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Jessica shook her head. “I don’t think either of us ever thought that. But I know you quit working for him kind of abruptly, and then we came across a picture taken of you. You seemed to be at a party, and you didn’t look happy.”
The relaxed, happy air was gone, but Jessica reached across the table to take Sophie’s hands in hers.
“I wasn’t.”
“Do you want to tell me about it? It might help us figure out what happened.”
“He wasn’t a very nice man. He said he could get me into the University of New England.”
“I looked at UNE when I was getting ready to go to school. It was pretty expensive.”
Sophie nodded. “It still is. Mom and dad wanted me to go to two years at the community college and then transfer to the University of Southern Maine. Have you ever been to the campus at Biddeford? It’s so pretty, and they have an exchange program in Morocco.”
“The campus in Tangier had just been established and was a huge drawing point for me, but in the end, it was just so much more expensive.”
“Same. But Mr. Thompson said he had connections and could get me a scholarship. He also told me I could make enough money working for him to be able to afford it. It wasn’t until later I learned how he wanted me to make that money.”
Jessica shook her head, and her lips flattened into a grim line. “It wasn’t working for his development company, was it?” Sophie’s eyes filled with tears. “It’s okay, Sophie. He can’t hurt you, and nobody here will think badly of you.”
“That’s what my mom says, but if my dad knew…”
“The best dads are like that, but I can pretty much tell you we know it wasn’t your dad. And we don’t think it was you, either. We’re really just looking for background information on Thompson. We’re finding he had a lot of secrets.”
Sophie had relaxed again and rolled her eyes. “Yeah. I found that out the hard way.”
“Did it have something to do with Lorelei?”
Sophie nodded. “I was so stupid. I felt like he saw me as an adult, not like a kid. He invited me to a party there. I thought it would be fun. It wasn’t. I didn’t know what it was. A bunch of drunk old men and women.” She leaned forward, dropping her voice. “He wanted me to work as a prostitute. And he told me I could make big money if I was a virgin, or I could fake it, and he could do an auction for one of those old men to pop my cherry.”
For a moment, Thorn wasn’t sure who was more stunned—him or Jessica.
“Sophie, that never should have happened to you,” said Thorn sympathetically but wishing Thompson was still alive so he could beat him to death. He handed her his card. “If you ever want to talk to someone about what happened—either a counselor or an investigator, just call me or Jessica, and we’ll help you out.”
“I wouldn’t want anyone to know. My mom does, but not my dad.”
“You and your mom could come to the house. We could tell your dad that you guys were going to do some marathon cooking or canning or whatever. No one would ever have to know.”
Thorn watched as a flicker of strength and hope sprang into her eyes. “Really? I’d like to help make sure it doesn’t happen to others. I think it would make living with it better.”
“I think so, too. Why don’t you let Detective Wilder find out who killed Thompson, and then we’ll see what we can’t do to make this state safer for others.”
“It’s not just here,” said Sophie. “I think he either had places like that all over the country or was part of some kind of network.”
“Did he have like a club?” Thorn asked, thinking Delilah’s place wouldn’t be big enough and there’s no way he could have held it in his home.
“No. He moved it around from place to place—houses and buildings he bought and was developing.” She shook her head. “I was so stupid.”
“No, you weren’t. You got duped by a man who conned and hurt a lot of people. And you were smart enough to walk away and come home. You should be proud of yourself.”
“Thanks, Ms. Murdoch. Do you need anything else?”
“No; I think we’re good.”
Sophie walked to her mom, who enfolded her into her embrace and mouthed the words ‘thank you.’
“We’re agreed she had nothing to do with it, right? Her dad’s as big as you and carrying about fifty more pounds. Her mom had polio as a child. She wasn’t expected to ever walk.”
Thorn smiled. “Tough lady. She passed that grit on to her daughter.”
