The two FBI go-to rooms at Hannah’s House were noisy the next day, but Grace and Tag were oblivious, riveted by the computers. Maddie stood behind them, instructing, while AJ read a victim file.
“Wait. Grace, see this?” Tag pointed at the computer screen. “Look how fluid it is.” Grace leaned over for a better look and Tag pulled her chair close.
“Think you can navigate this?” Maddie grinned.
“Bring it on,” Grace muttered, typing furiously, tucked next to Tag.
Maddie glanced at AJ and indicated the office next to them. Once the door closed, she turned with a smile. “You’re right about those two. Are they even aware of it?”
“I spoke to Grace last night and I think she’s confused, but it would be a first for her. I haven’t talked with Tag.”
“They obviously love the system, a bonus for me. They almost drooled. Of course, Sam will be there too, if you say so.” She handed AJ a cup of coffee. “How soon will you leave?”
“Hopefully, after the task force meeting tomorrow and Grace is cleared by the doctor. Did you get my email last night with the outline of our plan?” Maddie gave a quick nod. “I also spoke to Pete’s uncle in Niagara. Do you know the family?”
“I spent a lot of time up there with Pete.” Maddie wheeled a chair around and sat down. “I like where you’ve placed Tag and Grace in the community.”
“Did Pete mention my CI in the group we’re following?”
Maddie’s eyebrows shot up. “You have someone in that group? I didn’t know that.”
“It’s Frog, the young girl I had rehabilitated here, but something’s wrong. The night she left she told me that two policemen paid her five thousand dollars to go undercover. The money’s in her bank, but we have no idea who paid her. It was a cash transaction.”
“Did you notify the Bureau? Or Lawrence Kelly?”
“It’s in the task force notes, but I didn’t talk to Kelly.”
“Well, hell. I don’t like that.”
“And we still don’t have the person or persons that shot me or set those fires. The chief, Bonnie, and Jock will continue on those problems, and that’s everything right now.” AJ set her cup down. “You’re welcome to come to our task force meeting.”
“No. If you okay Sam and he’s there, that’s enough. Grace appears to be feeling better, but those stitches and her eye look terrible.”
“Good drugs, she says. We talked about her childhood and I mentioned your name. She thinks she can handle this, but if you want to say something privately, go ahead.” AJ held up the file she’d read while Maddie worked with Grace and Tag on the computer. “This is awful. This man and woman may have been doctors, but a C-section on their kitchen table?”
“That’s who I want you to see today. Sandra was the first real victim I spoke to when I came here. The owners bought her for sexual purposes only. No children. She was sixteen, and she’s thirty-one now.” Maddie gave a little shiver. “I’ve been with her quite a bit but can barely get a word out of her. She’ll speak if she’s in pain, but that’s it. You’re the first new people she’ll see, and I’m interested in how she’ll respond. There’s also a little girl named Happy we’re working on. She was seven when we rescued her a year ago and will barely speak. We’d like to get Sandra and Happy in the same room and try to create a relationship. We have a bunch of doctors working on those two.”
“Tag and Grace should read this before they meet Sandra.”
“Did you see what happened when they arrested the doctors who ‘owned’ Sandra? The local judge let them out on bail and they disappeared. This was the case that brought the DHS in, and we believe they’re out of the country.”
“One last thing,” AJ said. “You said you have one of your best groups working on X-Girl meeting with the Milwaukee task force today. Will you keep me posted on their progress?”
“Of course. That meeting’s happening right now, and it’ll help the new city task force here with that murder, not to mention a lot of other things. I had to get clearance to do this, but they saw the value.”
Tag and Grace walked into the office and AJ handed Grace the file. “We’re going to talk with this victim, so read this file and then we’ll go upstairs to meet her.”
* * *
When the elevator door swung opened, a female doctor waited for them. She opened a door to a bright, airy room with a bed, sofa, and television. A desk and chair sat in the corner. The windows were open and AJ smelled the fresh air. Someone was humming.
“Sandra, you have company. Maddie’s here.”
A short blond woman in a simple blue housedress peeked around the corner, searching their faces. She smiled when she spotted Maddie.
“How’ve you been?” Maddie gave her a hug. “Have you eaten lunch?”
Sandra nodded, her pale blue eyes focused on Maddie.
AJ leaned against the wall beside the door. Tag and Grace sat on the couch. Maddie kept Sandra’s attention, talking easily and smiling. Sandra suddenly turned and gave Grace a long stare with a small step toward her. Grace straightened but held Sandra’s gaze. It was so quiet in the room that AJ could hear them breathe. Grace’s eye bloomed purple in contrast with the yellow T-shirt she wore.
“Are you all right?” Sandra’s voice was unused and rough.
Grace nodded with a shallow breath.
“What did they do to you?” Sandra rasped.
“I’m okay now.” Grace’s voice was clear but soft.
Sandra reached out and touched her face. Grace held still and calm.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” When Grace nodded again, Sandra turned away, sat in the chair, and stared out the window. Her short blond hair was dull, even in the sunshine.
Maddie motioned for them to leave. Standing in the hallway, Grace looked unsure and Tag placed her hand on her back.
“That’s the first time she’s done anything like that,” the doctor said with a longer look at Grace. “What happened to you?”
“Someone hit me in a bar fight. What just happened?”
“She actually interacted with you,” Maddie said and turned to the doctor. “Maybe we can bring Happy up for a visit soon. What do you think?”
“I’ll make sure I’m available. That was a moment. Thank you.” The doctor smiled.
“I don’t understand,” Grace said.
“I think it was your black eye and the stitches. Sandra had a lot of stitches.” Maddie turned toward the elevator. “Let’s go see the other victim. Happy is an eight-year-old we saved last year. Her story is different than Sandra’s, but unfortunately not uncommon. Her parents sold her to a handler when she was three.” Maddie punched the elevator buttons.
“Her parents sold her?” Grace turned to Maddie with a disbelieving expression.
“A handler trains children to sex. A good handler in this business makes more money than I can even talk about. They can go anywhere, live anywhere, be anyone.” Maddie held up her hands. “That first case you read yesterday, AJ? They were all negotiated by a broker. The victims were taken by an abduction crew and sold to a buyer online after the broker vetted him. The whole transaction took less than a few days. We lost those victims but arrested all of the adults –the broker, the crew, and the buyer.”
The doors opened to the main floor and they walked down a long hallway toward children’s voices and laughter. Maddie opened a door to a dark room. “We’re hidden here.”
They each took a chair and watched about eight or nine little children, most playing in three large sandboxes. Sunlight streamed across them from large windows, and the colors in the room brightened everything. AJ estimated most were between five and eight. One little girl, a truly beautiful child, was alone at a tiny table coloring in a book, her back to the other children. She had loose brown-gold curls. The loner, she thought.
“Can anyone pick Happy out of this group?” Maddie said.
They all pointed at the solitary little girl, her thin shoulders hunched as she colored.
Maddie nodded just as a small boy carried a ball from the sandbox to Happy at her table, rolling it across the book and colors, and into her lap. She was up in a flash. She hit him and sent him sprawling to the floor. He screamed and an adult appeared, separating the two. Happy stood, little fists at her side, glowering at the adult and the crying boy.
“A few months ago, she’d have been on top of that kid, pounding him,” Maddie said. “She seems to have progressed to a simple leave-me-alone phase. She doesn’t have many words, but she certainly knows the word fuck. Her swearing still shocks me. Some of the best child psychiatrists in this country have studied her in the last year, and most are unsure if she can be salvaged, but I’m not quitting. All the doctors call her a feral child.” Maddie’s phone chirped with a text, and she looked up with a smile. “Sam’s here. Let’s have lunch together, down the road. I have a place for him to stay, but he’s yours, AJ, from the moment you say he’ll work.”
AJ watched Grace, intent on the little girl.
“What do the doctors mean…salvaged?” Grace turned to Maddie.
“Good question, but I’m going to continue with both her and Sandra.” She checked her watch. “We have to go.”
* * *
After the introductions, AJ sat next to Sam Mullins at the restaurant. Her first impression was that he liked women and enjoyed talking to them. She was rarely wrong on that. He ran a hand through his thick, short brown hair when he turned to answer a question from Maddie, and he had done his homework. He thanked her and Tag for their service and asked Grace how she was feeling. Maddie had described him perfectly. He had a fit body with big hands and moved easily, comfortably.
AJ asked about his military experience. His eyes lingered on Maddie before he turned to AJ.
“I didn’t like it.” He smiled, not the least apologetic. “I enlisted after I graduated from MIT and was a part of Desert Storm. When my tour was over, I came home to the private sector as a micro-electronics engineer, married my girl from college, also an engineer, and we were happy as clams in Arizona.” He took a breath. “I assume Maddie has explained the rest?” He looked around the table and they nodded. “Okay then,” he said and leaned back in his chair.
AJ again noticed his voice and pleasant appearance. People would talk with him easily. She would be working with him every day and didn’t want an experience like Jock.
“We have our task force meeting tomorrow morning,” she said. “You’ll meet everyone else then. You’ve read our notes?”
“Yes, but it looks as if you’re right at the beginning. Is that correct?” AJ nodded and he continued. “This is what I’ve been doing in Park Falls. Things were quiet when I left, but I have an odd feeling about that place. Too many people that didn’t look local.” He sent another look down the table to Maddie.
AJ checked out the busy restaurant. She watched a young couple move to a table and had an idea about how to present herself and Sam to their fellow employees at Adams Delivery Service up north. Sam blended easily. Tomorrow night would be a good time to have Maddie and Sam to the house for dinner. She began to eat and the entire plan came together in her head. It would work, but she’d have to explain to Katie.
* * *
AJ sent Tag and Grace home after the meal with Sam and then decided to work alone at her home office. She changed into shorts and a T-shirt and put together a simple but favorite broccoli and chicken casserole, got it in the oven, and let the harsh day settle inside her.
She wandered outside to the backyard in the last of the sunshine before she went to work. The ground was dry, so she picked up the hose. They could use some rain. Would Katie have time to take care of the yard? When she was recovering at the beginning of summer, she’d planted new flowers and shrubs. The guy down the street owned a nursery and she’d used his services. She pulled out her phone and called him to set up a time to begin regular lawn care. He said he’d do it personally since he was a neighbor.
She jotted down a list of things around the house to talk to Katie about and opened her laptop to go over the Niagara and Crooked Lake area. Tag had called Jay Yardley that morning and he’d agreed to give her a job. It felt like things were coming together.
The scent of food from the kitchen caught her attention and she checked the time. Katie was late for some reason. She got up, set the oven on warm, and checked her phone. There was nothing from Katie, and she went back to work, lost in the information in her laptop.
Much later, she rubbed her eyes, ready for tomorrow’s meeting. She realized it was full dusk and grabbed her phone. Where was Katie? A wave of panic washed across her. She dialed Katie’s number, but it went directly to voice mail and she thought of all the possibilities. It was after seven o’clock and unlike Katie not to check in if she was going to be this late. She tried Katie’s phone again, but this time the phone was off.
“Okay, that does it,” she said, racing to the bedroom. She slid into jeans and boots and secured her weapon. She turned the stove off, covered the casserole, and engaged their security system. As she turned, Katie came in the garage door.
“God, that smells good. I’m starving,” Katie said, hanging her bag on the kitchen chair. The smile slid off her face when she looked at AJ.
“I didn’t know where you were and it’s so late and I panicked—” After a moment, AJ laughed softly. “I am so dumb.”
“No, you’re not, but something’s wrong.” Katie studied her. “You’re wearing your weapon.” She looked around the kitchen nervously. “Did something happen?”
AJ bent, her hands braced on her knees, heart racing. “I didn’t know where you were.”
“I told you this morning I had to drop off my SUV to repair the damage from that Owens kid. My uncle gave me a loaner, a luxury sedan. That’s probably why you didn’t hear my car in the garage. You can’t even hear the motor.”
AJ straightened. “Want some wine before you eat? I’ll drink first to calm myself.”
Katie lifted the casserole lid and inhaled with a smile. “Let’s do both. Drink and eat. This smells wonderful. My phone died and I couldn’t call.” She put her phone on the charger, undid AJ’s holster and laid it on the counter, and wrapped her arms around her.
“I feel stupid. I tried to call, but your phone was off and—”
“I wasn’t home and it’s dark. I know. That’s happened to me…a couple of times.” Katie took silverware out of the drawer and began to set the table. “Let’s sit, enjoy the wine, and tell me what you can about your day.”