by Dani Pettrey
“Tanner was just explaining everything from the start,” Declan said.
“Wonderful.” Parker moved in and found a comfortable place to hold up the wall. Griffin stood, offering Avery his chair.
“Thanks.” She tied the balloons to Declan’s bedrail and moved to sit.
“Kate, I’ll find you a chair,” Griffin offered.
“I’m good.” She plunked down on the end of Declan’s bed.
“Miss Shaw, I believe you have a captive audience,” Parker said.
She stared at him, trying to get a handle on him, no doubt. He’d seen the attempt at assessment before. Question was, what angle was she coming from? Hopefully by the time she was finished talking, he’d know everything he needed to about Tanner Shaw.
“As I was saying.” She looked back to the group. “I first became acquainted with Perera’s vile enterprise, as he calls it, while working in the aftercare program with one of his victims. A fifteen-year-old girl named Selma.”
“So it’s true?” Avery asked. “He really was running a sex tourism business?”
“Is running. At the time when I had to flee, I’d already worked with a handful of his victims we’d managed to rescue, but there are scores more.”
She continued in detail with how the operation ran, how they managed to rescue the girls they did, and where the investigation stood when she’d brought it to Marley.
“Cambodian police were beyond hesitant to pursue any kind of case against a former U.S. ambassador with critical ties in the region.”
“What kind of ties?” Declan asked.
“China and the U.S. are competing for influence in Cambodia. The U.S. initiated defense cooperation with Cambodia in 2006, and over the next seven years the U.S. became Cambodia’s major defense-cooperation partner. China, however, has stepped up its defense cooperation in a development that many analysts see as an attempt to supplant the United States.
“Perera was sent there to see that doesn’t happen. Even after officially retiring his ambassadorship, he chose to remain in the ‘land he loved.’” She said those words with disgust and punctuated with air quotes. “The fact is he remained to take advantage of the vulnerable girls for his twisted pleasure and that of his American friends. But at the same time he continues to consult as a liaison between the U.S. and Cambodia, so he’s still a valuable asset to the U.S. government.”
“When you say ‘his American friends,’ what sort of people are you talking about?” Kate asked.
“Perera’s client list is believed to contain at least one U.S. senator, a federal judge, and a three-star general. Not to mention the scores of his former military buddies. What they do to these girls is barbaric.”
Outrage burned through Parker.
“How does he get away with it?” Avery stiffened. “Why isn’t this all over the news?”
Parker loved Avery’s fire, loved her innocence. She hadn’t been tainted by the job yet, and he prayed she never would. It seemed neither had Finley, strangely enough.
“Because he’s a very powerful man with immense connections and funds,” Tanner said. “He’s gotten rich off the molestation of Cambodian minors.”
Avery paled. “I think I’m going to throw up.”
“Trust me, I know the feeling—which is why I contacted Marley. She was just as enraged as I was and began working with me to compile an extradition case to present to the Office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
“And?” Griffin asked.
“Marley got pushback.”
“Bureaucracy,” Griffin said, his lips thin.
Parker shared his disgust.
“I don’t understand,” Avery said.
“Marley didn’t know if the ICE agent she was working with was being paid off, threatened, or just pressured to look the other way, but he told Marley there wasn’t enough there for him to move forward. He told her to let the case drop.”
“I’m guessing, based on what we’ve learned about Marley, she refused,” Finley said.
“She fought even harder, and then she disappeared along with most of her evidence against Perera.”
“And you?” Kate asked.
“Knew I was next. I’d already had one close call. A car accident I highly suspect was no accident. I knew it was only a matter of time, and I wasn’t going to let them get away with disposing of my friend, so I left, making my way along an underground transport system I’d learned about. I was determined to help find Marley, but after I arrived I saw on the news you already had.”
“Why didn’t you come to us straightaway?” Declan asked.
“I tried to approach Dr. Scott at the university, but I caught sight of him.”
“Him?”
“Perera’s right-hand man. Simon Reuben.”
“If he’s the man with the spider tattoo on his neck, he’s dead,” Declan said. “Griffin took him out after Simon put me here.”
“That’s great, but I’m sure Perera will have him replaced immediately. He may be in Cambodia, but his reach is long.”
“He’s here,” Finley said.
Tanner’s eyes widened. “Perera?” Fear filled her face.
“Was waiting for me in my car,” Finley explained. “Wanted to talk.”
“Talk?” Tanner’s brows pinched. “About what?”
“Claims he didn’t kill Marley, that he’s being set up.”
“Please.” She gaped at Finley and then Griffin. “Wait. You don’t for a second believe him, do you?”
34
We found it odd,” Griffin said in answer to Tanner’s question. “Why bother coming to Finley if he’s guilty?”
Parker sloughed off his jacket. The temperature outside was dropping, but in Declan’s hospital room it was quickly heating up.
“Because he wanted to throw you off. He’s guilty, and I have the evidence to prove it,” Tanner said.
“You have evidence he killed Marley?”
“I have evidence of his nasty business, which provides the perfect motivation for Marley’s murder.”
“I thought it disappeared with Marley?”
“Hers, yes, but I kept some copies as a safeguard.”
“Where are they?”
“Someplace safe.”
“We need to get them. There might be something in there we can use to pin Marley’s murder on him.”
“And what are you going to do with them?”
“Give them to the necessary authorities.”
She shook her head. “Perera has ties. I don’t know who can be trusted. He had the ICE agent in his pocket—who knows who else? I’d take them to GJM, but it’s not safe either. If Marley’s files were stolen from there, who’s to say mine won’t be too?”
“Bring them to me, and we’ll get them in the right hands,” Declan said.
“No offense,” Tanner said, “but it doesn’t look like you’re out of his reach either.”
“So what do you want to do?” Griffin asked.
“Figure out who I can trust, and in the meantime find the evidence needed to prove Perera either killed Marley or had her killed.”
Parker pushed off the wall. “Then ragtag as we may be, we’re your new team.”
A knock rapped on the door, and Tanner jumped.
Parker rested a hand on her shoulder. “Easy, love.”
With gun in hand, Griffin opened the door. “Hey, Mac.” He stepped back and let the man enter. “It’s okay.”
“MacDonald Harris,” Parker said. “It’s been a while. You still with the BPD?”
“Yep. Surprised our paths haven’t crossed.”
“I’m selective in the cases I work.” It was the benefit of being an independent contractor. He worked with professionals he trusted. Detectives who were ethical and capable.
“I heard that.” He set an evidence box on Declan’s tray table.
“What’s this?” Parker lifted his chin.
“Marley Trent’s personal effects.”
Parker looked to Griffin.
Griffin shrugged. “With Declan out of commission, we were stuck.”
“Hence why I called Kate,” Parker said to Declan.
“I also called an old friend to see if the police still had any of Marley’s effects in evidence,” Griffin said. “Mac confirmed her effects hadn’t been released back to the family.”
“Aren’t you supposed to release them after everything’s been processed and not deemed essential to any ongoing investigation?” Finley said.
“Yes.” Mac nodded.
“So whatever’s in that box was deemed important?” she asked.
Mac shook his head. “No.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t follow.”
“When Griff called, I took a look. Turns out it had been mis-shelved.”
“Convenient.” Parker shook his head with a frustrated smile.
“Told you he had ties.” Tanner crossed her arms over her chest.
“You can’t possibly think . . . ?” Avery said.
“The men on his client list stand to lose a lot if the truth ever comes out. They’re here in the States. Some less than an hour away in D.C.”
“Okay.” Parker held up his hands. “For argument’s sake, let’s say it was purposely mis-shelved.”
“I told Griffin it was there, but without a proper signature for release no way I could give it to him,” Mac said.
“So when Declan woke,” Finley said, “I caught him up to speed.”
“And I made some calls while I was waiting for you guys to return,” Declan said. “First to Mac.”
“As lead agent on Ms. Trent’s case, this evidence belongs to you.” Mac handed Declan a release form to sign. “Oh, and I got you the number of the cop who picked up Simon Reuben’s personal effects.”
“Simon Reuben?”
“The man Griffin shot. He mentioned you wanted access to Reuben’s belongings.”
“How did you know his name? He had no identification on him that we could find.”
“They fingerprinted him and ran it. He popped. Former military. Looks like he’s been out of the service and the country for a number of years.”
“Let me guess. Cambodia?”
“No idea. You can call Frank—the cop who collected his things and put them into evidence—but all he had on him was a burner cell.”
“Thanks.” He handed the clipboard back to Mac.
“Happy to help, and I gotta say it’s nice to see you all together again, minus the circumstances, of course.”
“Sounds like you have another call to make,” Parker said after Mac left. “I’ll see if Frank will release the burner cell to me, and we’ll let Kate take a look.”
“How’d it go with your other calls?”
“Finally got financials on Paul and Marley,” Declan said.
“And?”
“Paul apparently is quite wealthy. Came from a well-off family. He certainly could have afforded to hire someone. There appears to be no large transfers in his account history, but we can dig deeper. Kate”—Declan looked to her—“can I put you on combing through his accounts? Make sure nothing was missed. No offshore accounts.”
“Of course.”
“One other thing. Looks like he rented a storage unit shortly after Marley’s death.”
“You have the address?”
“I did, but when I called to follow up, they said he closed it months ago.”
“So he no longer has one or he moved the stuff?”
“If he moved it, he’s paying cash.”
“Which indicated he has something to hide.”
“On it,” Kate said.
“And Marley?” Griffin asked.
“Marley didn’t use credit cards or even debit cards,” Tanner said. “She was old school. Cash and checks. Said it made it easier to balance her checkbook.”
Parker quipped. “Do they even still have those? Checkbooks?” Everything was online these days.
“Old-school financials fits with her notebook collection,” Griffin said. “Which . . .” He glanced at Kate. “Did you bring it?”
“Yes. It’s in my trunk. I’ll grab it for you when you’re ready to head out.”
“Smart,” Declan said. “You thought to grab it.”
“Not until late last night, but, thankfully, it was still in your Expedition.”
“Probably because the man who would have taken it was taken out, thanks to Griff,” Parker said.
“If only I’d had time with Perera,” Griff said, his gaze fixing on Finley.
Parker shared the sentiment, if not the skill set.
“Let’s see what’s in this box, shall we?” Declan said, lifting the lid. “One laptop.” He handed it directly to Kate, who was their resident computer guru. “One calendar.” He pulled out the eight-by-ten flip-over calendar.
“Wow. She really was old school. I bet I find . . .” Parker stepped to the box and shuffled through the contents. “Yes!” He held up the small book. “An address book.” He flipped through the pages, feeling a sense of nostalgia. His mother still kept one.
“So if she only pays with cash, it will be virtually impossible to figure out where Marley was headed when she left work that Thursday,” Griffin said.
Silence filled the room as everyone seemed to be thinking what Parker was—that with little to go on, they would be searching for a needle in a haystack.
“Did your being shot do anything to change your boss’s mind about the importance of finding Marley’s killer?” Finley asked. “Is he willing now to put more agents on the case?”
“On the contrary, he insists Griffin killed Marley’s killer.”
Tanner jumped up from her chair. “But he’s just Perera’s right-hand man.”
“That may be, but he’s sticking with the assumption Simon Reuben was working alone. It makes his life so much easier—Marley’s case is wrapped up, and he can forget about it. Besides, there’s something else going on.”
“What do you mean something else?” Parker asked.
“I don’t know, but I got the feeling he was happy I was out of the office for a while. Don’t know if there’s a big case he doesn’t want me intruding on or if he’s just mad I pressed Marley’s case, but he was very clear in his insistence I take a good amount of time off.”
“So we’re really it?” Finley said. “We’re the only ones who care about finding Marley’s killer?”
Declan nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
“Okay, so what’s our next move?” she asked.
Griffin stood. “You and I will finish reading through Marley’s notebooks tonight, and tomorrow we’ll head down to Ocean City to talk with Marley’s father. I’ll also follow up with Vern Michaels. I never heard back from him about snipers in the area.”
“Is that unexpected?” Declan asked.
“Nah, he was probably just humoring us and never intended to ask around, but it’s certainly worth a follow-up call.”
“I’ll go through the laptop and financials,” Kate said, already tapping away on the keyboard.
“Our resident hacker,” Parker explained to Tanner and Avery with the reverence Kate’s impressive skills deserved.
“Park, I’ll need you and Avery to head to Gettysburg in the morning,” Declan said.
“Okay. What specifically are we looking for?”
“I think we need to start with the assumption Marley was killed in the Gettysburg area, since that’s where her body was found. We may find out otherwise down the road, but it’s a place to start. Her landlady said she took an overnight bag with her when she left for work. Stands to reason she may have spent a night up there. Griffin and Finley can find out if she had plans to visit her father when they talk with him tomorrow.”
“And I’ll go through her calendar and address book, since I’m stuck in this bed for a few more days.” Declan sighed. “I’ll also make some follow-up calls. I checked into the ICE agent Marley contacted. His name is Gabriel Rosario, and
he’s been reassigned to Houston since April.”
“Convenient timing. Not long after Marley’s death.”
“He hasn’t returned my call, but I’m good at tracking people down.”
“Speaking about tracking people down . . . What about Tanner?” Parker said.
Tanner looked at him curiously. “What about me?”
“Perera’s in town. If he discovers you are here, you said yourself you’re dead. You need to stay with one of us.”
“She can hang with me,” Kate offered.
“Probably the safest place,” Declan said. “Perera has no idea of Kate’s involvement in the case, and besides, we all know Kate’s the toughest of the group.”
None of the men argued.
He watched the group file out of the hospital. There were two new players.
Women. He needed to track down their identities, see if they were a threat that needed to be dealt with.
35
The next morning was warmer than it had been for a while, the high expected to reach the low fifties. The sun had actually broken through the grey blanket that typically hovered over Baltimore from October until April, and there was a hint of blue sky as they crossed the last bridge into Ocean City. Seagulls swooped across the sky, disappearing into the horizon over the ocean.
Finley cracked her window, letting the sea air seep in and soothe her soul. The sea always filled her with such peace.
Maybe today would be the day they finally got some concrete answers rather than more questions.
“There,” Finley said, pointing at the duplex bungalow one block off the ocean. “55B.”
Down a block Griffin found an open section of street parking.
“It’s nice Marley was so close with her dad, coming down most weekends to see him,” Finley said as they climbed the front porch steps, a weathered swing creaking in the wind. She turned to find another on the adjoining porch.
“The file said her mom passed when Marley was nine.”
“So her dad raised her alone?” she asked, turning back to Mr. Trent’s place.
“Appears that way.” Griffin opened the storm door and knocked.
