by Maria Pease
I settled in at an empty table and took out my notes detailing the plan. Of course, I wouldn’t know if we’d be able to pull it off until I ran it by Alex.
It was just before 4:00 PM when I received a text message from Alex, asking where I was. Alana’s group was dismantling, so I told him we’d meet in that room. I was waiting for the last classmate to exit when I saw a guy approaching and knew it had to be Alex.
He was tall, slim, and wore blue jeans and a red T-shirt. He was nice looking with sandy brown hair parted on the side and glasses that complimented his face. I wasn’t sure why, but I immediately had a good feeling about him.
We moved inside the room and made introductions. I outlined my ideas and Alex sat back, taking notes on his laptop.
“So, what do you think?” I asked.
“It sounds like a lot of fun, but the type of criminal you’re describing doesn’t usually stay on the surface to do their business. In order to find them, we’re going to have to infiltrate their playground.”
“Okay. So, how do we do that?”
“To get this kind of information, the dark web is our best bet.”
“The dark web?” Alana asked, eyes wide.
“Yes. Are you familiar with how websites are indexed?”
“Not really,” she admitted.
“I’m somewhat familiar with it,” I said.
“Well, the dark web – or deep web as it’s sometimes called – isn’t indexed by Google and the other search engines. Think of it like layers on a cake. The top layer is frosting. That’s what comes up when you go to Google to do a search. However, there are many more layers that go deeper, but most people don’t know they exist or how to access them. This is where criminals are found. The dark web has a multitude of information untouched by the average internet user but is very valuable to criminals. It can also provide crucial information to investigators, but only web-savvy cops know how to access it.”
As I listened, I was blown away by his knowledge and understanding of the secrets that lived on the internet. “How do you know about all this?”
“I’m a hacker. I actually get paid by top government and law enforcement agencies to hack the system and find criminals.”
“That’s exactly what we need. So… are you interested?”
He smiled. “Hell, yes!”
I’d made copies of all my notes and our goals for the case. I handed the folder to Alex. We agreed to meet again tomorrow at my house, so I could show him all my index cards and answer any questions he had about the case after reviewing the notes.
“Thanks so much, Alex,” I said.
“I’m looking forward to working with you on this.”
Once he left, I dialed Ted. “He’s perfect.”
Chapter 49
At the office, Frank didn’t waste any time briefing Alana. He detailed the procedure and told her that she was to stay out of the way. “They could be armed.”
I could tell she was nervous about the whole thing, but she also seemed excited. She’d wanted to see some action, and now it was time. This was the part of the job that made all the boring surveillance worthwhile. It was also the part that made a PI love it or leave it.
Alana, Frank and I piled in Frank’s truck with Monique and her partner Eric following in a squad car. It felt a little tense on the drive, and I figured we were all a bit nervous. I knew Frank was worried about Alana, and rightfully so. If anything happened to her, his ass was on the line. Of course, I’d do my part to help keep her safe, too.
We pulled up slowly and Monique gave Frank the warrant. The plan was for him to go in first as a potential buyer. Frank opened the door and moved inside as we waited for the signal. Monique and Eric had guns out, and Alana and I stayed behind them.
The blast caught us off guard and Monique busted in with Eric on her heels. I kept Alana back as Frank had asked, but I needed to see what was happening inside. More shots were fired, and I heard a lot of yelling. My gut told me to head around the back and Alana followed.
We watched as Pamela, the blonde woman, made her way across the gravel driveway, heading for an old Ford pickup. I ran at full speed and dove at her, just as she was opening the driver’s side door. She dropped to the ground and the keys flew out of her hand. Snatching them up, I tossed them to Alana.
The woman kicked me and tried to scramble to her feet.
I grabbed her ankle and held on as she attempted to get away. Another gunshot was fired from the barn.
She kicked again, catching me off guard. Her foot caught my jaw and she broke free.
I pulled out my stun gun and chased after her.
She ran toward Alana, knocking her down.
When she grabbed for the keys, I moved behind her and tazed her ass. She jolted but didn’t go down.
Alana threw the keys into the weeds and got to her feet, quickly karate-kicking the woman in the stomach. I lunged and pressed the stun gun to her neck, but it didn’t fire. Instead, the woman kicked at my knee, knocking me off my feet. Blood dripped down my face and I wiped it away. I saw her run to where Alana had tossed the keys, and I ran over. As she leaned over to pick them up, I threw myself at her, giving the stun gun another try.
This time, she went down fast and hard. In fact, I was pretty sure she bounced. I slapped the cuffs around her wrists and picked up the keys, handing them to Alana.
“I’ll be right back. Keep an eye on her,” I said, handing her the stun gun.
I moved to the barn and peeked inside to find Eric cuffing two men and reading them their rights.
Monique was kneeling next to Frank, who was on the ground. I took in a deep breath as his eyes focused on me.
“It was just my shoulder,” he said.
Monique examined his shoulder then smiled. “He’s going to be fine.”
I glanced at Alana, who was staring intently at Pamela as she lay on the ground.
“Alana!” I called, waving her over.
“What happened to Frank?”
“I got shot in the shoulder. I’m going to be just fine,” he assured her.
When our backup arrived, they shuffled Pamela and her fellow dog-nappers into the back of the squad cars and took them away. Since Frank was unable to drive, he asked me to do the honors and although I could barely touch the pedals, I managed to get us safely to the hospital.
Alana rode in the squad car with Eric and was thrilled, to say the least.
The doctor rushed Frank into surgery while Monique and I anxiously waited in the waiting room. “What the hell happened in there?” I asked.
“They were tipped off, they knew we were coming. Frank was shot before he said a word.”
“Who tipped them off?”
“We don’t know yet. They moved a bunch of the dogs, so we’re going to have to pressure at least one of them to talk.”
“Shit,” I said.
Eric and Alana appeared down the hall, and all I could see was Alana’s smile. Eric moved to Monique and she updated him on Frank’s condition, while Alana grabbed my arm and pulled me aside.
“Best day ever!”
“I don’t know if Frank would agree with you.”
“I didn’t mean –”
“It’s okay. Frank’s fine. Believe me, he’s a tough guy.” I smiled. “Best day ever?”
“It was so exciting! When can we do it again?”
“Actually, I don’t know. But now do you understand why everything we do is important in developing a case?”
“Yeah, I get it now.”
“Even the things that aren’t exciting are important. Since each case is different, we have to be open as to how we go about solving it.”
“So, are we done with our dog-napping case?”
“No. They moved a lot of the dogs, so we’re going to head over and see if they give up any information. If not, we’ll see if any of the information we uncover is useful. We aren’t done until we get those dogs home.”
Monique wanted to wait for Frank,
so Alana and I headed to the jail. After signing in, we met with the officer who had processed the dog-nappers. As we sat across from Officer Taylor, he shared that although the men were pretty quiet, the woman, Pamela, was defiant to the end. She went on and on about the crazy woman who electrocuted her.
Alana smirked and shot me a look.
“Did they tell you where they brought the dogs?” I asked.
“They didn’t say anything in the car, but one of the men asked for a deal if he talked.”
“Really? We can use that as leverage.”
“Did you want to give it a go?” He asked.
“Yes, I really would.”
Alana and Officer Taylor watched from behind the glass while I talked with the dog-nappers. We’d agreed I’d start with Pamela, as she seemed to be the brains of the operation and had the biggest mouth. I couldn’t help but smile a little when she shuffled across the floor in an orange jumpsuit and cuffs.
The officer helped her to the chair and moved outside the door.
“I’d like to ask you a few questions,” I said.
“You’re making a mistake.”
“A mistake? How’s that?”
“I run a business.”
“You steal dogs and sell them to unsuspecting buyers.”
“Your taser branded me.”
“Actually, it’s a stun gun.”
I wasn’t sure what I’d said to get her so mad, but she flipped out, kicking the chair and throwing herself across the table. Despite her cuffs, she scared the shit out of me.
Within seconds, the officer burst into the room and took control of the situation. “Do you still want to question her?” he asked.
I looked at her. “Are you going to tell me where the dogs are?”
“How bad do you want the information?” she scowled at me.
“Pamela, if you don’t tell me, one of your bozos will. They’re ready to roll on you. You know what that means? It means you’ll be behind bars for a very long time while they walk away free. Is that how you want it to go down?”
I could see the wheels turning in her head. After a long pause, she took a breath. “There’s a vacant house down the street from the main property. The dogs are there.”
When Eric, Alana and I arrived, we discovered the dogs had not been harmed but had the vet check each of them just in case. Once they’d gotten clean bills of health, we’d contact their owners and get them back to where they belonged.
By the time I dropped Alana off, it was getting late. I stopped to pick up a sub from Rock N Jenny’s and headed home. Pouring a glass of chardonnay, I realized I hadn’t heard from Jake and concluded it was probably best, at least for now.
Sleep came easy, and I expected it had to do with taking down the dog-nappers.
Waking early, I gingerly rolled out of bed and realized that in my efforts to capture Pamela, I’d done some minor damage that left me battered and bruised. I carefully headed downstairs, disappointed that I hadn’t set up my coffee. I turned on Good Morning America and settled on the couch as I waited for it to brew. When a story about gardening tips came on, I realized I’d forgotten to bring in Mrs. Bennett’s plants.
After a couple of cups of coffee, I got myself together and headed over to Mrs. Bennett’s house. It was cloudy and cold, and I hoped I hadn’t killed the plants by leaving them outside overnight. When I brought them inside, I realized that I had no idea where they belonged. I set them on the kitchen counter, vowing I would water them inside from now on… if they survived. I locked the back door and turned to leave when I noticed a note on the kitchen table with directions for me. I hadn’t seen it previously. As I read through it, dread sunk in. She’d detailed specific care for the plants and several warnings about how fragile they were and that they were very sensitive to temperature. I sighed. They didn’t look dead to me, so all I could do was to hope for the best.
Her house reminded me of my grandmother’s home with lots of dark wood, floral patterns, and antiques. I moved through her living room, looking at pictures. An old photo on the end table caught my eye, and I picked it up to look at it more closely. It was Mrs. Bennett’s wedding photo. Chills moved through me as I saw the glimmer in their eyes and the smiles on their faces filled with love, happiness and hope. I shook my head, wondering what had happened to change her demeanor so much.
It was then I realized that I didn’t know much about Mrs. Bennett at all. I knew she was widowed, had a grown son, enjoyed gardening, and was meticulous and nitpicky, but that about covered it. For the first time, I acknowledged she was also a woman who had lived a life and had been through her share of heartbreaks. It must be difficult to be alone after all that. I set the photo down and went back to look after her plants, feeling a new responsibility to keep them alive.
Chapter 50
Alex asked me to meet him in the Special Enforcement Team lab in Murrieta, so Alana and I headed over, eager to see what his thoughts were after reviewing the case file. We stood at the door waiting when Alex appeared and invited us inside.
I’d never seen anything like it. Computers and monitors filled the room and I wasn’t sure what to take in first. I even spotted what looked like something from the Iron Man movie – a transparent glass screen projecting holographic images.
“This is amazing!” I said.
“We have some pretty cool toys in here. Well, if you’re into technology, that is.”
“Is that…?” I pointed to the glass screen.
“Yeah. Tony Stark isn’t the only one with the technology.”
“So, what does it do?” Alana asked.
“Actually, we’re tracking a woman who’s on a hit list. We have been conducting surveillance in and around her home, looking for any threats.”
“Does she know you’re watching her?” The long list of privacy laws flashed through my mind.
“Yes and no. She knows we’re keeping an eye on her, but doesn’t know how closely.”
“Wow! You can do that?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said, grinning.
Alex was more of a computer genius than I’d first thought and to have all this technology at his fingertips was pretty amazing. We followed him to the back of the lab and sat at the round table by a small kitchenette. He set the file on the table and opened it.
“Just to recap, your case was to locate a missing teenage boy and in the process you witnessed a man, Wally Mason, escorting several teens around and became suspicious. Through the course of your investigation, you discovered a teen trafficking ring. Upon further surveillance, you discovered Wally was also connected to a woman and a man, and you are still trying to discover what their roles are in this. There’s also another man, Archie, who you suspect is involved and who possibly killed at least one teen. Am I on track?”
“Yes, that’s right. The woman’s name is Chanel Pinkay and the man’s name is Montgomery. We don’t know if that’s a first or last name. They have to be connected, but I just don’t know how yet.”
“Okay. So, our goal is to define their roles and take them all down.”
“That’s the goal. We’ve rescued a few of the teens, but we believe there are more. We just don’t know where they’re being held.”
“Okay, got it.”
He went on to explain how we could use technology to infiltrate the trafficking ring and find out more about Chanel and Montgomery. He explained that with this technology, we could watch and listen first-hand to what was going on. Setting up the equipment could take some time, but he felt it could be the key to getting everything we needed.
“Do you have any physical addresses you can link them to?”
“Yeah, a couple. I found one place in the public record. I think it’s Chanel’s personal residence. We’ve linked Wally to a home as well. That’s where we first discovered Michael’s backpack. There is also a home with a big barn out back. It seems suspicious because they all go there.”
“Can you get me those addresses? If so, we can st
art there. Are you making additional efforts?”
As far as Alana was concerned, this was all we were doing on the case. I didn’t want her to know I was proceeding with my undercover operation as Laci Connor. I couldn’t risk her spilling the beans, so the less she knew, the better.
“Sam?” He asked.
“Well…”
“Okay. We’ll come back to that.” He’d obviously picked up on the awkwardness.
“I’ll call you once I can put everything in motion. Don’t forget to get me those addresses as soon as you can.”
Noting the time, I realized I’d better check in with Frank before he started pressing me.
We arrived at the office to find Frank coming down the stairs. His shoulder was bandaged, and his arm was in a sling, but he was moving around pretty well for having been shot.
“Ladies, follow me.”
“Where are we going?” I asked as Alana eyed me.
“I need to get something to eat. Are you hungry?”
Alana and I looked at each other. “Yeah.”
We decided on The Bank, a Mexican restaurant converted from a real bank that had been around since 1914. Frank told Alana the story that had made it famous, a robbery that had occurred there on August 14, 1930. According to the story, Miguel “Jerry” Diaz, had robbed the bank, only to be caught two miles away. He’d spent three years in prison for robbery.
“He must not have been a very good robber,” Alana uttered.
Just as we’d finished ordering, my cell rang. It was Ted. I stepped outside and listened as he filled me in on the report he’d gotten from the fingerprint expert.
He confirmed the prints on the Backpage paper belonged to Wally Mason and Cesar Mills and said the written letters were a code, of sorts, that is used in trafficking, adding that each has a different meaning. He added that he had the list and would get it to me for my file.
“Keep me posted if you have anything else.” I disconnected and went back inside.
“Who was that?” Frank asked.
“Ted. The prints on the Backpage are Wally’s and Cesar’s, and the letters are trafficking codes. He’s going to give me the list for our file.”