‘Let Rex deal with that one,’ Marcus said. ‘A week’s gone by since she threatened to sue. He can find out if she’s retained an attorney in the meantime and do that lawyer-to-lawyer thing that he does so well.’
Cal got up to refill his coffee cup. ‘This doesn’t worry me at all. When they start talking money, a lot of the unpredictable emotional responses disappear. If they’re truly after cold, hard cash, they’ll refrain from doing anything violent that jeopardizes that.’
‘Hopefully it is just about money,’ Stone said, ‘because if the woman truly intends to follow through, we may not be able to tie the threats to her.’ He scowled. ‘Because Jill moved them from the corporate server to her own laptop. Hopefully she didn’t destroy the electronic trail.’
‘Stupid kid,’ Diesel muttered, then glanced at Marcus from the corner of his eye. ‘Can I at least call her “stupid”?’
‘Yes, you can. Even though you were just saying that I should trust her.’
‘And then I said you were better at judging people than I am,’ Diesel fired back. ‘I need Jill’s laptop. Tell her it is not negotiable. That if she refuses, you will fire her ass. May I say “ass”, boss, in this context?’ he asked sarcastically.
‘Only if I can tell you to shut up,’ Marcus said. ‘Stone, if she gives you any problems, tell her I will terminate her. Make me the bad guy if you want. She already thinks the worst of me. Until Diesel tracks this threat, we all take precautions, especially at night.’ Nods around the table. ‘Okay, what actual business do we have? Special business,’ he clarified.
As opposed to their legit business, which they saved for the end.
Lisette opened her file. ‘Two investigations ongoing. One’s domestic violence and the other is suspected foster family molestation. The domestic violence came through our friend.’
Their ‘friend’ was officially an anonymous source, but was in reality a woman in the hierarchy of Children’s Services. Only Lisette knew her true identity. Marcus didn’t want to know, for their informant’s protection. He couldn’t tell what he didn’t know.
Their first case had come five years ago. Since then, the social worker had sent a number of very unofficial referrals their way, cases in which Children’s Services suspected abuse but hadn’t been able to prove it. Just like the one Lisette now summarized.
‘This started out as a suspected child abuse, called in to the hotline,’ she said. ‘A neighbor saw that one of the children had a friction burn on his arm. He said he got it playing with his friends, but she didn’t believe that and called it in. The kid’s dad is some corporate VP and had a high-priced attorney. None of the other neighbors would comment, but a couple of the neighbors’ maids did – all under condition of anonymity. Nobody wanted to get any of the people in this neighborhood angry with them. The child confided in his social worker that his father hit him and his mother, but later recanted. The father’s attorneys claimed the social worker coerced the child to speak against his father. That she bribed him with candy. And now the social worker is under investigation, suspended without pay.’
‘Why does that tactic still hold any water?’ Cal murmured.
‘Good question,’ Lisette said grimly. ‘Our friend doesn’t like being forced to walk away from a child because the parent has enough money to buy his way out of the legal system. She also doesn’t like that the other employees are going to be gun-shy around any accused parent with influence, financial or political. She’s asked us to find out what we can.’
‘Sounds like he didn’t even get close to the legal system,’ Marcus said.
‘Exactly. So what’s the plan?’
Everyone went quiet, thinking of their next steps. This was what they did. When the legal way didn’t work, Marcus’s team skirted the accepted rules.
They all had reasons for what they did, but not the reasons one might think. Only Diesel had been knocked around as a kid. Phillip and Lisette joined the team because Phillip’s childhood friend had been killed by an abusive father. Lisette had been the child’s babysitter, and both siblings had tried to tell their parents that something was not right in that home, but the Cauldwells had been convinced that the friend’s parents were good church-going people and that Lisette and Phillip had been watching too much television. When the child died from a beating at the hands of his father, Lisette’s parents had become two of the city’s leading advocates for children.
Marcus’s grandfather had contributed a significant chunk of his own millions to child-rescue charities, instructing Cal to ensure they had free advertising space in the Ledger for fund-raising. Cal had continued that work after Marcus’s grandfather had died. Cal’s reasons had always been his own, and even Marcus had never learned what they were. But Marcus knew exactly why his grandfather had become a supporter of child advocates.
Because of what happened to us, he thought now. But those were words he and Stone never spoke aloud. They were too painful, and simply . . . not available. Marcus always panicked and froze, unable to make the words exit his mouth when the subject arose – which was thankfully infrequently. Stone coped by getting mad and hitting things. And people. It hadn’t been a problem when he was a scrawny kid who no one could tempt with food. But later . . . he had grown so large that he could make grown men piss themselves with a single angry look. Underneath the rage, he was a decent, kind man. But the rage ran really, really deep.
‘The tried-and-true income tax evasion won’t work this time,’ Cal said. ‘This guy probably has expensive accountants who cover his ass six ways to Sunday.’
They’d used that approach a few times, with Diesel creatively accessing the suspects’ personal computers to see expenses versus what had been declared to the IRS. The tax fraud had to be excessive for it to result in any jail time for the abusers, but when it worked, it got the abuser out of the home, which was their team’s ultimate goal.
These abusers weren’t being punished for beating their children, but they were being punished – and most people were more terrified of the IRS than they were of the cops. Marcus figured if it had been good enough for The People v. Al Capone, it was good enough for them.
‘You’re probably right, Cal,’ he said. ‘This guy is too smart to openly cheat on his taxes, but let’s let Diesel take a look anyway. He’s had too many easy cases recently. Too much low-hanging fruit. We need to keep his skills sharp.’
‘I’m sitting right here, asshole,’ Diesel snarled, but his eyes were bright with the challenge. ‘If I don’t find any tax irregularities, I might find something else we can use. This guy may have a secret porn collection he doesn’t want anyone to know about, or he may be having an affair he wants to keep secret. I’ll need to know more about him to guess his passwords – hobbies, friends, old lovers. This’ll be too much fun.’
Lisette’s lips curved even as she shook her head. ‘Be careful, big guy. Don’t get so excited that you trip any alarms.’
Diesel gave her an injured look. ‘You wound me, Lissy.’
‘I will totally wound you if you expose us,’ she warned, but it was without heat. ‘I was wondering if this prince has assaulted anyone outside his immediate family. Maybe someone who works for him. His household staff wouldn’t talk, but one of his employees might.’
‘How were you planning to get his corporate staff list?’ Stone asked.
She waggled her brows. ‘I was thinking of sending someone in with a delivery. You can get a lot of info from mailroom clerks. But it would need to be someone young – or who looks young. Someone who could pull off being a courier. Someone who hasn’t had any photos of himself in the press, unlike Stone, and who doesn’t scare small children with his tattoos, unlike Diesel.’ She gave her brother a beaming smile, and Phillip sighed.
‘Give me the address. I’ll go home and get my courier uniform and my bike.’
‘Start with the ladies’ names,’ Lisette said, sobering. ‘Guys like this pick on people they think are weaker than they are.’
/>
‘I know what to do,’ Phillip reminded her. ‘I’ve done this before.’
He had, and successfully. Phillip had a youthful face that people simply trusted.
‘And if we can’t get any legit goods on him?’ Stone asked, and the table again fell silent, everyone turning to Marcus.
‘Then we find a way to create a situation he can’t resist,’ Marcus said. They had used entrapment only once, when the suspect was a child predator who’d been too smart to get caught by police chat-room stings. Because they weren’t cops, they weren’t bound by the same anti-entrapment rules. And that perp was now serving eight-to-twenty-five in the state pen. Life without rules could be a beautiful thing.
‘What about the foster family situation?’ Cal asked.
‘That one came from a contact at the high school,’ Marcus said. ‘One of Mikhail’s friends.’ A wave of emotion hit him like a brick and he had to clear his throat. ‘He called to tell me goodbye because he’s headed off to college. He was, um, missing Mickey.’ The room went still as Marcus focused on filling his lungs with air. Just saying Mikhail’s name could still suck all the oxygen from a room. ‘They were always supposed to go to college together, the two of them and another boy. Best friends, you know.’
‘John,’ Stone murmured. ‘Those boys were joined at the hip. I always forget we aren’t the only ones to miss him.’
Marcus swallowed hard when Lisette leaned against Stone, resting her head on his shoulder, trying to give him comfort.
There was no romance, not among any of them. But they all loved one another just the same. In many ways, he and Stone had ended up far better than Marcus had ever hoped. He liked to think his grandfather would be happy to see this. And maybe a little proud.
He cleared his throat again. ‘Anyway, John and I got to talking. He was sad because, of the three of them, only he was going away to the college they’d picked. The third boy got accepted and would have been a scholarship student, but right before graduation, he “went all zombie”. John’s words. He said it was like the lights went out overnight. The boy failed his finals, his GPA dropped and he lost his scholarship. John’s afraid to go away to school now, worried that his friend might do something stupid, like kill himself.’
‘Hell of a burden for an eighteen-year-old boy to carry,’ Cal said gruffly.
‘The kid was molested,’ Stone said flatly. ‘He was in foster care?’
Marcus nodded. ‘Yeah. John said he tried to get him to go to the authorities, but the boy wouldn’t – and made John promise he wouldn’t call the hotline. Apparently there are other kids there who would suffer. Kids this boy was protecting. John thought that he could get around his promise by asking me to call, but I told him to give me a few days. That I’d see what could be done so that all the kids would be protected.’ He turned to Diesel, who looked ready to kill. ‘You want a shot at this foster scum’s computer before I go to Children’s Services?’
Diesel huffed. ‘Try to stop me.’
‘D,’ Lisette murmured, ‘be careful.’
Diesel bared his teeth in a parody of a smile. ‘You always say that, Lissy. And I’m always careful. No way I’m letting some sick sonofabitch off the hook because I got careless.’
She nodded, still wary. ‘You’re already tracing the emails for Marcus and digging into Mr Rich and Arrogant. Let me help you. You don’t have to carry this one alone.’
‘Yeah, sweetie, I do,’ Diesel said grimly. No one ever talked about Diesel’s background, but everyone knew that child rapists were his temper’s trigger. It didn’t take a genius to connect the dots. ‘I’ll back-burner Rich and Arrogant for a day or two. If I haven’t found anything to nail Foster Dick, then I’ll come to you for help.’
‘All right,’ Marcus said. ‘What about legit business? What stories are we covering today?’
‘Well, the girl in the alley is our lead,’ Lisette said. ‘There were a few minor stories that showed up in the police reports this morning. Nothing as big as yours.’ She briefly went through each one, detailing which of her small group of reporters she planned to send, and it started to sound like a normal staff meeting.
Lisette glanced over at Diesel, who was already on his laptop, his expression too intense, then back at her brother. ‘I’d like you to do the groundwork for Diesel on Mr Rich and Arrogant. His plate is full.’
‘I’m fine,’ Diesel growled.
Phillip nodded at Lisette, ignoring Diesel. ‘Will do.’
They spent another twenty minutes discussing the more routine business – sports, the arts, all subjects that were unlikely to get any of them threatened or shot at.
‘If no one has anything else, then we’re done,’ Marcus said. ‘Keep me informed.’
The team filed out of the conference room, Cal bringing up the rear. The old man paused at the door, looking over his shoulder. ‘Have you told your mother what happened this morning?’
Marcus shook his head, feeling nauseated at the thought. ‘No, but I will. She needs to hear it from me and not from Stone’s story.’
Cal gave him a nod and closed the door behind him, leaving Marcus sitting alone, dreading the conversation with his mother. Either way he cut it, she’d be devastated. That he’d been protecting ‘a stranger’, as she’d put it, would make it worse. Protecting ‘a stranger’ was how she’d nearly lost him nine months ago. She couldn’t see past that point.
His mother had buried Mikhail. And Matty, so long ago. They never spoke of the third of her five children. No one wanted to hurt her. But Marcus had hurt her again by getting injured that day nine months ago. He’d hurt her when he joined the army, too. He would hurt her again when he told her about this morning. Hell, maybe Stone was right. Maybe I do have a death wish. But he wouldn’t change anything he’d done. Not even that one most despicable thing that haunted him more than all the others put together. But none of that was relevant. Those mental images flashing through his mind had nothing to do with the reality of what he had to do today, so he pushed the memories from his mind and focused.
He still had a list to compile for Scarlett Bishop – one that wouldn’t arouse any undue curiosity. And he still had to figure out what to do about Jill. And Gayle. And of course there was Tala. As soon as he was done with the damn list, he’d go to the park and start looking for anyone who could ID that poodle.
But first he’d call his mother. Straightening his spine, he prepared himself for her anger. Prepared to apologize without agreeing to change his behavior. Because he planned to continue protecting ‘strangers’ – as often and as long as he was able to, whether his mother liked it or not.
Eight
Cincinnati, Ohio
Tuesday 4 August, 8.15 A.M.
When Scarlett arrived at the morgue, she found Deacon waiting for her outside the door to the autopsy suite.
‘Did Carrie tell you anything when she called to tell us to come over here?’ he asked.
‘Only that she had something to show us.’ Dr Carrie Washington, the ME, was not a chatty woman. ‘Your buddies at the Bureau any help?’
‘Maybe. The Bureau’s watching several suspected trafficking operations in the Midwest, most of them here in Ohio. The Cincinnati Field Office has the lead, so all of the data flows through here. That should work in our favor.’
Scarlett shook her head. ‘You know, I’ve read the Bureau’s reports on trafficking and I’ve been trained to spot the victims, but every time I hear that Ohio has one of the highest rates in the whole country, I think it’s got to be some kind of mistake.’ But she knew it wasn’t. The most recent stats had Ohio in the top ten, closely trailing the ‘usual suspects’ of California, New York, Florida and Texas. Hell, Toledo alone was the third worst city in the entire country for sex trafficking. Which was damn hard to believe. ‘I mean, Ohio? Seriously?’
‘Location, location,’ Deacon said grimly.
‘I know, but still . . .’ Sitting just a hop-step from Canada, with the I-75 corridor runn
ing straight through the state, Ohio was an ideal distribution route for all kinds of illegal activity. That Cincinnati was the I-75 gatekeeper at the southern end of the state meant that local law enforcement had always needed to be vigilant when it came to catching drug runners. Every rookie knew what to look for. But this . . . The trafficking of humans through the state was still new to law enforcement. At least our awareness of it is. ‘I wonder how long it’s been going on right under our noses,’ she murmured.
‘Far longer than we think, I’m sure. Most of the information I saw at the field office this morning dealt with the sex trade, so we might find a connection to Tala.’
‘You’re assuming she was forced into prostitution?’
‘Aren’t you?’
‘Yeah,’ she admitted. ‘Especially with the way she tried to pay Marcus back for his help. Besides, dog walking can’t be her only job.’
‘Exactly. The agent heading the investigation is checking to see which, if any, of the suspected operators deal in Filipino women. He’s supposed to get back to me by lunchtime. What about you? Did the two homeless people see anything valuable?’
‘Edna and Tommy were gone when I walked back to my car. They may have gotten nervous with all the sirens and taken off. I swung by Dani’s shelter to see if they’d gone there. They hadn’t yet, but they might still. If I can’t find them at the shelter, they’ll be back at their stoop later tonight.’
‘Have you heard from Marcus?’
She nodded. ‘He sent the video files of the park and the alley like he promised. I got a few decent quality stills of both Tala and Coco the poodle from them. I ran copies of the stills for the uniforms to show the homeowners around the park. But my biggest takeaway was that Tala appeared to know the person who shot her.’ And that Marcus had been literally shaking at the sight of the bullet hole in her skull. But sharing that felt too much like a betrayal. Which was ridiculous, as she owed the man nothing. Still, it wasn’t relevant, so she kept it to herself.