I WISH THAT I COULD TELL YOU

Chapter 6 - in which Camila threatens to bring shit down on an old woman

Shawn felt sick. They had driven up and down the road for miles in both directions but there was no sign of them. Max pulled up just around the corner from a large intersection.

"This would have been the first place she would have known she was going the wrong way," he said. "Let's cruise slowly along here, kind of walk in her footsteps for a while, see what can find."

Shawn hung out of the window, looking into the homes, the trees and bushes.

"Stop!" he called, and the car slowed.

"What do you see?" Garcia peered out the window, then they both got out and approached the shopping trolley.

"It's a trolley, they are left all around here."

"But trolleys with this in it? Not so much." Shawn picked up the little toy Peter Rabbit. He was looking worse for the wear, a little squashed, a lot dirty. He knew Lita would never leave him behind on purpose. Something must have happened here.

"Over here," the policeman called and Shawn walked quickly to his side. There was a large bush and behind it, a flattened area. "I think they hid here, probably from Hector and El Jefe when they were looking for her."

"So what happened to her?" Shawn asked frantically.

Max shook his head. "I don't know Shawn, but I will find out."

Shawn sat in the hotel room with his head in his hands. Speaking to Camila's parents had been one of the most difficult things he had ever had to do. They were devastated and Sinu cried, and he had trouble keeping his own tears at bay while he spoke to them. Andrew was in his own room, working hard at cancelling the next few concerts without being able to tell people what had actually happened. The team had all been in over the last hour but he needed a few moments alone, which is why he was by himself when Max Garcia rang.

"Shawn, we have some news. A woman and her daughter were picked up around the area we found the shopping trolley at about nine pm last night."

He sat up straight, his heart speeding up. "Camila and Lita?"

"Unfortunately no, but they met their description, and it got me thinking that perhaps there had been a case of mistaken identity. I myself spoke to the woman, Carmen, and it seems she had paid money to a man to take them to Monterrey and then they were to be taken across the border by a coyote, a person who takes money to smuggle illegal immigrants into the US, inside a piece of earth moving equipment in a large freighter truck. She was waiting on the opposite corner to where we found the trolley, however, someone had told the police what Carmen was planning, and she was picked up. She gave us the name of the driver who was supposed to get her, we found him this evening, he had just returned from San Luis Potosi where the people swapped trucks. He said Carmen and Gabriella were on board, but when I showed him photos of Camila and Lita he identified them."

Shawn looked confused. "You're saying Camila and Lita are trying to illegally cross into the United States?"

"He said she was telling everyone she was American but nobody believed her. She had made friends with an old woman who volunteered as an escort to the border, handing them over to the coyote. She lives in Monterrey."

"So what do we do?"

"We go to Monterrey. She would have arrived there about midday."

"That was hours ago, why haven't I heard from her?"

"I don't know. But I will find out. I will let you know as soon as I find her."

Shawn laughed mirthlessly. "No way, man, I'm going with you. I want to be there when you find them."