“God almighty.” AJ slammed her office phone down the next morning after another heated discussion with her bureau chief, Lawrence Kelly. He’d overridden all of her ideas, adamant about the full-blown task force in northern Wisconsin. Cursing under her breath, she swiveled her chair to the window, staring at the familiar Copper Penny bar across the street. Her life had done a one-eighty in the eleven months she’d been in Milwaukee.
They’d promoted her to special agent in charge last spring and turned this extra conference room into an office. While she’d been stuck in bed and then on those damned crutches recovering from her leg injury, Grace and Katie had decorated here, and she really liked it. It beat the old closet she’d had when she arrived last September. She’d moved into Katie’s house and she more than liked that. She loved it.
She saw no new updates on the takedown of the house two days ago. “Well, damn,” she muttered and pulled the worn manila envelope out of her desk drawer that held the details of the murder that had started the whole summer.
Last spring, sweating in post-surgical physical therapy for her leg, she had watched breaking news on the hospital television. A teenage girl had been found in an abandoned warehouse, nailed to the wall in an exaggerated X pose, dead and mutilated, hands cut off and acid on her face. The medical examiner had declared it a homicide, but privately he’d said the girl was raped to death. The ME identified five sperm donors. AJ had called Chief Whiteaker immediately, a conversation she’d never forget.
When AJ’s doctor released her a week later, her ATF team was temporarily assigned to Chief Whiteaker’s group, chasing the young girl’s murder. The victim became known as the “X-Girl,” and every law enforcement person in the city wanted this solved. The FBI’s Human Trafficking task force had taken charge and, in a rare moment of cooperation, had allowed AJ into the morgue to view the devastation. She still had no words for that moment. Their investigation over the summer had led them to the house they’d just taken down as the beginning of the young girl’s dark journey. Or so they thought. There was still a lot of work to be done to prove it.
AJ scanned photos and papers she knew by heart. Dr. Bergs, the therapist she had to see every other week, was convinced that her murder of their young ATF agent, Ariel, had intersected with this girl and she was obsessed. She closed the folder. The doctor might be right. It had even nagged its way into her dreams, hadn’t it?
“Are you okay?” Chief Whiteaker stood in the doorway.
She held up the folder and he gave her a grim look.
“Have a minute?” he said. She nodded and he walked into her office. “Nice job on my department at the meeting yesterday.”
“Just theater, Chief. I had to come up with something to get you involved and basically shuffled my bureau chief’s words around. I just spoke to him and still have nothing. He still isn’t clear why we’re going up north or why as a task force.”
“He’s probably waiting for more information.” The chief’s uniform was an immaculate dark blue against a white shirt and a silver tie matching his hair. “You impressed my chief at yesterday’s press conference. Did you see the photo in this morning’s newspaper?”
“No, I got up late.” She gestured at her denim shirt and faded jeans. “I wasn’t happy. Your chief only talked about local prostitution regarding that house we took. What about the human trafficking we uncovered? And he never even mentioned X-Girl. He should have.”
The chief held up a placating hand as they walked into his office next to hers. “Just politics. He tried to keep it simple to introduce our new human trafficking task force.”
“I wouldn’t call it simple. We start out with murder and stumble into human trafficking. It’s huge and organized and we’ve only seen a small part of it. And yes, I know it’s the world’s oldest business, but I’ve known madams, working girls…not to mention Frog, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“I agree, but I certainly am not going to tell my chief that.” He handed her a photo. “Here’s our young victim, Kevin Owens, with his older brother, John, our prime suspect from that house. The kid was fifteen and John’s thirty. Their grandfather owned that house and sold it to John. Did you see the autopsy on the boy?”
“No, and why are there no updates on that house?” AJ studied the photo as they walked to Bill’s office. “Can we help?”
“I know you’re off the case, but we need your group’s skills on the confiscated computers. The new Milwaukee Human Trafficking will take the lead, but I’ll begin the arrest process. Today I’ll show them the surveillance video of you and Grace contacting John Owens. Here, let me show you.” He ran the video on his big plasma screen.
“You know I want to stay here and work with you. If you hadn’t asked when the doc released me, the ATF would have assigned us to the tsunami of guns in town or the heroin and opioid epidemic. Again, what about X-Girl? You’d think the FBI would have the DNA nailed down by now.”
“Who knows what they have? I’m hoping they’ll work with the new task force.” He backed the video up. “We wouldn’t have had this without your group, especially you and Grace.”
“That was Grace following social media and why we hung out where they meet at the gym on Forest Avenue. John Owens fumbled over the money.” She held up the photo. “Look at the clothes he wears. Those have to be thousand-dollar suits. He wants to be noticed, and he’s calculating. It’s all money. Power.”
“I know.” He pointed at the screen. “I need to mark our people and your group inside the room with some kind of little mark so they can see how you set it up. See? You’ve got people posted on each wall and on the machines beside you. I don’t know how you two did it, but you looked like a seller, and Grace appeared so innocent.”
“But she is, Chief. That kind of innocent.” AJ sat at his desk and backed the video up to the beginning. “I can put a little mark on all of our people.” She inserted a little “zero” on each person. “Will that do it?”
“Perfect.” He stood off to the side of his desk, scanning the video. “What do you mean? Grace is that kind of innocent.”
AJ looked up at him. “That’s what she is…actually, more immune than innocent.”
“You’re kidding. The way men…and women…hit on her?”
“She doesn’t even see it, as in unaware. She’s the real deal.”
“I thought she was just ignoring them.” The chief frowned.
“Nope.” AJ took a closer look at the video. “Wait. This is different from what I have. Let me show you.” She retrieved her laptop and placed it on the chief’s desk. “See? You’ve got the security from the north door. Mine is from the front.” They both watched the scene unfold. “Look.” AJ stopped the video and pointed at a table. “There’s the victim, Kevin, with three older men.” She zoomed in a bit, frowning. “Did the new task force identify those men? They have to do that as soon as possible.” She stopped the video. “Let’s go back to my office. We picked up Tag Beckett at the airport yesterday afternoon, and she and Grace will be here any minute. I want to show you something else.”
Back at her desk, AJ swiveled her computer monitor so he could see it. “I sent you this yesterday. Tag’s résumé and service history.”
“I didn’t see it. I had to meet with the new trafficking group after the press conference and it lasted past dinnertime. Then I was on time for Bonnie’s run at the training facility this morning so she can transition into your group.” The chief sat and scooted closer to her desk.
“How’d she do?”
“Aced it, of course,” he said absently, reading the information on her computer. “Tag Beckett, Wisconsin’s most decorated female soldier. And Menominee Indian.”
“Part Menominee. Her father’s English. That’s where Beckett comes from.”
“I remember when she played basketball at UW-Madison. All-American. Look at her education and all those decorations. Plus…” He pointed at a line. “She led the Dragons, the first all-female special operations unit, and got a medal for those two years.” He adjusted his glasses to see the screen better. “And I thought you were something, graduating from West Point with honors and a Presidential Commendation.”
AJ took a drink of her now-cold coffee and tapped the screen. “Something’s off here. Tag asked for Wisconsin and, even more interesting, asked for the ATF.”
“This is her home state. Maybe she just wants to be here.”
“She’s qualified for much more. Computers, for example. One of her degrees is in that field. She was in charge of an entire section of intel during the last tour, so it wouldn’t be much to switch to cyber crime, so why is she a rookie agent out in the field and why the ATF? She could have gone anywhere.” She tapped the screen again. “She was up for a promotion too. I’ve never read recommendations like this.”
He looked up from the monitor. “Where’s the psych evaluation?”
“When I spoke to the Bureau this morning they said they’d send it. Tag’s only been stateside two months and they’ve rushed her through everything. That’s concerning.”
He looked at his watch and stood. “Yeah, it is. I’ve got to get this information downtown. Are you staying here?”
“I want Tag up and running before my last appointment with the doctor this afternoon, and don’t forget the barbecue at our house tonight. Bring your wife. Katie’s cooking the chicken you love. Around six is fine.”
“Katie called the wife about a recipe. Tell her we’re bringing the nut salad, the one with cashews and spinach.” He started to leave but turned back. “Which doctor?”
“Dr. Bergs. My therapist over Ariel’s shooting. It helped, but I’m glad it’s over.”
“That doctor’s been a great help to the task force. Bonnie said she gave you the ballistics report from the shooting at the church. My group did a full day search in that neighborhood but found nothing. You didn’t hear a vehicle?”
“As I said, only footsteps running away, but they sounded big and heavy.”
“I don’t like this. It’s weird, like Frog’s money.”
AJ wondered again about her own new task force and the connection between the money and the police. “Frog is pretty savvy, but is there any possibility it could have been Milwaukee Police?”
“Why would you even think that? I would have known since I have Frog marked throughout our entire system.”
“I’m wondering what’s behind my new task force, not to mention that unexpected vacation Lawrence Kelly ordered me to take. Did you talk to him?”
The chief shook his head and moved toward the door. “I’d have told you.”
“I’m sorry. Of course you would have. Don’t forget the meeting with the two men from Niagara tomorrow morning.”
He flashed a smile and was gone. If there was anyone she valued in this office, it was Chief William Whiteaker. He’d hung in there with her throughout that whole screw-up last winter and spring. She looked at Katie’s photo, thinking about yesterday. She had been exhausted, but the night had been great…after the two-hour argument over the new assignment and the damned shooting with Frog. Katie had loved the shakiness out of her, and she’d slept long and deep. Katie had been gone when she woke but had left a note, and AJ placed it on her desk now, rereading it. You need rest. I’m going to feed you lots of food tonight and put you to bed early. OXOX. She dialed Katie’s number.
“Morning, sweetie,” Katie said, her voice dropping to intimate.
AJ closed her eyes. “I love you and missed waking up with you this morning. How’d the meeting at the bank go?”
“The next month is going to be insane, and I’m bracing myself for long hours. I can see why David Markam is the senior vice president at Bennings Bank. He reeled them in. Zack’s already working on graphics.” Katie’s voice picked up as she added details, and AJ let her ramble until she ran down. Katie had said long hours. Had she already forgotten that she’d be out of town, or was she saying it was okay to go because she was going to be really busy?
“I just called to say hello. I reminded the chief about the meal tonight, and he said they’d bring the nut salad you like.”
“Not just nuts. That’s a Chesapeake salad.” Katie laughed. “I’ll be home this afternoon. Mom’s helping, so don’t worry if you have more people at the dinner than we talked about. Don’t forget to tell Dr. Bergs about the shooting. Wait…nice photo in this morning’s paper.”
“Haven’t seen it yet.” AJ heard voices nearing her office. “Gotta go. See you soon.” She hung up as Grace peeked inside with Tag behind her. Both of them had cups in their hands and looked rested.
“Did you get breakfast?” AJ said, seeing their smiles.
“Grace could run a B and B with no problem,” Tag said, folding her tall body into the chair.
AJ handed Grace some papers. “Tag’s office is ready, but will you complete these? Send her the Michael’s Angels file and then what little we have on the new assignment. Oh, and include the summer’s work with Bill. If I had my way, we’d still be working with them.”
“Will we still report to Justice?”
“Yes, and list Peter Adams as our liaison over there. I want Tag to read everything as a timeline of where we’ve been, what we’ve done.” AJ watched Grace’s reaction. “I have a five o’clock doctor’s appointment this afternoon, and then I’ll see both of you at our place around six o’clock. Today we’ll have lunch across the street and talk over what you’ve read, Tag.” She held up the worn manila envelope. “If there’s time, we’ll look at this together.” Grace nodded and left for Tag’s office, leaving AJ alone with her new agent.