Kingston Kidnappings (What Happens In Vegas Book 3) by Matt Lincoln (great book club books .txt) 📗

I was so appalled by the horrible things she was saying that I had to take a moment to regain my composure.

“Where was her bedroom, Mrs. Bradshaw?” I asked once I’d taken a deep breath.

“What?” she responded.

“Her bedroom,” I repeated. “You said that she should feel grateful that you saved her from her home and brought her here instead. So tell me where she slept, Mrs. Bradshaw.”

She flushed as her mouth opened and closed, unable to form a response.

“Oh, that’s right,” I chuckled humorlessly. “You had her sleeping on the kitchen floor, didn’t you? In that dinky little cot that you tried to hide in the hallway closet. Did you know we have an agent that speaks Patois fluently? Little Fatima told her all about what you and your husband did.”

Mrs. Bradshaw was trembling now, but I was too blinded by rage to feel any sympathy for her. “Do you know what else she told us? That you wouldn’t let her on any of the furniture. You treated her like a dog.”

“That’s not true--” Mrs. Bradshaw started, but I cut her off before she could go any further.

“You’re a monster,” I snapped as I abruptly stood up, the sound of the chair scraping against the floor punctuating my words. “And I’m going to make sure you rot in prison for what you’ve done.”

“You said we’d work out a deal if I talked!” Mrs. Bradshaw yelled.

“I lied,” I gritted out before leaving the room and slamming the door behind me. My face felt hot, and I could hear my own blood as it rushed through my ears.

“You should sit down,” Junior suggested gently as he stood from his chair. I didn’t feel like arguing, so I obeyed and plopped into the chair he’d just vacated. I leaned forward and closed my eyes as I willed my heartbeat to slow down.

“It’s not like you to get worked up like this,” Junior remarked. “Not to the point of storming out like that, at least. What’s up?”

“It’s the fact that it’s kids, I guess,” I responded after taking a minute to think about it. “It’s wrong to hurt anyone, but it’s just so much worse when it’s a kid. I just keep imagining if it was Amber, you know? And she’s in there saying that poor girl should be grateful to be treated like an animal?”

“Is that why you went back on the deal?” he asked. “You’ve never done that before.” He was right. I was a lot of things, but a liar wasn’t one of them. We were allowed to make deals with suspects if we felt that it might lead us to catch a worse suspect or stop an entire organization, so it wasn’t like I couldn’t have helped her out. I’d made deals before, but this was the first time I’d refused to honor one.

“Yeah,” I replied. “She wasn’t remorseful about what she’d done at all. It’s like she really thought she was doing that kid a favor.”

“It’s a group behavior dynamic,” Junior sighed. “The same thing happens in the aftermath of natural disasters with looting. People who would ordinarily never do something like stealing are suddenly thrust into a situation where they feel like it’s okay because everyone else is doing it. In this case, all the neighbors were doing it and actively encouraging others to do so as well.”

“So they were peer-pressured into doing it?” I asked skeptically.

“Kind of,” Junior answered. “It’s more than that, though. It’s the same way cults convince people to join. Mrs. Bradshaw said something about it being like a club, right? So they make it seem exclusive and important, and new recruits begin to think that it can’t be so bad if so many other people are buying into it. Emily said that there was a new couple at the dinner party that had just moved into the neighborhood. I think they were probably planning on inviting them into their club that night. The fact that Kamya tried to escape and Emily’s being there probably threw it all off.”

“That’s probably true,” I growled. “Damn, I wish I hadn’t lost my temper like that in there. I might have been able to get more information.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Junior smiled. “You’re only human. It’s impossible to work this kind of job and not get emotional about it once in a while. And I don’t think she knew much else anyway. It seems like the Weavers were the ones doing most of the work, but we’ll have to wait until we finish the interrogations before we come to any conclusions.”

“You’re right,” I sighed as I stood up. “I think Patel’s interrogation is up next. I’ll go tell her, and then I think I might get some coffee from the break room.”

I felt worn down as I left the holding area, which really wasn’t ideal considering it was barely nine in the morning. I knew that Junior had a point, and that it was only natural for me to get upset, but at the same time, I knew that I had to reel my emotions in. I wouldn’t be able to work if I kept going off like that. With that in mind, I headed into the break room to rest until it was my turn again.

10

Fiona

I carefully balanced a large cup of coffee in my hands as I left the break room, taking care not to spill any of the hot liquid on myself. I had a long morning of looking through computers, phones, and tablets ahead of me, and I wanted to make sure I was prepared. I passed Charlie on the way back to my office and was about to greet him good morning, but I stopped myself when I saw the look on his face. He didn’t look angry, necessarily, but I’d learned to read his moods, and I knew it was best to just give him some