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I reached Connie on my first try. “I haven't heard anything. The police aren’t telling me squat, and I’m afraid it's because they don't know anything. I'm going crazy here doing nothing but waiting. Tell me something, anything.”
“I can imagine how hard this is for you. I wish I could say something that would help. I've done a ton of digging, and I think I'm finally getting a glimmer of the big picture. The best news I have is that I believe John is still alive. He must either know something or have something they want. Otherwise, he'd be dead already. I don't know how long he'll be able to hold out. If he gives in and tells them what they want to know, they will kill him.”
“Oh God, you mean they're torturing him, and he may get to the point where he wants to die. I don't think I can stand this. Isn't there anything I can do to help?”
Damn, I just wasn’t any good at knowing how to keep her calm. I’d thought I was giving her good news, but instead I’d scared her to death. I tried to switch her mind to something else. “Did John say anything to you about the cases he was working on?”
She took a deep breath, visibly reaching for control before saying, “We never talked much about his work. Oh, give me a minute. Let me think back over our last couple of conversations. The only thing I remember him saying about work was last week. I asked him why he was so uptight, and of course he tried to pass it off as nothing, like he always does. When he saw I wasn't buying his act, he said something about his latest case bringing up memories of his early childhood.”
Here she paused so long I thought she might not continue, but I remained quiet and waited. Eventually she said, “Then he said it brought home to him how horribly your youth differed from his. I tried asking questions, but he wouldn't say anything more. I can't think of any other time in the last few months he referred to his work.”
“Well, believe it or not, your information may help. You hang in there, and I'll get back to you as soon as I know anything. In the meantime, find out whatever you can about what the cops are doing.”
I was about to hang up when she said, “Thank you, Tavia. I may be going crazy, but it would be a lot worse if it weren't for you.”
I had no idea what a person was supposed to say to that, so I just hung up and got back to work. I guess that's why Connie and I never really hit it off. She was such a touchy-feely person, always letting her emotions show, while I'd learned early that showing emotion was a bad idea. It made a person vulnerable.
I made one last call before settling down to the computer. I arranged to meet Senator Silva in the park near his home at nine. When I'd called, I was afraid I'd be told he and his daughter were out of the country, but either they hadn't left yet, or their vacation had just been a cover story for the press. Since Calico was a late-night place, I could finish what I needed to ask the senator and be right on time to hit the club.
It was one of the strip clubs where only a G-string kept the girls from being naked by the time they finished their dances. It was also a location I frequented often. It was a good place to learn the things I needed to know to keep my finger on the pulse of the city. Strangely, I hadn't ever researched its ownership. I knew it got raided occasionally, but even though it wasn't nearly as upscale as the Domino Club, it didn't have a reputation for asking the dancers to participate in prostitution. Now I dug down through the layers of corporate entities designed to make it difficult to find out who owned the place. I was fairly sure I didn't ever find all the owners’ names, but the two I did find told me a lot. One was Hector Dalton, who was listed as half owner of the Domino Club. Since his partner's death in the club's elevator, he might now own an even bigger share. The other name was the mayor's son, Dennis Clampton, a prominent lawyer in town.
Doing some research on Clampton showed me a picture of a hard-looking, seemingly-successful forty-year-old man. He was built like a boxer, except for the prominent spare tire around his middle. More illuminating was the type of clients he represented. Most of them were sleazebags.
My head was fogging up from all the research, so I decided a long bath and a short rest were in order before my evening’s activities began.
~ * ~
Senator Silva showed up right on time, looking a hundred percent better than the last time I'd seen him. His suit still hung on his diminished frame, but he was standing tall and seemed in command of himself. I said, “Good evening, Senator. How is LeAnn doing?”
“A lot better than I could hope for. Since the club fire that killed the owner, she seems to feel safe. She still has nightmares, but she's back in school and her grades are good. She didn't want to leave the country, so we are working through her fears here at home. I also keep tabs on Debbie as you requested, and her father has been very supportive. Like LeAnn, she is seeing a therapist, but she's a tough kid and I think she'll be fine. At first, I thought that one day I wanted to hear the whole story of the rescue. LeAnn doesn't remember much, and I don't push her to talk about it unless she wants to. Now I'm glad I don't know. It makes it easier to move into the future. So, why are we here this evening?”
“Tonight is about something completely different. I know you are aware that one of Metro's detectives is missing. John Perez is a friend of mine, and I'm trying to locate him. In order to stand a chance, I need some information I think you may be able to help me with. I need to know what you know about the death of Judy Cantwell, and anything you can tell me about the mayor's son.”
He hesitated before answering. “We both know the information I have is not to be mentioned outside city hall. For John's sake, and because I know what you're capable of, I'm going to tell you everything I know anyway. You don't even have to use my marker for this one. John is a good guy, and if you can help him, I'll do anything I can to assist. Let's move this meeting to my study. I can guarantee we won't be overheard there. We were up late last night, and LeAnn is asleep already, so no one will bother us.”
I was impressed by his office-away-from-work. It contained a huge mahogany desk and four matching bookcases that were packed full. The books appeared to be used for more than just show. The only other furniture was a library table surrounded by four chairs that looked both efficient and comfortable. The desk was covered with paperwork, but most of it was organized into trays according to importance. He sat at the table, and I joined him, scooting up close so I could hear him easily. I pulled out my iPad in order to take notes if needed, since I had decided against recording the entire conversation. He seemed ill-at-ease but jumped right into his story.
“This isn't an easy story for me to tell. I feel responsible for that woman's death, for Judy's death.”
His statement shocked me, but I kept quiet, not wanting to interrupt his train of thought.
“I first met her two summers ago when she was working for a congressman who's a friend of mine, Jordan Jacks. She seemed mature and unusually capable, and it wasn't long until she was handling a lot of the duties of a personal assistant for Jordan. At the same time, I was waging war against what was becoming widespread prostitution. My big push was to go after the people responsible for using children to bring the perverts into their establishments. The more I dug, the more I discovered how widespread this problem was becoming in my own home state. My investigator learned the name of a man he was sure was procuring women and children for several of the men's clubs in Phoenix. I discussed this with Congressman Jacks, and we decided to try and get someone close to this man in order to find out who he worked for. We were talking about getting a policewoman for the undercover job. Judy overheard us and volunteered to be our spy, but we laughed at the idea and refused to consider it. She wasn’t one to give up easily, though, and slowly convinced us a cop would never be able to pull it off. She eventually made contact with our target, a man named Larry Miller, without telling us until it was too late to stop her and use someone else. At least that's what we thought at the time. We were wrong. We should have blown the whole investigation if necessary to get her out, but we didn’t. She reported to us regularly and was sure she was getting close to finding out what we needed so we let her continue. Then something must have gone wrong, because we stopped hearing from her, and two days later she turned up dead.”
“Did she tell you she suspected trouble, or did you eventually find out how they discovered what she was up to?”
“No, I don't think she ever knew. There were only a few people who were aware of the sting operation, but Jacks and I are convinced one of them either was tricked into telling the wrong person or did it deliberately.”
“I assume you have the names of the people who knew what Judy was doing?”
He hesitated and I said, “Don't clam up on me now, Senator. Somehow, we have to figure this thing out quickly if we're going to have any chance of saving John.”
“I know you're right. I've guarded my information so carefully that it's hard to let it out now. Rather than giving you random names now, I'll have my whole file delivered to you in the morning. Then you'll know everything we know.”
“I appreciate the cooperation. You’re right that John is one of the good guys, and he deserves our best effort.”
“I know that first hand. He and I have shared information in the past. I hope you can find him in time.”