Page 95 of Fatal Strike
“We can do this at your pace,” Leah said. “I’d like to record your statement. Do you mind?” When Elena and her parents agreed, Jon pressed Record on his phone. “Start at the beginning. Take your time. Don’t be afraid of tears. We’re here to help, and we understand this is painful for you.”
Elena clung to her mother’s hand. “First, I lied about Dylan when you called. The day before Judge Mendez’s death, Dylan asked me to say we’d broken up because he was afraid something horrible might happen to me.” She breathed in and out.“He wouldn’t explain why. Dylan had been careful about where we went, what we did. We were keeping our relationship quiet. The next day, I learned about Judge Mendez’s death and how Dylan was a suspect.” She shook her head. “I didn’t believe it. Judge Mendez was more than a judge to him. His wife is ...” Elena looked at Leah, a question in her eyes.
Leah squeezed her hand. “We know.”
“Good. You understand then that I wanted to protect him. Help him find the evidence to prove his innocence. I tried phoning him, but he must have gotten a new phone.”
“And you haven’t heard from him since?”
Elena glanced at the floor. “No. Not long before this happened—before those men took me—Dylan came to me and said he’d done something stupid to help his mom. He refused to tell me what it was, but he did say he didn’t know how to make it right. I never questioned him. I thought he’d talk about it when he was ready.”
“Did you recognize any of your abductors?”
“Only one—Aaron Michaels.” She broke into sobs. “Tell me you’ll find him and put him in prison.”
“You don’t have to worry about him, Elena. He’s dead,” Leah said.
She startled. “How?”
“Take a deep breath.” Leah hoped the words sounded as sympathetic as she sincerely intended them to be.
Elena swallowed a few times before resuming. “Wednesday afternoon, I had a manicure and pedicure, then met three friends at the beach. We’d be heading back to college soon, and this was going to be our last time to relax together. We planned to have dinner and spend the night at a friend’s beach house. Dylan texted me. I mean I thought it was him. He wantedto talk.” She looked at her dad. “I’m sorry I kept this from you. He wanted to meet you, but he was afraid you’d turn him away because of his past and not being farther along in his college education.” She bit her lower lip and focused on her dad. “Ilove him.”
Instantly Richard was on his knees in front of Elena. He drew her into his arms, and she cried on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Daddy. Sorry for everything.”
Leah glanced away at the intimate tenderness. One day she wanted a close-knit family where love and honesty ruled. She’d felt it between Terri and Chris. She looked at Jon, and he gave her a reassuring smile. They were good together, and right this very minute, she wanted him in her life.
Elena pulled away from her dad, and he returned to his seat. She resumed her story. “I agreed to meet Dylan at Pocket Beach, and I’d catch up with my friends later. When I got there, he wasn’t around. I walked up and down the beach but couldn’t find him. He didn’t answer his phone or the number from the text.” She hesitated. “I went back to my car, and three guys were there. One was Aaron Michaels. Since he’s a friend of Dylan’s, Ithought they’d know where to find him. Instead, Aaron dragged me to a black Mustang parked close by. Shoved me face-first onto the rear floorboard. He put his feet on my back, tied my hands, and blindfolded me.” Elena lowered her head, and her mother stroked her hair.
“You can do this,” Olivia said. “Your dad and I are not abandoning you.”
“I feel stupid and ashamed.”
“You’re smart and wonderful. Nothing, absolutely nothing, will change our love for you,” her mother said.
“God’s love or ours,” Richard said.
This family had faith going for them. Was she experiencing what she’d missed the years growing up without God?
Elena raised her head. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I know you guys love me, but I still needed to hear that. And I love you so much.”
Olivia put her arm around her daughter’s shoulders and pulled her in tight.
Despite her watery eyes, Elena smiled. “I can go on now. In the back of the car, on that long ride to wherever we were going, I thought about how much I’d disappointed my parents.” She lifted tearstained eyes to her father, who gave her an encouraging nod. “I’m not sure how long we were in the car. Aaron called someone and said they had me and were on their way. I tried to keep track of time. Perhaps an hour before we stopped. Someone pulled me from the car and led me over bare ground, like we were on a dirt road in the country. I could hear crickets chirping, but nothing else stands out, except we definitely weren’t near the shore—I didn’t hear any waves crashing. They took me inside a building and tied me to a chair, then removed the blindfold. When morning came, I realized I was inside a shed. Once a day they brought me a bottle of water and a banana.”
Olivia sobbed.
Richard’s face hardened. “I would have killed them.”
“Did they tell you why they’d taken you?” Leah’s question was gentle, intended to keep the conversation on track.
“I’m not sure. But I remember something I overheard Aaron saying: ‘If Dylan finds out what we’ve done, he’ll tell the cops about us.’ He also said Dylan had this coming for not cooperating.”
The girl had been used by this gang to intimidate Dylan,coerce him into cooperating. Leah lightly squeezed Elena’s hand in hers, sending courage through her touch. “Tell us how you got away.”
“Last night I heard two of them talking about getting high and drunk. I kept listening for the worst, and then early in the morning their noises stopped. I assumed they passed out. I’d noticed a nail sticking out from the wall and scooted the chair to it. Using the nail, I managed to weaken the rope. When it broke, I untied myself and opened the door. No one was in sight. I started running. Sunrise looked incredibly beautiful, like a promise that I could get away.” Her face lifted as though remembering the joy of freedom. “It was as though God was telling me I’d be okay. I made it to a road and kept going. Seemed like one field after another, and I had no idea where to go, except to run east toward the sun. At a farmhouse, Iknocked on a door. An older woman answered, and she gave me water. I told her I’d gotten away from kidnappers. She wanted to call the police, but I told her I had to see my parents first. I feared one of the Venenos could have hacked your phones.” She closed her eyes. “I just wanted to go home.”
Elena’s story was essentially over, but Leah had more questions for her. “Besides Aaron and the other two guys who abducted you, did you see any others?”
