Truth or Lies? by A. Gomez (book club recommendations txt) 📗

my case. I noticed the defendant had only men with him in court. And they were all Asian. I leaned back on my chair pondering this and thinking back to that day in the courtroom. This case seemed awfully familiar. In fact, it seemed a lot like a particular case I had observed while I was still in grad school. I picked up the phone to call Jill. I had a theory and it wasn’t good.

Agent Davis walked in as I was dialing. I knew it! Fill-in babysitter. He stood at the doorway looking out onto the floor and nodded politely since I was on the phone.

“Jill! I have a theory on who and what this defendant may be. If you have pictures of him and his entourage, get them out and tell me if you see any of them with a tattoo of what looks like a red dragon encircled by a red circle.”

“Does it look kind of like a serpent?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s it!” I answered excitedly.

“They all have it. Why?” she wondered.

“I think this guy is not just another child sex offender but a part of something bigger, something more horrific. I think he may be a member of a secret society called the Chinese Triads.”

She didn’t respond right away. “I don’t understand. So what, a lot of men are a part of these secret societies. What does that have to do with it?”

“The Triads are one of the largest international criminal organizations in Asia. They are notorious for sex trafficking and many other illegal activities. Didn’t you notice all those men with the perpetrator were Asian? And in the pictures you have, are all those men Asian, too? Plus, you said they all have the same tattoo. That’s their call sign, if you will. They have control of local markets for drugs, gambling, prostitution and sex trafficking. They work like the mafia where each Triad group is in control of all the criminal activity in a certain area.” I was excited, thinking I was on the right track.

“Okaay. Are you sure?” Her question came out slowly, sounding puzzled.

“Send your investigator to check out my theory. If I’m wrong, then no harm, no foul. But if I’m not, then that would explain Tori’s murder, hence giving the FBI a bigger problem to deal with than the perp just crossing state lines.”

“Okay, whatever, I’ll send him, but meet me at the courthouse in twenty minutes. I have a hearing and I’d like you to explain this better once I’m done here. And bring all the information you have on this, please.” She sounded distracted and rushed.

We hung up and I started to gather what little information I had on the topic. Most of my books on this were at my house and it would take too long to go home and fetch them. I looked a few key things up online and printed them out. I placed all the papers in a folder, shoved the one book I had in my bag along with the folder, got my coat and headed for the door, only to be stopped by Agent Davis. Crap! I had forgotten about my sitter.

“Dr. Langley, Agent Rockwall instructed me to make sure you stayed put until he returned.”

“Yes, Davis, I did forget about that and thank you for reminding me, but I’m sure you could call him and let him know that you will be escorting me to the courthouse so I can meet with the Assistant District Attorney.” I tried not to sound irritated.

He thought it over for a moment. “All right, let me see if I can get ahold of him and then we can go.”

I stood in front of Agent Davis, impatiently waiting while he called Josh. I caught myself rocking back and forth on my heels while he made the call. I was trying not to be rude. Apparently, I wasn’t doing a very good job since he kept peeking up at me through his eyelashes. He inhaled deeply, ending the call and trying again. He looked at me apologetically. I just nodded and gave him a stiff smile.

“Doctor Langley, I’m sorry but Agent Rockwall isn’t picking up. We’ll just have to wait until he calls me back or returns.”

“Agent Davis, I think you heard me on the phone, did you not?” I was curt with him.

“Yes, ma’am, I did.”

“So, then you understand why it’s imperative I get to the courthouse now rather than later?”

“Yes, ma’am, I do but I have my orders.” He was still blocking my exit. “If I take you without informing Rockwall I won’t get reprimanded or in trouble, no, that won’t happen. Rockwall is not my boss or supervisor. I will just be acting in a way where none of the other agents in the bureau will be able to trust me or want to work with me. You, being a psychologist can understand how important trust is, especially in my field, can’t you, Doctor Langley?” He was very good.

I hung my head, “Okay then, point taken. How can I argue with that?” I laid my coat on one of the chairs, placed my bag on the floor next to my desk and sat down at my desk so I could email Jill to let her know I was going to be late. “By the way, Davis, my apologies and enough with the ma’am. Call me Isabel.”

“Ma’am, uh, Isabel?” he asked quizzically.

“You’re a lot smarter than I gave you credit for,” I said teasingly.

He smiled big. “Thank you, Isabel, I get that a lot.”

I lost track of time, trying to catch up with all my notes on other cases. Thankfully, most of them didn’t need to go through the court system but they needed a lot of help just the same. I heard Agent Davis’ stomach growling, which prompted