The Lost Girls

CHAPTER TEN

Typing the formal memo to Madison asking for all the information he needed to begin the search for Carson and Jesse calmed Sean down. At least enough for him to think clearly. She’d already sent the preliminary information-Carson Spade’s full name, social, employer, recent photos-but there was much more Sean needed.

He sent off the email, left a message for Kane to call him immediately, and then called JT Caruso. He needed cover from RCK in case things went south in Mexico.

“Are you certain you want to do this?” JT asked after Sean told him the basics. “She should hire RCK and we’ll put together a team. I can have good people on site in eight hours.”

Sean almost told JT about Jesse, but decided to keep that information to himself, at least until he told Lucy. Right now, it was need to know… and JT didn’t need to know.

“I have to do it. I left Kane a message-I want to use him, but we need to be partners on this. I’ll pay RCK rates.”

“I’ll pretend you didn’t say that,” JT said. “I don’t have to remind you how many operations you covered at your own expense. Jet fuel isn’t cheap.”

“You know I don’t care about that.”

“We could solve all your problems if you come back.”

“I don’t have any problems, if you can give me cover.”

“Sean.” JT didn’t say anything else; he didn’t have to.

Sean sighed and rubbed his eyes. Sure, he and Duke had mended fences, but every time there was something critical, something where it might seem that Sean was going to the dark side, Duke assumed the worst. Sean couldn’t live like that anymore. “You know why I can’t.”

“Won’t. Not can’t.”

“That’s a conversation for another day. I wouldn’t ask for help if it wasn’t important.”

“You’re not telling me something.”

“True, but it’s not important to you right now. I’ll fully brief Kane.”

“Fair enough. I hope this girl is worth it.”

“I don’t give a shit about Madison McAllister Spade. And her husband sounds like an ass. It’s the kid, JT. He’s in danger and I can’t turn my back on him.”

“That I understand. Kane’s in Hidalgo right now, so he should get back to you quickly. He’s pissed at me because I won’t let him take any major assignments, so this will be a good transition for him before he gets back to the job.”

“I can’t promise it won’t be dangerous.”

“No one can promise we’ll live to see the sunrise in the morning. What else do you need?”

“A plane. I don’t have the contacts here that I do in Sacramento. I have a new plane on order, but it won’t be delivered until the week before I get married.”

“I never thought I’d hear you say those words-and without fear.”

“It’s Lucy. What can I say.”

“I’m glad I didn’t fall in love with Jack’s sister.” JT laughed and Sean, as usual, felt that little twinge of panic at the mention of Jack. The guy scared him. He shouldn’t-Jack and Kane were two peas in a pod. But Lucy wasn’t Kane’s baby sister. “I’m kidding you, buddy. Jack is a man of few words, but he used them to sing your praises after you took out Rollins and Tobias.”

Sean didn’t want to relive that nightmare, so he went back to the subject at hand. “In addition to the plane, I need some research.”

“You’ve never asked for research assistance. Jaye’s going to lord this over you for the rest of your life.”

“She’s good. I want to get out of here first thing in the morning-I’d go tonight, but I need to talk to Lucy first. I’m sending you the information Madison gave me already, plus the research I’ve started. I’m expecting more info. My gut tells me Carson Spade is laundering money, but I don’t have the time to trace who he’s working for and verify the data. The more I know, the better chance I have of finding him.”

“We’ll take care of it. Be careful, Sean.”

Sean hung up and glanced at the clock. It was nearly ten, and Lucy still wasn’t back. He sent her a message.

Have you eaten?

He pushed back from his desk and went down the hall to the kitchen. He looked through the refrigerator thinking about what he could put together. There wasn’t much. He had planned on doing the shopping tomorrow-he’d actually grown to like his weekly excursion to the grocery store.

His phone vibrated and he read Lucy’s message.

We ate in Laredo. Home in less than thirty. Love you.

Thirty minutes-that would put them in well after ten. He doubted either Lucy or Siobhan had eaten much of anything, not with everything that was going on. And he knew Lucy-when she was working, food was the last thing on her mind.

Eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms-he’d make omelets when they got back. Find a way to get Siobhan off into her room so he could talk to Lucy.

How was he going to explain this to her?

And then there was Noah… maybe he’d just drop Siobhan and Lucy off, and Sean wouldn’t have to talk to him.

Noah Armstrong was a bit of an enigma for Sean. They hadn’t liked each other when they first met nearly two years ago. That was certainly an understatement. Noah was the type of self-righteous, rule-of-law cop that Sean despised. Yet… Noah had bent when he needed to bend. He and Noah had learned to get along, largely because of Lucy. And, Sean had to admit, when he and Noah had worked together on an undercover case where Sean infiltrated a hacktivist group, Noah had come through big time.

Noah had been Lucy’s trainer before she entered the academy, and he’d been very supportive of her career. Yet even though Noah hadn’t made any blatant moves on Lucy, Sean knew he was attracted to her. Hell, Noah had admitted it to Sean. But Noah was too honorable to go after another man’s girl.

Still, Sean was more than a little happy that now that Noah was in San Antonio-even temporarily-there was an engagement ring on Lucy’s finger.

Of course, Lucy was oblivious to Noah’s feelings. For a woman who could see and understand the smallest detail at a crime scene, a woman who studied criminal psychology and was a shark in interviews, she was clueless when it came to how men viewed her. It wasn’t even her looks, it was the package. The way she moved, the way she played with her hair, how she frowned when studying a complex problem. To Sean, she glowed. He wasn’t naturally a jealous lover, but with Lucy he got the pang. Sometimes. Especially around Noah Armstrong. Okay, only around Noah Armstrong.

Maybe because Sean sometimes felt he wasn’t good enough for her.

Sean shook the thought from his head. He prepared everything for omelets, but didn’t cook. His phone rang as he covered the vegetables.

He answered, “Rogan.”

“It’s Kane. I just talked to JT.”

Sean was relieved to speak to his brother. He was glad he didn’t have to repeat everything. “I’ll send you what I sent him.”

“He already did.”

“I can’t do this without you.”

Kane didn’t say anything for a long minute and Sean thought he’d been disconnected. Then Kane said, “How old is Madison’s kid?”

“Twelve.”

“It’s yours.”

His stomach flipped. “I didn’t know until tonight.”

“Of course you didn’t. I know Madison’s type. I knew it thirteen years ago. I have a plane. I’ll be in San Antonio at dawn.”

“Thank you.”

“He’s a Rogan. We’re going to bring him home. I need to make some calls about this Spade. I know a security guy in Acapulco who can help.”

“I confirmed that they flew into Mexico City, then transferred to Acapulco on Thursday night. They had return tickets direct from Acapulco to Los Angeles for Sunday, but never used them. Madison said the hotel manager told her they checked out Saturday evening, even though their flight wasn’t until the morning.”

“I’ll have more answers tomorrow. Watch yourself with that woman-she’s lied to you for thirteen years, there’s no reason she isn’t keeping something else from you now.”

“I asked Jaye to run a deep background.”

“I know.” Kane hung up.

Sean sat down and put his head in his hands. He felt a deep loss inside that he couldn’t explain. He’d missed the first twelve years of his son’s life. He hadn’t raised him. He wasn’t there for his birth. He wasn’t there to teach him to ride a bike or skateboard or play baseball or video games. He didn’t even know if Jesse liked any of those things. What was the kid going to think when Sean showed up? How was he going to tell him? Because Jesse had to know the truth-that if Sean had known about him, Jesse would have been a part of his life.

How was Lucy going to take this news? She was a rock… but she’d gone through so much in her life. Sean would make sure that she knew there was nothing between him and Madison-Lucy trusted him, but more than that, Sean trusted Lucy. She would understand; she would support him. They’d get through this-together. Because with Lucy, he could get through anything. Do anything. Face his son, tell him the truth.

I’m your father, Jesse. If I had known about you, I would have been there.

Would he have? He hoped so. He’d been young and wild, he’d partied hard and dated lots of women and never wanted to settled down, until Lucy. Yet… he would have taken responsibility. He would have been there for the important events. Talked to him. Traveled with him. Insisted on joint custody. Jesse had a right to know who the Rogans were, what his grandparents had accomplished in their short lives, what RCK did and what his legacy was. Sean would never have forced any one path on his kid-he might have even discouraged it-but Jesse needed to know that he had options, that he had heroes for uncles and a noble background of family who always fought for the right thing, even when it wasn’t easy. Even when it was dangerous.

Sean’s son was being raised by a criminal. Money laundering meant one of three things: drugs, human trafficking, or organized crime. Southern California? Sean was betting drugs, but he couldn’t count on it. Any of the big three would put Jesse in danger.

It put Madison in danger as well… but Sean couldn’t concern himself with Madison right now. Once he found Jesse, brought him back along with Carson Spade-whom he would turn over to law enforcement-he would think about Madison and Jesse’s future security.

And Madison had better damn well listen to him.

A beep told him that someone was on the front porch accessing the keypad. It must be Lucy. Sean went to meet Lucy at the door as she opened it. Noah wasn’t with them, and Sean was relieved. He didn’t know why.

Both Siobhan and Lucy looked exhausted.

Sean kissed his fiancée, then gave Siobhan a hug. “I’m glad you came back with Lucy.”

“I didn’t want to,” Siobhan said. “I wanted to stay.”

“It’s not safe for you right now,” Lucy said. “We’ll go back tomorrow.” She turned to Sean. “I may be gone for a day or two.”

“That’s okay-I have a case.” Suddenly he didn’t want to go. “I’ll be busy. Are you hungry?”

Siobhan shook her head, but Lucy said, “Siobhan only picked at her food.”

“I’m so angry. They took everything. I mean, I have my photos, but they took everything else. My camera. My computer. We tracked them down-destroyed! And they went through my stuff.”

Sean exchanged glances with Lucy, then put his arm around Siobhan’s shoulders and led her down the hall. “You can shower, change, I’ll whip up an omelet. Breakfast food is about all we have in the house right now.”

“You don’t have to do anything for me,” Siobhan said.

“Nonsense.” Sean stopped in front of the main guest room. “I’m serious.”

Siobhan smiled at him, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “How’s Kane? Better?”

“You haven’t talked to him?”

She shook her head. “Not since the hospital.”

“He’s good.” Sean frowned. “Better than you, it seems.”

“I’ve been looking for Mari and Ana for over two years-I should have been looking harder.”

“Don’t do that to yourself. There is no one who’s looked for those girls harder than you.” He tilted her chin up. “Take a shower, then come and eat.”

“Okay.” She gave him another hug. “By the way, Sean, I absolutely adore Lucy. I see why you love her.”

Sean waited a minute until he heard the shower running, then walked back to the living room.

Lucy wasn’t there. He went upstairs and found her ready to get into the shower. “Join me,” she said. “I missed you today.”

Sean hesitated, just a second. He should tell her about Madison and Jesse right now-but she was so tired, so forlorn. Later, after she relaxed, ate, had some peace. Then he could tell her. He touched her face, kissed her warmly.

“Ten minutes, Sean. Of you, me, and water. I need to clear my mind, regain my footing so I can look at this case objectively.”

“Anything, princess.”

Thirty minutes later Siobhan entered the kitchen, her curly red hair wet and hanging down her back. She looked a million times better than when she’d first walked in. So did Lucy. Sean finished the omelets and dished up three plates.

“You didn’t have to do this,” Siobhan said.

“Nonsense. I know Lucy doesn’t eat right when she’s working, and you had a difficult couple of days.”

“Jail certainly wasn’t fun.”

Sean stared, mouth tight. “No one told me you were in jail.”

“I didn’t know the details until we got down there,” Lucy said. “Trespassing, breaking and entering, assault-”

“He pinched my nipple,” Siobhan said bluntly. “On purpose. My elbow in his nose was a knee-jerk reaction. I didn’t mean to break it.” She paused. “Not that I feel guilty about it.”

“You shouldn’t,” Lucy said before Sean could speak. “Charges were dropped, but Siobhan uncovered something potentially big. We’re going back tomorrow-we have several leads.”

“And I’m worried about Elizabeth.”

“Elizabeth?” Sean questioned.

“The baby,” Lucy said. She had a faraway look on her face for a second, then shook her head. “We believe that Marisol or Ana gave birth and left her infant at a church.”

“The baby was wearing a locket I gave to each girl,” Siobhan said. She pulled her necklace out and showed Sean. “The locket was Marisol’s because of the photo and what she wrote on the back, so I’m inclined to think Elizabeth is her daughter, but we don’t know for certain.”

“A baby?” he said. Sean was watching Lucy. She stared at her plate, not looking at anyone.

“She’s beautiful,” Siobhan said. “You know what happened to Marisol and Ana de la Rosa, right?”

Sean nodded. “They’ve been on the RCK hot sheet since they disappeared.”

“Hot sheet?” Lucy asked.

“Individuals, regardless of nationality, who disappear in Mexico or the US under certain circumstances, such as sex trafficking. It’s a long list, but it helps in case Kane and his team comes across a group or individual.”

“I helped them get the job in Monterrey,” Siobhan said. “They were saving money to rebuild their village. They wrote and called several times… wrote their grandmother-and then it stopped. Kane and his team helped initially, but there were no leads. Nothing. It was like they vanished into thin air.” She took a bite, washed it down with water. “When Eric-a friend of mine who’s a reporter-heard a rumor that Mari was in a brothel in Del Rio, I sent out flyers to every church in the area, then branched out to border towns in both Mexico and the States, thinking maybe they’d been grabbed for sex trafficking, or maybe took illegal jobs in the US. I don’t really know what I was thinking, except they had to be somewhere.” She took a big breath.

Lucy said, “Noah and I talked to the reporter. He gave us photos from his report into the brothel. Zach is running the images against our database and against the photos Siobhan took last night. Webb County has been very helpful, but the adjoining county less so.”

“Jack lived in southern Texas for a long time,” Sean reminded her. “You should reach out to him, get the information about the small-town cops. Who you can trust, who you can’t.”

“I might do that. It was too easy getting Siobhan out. Dropped charges an hour before her arraignment. They’d made up their mind before we even arrived.”

Siobhan said, “Rick can be very persuasive.”

Both Sean and Lucy knew Rick well, and if Lucy thought something was off, something was off. “Trust your instincts, Luce.”

“Noah and I are on the same page. We think this is a black-market baby operation.”

This time, Siobhan stared at Lucy. “What? No-it’s set up to be a typical sex shop. A house to lock up the girls when they’re not working.”

Lucy didn’t waver from her opinion. “It’s not typical. The house wasn’t in a major city. It was in an unpopulated rural area. You saw a young girl with a baby, another girl pregnant, and Father Sebastian found Elizabeth. There was also another young mother who was left at the emergency room in the middle of labor and needed an emergency C-section-we believe that may be connected to the same group. She left without giving any information, but police traced her to a house that had been set up just like the one in Freer. Also abandoned. Now she’s in the wind as well.”

“I don’t have to leave,” Sean said quietly. “If you need me, I can stay.”

She shook her head. “I’m okay. Really-we have leads, we’re going to find out what’s going on down there.”

Sean didn’t want Lucy to go back to Laredo. And he didn’t want to go to Mexico. Something about this case bothered him. Or maybe it was his own situation, not wanting to leave the country when Lucy was involved in something like this.

Lucy asked, “How long will you be gone?”

“Hopefully not more than three days.”

“So back by the weekend. Perfect, I’m not on call this weekend, and one thing I’ve learned this last year is not to work on my days off.” She squeezed his hand, but even her little smile was sad. He wanted to talk more about this case, what she saw, what she was thinking, because he could see Lucy’s mind at work. She always internalized her cases, unable to put them aside to give herself some peace. It made her good at her job… but it took its toll.

“What kind of case are you working?” Siobhan asked Sean.

Sean didn’t want to explain the situation until he had a chance to tell Lucy in private. “An old friend from college came by today-her husband and son disappeared while in Mexico. The husband may be involved with something shady. Kane and I are going to look into it.”

“I didn’t know you were working with RCK again,” Siobhan said. “It’s about time.”

“I’m not with RCK, but since I know Madison, and a child is at risk, I feel I need to help. Kane knows the area and people better than I do, but considering he had major surgery three months ago, I’m not going to ask him to go alone.”

“He knows everything,” Siobhan said with a touch of sarcasm. “Stubborn jerk,” she muttered.

Lucy glanced at Sean, eyebrows up. He shrugged. “Rogans tend to be stubborn,” he said.

“Some more than others,” Siobhan countered.

“Seriously, though-I’ll be available by phone. If you need anything, call me.”

“Will do.” Siobhan rose and stretched. “I’m going to sleep. Noah-what a genuine guy, even if he’s a bit gruff-said he’d pick us up at seven to beat traffic. I’m setting my alarm for six forty-five. It doesn’t take me long to get ready, and I really need a good night’s sleep.”

She hugged Lucy and kissed Sean on the cheek. “Thank you for letting me stay.”

“Mi casa es su casa.”

She laughed. “Your Spanish is pathetic, Sean.”

She left the kitchen and Lucy cleared the plates. “I’ll take care of these tomorrow,” Sean said. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Lucy sat back down. “Siobhan doesn’t believe it-but Noah and I agree. Multiple women, multiple infants, multiple pregnancies. Marisol and Ana disappeared a little over two years ago, and one of them gave birth to Elizabeth, but left her wrapped in a shirt at a church. The other pregnant women, the other house in Laredo that was shut down at the same time as the house outside Freer opened, I think one of two things is happening. What if these are all girls in the sex trade who get pregnant and instead of forcing the girls to terminate the pregnancy, they force them to deliver and then sell the babies?”

Sean tensed. “Lucy-”

“Or,” she continued, “this is the plan all along. Not sex trafficking. Maybe when these girls find themselves pregnant, they are convinced to give up their babies. Taken from their friends and family, leave voluntarily, I don’t know. Maybe they think it’s a legitimate adoption. But so many are embarrassed, or unmarried, or illegal immigrants, or young and they don’t know who to turn to. They’re being used. Manipulated. The mother in the hospital three months ago-she could have told the doctor everything, she would have been given help. The ob-gyn is someone Siobhan vouches for, she seems to have a good head on her shoulders and has been very agreeable to all of Noah’s suggestions. Security, keeping Baby Elizabeth longer and under protection.”

“What happened to the woman three months ago?”

“According to the report, she was put in a shelter for unwed mothers, but left two days later, with the baby. Just vanished.”

Lucy looked down at her hands. She was tense and shaking.

Sean pulled back her hair, made her look at him. “Honey, what is it?”

“I can’t stop thinking about Elizabeth-that’s what Father Sebastian named her. Innocent. Pure. Left at a church by a desperate mother… where did she go? Why didn’t she ask Father Sebastian for help? She trusted him enough with her baby, why not with her own safety? What if these babies are being sold? What if they’re being sold to… to…” A sob escaped Lucy’s throat.

“Don’t go there,” Sean said, harsher than he wanted. “You can’t go there.”

“I can’t help it.” Her voice was small. “I want to believe that rich people who can’t adopt legally are buying these babies and will love and take care of them. That maybe they’re not bad people. But you and I both know that there are sick people in this world, and who is going to protect these babies? If we can’t find the others… I don’t know. I see everything that can happen and it makes me feel so damn helpless!”

Sean gathered Lucy up in his arms. “Don’t. You’re going to do your job and do it well, better than anyone else. Noah’s on this, and you trust him-he’s a good cop. Between the two of you, you’ll find these people and stop them.”

“And what about the babies? Are we going to find them?”

Sean couldn’t answer that; if he said yes, Lucy would know he was placating her. If he said no, he’d destroy her hope. “Have faith, Lucy.”

She seemed unusually fragile. Sean turned off the lights and wrapped his arm around Lucy’s shoulder. He walked her upstairs. Put her to bed. She was asleep in minutes, snuggled against his chest. Safe.

He was almost asleep when he realized he hadn’t told her about Jesse.