Frank said, "Atlanta, you seem to have experienced this kind of incident before."
"'99," Atlanta said. "My boyfriend's dog bolted and startled a guy in a thicket like the one we're in, and we found a little girl who'd been raped and strangled. I freed her airway and performed CPR, Hammond went for help and came back with two detectives, and together we saved the kid. But by the time anyone found her sister it was too late."
"Terrible loss," Frank said. "Did we catch the perp?"
"Oh, yes. Chelsea — our save — ID'd him the next day and he's been inside ever since."
"Begging your pardon, but you don't look old enough to have been a cop at the time."
Atlanta flashed a smile. "You have my pardon and sincere thanks. For everything. I was 18, about to start college. Joined the NYPD four years later."
"I remember you now. You were Atlanta Willow." Frank grinned. "Disabled a would-be cop killer by throwing a cream pie in his face. That was the funniest America's Most Boneheaded Bandits bit of 2005."
Atlanta also grinned. "Yeah, it was quite a while before people stopped asking me for . . ."
Many more vehicles were parking nearby. The CSU wagon, siren chirping, was a rose among media thorns. Kevin was with the two witnesses, but clearly the time had come to take them somewhere more private.
Frank directed the four CSU technicians. One of them, a tall slim Latino just starting to get silvery at the temples, went straight to Atlanta.
"My husband Abel," Atlanta said. She went on to introduce Frank and Kevin.
Kevin introduced the two witnesses — Mabinty Kargbo and Haroun Ganda — and a few minutes later was driving them, along with Frank, to Mount Morris General Hospital. Atlanta followed in her vehicle. It didn't seem likely that either girl would be well enough to give a statement any time soon, but Frank, Kevin and Atlanta had to see for themselves.
