snaked around mine as she stared out the window. Something had changed in her body language and I couldn’t read it. I assumed it was just the tension of knowing that it seemed likely that Elizabeth had been strong-armed into boarding the train in Oceanside. It had unnerved me, too. It was one thing to think of all the terrible things that could happen to her when I didn’t know where she was or what she was doing. It was entirely different to actually see it on video, to see her alive and see something uncomfortable happen to her and be powerless to stop it from occurring.

We cut through the canyons south of Del Mar and the hillsides disappeared, the bay and the beach communities appearing like they’d suddenly been dropped there. A thin layer of afternoon fog hung over the water, shrouding everything in a damp white haze.

The old Santa Fe Depot was in the northwest corner of the downtown area and had remained the same for as long I could remember. Huge Spanish arches, dark wooden benches, homeless people with full shopping carts skirting the building. When I was a kid, we’d taken the train up to Los Angeles several times to see my grandparents, my father thinking it would be more fun than driving, and there was always something exciting about walking into the depot and knowing you were going to board a train. It was different than the airport. It felt like stepping back in time and that the possibilities of where you might end up and what you might see were far more exciting.

Kitting parked the Escalade in the blacktop lot and stayed in the car while Anchor walked with Lauren and me into the depot. The long, narrow building was nearly empty, a few passengers spread out amongst the wooden benches, looking tired and worn out. Each of them glanced our way, then went back to being tired.

“I’m going to go see what I can find out about security cameras,” Anchor said. He headed for the ticket window.

“I don’t see her,” Lauren said.

“I didn’t think she’d be here.”

“Me, either. Just stating the obvious.”

We meandered through the benches, more to kill time than thinking that we were going to find anything. I stopped at the vending machine and bought a cup of coffee. Lauren shook her head no when I asked if she wanted one.

I blew on the surface of the coffee as we walked outside toward the tracks and boarding area. A few more people were scattered along the platform areas, sitting on roller bags, staring to the north, wondering where their ride was.

Lauren’s hand touched my elbow, then gripped it tightly. “Look.”

I followed her gaze up the tracks. Sitting on a bench, back away from the platform and up against the building, were the two girls we’d seen on the security footage from Oceanside. They were tucked close to one another, one of them holding a bag of chips that the other had her hand in.

“Stay right here,” I said. “I’ll go talk to them. If they try to run, I’ll send them this way.”

“I’ll get Anchor,” she said, ducking back into the depot.

I walked slowly toward the girls, not wanting them to be spooked by my approach before I was close enough to corral them. But if they noticed me, they didn’t show it, munching on the chips and chatting between themselves until I parked myself in front of them.

“Hi,” I said.

They both looked at me in the way only indifferent, arrogant teens can, with slight distaste and a mountain of condescension. Both had long black ringlets of hair and light brown skin. Heavy eye make-up in an attempt to make them appear older than they were. The one on the left might’ve been older, bright green eyes and a tiny diamond stud in her nose. The one on the right had hazel eyes and a tiny scar on her chin. They both had on black skinny jeans and gray hoodies, the only difference being that the one with the pierced nose had a faint purple design on the front of her sweatshirt. Both had on black canvas sneakers. Maybe sisters, maybe cousins.

They both stared for a moment, then went back to their chips.

“Where’s Netty?” I asked.

That got their attention.

Pierced Nose raised her chin at me. “You know Netty?”

“Yeah. Where is she?”

“How you know Netty?”

I shrugged. “Don’t remember. She here?”

The younger one squinted at me. “He don’t know Netty.”

“You two enjoy your ride down here from Oceanside?” I asked, looking at each of them.

They exchanged anxious glances.

“How’d you know that?” the younger one asked.

Pierced Nose grabbed her by the arm. “Shut your mouth, Luz.” Then she looked at me. “You a cop?”

“Nope,” I said. “Far worse.”

“Worse than a cop?” she said with a frown. “Doubt that.”

I squatted down like a catcher, looking at each of them carefully. “I’m going to give you one chance here. So listen carefully.” I nodded down toward the direction I’d come from. “See the dude down there?”

They both looked. Anchor was standing there with Lauren, staring back at us.

“That dude is most definitely not a cop,” I explained. “He’s like the anti-cop. And if I wave at him, he’ll come down here and take you both away to someplace where no one will ever find you. Take a good look at him. Because if you don’t give me the answers I want, he’ll be the last thing you ever see.”

The younger one visibly tensed up and the older one swung her eyes back to me. “Who the hell are you?”

“Just a guy with a couple questions,” I said. “Feel like answering?”

“We don’t have to do shit,” Pierced Nose said, giving me a sour look.

I shrugged and looked at the other one. “How about you? Feel like talking? Or you wanna go for a ride with my friend?”

She was still staring at Anchor, who was returning the stare with a dead face.

“Let’s go, Luz,” Pierced Nose said, starting to stand up.

I crowded her and she sat back down on the bench. “Asshole.”

“You have no idea,” I said, then tapped the other girl on the knee. “Hey. You.”

She whipped her head to me. No time to hide the fear in her eyes.

“What?” she said.

“Shut up, Luz,” Pierced Nose snapped. “You don’t have to say nothin’.”

“You shut up, Blanca,” Luz snapped back. “That white dude looks crazy.”

Anchor did, in fact, look a little crazy.

I focused on Luz. “You rode down here with Netty and another girl. Where are they?”

“Who are you?” Luz asked, but her tone was different from Blanca’s. Not defiant. More worried.

Which was good.

“My name’s Joe,” I said. “And I’m looking for the girl with Netty. All I want is to know where she is. Not looking to hurt you or your friend here or Netty. Just looking for the other girl.”

Blanca kicked out at me, her foot striking my knee, but I was ready. She came off the bench and I was already up. I caught her by the arm and shoved her roughly back down on the bench.

“Bad idea,” I said. “You get up again, I’m bringing my friend down here.”

Blanca’s defiance lost a little bit of strength and she looked away from me, her chest heaving.

I turned back to Luz. “The girl. Where is she?”

“She went with Netty,” Luz said.

“She is gonna cut you,” Blanca whispered.

Luz ignored her. “Your girl is with her.”

“You forced her on the train in Oceanside,” I said. “Why?”

Luz’s lips twisted for a moment. “Girl didn’t wanna go. Netty told her she didn’t have no choice.”

“Why?”

“Cuz that’s Netty,” she said, shrugging. “She wants somethin’, she gets it.”

“Okay, but why did she want her to go with you guys?”

Luz shifted uncomfortably on the bench and said nothing

I tried a different approach. “And the girl you were with? She didn’t want to go. Why?

Luz stared down at her feet. “Scared, I guess.”

No doubt, I thought. Three girls approach you in an unfamiliar place and force you to go with them and you don’t know where or why. I had zero doubt that Elizabeth was scared.

“Why did you force her to go with you?” I asked again. “This some game you guys run? Rip her off? What’s the game?”

Luz glanced at Blanca.

“I ain’t sayin’ shit,” Blanca said, shaking her head. “You’re on your own.”

Luz blinked several times, then stared at me. “You gonna tell Netty it was me?”

“All I’m interested in is finding the other girl,” I said.

“Liar,” Blanca hissed.

“How about this?” I said, still looking at Luz. “You answer my questions and when I get to Netty, I’ll tell her Blanca was the one who talked to me. I’ll tell her I never saw you.”

Blanca’s eyes went wide and Luz bit back a small smile.

I glanced at Blanca. “Don’t think I won’t. I don’t give a shit about either of you. I’m looking for the other girl. You wanna run your little shakedown here and do Netty’s errands, be my guest. I don’t care one bit. I’m just looking for the girl.”

Luz looked at Blanca. “I’m tired of doin’ everything she says anyway.”

Blanca didn’t say anything, her eyes staring down at Anchor now.

“Any girl shows up,” Luz said. “We pick ‘em up.”

“What do you mean?”

“Girls show up alone for whatever,” Luz said. “Maybe runnin’ away, maybe just travelin’. Whatever. They alone, we go talk to them.”

“And?”

She glanced at Blanca. “And we call Netty. She calls Alex.”

“Who’s Alex?”

“Netty’s brother,” Luz said. “We take the girls to him.”

Another knot formed in my gut. I glanced around. A few more people were gathering on the platform, waiting on the first train of the morning.

I looked back at Luz. “Why?”

She tugged on her sleeves and folded her arms across her chest. “Bunch of reasons.”

“Name them.”

Blanca just shook her head, still disagreeing with Luz’s confessions.

“He might make them work for him,” Luz said, avoiding my eyes. “Deliver stuff. I dunno. Or he might make them do…other stuff.”

“What? Pimp them out?”

Luz shook her head. “Nah. He just keeps them for himself. If they pretty.”

The knot tightened. “So Netty took the girl to Alex’s.”

Luz nodded.

“Netty and Alex,” I said. “What’s their last name?”

“Moreno.”

“I want an address.”

Luz looked at Blanca. “I never been there.”

“You got the address?” I said to Blanca.

She squirmed on the bench.

I let her squirm.

“I ain’t sure I know it,” she mumbled.

“Cut the crap,” I said. “Either give it to me or I’m calling my friend over. Right now. I’m done jerking around with you.”

She stared at Anchor one more time, then slowly recited an address.

I looked at Luz.

“Sounds right,” she said. “Other side of downtown.”

A train pulled in behind us, heading northbound. The brakes squeaked in the air and a voice over the loudspeaker announced its arrival.

“I’ll find you,” I said, standing up.

Blanca looked up at me. “What?”

“Anything either of you told me is a lie,” I said, staring at each of them, as people walked past us to board the train. “I’ll find you. And you won’t tell another lie again.”