by Cara Putman
“I’d settle for a Coke if it was cold.” He stretched, then turned to his father. Dad was back on his phone scanning something on the oversized screen. “Ready to tell me why we’re here?”
The congressman looked up with a jolt and then slid his reading glasses down his nose. “Reports of unacceptable activities. The best way to find out the truth is a spot visit.”
“One the administration has known about for a few days.” Lilith spoke the words under her breath, but the congressman heard.
“True, but if there are serious problems, they couldn’t cover them up.”
“What kinds of problems?” It always helped to know what he was looking for. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he looked down to find a message from Mr. or Ms. Anonymous. As he read it, he felt sucker-punched.
Monday, I reveal your identity.
“Son, everything all right?”
Andrew scanned the message again. How had this person obtained his cell phone number? He swallowed, then answered his dad. “Nothing to worry about.” He took a steadying breath. “What kind of problems?” he asked again.
His father studied him. “At least one detainee has died. Questionable circumstances.”
“All right.” Something about what his dad had said niggled at his mind. Had he read about this death or one similar to it? What had happened to Jorge’s brother?
The copilot opened the door, and a gush of warm air blew inside. “Welcome to Texas, folks.”
Washburn stood and strutted toward the door. “There’s the SUV we rented for today.”
Andrew waited until the congressman and Lilith exited before stopping at the cockpit. “Thanks for a good flight.”
The pilot turned and smiled. “My pleasure.”
It took a while to get from the small airport to the detention center. Nothing much broke up the dry, brown landscape. A few head of cattle ignored them from the pasture, but eventually the institutional government building rose from the brown vista.
Dan pulled the vehicle into a slot. “We’re a few minutes early.”
“That never happens.” The congressman didn’t bother to look out.
Lilith slipped closer to Andrew. “Guess we get to wait here.”
“Sure.” Andrew slid as far away as he could from her.
A pout slipped on her face. “Come on, Andrew. Loosen up.”
“Not today.” Hayden slipped across his mind. She was so genuine compared to Lilith and others he routinely met.
A door slammed a few cars down, and he glanced that direction. As if he’d brought her here with his thoughts, Hayden adjusted an attaché case on her shoulder, looked across the SUV, and then smiled tightly as a stocky man in jeans and a hooded sweatshirt strode toward her.
CHAPTER 36
Come on. I can’t promise this will work, but let’s try.” He led her toward the main doors. “I’ll introduce you to Joanna Osborne. She’ll lead the tour and decide whether to add you.”
Hayden nodded. “Thank you.”
“You might want to put that case back in your car.”
“I kept it yesterday.”
He frowned at her words. “That was a breach of security. Someone could easily smuggle a weapon inside with a bag that size. No offense.”
“I had a similar thought, but thought I got a pass because of the deposition.”
He shook his head. “Things are worse than I thought.”
She should request the visitor list from the day Miguel died. If she could bring in a bag like hers, another person could have easily smuggled in a knife. She jotted a note on her phone to ask during discovery.
A vehicle door closed behind them, and the guard hurried her into the lobby. “Let’s get you settled.” He looked uneasily over his shoulder and picked up his pace. He waved at the guard behind the reception center. “I’m taking her to Joanna.”
“Matt, she has to sign in.” The guard pointed at a clipboard as Hayden made a mental note of her companion’s first name. She quickly scrawled her name on the pad, noting that one person had arrived after she left the center last night. The guard checked the information, then nodded. “Go on.”
Matt scuttled her through the x-ray machine, ignoring its beeping insistence that she carried contraband, then shuttled her down a side corridor that led to the suite of empty offices. An industrial wall clock showed eight fifteen. She heard voices and clanking metal like silverware hitting plates, indicating that somewhere the children were eating breakfast. Her stomach growled in response. The promised waffles hadn’t materialized, and the coffee hadn’t exactly filled her up.
Matt opened a door and stepped inside. “Wait here while I talk to Joanna.” He closed the door, leaving her in an office.
Hayden slowly turned, taking in the bare gray walls and the few accolades that hung on the wall. Whoever’s office it was, it didn’t belong to Matt; at least none of the awards did. Instead, they listed Joanna Osborne and Carlton Snowden. She leaned closer to reread the names.
There was a photo of the director with Congressman Wesley and a short letter praising him for his work with the juvenile illegal immigrants.
She took another slow turn to note whether anything else felt out of place. A stack of newspapers sat on the only chair in front of the desk. If this was Joanna’s office, she didn’t often have company. The desk was bare, a work space ready for immediate use. The credenza behind it and the chair in front sagged with piles. A newspaper’s headlines blared that a young man had been killed in the detention facility. She stepped forward to read the date. January 27, the week Miguel died. She pulled out her phone and snapped a photo of the article.
Why hadn’t it appeared in her online searches? Had it somehow been scrubbed? She heard heels clicking down the hallway, and quickly refolded the newspaper and set it back on top of the stack.
Hayden picked up her bag and returned to the middle of the room and pasted on a smile as the doorknob twisted. A petite woman wearing three-inch stilettos walked in and startled. Her hand pressed against her chest as she stared at Hayden with wide green eyes. “Who are you, and why are you in my office?”
Hayden tried to relax into a non-threatening position. “Matt left me here. I’m Hayden McCarthy and hope to join today’s tour.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed, and she placed her hands on her hips as if she were Wonder Woman getting ready to battle the enemy. “You were here yesterday.”
“I had a deposition with the director and short tour before that.”
“You got his panties in a wad. It’s not a great idea for you to be here. Why’d you come back?”
“I have more questions, and Matt thought this was the best way to get them answered.”
“He did, did he?” The woman crossed her arms and didn’t lessen her stare or frown. “He didn’t mention anything to me.”
The door opened and Matt stepped into the room. “There you are, Joanna. What’s the pulse?”
“Nuts. She’s got the director in a tizzy.” The woman tipped her head toward Hayden. Joanna wore her hair in a loose French twist, a colorful scarf around her neck in the pastel shades of spring. “I’m meeting the congressman in five minutes, so you have three to tell me what you are doing, James.”
James? His last name?
“Calm down. Hayden’s looking into Miguel Rodriguez’s death.”
“You mean murder.” Joanna’s expression hardened more.
“Yes. You are one of the few people here who agrees this whole situation was bungled.”
“Botched.”
Hayden bit back a grin. This woman could be exactly the internal advocate she needed to ensure Miguel’s family learned the truth. Then Joanna turned and leveled her petite intensity at Hayden, an intensity her oh-so-sweet Texas drawl couldn’t hide.
“So should I believe you mean to fix this mess?”
The question was valid. As far as this fireball was concerned, Hayden was snooping in a place she didn’t belong. “Everyone’s death sho
uld be fully investigated.”
“Not good enough.”
“It should be.” Hayden took a deep breath. “Miguel didn’t deserve to die. And he certainly should have expected safety while the United States detained him. My job is to help his mother discover what happened, peel back the layers of the government’s bureaucracy, and ensure this doesn’t happen to another child.”
She tried to step back from the passion that filled her voice. She could feel the transformation to advocate, and though there wasn’t a judge and jury, it felt like it. Joanna could end this investigation right now, and there was nothing Hayden could do about it unless she somehow persuaded the woman of her sincerity.
“The government essentially promised these children would be safe while we detain them. We failed, and I don’t want that to happen to another child. The only way to make the government change is to force it to acknowledge this failure.”
Joanna didn’t seem swayed by Hayden’s passion. Instead, she glanced at Matt. “What do you think?”
“Roy believes she’s the real deal. You claim she got to Snowden.”
Joanna considered that. “Okay. But I can’t put her on the tour. Before yesterday, I could have pretended she was just another shirt from DC. Now? Not a chance. We need another plan.”
“I need to know who worked the night of Miguel’s murder, and if there were visitors.”
“The tour won’t get you that information.” Matt shifted toward the door as if listening for someone.
Joanna held up her hand. “Can you get copies of the logs?”
He paused. “If they still exist.”
“Check on that while I lead the tour.” She returned her laser-like focus to Hayden. “What did you hope to accomplish on the tour? The names aren’t related to that.”
“I want to meet any detainees who knew Miguel and ask what they know. Also, it would be helpful to get a sense of where the guards are and how they interact with the kids.”
Joanna nodded. “I can help with that, but not through a VIP tour. Everyone will be on their best behavior.” She turned back to Matt. “See if you can sneak her to the yard when the older kids get yard time. She can stay here until then.” She turned her focus back to Hayden. “I’m trusting you to not poke any deeper than that pile of newspapers.”
“Thank you. Anything is helpful.” Her mind sparked with an idea. “I think I know someone who can help on the tour, but that means I’ll need to follow you out before going to the yard.”
Joanna frowned as she considered Hayden. “If you’re sure, but I need you to be discrete and quick.”
“I can do that.” Hayden forced more confidence than she felt into her words.
Matt moved to the door. “I’ll find you at your car.”
Andrew resisted the temptation to slouch against the wall as the foursome waited in front of the reception area. Dan Washburn was going all DC on a woman behind a Plexiglas enclosure that made her seem either invincible or scared. His approach was having zero effect. She couldn’t have been more disinterested if he’d been the pope or the president.
“You have to wait for someone to escort you,” the woman snapped. She picked up her phone.
Andrew could almost see the steam rising from her ears. She gestured with broad strokes and set the phone down with a huff. She mouthed some words before turning to Dan with a pasted-on smile. “Someone will be with you shortly.” She turned to the monitors, checked something, and then picked up a paperback. She deliberately swiveled away from them and started reading.
Interesting.
If she reflected employees’ attitude, this place was a security sieve. It wouldn’t take much to walk right past her and into the next room, unless she had eyes in the back of her head.
Lilith grimaced and turned to Dan with a snort. “What backwater town did she crawl from?”
“Probably this one.” Dan checked his expensive watch and then shook his arm until his sleeve slid back into place beneath his suit coat. “Time to be all ears and take in everything we can.”
The way Dan said it, Andrew wondered what he expected. Kids to jump out of the aisles and attack them with plastic spoons? A guard using a cattle prod to keep the tour in order?
“I’m curious about how they occupy the kids,” he said. “Days can get long and kids restless if there isn’t sufficient planning.”
Lilith rolled her eyes. “This isn’t a daycare, Andrew. These kids are lucky to get a meal and protection.”
“Then what’s really going on? You don’t need me if it’s simply a care facility.”
She frowned then turned and walked away.
“Was that necessary, son?” Dad looked up from his device long enough to scold Andrew. Message delivered, he went back to whatever important e-mail or report required his attention.
Andrew sighed and watched the second hand on the industrial clock hanging on the wall above the receptionist’s head. With his parents, reality tended to differ from the image presented to others. Was an in-the-trenches, gut-level love relationship still possible? He wanted to find out.
The only woman who had enticed him to think along these lines was Hayden McCarthy. If his thoughts kept returning to her like a puppy to his owner, he’d need to do something. Something more than invite her to the Cherry Blossom Festival and snag a couple short phone calls.
There was much he didn’t know. Her favorite movie. The song that made her weep. The joy that filled her heart until it nearly exploded. Her relationship with God. And what she was doing here.
The door opened, and the woman who’d just filled his thoughts filed in behind another woman. Andrew’s hands turned clammy. And he wondered what he should do about it.
CHAPTER 37
The congressman was easy to identify. Salt-and-pepper hair, controlled, laser-focused attention. A famed prosecutor before he ran for congress, Congressman Wesley hadn’t lost the edge he’d acquired as a courtroom opponent.
Then Hayden’s attention shifted to the team around him. She’d seen photos of the chief of staff in articles and exchanged messages with the legislative director. Seemed like overkill to bring both.
“Congressman Wesley, I’m Hayden McCarthy.”
The congressman put out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Andrew stepped forward with an easy smile. “Hayden is Emilie’s roommate and works with a firm in Old Town.”
“Then you’re a constituent. What brings you here? You’re a bit far from home.”
“I’m here at a mother’s request.” Hayden closed her mouth before she could say too much. Then she turned toward Andrew. “You’re a long way from New Beginnings.”
He shrugged. “Dad asked me to lend my perspective.” He glanced around the sparse, sterile lobby. “This isn’t as far from my kids as you might expect. Any of them could have landed here.”
Hayden’s phone vibrated with a ring. “Excuse me a moment.” She glanced down at the screen, expecting to see a work number, but instead saw Emilie’s. She frowned but hit the screen to decline the call, as Joanna began her introduction on what they could not take into the center. Then she turned back to Andrew and whispered, “Do you have a minute?”
“I want to listen to this first.” He gestured to Joanna.
“All right.”
Joanna gestured to the metal detector. “You will each pass through the detector. No weapons, knives, string. Really anything that could be used to harm yourself or someone else.”
Andrew frowned. “Has anyone done something like that?”
“No, but we want to make sure no one does. Easier not to let anything potentially dangerous inside than chase it once it’s here.” And with that she deftly side-stepped the reality of Miguel’s death. She turned with a warm smile to the congressman. “Sir, I think you’ll be pleased with what you observe. We pride ourselves on stellar care for these children. If you’ll follow me.”
Hayden felt time evaporating and slid next to Andrew. “Do
you have a second?”
“Sure.”
Hayden’s phone vibrated, alerting her to a voice mail. She shoved it deeper in her pocket. Knowing Emilie, it could wait. In fact, knowing who the tour was with, Emilie would expect her to call later.
Lilith looked up from her red manicure. “How many children are here?”
“Frankly, too many. We need more staff and greater resources to handle the several hundred housed here. While their plight has fallen from the headlines, we receive children faster than they are released to family or sent home.” Joanna gestured toward the glass door leading to security. “If you’ll go through that door, you can deposit your bags and we’ll get started.”
Lilith grumbled as she set her Kate Spade bag in a dingy tray similar to those used by homeland security in airports.
Andrew hung back with Hayden. “What do you need?”
“Would you be my eyes on the tour? I can’t participate, but I need to know what you think of the security and dormitories. Joanna will let you know when you are near a room where a few pictures would be helpful. By the time you’re done with the tour, I should be waiting in my car.”
“Coming, son?”
“Just a second.” Andrew turned back to Hayden. “You’ll tell me what’s going on?”
She kept her face forward but shot him a sideways glance. “It’s confidential.”
“Ah. A case.”
She gave a quick downward nod. “I can’t talk about it.”
“You forget, I dropped out of law school.”
“Oh, I didn’t forget.”
Andrew caught the twinkle in Hayden’s eye and knew he’d been had.
She turned to him, and a cloud settled over her face as if she’d remembered something. “Enjoy the tour.”
Andrew half listened to the guide’s spiel after walking them through security, while he wondered what Hayden was involved in. Why a tour of a facility without a visible problem? Of course, that didn’t mean there wasn’t a doozy beneath the perfect facade.