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I woke in the morning to a ringing phone. I grabbed the bedside phone on the fourth ring and grunted some unintelligible words. When I realized my caller was one of the men I had following the guys from the warehouse, I sat up and took notice.
He didn't have a lot of information for me yet, but I did find out that the building marked on John's map was still empty. All of the other buildings the company had were rented and full. It was one more indication this building was being saved for some specific purpose. When they informed me that Hector Dalton, one of the men I'd given them a picture of, had visited the warehouse and talked with the manager late last night, I had a pretty good suspicion why he'd been there. Even more interesting, according to the description I'd received, he'd been accompanied by Larry Miller. With Hector Dalton owning strip clubs and Miller suspected of providing women and children for prostitution, it wasn't surprising the two would be together. My contacts had a friend bringing me pictures of them both. Between Dalton's visit and the secure cells inside the empty building, I suspected women recruits were held there until they could be moved into one of Dalton's clubs. I'd seen in my local news feed that repairs on the Domino Club had already begun. I'd wondered at the time who had been paid off to get the repairs started so quickly. Soon Dalton would have to begin bringing in more women. I asked my guys to keep watching, and to let me know right away if they saw anything the least bit unusual.
I was barely up, dressed, and on my first cup of coffee when the doorbell rang. It seemed like everyone was up early this morning. I didn't expect the file from the senator until he got to his office around nine, so I figured this must be the information from Lenny and Cal at the warehouse. I figured wrong. The man at the door was from a messenger service, and he'd brought the senator's complete file. Once I'd tipped the delivery guy and re-locked the door, I sat down to read.
The first thing I saw was a picture of Larry Miller. This was the man Senator Silva suspected of procuring women for the clubs offering prostitutes. This was the man Judy had been trying to get next to when she died. If the man in this picture and the one from the warehouse were the same person, this would be proof there was a tie between Judy and the prostitution scheme. It was the only reason I'd discovered so far to explain why she'd been murdered.
The other very interesting information in the file were the names of the four men who had known Judy was working undercover. This information led me to believe the leak and probably the cover-up of the way Judy had died had come from Mayor Clampton's office, because the mayor's name was on the list, and it seemed like a good bet he knew his son was involved somehow. I didn't think he'd risk his job and possibly jail time for anyone else. I'd have to keep the other three names in reserve, but they seemed to be unlikely candidates.
This information was finally something that agreed with my recent conclusion that John's kidnapping was tied to the people involved in prostitution and not the serial killer. I believed Judy’s brother, Devon, would have killed John if he'd gotten too close to apprehending him, but he had no reason to abduct him. On the other hand, if the big boys who were getting rich from selling women thought John knew or had something they wanted, that would be a reason to take him alive. I should concentrate on finding out where they were holding him. I could help hunt down Devon after John was free.
The doorbell rang again. This time it was a scary-looking guy delivering the information from the warehouse. Alfred was a small-time drug-runner and an old friend. I invited him in for a glass of tea or something stronger if he wanted it, but he had more errands to run and couldn't stay.
I opened this file and compared the picture of the man with Dalton to the one of Miller, confirming they were the same guy. There was no doubt that I needed to find Larry Miller quickly. I expected him to lead me to John. Following both Miller and the big boss Dalton were my top priorities. Because Hector Dalton owned the Domino Club, I already knew he was involved in the prostitution business. One of them would eventually give me what I needed. I already had a tail on Hector, and a quick online search provided an address for Larry. I picked up the phone and arranged for someone to go to Larry's house and keep track of his movements. I knew who to call for surveillance. Once again, I knew someone I could call on for a favor that I knew would do a good job.
I read both the file from Senator Silva and the one from Cal and Lenny on the warehouse people again. I needed to figure out what my next move should be. Unfortunately, the late night and what was for me an early morning caught up with me. I drifted off to sleep in the middle of a thought.
~ * ~
The dream started almost before I was completely asleep. I was in the dark. It didn't seem strange. I'd been locked in this closet so many times it was no longer frightening. The longest I'd been left there was five days, but usually my stay was less than a day. They kept a large bottle of water in the closet, so I only had to go without food. The time I'd been forgotten for five days, I'd been sick and dizzy for several days afterward. It had been weeks before I felt like eating much again. Fortunately, the shorter stays were easier, at least physically. For the last six months I'd been using the closet time to plan how to exact a fitting revenge before I took off for good. I didn't want to kill my tormentors. As punishment, death was too quick. I was also afraid the police would probably catch up with me if I did murder them. I also didn't want to leave them running around loose to do to someone else what they'd done to me and others before me.
For self-protection, I secretly listened to a lot of their private conversations. I'd also snooped through every single thing in the house when they were out. I had a good memory, and I knew basically everywhere they had lived for quite some time before they'd gotten me. I also knew in lurid detail what they'd done to other kids. They had newspaper articles talking about children found abandoned in horrible shape. I was sure they kept the articles because these were the children they had kidnapped, and the name or two I'd heard mentioned over the years corroborated this. I had looked on the internet, found the dates of the articles, and matched the dates to the names they'd been using at the time, as well as the addresses where they'd lived. All these kids had originally been obtained through the system just as I had, so the authorities had to have some information about Clive and Alice. It was possible someone in one of the towns where they had obtained a foster child would remember them. For the last couple of weeks, I'd been hiding bits of evidence around the house. To a long, detailed letter I'd written, I'd added the names and addresses of the people they knew in Phoenix. Soon I'd be ready to mail my letter to the cops and take off. It was my intention that Clive and Alice spend the rest of their lives in prison. If my efforts didn't pan out, I could always find them later and finish them off. As a small child, I'd been made to wear hand-me-downs from some of their previous unfortunate wards. Some of these I hid where they would never think to look, but where the cops could easily find them. I was getting to the point where there was so much hidden evidence it was almost overkill. I wasn't taking any chances. I tentatively planned to leave within the month. I had to work hard to remain weak and submissive in order to keep my intentions secret.
~ * ~
The phone rang and I was so sound asleep at first, I thought it was part of the dream. I struggled awake and it kept ringing. When I finally answered I don't know how I sounded, but Kit said. “What's the matter? Are you all right? You sound terrible.”
Coming fully awake and gaining control of my voice, I said, “I'm fine. You just caught me taking a nap. What's up?”
“I didn't know you ever slowed down enough to take a nap. I wish I'd been there. We probably could have found something better to do than sleep the day away.”
“That's nice, but did you call for a reason?”
“Now you're just being catty. It's possible I just called because I wanted to hear the sound of your voice. I don't always have a reason for calling, but it just so happens this time I do.”
“Ah ha! I knew it.”
“As I was saying, I have to go to LA this weekend, and I was wondering if you'd like to go along. My plane leaves at eleven Friday night, and my business won't take long, so we'd have time to swim in the ocean and eat some fresh seafood. I'd love your company.”
“It's a tempting offer since I really love seafood, but if you have to know now, I'll have to say no. I'm in the middle of something, and I don't know if I'll have it wrapped up by then.”
“I don't need any advance notice. If you get free any time between now and then, let me know, because either way I have to go. It would be great if we could go together.”
I promised to tell him if things changed, but I didn't have a lot of hope because Friday was the day after tomorrow. I planned to do my best to have found John by then, because otherwise there was a good chance he'd be dead, but I had no way of predicting the future. Before I'd fallen asleep, I'd been trying to decide what my next move should be. I hadn't made any conscious decision, but I woke up knowing I intended to go toss Larry Miller's apartment. He was my best lead. I had no doubt Hector Dalton was involved up to his eyeballs, but he was also a prominent figure in town. I believed he was the most likely one to have ordered John's kidnapping, but rather than do it himself he'd delegate the deed to an underling. He personally would stay away from wherever they were holding him. In case things went south, he would make sure there was no way to connect him to anything. Larry, on the other hand, wasn't above getting his hands dirty. According to the senator's files, he and his pals would do anything for money. Sooner or later, I expected him to lead the woman I had tailing him to where they were holding John. It was possible I might find something in his apartment that would give me the information quicker.
The person I'd asked to follow Larry was another private detective. Cassie Wainright was good at her job and completely honest. Several years ago, a louse I was scamming was stalking her. I'd found out by accident, so I called her, and we put together a plan to take him down and satisfy both our needs. Since then, we'd done each other one or two other favors. We'd never become best chums since she was too used to following the rules for me to trust her with much information, but we worked well together when it suited us both. I called Cassie and found out Larry was out eating lunch with his girlfriend, and she didn't expect him to be home for a couple of hours.
This was as good an opportunity to do my breaking and entering as any. The drive to his place only took about fifteen minutes, so I allowed myself up to an hour to look around. I wasn't ready for him to know he was on anyone's radar yet, so I wanted to be gone long before he was supposed to get home. The apartment was a rundown complex built in the sixties on Twentieth Street near Indian School Road. Almost everyone living there worked, and there was no one around when I walked onto the complex grounds. I found the right door and spent about ten seconds picking the lock. I always searched behind the vent grills first. It was amazing how many people who had something to hide seemed to think they were the only ones who had ever seen this hiding place on TV.
Larry was no exception, and behind the second grate I checked I found his stash of drugs. Normally I would have flushed them, but since I didn't want my visit known, I left them where I found them. I wasn't happy they were there, because if I'd found his only hiding place, maybe I wasn't going to find anything tying him to Judy’s death or to John's kidnapping. I did a thorough search anyway. I thought I was going to come up empty, but when I checked his jewelry box, I found a woman's jade ring. I was sure I'd seen it on Judy's hand in one of the newspaper articles about her. It proved I was on the right track about Judy being killed by the prostitution ring, but I didn't find anything tying the man to John's disappearance. I still thought I had to be looking in the right direction, because these were the only people who could have a reason to want him alive.
Back at the car, I pulled out my cell phone and called the senator again. After thanking him for the files he'd sent, I intended to ask him to call me from a secure location. Before I could ask, he said, “I'm glad you called. I planned to contact you because I wanted you to know about a call I received from the mayor today requesting that I visit his office. His pretext was politics, since we both belong to the same party, and there's an election coming up soon. While I was there, he asked me to tone down my condemnation and outspokenness on the subject of prostitution. He explained his request by saying my strong stance against prostitution was going to hurt the party during the election. According to him, some of the more influential people who contribute to my campaign fund were talking about pulling their support. It was a blatant lie, and I think we both know his real reasons.”
“I get your drift, but we shouldn't be discussing these things on the phone. My line is secure, but I don't know about yours.”
“You're probably right. Lately I've been taking precautions to keep it safe, but even so, I can't be sure. I assume you had a reason for calling, so what's up?”
“If you're not sure your phone is clean, I don't want to compromise you by telling you why I called. I know pay phones are hard to find these days, but I'm going to give you a number to call, and I think it would be best if you called it from a pay phone or bought a burner cell.”
“I hate all this cloak-and-dagger stuff, but give me the number.”
It was only about five minutes until my phone rang. When I recognized the senator's voice, I said, “Sorry to put you to all this trouble, but it's better for you to be safe than sorry. The reason I called is because I need John's files on his investigation into prostitution. I have the ones you sent about the serial killer, but I need to see what he'd learned about the prostitution business. If you can get them, I need you to make copies and have a messenger bring them to me. I want you to leave the originals where they are, so we don't alert anyone to the fact that they're being watched. Is this something you can do without putting yourself in jeopardy?”
“Actually, I can't. The minute I showed up over there, the news would be all over the building, but I have a friend who can do it easily. Tad Hanover is a detective in the same department, and I've used him before. I can promise you he's completely trustworthy.”
“Great, if you're sure, then let's use him. One last question before I let you go. Where does Congressman Jacks fit into all of this? I guess I'm asking if he's done anything to get himself noticed by the wrong people. I know he was in the original deal with you, but you haven't mentioned him since.”
“You're right, the congressman and I were in this together in the beginning, but after Judy was killed, I made sure he didn't have any more involvement. He has a family, and he's way too vulnerable. If I'd taken the same precautions, maybe LeAnn would have been safe. Unfortunately, I can't change the past.”
“Okay, that's what I needed to know. You can't blame yourself for what those kinds of people will do. They don't seem to have any limits on how far they'll go to protect themselves. I'll watch for those files when you're able to get them.”