Cold Snap Read Free Page B

able to get in.” She waved her hand dismissively. “It’s not like I have anything valuable in there, except my computer.”
    They walked down to the lobby. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on with this kid?”
    “There’s nothing to tell. She’s a witness and I need to keep her safe until Wednesday morning.”
    Warning bells rang in his head. “A witness? Why aren’t the cops watching her?”
    “Because no one realizes that she could be in danger. They wanted to ‘protect’ her by putting her in juvenile hall, and that’s exactly where Lorenzo’s crew could get to her. I promised the judge that she’d be in court on Wednesday morning to testify—it’s required for her plea agreement—and everything was going great until this afternoon. I gave her a phone, but she’s not answering it.” Elle turned down a hallway opposite the front entrance and through a door marked FIRE EXIT . No alarms went off. “It’s disabled,” she said dismissively. “If Sandy is hanging around, I don’t want her to see me.”
    Patrick realized then that something much, much bigger was going on. “Why not call the police? They can help.”
    She spun around. “Look, you’re going to have to trust me on this. If I tell anyone she ran away, they’ll put a bench warrant out for her and she’ll not only go to jail before she testifies, but her plea deal is off. She’s fifteen. She’s been on and off the streets since she was eleven. I got her a great arrangement, and if she testifies she’ll be put in a group home that can protect her, send her to school, make sure she has a real shot at a future. And that’s why I’m not going to San Diego. Because her hearing is the day after Christmas, and she needs one person around who cares what happens to her.”
    Patrick had a dozen questions: Was Kami a client of hers? What kind of law firm did she work for? Why would she agree to bring a client to live with her? Who was the girl testifying against? Had she left the apartment willingly? Had she been taken?
    Elle led the way to a carport in the building next to hers. “I don’t have my own spot, but my best friend is a flight attendant and she’s gone half the time and lets me park in hers.” She glanced back at Patrick as she headed for her car. “I’m going to retrace my steps, but she’s probably hiding out in the Haight.”
    “The infamous Haight Ashbury?”
    Elle rolled her eyes as she stopped next to an older blue Honda Civic. The city’s salt air hadn’t done the paint any favors. She put the bag of clothes in the backseat, which was packed with blankets, boxes of granola bars, and Gatorade bottles. “Just get in.”
    “Santana!” a voice shouted from behind them.
    Patrick turned and saw two men running toward them.
    “Get in!” She was already turning the key to the ignition before she’d closed her door.
    Patrick did. “More social workers?”
    A gunshot rang out.
    “That’s a warning, bitch!”
    Elle pulled out of the carport and sideswiped one of the guys. He shouted profanities at them and his partner fired another shot, this time at the car. It missed.
    “How did they know where I live?” Elle glanced over her shoulder, eyes wide, knuckles white on the steering wheel. She turned onto Howard from the alley and sped up.
    “Who are they?”
    “I think they work for Richie Lorenzo.”
    “Who the hell is that?” Patrick was getting testy, because he really hated being shot at—especially when he didn’t have his gun.
    “A drug dealer. Kami used to work for him. That’s what got her in trouble with the police.”
    “Is that who she’s testifying against?”
    “No,” Elle said in a tone that made Patrick feel like he’d missed several conversations. But she didn’t clarify as she turned onto another street and started winding through hills.
    “Elle, talk to me! Who is this kid testifying against? Who’s Lorenzo?”
    “He’s a twenty-three-year-old punk who uses runaways to sell