Pacing in the chief’s office, AJ adjusted her weapon under her suit coat the next morning, waiting for him to get off the phone. They had to address the Milwaukee task force later, and she’d chosen a caramel brown suit, white tee, and deep brown ankle boots for a professional appearance.
“We hit gold,” were his first words when he hung up. He laid out yesterday’s interviews with the women from Home Base at Hannah’s House and handed her the sketches of the two men involved with the two women that had perished in the fire. The victims had worked with a police artist, and the sketches appeared to match the two men that had been here the day of the fire. Best of all, everyone had reported a Confederate flag tattoo on one of the men.
“If it’s them, it’s murder,” AJ said. “I wish I could get these sketches to Frog. What if they were the two men that gave her the five thousand dollars? Is that too much of a stretch?”
“We thought of that too.”
“Anything on Robert Owens?” she said as they walked down the hallway.
“Jock said he’ll see me today.”
AJ placed her coffee and pastry by the chief at the head of the table just as Jock stepped inside the conference room.
“Do you mind if I sit in?” It was the first time he’d ever asked, and she smiled, pointing at the chair beside her. “I sent you and the chief an email on what I found on the men at the Owens house.”
“Thanks. Get some coffee and something to eat,” AJ said as she counted heads. Twenty-eight people including the DEA, FBI, Milwaukee Police, and her ATF were in the room. Law enforcement should work together like this more often, sharing information.
Bonnie was talking—no, flirting—with a young blond cop, and AJ thought that was a good thing. Tag had her arm casually over the back of Grace’s chair, listening to something Sam was telling them. AJ looked at them again. Tag always seemed to be reaching for Grace. The childhood they’d discussed briefly skated across her mind as well as Grace’s odd reaction to the victims yesterday at Hannah’s House.
Darn, she was hungry and realized her stomach was reminding her. Munching on the pastry, she checked her notes. She still hadn’t talked to Tag about Maddie’s surprise, the Afghanistan connection. She’d have to get to that before they left for northern Wisconsin.
She’d spoken with Jeff and Greg this morning. Each had a room at the motel near Crooked Lake where Frog and the girls were living, but things were quiet. That quiet puzzled her.
The chief handed out copies of the sketches of the two men identified by the Home Base women and began the meeting, repeating what he’d told AJ.
“Let’s begin with the recent shootings and two fires,” the chief said. “First, our security videos from here and Jimmy’s Restaurant appear to match the eyewitness sketches from the Home Base survivors. The one important thing that stands out is the man’s tattoo.”
The chief’s young, cute cop waved the papers. “I talked to these dudes at the Copper Penny when I pulled the late shift two nights ago. The bar would still have the surveillance.” She held up one of the pictures. “This guy did most of the talking and asked how long we’d been here. He said he’s grown up in Milwaukee and never remembered a police station here. This one with the tat was friendly, but I was in uniform.” She sent the chief a grin.
“After the meeting, run over and ask if we can have their videos.” The chief brought up Robert Owens’s mug shot on the big plasma TV in the room. “Anyone recognize him?” When no one spoke up, he detailed the incident involving Katie’s car, his connection to the house they’d taken down, and Jock’s involvement.
“Damn. Tell me it’s not Michael’s drugs again,” one of AJ’s men said.
Jock responded. “No, not Michael’s group, but there are drugs involved. I’ve got Robert Owens, this man, in rehab, and I’d like any of you to keep me in the loop if you happen to run across something—anything—involving him. We believe he’s involved with the two men in those sketches. I’m the DEA primary here, so get in touch with the chief, Bonnie, or me. The chief has all the information we found.” He held up the sketches. “Thanks for any help.” He left the meeting. AJ watched him go, wondering about his new professional attitude. Something had changed.
“I’ll be very brief,” AJ said and stood. “As most of you know, we have a task force up north.” She pointed at the maps on the wall. “This is where we’ll be, and I expect it to take most of September. The FBI has had a well-publicized ongoing national human trafficking investigation for years, and we’ll work with them so we don’t cross paths. FBI agent Sam Mullins will be a part of our group.” She pointed at Sam and he raised his hand with a friendly smile. “Four of us will be undercover, tracking a specific group of women that might have been sold for sex. As we gather information, we’ll pass it back here. Bonnie and the chief will update the feed, so keep in touch. The DHS came in when Canada reported traffic up there, so stay alert out in the city. You never know what you’ll stumble over.”
She paused as everyone studied their tablets. “One thing I want to point out. Human trafficking crimes are just below what is spent for terrorism, plus hours logged tracking all of this. I’ve included information from the Department of Justice, both local and federal, and I want you to treat this much like we did Michael’s task force. We’re after information, so keep a low profile. We need names, people missing, the businesses involved, or anything else you hear. There are people out there making millions simply by sifting through the general population, and all ages and genders are involved. Don’t forget that Milwaukee has a new trafficking task force and they need information too. Once again, report to the chief, Bonnie, or Jock…oh, and Grace and I will have our appearance altered a bit.” Comments and laughter followed, and she grinned.
“Here’s what we know right now. We have twelve females in a motel near Crooked Lake about a half hour south of the Michigan border and we have a CI embedded in that group. Ages are between eleven to mid-teens. Jeff and Greg from our group are at that motel, so we’ve got that much. I wish I had more, but you can bet we will soon, and that’s it.”
Chairs scraped as people stood and left. AJ opened the box on the table beside her, handing out a phone and credit card to each of them with a slip of paper. “Here’s your room numbers at Crooked Lake Resort. Tag will be working with Jay Yardley. Grace will be there as a computer tech on a local business assignment. Sam and I will be working for Adams Delivery Service. Grace and I will have our names and appearance changed, but everyone else carries their real names, including Jeff and Greg.” She stopped for a drink of coffee. “These are new phones that only the six of us have, programmed with only our numbers. No other names are on those phones and no apps.”
Grace held the credit card in front of her. “This is my name? Gabrial Frank?”
AJ tossed her own credit card across the table. “Well, look at what I’ve got. Anne James. At least our initials fit so it’ll be a little easier to remember.”
“Just two different names out of six including Greg and Jeff. That’s easy.”
“If we slip and call you AJ, no one will notice,” Tag added.
“Greg and Jeff say the twelve girls are in three rooms at that motel. Every day it’s the same routine. One of the women drives into Niagara in the morning, gets breakfast or whatever, and brings it back. Then, a repeat performance around four o’clock in the afternoon. About every other hour during the day, the adult women take several of the girls outside for a short walk down the road. Greg and Jeff are gathering video although we’re going to set up our own surveillance when we get up there. No one has contacted this group or come to the motel.” AJ shook her head. “I can’t believe we’re going up there with just this, but we are. We’ll leave as soon as the doctor releases Grace and stagger our arrival times. Grace, you’ll go first with the horse, check into the resort, and then do the horse thing. Tag, you’ll follow about an hour behind her. Sam and I will share a car later that same day. When Sam and I check in, I’ll call each of you that night. On the first day, use room service when you get hungry. Stay away from the dining room, but I do recommend their food. Since Katie and I were just there, I don’t want to risk being recognized, so I’ll sneak in with Sam as if we’re a couple.”
Grace looked up. “Have you told Katie about your plan with Sam?”
“Of course.” AJ smiled. “She’ll meet Sam and Maddie tonight. We’re having them over for dinner.”
“I’ll bet that was fun,” Tag said with a laugh.
“No, it wasn’t, but she’s okay now. Grace, you and Tag come over to the house tomorrow. Katie’s sister, the one that owns the hair salon, is going to do our hair.”
Grace frowned, running her hands through her long brown hair. “I just had it done.”
“Don’t even start. It’s just a month and you get your horse and your dream truck. Are you picking it up today?”
Grace sighed. “Yes, later. I’m going back to Hannah’s House after we’re done here and see how things worked out with Sandra and the little girl. I’ve already talked with Maddie. She’ll meet us there, and I can keep in touch with her while we’re up north.”
“Sure.” AJ studied Grace’s face. “How do you feel? You see the doc tomorrow.”
“I’m much better, and Tag will go with me. I’ll stop for my truck after.”
“Let me know.” AJ began taking the maps off the wall. “These maps are on our phones. I’ll be at the Milwaukee task force with the chief this afternoon if you need me. We’ll look over video and information about Robert Owens and those two men. If we need help, I’ll let you know.”
Tag pointed at her own hair. “I could use a cut too. Do you think Katie’s sister…?”
AJ nodded. “Consider it done.”
“Nice suit, by the way,” Tag added as she turned to go, hand on Grace’s back protectively. The chief watched them too and turned to AJ, eyebrows raised in a question. She only smiled.
* * *
That evening, Katie and Maddie talked in the kitchen. They’d bonded almost immediately over the roast chicken. Apparently, Maddie loved to cook as much as Katie. AJ took the time to talk with Sam, walking around the yard, looking at the plants and shrubs.
“I fought terrible depression after my wife died,” he said, bending over a special ground cover curving around the grass. “Then, a stroke of luck. I met Maddie.” AJ waited to see if there was more, but he added nothing, so she covered the silence talking about her time in Ecuador. Finally, Katie called them inside.
Later in bed, she remembered what he’d said about meeting Maddie and told Katie.
“She told me that Sam was staying with her,” Katie said. “I wondered, but we got into a discussion about herbs and recipes and never went back to that.”
“Maddie said she had him covered down here, but it never occurred to me she meant staying with her. We probably shouldn’t tell anyone.”
“Aren’t you glad we don’t have to worry about that?”
“God yes, unlike Grace and Tag—”
Katie shot straight up in the bed. “What?”
AJ looked at her, realizing she’d never mentioned this. “Some of it is work-related, but I talked with Grace the night Tag cooked those great ribs. Grace turned bright red. It’s the first time I’ve seen her genuinely interested in anything…besides horses.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Laughing, Katie punched her in the shoulder.
“Hey…ow. You’re stronger than you think.” AJ rubbed her arm and then stretched out on top of Katie. “I wasn’t keeping a secret. I just happened to notice them…in meetings, working together, and other times. Grace made my life a living hell over you last winter and spring. I’m going to pay her back, believe me. Watch them tomorrow when your sister’s here.” She started to say more, but Katie stopped her with a super-nice kiss and the subject was forgotten.