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

at least we were learning a little about the perpetrators' motivations. “Does your organization have the resources to find the parents of the trafficked children? There are currently six children involved in our case, with at least one more unaccounted for. We could certainly use the help in getting them back home to their families.”

“I’d love to help,” Sandra exclaimed, smiling widely. “That’s what Hope for Children is for, after all. I’ll get started right away. Could I just get your names and contact information? That way, I’ll be able to call you as soon as I learn anything.”

“Of course,” I responded as I handed her one of my business cards. Charlie did the same. “Well, we won’t take up any more of your time, Ms. Baker. Please don’t hesitate to call us with any information.”

“Of course, dear,” Sandra smiled. “Oh, and be careful if you do end up heading to the Caribbean to investigate. The laws there are different from the ones we have here, and they aren’t always favorable toward women and children. That’s probably what makes it so easy for trafficking to happen unchecked. I fear you’re likely to run into problems with the locals if you try to stick your noses where you shouldn’t.”

“Thank you for the advice,” I nodded. “We’ll keep that in mind.” With that, I turned and left the building with Charlie following close behind.

“She sure was nice,” Charlie commented bitingly once we were outside the building.

“Why do you say it like that?” I asked, having noted the sarcastic tone in his voice.

“The whole Mother Teresa act didn’t seem a little forced to you?” he asked as he opened the driver’s side door.

“You think she was lying?” I asked, glancing back toward the building.

“No,” Charlie frowned. “I just think she was laying it on a bit thick. Like she wanted us to think she was a saint or something.”

“She sort of is,” I shrugged as I climbed into the passenger seat. “She’s taking displaced children into her own home. She’s dedicating her life to a cause very few people even care about. She seemed like a lovely person.”

“I’m not saying she’s not,” Charlie muttered as he started the car. “I just got this phony vibe from her, I guess.”

“You need to try to be more social,” I scolded him. “Not everyone is hiding something, Charlie.”

“Now that’s a lie,” Charlie snorted. “Everyone’s got secrets, Patel. Even you and me. You should know that better than anyone, considering you used to be a politician.”

I huffed out a small laugh. He had me there. I couldn’t deny that. I definitely had my own fair share of dark secrets.

“In any case,” I changed the subject as Charlie drove out of the parking lot and onto the main street. “We should head back to the office. We may not have learned anything, but we’ve at least found someone knowledgeable about the matter to collaborate with.”

Even as I said that, I was still disappointed that the visit hadn’t yielded better results, and I hoped that the following day would prove to be more productive.

12

Charlie

“The supplier lives in Las Vegas,” Fiona announced as she stepped out of her office and into the bullpen.

Naomi, Junior, Miranda, and I gathered around at our desks to discuss the case to see if there were any angles he hadn’t examined yet. Even Wallace was hovering around, adding his input whenever we hit a lull. All five of us fell silent and looked up at her as she spoke.

“I feel so stupid for missing it earlier,” she continued. “The phone number that Daniel Weaver had been texting had a seven-zero-two area code, which would mean it was a local Las Vegas number. I assumed it was spoofed because what were the odds that the person we were looking for was right here in the same city, right? I contacted the phone company asking for the records connected to the number, and they confirmed that it was a real number registered here in Nevada, but the name and address it was registered under were clearly fake.”

“I’m not sure I follow,” Miranda furrowed her brows together in confusion. “How does it being under a fake name prove that the supplier’s in Las Vegas?”

“It’s registered with a local company,” Fiona explained. “If someone overseas had spoofed it, then I would have found a real person at a real address whose number had been stolen. That wasn’t the case here. Someone local went into this branch and registered the phone under a fake name and used the address of a local hair salon. The company said that whoever registered the phone would have had to have it physically with them at the time they registered it. They also confirmed that the phone had sent calls and texts out to other numbers, all within the Las Vegas city limits.”

“That sounds like pretty solid evidence to me,” Naomi muttered.

“Do you have the names and addresses linked to the other numbers the supplier was calling?” I asked.

“I do,” Fiona nodded. “He made calls to two other numbers in the past two months. The phone company has given me the contact information tied to those numbers as well.”

“What about the hair salon?” Wallace asked. “It’s possible the supplier just used it as a convenient address, but we can’t discount the possibility that someone working in or around there is related to the case.”

“I’ve got the address already,” Fiona informed us. “I emailed copies of all the information I found to everyone.”

“Excellent work, Agent Gardner,” Wallace praised her. “We’ve narrowed down our search area to Las Vegas. That’s still a pretty big area, but it’s more than what we had before. We’ll have two agents head to the salon while two follow up on--”

“Director Wallace,” Agent Nelson suddenly interrupted as he stepped out of his office and into the bullpen. “I just got off the phone with the police. There’s been a development in the case.” Nelson looked shaken, and a sense