by Matt Lincoln
“I didn’t!” she shouted as she slammed her palm down onto the table. “Those kids had nowhere else to go! Their parents were dead or in jail. They wouldn’t have had anywhere to go or anyone to protect them back in the Caribbean. I saved them!”
“That was very kind of you, Ms. Baker,” I sneered. “So explain to me why all the other children we found didn’t receive the same loving treatment. Why would you open your home to children in need and then turn around and use your organization to traffick children into this country to be used as slaves?
“I didn’t mean for that to happen,” she protested. Her hands were balled up into fists so tightly over the table that her knuckles were turning white. “I just wanted to help the children, and it all got out of hand.”
She was trembling now, and there were tears running down her face.
“Tell me what happened,” I instructed patiently.
“Hope for Children was a legitimate organization, at first,” she sniffled. “I didn’t have a lot of money, but I invested everything I had in making it work. We were doing so much good for the world, and I was so proud of being able to help so many children. Then one day, I went to visit Jamaica. I wanted to get a feel for the country and its culture. I thought if I did that, I’d be able to better understand the children we were helping.”
“Is that not what happened?” I asked tentatively.
“No,” she shook her head. “The things I saw were horrible—women and children living in squalor. Being abused and mistreated, even by the police who were supposed to help them. It changed how I saw everything. I realized that by sending them back, I would only be sending them back to a life of misery and poverty. No one cares about the kids once they’re ‘rescued.’ People will give donations and pat themselves on the back, but once they’re sent back home, no one cares about them anymore. I thought that if they were going to be forced to work and suffer in any case, maybe it would be better for them to stay here in the United States.”
“That’s insane,” I uttered, shocked by what I was hearing. “So you knew what you were doing was wrong, but you convinced yourself it was better than the alternative?”
“Well, isn’t it?!” Baker yelled. “At least here, they’d have more opportunities. Sure, they might have to work for a little while, but once they were grown up--”
“You’re making excuses,” I cut her off. “And you’re lying. You can’t even claim that you were trying to help orphaned children because the majority of the kids we recovered were taken from their parents under the guise of receiving an education.”
“I know that,” Baker hung her head sadly. “Davis tricked me. He told me the children he was sending me were all children he’d found living destitute on the street. By the time I discovered he’d been lying, I’d already brought dozens of children over.”
“How did you begin working with Davis?” I asked.
“I met him during my visit down to Jamaica,” she admitted. “I caught him speaking to a homeless child. I tried to stop him initially until he explained that the child wouldn’t have any chance for a future if he stayed there. He convinced me that it was better for the children to be sent over here in the long run.”
I frowned as I mulled over everything she’d said. It was clear to me now that Davis had played a big part in convincing Baker to work with him. However, since she was the one with connections within the United States, ultimately, she was the one who held the most power.
“Alright,” I nodded. “So what did you do when you realized he’d been deceiving you?”
“I felt guilty,” she muttered. “I realized we’d been taking children from their families and not rescuing helpless kids as I’d thought. I started making sure that the families we sent them to would actually take care of them and wouldn’t just put them to work.”
“You mean like the Andersons?” I asked as the realization dawned on me. That explained the sudden change we’d observed.
“Yes,” Baker nodded. “I knew they’d take good care of that little girl. I tried my best to find loving homes for every child, but Davis started grabbing more and more, and sometimes I had to make do with what I could.”
“Why not just stop working with him?” I asked. “You could have gone to the police and stopped him when you found out he was kidnapping children from their homes.”
“Well, I was worried,” she responded quietly.
“That you’d be implicated?” I asked harshly. “Or were you more worried about losing that source of revenue?” No matter what excuse she provided, I couldn’t overlook the fact that she’d exploited children for her own personal gain.
“That isn’t true,” she argued. “It was never about the money. I really cared about the future well-being of those children.”
“Did you?” I asked coldly. “Was Amber Monroe’s future well-being any concern to you?”
Baker’s face went white at my question.
“I never meant for anything to happen to her,” she claimed quickly. “I just needed that agent to stop poking his nose around. Davis contacted me and asked if I knew anything about some federal agents who were investigating his actions. We both agreed that if he was distracted, he would probably abandon the case.”
“How did you know where to find Amber?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“I had someone keep tabs on your office,” she admitted. “When those two agents came to speak to me a few weeks ago, I assigned one of Davis’s men to tail them back.”
“So when Davis contacted you,” I surmised, “You already knew who we were and where Agent Hills’s family lived.
“Yes,” Baker nodded. “But I didn’t tell him to hurt anyone! I never meant for that old man or the little girl to get hurt.”
“Funny what happens when you work with ruthless criminals who will do anything for money,” I remarked sarcastically. “Tell me about the earrings.”
“What?” she blinked at me in confusion.
“The tracking devices,” I clarified. “We found earrings on the majority of the children we recovered. Our intelligence analyst was able to deduce that they were tracking devices. Whose idea was that?”
“Oh,” Baker replied. “Right. That was something I mentioned to Davis back when we were first working out the details of our… partnership. I’d noticed something similar on a pair of children who came through my organization over a year ago. Davis liked the idea and began placing them on the children he acquired in order to keep tabs on them.”
“So it was just an idea you copied from someone else?” I asked, feeling disheartened as I realized that this was probably another dead end as far as the flower symbol case was concerned if it was just something Baker had imitated.
“Yes,” she nodded. “I still have the original earrings in my office. I used them to create the design that Davis uses. Those children weren’t from the Caribbean, though.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“It was a long time ago,” she responded. “Long before I ever got in contact with Davis or even realized how horrible the conditions that I was sending some of these children back to were. The kids who arrived wearing those earrings were from Europe. Romania, I think. Trafficking is a big issue in eastern European countries, especially.”
“I see,” I responded. So this was a dead-end, but at least I’d learned something from the interrogation. The first time we’d encountered the symbol, we’d traced it back to Greece. Now that we had a potential lead in Romania, we could at the very least narrow our search to Europe. “Thank you for your time, Ms. Baker.”
I stood and left the interrogation room then. I was surprised when I glanced down at my phone to discover that we’d spoken for nearly an hour. It felt like time had gone by in an instant.
Now that the final interrogation was settled, and I’d gotten a full confession, we could finally close the case. I’d need to speak with Wallace about what she’d told me regarding the mysterious symbol, but I wasn’t
about to let that detail dampen my spirits. I actually was excited about having a fun evening with everyone, so I pushed the negative thoughts aside and went to get ready.
41
Charlie
“In the end, she admitted to everything,” Junior informed me over the phone. I was still on leave from work, looking after Eliza and Amber, and he had called me to give me an update on the conclusion of the case. “Oh, and everything is going well as far as the kids are concerned. Wallace told me after I gave him my report over the interrogation. The kids we found in the mine all seemed healthy and unharmed. A lot of them have been returned to their parents. Social services is still working on locating some of their families, and the ones with no home to go back to have been placed in foster care.”
“That’s good,” I smiled. This case had been both physically and mentally tiring, and it was nice to hear that the children were well taken care of. “What about you? How’s your arm doing?”
“Better,” Junior responded. “Still can’t use it, but the doctors are hopeful that I’ll make a complete recovery.”
“I’m sure you will,” I lied smoothly. The truth was that there was a possibility that the injury might result in some nerve damage. I didn’t see how bringing that up would help, though. Even if that was the case, I doubted someone as tenacious as Junior would let an injury keep him down. “Anyway, are we still doing that thing tonight?”
“Yeah,” Junior chuckled. “Miranda was going on about it earlier today. She seems really excited about it.”
“She is,” I sighed. “Once she gets an idea in her head, she’s unstoppable. I’ll see you later, then.”
“Alright,” Junior responded before ending the call. I left the bedroom and walked back into my living room, where Eliza and Amber were watching some kids’ show.
“Was that your friends?” Eliza asked as I reentered the room.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “They were just giving me an update on the case. And badgering me about going out tonight.”
“It’s good for you to get out sometimes,” Eliza smiled. “You spend too much time brooding all on your own.”
I smiled back at her as she gently admonished me. Eliza and Amber had been staying with me ever since Junior and I had rescued Amber. Eliza had been terrified to go home on her own, and I’d offered to let the two of them stay with me until she felt better. She’d relaxed considerably since then, especially after I’d told her everyone involved had been arrested and were currently awaiting trial. Still, Amber had been having such a fun time that she’d since been hesitant to leave. It had been cramped having three people living in a one-bedroom apartment, but we’d made it work.
“Uncle Charlie, did you bring me anything from your trip?” Amber suddenly asked. She’d been lying on the floor in front of the television and had bolted up into a seated position as soon as I entered the living room.
“Amber, don’t be rude,” Eliza scolded. “He didn’t have time. He had to come back early, remember?”
“Actually, I did get something,” I corrected. Amber’s eyes lit up as I spoke. “I left it back in Bermuda, though. My friend Naomi is going to bring it to me today when she gets back, though. I actually need to thank her for hauling all of my stuff around.”
“What do you say, Amber?” Eliza raised an eyebrow at her daughter.
“Thank you, Uncle Charlie,” Amber grinned before turning her attention back to the TV.
“We’re lucky to have you, Charlie,” Eliza smiled. “You’re going to spoil her rotten, though,”
I chuckled in response. I couldn’t help it. I didn’t have any of my own kids, and I liked seeing Amber’s reaction every time I got her something.
“I better go get ready,” I said as I got up off the couch about an hour later. “They’ll probably be here any minute so that we can go pick up Patel from the airport.”
“Okay,” Eliza smiled. “Have fun.”
I nodded as I walked into my bedroom to get dressed. Through the window, I could see that the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon. It was mercifully much cooler at night in Las Vegas than it was during the day, which meant I wouldn’t have to worry about being sweaty and uncomfortable while we were out tonight. As I got dressed, I began to get more excited about the evening. I’d been hesitant at first when Miranda had called to tell me about her plans. I wasn’t really into partying, and the idea of stumbling around Las Vegas amid all the drunks and tourists wasn’t exactly my idea of fun.
Regardless, I was happy about how the case had turned out, and the idea of going out drinking and gambling with my team actually didn’t sound bad.
I turned as I heard a rapid knock on the door.
“Charlie!” Miranda yelled through the closed front door. “You ready yet? Naomi’s plane came in early. We gotta go!”
I came out of the room just as Amber was pulling the door open.
“Hello,” she chirped happily.
“Hey, cutie pie,” Miranda smiled as she knelt down to ruffle Amber’s curls. “Where’s your uncle?”
“Here,” I deadpanned as I walked up to the door. “Do you make it a habit to scream through people’s front doors like that?”
“Nope,” Miranda smiled. “Just yours. You ready or what?”
“Sorry, Charlie,” Junior huffed as he caught up to Miranda. “I told her we should just call from the car, but she came sprinting up here.”
“I don’t have time to wait,” Miranda shrugged. “Come on, let’s go. The night is young, and I’m ready to start drinking.”
I laughed as I bade my goodbyes to Eliza and Amber. It was funny. When I first joined MBLIS nearly a year ago, I never would have imagined myself going out to celebrate with my coworkers. Right now, though, I couldn’t imagine giving it up for anything.
Epilogue
“Wow,” Juniper sighed. “So you investigated all of these international crimes, and your office was based in Las Vegas? That’s so cool.”
“It was a lot of fun,” I agreed with a smile.
“So, which part did you like more?” she asked eagerly.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Between traveling and Las Vegas,” she clarified. “I mean, jetting around the world to stop bad guys sounds awesome, but Vegas sounds super cool, too. How did your night on the town go? Did you win a lot of money or anything?”
“Whoa, slow down, babe,” Mark chuckled. “You’re bombarding the guy with questions.”
“Sorry,” Juniper smiled sheepishly. “I’ve just never heard a story like that. I mean, I’ve seen movies and stuff, but you’re like a real secret agent!”
“It wasn’t really a secret,” I smiled. “Though MBLIS did try to keep itself relatively unknown. It was easier for us to work when people couldn’t see us coming. As for your question, there were different things that I liked about both aspects of the job.”
“Like what?” Mark asked.
“Well, you’re right about how fun it was to travel around the world,” I nodded at Juniper. “It was always satisfying going on a new adventure somewhere foreign and exotic, but there was a lot of excitement around Las Vegas, too, especially after I became the director and stopped flying around the world. And I don’t really remember how that night went, to be honest. It’s been so many years now. I do remember we were all hungover the next morning.”
“Sounds like a fun night,” Mark commented.
“It was,” I smiled fondly as I thought back on that night. I’d kept in contact with everyone there that night and was still on good terms with them to this day.
“Oh, so you became the boss?” Juniper asked. “That’s cool. Can you tell us another story? One from when you were in charge?”
“I suppose I could,” I chuckled. “Although, it’s starting to get pretty late, are you sure you have time for another one? Weren’t you two trying to wait the heat out?”
“Oh wow, you’re right,” Juniper exclaimed as she turned to look out the window. The s
un was beginning to set and was casting orange beams of light across the dining hall. “I didn’t even realize how much time had passed.”
“The temperature’s gone down, too,” I added. “Looks like it’s down to sixty now. It’s supposed to hover around the high fifties for the rest of the night. Are you sure you two don’t want to stay the night? There are plenty of vacancies, and it gets really dark up here in the mountains.”
“I wouldn’t mind spending a night here,” Juniper remarked as she took a look around the dining room. “It’s super cute, in a rustic kind of way. But no, we should get going. It’s more fun hiking at night, anyway. And if we do wait until tomorrow, we’ll just have to deal with the heat again.”
“We could definitely use some food, though,” Mark interjected. “Our supplies are running pretty low. There isn’t much around here for miles. It’s been two days since the last store we passed.”
“Well, I’ll take a look in the kitchen and see what I can find,” I replied as I stood up. “I don’t have a lot in the way of portable foods. I don’t have a lot of anything, to be honest, considering I get so few visitors up here. I might have some canned goods in the back, though.”
“That would be really awesome,” Juniper beamed. I made my way into the kitchen and back toward the pantry located in the rear. I had a small menu of items that I offered to passing travelers, but it mostly consisted of precooked and frozen fare. Most of the time, I was the only one working in the motel, and without a chef, it didn’t make sense to buy a lot of fresh ingredients, especially considering the hassle of getting it all shipped here.
It worried me I wouldn’t have anything to offer them when I stumbled upon some cans of soup and ravioli I’d bought when Amber had come up to visit with her kids the previous New Year. The twins were picky eaters, and I’d gone into town to buy some things I knew they’d eat while they were up here. They probably wouldn’t be back any time soon, and the food might expire before they did, so I didn’t have any reservations about offering the cans to the young couple.
