by Mimi Barbour
Nik heard the pain in her voice and zeroed in on her anger. “You care too much. It must rip your heart out every time you come up against a case like this.” He waited while she made up her mind whether to trust him or not. He glanced her way and saw her bite down on that lush bottom lip that caught his eye more than he liked. Fantasizing about how sweet it had tasted during their kiss drove him wacky and he wished he could get her taste out of his head.
She took a deep breath that ended in a weepy sound and it went straight to his heart, tore a large gash through the middle, and left him yearning to cuddle her closely.
Words seemed to break loose of their own accord. “Some nights I can’t sleep. The victims won’t stop haunting me.” Her voice had lost its teasing quality and had become somber and sad… and hesitant. As if she didn’t know why she was sharing but had no choice.
He was glad she did. And to acknowledge her lowering her boundaries, he decided to pay back in kind.
“Me too! I can’t stop seeing the shattered bodies of three of my men who’d followed me into a mine field. I made it through and they didn’t, and I’ll never know why. One wrong step…” His voice broke and he shut up.
Reaching over from her side of the car, she slid her hand inside of his and smiled when he squeezed tightly. “Two night wanderers with nightmares. Call me anytime that they won’t give you peace.”
“Works both ways.” He cleared his throat and was glad to see the parking lot as they pulled into their slot.
Chapter 24
“What do we do now?” Nik scanned the forms that Maya threw across to him. “What’re these for?”
“I got this info from the FBI data bank. Read it over and search out: Al ’s last known address, girlfriends, employer, places he likes to hang out. Whatever we have on him is there. I’m going to see if those videos I requested were sent over from the dock and whether the IT guys have found anything yet.”
“Will they have them for the last few days?”
“The manager said their equipment is faulty. He’s sending over everything they have, but he doesn’t hold out much hope that we’ll find a lot of decent footage.”
“Can I go in with you when you interrogate Mr. Bard?”
“Of course, it would look weird if you didn’t. By the way, partner, you have an uncanny ability to tell when someone is lying, and a good sense of when to break into the conversation. If you get the irresistible urge to do your thing, feel free. Otherwise, let me handle the bastard.” Nik heard the warning and had full intentions of following Maya’s advice. No way did he want to obstruct their chances of obtaining credible intelligence.
***
An hour later, Maya waved for him to follow her. “They’ve got him set up in one of the interview rooms and we’re good to go at him now. Did you find anything useful?”
“Not much. The guy’s a loser. Supposedly, he just started working for the trucking company, Smith & Sons. I called their office for a lowdown. I think we should check them out.”
“Why, what happened?”
“They weren’t too forthcoming on the phone, said they’d never heard of Al Bard. Their truck had been stolen that morning and he was most likely the thief. I did a rundown on their business. Found some discrepancies.”
Maya stopped and turned to him. “How did you get into the computer?”
“I didn’t. Got Ladybug to do it for me.” He smiled with a wicked glint in his eyes that made Maya laugh.
“I’m not even gonna go there. How you men get that poor girl to do those ‘little chores’ for you all the time, I’ll never know. Anyway, what did you find out?”
“The old company, New Orleans Shipping, sold last year to Smith & Sons, who’ve lost a lot of business ever since. Doesn’t seem to be affecting their bottom line, though. Makes a person wonder how they’re staying alive in the competitive world of shipping and long-distance hauling. I think we should pay them a visit.”
“Sounds like a good idea. First, we’ll talk with the perp and see if he knows anything about his so-called employer, as well as the dead girl.”
“Have they identified her yet?” As they traveled the long corridor of the brightly-lit office, they carried on with their conversation.
“Interpol is searching now. Because the container arrived from Singapore, we’re sure she came from either Thailand or the Philippines, their favorite hunting grounds. Those two countries are a haven for human trafficking. From there, it’s easy to gather shipments of girls for either sexual or labor exploitation. If a market has now been set up in the U.S. for those poor young women, the dudes we’re talking about would have no compunction about hiding them in containers and shipping the merchandise overseas. All they need are connections placed in strategic places to facilitate the process.”
“So you’re sure she traveled to the U.S. in that container?”
“Not necessarily. We know she spent days in there from the crime scene investigation, but it doesn’t prove she arrived in that same container. In fact, from the condition of the inside, I’d say it wasn’t likely. Unfortunately, we got next to nothing on those surveillance videos. Almost looks as though they’ve been tampered with. The port authorities, with the help of some of our people, are looking into it now. Anyway, I’m hoping that our friend, Al Bard, can tell us more about her story.”
Nik added, “My thoughts are about Mai, who’s only fourteen.” Those words written in blood had haunted him ever since he’d shined his flashlight on them.
“Me too. God… I hope we can find out more about where she might be now.”
“You think this idiot will know?”
“We can only hope. Not only that he knows, but that he’ll share. If I can get him to care more about saving his own ass than his boss’s, maybe we can find out.”
Chapter 25
Loaded with questions, Maya stepped into the interview room followed by her partner. Unknown to Nik, Max had played this game with her in the lead many times and they’d worked it well together. They’d both understood when the other needed to take over and when to back off. However, Nik didn’t have the experience or the training. It would be up to her.
Before opening the door, Maya warned. “Remember, if you don’t know what to say, leave it alone. I can handle him, okay?”
“Got it!”
Glad that he was totally professional about the situation and hadn’t taken offense, she went in and placed her papers on the table in front of Al Bard and leisurely sat down.
Arms crossed, Nik stood leaning against the wall near the large mirror. His expression of boredom and disdain were exactly what Maya had hoped for. Before getting into character, she threw him a quick wink to let him know she liked his pose. Then she became the agent everyone in the office recognized. The one who could burrow into a person’s psyche and get them to believe whatever she wanted.
Examining the sack-of-stupid across from her, she noted that his aura showed mostly grays and dark hues mixed into various other tones—all pale. This asshole had very little heart and no sympathy whatsoever. Working over this psycho, using a young girl’s death as a sympathy ploy, would get her nowhere. Maybe self-pity would.
“I don’t know Jack shit about nothing.” Slouching against the back of his chair, the idiot spoke up without giving her the courtesy of any other form of greeting.
“Yeah, Yeah! That’s a new one to me. Never heard that before, have you, Agent Foster?” As if she had all the time in the world, Maya slipped off the black jacket she wore over a silky, white tank top and slowly hung it on the back of her chair.
***
Nik didn’t answer at first until the silence grew and he realized she was eyeing him. It prompted the perp to look his way too, and that’s when he saw the fear Al couldn’t hide. In fact, he could smell it radiating in waves off the prick. He’d seen it before when his men were expected to go into battle and perform at their best. Some were cocky and had no doubts about their ability. Others acted indifferen
t so well that you wouldn’t know their fear existed without years of experience in working with them. Still, others had a sixth sense that their time was limited and they were coasting on thin ice. That’s the way Al Bard looked. Excitement began to sizzle inside him. If they played it just right, they could get this man to spill his guts. His faith in Maya had to hold.
Grinning confidently, he finally broke the spell. “Nope. It’s a new one to me.”
Smiling back at him, Maya took quite a few seconds before turning in Al’s direction. “Hope you had a good time this last week as a free man, Al, because you won’t be seeing the outside of a prison cell for one hell of a long time.”
Al stared at her, ogled her chest area, his eyes undressing her. She let him see just what he’d be missing.
He flinched so slightly; you had to be watching for it to see the movement. Then his face hardened back to the mask of indifference he’d worn when she’d first stepped into the room. He didn’t speak, but now his fingers played a tune on the gray metal table top.
“That sweet girlfriend you’ve been living with, Sadie Moore, will get herself a new man faster than I can say twenty years. Oh, yeah! She’ll be finding herself another daddykins very soon.” Maya threw a photograph across the table, showing the face of a younger woman in her twenties with a big hairdo, blue eyes and overly reddened, pouty lips. “We’ll be investigating her thoroughly; could be she’s your accomplice.”
Al glanced down but still didn’t reply. His fingers worked the table a little faster than previously.
Deciding to try another tack, Maya switched gears. “Did you know that dead girl in the container you were after was underage, a child?”
“I wasn’t after any container.”
“Don’t be stupid, Al. We got your paperwork. Not only were you there to pick up a container, but it was also that particular one you came for.”
“Don’t call me stupid!” Al’s chin wobbled from the instant anger her words produced. “I didn’t know what I was supposed to pick up. I had my manifest and was going to turn it into the loading guy at the dock. Only they knew what I had to collect.”
“Well, you’re right about that. They knew you were to collect that container, all right. But they swore it hadn’t been opened and so there was no way of knowing there was a girl locked inside. The box sat in the cargo area for three days in the sweltering heat, waiting for someone to fetch it.”
“I don’t know nothing about that.” Al crossed his arms and glared at her with righteous fury.
“No? It was shipped from overseas to Smith & Sons, your so-called employer, who, by the way, filed a report that their truck—the very one you were driving—was stolen. Seems they have no record of you being on their payroll either. You do realize, they’re going to throw you under the proverbial missing truck, Al. They don’t give a rat’s ass about your troubles.”
Maya grinned gleefully at Nik. “Poor sucker won’t even get a paycheck when this is all said and done. Instead, all he’s looking forward to is a stretch in jail while his pretty lady friend moves on to another guy.”
Nik couldn’t help himself. “Hell, now that I know she’ll be free, I might just look her up myself. She works at the Pink Pussycat, right? I might need a drink after work tonight.”
Without any warning, Al shoved himself away from the table and lunged at Nik. He went for his throat, both hands extended to grip and maul. Problem was, those same hands ended up being used to flip him over onto his back. And it happened faster than either Al or Maya could blink and prepare for.
The pressure from Nik’s knee placed strategically across the other man’s neck convinced him he’d better stop wriggling. “You going to behave?” Nik stared him down and waited for Al to acknowledge who had the power. Al’s nod did just that, and with a move no one expected, Nik lifted him and planted his ass back in the chair.
“You’re a patsy, you know that? I sure as hell don’t feel sorry for anyone who’s begging to be screwed as much as you are.” As if he’d touched something that had gone bad, Nik dusted his hands on his pants and returned to his stance by the wall.
“You wouldn’t believe anything I tell you.” Al had trouble getting the words out through his now raw throat.
“Try me,” Maya leaned forward watching Al rubbing his neck, tears forming in his eyes—tears of self-pity.
“I didn’t know nothing about no dead girl in the container. All’s I know is they lost something and it wasn’t until this morning that they found out what had happened—that the cargo was in that container and it needed to be fetched. I overheard them talking when they called me into the office. I don’t know nothing about no dead body.”
“So you do work for these guys?”
“Yeah, sometimes. They call me for special jobs. That’s all I’m saying. I want my lawyer before you get anything else.”
Chapter 26
Rather than driving straight to the offices of Smith & Son, Maya and Nik stopped off at a courtyard café for lunch. They shared po’boys and coffee, both anxious to discuss what they’d learned from Al Bard.
“You always strip off your clothes to snare the male offenders?” The cranky way Nik asked made her pay attention.
Her expression lit up with pretend disbelief. “I was hot?”
“So was Al.”
“You really got a problem with a girl using every bit of ammunition she can to suck in slime like him?”
“Well, when you put it that way.”
“I know a lot of male cops who like to prance around the room, show their muscles, play the ego card. All I did was remind the idiot of what he’d be missing after being put away for a lot of years. Sometimes it works, many times it doesn’t. No harm in trying. You sound jealous.”
Looking uncomfortable with the knowing smile she sent his way, Nik changed the subject. “Did you read the report on Smith & Sons that came in before we left?”
She nodded and chewed her lunch, her teasing expression changing to utmost satisfaction. “Hmm… my favorite food aside from jambalaya and fried catfish.” She licked the sauce from her lips and watched him zero in on her mouth. She almost blew him a kiss and stopped herself just in time. What the hell was she thinking? This man was a virtual stranger. And yet, she instinctively felt more comfortable with him than she ever had with his brother. Watching, she saw him arch his neck one way and then the other as if the gorgeous silk tie he wore was choking him.
“You’re not comfortable in Max’s clothes, are you?” She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of admitting he wore the clothes better than Max. There was something about the way he relaxed his body… not wound tight all the time. It was sexy, a come-on, one she fought against.
“No! I dislike suits. Even the military dress uniforms are a pain. But the reason I’m not relaxed is because I don’t think we should be sitting out in the open like this. After that last ambush, we know the word is out that Max’s back from the dead. Whoever worked him over in that alley must be thinking he’d screwed up badly. Most likely, he’ll try again.”
“You say that as if you know he got out of that alley alive.”
“You never found a body.”
“That doesn’t mean diddly. There’re a lot of swamps out there that they could hide a man in and no one would ever find the body.”
Nik came close to sharing his knowledge with her. Only his promise to Max kept him quiet. “True. So, if they did haul his body out there, he could have miraculously survived. That means they’ll believe I’m him and they’ll make doubly sure not to screw up again.”
All of a sudden, Maya saw Nik’s expression change from a man listening to one sending a warning glare.
Maya, too sharp to have missed this little ploy, turned to see who he was signaling and saw a blonde cook do an about face and head back into the kitchen. Now what the hell was that all about? Before she could question him, he changed the subject.
“What’s next on the agenda?”
Shrugg
ing, she answered, “I figure we’re on to something with Smith & Sons. The information we’ve got is really sketchy. Seems you were right about their income not resulting from a lot of transporting freight. On the other hand, because they own a shipping company, they get to show up at the docks whenever they have containers arriving without anyone questioning their presence. It’s pretty slick when you think about it. With their trucks, they can shuffle the girls all over the country, feed their operations in the major cities and no one is any the wiser.”
“What I don’t understand is how they get the cargo screened and passed through inspection?”
“That’s easy. All you need to do is pay off certain people who’re employed in different vicinities. Inspectors, warehouseman, loaders. Actually, thanks to you, we’re on it. We’ve started a huge information-gathering sweep and it’s happening right now to the employees who work anywhere that Smith & Sons have contracts. We’ll find our link. In the meantime, let’s go and see what Mr. Smith has to say. ”
Chapter 27
Smith & Sons was a run-down office building inside a fenced-in yard with little activity happening. Also, there were a whole lot of unkempt laborers visible, sitting around, screwing the dog.
Nik had felt uncomfortable from the minute they’d exited their Fed vehicle and entered the premises. Several characters stalked them with steely-eyed glares, and for him to walk nonchalantly alongside Maya took all the acting skills he possessed. His training would have put him at a crouch with a high-powered rifle in his hands and a platoon behind.
Shocked at how toxic the place felt, he could only imagine how the atmosphere affected a woman. Yet, one might think she was taking a leisurely stroll through a Macy’s lingerie section. God, this gutsy chick was getting to him! Red—no gold—in the sunlight, her curls framed her beautiful face and he had an urge to walk closer, his hand holding hers, tagging her as his property.
