“Are we clear?” Harrison prompted.
A defeated sigh escaped the doctor's lips. “Crystal...clear.”
Harrison ended the call and the doctor handed the phone over.
Karen smirked. “I trust we’re done with the debate?”
The doctor settled back in his chair, staring at the opposite wall. He was a broken man, so resigned to his defeat that he saw no path forward other than to do as he was told. “I will do as you ask.”
41
State Police Sub-station
Marion, Virginia
“How’d I do?” Raylene asked eagerly.
“Excellent,” Baxter assured her. “You were a pro.”
“The tears were real, man. This is some dark stuff.”
The surveillance tech removed her cameras and stored them in their cases. Everyone could tell Raylene’s adrenaline was up. She was excited at having performed her first undercover.
“What happens next?” Ty asked.
Baxter shrugged. “We have a task force meeting tonight. The Marshal Service wants briefed. You and Cliff are welcome to attend.”
“I need to get on back to Arizona,” Cliff said. “I’d like Ty to attend if he’s up for it.”
“I’ll go,” Ty agreed.
“If all goes well tonight,” Baxter continued, “I’m assuming we’ll be able to make an arrest when the counselor purchases the children. We should have a warrant on-deck by that point to search the clinic so we’ll immediately swarm the place.”
“I'll need children in the car,” Raylene said.
“If you’re interested, DKI can help in that arena,” Cliff offered. “We have children of all ages who are trained to participate in sting operations. They know that what they’re doing helps other children. They see it as an acting role.”
“Could you get them here in time?” Whitt asked.
Cliff nodded. “I know two siblings and another child who’d be perfect. They all travel with a parent. I usually bring the team psychologist along to debrief them afterward. I’ll need to make some calls, but I think I could get them on a private jet in the morning. Where’s the closest airport?”
“Highlands,” Whitt said.
“If you have access to a private jet, why you are always flying commercial?” Ty asked.
“The company has patrons who are professional athletes and celebrities. They do fundraising for us, but some lend use of their private jets. I don’t want to take advantage of their graciousness. When I need to move people quickly I’ll call in a favor, otherwise I’m riding business class. Speaking of which, I probably need to get moving. Ty, can I get a ride to your place?”
“Definitely. What’s the plan for tonight?” Ty asked.
“Taskforce meeting is at 6 PM at the federal courthouse in Abingdon,” Baxter said. “Text me when you arrive and I’ll come get you at the door. Raylene, you don’t need to be there, but I’ll need you to call me as soon as you hear from the counselor at the clinic. Then I can disseminate the operation time to all the players.”
Raylene nodded. “Fine with me. I need to get home and get started on dinner anyway.”
“Then I’ll see you gentlemen soon,” Cliff said.
“And I’ll see you tonight,” Ty said, throwing a wave at the rest of the group as he headed for his truck.
Cliff waited until they were in Ty’s truck and pulling out of the parking lot before he revisited the conversation of the previous night. “Have you given any thought to my offer?”
Ty started the truck and pulled out onto the street. “Man, I don’t feel like I have a choice.”
“That a yes or a no?”
“It’s a yes.”
Cliff nodded with satisfaction. “Good call, brother.”
“It’s not an easy call, but I can see what’s going to happen if I stay here. Eventually, I’m going to pull the trigger on myself and my family is going to have to live with it. Either that or I’m going to end up in jail for losing my shit and beating somebody to death over something stupid. The writing is on the wall.”
“I think those concerns are legitimate, Ty. How many times have we seen friends go down that road? I don’t want that for you. Hell, I don’t want it for anybody.”
“I’m kind of beyond the point of caring about myself anymore,” Ty admitted. “That’s not the way I want my sister and niece to remember me though. Deena shouldn’t have to bury her screwed-up brother.”
“If joining DKI pointed you in the right direction, moving to Arizona is the next step. I think you’ll see significant improvement when you get out there.’
“But I’ll still be on probation, right?”
Cliff nodded. “That’s part of the condition of staying with us.”
“Just checking,” Ty said. “Thought you might have forgotten.”
Cliff laughed. “Sneaky bastard.”
42
The Farm
North Carolina
It was nearly 8 PM when Lena delivered Tonya’s dinner. Instead of bringing it early, as she had in the beginning, Lena now brought it after the rest of the residents had been served. That gave her time to hang out with Tonya, smoke some weed, and talk. The two had become friends of a sort. Two women with few other acquaintances or opportunities, their lives bumping against each other by pure misfortune and circumstance.
The sun hung low in the sky but the oppressive heat refused to abate, draping across them like a damp sheet. After the two smoked a bowl, they slouched against the camper, sipping on a bottle of peppermint schnapps that Lena had come across. They both found it easier to tolerate the heat when their thoughts were just as thick and muddled as the summer evening.
Lena pointed at Tonya’s belly. “When’s that baby due?”
Tonya shrugged. “I don’t know really. Soon I guess.”
Lena frowned. “What you mean you don’t know. That’s the first thing the doctor tells you. I ain’t had a baby but I’ve got plenty of friends who have. They always come home from the doctor talking about when it’s due.”
Tonya stared down at her belly, the unexpected and unwanted protuberance that caused her nothing but trouble and inconvenience. “Ain’t been to no doctor.”
“You ain’t keeping it?”
“Nah,” Tonya said with a shake of her head. “I had kids before and it didn’t work out. State took them.” She left out what she’d done that had caused the state to take her children. Some people didn’t understand. They judged her and she hated being judged.
Lena was putting the pieces together now. “Oh, that’s why you’re here? Hiding out in the middle of nowhere?”
“I guess so.”
Lena appeared to be struggling with whether to say more or not, but the words came out. She’d never had much of a filter. “Look, this may be none of my business, but this is not the best place to hide out and have a baby. Do you know what goes on here?”
“Well, I ain’t no detective,” Tonya said, “but I assume all these barns and tractors means they run a farm. I don’t stick my nose in other people’s business, but I’d guess some of the people that work here might be illegal aliens too.”
Lena burst out laughing. “Girl, you’re pretty damn sheltered, aren’t you?”
Tonya looked at her blankly. She didn’t know if she was sheltered or not. She’d never thought about it. She knew what she knew.
“Of course they’re illegal aliens. I feed them every damn night so I should know. That’s why they’re all living here working for nothing. Like I already told you, they sign a contract to work for so many years to pay for being brought across the border. The whole family has to work it off. If they don’t work, they have to pay it off in other ways.”
“That ain’t my business,” Tonya said, waving her hands. “I learned the hard way to keep my nose out of places it don’t belong. Got it knocked-in a few times before I learned.”
“I been there,” Lena admitted. “My momma would beat the crap out of me for even talkin
g to you. We ain’t supposed to talk to nobody out here.”
“I’m glad you talk to me. It gets lonely out here by myself.” Tonya took another sip of the schnapps before passing it over to Lena. “Can you keep a secret?”
Lena accepted the bottle, took a pull, and nodded. “I ain’t got anybody to tell anything to. You tell me a secret and it’s between me and God. Ain’t no one else cares to hear what I got to say.”
“They run some kind of adoption thing out of here,” Tonya whispered, as if there might be someone lurking in the weeds around them. “That’s how I got here. They run it through some drug treatment clinic back home.”
“Adoption?” Lena asked, incredulous.
“Seriously. They’re hiding me out until I have this baby because I got warrants at home. The cops are looking for me for violating probation. Once the baby is born, they’re going to pay me for it. They say they have people who want to adopt kids but don’t want to go through the hassle of the court system. I totally get that. Court system’s been nothing but a hassle for me.”
The whole time Tonya was speaking, Lena was shaking her head dismissively. “Girl, they don’t adopt any babies here. That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard. Get up and take a walk with me.”
Tonya looked at Lena like she was crazy. “In this heat? With this belly? Are you kidding me?”
Lena took Tonya’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “You need to see this.”
Tonya groaned and complained but gave in. The pair set off, Lena leading Tonya through a copse of trees and into a dense soybean field. They crossed the deep field, wider than ten football fields, and joined up with a dusty road, hanging a left.
“Other way goes to the work camp,” Lena said.
They passed several No Trespassing signs as they walked, Tonya complaining the whole time. “You’re going to have to carry me back, Lena. Toting this baby around is about to kill me.”
“Hush up, ain’t nobody carrying your ass. You’ll be fine. It’s right up there.” Lena pointed to a metal agricultural building in the distance.
It was made of green steel panels and was the newest structure Tonya had seen on the farm. Although everything else around the place had some age on it, this building was practically new. She wondered why it was sitting out there in the middle of nowhere but she didn’t know anything about farming. There must be some reason for it. “What is that?”
“You’ll see.” Lena paused and threw a glance over her shoulder to make sure there was no one nearby. “Hurry up.”
Tonya rolled her eyes as Lena sprinted off. Tonya didn’t run on a good day and she certainly wasn’t doing any running in her current situation. She did pick up the pace of her walking but her balance was all wrong and her hips were killing her. She mumbled and cursed the entire way. Ahead of her, Lena disappeared around a corner of the building and Tonya veered in that direction. She was still complaining as she came around the corner, soaked in sweat and breathing hard.
“Shhhh!” Lena hissed, holding a finger to her lips. She ran and ducked down behind a pair of humming heat pumps, beckoning for Tonya to join her.
“I can’t fit in there,” Tonya whispered.
Lena pointed to a jagged oversized hole in the sheet metal. Several insulated lines running from a pair of heat pumps passed through the crude hole, but there was a gap around them. Lena was on her knees, peering through the hole. “You have to look.”
“You’re going to have to help me back up,” Tonya warned, using the heat pump to lower herself to the ground.
It took her a moment to get her body positioned in a way that allowed her to see through the hole. Cool air blew through the hole from the air-conditioned interior of the building. Hanging industrial fixtures illuminated the interior, and four metal shipping containers sat in the center of the concrete floor. Tonya had seen containers like that go by on the train sometimes, fastened to flatbed cars.
These were different; the ends had been removed and refitted with bars, like a jail cell. The sight brought back bad memories of being locked up, sick from withdrawal. Tonya saw there were shapes moving around inside the container. “Are those cows?”
Lena shot her a frustrated look. “No, dumbass, those are people. Women and kids.”
Tonya pushed her eye to the opening. Lena was right. Tonya could make out the shapes more clearly now. They were indeed people. She scooted away from the opening, rolled onto all fours, and used the wall to get to her feet. “Why they got people locked up in there? They break the rules or something?”
“Rumor is they sell them,” Lena whispered. “Like sex slaves or something.”
Tonya nodded at that, the pieces falling into place. Lena might be right. Children being put up for adoption wouldn’t be kept in a cage. “How did you find out about this?”
“We make food for them every day, but Shelby is the one that comes down here and feeds them. I got to wondering where that food was going, so I snuck down here and started looking around. When I got close to the building I could hear all these nasty sounds coming from in there.”
“Nasty sounds?”
Lena nodded, eyes wide. “Sex sounds. It wasn’t people, though, it was movies. I looked through that hole right there and saw they had these big old TVs set up in there with porno movies playing on them.”
“Why?” Tonya asked. "That doesn't make any sense."
“No idea,” Lena admitted with a shrug. “Still ain’t figured that one out.”
Tonya shot Lena a warning glance. “All that sneaking around is going to get you in trouble. These don’t seem like the kind of people you should fool with. Some of these farmers on this place don’t look like farmers to me. They look like guards and they all carry guns.”
Lena waved her off. “Ain’t nobody knows what I get up to around here. No one notices me. Now let’s get out of here.”
They skirted around the building and got back on the road. Tonya was moving even slower than she had on the way there, her muscles cramping from even this minor exertion. Lena was aggravated at the slow pace, constantly urging Tonya to hurry up.
“Don't tell anybody about this place. I only showed you so you’d know this ain't any place to have a baby,” Lena said.
Tonya bit her lip. Lena didn’t know about her past. She didn’t know the things Tonya had allowed people to do to her children before they'd been taken. Of course, she’d played the victim in court. That was what her public defender had suggested and it worked. The guys who’d abused her children got prison time for it while she barely got a slap on the wrist.
They reached the soybean field and plunged into the tall plants, the vast field appearing almost insurmountable to the awkward and struggling Tonya.
Lena was surprised by Tonya's silence. She waited for her new friend to comment on the things she’d shown her but Tonya never did. She didn’t express disgust, or fear, or any of the things Lena expected. Thinking she might need encouragement, Lena brought it up again. “Look, I ain’t got a car or nothing, but I might be able to get you a ride. You’d have to walk to the road and meet us somewhere. We could probably get you to a highway or a truck stop and let you off so you can hitch home. It ain’t much but it’s the best I can do.”
Tonya pondered this a moment before responding. “I suspect if I do that, I don’t get paid.”
Lena stopped in her tracks and spun to face Tonya. Her face registered confusion and anger. “Get paid? That all you’re concerned with? You see the things I just showed you and you don’t give a shit? What kind of greedy-ass bitch are you?”
Lena’s attitude angered Tonya right back. She shoved by Lena and kept walking. “I don’t need you judging me, girl. We all got our own shit to deal with. Everybody has a past and you don't know mine. Once I get my money, this baby isn’t my problem. What they do with it is on them, not on me.”
"Girl, you can't fucking sell people!"
They argued all the way back to the camper, Lena trying to convince Tonya that she
should forget the money and get out of there while she could. Tonya, between gasping breaths and rising nausea, argued that this was only business. A gun store wasn’t responsible if the customer who bought a gun killed someone with it. A car dealer wasn’t responsible if a drunk driver ran over someone with the car. She wasn’t responsible for what these people might or might not do with her child once she was out of the picture.
Besides, it wasn’t like she was overwhelmed with choices in her life. She had one and only one opportunity before her. She needed to sell the baby, collect the money, and start a new life somewhere else.
Lena wouldn’t give it up and was still debating the topic when they reached Tonya’s camper. Tonya had already decided her days of smoking weed with this mouthy young girl were probably over if she didn’t shut up. She wasn’t here to debate her life choices. She was an adult and could do what she wanted.
Anxious to get inside the trailer before she passed out from the heat, Tonya threw open the door and tugged herself inside. Lena was hot on her heels, mouth still running. Neither immediately noticed the man sitting off to the side on the built-in sofa. When Tonya finally noticed him she froze in her tracks. She recognized this man. It was the doctor from the clinic in Glade Spring.
Then Lena noticed the man and understood it meant trouble for her. She turned on her heels and rushed toward the door. When she flung it open, Shelby was outside waiting on her. Unable to catch Lena with his single arm, he threw a hard jab, catching her in the jaw. Her mouth snapped shut and she staggered inside, falling hard against the kitchen cabinets.
Shelby grabbed Lena around the ankle and dragged her out of the doorway. The threshold scraped at her skin and her head banged off the steel step. Shelby pinned her to the ground with a boot. When Lena made a half-hearted attempt to wriggle from beneath it, Shelby drew his pistol and pointed it at her face.
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