Unknown Victim by Kay Hadashi (classic books for 11 year olds .TXT) 📕

“The same thing that got you that shiner.”

“I fell off a ladder. No reason for you to investigate that.”

“If you had, you’d have a cast on an arm.” He sat next to her on the porch step. “An old yellow Datsun pickup truck was reported to the police as being improperly parked in an alley last evening, right about the same time as a 9-1-1 call was made from the same location. That call is suspiciously similar to your number.”

“Only similar?” she asked.

“What happened at the park last night?”

“There’s coffee in the kitchen, if you’d like some.”

“Would you rather go downtown to be interrogated, or interviewed here?”

Gina set aside her sketchpad. “A young woman was being attacked in the front seat of a car.”

“With the way you face looks this morning, that woman was evidently you?”

“No.” For the tenth time that morning, Gina wondered where Holly might be, if she’d changed into a new person by then. “A teenager named Holly.”

“How did you get involved?” Kona asked.

“I’d followed them to the park. When I saw her get knocked out and then attacked, I called 9-1-1. But the call took so long to get answered, I ran to the car to stop what the man was doing to her.”

“Which was?” he asked.

“He already had his pants down.”

“Did you witness the act?”

“I witnessed something I’d rather not see again. But no, the act was not yet being undertaken.”

“Then what happened?”

“I pulled him off of her and out of the car. When he tried getting away, I stood on his arm.”

“Nice technique. I’ll have to remember that. Then what?”

“I was concerned about the girl, who looked unconscious on the front seat of the car. But I’d left my phone in the truck. I needed police for the man and an ambulance for the girl. I was just trying to figure out what to do when I got whacked in the back of the head. What happened during the next hour or two is still rather blurry.”

“That’s what happens when you run a stakeout without back-up.”

“It wasn’t a stakeout.”

“What was it then?” he asked.

“Look, the guy had said he was getting off work from Bunzo’s at five, and made it sound like an invitation. So, I went back.”

“Who was the guy?”

“The daytime bartender. It should be pretty easy to find him.”

“I’m confused. He asked you out on a date, but ended up with a teenager instead?” Kona asked. “How did he meet her?”

“I think she was working the bar. Somehow, she ended up with him as her date.”

“She’s a prostitute and she got into that kind of trouble? That doesn’t add up,” Kona said.

“She’s still pretty young. Maybe she’s new? She made it sound like she does that for pocket money rather than a living.”

“Part-time hooker?”

“She also said she’s a student at the university, and that her hometown is on Kauai. Maybe you can find her that way?” Gina said. “Honestly, I was a little insulted when I saw them leave together. I guess to satisfy my curiosity, I followed them.”

“Who was the guy again?”

“The dayshift bartender at Bunzo’s. His name is Hughes. White guy in his thirties, blue eyes, mousey hair.”

“Why did you want to be picked up by one of Bunzo’s bartenders? There are better places for that than Bunzo’s.”

“I wasn’t trying to be picked up. I just wanted to have a drink somewhere with him so I could ask a few questions about Bunzo’s, and find out what he might know about Danny. But by the time I got there, he was leaving with someone else.”

Detective Kona looked at his notes. “Holly?”

Gina nodded. “That’s the name she gave me. How’d you know that?”

“I have my sources. Why didn’t you report the assault?”

“Holly started freaking out when I said I was going to. She wouldn’t even go to the ER to get checked out by a doctor. At one point, I thought she was going to jump out of the pickup. I’m still a little worried about her.”

“Don’t. You said you got whacked in the head?”

Gina showed him the small prick that Kenzo the handyman had made on the back of her head. “This was a big goose egg a couple hours ago. I was out cold for at least a few minutes. By the time I came to, Hughes was gone, as was his car. It was just me and Holly, and she was crying her eyes out. It took me a while to figure out what happened. By the time I talked her into going to an ER, she talked me into getting a meal first. That’s when she ducked out on a visit to the restroom, after giving me some big song and dance about being a college coed that lived in a dorm on campus. She duped me every step of the way.”

Kona chuckled. “She’s good at it.”

“You know her?”

“Frequent flyer in the downtown lockup. I didn’t know she was going by Holly these days.”

“How do you know it’s the same person I was with last night?” Gina asked.

“Dark-skinned Asian with large eyes, piercings, and blond hair?”

Gina nodded. “How’d you know?”

“Her bag was found in a park dumpster. No ID, but the phone number of the cell phone is on file with the police department. She came in this morning to claim it from lost and found.”

“How’d she know to look for it with you guys?” Gina asked.

“Not the first time she’s lost her bag. She was able to identify it by the number. Did she give you a last name?” Kona asked.

Gina shook her head. “Only Holly. The waitress said she has a different name whenever she goes in.”

“Don’t tell me. She wanted to go to Jack’s Restaurant?”

Gina laughed at herself. “Boy, am I ever a sucker.”

“Not really. Maybe a little. You’re sure the man who did that to her was named Hughes?”

“Eighty percent. I never got a good look at him until I was pulling him from