by Maria Pease
I leaned in. “Did Wally push you to come?”
“No. He was pretty chill about it.”
“So, what changed?”
“I had a huge blowout with my mom. It was really bad. We were screaming at each other and everything. It was like she just didn’t get what was going on with me. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I asked Wally if the invite was still good. He said yeah, that I could come whenever I wanted. I just thought it would be cool to hang out with someone who understood what I was going through. I didn’t have a clue anything could be wrong. I mean, who would think that?”
“Michael, can you tell us about the tattoo?” I asked.
He shifted in his seat and put his hand over his neck and glanced at Melody. “It’s so everyone knows who we belong to,” he said, barely audible.
“Who you belong to?” Alana asked, trying to understand.
“They tattoo us so no one else can claim us,” Melody said.
“May I take a closer look?” I asked.
“Uh, yeah. I guess.” Melody brushed her hair off her neck.
It was a barcode with numbers and letters, with a capitalized KS in the middle. “KS… what does that mean?” Frank asked.
“KS is the big boss. None of us know who he is. We’ve never met him,” Michael said.
“Wait. None of you know who KS is? You’ve never seen him?” Frank asked, surprised.
“Uh, huh,” Michael said. Then changing the subject, “Can we get something to eat? It’s been a long time.”
“Yes, of course,” Frank said, glancing at his watch. “Is it too early for pizza or would you like something else?”
“Pizza would be great. Can we get pepperoni on it?” He smiled.
“And meatballs?” Melody added.
“You bet,” Frank said. “Let’s take a break.”
I was about to turn off the recorder but decided against it. Instead, I placed it on my chair after I stood up. “Bathrooms are around the corner and there is a mini-fridge with waters in it across the hall. To keep you safe, we need you to stay in the office and away from the windows, but feel free to walk around. Okay?” I said.
“Yeah, sure,” Michael said.
I found Frank calling Bongiorno's New York Pizzeria. He ordered two pepperoni and meatball pizza’s and added breadsticks, hot wings and a couple of Cokes. When he disconnected, he looked at me and took in a deep breath.
“The shit’s about to hit the fan, Sam. Are you ready?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
Alana joined us, and I heard the bathroom door close down the hall. I saw Michael head to the fridge.
A few minutes later, Melody joined us. She was focused on the photos Frank had on the wall of him when he was on the force. He’d had an impressive career and had awards up the wazoo to prove it.
“Wow! Is this you, Detective Meeker?” she asked.
He smiled. “I was a lot younger then.”
She looked at each photo, some of them a bit faded from the sun, and I watched as she glanced at Frank. Then, she slowly walked about, looking around.
Michael came in and handed Melody a bottle of water. After an awkward moment, they retreated to the conference room.
“So, what’s next?” Alana asked.
“After we get all the information they have, they’ll go to a safe house. I’ve already called the captain and he’s got an officer who’s standing by to pick them up. From there, we’ll follow the trail. We can’t fuck this up, ladies,” Frank said.
Alana volunteered to pick up the pizza, so Frank gave her the company credit card and she headed out.
I was feeling restless and was pacing to clear my head when I noticed Michael and Melody, talking softly. I stood outside the door and listened. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but I wanted them to talk because I knew they’d likely say things to each other that they wouldn’t share with us directly. That information could prove to be very valuable.
When Frank stood up from his computer, I put my finger to my lips and tilted my head toward the conference room. He quietly sat back down.
For almost fifteen minutes, Melody and Michael talked in low voices while I strained to listen from outside the door.
When Alana returned, we brought in the food along with paper plates, napkins and cups, and everyone dug in. As expected, it was quiet as we ate.
My attention was on Michael and Melody, and I couldn’t help but notice the glances between them. I wasn’t sure why, but something felt off. When we all finished, I grabbed the trash can and cleaned up while Frank got right down to business.
“When we left off, you were telling us about the tattoo. Can you tell me more about it?”
“There isn’t really anything else to tell. It’s how they keep track of us, and they identify that we belong to them,” Michael said, matter-of-factly.
“Tell me how this whole thing works,” Frank said.
“What do you mean?”
“I want to know how it all started. Who contacted you first? Was it Wally through the gaming site or did someone else get to you first?”
“For me, Wally was the one who contacted me. I don’t know about anyone else, though.”
“What about you, Melody?” I asked.
“Two boys followed us around the mall one day. They said they were in high school, but they looked older.”
“So, these boys followed you and Eva around? Then what happened?” I asked.
“They said we were pretty, and they wanted to take us to the movies. Stuff like that.” She hesitated.
“What did you think of all that attention?” I asked.
“We… it made us feel… grown up,” she said, obviously embarrassed.
I nodded, remembering the first time a boy had noticed me. “Then what happened?”
“We went to the food court to get a slice of pizza and they came with us. They hung out with us for a while and they seemed really nice. Eva and I went outside to wait for our other friend, and they followed us. We were just talking when a white van pulled up. Before I knew what happened, someone put something over my mouth. When I woke up, I was blindfolded and there were ties on my arms and legs. We didn’t know what had happened. We were really scared, but when we cried, they hit us and told us to shut up.” Tears filled her eyes again.
I sucked in a deep breath and swallowed hard, holding back my own tears. I glanced at Alana and saw she was also tearing up.
Frank paced the room. He had his back to us, and although he seemed like a tough guy, I knew he was just a big teddy bear and was most likely trying to pull himself together.
“Did the two boys take you?” I continued.
“I… I don’t know. It all happened so fast.”
“Were they the ones who hit you and told you to shut up?” I asked.
“No. They were different men. I’d never seen them before.”
“Melody, have you seen the boys at all since you’ve been with Wally?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think you’d recognize them if I showed you some pictures?”
“I’m not sure. I guess.”
“Hey, can we take a break?” Michael stood. “Nature calls.”
“Oh, yeah. Sure.” I hit the stop button on the recorder.
Michael disappeared, so I headed to my desk to look over some of my notes. As I did, the phone rang. I was about to grab it when Frank scooped it up. I turned my attention back to my notes. I knew we needed more details, but I was also keenly aware that I was questioning two kids and that required sensitivity. They could decide to stop talking at any time and I couldn’t have that. At this point, they were the best chance we had of getting to the bottom of this.
Michael returned to the conference room and Melody passed him on her way to the restroom.
Frank was still on the phone, so I joined Alana and Michael, who were talking about attending college and whether it was worth the
money. I leaned against the wall, lost in my own thoughts, as I held the recorder. Suddenly, I realized that I could have valuable information in my hand. I stepped out of the room and motioned to Frank that I’d be a minute and headed to my car.
I rewound the recorder to just before we had left Michael and Melody alone in the conference room and pressed the play button. First, there was an awkward silence, but then I heard Michael’s voice just above a whisper.
“Be careful what you say.”
“Okay,” Melody said.
“Once Wally realizes we’re gone, his guys will be looking for us. We should be safe with the cops, but we need to be ready, just in case. Do you remember what I told you?”
“Uh, huh.”
“We need to be brave,” Michael whispered.
“I know. It’s just… I’m afraid for my family.”
“Me too.”
“Michael, can I ask you something? Do you think Eva got away?”
“I –I don’t know, Mel. Maybe. I hope so.”
“What about the others? I mean, we left them. We shouldn’t have left them,” she said.
“Shhh. They’re coming back.”
I listened for a few more beats, then hit stop. We didn’t get everyone to safety. I dialed Jake and he picked up on the first ring. I explained my concerns, and he said he’d handle it right away and disconnected.
Frank, Alana, Michael and Melody were all chatting when I walked in. “Frank, can I have a minute?”
We stepped out into the office and I filled him in on the recorded conversation between Melody and Michael, as well as my concerns for the families. “I called Jake, he’s handling it.”
“When we’re done here, I’d like to hear that conversation.”
We continued to ask questions, attempting to learn everything we could about the operation and the players involved. Michael and Melody had had very different experiences. Michael had been lured and had gone along with Wally.
At first, Wally had offered him drugs and alcohol and had taken him to parties with lots of older women. Then, he’d arranged dates for Michael and had watched as they had sex. Wally had told him he wanted to be sure he was getting the best treatment from the women, but he soon realized that he had been paid.
By the time he’d realized he was being advertised as an escort, he was enjoying this new and seemingly improved life. He felt confident and powerful. It was an ego trip like he’d never experienced before.
According to Michael, Wally had been training him for a leadership position. He referred to him as his “brother” and had been giving him more responsibilities, like training new members. His training focused on teaching young girls to perform different sexual acts, from the normal to the kinky with Wally always watching. Michael had been instructed to do whatever was necessary, whether that was giving them drugs or beating them into compliance. He was trained to act as their driver, taking them on their “dates” and acting as security when the need arose.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know much about the hierarchy of the organization. Wally had been his main contact, and although he’d driven for Kennedy Sinclair and Mr. Montgomery on occasion, they were very private and didn’t talk. He didn’t know what Archie’s role was, although he always seemed to be around.
When he finished, I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d told us everything he knew.
Chapter 40
Melody’s story was very different. After she and Eva had been kidnapped, they’d spent weeks in what she described as a dark container, chained to a metal bar. They’d been drugged and beaten regularly and fed little. She’d seen other girls that would come and go, but she didn’t know how many. By the time they were moved to the cell in the barn, they could barely walk. From that point, they cleaned them up, fed them, and started their training.
Wally had brought in some older men who smelled of cologne and sweat. If the girls didn’t do what they wanted, they raped and beat them. If they cried or fussed, it was even worse. She’d learned that the hard way. Wally had made her and the others watch as a girl who wouldn’t stop crying was beaten so badly, she’d ended up with a broken arm and several broken ribs. Then, she’d been dragged out and had never returned.
“Where did they take them?” I asked.
She shrugged and wiped her eyes. “I don’t know. One girl got really mad, yelling and trying to beat up on Archie. They took her in the middle of the night and she never came back.”
I thought of Eva.
“I knew I’d better grow up and keep quiet if I was going to survive,” she continued.
How could someone do that to a kid? What had happened to her, Michael and who knows how many others was frightening, and the fact that it was happening right here in Temecula was almost beyond belief.
“Melody, will you look at some photos for me?”
“Sure. I guess.”
“I’ll go call Monique.” Frank left the room.
By the time the officers arrived, we’d all had enough. We watched Michael and Melody get in the car and Alana and I jumped in the Jeep to follow them to the Justice Center. As we drove, I couldn’t help but glance toward the Rodeway Inn. I wondered how Wally had reacted when he’d discovered the teens had disappeared. I knew it hadn’t been pretty.
Monique met us and took us to the interview room where she brought in a laptop. She brought up the mug shots that stared at us from the screen. Both Michael and Melody looked intently at each one as Monique scrolled through photos. They rejected them over and over again. It was a tedious process that felt like it would never end. Suddenly, Melody shouted, “That’s him! That’s one of the guys from the mall!”
Those few words completely re-energized us. We watched the slideshow with renewed vigor. When the last photo was shown, Melody and Michael had identified three suspects who were part of the trafficking ring. One was a boy from the mall, who was identified as twenty-three-year-old Cesar Mills. His profile said he was of medium height and build with jet black hair, several tattoos, and a penchant for violence. He was a known gang member who’d been arrested several times and had spent some time behind bars.
Just as expected, Melody had picked out the photo of Wally Mason, who’d used several aliases and had done some time over the years. What stood out was that despite all of his infractions, none had included any type of violence. So it seemed he was venturing into new territory.
The last photo was of a woman who Michael had identified as one of the dates Wally had arranged for him. Apparently, Michael had witnessed Wally paying her just moments before she’d come on to him in the casino. He’d been suspicious but hadn’t known what to think other than she was beautiful and way out of his league. She was tall and thin with medium brown hair and light brown skin. Wally had introduced her as Polly, but her mug shot, which looked like a modeling photo, identified her as Grace Yasmin. She had no priors and Michael said he was only with her a few times.
I printed copies of the mugshots and notes and asked Monique to keep me posted if she came across any additional information. Michael, Melody and the officers headed out to the safe house, and Alana and I packed up to get back to the office. As we made our way to the Jeep, I spotted Jake making a beeline to his car. I felt a twinge of guilt for not stopping by his office, so I tossed Alana the keys.
“I’ll be right back.”
I walked quickly through the lot, calling to Jake. Apparently, he didn’t hear me, so I broke into a jog, hoping to catch him before he disappeared. He’d just started the car as I approached and knocked on his passenger side window.
“Hey. What are you doing here?” He asked.
“We were looking through mugshots. We’re just heading back to the office. Where are you going?”
“Home. It’s after seven.”
“Yeah. It’s been a long day.” Something seemed off.
“I’m beat. I’ll call you later,” he said.
“Yeah. Okay.” I stepped away from the car.
He
pulled away without hesitation and I was left standing alone, watching his taillights disappear. I shook it off and made my way back to the Jeep.
“Is everything okay?” Alana asked.
“I don’t know. I got a weird vibe from him.”
I’d just pulled into the office lot when Alana blurted out, “oh, my gosh. I forgot my keys in the office.”
“No problem.”
We headed up and found that Frank had gone home. I turned on the lights and dismantled the alarm so Alana could grab her keys.
“See you tomorrow!” she called, heading out.
I was about to turn the alarm back on when I suddenly had a second wind. I ran down to the Jeep, grabbed my bag and headed back up. I turned on my computer and sat down to get to work. Looking over my notes, I wondered if there was any connection between Wally Mason and Cesar Mills, the guy Melody had identified from the mall. I did a background check on Cesar and found the name of the prison he’d been in and the dates he’d been there. Curious, I took out the file on Wally and found their prison dates overlapped. Could they have met there? I mean, what were the odds? I made a note to find out.
Then, I moved on to Grace Yasmin, who Michael knew as Polly. Her background check was fairly uneventful. She was single, no kids and a lot of debt. Most of her purchases were clothing, photo shoots and acting classes, so I suspected that Wally may have used her desire to be an actress to bait her. Who knows what he may have said, but whatever it had been, she’d bought it. I made a note of her address and cell number and continued to search for information. She had a Facebook page, Pinterest account filled with photos of her, and a YouTube channel of audition videos. Her contact information was everywhere, so she wasn’t hiding. I knew it was important to speak to her, but it was too late now. It would have to wait until morning.
As I made my way through town heading home, I couldn’t shake the feeling something just wasn’t right. I’d gotten both Michael and Melody out of a situation that could’ve been deadly, and I should’ve felt pretty good about it, but I didn’t. Somehow, I knew it wasn’t over. By the time I pulled into my driveway, I was exhausted and desperately needed sleep.