Sutsoff’s dedication to her work bordered on being pathological. Her staff worshipped her genius with zeal and fear. Her enigmatic mystique commanded unquestioned obedience, loyalty and absolute secrecy.
For the “special cases.”
While most of the children at the center belonged to vacationing parents, there were those who were entangled in “complications,” such as international custody disputes or “other matters.”
“Their parents seek our service as a sanctuary,” Sutsoff had told her staff. “For security reasons, these situations must never be discussed.”
Consequently, the staff never questioned her about the strange cases or the cases of children who stayed for weeks, even months on end, as if they’d been abandoned.
Or hidden.
Dr. Sutsoff concentrated on these children, the ones her staff privately called, “the Children of the Hideaway.”
The latest to surface was the Albanian case of little one-year-old Alek Leeka. His medical records had already been scanned into the secure computer system. Dr. Sutsoff had studied them on her island before flying in today. Now, after rereading them and double-checking her secure files, she thought the preliminary work done was flawless. The child’s DNA signature was perfect, the best of them all to date.
But recent mistakes had been made in this case and it was time to deal with them. Sutsoff asked Lucy to usher the family into her private office. Lucy joined them, making notes of the meeting. The baby was on the verge of crying.
“Why so grouchy?” Sutsoff cooed. Then she said, “Hello, Elena and Valmir. You must be very pleased things have gone so well, so quickly?”
They smiled and nodded nervously. Elena was chewing gum.
“We are happy to have a son, finally,” Valmir said.
“The files note that you are both dual citizens of Albania and the United States and that you’re in the process of adopting your new child whom you’ve named Alek.” Dr. Sutsoff nodded to Lucy. “Unfortunately, the boy was orphaned when his parents recently died in a tragic car crash in the United States. Ah, but for every ending there is a beginning. The adoption process has been expedited through an international law firm based in Brazil. Isn’t that correct, Elena?”
Elena, who was working hard on her gum, stopped and nodded.
“That is correct, yes.”
“It’s been a little stressful,” Sutsoff said to Lucy. “Elena and Valmir are going to extend their vacation. Now, if I may, I’ll just have a look at Alek. I see he’s a little crotchety. I think I can fix that.”
Sutsoff looked at the baby in his stroller, taking stock as if he were a prized jewel, smiling to herself before turning and scrutinizing her computer files once more. Then she hefted him to the small table in her office, slid on her stethoscope and while Lucy steadied him, proceeded to examine the toddler for some twenty minutes, making detailed notes the whole time. Afterward, Sutsoff went into her small fridge and poured a little fruit punch into a plastic cup with dolphins on it. Then Sutsoff opened her small black medical bag, found a tiny brown bottle, unscrewed the lid and tapped a few drops into the juice.
“This medicine should help.” She held the cup while little Alek gulped it down.
“That’s a good boy.” She patted his head. “Lucy, would you mind getting one of the staff to take care of Alek. He’s going to stay with us for this afternoon while his parents have some alone time.”
Lucy took the toddler in her arms.
“Come on, sweetie,” she murmured. “You can meet the other angels.”
After Lucy closed the door, Valmir’s head snapped to Dr. Sutsoff.
“Where is our fucking money?”
Sutsoff ignored him and checked a file on her computer.
“We want to be paid now,” Valmir said.
“Valmir, you were part of the recovery team in the case of this Wyoming boy?”
Subtly, Valmir pushed his chest forward. “Yes.”
“Your instructions were to obtain the baby. That accident could have killed him. You took a stupid risk.”
Valmir shrugged as Sutsoff’s computer printer came to life.
“There was miscommunication,” Valmir said. “Our team was advised that you only needed his tissue. Whether he was dead or alive was no concern. But we grabbed him. He lived and we brought him to you as instructed. The mother and father died, so there is no problem.”
Sutsoff handed him a news article.
“The father died, but the mother lived, Valmir. You made a dangerous error, risking everything. Fortunately, everyone assumes the baby died.”
Valmir sucked air through his teeth. “So? It’s a win-win. Pay us our fucking money if you want us to continue.”
Sutsoff could barely contain her loathing of these two. She’d come to employ them through her international networks: Valmir, the onetime security agent turned human trafficker from Albania and Elena, the prostitute. Dr. Sutsoff hated them but needed them, as she needed the others like them. They were essential to the overall operation. But there was little reason for them to live beyond that. She would happily erase them later. For now, she pulled a thick envelope from her desk and tapped it in her hands.
“You are supposed to be convincing as proud parents. Valmir, you reek of cigarettes. Drink some mouthwash, shave, bathe and lose your tasteless jewelry. Elena, lose the gum, wear clothing that covers your tattoos and suggests you have a brain and are a good mother, not a moronic whore.”
Sutsoff tossed the envelope to Valmir, who fanned the American bills, seventy-five thousand dollars in all.
“We’re going to the casino now.”
“Listen to me,” Sutsoff said. “Stay sober. We have new passports for you and your son. Pick up the boy in five hours. We’ve arranged for you to join a cruise ship tonight. You are to conduct yourselves as a family on a Caribbean cruise. When your cruise ends, you will fly back to Nassau and stay in this resort. All your tickets and expenses are taken care of.”
“That’s it?” Valmir asked.
“You have one assignment on the ship.”
“What is it?”
“A man and woman from Indianapolis will be staying in the cabin across the hall from yours. All you have to do is ensure that at some point the boy innocently touches the man’s skin.”
Valmir looked at Elena then back at Dr. Sutsoff.
“That’s it?” Valmir asked.
“That’s it.”
27
As Lucy Walsh watched the Leekas leave Dr. Auden’s office, her breathing quickened. The parts of their conversation with the doctor that she’d overheard confirmed her fears.
For the past several weeks, she’d grown increasingly suspicious that the child-care center was a cover for something illegal.
Something sinister.
Lucy had arrived in the Bahamas from Ireland a year ago after answering an online advertisement for nannies. At the time she thought the center to be a world-class service with humanitarian leanings, secretly aiding families facing difficult adoptions and custody matters.
But she became troubled by Dr. Auden’s payments and calls to medical labs and law firms around the world, by her odd dealings with mysterious and scary people, by the cryptic behavior of some of the staff. It led Lucy to believe that the center was involved in illegal adoptions or child smuggling.
Or, Lord above, something worse.
