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was twenty-six feet.’
    Twenty-six feet? Scarlett frowned, then nodded when the detail clicked in her mind. ‘The length of the poodle’s retractable leash.’ She glanced at Deacon. ‘It’s the size for large dogs. I have one that I use when I walk Zat.’ She returned her attention to Marcus. ‘Did you see the poodle’s ID tags when you petted it?’
    ‘There was only a name tag attached to the collar – no rabies or license tags. The name tag said “Coco”. Tala came to the park for seven straight nights and would stay long enough to hear me sing a song or two. On the eighth night she didn’t show up, or the two nights after that, so I started going to the park during the day, all different times. We finally crossed paths again late yesterday afternoon. About twelve hours ago.’
    ‘When she was bruised and limping,’ Scarlett murmured.
    An angry nod. ‘Yeah. Someone had roughed her up. At the time, I didn’t think it had anything to do with me, because I never saw anyone following her when she walked the dog. Now I think it must have been because someone knew she was meeting me. She’d be alive otherwise,’ he added bitterly.
    ‘You told Detective Bishop that you left your card on the bench,’ Deacon said, ‘and that Tala texted you to meet her here. Can we get the number she called from?’
    Marcus handed Deacon his phone. ‘She asked me not to call her, told me she was deleting the texts so she wouldn’t get caught. I didn’t call the number, but I did run it. It’s disposable.’
    Deacon frowned. ‘How did you run the phone number?’
    ‘I run my family’s newspaper, Deacon,’ he said mildly. ‘I have all kinds of ways to get information.’
    Deacon narrowed his eyes in annoyance. ‘None of which you plan to tell me.’
    ‘Of course not.’
    Deacon looked like he’d argue, but decided against it. ‘Fine. What else can you tell us?’
    Marcus looked at Scarlett, his expression suddenly grimly uncomfortable. ‘You asked me if she was a prostitute and I said I didn’t know. That’s true. But she was accustomed to . . . pleasing men.’ He sighed. ‘When I offered to help her, she said she couldn’t pay me. I told her I didn’t want her money. She got this desperate, revolted look on her face. Then in the blink of an eye she changed into this sultry temptress. Went for the button of my jeans. Said she could make me feel good.’ His jaw hardened. ‘I told her no, that I didn’t want that either.’
    ‘And then?’ Scarlett asked quietly.
    ‘She looked hopeless. Asked why I would help her. Said she was “nobody”.’ His shoulders sagged. ‘She believed that. She also believed her family was in danger.’
    ‘Did she mention sisters or friends?’ Deacon asked. ‘Do we know what kind of family she wants us to help? Are they blood relatives or simply other captives?’
    Marcus shook his head. ‘She only said “my family”. My first thought was that the man and his wife used her for the sex trade.’
    Scarlett pulled up a photo of the victim that she’d taken with her phone, showing it to Deacon. ‘My first thought too,’ she said.
    ‘Young and pretty,’ Deacon agreed. ‘Just the type sexual slavery operations go for. How was she dressed when she walked the dog in the park? What I mean is, did it look like she was dressed for seduction? Was she on the clock, just taking a break during business hours?’
    ‘She was wearing a polo shirt and old jeans,’ he said. ‘She looked like any other high-school kid.’
    ‘Walking a dog with a diamond-studded collar,’ Deacon murmured. ‘Well, whoever she was protecting, whatever their relationship, they had to have been very important to her. Her “owners” trusted their hold on her enough to let her walk their dog, knowing she’d come back.’
    ‘Did she have an accent?’ Scarlett asked. ‘How was her English? Did she sound like she’d been in this country for a while?’
    ‘Her English was flawless, but she did