Nearly a week later, Alan stared out his window at the leaves blowing in the wind.
“You’re shitting me, right?”
“I wish I were Alan, believe me,” Beth replied. “But it’s true. Unless a full-scale, no holds barred investigation is put into place by the prosecution, there is a good chance that every one of them could be back in business in two or three years. Maybe even sooner.”
“So what makes you think there won’t be a full-scale investigation? I mean, every one of those bastards is clearly guilty as sin! There’s plenty of evidence, too. And with Nadiya agreeing to testify against Popov, this should be an open and shut case.”
“You’re forgetting our legal system, my friend. Money talks in the courtroom and Yuri Popov is rich enough to afford a defense team that could rival OJ’s dream team. I’m afraid that this will be anything but an open and shut case.”
“But what if Elena changed her mind and decided to testify—wouldn’t that tip the scales?”
“First of all, no one can really blame Elena for refusing to testify nor will they push her to do so. Her state of mind is much too fragile to handle reliving all she’s been through. What Elena needs is to take her little sister back to Russia and try to reclaim her life. But to answer your question, yes, Elena’s testimony would help, certainly, but probably not as much as you might think. In fact, it could actually hurt the case. Keep in mind that Elena would be seen not only as an illegal immigrant but a working prostitute as well. And no matter how tragic and pathetic her story is, there could still be jurors that will still see her as nothing more than a whore who got what she asked for.”
“Jesus, this really pisses me off. So what damn good is it to have busted these creeps, then? What have we accomplished?”
“Now don’t start getting all bent out of shape and negative, my dear! Focus on what has been accomplished. And that is to say that you have rescued six young ladies from an unspeakable fate, freed two more ladies from an unspeakable existence plus helped put practically the whole operation that committed these horrendous crimes behind bars! That is nothing to sneeze at, Alan. You have changed several lives for the better, and the world is a better place because of it. You can sleep well at night knowing this. It’s time now to let the wheels of justice do its part now and pray for a good outcome.”
“Hmm. First of all, I didn’t do all of these things single-handedly, not by a long shot. I had help all along the way, especially from my best friend sitting right here on my lap.”
“And I am sure you have praised your pooch many times over, right? Good deeds deserve praise. So don’t deny yourself what is rightfully due you.”
“Whatever,” Alan replied. “So what about Martin Fowler? And Branson? I suppose you’re going to tell me that they will get off scot-free somehow? What does your lawyer friend think about their day in court?”
“She seriously doubts that they’ll get off scot-free. But the charges brought against Fowler and his assistant could be disappointing. There could even be a plea bargain instead of a trial. All of the material evidence was destroyed in the fire, which won’t help the prosecution’s case at all. And now that Martin Fowler has already hired one of the country's top defense lawyers, you can bet that he would try to convince a jury that his client hadn't harmed any of the girls and in fact had provided for them throughout their stay with him. Gave them food and a roof over their head in return for services rendered as models. Fowler’s lawyer would try to convince a jury that Fowler had in a sense saved those girls from a much more horrific fate, such as prostitution. Of course, what his lawyer won’t be focusing on is the irreparable emotional damages his client had caused to every one of them.”
“But this is so wrong! Fowler incarcerated those girls, forced them to do whatever he told them to do and punished them if they disobeyed them! What jury is not going to see that this is called slavery and put the lunatic away?”
“And that could well be the case, Alan. None of this is set in stone—just theories. There is also a good chance that all of these cases will go to trial with jurors sympathetic to the victims who will see that justice is served. We’ll all just have to wait and see.”
“One last question: is anything going to be done to put pressure on the powers that be in order to push the scales in the right direction? I mean, surely those human rights organizations that you work with could turn up the heat on this couldn’t they? I would think that their cause could get a lot of exposure from something like this.”
“Oh, that you can be assured of! Both Maddie Fulton and myself are in the process of assembling every activist group we can think of to make the most of this whole affair and lend a voice for the victims. Maddie is a master at using the media to her advantage and she’s already busy mounting an attack in the New York press as we speak.
“What people don’t understand is that this sort of thing is happening every day in our this country yet there is nothing in place to allow the cops to catch the violators before it gets out of hand. To nip human sex trafficking at the bud. In many states, there is nothing in the law books listing human trafficking as being a stand-alone crime. That means that the police can’t effectively investigate situations that appear suspicious of human trafficking.
“So what happens is that their hands are essentially tied when it comes to people like Viktor Skipetroff, who is seen as little more than a loathsome pimp running a brothel—not somebody who is purchasing and exploiting trafficked women for sex.
“You can clearly see how this sort of apathy toward trafficking has escalated and spread to include our own citizens in this country. Right now, there are literally thousands of people being sold into modern day sex slavery—and most of them are children. This has become a huge problem all over our country, not just in the big cities but everywhere, Alan! Kids are being sold by their parents, runaway children are plucked off the street by pimps and promised legitimate work only to be forced into prostitution through the use of drugs, abuse and threats. This is no longer a problem that happens “somewhere else,” it’s happening right here at home for crying out loud! And nobody seems to be doing much about it.”
Beth Lindsay’s words left Alan feeling even more frustrated. He wanted to know how this country could stand by and let such heinous crimes continue without doing anything about it. Who was to blame for this? And whose responsibility was it to see that it was righted?
“Well, all I can say is hats off to people like you and Maddie who work hard raising awareness to this problem and trying to make a difference. We can only hope that the ones who should be listening to your charge pay heed and do what’s morally right,” he said.
“We will never give up the fight. And it goes without saying that I can’t thank you enough for your decision to follow up on this, Alan. This will sound presumptuous of me but I don’t care. I knew you as soon as I sent you that email that you would give this a shot because I know what a bleeding heart you have for people who are being bullied and pushed around. That’s why I love you so much!”
“Thanks, Beth. I’m not so sure about the bleeding heart rap but I must say that this case has certainly been an eye opener. All I want to see now is the whole lot of them in prison where they belong. Then I’ll truly feel like I’ve done something worthwhile.”
“You are much too humble, dear boy. But we’ll leave it at that. So what are you going to do about the whole PI thing, now that you’ve gotten back into it? You going to stick with it?”
“That’s the ten thousand dollar question and the answer is, I don’t know yet. Right now, I need to get back to work on a backlog of websites waiting to be built. Pay some bills and watch some football. Basically see how much boredom and drudgery I can withstand before I get a wild hair and wish I were doing something else. Then I guess I’ll take it from there.”
“Sounds logical. Well, I’ll keep you informed of anything happening from my side of the fence. And you be sure to do the same.”
“I will, Beth. Ta
ke care.”
“You too.”
Alan disconnected and took a slug of beer. Although it had been a week since the cops arrested Martin Fowler, he was only now starting to feel like he could relax a bit.
After his return to Columbus, he had basically sat around waiting to see how things would play out in this case. He sometimes wished he were a cop so he could be privy to what was going on instead of being an outsider. Even though he had a vested interest in the case, his work was basically done as far as the authorities and lawyers were concerned. He would no doubt be called in to court to testify at some point down the road, but until then he would have to be content to stand by while the wheels of justice turned slowly around.
As he watched Fowler being led to the police car, Alan had felt absolutely elated. The bad guy had been caught and the innocent victims were set free. He had patted himself on the back thinking of how he had busted Yuri Popov, Viktor Stipekoff and their cronies. At last, or so he had thought, Elena would be free to go home and Stokley’s Pub would become history.
But the more he learned about the reality of the justice system from Beth Lindsay, the less victorious he felt. The thought of any of these players getting off easy literally made his skin crawl. It just wasn’t right.
He knew that the more he dwelled on this, the worse he would feel. And the more powerless he would have to admit that he was to do anything about it. As Beth had advised, he needed to just sit back and let fate take its course. And that he would try his best to do.
He had taken Marcia out for a drink the night before leaving Wayneston. They had talked for three solid hours, at first about Martin Fowler and the case and then about their own respective futures. It was during their conversation that Alan realized he wasn’t ready to start something new with another woman. He still wasn’t over losing Julie and doubted that he ever would be. By the time he had said goodbye to Marcia and returned to the motel, Alan just wanted to get away from Wayneston, West Virginia and go back to Columbus and his bittersweet memories of Julie.
He petted Pan and took another slug of Michelob. Looking around the den, he thought of how empty the house was without Julie in it. Just as he had done a hundred times before. He had hoped that taking this case would make him feel better about himself and more optimistic about the future. But it hadn’t worked.
As good as it had felt working again at what he loved so much doing, there was still that elusive void that couldn’t be filled. There was always something robbing him of any sense of fruition. For instance, why did he have the feeling that every one of these creeps was going to for all intents and purposes beat their raps? Why did it seem like the system didn’t work, that there was always someone with money and power running everything—seeing to it that their needs were met? Lawyers, politicians—the “haves,” as George W. had referred to them. There were always going to be people like Yuri Popov out there calling many of the shots in this world. People that were admired and respected in the public eye but every bit as corrupt and greedy as Popov behind the scenes.
And what about Marcia—a woman who was knock-down gorgeous, easy to talk to and genuinely interested in starting a relationship with him? Someone who could have made this whole story end happily ever after, had he allowed it?
But he hadn’t. He couldn’t.
Why was that?
Nothing seemed to fit right now. He wondered if it ever would.
He was about to go get another beer when his iPhone rang. He looked that the caller ID and at first didn’t recognize the number. Then it registered—
It was Elena!
“Hello?” he said.
“Alan, it is Elena. Do you have a moment?”
“Elena! Of course, are you kidding? How are you?”
“I am well, thank-you. I just wanted to let you know that I am flying home soon.”
“Back to Russia? That’s great! When are you leaving?”
“The flight is in an hour. I am at the airport now. I want to thank you for finding Polina before I leave. And to thank you for everything else. The Human Connection has been very good for me. They are paying for my flight home. I am, uh, so grateful, Alan—”
She started sobbing. Alan said, “Elena, I am so happy for you! And proud of you too, for being strong enough to let them help.”
“I, I have somebody here who would like to talk to you,” she said.
“Hello, Alan,” the girl said. It was Polina. “I also want to thank you for everything you have done.”
“You are more than welcome, Polina. I’ll bet you’re both looking forward to seeing your family and friends again.”
“Oh yes, we are! We were able to talk to Mother last night on the phone. It was so wonderful to hear her voice!”
“I’ll bet.”
“Alan, I want you to know that I will never forget you and what you have done for Elena and I. Not for as long as I live. I know that my sister will need help when we get back home, and she has promised my parents that she will talk to counselors that the organization has set up for her. This makes me very happy because she has been through so much but she never thinks of herself first. She still feels so much shame and so unworthy. But she promises that she will try to become whole again.”
“I am very happy to hear that, Polina. My thoughts will be with the both of you.”
“And the other girls wanted me to thank you for them as well.”
“Where are they now?”
“All but Nina flew back home a couple of days ago. Nina I am not sure about. She has not kept in touch with any of us because she was flown to Boston instead of New York because she has an uncle living there. She has probably left too, though.”
“I see. Do you think you’ll be seeing any of the girls again once you’re back in Russia?”
“Oh yes! I found out that Sveta and Daniela actually live not far from St. Petersburg! We are going to all get together soon for a reunion!”
“That’s great!”
“So Alan, I am wondering if you would mind if I write to you once in a while?”
“I would be delighted! Better yet, just go ahead and use that phone I gave Elena and call me whenever you want to. You will have unlimited international minutes!”
Polina laughed. “You are so nice! Okay, I will do that. I am going to put Elena back on now. Goodbye, Alan.”
“Bye, Polina. Take care and have a great flight.”
Elena came back on. “I didn’t think she was going to let me speak again—she is such a chatterbox!”
“Typical teenager.”
“I want to say that I’m sorry I am not going to testify, Alan. I know that you want me to, but I just want to go home and try to forget all of this. I hope you understand.”
“I totally understand, Elena. You need to worry about yourself and get well—that’s the most important thing. As for Popov and Viktor, they will get what they deserve. Our justice system will see to that.”
Alan knew this wasn’t likely the case but she didn’t have to know it.
“They will never get what they deserve! But I will just have to try to live knowing that.”
“Time heals all, they say. I’m a big believer of that saying.”
“I like the sound of that. I will try to believe it, too.”
“You can do it, Elena. And I want you to promise me that you will stay in touch and let me know how it’s going, okay?”
“You and your promises!” she chuckled. “Yes, Alan, I promise. I must go now. They are announcing our flight, I think.”
“Okay, Elena. You both have a safe trip and know that I’ll be thinking about you.”
“Thanks, Alan. And we will be, too. Goodbye.”
“Bye, Elena.”
As he touched the END CALL button, Alan had a smile on his face. Suddenly, despite all of his doubts and fears, he knew that everything would be fine. Hearing from Elena and Polina made it all worthwhile. Nothing could change that.
He stood up, went over to the
fridge and pulled out a cold Michelob. He knelt down on the floor beside Pan, put one arm around his faithful friend and held her tight, then raised his other arm in a triumphant toast.
“To Elena and Polina. Cheers!”
And then he downed a great big slug.
THE END
Be sure to check out these other titles in the Alan Swansea Mystery Series: The Barcode Murders and Double Trouble.
About the author:
Scott is a full-time visual arts teacher and part-time writer. He has written eight novels in addition to The Collector including The Barcode Murders, Double Trouble, Greshmere, See Tom Run, The May Day Murders, The May Day Murders Sequel, Katherine's Prophecy and The Edge. He has also written a non-fiction photography book entitled The Story Behind The Images and is host of the popular photography podcast, Photography 101. Scott lives in Worthington, Ohio with his wife, Marilyn.
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ScottWittenburg.com
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