"I am going with her!" Josh shouted.
Robert was at the end of his rope. "Then you'd better tell me right now who Hannah went looking for."
Josh wiped the tears in his eyes. "My daughter." Robert gasped. "I will tell you anything you want to know when Mariela's better, but right now, I have been waiting nine years to see her, so can I go?"
"Go, go," Robert said. He waved off the paramedics as soon as Josh was in. He turned to the officer. "I want you to follow them to the hospital and stay on Joshua Bruges and the victim until you hear from me. Do not let him out of your sight, got it?"
"Yes, sir."
"Go."
Robert dialed Baptiste. "Jesus, Teague, what is going on? And you'd better have a damn good excuse for not helping out last night with the I-lost-count-number of call girls who paraded through here. What is this I heard about you and a warehouse half an hour ago? And why do I suspect that I'm going to see Hannah Bruges' name on both of these things?"
"Because you are a very good cop," Robert said wearily. "Which part do you want the update on, the young woman we just freed from a storage locker, or her missing daughter?"
"Jesus, we've got to put out an Amber Alert!"
"I think she's been missing for a while, and I think Hannah knows where to find her."
The captain muttered curses for thirty seconds. "And why bring us into the loop, right? This is only our fucking job. Do you know where to find her?"
"It's just a hunch. What's the name of the pimp from last night?" Robert's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?"
"Nope. And here's the address." Robert jotted it down.
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Send backup to the address to follow five minutes after."
"Why the delay?"
"Because Hannah has a five minute start, and I'm going to need that much time to talk her down."
~~~
Sirens were really helpful when you needed to break traffic laws. He got to the address on Beacon Hill in ten minutes. Good; he'd need as much time as he could get.
The door was open. He made the decision not to draw his weapon. Hannah's self-control wasn't something he felt safe banking on.
"We're in here," Hannah called as soon as he'd stepped in. He followed her voice to an expensively furnished living room. Hannah was standing next to the door, her gun trained on a chicly dressed woman with the kind of short, dark bob that had been in and out of fashion for a hundred years. She looked to be in her early forties. She was sitting tall on her couch, her hands on her knees. She wasn't nervous, but Robert could see by the bend in her elbows and the slight nod of her head that she was accepting defeat.
"Detective, I'd like you to meet Hilary Sayles. A couple of her ancestors came over on the Mayflower. I'm pretty sure they'd approve of what she's done with their legacy, given what they did once they got here."
"I need you to put the gun down."
"Robert, you can arrest me for fraud, breaking and entering, attempted assault and attempted murder as soon as I get what I came here for."
"Ms. Sayles," Robert said, looking at Hannah out of the corner of his eye, "are you the owner of the warehouse on Northern Avenue?"
"There's been some misunderstanding," Hilary said, leaning forward ever-so-slightly so that Robert could get a better look at her cleavage. “That's owned by a holding company. I guess I do technically own it, but I had no idea until just now that—"
"Save it," Hannah said evenly. "You can dance around that later, just as you danced around all those girls being brought in last night. I want my niece."
"You can't think that I kidnapped her!" Hilary laughed. "Her mother gave her up."
"Of course," Hannah said as the chambers in her gun moved. "And it's just a coincidence that we found her half-dead this morning in the warehouse one of your holding companies owns."
Robert inched over to Hannah. "If you shoot her, we won't find your niece."
"I know that," Hannah said, not taking her eyes off of Hilary. "But you know as well as I do that a person like this isn't going to pay for what she did any other way."
"If you help us, she can."
"She's never going to feel bad about what she did." Hannah lowered the gun slightly so that she'd have a perfect shot at Hilary's heart. "She killed Mariela's mother, she left Mariela to die, she sells women for sex, she keeps old women and men locked in sweatshops for fourteen hours a day so she can sell her counterfeits...and she doesn't think she did anything wrong because she doesn't think the people she hurt are people. Why should she walk out of this room?"
Hilary turned to Robert, tears in her eyes. "Please. Make her put the gun down, and I'll tell you where she is."
"Tell me now," Hannah said.
"Hannah, put the gun down."
"All questions answered," she said softly.
"She's upstairs," Hilary said, tears streaming down her face. "I'll go get her."
"You will not move!" Hannah shouted. "Robert, can you get her?"
"Only if you give me the gun now."
"I am not letting her go," Hannah said.
Robert's backup came in at that moment. He waved them back. "Hannah, two officers just arrived. They're going to arrest her for kidnapping and attempted murder and they're going to take her to the station. She isn't going anywhere. Give me the gun."
"Do you promise?" Hannah whispered.
"I give you my word," Robert said.
Hannah released her finger from the trigger, then dropped her arm. "Take it then. And please let me see my niece and take her to my brother before you arrest me."
Robert gingerly took the gun from Hannah and turned to the young officer. "There's an eight-year-old child upstairs in one of the bedrooms. Bring her down here as soon as the suspect is gone."
"Yes, sir."
The young female officer ran up the stairs. Robert walked over to Hilary. "Please put your hands behind your back. Hilary Sayles, you are under arrest for kidnapping, attempted murder, prostitution, and human trafficking. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand your rights?"
"This is ridiculous!" she shrieked.
"I'll take that as a yes," the young male officer cracked.
"Get her to the station and tell Baptiste I'll be there as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir."
The officer led Hilary away. "Get your hands off of me!" Robert heard her scream before the car door closed. He was relieved that another uniform got into the car with them. One less maneuver to be used against them.
"Come on," Robert said to Hannah, who seemed like she couldn't move. "Let's go meet your niece."
He walked her to the foot of the stairs. "Officer? Are you ready?"
"Coming down, sir."
Hannah gasped when the officer came out of a bedroom holding a little girl's hand. She was tall for her age, and she had dark golden eyes and hair.
"This is Mariana," the officer said as they came down the stairs. "I told her there were some people who were very excited to meet her."
Hannah met her at the foot of the stairs. "Mariana?" She knelt down so they were eye level. "Do you know who I am?"
Mariana reached out and touched her hair. "You must be my Aunt Hannah," she said. "Mommy always said you'd come for us."
Hannah pulled Mariana into her arms and squeezed her tightly. "Oh, sweetheart." The little girl squeezed her back. "I am so sorry it took me so long to find you, but I have looked for you every day since your mom was taken away."
"Where's my mom?" Mariana asked as soon as Hannah let her go.
Hannah fought back tears. "She's in the hospital now where she can be taken care of." Hannah stroked Mariana's hair as she started to whimper. "I know she'll really want to see you when she's awake, but you know who'll want to see you even sooner? Your dad. He has waited so long to meet you."
Hannah nodded vigorously, forcing herself to smile. "Just like he always wanted to be." Hannah stroked her niece's arm. "But, sweetheart, can you tell me how long you were here for?"
Mariana's lip trembled. "I don't know. A long time. I used to see my mom all the time, but then Hilary sent her away. She told me my mom said it was best, but I knew that wasn't true."
"You're a very smart little girl," Hannah whispered, kissing Mariana's forehead. "Did Hilary hurt you?"
Mariana shook her head solemnly. "No, but sometimes she was scary. She would scream, she would throw things at people and use bad words. She sent me to my room a lot when she was mad, but then she'd buy me lots of toys and movies."
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Hannah said sadly.
"Hannah," Robert said gently. "Why don't we take Mariana to see her parents now?"
A half-smile formed on Hannah's face. She nodded knowingly, then squeezed Mariana's hand. "Are you ready to go?" Mariana nodded and Hannah stood up, still holding her hand. "Good." She looked at Robert. "And then the rest."
"Yep," Robert said. He turned to the young officer. "Please escort them to the car. I need to do a final check." The officer nodded then guided Hannah and Mariana away.
Robert took out his phone and searched through his contacts. His palms sweat as he dialed the number.
"This is Robert Teague." He waited for thirty seconds as a stream of expletives was directed at him. "Fine, did you get that out of your system?" Another twenty seconds of insults. "Look! I'm calling because I need some help, and you're the only one I can think of on short notice who can do that. Yeah, I thought you'd like that."
~~~
Mariela had just been moved to the main floor and the doctors had insisted that Josh wait outside as they examined her. He was pacing in the waiting room when Hannah and Robert walked off the elevator with the child he'd been waiting to see for eight years.
"Josh?" Hannah said tentatively. "This is—"
"I know exactly who this is," Josh said breathlessly, striding over to his daughter. "Do you know who I am?"
Mariana nodded. "You're my dad."
"That's right, that's right!" Josh said, scooping her up in his arms. "I'm your dad, and you're my little girl!"
Hannah seemed to recede. Robert cleared his throat. "Her name is Mariana."
"Mariana, Mariana," Josh repeated in a sing song voice. "A beautiful name for a beautiful little girl."
Hannah reached out to stroke Mariana's hair. "What did the doctors say?"
Josh's eyes hardened. "They're giving her fluids and they're making sure she can rest." Robert could tell by the way Josh squeezed Mariana that there was more, but he didn't want to say in front of her.
"Is Mommy going to be okay?" Mariana asked, hugging her father.
"I'll make sure of it," Josh said. "She's going to be very happy knowing she has you back."
Robert felt Hannah's hand on his arm. "I think it's time to go, Detective, don't you?"
"Not just yet."
"I'm offering to go," she insisted. "I'm turning myself in," she said more quietly. "I got everything I wanted, and now I'm ready to go."
"Ms. Bruges, never offer yourself up to the police without legal representation."
Hannah turned around to see a handsome man with light brown hair and green eyes. "Excuse me?"
He extended his hand. "Mitchell Graham, and I'm here as your attorney."
"I-I didn't ask for an attorney," Hannah spluttered.
"But I did," Robert said. "And now I'll be happy to have you come down to the station with me so I can take your statement."
"Where are you going?" Mariana squirmed out of her father's arms. She ran to Hannah and took her hand. "Why are you leaving?"
Hannah knelt down again. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I have to go now. I need to tell the police some things."
"Are you coming back?" Mariana asked as her eyes welled up.
"Yes," Robert said before Hannah could answer. "Of course she'll be back. We just need to ask her a few questions."
"Do you promise?" Mariana asked plaintively.
Robert bent down and wiped away Mariana's tears. "Yes. Your aunt did some very good things, and I don't want her to spend any more time away from you than she already has. But we have to get going right now, if that's okay. The sooner we leave, the sooner we come back. Okay?"
Mariana nodded. "Okay."
Hannah kissed Mariana's hand. "Take care of Daddy for me, okay?"
"Hannah, let's go," Robert said.
Hannah stood up, avoiding Josh's gaze. "Thank you," she whispered as they walked to the elevator.
"Let's hope you do a better job keeping promises to small children than you do young women," Mitch said under his breath as they stepped in.
"Isn't that why you're here?"
Chapter Fourteen
"Hannah, don't answer that." Baptiste rolled his eyes after Mitch repeated that for the tenth time.
"Mitchell Graham," Baptiste said, staring at the one-way window outside the interrogation room. "Why does that sound familiar, Bob? Something I read in your files?"
Robert shrugged. "Small world, small city."
"Bobby, why did you bother bringing any of this to me if you're going to tie my hands?"
"Making sure a twenty-four-year-old kid has the attorney the constitution says she's entitled to is tying your hands?"
"Don't give me that crap," Baptiste snapped. "And it's not just the attorney. That's right, Bob. She's twenty-four. How old are you again?"
"I brought this to you," Robert said, abruptly changing the subject, "because that kid has been searching for her brother's family for almost a decade. She did a lot of things she shouldn't have, but she tried to get help and she was turned away. And if it hadn't been for her, we wouldn't have someone who may very well be the head of a human trafficking ring." Robert watched Hannah blink and stumble through her words, just as she had when he first met her. Only this time it wasn't an act. "How much do we want to punish this kid?"
"How are we going to make the case against Sayles if everything Hannah got was illegally obtained? This isn't just a poisoned tree; the whole orchard is infested."
"She kidnapped that little girl, and it's not a coincidence that we found her mother locked in a warehouse she owns. And how many other people did you find there?"
Baptiste nodded slowly. Robert was relieved that Baptiste wanted Hilary Sayles to go down as badly as he did. "How is the woman doing?"
"She's unconscious, but her vitals are better. Based on her condition, it looks like she hadn't eaten in weeks."
"Un-fucking-believable," Baptiste said. "And unfortunate, because I need that woman's testimony to make the charges stick."
"We have the little girl," Robert offered.
"A good defense attorney will make it sound like she was too confused to understand what was really going on. We'll go in accusing her of kidnapping and attempted murder, and she'll go out convincing everyone that she took in an abandoned child wandering around her property after her mother accidentally locked herself into a storage locker." Baptiste shook his head. "I'm not going to put this on an eight-year-old’s shoulders."
"Captain, we've got something!" An eager young officer came running toward them. "The team at the warehouse hasn't finished one floor yet, but they've already found enough counterfeit merchandise to stock Macy's. And so far two other people, but they look like they just got there a little while ago."
Robert fought down his bile. "Found what?" Baptiste said, trying to keep himself from getting excited.
"Handbags, scarves, shoes…but we haven't gone through everything yet."
"Call Henry Chin at the Chinatown station," Robert interjected. "Tell him what you found and he'll know who to call."
The officer looked at Baptiste, who nodded impatiently. "I'm the only one allowed to have a good idea here? Go!"
"Yes, sir!"
He turned away then quickly turned back. "Sorry, there's one more thing. We ran background on Hilary Sayles. I think you'll find this interesting." He handed a folder to Baptiste, then ran to call Henry Chin.
Baptiste snorted, then opened the folder. "Are you kidding me?" he said thirty seconds later. He handed the file to Robert. Robert’s eyes widened. He looked up. "We need to talk to her right now."
Baptiste tapped on the glass. The detective conducting the interview opened the door. "What's going on?"
"We need to ask a few questions about Hilary Sayles," Robert said as he strode in.
"My client is not answering any questions about Ms. Sayles without a guarantee of immunity."
"Immunity?" Hannah said indignantly.
Robert sighed. "No one is accusing her of working with Sayles."
"Really?" Mitch said, leaning forward. His animus toward Robert was palpable. "Because your detective has been implying for the last half-hour that Ms. Bruges was motivated to out Hilary Sayles because of a business transaction gone badly."
"No," Baptiste said slowly, looking at the other detective out of the corner of his eye. "No one is worried that Hannah had any business dealings with the human trafficking ring."
"Then since you have already cleared the matter of her using an alternate identity a few days ago, the only thing I've heard so far is that she was an accessory after the fact to a B&E. Considering that she was in the presence of a police detective at the time and he can vouch for the fact that not only did she not steal anything, she also led them to a kidnapping victim, you are either going to charge my client with that or she's going back to the hospital to help support her brother and niece while they wait to hear on the condition of said kidnapping victim."
The captain came to sit at the table. "We are willing to drop any and all charges against Ms. Bruges in exchange for information about Hilary Sayles, alright?"
Hannah turned to Mitch, shaking her head wildly. "I'm going to need a moment alone with my client."
The two detectives and the captain left the room. Three minutes later, Mitch tapped the glass and they returned. "Ms. Bruges would obviously like to help in the investigation against Hilary Sayles in any way she can. However, as the bulk of the information she has is already clear to your department, we'd like to have a firm deal in place that all charges will be dropped before she shares any incidental information."
Needs, Wants and Other Weaknesses (The New Pioneers Book 6) Page 11