by Dani Pettrey
“The guy who left the Bering the day after Abby went overboard?”
She nodded. “And Clint.”
39
“Whoa. Hold up. Did you just say Clint was part of the rescue crew?”
She nodded. “He lied to me.”
“So he and Jeremy are the ones involved?”
“And probably George, now that Jeremy’s gone.”
“What about Ted?”
“He still might have a role in it, or at the very least, he’s turning a blind eye.”
“So what’s our next step?”
Darcy looked at her watch. “We’re supposed to head out for excursion in an hour. Can we get in touch with local police and have Clint and George arrested when they step off the ship?”
“These are the Pribilof Islands. There is no police force. We’re talking a population well under one thousand for all four islands—only two of which are inhabited.”
“But from here it is right on to Petropavlovsk, Russia. There’s no way we can have them arrested on foreign soil.” Darcy shook her head. “We have to go to Mullins and explain what is going on. Surely, as a woman, she’ll empathize. We can have Clint and George detained until the FBI arrives.”
“Why don’t we just head to ship security?”
“Because Mullins is the one that can pull the files we need, their employee files . . .”
“We have copies of those.”
“You really want to waltz into Security with copies of files that we got by breaking into Mullins’ office?”
“Good point.”
“Besides, Mullins has all the excursion files. All of our reports go directly to her.”
Gage exhaled. “Mullins it is.”
Mullins sat back. “Are you certain?”
“Positive.”
Darcy went back through all the facts, leaving out only the little tidbit of having broken into her office.
“I can hardly believe that any of my employees would be involved in something so heinous as sex trafficking.”
“A member of our excursion team is law enforcement,” Darcy said.
Mullins arched a brow.
“He’s about to be my brother-in-law,” Gage explained. “He came along to be with my sister.”
“When the gangplank lowers, we thought we could bring him on to assist your security team until the FBI arrives.”
Mullins looked at the clock. “We’ve got less than an hour—they are supposed to head off on your excursion. Let me pull the necessary records, and I’ll go to Security. In the meantime, I’ll need you two to go on the excursion as planned.”
“What? No,” Darcy said. “We need to stay here. To question Clint. He’s the only one who knows what happened to Abby.”
“Abby? They took her to Kodiak Hospital. How would anyone on this ship know what happened to her after that?”
“That’s just what he told you so no one would go looking for her.”
“What do you think he did with her?”
Darcy bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know. That’s why I have to talk to Clint.” She needed to get the truth out of him.
“Ms. St. James.” Mullins frowned. “I have a dozen of the Bering’s elite passengers expecting one last excursion before we dock in Russia the day after tomorrow, and they are going to get it as planned or your company”—she pinned her gaze on Gage—“will be in breach of contract. I will have Clint and George detained and pull one of our auxiliary activities engineers and another medic to escort you, but this excursion will go on as planned.”
Gage headed down the gangplank knowing he had little time to brief his family and get Landon on board before the excursion set off. Darcy had remained in Mullins’ office, anxiously awaiting the woman’s return with word that Clint and George had been detained. Getting her to stay put had been a fierce battle, but she’d promised him she wouldn’t leave Mullins’ office until Clint and George were secure. The thought of Clint or George intercepting her before Security reached them . . . Gage cringed at the thought.
His family waited at the edge of the pier. His heart raced as he approached them, and his protective nature kicked in full force. The thought of someone enslaving his sisters was horrifying. They needed to get the men running the entire organization—not just a few of the players. Otherwise, all they’d managed to do was interrupt one of the tentacles of the operation.
Landon had said nearly a dozen women had been taken from Alaska over the last year alone—a dozen women subjected to sexual slavery, but sadly that number wasn’t even a blip on the screen of women enslaved in the sex trade worldwide. His and Darcy’s Internet search had indicated estimates as high as two million worldwide—mostly poor women and children from Asia and Latin America, promised a new life and decent jobs in America or other countries, only to be forced into the sex-slave trade and drugged to be kept in line. It had to be a hellish existence—the mere thought of it made him ill.
“What’s changed?” Jake asked the minute he spotted Gage’s face.
Darcy paced Mullins’ office. How long would it take? Surely Mullins had reached Security and they were detaining Clint and George by now.
Mullins had promised to return the moment they were detained. Darcy had to speak with Clint. She couldn’t wait until the FBI arrived. She needed answers, and she needed them now.
The door opened and Mullins stepped through.
Darcy brightened, but then her heart seized as Clint and George followed, rolling in a large cooler. “What’s going on?”
She looked past them for a security guard.
“You’re going to have to move quickly,” Mullins said, shutting the door behind them.
Clint stalked toward Darcy, a syringe in hand.
“What’s going on?”
He grabbed her neck, and she opened her mouth to scream, but George’s hand clamped down over it as he held her in a viselike grip.
“Now,” George said.
Clint stabbed her in the neck with the needle. Fire burned through her veins, her vision rapidly deteriorating.
George slackened his hold, and she fell into him as everything went black.
“We went to Mullins,” Gage said.
“Why Mullins?” Jake asked.
“Because she has access, legal access to the files we need to prove Clint and Jeremy Harnett, the man George replaced, were the rescue crew that supposedly took Abby to Kodiak Hospital that night.”
“Clint?” Piper blinked. “But I thought Ted . . . ?”
“He might still be involved, but we know he wasn’t part of the rescue crew that pulled Abby from the water,” Gage said.
“So what’s happening?” Jake asked, concern marring his brow.
“Mullins is pulling the necessary paperwork to prove Clint, Jeremy, and Ted worked the excursion where Mrs. Bowen went missing, and that Clint and Jeremy were the rescue crew that pulled Abby from the water.”
“And George?” Kayden asked.
“I feel confident whoever is in charge of this trafficking ring replaced Jeremy with George when things went south with Abby,” Gage said.
“You don’t think Clint’s in charge?” Kayden asked.
Jake shook his head before Gage could answer. They were on the same page—whoever was in charge, the network reached far wider than a single ship.
“That’s the next step. Right now Mullins is taking the information we asked her to pull to ship security and the captain, requesting they search Clint and Ted’s cabin—where we hinted they might find something of worth hidden amongst the ceiling tiles.”
Jake and Landon arched their brows and Gage explained.
“You left the lockbox there?” Jake said, not bothering to hide his shock.
“Darcy made a quick decision. Clint and Ted were returning to the room. I triggered the fire alarm—”
“Where is Darcy?” Piper asked, anxiously surveying the passengers off-loading from the ship.
“Secure in Mullins’ office, but as
you can see”—he gestured to the excursion passengers grouping up at the designated spot—“we’ve got a situation. Mullins insists we continue with the excursion.”
“Is she crazy?” Piper said.
“She’s thinking of the Bering and the group of elite passengers expecting an excursion.”
“The last thing she’s going to want to do,” Jake cut in, “is highlight the criminal situation taking place.”
“Right.” While he understood Mullins was committed to protecting her ship, who was protecting the poor women being trafficked? He wanted everything halted until they could be found and the trafficking ring busted up, but sadly he knew it wouldn’t work that way. Business would go on as usual, though he doubted Destiny Cruise Line would be able to salvage its reputation after the news broke.
“What’s going to happen next?” Kayden asked.
“Mullins said she’d have Bering’s security call in the authorities.”
“Who knows how long it’ll take them to arrive?” Piper said, gazing about their secluded setting. “How are we supposed to just head off on an excursion in the meantime? This is huge. We can’t pretend like nothing’s happening.”
Gage rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know. Mullins said we’d be in breach of contract if we refused to continue on as planned, but maybe this is one of those times when it’s better to face a breach of contract in order to do what we know is right.”
“The rest of us can go,” Kayden offered. “You and Darcy can stay here.”
“Mullins insists I go, but she’s agreed to let Landon come on board.”
“Really?” Landon asked, not bothering to hide his surprise.
“Mullins agreed we could bring you on to confer with ship security until the FBI arrives.”
“That’s going to take some time,” Landon said, “as far out in the Aleutians as we are. I know Abby’s folks called them after we spoke, but they are focusing their investigation in Kodiak, since that’s the last place Abby was seen. I’ll give them a call and update them regarding the situation, if ship security hasn’t already.”
“At least the Bering will be docked overnight,” Jake said. “That may give them time to arrive if they’re on Kodiak.”
“True, but they are going to have to move fast, because once the Bering leaves here, they’re headed straight for Russia, which makes this entire situation very precarious.” Gage clamped a hand on Landon’s shoulder. “At least knowing you’re on board will make me feel better about Darcy staying.”
“All right.” Landon nodded. “Let’s get on board and see what the status is.”
Gage approached the check-in point and handed his card to the guard. “This is Deputy Landon Grainger. Mullins has requested his assistance with a situation.”
“I’m afraid I can’t allow him on without Mullins’ or the head of security’s specific order.”
“Mullins said she would call it in when I left her office”—Gage glanced at his watch—“nearly a half hour ago.”
“I’m sorry, but I’ve received no such orders.”
“Then you need to check with your superior. Obviously the order wasn’t properly relayed.”
The man looked over at his fellow guard, gesturing for him to take over while he checked into Gage’s claims. He stepped off to the side and conferred with someone over his radio.
Minutes later, another man—no doubt his superior—arrived. “I just spoke with Mullins, and she gave the go-ahead. You can let them through,” he instructed the check-in guard.
“Thank you,” Gage said as they stepped through.
“Mullins said to tell you she’s waiting in her office.”
Gage entered Mullins’ office expecting to find Darcy waiting and Security most likely present, but he found only Mullins.
She sat behind her desk, glancing over a file in hand.
“Where’s Darcy?” Had she already gone to Security to speak with the detained men?
“I have no idea. I returned to my office and she was gone.”
Gage tried to ignore the horrible sinking feeling in his gut. “But the men have been detained.”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Why not?” Landon asked before Gage could.
Mullins arched a brow. “The deputy sheriff, I’m assuming?”
Landon stepped forward, his hand extended. “Deputy Landon Grainger.”
She didn’t bother standing. “Thank you for coming.”
Gage raked a shaky hand through his hair, trying to ward off the fear nipping at him. “I don’t understand. When I left, you said you were going to Security, Darcy said she’d wait here, and—”
“I cannot vouch for Ms. St. James’ actions, but I pulled the employment files you asked me to and took them to Security.”
Gage swallowed. “Did you have them search Clint and Ted’s cabin?”
“Yes, and they found nothing.”
“They checked the ceiling tiles?”
“Yes, and there was no lockbox.”
“Where are Ted, Clint, and George now?”
“I have no idea. They weren’t in their cabin. We paged them, but none of them showed up to Security as requested.”
“You announced over the loudspeaker they were to report to Security?” Gage asked, incredulous.
She’d given them warning to jump ship, whether she’d intended to or not.
“But you have their employment files?” Landon asked.
Mullins lifted the stack of files in her hands. “Right here, but I see nothing of concern in them.”
“Other than the fact Clint, Ted, and Jeremy Harnett all worked the Bowen excursion,” Gage said.
“How are you aware of Jeremy? He left before you joined the Bering.”
“We’ve been talking to people. And what about the clinic records relating to the rescue crew that was deployed for Abby Walsh?”
“There are no records of that rescue.”
“What? How can that be?”
“Looks like they’ve been erased.”
“Erased?”
Mullins typed on her screen, linking into the clinic’s records, and showed the record empty for the date in question.
“Do any of them have authority to access that report?” Landon asked.
Mullins sighed. “I’ll ask IT to take a look, see if they can figure out if the records have been tampered with.”
“They were tampered with,” Gage insisted, his concern mounting. If the men hadn’t been located and Darcy was missing . . . He turned to Landon. “We need to find Darcy. Now!”
“Something’s wrong,” Piper said, pacing the pier, the sun rising in the sky.
Jake studied the restless excursion passengers huddled up at the meet-up spot. “It shouldn’t be taking this long. I agree with Piper—something’s not right.”
Heath stepped from the group and moved toward them. “What’s the deal? We were supposed to have left by now, and we’re all getting sick and tired of waiting around.”
Piper addressed him. “Sorry for the holdup. We need to wait for Gage before we head out.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s the leader.”
“Well, the supply crew obviously didn’t feel like they had to wait on Gage, so I don’t see why we do.”
Jake stepped to him, his stomach sinking. “What?”
“Clint and George left with the supply ship while you were all jabbering over there with Gage.”
“Are you certain?”
“Positive. I chatted with them as they loaded the last cooler on. They took off from the south side of the ship.”
Piper’s eyes widened. “We need to let Gage and Landon know.”
“Now,” Jake said, rushing for the gangplank.
40
Darcy came to and tried to move, but she was confined. It was dark except for a small shaft of light sneaking through a crack above her. Where was she? And worse yet, what had gone wrong?
Mullins was involved—th
at’s what had gone wrong. How could she have missed that? Easily. Mullins was a woman, and the thought of a woman selling another woman into sexual slavery was abominable. How could she?
They’d handed her everything. Everything except the black book she’d stashed in her pocket, though her pocket was feeling disappointingly empty. She squeezed her eyes shut on an exhale.
They’d trusted the wrong person. She only prayed Gage figured it out before it was too late.
“Let’s go to Security,” Landon said as they rushed from Mullins’ office. “We need more hands to search for Darcy and the men.”
“You head there while I check Darcy’s cabin.” Though he knew she wouldn’t be there.
Lance Wilkinson, head of Bering’s security, was conversing with someone at the end of the hall. Perfect.
He looked up as they approached. “Seems you have more people trying to come aboard.”
“What?”
“Raul just radioed. He’s got another man claiming to be a friend of yours trying to board. Says he has urgent information for you.”
Gage looked at Landon. “Jake.”
They rushed down to the check-in point with Lance fast on their heels. Jake was frantically pacing at the other end of the metal detector.
“They’re gone,” he said when he caught sight of them.
“What?” Gage’s mouth went dry.
“Heath saw Clint and George loading a large cooler into the supply ship and taking off while you were still out on the pier with us.”
Gage swallowed. “A large cooler?”
“Heath presumed it was supplies for the excursion. Please tell me Darcy is with you.”
Gage shook his head as his world threatened to crumble.
They crowded into Security’s video booth as Lance Wilkinson ordered the footage of the crew checkpoints to be played, starting from the Bering’s anchoring in Pribilof.
“There,” Landon said, pointing to the black-and-white footage.