Twenty minor girls here for this brothel, forty teenage boys for this war. They also deal with special orders, so if a wealthy ‘client’ wants a virgin, the sellers will find one to desired specifications.” Sonia drained her water and looked uneasy. Dean wished that for just a minute, he could get Sonia alone and … just let her know that he was there to listen. Her past as a victim of these crimes was no secret. She had testified in court against those who had held her captive, and had provided key information that had helped law enforcement in figuring out some of the tricks and lures criminals employed. At this moment, however, she seemed so forlorn and lost, though by the looks on the faces of the other cops in the room, Dean was the only one who had noticed.
“We’re pulling out all the stops for the next forty-eight hours. In addition to monitoring Jones’s security, we are closely tracking his head lobbyist.”
“Lobbyist?” Azevedo questioned.
“Craig Gleason is under suspicion as an accessory, but we’re keeping that under wraps. Agent Knight and I interviewed him earlier about Jones’s clientele and both of us got bad vibes from the guy. It could be that he knows about the money laundering, but not the human trafficking. He’s hiding something. Agent Callahan is digging into Gleason’s background and monitoring his whereabouts. So far, after our meeting this afternoon, he let the XCJ staff go home early, but he’s still in the office.”
“Maybe he’s dead,” Montgomery quipped. “There seem to be a lot of bodies popping up today.”
“We actually considered that,” Sonia said, “and put an undercover agent in the building. So far, Gleason is still alive.”
Dean added, “He has clients and the legislature is in session tonight. It’s entirely possible that Gleason is working. With Jones dead, he’s also probably getting a lot of calls.”
“When was that released?” Trace asked. “We only confirmed it late this afternoon.”
“We released the information about Jones’s death in time for the five o’clock news,” Dean said. “After consulting with Dr. Vigo, Richardson and Warner agreed that holding the information would empower the killer. Giving it to the media puts more pressure on him, which increases the chance he’ll make a major mistake.”
Dr. Vigo’s voice came from the speakerphone. “That’s important,” he said. “This isn’t a guy you can easily rattle. Any move we make, he’s already thought about and has planned a half dozen possible responses. But the more pressure on him, the fewer options he has. Only when he feels trapped will he do something reckless, which increases our chances of catching him. Every time we take away a choice, we ratchet up his stress level. There is, however, a problem with this approach.”
“What?” Sonia asked.
“He’ll kill without thought if it gets him out of immediate danger or perceived danger. The more stress he’s under, the more paranoid he’ll get. This means he may go after more of Jones’s people or anyone blocking his end goal. While the benefit to us is that he’s more apt to make a major mistake, we should not underestimate him.”
“Great. Don’t underestimate someone we don’t know,” Sonia said.
“Exactly. I didn’t say it would be easy.”
After Dr. Vigo hung up, the rest of the team laid out their plans for the next day. Sonia finally looked at her phone-someone had been trying to call her for the last ten minutes, but it was an unfamiliar number. She dialed her voice mail.
“Dammit, Sonia, I need to talk to you right now. Call me back. It’s Simone Charles.”
Sonia’s stomach did a little flip as she thought that something had happened to Riley or their unconscious “Ann.” She excused herself and called Simone.
“It’s about friggin’ time,” Simone snapped.
“I’ve been busy.”
“Me, too. You’ll never believe it.”
“What?”
“I was going to make you guess, but that was fifteen minutes ago so I’ll just lay it out. I’m at the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office and am looking at two bullets that match perfectly. Okay, I’m not a ballistics expert but I can see the similarities under the microscope.”
“What bullets?”
“The unknown vic pulled from the river and Kendra Vega. And-”
“Anticlimactic, Simone,” Sonia cut her off, wanting to get back to the meeting. “We already suspected that the two double homicides were connected.”
“You interrupted the best part.”
“Sorry,” she mumbled and rubbed her head. She sat down at the nearest cubicle. She needed to find some Tylenol or something. She glanced at the desktop. The tidy employee had classic cartoon strips pinned precisely on the thick, rough fabric walls, humorous quips and scenes from “The Far Side,” “Blondie,” and “Peanuts,” some yellowed with age. A corkboard held a collage of pictures, most of them three happy blond girls of varying ages. Laughing. At the zoo. Eating ice cream. Being hugged. Being loved.
Sonia’s chest heaved and she bit back the self-pity that threatened her calm professionalism. It wasn’t these kids’ fault that she hadn’t had a normal childhood. It wasn’t their fault they had a loving mother and father who wanted to spend time with them. She was blessed with an adoptive family who loved her, and she was grateful for them, but sometimes when she thought of all the children who never had that support, never had the hugs, the unconditional love … She thought of Ann lying in the hospital after being raped and strangled and left for dead. She might be all of sixteen. Who were her parents? Had they sold her or had she been kidnapped like Charlie’s Ashley Fox? Where was she from? Was she going to make it? Could she have a normal life? Would she find a family like the Knights or be sent back to where she came from?
“Hey, I can’t believe you’re that speechless.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So?”
“So what?”
“Damn, you didn’t even hear the news. I can’t believe it!”
“I’m distracted. I’m sorry, Simone, it’s been a tough day.”
“Okay, I’ll cut you some slack. The head forensic pathologist performed the autopsy after hours on Jones instead of waiting until the morning, knowing that this case is red-hot. So get this: his bullets don’t match. Not one of the five match the unknown vic or Mrs. Vega.”
Sonia straightened. “You’re positive?”
“Of course I’m positive. They’re not even the same caliber. Jones was shot with nine-millimeter slugs; the other two vics with forty-five caliber hollow-points. And based on the angle of the entry wounds and knowing that Jones was shot in the parking lot, I assumed that both men were standing face-to-face. I did some preliminary calculations using the county lab, and I’m pretty confident that the killer is between five foot nine and five foot eleven.”
“You’re incredible.”
“So I’ve been told. I have more.”
“Give it to me.” Sonia grabbed a notepad from a neat stack in the corner and opened the top drawer for a pen as she listened to Simone.
But as the criminalist spoke, Sonia froze. She was speechless.
“Did you hear me?” Simone asked.
“Are you one hundred percent positive the knives match?”
“Well, technically, ninety-nine point three percent positive. But I’m looking at both of them now.”
“I’ll call you back. Thank you.”
Two minutes later, Sonia stepped back into the war room as Dean was finishing up his explanation of how he suspected Jones was laundering money. He glanced at her as he said, “We need to tread carefully with regards to Rio Diablo. We have no jurisdiction on their land and will have to work with the multitribe council to gain even minimal access.”
Trace Anderson looked at Sonia and said, “Something happened.”
“I just spoke to Simone Charles from Sac P.D. She confirmed that Mrs. Vega and the first victim found in the river were killed with the same gun; however, Jones was killed with a different gun. Time of death is the same. The blood evidence collected at the scene indicates that Jones was killed in the parking lot and carried to the edge of
