by CC Dragon
“Like some of the Fae? Live in the underworld?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Not another world, our world. We’d simply be forgotten and invisible to the humans. It’d take a constant stream of magical effort, but it could be done. Plenty of magical towns do it around Alaska to avoid human detection. Not all pass for human.”
I nodded. “Good plan to hide from bad humans. How do we stop bad magical beings?”
“Let’s solve this case and worry about bigger issues later.” Mason smiled.
Zel sighed. “We do have a lot of magicals, but we’ve never have enough of a problem to bring in enforcement.”
“Wait, what?” I asked.
“Order of the Dagger. They operate in big urban areas to manage that sort of thing. We could always call some in, but Alaska is so weird. Anchorage is a big city, but the paras are so spread out and defiant—it’d take a big influx from the Order to get respect or a grip on things. You two would be better at it. L.A. and New York are nothing like here. Go home and get some sleep. Tomorrow will be busy.” Zel waved.
“Order of the Dagger?” Mason asked.
I shrugged. “I’ve heard of it, but I just thought it was a group of witches and warlocks in one city. Like a weird cult that decided to take over enforcing common magical laws. We’re better off handling this and putting bad guys in human jail.”
“Do you even feel at home with the Fae?” he asked.
“I don’t fit in anywhere. My parents were killed. I was part Fae, and that’s all we know. I think one was a human, and it makes me undesirable. My magic doesn’t line up with a partial Fae. Playing human is easier,” I said.
“Easy gets you nowhere. Come on, I’m buying dinner. I did miss Anchorage restaurants.” Mason stood up.
“I guess we can go over Zel’s research at dinner.” I grabbed my purse.
“And we can get away from Lewis and Green. The vibe here is depressing,” he said.
“All those women are here without a lot of options. Only some have families that are willing to help. Some were taken from so far away. I can’t imagine,” I said.
“You’d blast anyone to tiny bits if they tried to kidnap you.” Mason smiled.
I rolled my eyes. “You mock my limited magic then act like I’m powerful.”
Mason opened the door for me. “You mock your magic. Half of the battle is confidence.”
Damn! I hated when he was right.
The next morning, we bypassed the office and went straight for the Johnson home at the appointed time.
“Lewis will hate that we blew off his morning meeting,” Mason said.
“What do you care? Let him throw us off the case,” I countered.
Mason shot me a look as I parked the car outside the Johnson home. “If this is a seriously magical case, we may have to work around the FBI as much as try to work with them. Zel made me think last night.”
“Maybe I’m a bad influence?” Mason teased.
“Maybe this has been building? Losing my partner, Green being a jerk, Lewis being worse—it’s all pushing me out,” I said as we walked up to the front door.
The door opened before we even knocked.
“You must be the FBI people. Come on in,” an enthusiastic woman said.
“Yes, I’m Agent Foster, this is Agent Hunt. We came to discuss your missing child. Follow up,” I said.
“Oh, yes.” Her face fell. “I’m glad you’re following up. Feels like forever. I’m Jolene and my hubby, Jack, is out back splitting wood. He gets very angry when this comes up, so it’s best to leave him there to work out his frustrations unless you need specifics. Please, sit.”
She went to the kitchen and brought out coffee and cookies. Mason and I shared a look, but I tried not to judge too quickly. Some people were obsessive hostesses and others got nervous around people with a badge. Still, she was the victim and bringing out cookies for the FBI was weird.
The FBI rarely got such a welcome reception.
“Your daughter went missing six months ago?” Mason asked.
“Yes. She was at her grandparents; summer childcare is a killer when two parents work. But they have a lot of kids around there, so it keeps them active. She’d stay Monday through Friday. We went to pick her up one Friday, and she’d wandered off. Everyone was looking for her. Search and rescue, all of it. For days, we kept looking for her.” She smiled and fought the tears. “I just know someone took her, because she’d have found her way back to her grandparents’ house. Her grandfather was a wildlife trooper for years. He taught all his grandkids to navigate by the stars and find shelter.”
“That’s wonderful, but the animals here can be dangerous, even if you’re armed or educated,” he said.
“And they were around Denali.” She nodded as she passed out coffee.
“Thank you,” I said as I took the cup. There was no magical tingle from Mrs. Johnson. “But no body was found?”
“No. Not that we know of. I know you’ll say animals again, but I just don’t believe that. I saw that a human trafficking ring might’ve been uncovered here. You don’t think...” She grabbed a tissue from the box.
Mason checked the notes on his tablet. “Your daughter is eight. We haven’t found any girls that young in the trafficked group.”
“That’s good news,” I assured her.
She nodded.
“Were any other children missing from near where the grandparents were watching your daughter?” Mason asked.
“No, just her. Weird.” She blew her nose.
“I’m going to step out back and ask your husband a couple questions. Make sure he remembers it as you do. Shocks can make people remember different things and talking about it again might jog something for him.” Mason stood up.
“Be careful. He gets to flinging that axe around,” she warned.
“I’ll be careful.” He nodded.
“He’s nice,” she said once Mason was gone.
I smiled. “He is. Can I see your daughter’s room? If it’s not too much trouble?” I asked.
She nodded and led the way down a long hall.
After a steadying breath, she opened the door with a poster of a unicorn on it.
The entire room was fluffy pink and unicorns. “Cute.” I walked inside.
I looked around for anything unusual. “Did she have a cell phone?” I asked.
“Only when we were at work. It was found in the house her grandparents were staying in. It’s in evidence with someone,” she replied.
I nodded and fluffed the pillow. I could feel a bit of magical residue there. Maybe it was on the father’s side?
“Okay, I don’t want to take up anymore of your time. We’ve had some kids return home or find out they went to stay with the non-custodial parent or a grandparent. Kids Uber these days. It’s nuts. We’re just making sure it wasn’t nature or a choice. We’re still working on it, and we’ll coordinate with whoever has her cell phone. Thanks,” I said.
I walked back down the long hallway. Mason was in the living room.
“Okay?” he asked.
“Just a quick room check. Ready?” I asked.
He nodded. “Thank you again, Mrs. Johnson.”
We left our cards and shook hands.
Back in the car, I felt Mason tense.
“The dad?” I asked.
He shook his head. “He’s not in on it. He’s a tiny bit magical but not much.”
“The girl has some residue of powers. It’s weird.” I started the car. “But I have to believe this girl was taken. Her grandfather was a wildlife trooper? The Troopers would be all over this, and he’d be searching on his own.”
Mason nodded. “Absolutely. The dad was pissed and wants answers, but he believes it was a stranger. He knows how hard it is to find people in this state. It’s so easy to hide.”
“They’re putting on a good face, but they’re terrified. She’s their only kid.” I shook my head. “Let’s see what the other Mrs. Wallis says.”
After the usual introductions, we were invited inside.
“I know they think I took him.” She went to the kitchen and poured herself some wine. “That I stashed him somewhere. I didn’t.”
“Why don’t we sit down, and you just tell me what you know,” Mason said.
“They got him. I watched him get into their car. I know my ex’s car.” She shrugged.
“Okay, so they’re just remembering it wrong?” I asked.
“They had another kid. They didn’t mind him staying here for long stretches, but then all of a sudden, they wanted him back to the half here and half their schedule per the agreement. Then they were calling me asking where Joey was. I was supposed to drop him off. I thought I was going crazy.”
“Did the police do a report with you as well?” Mason asked.
“Of course, they came. There’s no security camera on that side of the apartments, but they searched my home, my car, my work, and I think they called a trooper to go bother my parents.” She took a big slug of wine.
“He was going to school from here?” I asked.
“He was doing it from their house—at home. He disappeared in the summer, so he wouldn’t have been in school anyway. I worked nights, and a friend babysat. A friend with kids who is a great mom. That way, we did a lot of summer fun stuff together during the day. They never found him.” She sniffed.
“We’re still looking into it. Can we see Joey’s room?” I asked.
She nodded and led the way.
Mason hung back to check out the rest of the place while I checked out the room. It was cute, not a ton of toys, but it was neat. “Did he miss Charlie when he stayed here?”
“Sure, but I always let them visit. Charlie did come over on his visitation time. They just had a new baby, and I think Joey felt in the way. Like, I was alone, and they had something new to focus all their attention on. New babies, new families, can be rough on kids. I never badmouthed the new wife or their dad in front of my kids. She’s a decent woman. The ex was not my best choice. I just wish I knew my kid was okay.” She turned and want back to the front room for her wine.
Mason stepped out from the kitchen.
“Were you searching my house? You need a warrant!” she snapped at him.
“Please, Mrs. Wallis, he’s just checking out the living space. If for any reason we feel the house wasn’t safe for a child, we’re mandated reporters, and it might factor into the case. But that’s not the case here. Your home is clean and safe,” I jumped in sounding extra official.
“Oh.” She went back to her wine.
I kept talking since she seemed hyper sensitive to men. “It’s just our job. We don’t want to make it harder on you. You’ve been through enough. But we did want to reach out and let you know we’re not giving up. We’re working on it. Also, to check that Joey didn’t come home. Some kids run away to family or friends.”
“You don’t think I’d have told the ex and the authorities?” she asked.
“Some people are embarrassed by making a fuss when it turns out to be nothing. But it’s better to worry and it’s nothing, than to ignore it and the problem grows without intervention. We’ll leave our cards. If anything comes back to you, anything you saw or your son mentioned maybe—just give us a call. We won’t take up more of your time. We can show ourselves out,” I said.
She followed us to the door, red wine sloshing in a green glass goblet. “My ex probably told you I’m an alcoholic, but I’m not.”
“Good day,” Mason said.
Finally back in the car, I tried not to laugh. It was an awful situation, but sometimes dealing with the public was more like corralling feral cats.
“What was that?” Mason asked.
“A woman screwed over by one too many men and feels like she always got the blame. Sad, but I don’t think she’d keep her kid from the father.” I shrugged.
“No magic there,” Mason said.
“Not a bit. That’s the weird part. Maybe the kid isn’t magical. Maybe it’s the magic used to kidnap him that we’re picking up on? But why a seven-year-old boy? He’s old enough to remember and not be fooled. He could testify in court, and a jury would believe him. This isn’t when you take kids if you don’t want them to remember,” I said.
“Agreed, but magic or not, the kid is missing. We’ll check with the grandparents, but I don’t think this woman is lying. She’s not that strategic. She’s also on antidepressants. That tells me she’s missing her kid.” Mason sighed. “Sad.”
“It is, but add in wine, and no wonder she’s a bit up and down.” My phone beeped, and I checked it. “From the police guys. They sent their results on the families they interviewed, so we can collaborate.”
“Great. We should plot the relevant cases on a map and see if there are any patterns,” Mason suggested.
I nodded. “We’ll meet up this afternoon, and we can plot it out.”
As we started back to the office, our phones binged.
Mason cleared his throat. “From Green: You two need to get in my office ASAP.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Damn,” I said in the middle of Green droning on about inclusion and respecting the chain of command. It was a lot of bureau BS to cover his butt.
“What is it?” Green asked.
“Sorry. Zel texted that Mitch has developed an infection and is getting higher dose antibiotics. You probably got the same text. I wish he were having an easier recovery,” I explained. It should be me there, but I couldn’t trade places with him no matter how much I wanted to.
Green nodded. “We all do. Hospitals are the worst places, so many germs. But Mitch is strong.”
I was sick of people saying that, true or not. Green hadn’t been to visit Mitch. He’d say it was because of germs, but Green was in it all for himself. I wanted to go visit, but what could I do? The doctors and nurses were doing their best. Healing wasn’t a power I had a handle on. Maybe Mason could help...he had a soothing aura.
“We can visit,” Mason said.
“You’re not here to be a hospital volunteer,” Green shot back. “Now back to the matter at hand.”
While Green was lost in his own ramble, I texted Zel to keep us posted. Mitch’s wife was much less hostile to Zel, for some reason. Mostly likely she thought Zel took all her orders from Green, and no one wanted to piss off the boss.
Before I texted Mitch or made a big drama over anything just yet, I thought about what Mitch would want me to do.
Work the case!
I pulled out my tablet and joint file with the police guys info from their interviews.
I waved my hand and plotted the points on a map. Then I sent that map to Mason and a message to Hall and Thorn that we’d start in the center and work north since we had to follow up in Coldfoot anyway.
The messages made Mason’s phone beep.
“Something more important?” Green asked.
“No, sir. Just a bit of new data came in for the case. It means we’ll be traveling up to Coldfoot with stops along the way. If that’s approved,” Mason replied.
I smiled. We were a good team, even if we were causing some internal trouble. Not being the lead had turned out to be a good thing, honestly.
“Sure. If nothing more, we’ll hopefully find a few missing kids, or return their bodies to their parents. Doesn’t seem like trafficking, at least not from anything you’ve told me,” Green said.
“Well, some definitely seem to be kidnapping, but without a body, it’s hard to prove it was anything else. You should take that up with the taskforce lead,” I replied.
“And between elements and animals, yes. We’ll find bones if we’re lucky—scattered or dragged for miles.” Green scowled.
“We’re all aware of the odds, sir,” Mason said.
“I hate wasting manpower and resources when it’s basically
body retrieval,” Green muttered just loud enough to hear.
I sighed. “But if we find out a group is behind some of the kidnappings, it might stop some and put bad guys in jail. You’ll get the accolades from the women being freed from trafficking. Call it a win.”
Green shrugged. “Go on. Get out of here. Avoid Lewis as much as you can, Hunt. You’re back temporarily, so other agents won’t want you showing them up.”
“Is that what it is?” I asked.
We left before Green bothered to answer.
“You’re going to get yourself in trouble defending me,” Mason warned.
I shook my head. “It was my call. I have to defend it.”
“Lunch, then the center of the map just to get our bearings?” he asked.
“Sounds like a plan. I heard Green approve our travel budget, didn’t you?” I teased.
“I heard no objections to the plan or the implied costs associated with it.” Mason smiled. “Are you sure you don’t want to drop in on Mitch?”
I shook my head. “Unless you want to heal him, which his wife probably won’t let you get close enough to do—it’s only going to add stress to his recovery right now.”
“Western medicine is competent,” Mason said.
I laughed. “If I get injured, please heal me before the ambulance arrives.”
“I told you, it’s not my gift.” Mason shook his head.
“It feels like it is, though,” I countered.
Mason knocked on my bedroom door as I packed.
“What’s up?” I opened the door.
“I managed to book a bush plane that we can use for a couple of days. A friend is loaning it to me, FBI has to cover gas and everything, but we can fly up to Coldfoot first and check that out. If there’s nothing there, we can fly back to Fairbanks for the night, fly out to the central map location tomorrow,” he suggested.
“Why Coldfoot first?” I asked.
He lifted a shoulder. “Instinct. You don’t think that mother is hiding her kid. Neither do I. We just need to see it for sure. But when it comes to the map locations, being in the middle means we might be there for days chasing down leads. I booked hotel rooms in Fairbanks for our base, since we’ll probably spend more time there.”
