When Maggie arrived at the apartment, Colby was waiting for her. He gave her a warm smile as she approached.
“Hello, Maggie.”
“Hi,” Maggie responded dryly.
Maggie led him into the apartment and over to the sofa. She watched Colby carefully. He took off his jacket and gingerly laid it over one of the chairs in the small living room.
“Have you thought about what I told you last time?” Colby asked.
Maggie nodded. “How am I supposed to trust you? How do I know you aren’t a friend of Rock’s?”
Colby considered her question. “You’re right. You know nothing about me.”
“Exactly! So how about if you tell me about someone who you helped, and I’ll see if your story checks out,” Maggie offered.
“Well, I’ll tell you what you need to know, but you have to remember that I work undercover. If you blow my cover, there’ll be really bad consequences for me and the others who are working to help kids like you,” Colby confided.
“So how will I know for sure who you really are?” Maggie asked.
Colby began to talk about some of the kids he’d helped over the past year. As he spoke, Maggie wrote down the names and places. He talked for thirty minutes, and then he stopped and waited.
“How old are you?” Maggie wondered aloud.
“I’m twenty-five. Why?”
“I was just curious,” Maggie said.
“How old are you?” Colby inquired, wanting as much information about her as possible.
“I told you the last time you were here that I’m eighteen. I just turned eighteen in September. I’m an adult,” Maggie informed him, as if he wouldn’t figure that out for himself.
“So how did you get here?”
“I walked,” Maggie joked sarcastically.
“That’s not what I meant. How did you end up in Kensington working for Rock?”
“Who said I work for Rock?” Maggie asked.
“Well, you asked me how you could be sure I wasn’t working for Rock, so I figured that’s who your…” Colby’s voice trailed off. He did not want to offend her.
“That’s who my pimp is? You can say it. I mean, we both know why we’re here in this apartment,” Maggie said.
“OK, sure. Your pimp,” he said.
Maggie hesitated. She thought carefully. She liked Colby. He was kind and soft-spoken. He had a reassuring quality that made her want to trust him. She wanted him to be the real deal in the worst way. He was confident and carried himself differently than the other men did. Simply put, Maggie couldn’t find anything sleazy about him. In the end, though, she had to protect herself and Seth. She couldn’t take any chances until she knew for sure that Colby was who he said he was.
“Oh, look at the time,” Maggie said and stood.
“Yeah, my time is up. So, I’ll come back and see you in a couple of days?” Colby asked hopefully.
“Yeah, sure. It’ll give me some time to look into things and ask some people about you,” Maggie told him.
“Asking questions about me isn’t a good idea,” Colby stated, alarmed. “If it gets around what I’m trying to do here, I would be in danger. You know better than I do what these scumbags are capable of.”
Maggie remained silent as she opened the door. Before leaving, Colby turned to her. “I can help you. I promise I’m not screwing with you. I really do want to help you find a way out of this crap. Just think how much we could help others if we teamed up. We can beat these bastards. We can bring kids back to their families,” he pleaded.
Maggie made no commitments. Colby reached out to touch her hand, but Maggie immediately withdrew from his touch. Her reaction was a sure sign to Colby that he hadn’t gained her trust yet. But he intended to try to make her believe in him.
When Maggie was done meeting with her clients, she hurried over to the library to research some of the stories Colby had shared with her. She found some of the articles in old newspapers. Some of them referred to children who had been found and returned to their parents, but as Colby had told her, the people who had helped find them were not named. The articles all referred to undercover agents—all except for the very last story.
Maggie found a quote from a Detective Rae Harker, the same detective she’d read was involved in her own disappearance. She wrote a few notes about him. Then she starting reading everything she could get her hands on about Detective Harker.