She drove to the group home, south of downtown, in an older neighborhood that looked nice, but bordered one of the highest crime precincts in the city. If she were running a group home, she wouldn’t put it in walking distance to a big drug center. But the house itself was well-maintained, clean, with a lawn and wide porch. It looked homey and safe.
Coming here was iffy. Lucy had given her all the information about Marie Ynez, but if the director of the home didn’t allow them to speak to her, they didn’t have a warrant or even an active investigation. She had to wing it.
She said to Nate, “Go with me on this.”
“I’ll follow your lead,” he said. “But if I say jump, you jump as high as you can, understand?”
She blinked. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of his comment. “O-kay,” she said slowly.
He said, “I have your back, Aggie. Take lead, but I have to know that you’ll do what I say if I see a threat.”
That she understood. Nate might not trust her—yet—but she trusted him.
It was a start.
She rang the bell. Less than a minute later a teenager answered the door. “May I help you?” she said, though she didn’t open the locked screen.
Aggie showed her badge. “I’m Agent Jensen with the Drug Enforcement Agency. I’d like to speak with Hannah O’Dell or Rose Hernandez.”
“One moment, please.”
The girl didn’t seem scared or worried. Based on Lucy’s notes, there were twelve girls between the ages of thirteen and eighteen who lived here at any one time. Hannah and Rose were licensed social workers who ran the home through a private nonprofit and contracted to the city. They had a solid record and only three of their charges had gotten into trouble with the law within a year of living here—and none while they were in the program. Out of more than one hundred ten girls who had gone through this house, those were terrific numbers.
A moment later, the door opened and a petite Hispanic woman who looked younger than Aggie answered. “I’m Rose Hernandez,” she said as she stepped out. She closed the door behind her. “May I please see your badge?”
Aggie showed her badge and identification. Nate had his ID, but because of his suspension he didn’t have a badge. He showed his ID, and the woman didn’t ask for more.
“How can I help you?”
“We’d like to speak with Marie Ynez.”
“Regarding?”
“When she was in juvie, she was roommates with a girl named Elise Hunt. Elise aged out three weeks ago, and is now wanted for questioning. We haven’t been able to locate her at the address on file, and the warden indicated that Elise had become friendly with Marie. We’re hoping that Marie might help us find her, and might have additional information regarding Elise’s plans.”
“I don’t understand,” Rose said. “What plans?”
The woman was not going to be a pushover.
Aggie remembered something Lucy had told her months ago. “Be honest, as much as you can. People know when you’re lying to them, and they’re not going to help if they think they’re being played.”
“Elise is the younger sister of Nicole Rollins, a former DEA agent who was working with the cartels. Rollins murdered my boss.” Slight fib—she’d still been at the academy at the time. “Rollins was shot and killed after her escape from prison, and Elise was arrested at that time. We have information that Elise may be seeking revenge on certain law enforcement officers in the DEA and the FBI who were involved in the operation that ultimately ended in Rollins’s death. We can’t find her, and we’re concerned because a DEA agent is missing.”
All of that was true. Rose looked concerned, but she also wanted to protect her young charge.
“What do you think Marie can help you with?”
“Warden Pine indicated that Elise and Marie were close while they shared a room. We don’t think that Marie is involved in any way, but we’re hoping that Elise might have shared information with her. Any information can help. We’re on a clock, and fear for our agent’s life.”
Rose looked from Aggie to Nate, then settled on Aggie. “I’ll let you speak with her, provided that I am present, though this is unusual. Usually when law enforcement wants to talk to one of our students they request an interview and we schedule it.”
“I would have gone through proper channels except that this is extremely time sensitive because a federal agent’s life