“I-I don’t know.”
“I’m serious, Mark! This is more explosive than any bomb I ever did. There are kids out there being abused, and the system is protecting the abusers. I saw two year olds on those videos. Now, we either bring these people to justice the right way, or I’m gonna have to track everyone of these bastards down and shoot them myself.”
I regretted it as soon as I’d said it. Mark blew up. “Oh, so what, now you’re some kind of folk hero? Is that it? You think a little misdirection is gonna make people forget all the stuff you did?”
“No, Mark—”
“Forget it! I tell you what I am gonna do. I am going to make sure that I run an exposé on you every week if I have to. I’m gonna make it my ambition to dog your every step and bring you down if it’s the last thing I do!”
“Do you really want me as an enemy?” I shot back, but I was talking to dead air. Frustrated, I hung up.
That didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. I still wanted Mark to take the story, but unless he changed his mind, there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I suppose I could send it out to another news agency, but there wasn’t any time for that.
That meant I had to trust Rogan to do the right thing. Against my better judgment, I made the call.
Chapter 39
“Detective Rogan here.”
“Got a question for you.”
“Who is this?”
I chewed my lip. “I have something that I want you to look into. And I need to meet with you for me to give it to you, but I know as soon as I set that up, you’re going to arrest me, and I can’t have that.”
“Gerrold? That you?”
“Don’t play games, Rogan. You know it is.”
“Games? You’re a fine one to talk about games. I see we’ve had some more explosions. Called off your war against the government, and now you’re just targeting random citizens, is that it?”
“There is nothing random about what I’m doing.”
“So it was you. Thought I recognized your handiwork. What’d you have against the Coopers? Or that guy Warner?”
“That’s kinda what I need to show you. Warner, Cooper, and Rawles are all connected. They’re part of a child sex trafficking ring. I’ve got Cooper’s computer with me, and it’ll prove what I’m saying. We’re talking hard evidence here.”
He chuckled. “And you think that’s gonna get you off?”
“Not remotely. Why does everyone keep assuming that I’m trying to make some kind of deal? Have I asked for anything?”
“Who’s everyone?”
“Mark Durand.”
“The reporter? From KTPY?”
“Yeah. I just called him. Wanted to see if he was interested.”
He snorted. “Lemme guess. He didn’t want to talk to you.”
“Yeah. How’d you—?”
He swore. “That’s ‘cause you killed his best friend!”
I frowned. “When did I do that?”
“When the news chopper came down. His best friend since college was filming. He got crushed underneath it and smeared halfway across the street. We had to pick him up in zip-lock baggies.”
I muttered an epithet. “I’m real sorry about that. I didn’t try to take out the chopper. Ain’t no way you guys are gonna pin that on me. That was an accident.”
“An accident you caused!”
“An accident you caused. You’re just as culpable as I am. You and your hotrod patrolmen trying to chase me down like that. Tell the truth, Rogan. Is that by the book? Is that how you protect and serve? How many people got killed or injured ‘cause you couldn’t let up?”
He was quiet. After a moment he growled, “Too many.”
“Yeah. I don’t want to do this anymore, either. There’s nothing I can do about what happened. It’s just spilled milk, and there ain’t no sense in crying about it.”
“It’s a lot more than that.”
“All right. Fine. But it still doesn’t change anything. I’m not asking you to stop chasing me. I’m not asking you to stop doing your job. I just want to call a momentary cease-fire so I can give you something. The evidence I’m sitting on is a powder-keg, and it needs to be given to the right person so it doesn’t just disappear. I am not a cop. I can’t chase these people down or bring them to justice. You can. But here’s the thing: it has to be done. These people have got to be caught, and they got to be caught now before they all disappear. Things have been set in motion that cannot be stopped. Now, there are little kids involved, and that’s not something I can let happen. Think about it, Rogan. What motivates me? What’s driving my war?”
“You still think you’re gonna get your kids back.”
“I’m all about protecting the kids.”
“Right. That’s why you blew up the school.”
“You’d be amazed at how many friends that won me. Did you know they set up a fan page?”
“I heard.”
“I’m not the kind of person people should idolize. And I’m not trying to win points or score some kind of deal. I just want to stop some people who are truly evil. That’s all. And if I can’t do it through you, I’ll have to do it on my own. Neither of us wants to go there. If you think what I’ve done so far is bad, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
He heaved a breath, and then said, “So what’d you have in mind?”
“Bring my kids to the zoo.”
“Out of the question.”
“Bring my kids to the zoo, or the deal’s off.”
“What deal? You’re asking me to come meet you somewhere, and begging me not to arrest America’s Most Wanted, and you think you’re in a position to bargain with me?”
“The deal,” I said, biting off the words, “is that you bring my kids to the zoo. I give you the computer I’m sitting on, and then I tell you the location of my latest bomb.” I hated to go this route, but he wasn’t leaving me much choice. I still had a charge attached to the gas tank of a car that had been parked at the federal building. In all the insanity of nearly getting caught, I’d never set it off. Frankly, I didn’t even know if the cell phone’s battery still held a charge or not, as long as it had been left on. I doubted it did, but what could I do? I needed the leverage.
Rogan said, “I don’t buy it.”
“You sure you want to run that risk? Let me put it this way. I built those five bombs in a day. I wasn’t even trying. Since then, I’ve used two more, and only because I had to. I don’t want to do this. I really don’t. But I swear to God, if you force my hand, then I promise you not one day will go by that I won’t blow something up in this town. I won’t discriminate. You’ll never know where it will strike, or what time of day, or how big it’ll be, or—”
“All right! All right. You made your point, damn you.”
I checked my watch. It read 2:33. No wonder my stomach rumbled. It was well past lunch time.
“Be at the zoo in one hour. Come alone. You bring the SWAT team or a show of force, I’ll know it. And then I’ll take care of those child molesters on my own, and I’ll burn this frickin’ city to the ground just to spite you. We clear?”
“Clear.”
“Have a nice day.” I hung up, feeling my pulse throb in my ears. God, I was hungry. I stashed the laptop in the bushes out of sight and made sure no one could see it from the path, then went to find some lunch.
***
As I finished eating, the unexpected happened. Someone put her hands over my eyes. Before she could finish saying, “Guess who?” I’d jabbed my elbow into her ribs and squeezed her hand into a painful wrist lock, twisting her arm and levering her down. She fell to one side, and I caught a flash of pink hair as her hands fell from my eyes.
“Damn, Old School. What the hell?”
“Mel!” I gasped, releasing her. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize it was you.”
She held her gut and shook out her arm as I helped her to her feet. “No,” she groaned. “Totally my fault. I should’ve known better
.”
“Guess I’m feeling a little edgy these days.”
“Yep. Lotta that going around.” She sank down onto the seat beside mine.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded.
“We had a plan, right? Getting your kids back and all that?”
“But I thought—”
She put her hand up. “Yeah, yeah. Look, I know I got a little freaked out back there. I just had to get some space. Get some place familiar, you know? Misty and I stayed up half the night talking it over. Thing is, most of what happened is my fault. Well, Gill and Robert’s fault—and my mom’s—but none of them are your peeps. You did what I asked, and if I hadn’t made you part of my problems, none of this would’ve happened.”
“You can’t blame yourself,” I protested. “Look what they were doing to you.”
“My point is, you were there when I needed you, and now you need me. Right?”
She was right, but I didn’t want her to know it. As glad as I was to see her, I didn’t want her there. I didn’t want her any place near me. It was too dangerous.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
She smiled painfully and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. It dawned on me then just how difficult it must’ve been, coming here. I felt chagrined and softly added, “But I’m glad you are.”
“I went back to school today. God, that was weird. At first it was like nobody even knew I was gone. Then word started getting around. Pretty soon I can’t even walk down the hall without everyone’s brother coming up offering me a shoulder to cry on.”
“What’d you do?”
“I left.” She looked toward the zoo path. “Couldn’t take it anymore. It’s not like any of them really meant it. It was more like they wanted to be sure that everyone else knew they cared or something. The whole thing just felt totally surreal.”
I took her hand. “You’ve been through a lot, kid. You’ve seen more of the dark underbelly of the world than most people want to know exists.”
“Yeah. Well, I don’t know if I can go back or not.”
I shook my head. “Yes you can. You’ve got less than a semester to go, and then you graduate. You’re too close to quit now.”
She raised a corner of her lip in a doubtful grin. Then her brow furrowed. “Speaking of close,” she said, looking over my shoulder, “ain’t those your kids?”
Chapter 40
I swore and checked my watch. It had been an hour since I’d called Rogan. If Mel was right and he’d done what I asked, then he must’ve walked through the door just now with my kids in tow. I carefully turned my head as they walked by. Rogan’s eyes were scanning the park ahead. I don’t think he saw me. Sara was tugging Matthew’s arm, pulling him toward the tiger paddock. Matt looked bored, but his hands fidgeted, the way he used to do before Mary and I changed his diet. I wondered how well he’d been faring. Another woman was with them, but I didn’t recognize her. I spun quickly, feeling my heart in my throat.
Mel grinned sheepishly, mouthing the word, “Oops.”
I swallowed, forcing myself to relax. “It’s okay,” I muttered. “He hasn’t seen me.”
“You’d better find a way to get scarce, ‘cause four more five oh’s just wandered through the gate. They’re dressed like civies, but I’d bet my shirt they’re cops.”
“How do you know?”
She shrugged. “Way they walk. Carry themselves. It’s like they’re on edge, but are trying to look casual, you know? And they’re not looking at the zoo. They’re looking at the people in the zoo. Yep. Definitely cops.”
I nodded.
“That lady’s probably CPS. How do you want to play this?”
“I want you to get somewhere safe and out of sight.” I rose from the table, assiduously keeping my back to the cops as I moved toward the trash can. Mel followed me, sticking close to my elbow.
“Yeah, but—”
“No arguments,” I insisted. “You and I both know it’s too dangerous. If this goes south, you can’t be anywhere near me. Aiding and abetting. They’ll snap you up as an accessory faster than you can spit.”
“They don’t know we’re connected. Not really.”
“They will once they learn I gave you the house.”
She took a step back, her voice dropping to a whisper. “You really did that? I thought that was just talk.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t just talk. I act. You ought to know that by now. At any rate, there’s no way in hell they won’t look at that as some kind of pay off.”
She closed her eyes, swearing beneath her breath. “They might do that anyway.”
“It’s possible.” I pursed my lips. “Better come up with a convincing cover story. The way I kidnapped you won’t hurt. Tell it like it is, just leave out the parts that show you cooperating. Right now, you’d best get yourself over to the gift shop. Keep your phone on. I’ll find a way to get my kids to you.”
She bent forward and kissed my cheek, whispering, “Good luck,” and then slipped into the gift shop. I watched her disappear behind the stuffed animals before pulling out my cell phone to make my call.
“Rogan here,” he answered.
“What happened to coming alone?”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re a lousy liar, Rogan. How’d you ever make detective?” I said. He blustered a reply, but I cut him off. “Give it a rest. You’ve got four plainclothes cops followed you in, and then that CPS vulture circling over my family. You realize what you’ve done?”
“Hey—”
“Maybe when this city’s been reduced to ashes you’ll figure out.”
“Damn it, Gerrold, even I’ve got a boss. And he’s got a boss over him!”
I snorted. “So they overruled you.”
“Yes. You didn’t think they would? Your threats didn’t exactly engender good will. Now, I know this doesn’t matter to you, but my name doesn’t open doors the way it used to. In fact, ever since I tangled with you my career’s been dangling by a thread.”
I shook my head, uncertain if he was trying to butter me up, make me feel some sympathy for his plight, or both. I decided to play along. “I’m real sorry to hear that,” I sneered. “Maybe pulling in the bad guys on this sex trafficking ring will salvage what’s left of your job.”
“It just might. Why else did you think I agreed to it? Look,” he added after a moment, “I gotta come out of this with something, or I might as well hang up my badge.”
“And how is that my problem?”
“I’m just…asking. Cut me some slack. Don’t blow anything up.”
“Well Rogan, that depends on you.”
“What do you want?”
“Get rid of the goons. Have the vulture take my kids someplace else. Send them to the gift shop. Let them buy a toy or something.”
“And what’s to keep you from snatching the kids while I’m stuck waiting up here for you?”
“Exactly. Make sure those cops think the same way.”
I heard the realization in his voice. “They’ll follow them to the gift shop, leaving me exposed up here.”
“And then you and I will have a chance to talk.”
“But how will I know—”
“You’re just gonna have to trust me now, aren’t you? I give you fifteen minutes to pull it off. Make sure Sara gets to see the tigers first, though. She loves those cats.”
“And then what?”
“And then I’ll tell you what comes next.”
I hung up and continued working my way up the path. I joined a large crowd of gawkers as they meandered through the exhibits, reading the signs detailing the lives and biology of the various creatures caged within. As we stopped by the rhino paddock, I spied one of the detectives coming fast down the trail. I suddenly found a need to tie my shoe, and from one knee I watched as he hurried by.
I straightened after he passed and called Mel.
“I just saw one of those cops heading your w
ay,” I told her.
“There’s two of them here now. I don’t see your kids yet.”
“Just keep your eyes peeled and your head down. Let me know when they get there.”
“Will do.”
I hung up and called Rogan. “Well?” I said, pacing quickly toward the lion paddock.
“Well what?”
“Well are you gonna finish shaking your tail, or are we gonna call this off?”
He swore at me. “What do you want from me? They’re not exactly following my lead anymore, y’know?”
I checked my map as I arrived at the bench near where I’d stashed the laptop. “Get rid of them, Rogan. Do what you gotta do. Meet me by the Alpacas in ten minutes, and if you’re not alone…” I made an explosion sound with my lips.
As I hung up the phone, I received a text from Mel.
Mel247: Kids here w CPS. C only 2 cops tho.
I texted back, “Ok. W8 4 my go,” and waited for Rogan to come around the bend. As I sat there looking at the lions, I readied one final text for Mel, but didn’t send it. Just then, one of the undercover cops hurried by. He was speaking into a mic by his lapel.
As he passed in front of me I heard him say, “I’m coming on the other side now. Don’t enter the area until Rogan gets there first and makes contact. This guy is seriously spooked.”
I watched him disappear down the trail. A minute later, Rogan came strolling by the same way. His hands were in his pockets, and his attention was on the path. He didn’t see me until he’d almost walked by.
“That’s far enough,” I said.
He stopped and stared at me a moment, his jaw hanging open just a bit. The corners of his mouth hinted at a grin. “Son of a bitch,” he said.
I nodded for him to join me on the bench. “Take a load off.” He moved toward me, his hands coming out of his pockets. “Easy,” I growled. I hit SEND on the text to Mel.
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