The Lost Girls

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

After dropping Noah off at FBI headquarters, Nate took Lucy to her house so she could pack an overnight bag. He told her he already had a go-bag in the car.

“Of course you do,” she mumbled.

“What’s bothering you?”

“Just tired.” She went upstairs to avoid any more questions. Nate was Sean’s friend, she reminded herself. She didn’t need him reporting back to Sean that something was bothering her. Hell yes, something was bothering her.

She didn’t know if they would need to stay, but since there was a room for them and it was a nearly two-hour drive each way-and they didn’t know what they would need to do when they arrived-it was better to plan on staying.

It was after one by the time they got on the road, but they didn’t have much traffic to worry about. Lucy called Siobhan to get all the details straight from her, then she called Zach at headquarters to ask him to run Loretta Martinez at the address Siobhan had given her. Then she talked to Noah to give him an update-though she didn’t have anything really to tell him. He hung up quickly, no surprise. She wished she had someone else to call to avoid the conversation that Nate had been trying to start with her, but after an hour when Lucy had no one else to call and nothing to pretend to do, Nate said, “You don’t have to talk about it, but I know something’s wrong. And don’t tell me you’re tired.”

“Don’t psychoanalyze me, Nate.”

He didn’t say anything for several minutes. “You’re never late. But you were late this morning.”

“I didn’t sleep much last night, okay? If Sean told you about my insomnia, that’s under control.”

“He didn’t, but he didn’t have to.”

Great. So she always looked like something the cat dragged in? Why couldn’t people just leave her alone?

“Is Sean okay?”

“Yes.”

But he hadn’t said anything about Jesse. Not when he found out on Monday, and not last night when they talked for ten minutes, and not this afternoon after he knew that Madison had talked to her this morning. Three chances, and he remained silent.

She wanted to throttle Nate because he was making her wholly uncomfortable. Nate had become Sean’s closest friend here in San Antonio. They were two peas in a pod. Just as Sean had bonded with her brother Patrick, he’d bonded with Nate. She was glad-she loved her brother, and she liked Nate, and Sean deserved to have good friends he trusted who had his back. But she’d quickly figured out that Nate would tell Sean anything. He wouldn’t share secrets, but he would make Sean aware that she was upset. He had an uncanny way of digging around and coming up with truths that she didn’t want to discuss. She didn’t like talking about her relationship with Sean, or what was bothering her, or trying to figure out if she was the only one in the dark about Sean’s son.

Sean’s son Jesse Spade.

“What’s really going on with Elizabeth Cook?” she asked. “I’ve wondered since I got here why she never went in the field, but I didn’t really think about it.”

Nate said, “It’s all hearsay.”

“You challenged Noah.”

“No I didn’t.”

“You commented.”

“I was fishing. I really don’t know what’s going on, but I’m curious.”

“And?”

“Juan’s our boss, Lucy. I’m a soldier at heart, and Juan is my commanding officer. He never sent Cook into the field, and I don’t think Noah should shake things up.”

“We don’t even know if Juan is coming back.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I’m the psychologist, remember?” She was trying to make light of the situation, but she didn’t feel light.

“I’d like to know your opinion.”

“This can’t go anywhere else, Nate.” If it went to Sean, that was fine-she’d already talked to Sean about it. He’d helped her come to terms with the guilt she’d been harboring over the last few months.

“Lucy, you can trust me. You know that, right? Have I done anything to make you think you can’t?”

“No, of course not.” Except that you’re Sean’s confidant. “Family is the most important thing to Juan.”

“That’s not a big secret.”

“It’s so important that if he thinks they’re threatened in any way, he will do anything to minimize the threat.”

Nate didn’t say anything.

“I’m the threat,” Lucy said.

“That is ridiculous,” Nate said. When Lucy didn’t respond, he added, “You can’t believe that.”

“Juan said as much to me. When I wanted to visit Nita and the kids after the baby-after Nita started to feel better-he said no. He made it more than clear that I’m not welcome there, Nate. When I first came to San Antonio, Juan treated me like family. Sean and I went to his house for dinner nearly every week. We enjoyed it. His family reminded me of my family growing up. The noise. The food. The games. It was exactly what I needed to feel like San Antonio was truly my home. And I love Juan’s kids. Sean is so good with kids, they all loved him.”

Her stomach twisted in a knot. Sean was great with kids. And now he had one.

“And I lied to Juan, and Juan knows it. And because of what I did during Operation Heatwave, I brought a cartel battle to Juan’s doorstep. Them and us. And people died and were hurt and I know Barry Crawford isn’t going to come back, even when he’s regained his strength. I’m not naive enough to think that I wasn’t one of the targets. It was because of choices I made.”

“You were doing your damn job, Lucy.”

“Yes, I was, but I went beyond the job, and you know that. And while on the one hand, I’ve come to terms with what I’ve done and I’m willing to accept the consequences, on the other, I recognize there were many more consequences to other people that I didn’t even consider at the time. I’m dangerous, and I always will be. Nate, you of all people should understand that. I could have separated myself from Jack and Kane’s lives fairly easily. Not gone into law enforcement. I could have turned my back on Brad when he was kidnapped by the cartel and never turned the wrath of their anger against the FBI and the DEA. But I became a cop. And I didn’t separate myself. And I know, deep down, that I would do it again. Right or wrong, if I was faced with the option of breaking international law and saving a fellow cop or turning my back and knowing he would die, I would break the law. Juan knows, and he can’t live with it. So it’s either I leave, or he does. And I’m selfish. I want this job. I’m good at this job. I don’t want to leave. And I hate that Juan doesn’t think he or his family is safe around me.”

Nate didn’t say anything for a long time. So long, she wondered what he really thought of the situation. Then he said, “Eight years ago Cook had a case with another agent-I don’t know his name, he transferred before I got here-investigating a serial killer. Sounds cliché, but it was rather a standard serial killer. Teenage girls, kidnapped, raped, murdered. There was a profile, I don’t know the details. Cook had two daughters, was going through a divorce, and she personalized the case. Almost had a nervous breakdown. Our office didn’t catch the guy-he was arrested in Arizona. But Cook blames herself because she missed something, and three more girls died after that mistake.”

“Did she miss something?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t here, I heard this from Leo Proctor over drinks one night when I first got here.”

“Why didn’t she leave?”

“I think Juan sympathized with her. Thought if he gave her some desk time, it would get better. But he never sent her back into the field, over and above basic background checks and paperwork. She’s essentially an analyst.”

“We have the smallest squad in the office and the highest active caseload.” While Lucy had some sympathy for Cook, for eight years the other seven agents had been picking up her slack. “She could have done a lateral move over to analyst, or changed squads. Juan could have made that happen.”

“She has friends in high places. I think her daughter is best friends with the SAC’s daughter. College roommates or something. So Armstrong walked into the hornets’ nest when he didn’t follow Juan’s directives.” He paused. “Sean said you and Armstrong have been friends since DC, that he trained you or something.”

“Yes,” she said, thinking. “You know, this explains a lot.”

“About?”

“Juan. And me. And everything. Juan is a good boss. He wants his team to be happy, to be healthy, to do the job. Crossing t’s and dotting i’s. He doesn’t understand people like me.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t see you as dangerous.”

“He does. And that’s one of the reasons he’s not coming back. Not because of me alone, but because he realized he can’t run this squad and coddle anyone-like Cook. We have a mandate, Nate-we have minimal staff, minimal resources, and a maximum caseload. We have to work hard and work smart. And one of the things I learned from Barry-find a way to turn it off when we go home.”

“Is that why you’re upset?”

“I’m not upset.”

“You don’t have to lie about it, just tell me you don’t want to talk about it.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Fair enough.”

They drove the last fifteen minutes to Laredo in silence, and Lucy took that time to get her head back into this case. She called Siobhan when they hit the city limits. She was antsy, but promised to wait at the hotel for them.

“Siobhan is jumpy. I don’t blame her-she’s been looking for Marisol and Ana for two years. She thinks we’re close-this midwife, Cora Smith, had seen both the girls at the house in Freer, the one that’s now empty. To be this close, I’d be eager as well.”

“You don’t sound confident we’ll find them.”

“I’m not confident they’ll be the same girls Siobhan remembers.” Lucy had been been kidnapped and held captive for two days… it had been hell, a time she wished she could forget forever. And while she could put it out of her mind for days-and sometimes weeks-at a time, it was always there, waiting for moments of weakness to creep up on her. To challenge her, taunt her.

But two years? Could she have been so strong that she’d be able to endure two years of being prostituted? Humiliated? Used? Forced to deliver babies only to be forced to give them away?

What had these girls endured?

Why hadn’t Macey’s baby been taken?

“What?”

She glanced at Nate. “What what?”

“You thought of something. Your body leaned forward.”

Nate was perceptive. “According to Siobhan’s contact, the people holding the girls wanted to make sure the babies were safe, even at the expense of the mothers. Yet there were no babies in the house, no sign of babies having been there-just a delivery room. Ms. Smith helped deliver Macey’s baby-the runaway from Kansas City-yet a week later she was carrying the baby out of the house. Why? Why hadn’t the baby been taken from her? They didn’t care about her life… why would they care now?”

Lucy was running through the facts and guesses. “Let’s say that Baby Elizabeth was in fact Marisol’s baby, and she managed to escape the house and leave the baby at the church. The locket was either because she knew that Siobhan was looking for her, or so that the baby would have something of her heritage.” Probably the latter. “But she was found… or more likely went back.”

“Why would she return?”

“Because her sister was there, pregnant with twins. There would be no other reason for her to return, but she wanted to make sure her baby wasn’t taken or sold.”

“She didn’t go to the authorities.”

“She doesn’t trust them. Look at what happened to Siobhan on Sunday night.”

“She was breaking and entering.”

“The cop touched her breasts, made lewd comments, very possibly to elicit the reaction she had-assault. The cop didn’t believe her story, or if he did, he didn’t follow up on it. Her SD card was stolen, and the only way they could have done that without damaging the rental car was if they had the keys. So someone in that department is dirty.”

“After what happened over the last six months, that wouldn’t surprise me.”

“So why was Macey still at the house with her baby?”

“Could be they didn’t have a buyer until then,” Nate said. The acid churned in Lucy’s stomach. She drank half a water bottle to settle it down. He was very likely right. Macey delivered, they had a healthy nine-pound baby boy. Seeking a buyer. Or the exchange fell through. Maybe the buyer was out of the country.

“Babies go for ten to twenty-five thousand dollars in illegal adoptions,” Lucy said. “But possibly more… if the buyer is looking for something specific.”

“Or if the buyer can’t legally adopt.”

“Or if they want the babies for…” She couldn’t say it. She hated that she could think of the cruel things people could do to the most innocent on earth.

Nate pulled up to the hotel and Siobhan immediately came out and climbed into the backseat. “You made good time, but I’m worried. The midwife gave us everything, but I don’t know that she wouldn’t warn her friend. I hope not-I asked her not to-but what if she did?”

“I’m glad you waited for us,” Lucy said. “I don’t think it would be as easy to bail you out of jail again.” She was trying to make light of the situation, but the humor fell flat.

“I need to find them,” Siobhan said. “I went to the hospital to sit with Baby Elizabeth after talking to Noah. I had to do something-how could these people steal a woman’s baby? Why? And why didn’t Mari call me?”

“We’ll find out when we find her,” Lucy said.

Nate glanced at her. She knew what he was thinking. She wasn’t normally optimistic-she faced reality head-on. Maybe she just wanted to believe Marisol was alive. But the chances were, if she had gone back for her sister, Marisol was now dead. That’s how these people operated-any disobedience had to be punished to set an example to others.

Loretta lived outside Laredo in a small town with easy access to the highway. They climbed out of the car, and Siobhan frowned at Nate and Lucy.

“You guys are going to scare her off,” Siobhan said. “Please, let me talk to her first.”

“You’re not going in there alone,” Nate said.

Lucy agreed. “Siobhan-this is an active federal investigation. You’re not interviewing this witness. We’re letting you come because you have information and you know these girls. But this is our investigation.”

Nate said, “Lucy, you got this, I’ll keep an eye out here. Watch the house, make sure this Loretta doesn’t bolt.”

Thank you, she mouthed and walked up the short walkway to Loretta’s front door. They knocked and waited. Knocked again.

“What if she’s not home?” Siobhan said.

“She’s home.” Lucy had already seen her car through the single garage window. She also heard a television inside. She listened carefully and heard movement inside.

It still took Loretta Martinez a full two minutes before she opened the door. She was in no condition to run. Her right arm was in a sling and the side of her face was bruised. By the coloring, Lucy suspected the injuries were five to seven days old. Someone had beaten up this old woman. She was in her sixties, plump, but had a sallow look of someone who didn’t feel well. She panicked when she saw them, her eyes darting back and forth, though confusion crossed her expression.

“What happened?” Siobhan said, instantly concerned. “Ms. Martinez, did someone hurt you?”

“Who are you? What do you want?”

“I’m Siobhan Walsh. I volunteer with the Sisters of Mercy.”

“Who?”

“They’re a religious order of missionaries in Mexico and Central America. Two young women I know were kidnapped two years ago and I think you’ve seen them. I need your help.”

“You’re not a nun,” she said with a scowl. “You’re lying to me.” She looked at Lucy. “You look like a cop.”

“FBI Special Agent Lucy Kincaid.” She showed her identification.

Siobhan said, “I’m not a nun, but I’m not lying. I really am a volunteer for the Sisters of Mercy. Marisol and Ana. I need to find them.”

“I can’t help you.” She started to close the door.

Lucy put her foot in the opening. “Ms. Martinez, you want to help us.”

“You’re a cop, you can’t come in here. That’s breaking and entering, I mean, illegal search and seizure.” She frowned, as if she couldn’t quite think of the words she wanted. “What do you really want?”

Lucy said, “You need to talk to us before anyone else dies.”

“Dies? What?”

“The girl with preeclampsia is dead-”

“Eloise,” Siobhan interrupted. “Her name was Eloise.”

Loretta definitely recognized the name. Lucy continued, “You had access to Eloise and had the medical experience necessary to perform an emergency C-section.”

“Oh God-”

Siobhan said, “Someone killed her after taking her baby.”

“I-I-” She looked faint and Lucy stepped in and put her arm around her. The woman, though plump, felt soft and weak. She tried to pull away from Lucy but had no strength.

“Have you seen a doctor?” Lucy asked.

“I’m a nurse,” Loretta snapped.

Siobhan entered and closed the door behind them. The house smelled of antiseptics and medicine and illness. It was also much too hot.

Lucy helped Loretta to a couch in the living room. She covered her with an afghan. Water bottles and pain pills overflowed on the coffee table. The woman took a pill, her hands shaking so badly that she could barely bring the bottle of water to her lips. Lucy suspected she’d diagnosed herself. “You’re far worse off than you want to believe.” She assessed her. “This happened about a week ago, didn’t it?”

“I fell.”

“That’s what abused women say.”

“I’m not an abused woman!”

“I think whoever you work for beat you.” Lucy mentally did the math. It was an educated guess-but she was certain she was right. “One of the girls escaped with her baby, and you were punished for it.”

Loretta couldn’t hide her shock that Lucy knew.

“Go away. Just go away.”

Loretta had limited use of her right arm. She was sore and had shuffled when she walked back to the couch, as if each step pained her. Her right eye had at one point been swollen shut and was now only partly open. The bruises were healing-the ones Lucy could see. But the way she shifted, Lucy wondered if she didn’t have a broken rib.

There was no way in her condition that Loretta could have performed an emergency C-section.

“You need a doctor,” Lucy said. “A real doctor.” She sat next to her and tried to check her vitals.

“Don’t touch me! I’ll be fine. Just leave me alone.”

Lucy dropped her hand. She couldn’t force Loretta to get medical help-but there was no way she was leaving without calling the paramedics. She got up and sent Nate a text message.

Siobhan squatted next to Loretta and showed her the photo of Marisol and Ana. “These girls-I know you were with them. Where are they?”

Loretta didn’t speak, but it was clear she recognized the girls.

“Cora talked. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted her. You don’t understand. They’re going to kill us.”

Siobhan said, “No one else is going to die. Eloise had preeclampsia. She delivered her baby after suffering a seizure. Her body was left in a Dumpster. You have to help us find these people before anyone else dies. For Eloise. For all of them.”

“They’re all gone.” Shaking, Loretta drank more water. It dribbled down her chin and she didn’t seem to notice.

“When did you last see Marisol and Ana?” Lucy asked.

She didn’t say anything.

“Please, Loretta,” Siobhan pleaded, “I’ve been looking for Mari and Ana for two years. Their family needs them. They have a younger brother and a grandmother who are worried about them. Their mother was my best friend, I have to find them!”

Siobhan was appealing to emotion, but Loretta wasn’t biting. She was too old, too jaded, too guilty to say anything.

Lucy cleared her throat. She motioned for Siobhan to move. Siobhan didn’t want to, but Loretta understood only one thing-survival-and Lucy was going to push.

Siobhan stood and walked several feet away. Lucy stood over the beaten woman and said, “Loretta, let me explain what is going to happen from this moment forward. You are at best a material witness to a felony and at worst a co-conspirator. We have a witness who places you in the same house as a woman we later found dead in a Dumpster, her infant ripped out of her womb. We have a witness who identified Eloise at a house on El Gato Street in Freer Sunday night; early Tuesday morning, Eloise was found murdered. Not in Freer, but here, in Laredo. A person with medical training-such as yourself-cut Eloise’s baby boy out of her womb, then shot Eloise in the back of the head. They left her body in a trash can.”

Lucy used the most blunt, clear language that she could. Every sentence caused Loretta to shrink back, as if slapped. Though recounting the facts sickened Lucy, she put enough venom in her voice to make sure that Loretta Martinez knew that she was deadly serious about this case and that Loretta was not getting a pass on her complicity to kidnapping and murder.

“Three days-they have three days on us. We will find them. We have already identified three of the key players-Jasmine, her bodyguard Lance Dobleman, and the man responsible for keeping these pregnant women locked up, Raoul. We have identified four of the women who were held against their will. We will identify the others. And you have two choices. You can either help us and beg the court for leniency, or hinder us and spend the rest of your life in prison. Those are your choices.”

Siobhan stared at Lucy. “Lucy, we agreed-”

“No, Siobhan, you thought, big difference. You care, I get it. But we’re beyond coddling accessories to murder. If we don’t find Mari and Ana soon, we won’t find them. These people know how to move their victims in and out of the county, the state, the country. The longer we play these games, the more time they have to disappear.”

The pain pill had kicked in; Loretta’s eyes were becoming glassy. Lucy frowned. This woman was seriously ill. She pulled down the afghan and Loretta hit her hand. Lucy ignored her and pulled up her nightgown. Her stomach was dark purple. Lucy was stunned that Loretta was still alive.

“Loretta-you have internal bleeding. You need immediate medical attention.”

“Go away,” Loretta said.

Siobhan was on the phone and Lucy shook her head.

“We have to call an ambulance!” Siobhan said.

“Agent Dunning already called,” Lucy said. “I knew she was gravely injured when she opened the door.”

Lucy put the blanket back on Loretta. “You’re dying, Loretta. Please, if you want to help those girls-if you want to punish the men who beat you-help us. Now.”

Loretta was close to talking. Lucy sat on the floor and took her shaking hand. “We know Marisol disappeared with her baby. Did she come back? Where is she? Where is Ana?”

“I didn’t know she left it… we didn’t know. She never came back. I didn’t think she’d leave her sister.”

She didn’t leave her by choice. She must have had a plan… it was the only thing that Lucy could think of. But maybe she didn’t expect their captors to move the girls so quickly. Maybe she was getting help… just not from the authorities.

Or maybe they found her and killed her.

“Why would she leave Ana?” Siobhan asked.

“Ana… they were all safe while they were pregnant,” Loretta said.

Marisol must have thought she had time, at least enough time to save Ana.

“Raoul was so angry.”

“Where would Marisol go?” Lucy asked.

“I don’t know.”

“You must have an idea.”

“She talked about an Angelo. Always, Angelo. I don’t know who he is, I don’t know anything about him, but she thought he would save her.”

Siobhan gasped. “Angelo? Angelo Zapelli?”

“I don’t know,” Loretta said, her voice weak.

Lucy looked at the pills that Loretta had been taking. Oxycodone, prescribed to someone else. She had no idea how many the woman had taken, but she was loopy and fading rapidly. She heard the ambulance in the distance. She texted Nate to bring them in immediately.

“Who’s Angelo Zapelli?” Lucy asked Siobhan.

“Marisol’s employer in Monterrey was Antonio Zapelli-his son is Angelo. RCK ran a background on both of them, said the family had no ties to any drug cartels or human trafficking.”

“We need to talk to both of them.”

“I have his information. I’ll call him.”

“Not without me,” Lucy said. “Siobhan, this has always been serious, but it’s gotten much more dangerous. If Loretta is to be believed, Marisol gave birth and left the baby at the church, sought help, and is now looking to get her sister back. She must have an idea of where they are. We have to find her, find these people. They will kill her. They killed Eloise, they’ve been selling babies, we have no idea how many-”

“Seventy-two,” Loretta whispered.

Lucy and Siobhan both looked at the woman. “What?” Lucy said.

“I’ve delivered seventy-two babies in the last two years. You’ll never find them all. Too many women, they’re foolish, believe anything because they want to believe.”

“Eloise was chained to a bed!” Siobhan said.

“Only after Marisol ran away. Raoul chained them all. But I haven’t seen them… I came home. Came home to die.” Loretta’s voice trailed off.

Nate opened the door and escorted the two paramedics inside. Lucy talked to them, showed them the pills that Loretta had been taking, and informed them that the beating happened six to seven days ago, probably on Thursday.

The day Marisol ran away.

While Siobhan was making calls trying to locate Angelo Zapelli in Monterrey, Lucy pulled Nate aside. “I want to place her in custody. Anything to keep her safe and to keep her from running, if she survives. She knows more than what she’s said.”

“I called the assistant sheriff,” Nate said. “Villines.”

“Good.” She glanced over as the paramedics lifted Loretta onto the gurney. “Seventy-two babies, Nate. She said she delivered seventy-two babies in two years. She wasn’t threatened or imprisoned or exploited, she did it for money. Maybe she didn’t start out being a criminal, but she figured out what was going on and she remained silent and continued to participate in criminal behavior.”

“Did she admit that they were selling babies?” Noah asked.

“No, she didn’t. If she survives-and honestly, I don’t know that she will, she’s in bad shape made worse by the fact that she’s been popping pills all week-she needs to confess to everything and face consequences for her actions. Let the powers that be decide what to do with her.”

Noah asked the paramedics what hospital they were going to, then returned to Lucy. “We don’t have a warrant to search her house. Possibly probable cause, but depends on what judge we get. Still, if something is in plain sight-we need to search and clear the house anyway.”

Lucy concurred. “If Loretta is telling the truth-and I’m inclined to believe her, considering she was on so many painkillers I don’t think she could have consciously lied-then Marisol went to her old boss for help. Jasmine and her people probably didn’t know what Marisol was going to do, so they shut down the house and moved the girls as soon as they could.”

“Except Eloise.”

“She was sick. Maybe she’d already had a seizure. Maybe they planned on going back for her after Macey and her baby were gone. We don’t know, but they might have been short on space if the girls had to be moved quickly.”

“And then the FBI comes in and starts asking questions.”

“Loretta didn’t deliver Eloise’s son. She couldn’t have, not in her condition. But whoever did it had some medical training. A nurse, possibly. Maybe a doctor, one in a different field who knows the basics but without specialized training.”

Siobhan walked over to them. “I just spoke with Antonio Zapelli. He said Angelo left work on Thursday at the regular time, but didn’t come in on Friday. He didn’t leave a note, just told his mother that he had to help a friend and wouldn’t be home for a few days. He’s not answering his cell phone.”

“But he has one?” Lucy asked.

“His dad said he did. I’ll call him-”

“No, not yet. I’m going to check in with Noah. We might be able to trace it.”

“But what if he’s helping Marisol-maybe he’s with her, he can let me talk to her!”

“We don’t know, Siobhan, and right now this whole thing seems fishy to me. Just wait a minute, okay?”

Siobhan didn’t want to wait, but she pocketed her phone.

Lucy glanced at Nate, and he nodded. Good. He was on the same page as she was. For some reason, she was beginning to doubt her instincts-and her compassion. She’d known almost immediately that Loretta was in bad shape, yet she interrogated her when she could have administered aid. Though, to be honest, there wasn’t much she could have done for the woman other than make sure she didn’t move around until the paramedics arrived.

Lucy dialed Noah. She wanted to search Loretta’s house now because there could be vital information in finding Marisol and the others. Noah could trace Angelo’s phone, find out when he’d come into the States, maybe even where he was staying.

This was their first real break at finding Marisol, Ana, and the others… and learning what happened to all those babies.

Seventy-two. Seventy-two babies taken from their mothers and sold.