by Sutter, C M
“I guess we should call Hope’s and Claire’s parents and tell them we have the girls in custody and where they are. It’ll be their only chance to see them before Hope and Claire are processed into the jail system in Denver and locked up while they await their arraignments.” I found a quiet place to sit down and made the calls.
It was two a.m. by the time I dropped down into the welcoming bed of the hotel room Tory had booked for me. I was sure my colleagues were equally exhausted and probably climbing into their hotel room beds too. Tomorrow would be a busy day, then we would head back to Rapid City, board our jet, and fly home. It had taken a week of chasing Gary and Leon through multiple states in order to solve that case and arrest the people involved, but it was well worth it. Unfortunately, victims had died in the process, but every criminal would face murder charges for those crimes, whether their actual hand was on the victim or not. They would all be held accountable.
Just before I turned off the light, I fired off a text to Amber, apologized for the late hour, and told her only that I would be coming home in the next day or so and asked if she’d ever made homemade doughnuts. I knew that was just enough of a taunt to whip her into action. With a grin, I sent off the text and turned off the light.
Chapter 54
We gathered around the longest table the Gold Nugget Café had. Plenty of us were in attendance that morning, and we had plenty of reasons to celebrate. That particular human trafficking ring had been dismantled. The culprits would all go to prison, likely for life, with or without the chance of parole—but that would be up to a jury to decide, when the time came.
Matt brought along Tyler, Pearson, and their pilot, who were all instrumental in capturing Gary and rescuing Melanie. Renz, Tommy, Fay, and myself were there, along with Sheriff Dorfman, Pete, and Ted.
I couldn’t be happier to get better acquainted with our new allies and enjoy the café’s signature assortment of doughnuts, Danish, and crullers. The carafes of coffee were constantly refilled, and their coffee as well as the breakfast treats were delicious.
We spent that hour getting to know each other and keeping the conversation light. We would resume our FBI personalities once we returned to the sheriff’s office to wrap up our part, fill out paperwork, and review the charges brought against Gary, Claire, and Hope. With Leon deceased, we couldn’t do anything about his participation in the crimes. The other three would carry the weight of the charges against them—and there were plenty.
We parted ways with Pete and Ted at a few minutes after ten. Hugs, handshakes, and contact cards were passed among us.
Back at the sheriff’s office, I was shocked to see Diane and Mike Daniels as well as Laura and Adam Usher. Hope’s and Claire’s parents were sitting in the lobby, waiting for us to show up. They leapt to their feet when we entered.
Diane huffed and tipped her wrist. “It’s about time. We’ve been sitting here since eight thirty.”
I wrinkled my brow, already irritated by her behavior. “Excuse me?”
“Where’s Hope?”
“In lockup.”
“Oh my God!”
Laura crowded in and took her turn. “And Claire?”
“The same. Let’s go find a room where we can talk.”
We were led to an unused conference room, and we all took seats.
Diane began again. “When can we take Hope home? I’m sure she’s traumatized.”
Renz immediately shut her down. “It’s apparent you don’t understand that your daughter”—he looked at the Ushers too—“both your daughters, are criminals.”
“Hope is a victim of horrible violence against her.”
“No she isn’t. Hope is a kidnapper, a human trafficker, and a murderer, and she will be charged as such. Claire will be charged with the same offenses, and neither of them will see the light of day for many years. That goes for Gary Rhodes too.”
Mike Daniels shouted, “You can’t—”
Tommy raised his hand in Mike’s face. “We absolutely can and did. Your coddling not only created spoiled brats but criminals who thought the law didn’t pertain to them. This was your wakeup call, but it’s too late to do anything about it. Your daughters will remain in the custody of federal agents and locked up in the jail facility in Denver until their day in court. They weren’t out on a cross-country joyride with Gary and Leon, for God’s sake. As a matter of fact, Claire murdered Leon in cold blood, and she will be held accountable. You can see your daughters for ten minutes, then they’re going to board the federal prison bus along with the other criminals involved in these crimes and sit in the Denver jail until their arraignment. I’d suggest you accept their fate, spend the next few minutes telling them that you love them, then go home. There’s nothing else you can do since both girls are legal adults. You’ll be notified of their court dates when they come up.”
I stood. “We’ll take you to separate interview rooms and bring the girls in so you can talk to them. That’ll be the only time you’ll see them until their court date, and that’s only if you sign up for notifications. Ready?”
They walked with us down the hallway, where a deputy showed Hope’s parents to one room and Claire’s to another.
“They get ten minutes with the girls, and that’s it. Agent Weston is getting the transport bus ready as we speak.”
We left them there and joined Sheriff Dorfman and members of the task force to finish our paperwork.
It was early afternoon by the time we were ready to leave Colorado in our rearview mirror. We said our goodbyes for the time being but not forever. We’d made new friends and colleagues in law enforcement, and they would be relationships we would always appreciate. I loved that state and vowed to return during one of the vacation weeks I actually took advantage of. I promised to stop and visit with them all the next time I was there, whether it be for work or play.
We had a long drive ahead of us and wouldn’t arrive in Rapid City until nearly ten that night, where we would board our jet, take to the sky, and land in Milwaukee around midnight.
Tomorrow was Monday and a new work week would begin. Where it would take us, we didn’t know, but I’d enjoyed and appreciated the new experience of working side by side with Fay and Tommy.
As we settled into the car and drove away, I checked my phone for calls and texts and saw that I’d missed a text from Amber. I laughed out loud when I read it.
Renz looked over his shoulder. “You can’t laugh without telling us why.”
I grinned. “It’s a reply from Amber. I asked her last night if she knew how to make homemade doughnuts.”
“And?”
“And she said she could rival anybody’s ‘best’ recipe, even the Gold Nugget Café’s.”
“Guess you’ll have to make her live up to that challenge since we all know how good the cafés doughnuts are,” Tommy teased. “Just make sure you tell her to make a quadruple recipe since it’ll be all four of us who’ll be judging her work.”
THE END
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