“Let’s see where this little gem leads us. You’ll be the first to know,” Conroy promised Evan.
“Okay, so, does Orlando Ortiz own this house, you think?” Evan asked Dotty when he returned to the room.
“I don’t know. Honest to God, I don’t know where he lives or who he works for, if that’s his real name or not. For all I know, his real name is John Smith.”
“Who hired you?”
“Orlando.”
“How did that happen? You saw an ad in the classifieds for a madam and thought you’d apply?”
“He came to me. I used to work someplace else. He offered me a job, said someone was starting up a new house, they wanted someone with experience to run it. Said I’d be paid well if I ran a tight ship and I asked no questions. I figured what the hell.”
“When did they move you out of the house in Carleton?”
“Sunday.” Her eyes flickered nervously.
“How’d that come about? You lose your lease?”
“He-Orlando-came by early in the morning and told me that everyone was moving out in the afternoon. They were sending trucks and they’d be taking us to another house.”
“You didn’t think that was odd?”
“I thought maybe the house was sold. I was paid to not ask questions. I didn’t ask.”
“Did you ask questions when those three young girls disappeared about a month ago?”
“They didn’t disappear. They were moved.”
“Moved? Moved where?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged again, a flip of her shoulders, but the movement appeared overly casual.
“Because you don’t ask questions.”
“Right.”
“Even when you see their pictures on the front page of your morning newspaper, after they turned up dead?”
She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Her face flushed crimson, and she averted her eyes.
Evan turned to leave, then stopped near the door and turned back. “Who watches out for you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Who’s your security?”
She studied her nails for a long time, and Evan knew she was trying to decide which side in the drama that was about to play out would most benefit her. Finally, she said, “There were a couple of cops who came by at night. I don’t know their names, and I don’t know what police department they were from, so don’t ask me. I don’t know. But it was just the two of them, every time.”
“They were in uniform?”
“No.”
“How do you know they were cops?”
“Orlando told me.”
“What else did he tell you about them?”
“Only that the boss bought them to keep the peace and to protect his interests.”
“Would you recognize them? These cops?”
“Maybe. Maybe not…” She met his gaze head-on.
Evan knew the look:
Disgusted, he left the room, determined to find the rogue cops, with or without Dotty’s help.
22
“… so we put together an album with photos of every cop in the county, and she just looks at them all and goes, ‘I don’t know, I don’t think so…’ ”
Annie could hear the exasperation in Evan’s voice.
“Honest to God, Annie, to get this close and to have to play this kind of game…”
“She’s not going to give you a thing she doesn’t have to give up. Not now, anyway. She’s going to hold on to every card she can get her hands on, save them ’til she needs them.”
“Maybe we should turn the heat up on her, give her a reason to start talking.”
“It couldn’t hurt. She can only give you more at this time, right? She can’t give you less.”
“True. She gave us some information, but nothing that would implicate anyone other than this guy she calls Orlando.”
“And that may or may not be his real name.”
“Exactly.” He exhaled loudly.
“Well, here’s something that should cheer you up. It looks like I have a lead on the kiddie trade coming out of Santa Estela.”
“What?”
“I got a call from Connor-voice mail, actually. He said the Bureau was involved in some op down there to shut it all down, about two years ago. There’s apparently a report in the office. Unfortunately, I have to wait for John to get back from his vacation tomorrow to get my hands on the report, but I’m hoping it will give us something you can use.”
“God, that’s phenomenal! I can hardly believe it. But why do you have to wait for John?”
“It must have been highly classified. I don’t have clearance to pull the case, but John will, I’m sure. That’s why I called you, to tell you that you might have another thread to pull soon.”
“That would be terrific. This case has been like a black hole from day one. Honestly, this job is such a pain in the ass sometimes.”
“Hey, you know what John said. Anytime you’re ready to make a career move, come see him.”
“That would simplify things, wouldn’t it?” His voice softened.
“Not if it’s not what you want to do. That would only create other problems.”
“But we could spend a lot more time together. This catch-as-catch-can is wearing me down, Annie. I want to be with you.”
“I know exactly what you mean, my love. I get worn down, too, you know. And I want to be with you, too.”
“So what’s the solution? You’re there, with a job you love; I’m here with a job I love. In spite of what I say sometimes, I love what I do.”
“We could both move to Baltimore and commute to our respective offices.”
“Hey, swell idea. Why didn’t I think of that?” He tried to make light of the situation, but his retort came out flat, and he made no more attempts at humor. Instead, he said, “I’m just better when I’m with you. None of it-none of this shit-is as bad if I can come home to you.”
“I know. Me, too. We’ll work it out, Evan. We’ll think of something.”
“Damn it. Hold on, Annie, I have another call coming in…”
Annie walked to the front window and looked out over the small grassy section in front of her building. The sun had yet to set, but the day was already beginning to fade. She stepped out onto her small balcony and leaned on the railing to watch the sky turn colors. The geranium she’d bought early in the summer sat dried in its pot, the soil petrified, the plant almost mummified. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d watered it, or what she’d been thinking when she bought it. As much as she loved flowers, she always let them die. Too much work, too much time spent away from here.
“That was the lab,” Evan said as he came back on the line. “Preliminary reports show that the blood in the shed matches my girls’ blood types. Of course we’ll need to match the DNA, but I know that’s where they were killed. I knew it the second I stepped inside. It was as though-” He stopped, knowing he’d been about to say something that would sound irrational, then decided he didn’t care. “It was as if they had led me there, as if they opened that door and went inside with me. As if they wanted me to see what had happened to them there, like they were standing behind me, pointing around the room. They showed me where and how they died.” He hesitated, then asked, “Does that sound crazy?”
“Not to me,” she assured him. “Now all you need is for them to tell you who.”
“Sooner or later, they will. I told you before that I really believe the answer is already there, in the evidence. It’s like a big puzzle. I just haven’t found the right way to fit the pieces together. But when I do…”
“When you do, you’ll have the key to the whole thing, from here to Santa Estela. I’m hoping I can help you with that. I was so excited this morning, after I got Connor’s message. I couldn’t wait to get into the office. Then of course I got there and realized that I had to wait for John. But this is going to come together soon. I can feel it.”
“God, I hope you’re right. If we can find this guy, this Orlando, maybe he’ll lead us to the next rung on the ladder.”
“How about the girls who were in the house? Were they able to tell you anything?”
“They’re all with social services right now. I won’t be able to talk to them until the morning, but I don’t expect them to know who’s running the operation. At least they should be able to tell us who they are and how they got here. We can take them back to their homes, get a lead on the kidnappers in their part of the world. The Bureau report should help us with that. It might take a while, but we can close down this little cottage industry. Maybe not permanently, and maybe only this little piece of it, but it’s something.”
“And then maybe you can find out who the murdered girls were.”
“I’m hoping so. Right now, we don’t know if these girls were from the same villages or even from the same country. But you’re right. Maybe soon
