‘She knows these bitches. You think she’d shut up about them?’ Connie motioned to Maggie and Kathy with the gun. Smoke came from the barrel, filtering the cold air.
‘I coulda explained it to her! She woulda listened to me!’ Roy rose slowly, beginning to sob. He stared at Elma’s blood on his hands. ‘Why’d you kill her, Connie? First PG, now her? She’s all the family I got left, dude.’
Maggie listened, horrified. So Connie had killed PG. Noah had been telling the truth. Tears rolled down Kathy’s cheeks. Maggie had to do something. She racked her brain. She could hear the teakettle begin to whistle. She prayed it wouldn’t tip Connie off that Caleb was there.
‘Roy, man up!’ Connie said, through gritted teeth.
‘She was my grandma!’ Roy shouted, sobbing. Suddenly he ran at Connie, reaching for his throat, his bloodied fingers grasping the air.
Connie raised the gun and fired. The bullet struck Roy in the neck, which exploded in blood and tissue. The gunshot reverberated, earsplitting. Its force spun Roy around. He dropped to the floor.
Maggie fought terror to think. Connie was about to fire again. It gave her an opening. She wouldn’t get another chance. The teakettle was whistling loudly. Her frantic gaze fell on the full ashtray. She picked it up and whipped it at Connie’s face.
Connie’s hands flew up reflexively. The gun fired into the air.
Kathy ran full-tilt into Connie’s legs, knocking him off-balance. Connie flew sideways against the hard floor. The gun flew out of his hand and skidded into the kitchen.
Maggie dove for it and grabbed it, just as the back door flew open.
Caleb stood in the threshold, holding his phone high. ‘I called 911! I said it was an emergency!’
‘You little bastard!’ Connie raged, scrambling to his feet. ‘I’ll kill you!’
‘No!’ Maggie fired the gun just as Connie lunged for Caleb.
‘Bitch!’ Connie fell, grabbing his leg in pain. Blood drenched his right thigh.
‘Go, go, go!’ Maggie grabbed Caleb by the shoulder and ran with him into the living room. Kathy yanked on the doorknob. The door fell to the side.
Maggie, Caleb, and Kathy bolted onto the porch, raced down the snowy stairs, and ran away from the house.
Suddenly the sound of sirens pierced the frigid air. Police cruisers zoomed toward them, red lights flashing.
‘Help! Police!’ Maggie dropped the gun as she ran. The three of them ran toward the cruisers.
‘He’s inside!’ Maggie shouted, as the police cruisers swerved to a stop, spraying snow from their tires. Their doors flew open, and uniformed cops ran out, heading toward the house.
Connie ran limping to his truck.
Another police cruiser veered around the other corner, its sirens blaring and lights flashing. It halted, its big high beams cutting through the darkness, spotlighting Connie amid the snow flurries. Uniformed police jumped out with their guns drawn, blocking him in.
‘Freeze!’ the police shouted, coming up behind him. ‘Hands up!’
Connie stopped, trapped. Then he dropped to his knees in the swirling snow, raising his hands.
Chapter Eighty-one
Noah, After
Noah regained consciousness as he was half-walked and half-dragged down the hallway by COs Evesham and Stanislavsky. Pain arced through his skull. His ribs ached with every step. Blood ran down his forehead, warm and wet. He blinked to clear his eyes.
‘You’re not going to get away with this,’ Noah said hoarsely.
CO Evesham sniffed. ‘You refused to cuff up. You threatened my personal safety. You resisted in a dangerous manner. We’re writing you up for misconduct.’
‘Everybody knows what you’re up to, Evesham. I told them you were the CO who took me to my cell. You left the door open for Jeremy Black. You’re going down for that.’
‘I locked the door. I had nothing to do with the door’s being open. Must’ve been another CO who came after me.’
‘You’re a liar.’
‘Wrong. The matter’s been investigated and resolved. Officially.’ They reached the stairwell to the ACU, but instead of going up the stairs, they took a right down another hallway.
‘Where we going?’ Noah could barely hold himself up. Blood poured into his eyes. ‘You’d better be taking me to the infirmary.’
‘The RHU. You’ll get my write-up later. You got Class I charges. Threatening a CO with bodily harm, resisting arrest, and insubordination.’ They reached a maroon-metal door that read RHU. CO Evesham unlocked it, and they hustled Noah into a long hallway that had doors like the ACU isolation cells.
Noah thought about running. He was in too much pain. There was nowhere to run. He had no choice but to let them throw him in a cell. At least he would be safe.
CO Stanislavsky went to the first cell door and unlocked it. Noah stood aside. Blood ran down his face.
‘Get in.’ CO Evesham opened the door, but the cell wasn’t empty.
Inside was John Drover.
And in his hand was a homemade shank.
Chapter Eighty-two
Maggie, After
Maggie, Kathy, and Caleb sat in the small waiting room of the homey Tipton police station, having finished giving their statements to a group of federal, state, and local law enforcement. Wooden chairs matched a table that held back issues of People magazine, and the air smelled like stale coffee. Maggie was waiting to find out about Anna. The authorities were still interviewing Connie, and she’d been told that he was making a complete statement in return for a plea deal.
The waiting area was separated from the office by an old-fashioned wooden door with a glass pane, and Maggie kept checking to see what was going on. Uniformed local police, assistant U.S. attorneys, local assistant district attorneys, and FBI agents flooded the small room, which held only a few wooden desks with outdated computers. Atop a line of battered gray file cabinets sat an old TV playing The Weather Channel on mute, next to stacked case files and a clutter of New England Patriots and Red Sox paraphernalia, including a David Ortiz bobblehead.
Maggie felt pure dread that the worst had happened to Anna, but she told herself to keep the faith, and she worried about Caleb, since the horrific scene at Elma Tenderly’s. She was still amazed that he’d had the presence of mind to run out the back door and call 911 when Connie and Roy had burst into the house. She hadn’t had a chance to talk with him about what had happened, and it had to have been traumatic. He seemed okay under the circumstances, sitting next to her with his phone in his lap. During the interview, he’d absorbed everything with wide-eyed interest. She would help him process it later, and he could talk about it in therapy, too, when they got home.
‘How you doing, sweetie?’ Maggie asked him, ruffling his hair.
‘I’m okay.’ Caleb nodded with a smile.
‘You must be tired.’ Maggie checked the wall clock. It was almost one o’clock in the morning.
‘No, I’m fine.’
Maggie touched his hand. ‘That was scary at the house, huh?’
‘Yeah.’
‘I’m so proud of you, Caleb. You saved our lives, do you realize that?’
‘Yes.’ Caleb grinned.
‘I love you very much.’ Maggie gave him a hug and a kiss.
‘I love you, too, Mag.’ Caleb looked up with a smile. ‘And I said emergency!’
‘You sure did!’ Maggie smiled, proud of him.
‘Remember when I fell and cut my knee at school? It was an emergency?’
‘Yes. You said it perfectly. You were amazing.’
Kathy looked over, her eyes shining. ‘I agree, one hundred percent. Caleb, you were incredibly brave. You saved us.’
Caleb grinned. ‘Mag shot the guy!’
Kathy flared her eyes, with a half-smile. ‘Yes, she did. Who knew?’
‘Not me.’ Maggie shuddered inwardly. ‘And Kath, you tackled him.’
Kathy winked. ‘Right? The boys taught me that. Lacrosse in the spring, and
football in the fall. Go, team!’
Caleb grinned up at Maggie. ‘Did you ever shoot anybody before, Mag?’
‘No, and I don’t want to ever again. I wasn’t trying to kill him, you know. I didn’t want to.’ Maggie managed a smile, knowing she’d have some processing of her own to do, later.
Kathy put her hand on Caleb’s. ‘Your mom shot only because he was going to hurt you.’
‘I know.’ Caleb looked up at Maggie. ‘You’re a great mom.’
‘Aw, thanks, honey,’ Maggie said, feeling her heart melt. She knew he loved her, but he’d never said that to her before this very moment.
Suddenly, there was new activity in the squad room. The door to the interview room was opening, and men in suits were spilling out with laptops and legal files. The FBI types were putting on jackets, the lawyers their trenchcoats, and the police were donning bulletproof vests and leaving by the back entrance to the parking lot behind the station.
Maggie found herself on her feet. ‘They’re going somewhere.’
Kathy stood up. ‘Looks that way.’
Caleb jumped up. ‘Here comes the Chief.’
Maggie waved to Chief Vogel of the Congreve Police, who caught her eye as he threaded his way to the waiting room, zipping the blue insulated jacket over his uniform and putting on his blue cap. They had met earlier tonight, and she liked him. Vogel was a taciturn Mainer in his fifties, but he’d been concerned about Anna’s case. He opened the door to the waiting room with a tense smile.
‘Hello, folks,’ Chief Vogel said, shutting the door behind him
‘Chief, what’s going on?’ Maggie met him at the door with Kathy and Caleb. ‘Is Anna okay?’
‘I have some answers, but not all. I’m authorized to tell you only what you need to know. It’s confidential police business, and we don’t have much time to talk now.’
‘I understand.’
‘We are engaged in an ongoing police investigation. I’m telling you only because you are a victim’s parent. One of the victims.’
Maggie swallowed hard. Her heart started to thud in her chest. She prayed Anna was alive.
‘A plea agreement is being finalized with Connie, full name Konstantine Rogolyi. Under its terms, Konstantine Rogolyi will be spared the death penalty and he will be spending life in prison without possibility of parole. In return, he agrees to plead guilty to the first-degree murders of Elma Tenderly, Patti “PG” Tenderly, and Roy Watson of Tipton. In addition, Konstantine Rogolyi is pleading guilty to several other charges, including numerous federal counts of sex trafficking.’
‘Sex trafficking?’ Maggie’s stomach turned over. She felt Kathy hold her arm, supporting her. She didn’t know how much Caleb understood, but this wasn’t the time or the place to explain.
‘Yes. According to his statement, Konstantine Rogolyi was engaged with Roy Watson and others in a sex-trafficking conspiracy, in violation of the TVPA, or the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and other laws. Patti Tenderly, whom you know as PG, was an integral part of the criminal conspiracy. Patti Tenderly’s role was to recruit victims like your daughter and lure them into meeting with Konstantine Rogolyi, Roy Watson, and others, who kidnapped and trafficked them.’ Chief Vogel’s mouth set grimly. ‘Konstantine Rogolyi told authorities that there are seven victims being forced into prostitution, coerced under threat of violence. You may be unaware of this, but not all sex trafficking is international. On the contrary, domestic sex trafficking is on the rise in remote regions of the country like ours. In fact, state and federal law enforcement coordinate with many anti-trafficking groups, including women’s groups and Truckers Against Trafficking.’
‘So does that mean Anna is alive?’ Maggie felt a flicker of hope, setting aside her revulsion. ‘And you know where she is?’
‘We have a reasonable basis to believe that she and the others are at a nearby location, but we cannot be certain. Konstantine Rogolyi told us that Patti Tenderly recruited Jamie Covington and your daughter Anna Desroches at Congreve. Patti Tenderly learned that your daughter was to inherit a trust fund at age eighteen. Seeing the similarity in her appearance with your daughter, Patti Tenderly befriended your daughter, trafficked her, and took the opportunity to steal your daughter’s identity and move to Pennsylvania.’
Maggie shuddered. ‘Because she wanted Anna’s money?’
‘Yes. In addition, she had to leave our jurisdiction to avoid detection, since she had already trafficked other victims here. More would have raised suspicion. Konstantine Rogolyi also told us that after Patti Tenderly moved to Pennsylvania, she trafficked one Samantha Silas, a junior at Lower Merion High School.’
‘All of the missing girls were trafficked?’ Maggie felt absolute disgust, even as she tried to piece the story together. ‘Patti, or PG, worked so quickly.’
‘She had to, to take advantage of the school year to meet her victims.’
‘So why did Connie kill her? My husband was wrongly convicted of that murder.’
‘I’ll explain, briefly.’ Chief Vogel glanced at the office, where the FBI, assistant U.S. attorneys, assistant district attorneys, and uniformed officers were leaving. ‘According to Konstantine Rogolyi’s statement, Patti Tenderly intended to recruit victims in Pennsylvania using your daughter’s identity until your daughter’s trust fund and inheritance paid out, at eighteen years old. Then Patti Tenderly would have collected the money and left your home. However, she feared that your husband was going to change the terms of the trust so she didn’t receive her payout until she was twenty-five. She didn’t want to wait that long for the money, so she sought to eliminate him by making false allegations in a PFA against him.’
Maggie put it together, appalled. ‘In other words, she filed the PFA to get him out of the house?’
‘Yes, but she feared that you might eventually reconcile with him. She formed a plan to frame your husband for another incident of sexual assault, which she was going to use to charge him criminally and ultimately to force you to divorce him. Konstantine Rogolyi pretended to go along with her plan, meanwhile forming his own plan to kill her.’
‘How?’
‘Unbeknownst to Patti Tenderly and Roy Watson, Konstantine Rogolyi felt that Patti was getting too big for her britches. So Konstantine Rogolyi went to your husband’s house before your husband was due to arrive, killed Patti Tenderly, and left without being detected.’
‘Oh my God,’ Maggie said, horrified. ‘So where’s Anna?’
‘Konstantine Rogolyi has just given us information about a location in the vicinity where the victims are being trafficked. We intend to raid that location immediately.’ Chief Vogel glanced over as the law-enforcement personnel emptied the squad room.
‘You mean you’re going to find Anna now?’ Maggie asked, her heart leaping.
‘I think it’s time for you to go to the Congreve Inn and wait to hear from us. Okay, folks?’ Chief Vogel glanced at Kathy and Caleb. ‘I will call you at my earliest opportunity –’
Maggie interrupted, ‘If you’re going to find Anna, I’m going with you.’
Chief Vogel raised his palm. ‘Folks, I would prefer it if you waited at the hotel. We will be attempting to apprehend criminals who are armed and dangerous. The victims are in further danger once the operation begins. We want to avoid a hostage situation. This will be a major, coordinated operation of federal and state law enforcement.’
‘I’m coming, Chief.’ Maggie turned to Kathy. ‘Kath, I think you should take Caleb to the hotel, don’t you?’
‘Yes, agree. We’ll go to the hotel.’ Kathy gave her a quick hug. ‘Good luck, honey. Be careful.’
‘Mag, I want to stay with you,’ Caleb said, taking her hand.
‘Honey, no. You heard the Chief.’ Maggie kissed him and gave him a hug. ‘Love you. See you as soon as I can, okay?’
Chief Vogel frowned. ‘Maggie, I’m advising you to wait at the hotel, too. Please.’
‘Thanks, but no,’ Maggie said. ‘I’m coming
with you.’
Kathy interjected, ‘Chief Vogel, you have to take her with you. After all, you wouldn’t have cracked this case if it hadn’t been for her. You can thank her on the way.’
Chapter Eighty-three
Noah, After
Noah realized with horror the COs were going to put him in the cell with Drover, like a cage match. Adrenaline poured into his system. His heart began to pound. His breath came short and choppy. He no longer felt pain. He broke a sweat. He didn’t struggle because it would waste energy he needed.
‘Uncuff me,’ Noah said, wanting a fighting chance.
‘I don’t think so, doc.’ CO Evesham shoved Noah inside the cell.
Noah staggered in and fell, handcuffed. The door clanged shut and was locked behind him. He scrambled to his feet, backing up. He willed himself not to panic.
Drover advanced slowly, brandishing the shank, a jagged piece of metal with an adhesive-taped handle.
Noah edged backwards, thinking fast. If he drew Drover close enough, he could kick the knife from his hands or kick him in the crotch.
Drover advanced, grimacing. He swiped the air with the knife, toying with Noah. His dark eyes glittered. ‘You killed Jeremy.’
‘No I didn’t. I tried to save him.’ Noah backed closer to the door. Warm blood ran in rivulets down his face. He blinked it away. He was running out of space. He needed Drover to get closer still.
‘You wouldn’t sew him up.’ Drover swiped the air in the opposite direction.
‘It wouldn’t have helped.’ Noah felt his back against the door.
‘I’m going to carve you like they carved him.’
Noah heard shouting behind him. Heavy footsteps filled the hallway outside. Orders were being barked. ‘Get me out of here!’ he called out, kicking the door.
Drover made his move, lunging at Noah with the knife.
Noah jumped out of the way, just missing the blade.
Suddenly the cell door flew open. The CERT team, or Corrections Emergency Response Team, burst inside. They charged in a phalanx at Drover in black riot helmets, protective eyewear, and heavy body armor.