by Linda Ladd
Novak wasted no time sprinting for the Mustang, where it sat twenty yards up the street, motor idling. He was there in seconds. He jumped into the back seat, and Lori stomped on the accelerator and took off with a screech of the tires. Novak turned around and watched out the back window, but nobody came after them. Three streets over, Lori popped the trunk, and Novak pulled Henson out and dragged him to the side of the road. Somebody would find the guy, sooner or later. After that, they drove at a more leisurely speed that wouldn’t cause attention. Nobody said a word as they drove through dark and deserted streets. Judith was huddled in the front seat, holding the briefcase of evidence clamped tightly against her chest.
“Well, that didn’t exactly go according to plan,” Novak finally said.
“Judith’s out of that house, and she’s got the evidence to hang her dad. We’re all still alive. Can’t argue with that kind of success.”
True, but Novak was not happy. It had ended up a sloppy raid. He just hoped nobody had seen him long enough to describe him. He did not want to be identified. He needed Locke to wonder who he was and who had sent him. Hopefully, he would think it was Hennessey double-crossing him. Time would tell. Judith Locke was free and would soon be reunited with her children under FBI protection. He could live with that.
Chapter 16
“Are you sure Susie and Sammi are all right?” Judith was upset and worried about her children. “Who is this FBI agent you gave them to? Can you trust her with my children?”
“Her name is Leslie Taylor. She’s an old friend. Like I told you, you don’t have to worry. You can trust her. Nothing’s going to happen to those kids while they’re in her care, I promise you.”
Judith did not look reassured. She wasn’t comfortable that her children had been sent off with complete strangers. Once she saw them and knew they were all right, she would be okay. She sat on the couch in Frank’s living room, wringing her hands and watching the door. Leslie had phoned and was on her way. Problem was, after the raid on Locke’s estate, nobody felt safe holed up at the cabin, and that went double for Judith Locke. She was so nervous that her anxiety was transferring to the rest of them. Novak didn’t want to let Judith out in the public, so he’d asked Leslie to pick her up on the river. She said she’d arrive as soon as she could get there. That had been over three hours ago. As minutes ticked by, Novak worried more that the judge might find them before Judith and her children were in FBI custody. He stood at the kitchen windows, staring out at the road and wondering which group would show up first.
Novak turned and looked at Judith. “We need to talk.”
Startled at his tone, she rose, but she looked totally spent and unable to think coherently. Sleep deprivation did that to a person. Who could blame her? She was putting her trust in a lot of people she didn’t know from a hole in the ground.
“I can’t help worrying. I want my girls here where I can hold them.”
“We understand that.” Lori had been soothing her friend ever since she’d arrived at the river. She glanced over at Frank. He said nothing. When they’d returned without Lucy, he’d grown silent and introspective again. Not a good sign.
Judith had been taking turns fretting about her children and praising them for getting her out of the house. She wasn’t finished, either. “I don’t know how to thank you. I mean that. You risked your lives to get me out of that house. I’ll never, ever forget that. I thought I’d never see my children again, that he would kill me first.”
Lori sat down beside Judith and placed her hand on her friend’s back. “You and the girls are free now. You’re doing the right thing handing over the proof of his corruption. He has hurt so many people. He still is.”
Judith nodded, but she apparently needed to talk. “He’s a monster. I hated every minute my children had to be around him. They were babies when my husband was killed in a car accident. They never knew him at all, so Daddy took his place. After Danny’s funeral, he just took over my life again, forced me to change my name back to Locke and live in that house with him. He wanted my girls to bear his name, too. He has to have control of everybody in his life. Stephen’s okay with that. I’m not. I just want to be free of both of them.”
“Stephen’s involved in the judge’s crimes, right?” Novak asked.
She nodded. “He’s turned out just like Daddy. Bad to the core. Actually, in some ways, he’s even worse than Daddy.” She shook her head and clasped her hands together. “He inherited Daddy’s...” She paused a moment. “...perversions. They both get by with unthinkable crimes because of Daddy’s wealth and political connections.”
Novak wanted to know more. He needed to dissect these guys, know them inside and out. Judith was the best source to get that information. “How about some specifics about how they do things?”
Judith met his eyes. “Stephen’s into drugs and pornography, and God only knows what else. I don’t trust him alone with my children, either, if that tells you anything. Stephen’s nothing like the heroic image he projects on screen. He wouldn’t be in films at all, if it weren’t for Daddy’s money and influence. He bought Stephen’s way into Hollywood. They both know all the big names out there, you know, movie producers and directors and other A-list actors. Most of Stephen’s roles are simply payments for favors that Daddy provides them.”
“Has Stephen been in trouble with the law?”
“More than anyone knows. Daddy bails him out and hires crack lawyers to keep everything confidential and expunge his records. Stephen’s always been into sleazy women, gold digger types, and especially porn stars, and the younger they are the better. He likes to call them his personal sex slaves. He’s a terrible man, really, mean and hateful and cruel. I think down deep, he must hate women. I was a handy victim when we were little.” She paused and looked away from Novak. “He liked to hurt animals. One time he taped my little Yorkie’s mouth shut and shot her with his BB gun. He killed that poor dog. Daddy made him see a child psychologist after that. I think I hate Stephen even more than I detest Daddy. But I despise them both. I hope I never have to see them again.”
After hearing that, Novak decided that Stephen Locke was a stone-cold sociopath. If he had Lucy, no telling what he’d do to her.
“Where’s Stephen now?” Lori asked Judith.
“Last I heard he was on location out in Arizona. Scottsdale, I believe. But he’s into all kinds of illegal stuff. He’s just awful. I can’t say that enough.”
Frank had heard all he wanted to hear. “And that guy’s got his hands on my daughter. We need to quit hanging around here and see if he’s got her, Novak. She just said he likes young girls. We’ve got to stop him before he hurts her. You should have killed Calvin Locke when you had the chance.”
Novak swiveled his gaze to his friend. “I’m not an assassin, Frank. There are other ways to bring him down. When I get them, I want to get them all.”
“You should’ve killed him. I would have.”
Novak didn’t doubt that. “Be patient a bit longer, Frank. We going to get her,” Novak told him.
Judith commiserated with Frank’s fears. “I’m so sorry about your little girl. I know how you feel, I do. Complete helplessness and frustration. I was scared to death when Daddy took them away from me. And Stephen, he is capable of the most terrible things. I’m ashamed to be part of this family.”
“What exactly does he do to women?” Frank was not going to be consoled. Not ever. Judith’s talk was only intensifying his pain.
Judith’s expression told Novak that she didn’t want to answer. So she skirted his question. “She may be in Houston and not with Stephen. I used to hear vans and trucks coming into the estate late at night, usually well after midnight. The maids told me they could hear girls crying sometimes out in the garage. I never saw them myself, but maybe Lucy is out there.”
“She’s not out there. I checked. But we’ll find her.” Novak�
�s impatience was growing. Where the devil was Leslie? What was taking her so long? “I searched the whole place, Judith. Lucy’s not there. Tell me about the dirty stuff the judge is into? What kind of evidence do you have in that briefcase?”
“The kind that will put him away for good. When I decided I had to get away, I started documenting what he did, you know, I eavesdropped on people who came to the house and listened in on phone conversations. I recorded some of it, and I took some pictures of people coming and going. I got logs and files out of his safe. I have all the proof I need. Daddy and Stephen are into prostitution. I’ve got some dirt on Timothy Hennessey, too. I’m not sure what it all entails, but he’s definitely involved with Daddy’s business. He provides men when Daddy needs them, I think. Hennessey is so brutal; he scares me.”
Novak wanted concrete facts, and he wasn’t getting any. “Think, Judith. I need to know everything you can remember, especially about Hennessey’s operations. Any detail you can think of. He might be holding Lucy for the judge.”
“I don’t know that much about him. Daddy never let me come around when he was at the house. He was born in Ireland, I believe, and he’s still got a thick Irish brogue. I remember hearing that he came to Houston in the 1990s and set up a business he called King Cotton. I know he’s utterly ruthless and most of his guys are Irish nationals. He doesn’t trust Americans. The things they do to their victims are worse than what the Mexican cartels do.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “He beheads people, sometimes just as a warning. I heard he left a decapitated head on the front stoop of the victim’s mother.” She shivered a little.
“Have you met him?” Lori asked her.
“No, and I don’t want to. You don’t, either, believe me. Really, Lori, stay as far away from him as you can get. He’s unpredictable; even Daddy complained about that. I got the impression that Stephen and Daddy might be a little afraid of him.”
Frank stood up. Novak recognized the look in his eyes. He was going to murder somebody before this thing ended. Novak wasn’t sure if he could or would stop him. At the moment, he leaned toward helping him take anybody down who stood in their way.
Novak glanced at a picture of Lucy Caloroso, where it was propped on the fireplace mantel. She looked to be around ten when it was taken, young and innocent and happy with that wide smile and shining eyes. Her hair had been plaited back then with her long russet pigtails hanging over her shoulders.
“Lucy’s going to be all right.” Novak stated that again, but he was tired of saying it and not sure it was true. He wanted to find that kid and get her out of the hands of those animals before something terrible happened to her.
Frank turned away and walked out onto the front porch and sat down on the swing. He needed to breathe some fresh air. Novak hoped he stayed out there awhile because there were questions he needed to ask, the kind Frank didn’t need to hear.
He turned back to Judith. “Okay, there’s something else I need to know. Where does Hennessey operate? Tell me what building he’s based in and the products or businesses he runs. Anything you can give us will help us hit him where it’ll hurt him the most. Because Locke has already enlisted his help to track down you and your daughters, trust me.”
“His legit business is the King Cotton thing. Daddy says they manufacture mattresses and pillows and the like. I guess he bought it out when he came over from Ireland. It’s his center of operations, I think, the legit one. There’s a big warehouse in Galveston down near the ocean, close to where the cruise ships dock. That’s probably where he runs his criminal activities. I don’t know that for sure, though. He’s got other properties, too, rental houses and some storage units, places like that. He works out of King Cotton for the most part, but I don’t think he’d keep Lucy there. But who knows? He’s crazy.”
“Have you been inside either of those warehouses?”
“No, but Daddy took me to the King Cotton place once when I was in junior high. I remember because he made me wait out in the limo with his driver. We had to sit out there for hours. Our driver back then was Bobby Hondo. He would get in the back seat with me and taught me to play checkers on a little travel game.” She smiled a little but then grew serious. Whatever came next seemed difficult for her to share. “When Daddy came back, he told Bobby to go inside and help them load the trucks. He told him not to come out again until he called him.” Judith kept her eyes focused on her lap. “That was the first time that he raped me. The last time was night before last.”
Nobody said anything, but Lori put her arm around Judith’s shoulders. Judith shed no tears over the memory. Probably didn’t have any left, not after years of fighting off her disgusting excuse of a father. Novak felt his chest constrict. It was getting harder to contain his anger. He wanted a piece of those guys, all of them. He wanted to bring them down, the harder the better. Maybe Frank had been right. Maybe he should have finished off Calvin Locke when he had the chance.
Judith kept talking, as if dammed-up floodgates had finally burst open. “I’ve known for a long time that Daddy’s been into sex trafficking. I don’t know all the details, but I think Hennessey is involved in it, too, somehow. I guess they’re business partners. I heard Hennessey telling him how they groomed young girls before they snatched them.” She paused. “They’d find good-looking young college guys to sweet talk them, you know, win their trust, and then introduce them to drugs. They want them to be docile, so they addict them.” She glanced outside at Frank and took a deep breath, not liking to tell them what was going on any more than they liked to hear it. “We had a maid at the house once. She told me they’d done that to her. Daddy took a liking to her looks and brought her out to live at the mansion. He’s got several girls upstairs that he uses that way. I feel sorry for them. Most of them don’t understand English.”
Lori’s face looked flushed. Novak was pretty sure it was anger. “I wish you would’ve killed him, Novak. He doesn’t deserve to live another day.” As usual, Lori had stated her feelings concisely. She never minced her words.
Novak stared at her. “He’ll get what’s coming to him, one way or another.”
Novak pitied Judith Locke. Incest victims sometimes loved their parents even if they were abusers, no matter how they suffered at their hands. He couldn’t understand how they could, but he’d seen it happen. Not the case with Judge Locke’s daughter. Her next words proved him correct.
“I hope you do kill him. I hope you take a long time doing it and make him beg and crawl and weep. He told me...” She paused there for a moment before continuing. “He told me that he was waiting for Susie and Sammi to reach the age he liked best. I told him I’d die before I let him touch them. He laughed at me and wished me good luck with that. That’s when he locked me in my bedroom and wouldn’t let me see them. I’m so worried that something’s gone wrong with these FBI people. What’s taking so long? Do you think he’s got my girls again? Can’t you call them or something?”
“They should be showing up any minute,” Novak said. “They’ll protect you and the children. You’ll have around-the-clock protection as long as you hold up your end of the bargain and provide those documents. The information in that briefcase is pertinent, right? Big enough to bring them both down?”
“I think so. I took a lot of his private papers.”
“Just trust Leslie and do what she tells you. She’ll make sure you stay safe while they build their case.”
Judith didn’t look impressed. “I don’t trust anybody, not anymore. I probably never will again. I’ll wait and see what she does, and if it’s acceptable, then I might trust her.”
“She’s going to want to comb through all the evidence before they set you up somewhere in a new life with a new name.”
Judith got quiet. “I need to tell you something. I do trust the three of you. I didn’t at first, but I do now. You’ve proved yourselves. I’ve got a safe deposit box down at a small bank i
n Corpus Christi. There are copies of the proof I’m handing over to the FBI inside. Just in case anything happens to me and that briefcase.”
“Do you think he suspects you’re turning on him?”
“Maybe now, but he didn’t when I was gathering the goods on him. I made copies of every single thing. There are two identical folders, one here in the briefcase, the other in that safe deposit box. If he gets to me somehow, I want you to get it and put him away with it.”
“Leslie’s got this. You can count on her. Your father doesn’t have a clue you’ve got this stuff?”
“I was careful.” She opened the briefcase sitting at her feet and brought out a small key and a signed form giving him permission to get into her safe deposit box. “They’re aware I might send somebody to pick up the contents.”
“Did you use your real name?”
“No.” She looked at Lori. “I used Lori’s name and her social security number. Hope you don’t mind. I knew Daddy would find out if I used my own.”
“Of course, I understand.”
Novak was pleased about the duplicate copies. He backed up everything he did, and had never regretted the habit. “Everything’s going to turn out okay, Judith. In an hour, you’ll be far away from here and anybody who wants to do you harm.”
“I know, but this is just a bit of added insurance if anything should go wrong.”
The sound of approaching vehicles brought them all up to their feet. Either the Feds or Locke’s thugs had found them. Novak pulled his weapon, and Frank was back inside now and holding a rifle. They stood at the back door, weapons held ready. Novak pulled back the blinds. It was dark outside, but the dusk-to-dawn lamp lit up most of Frank’s backyard. Three black Suburbans pulled up and stopped right outside the back door. Leslie stepped out of the first one and headed to the porch. A female agent followed her. Four other agents stood waiting outside the car doors.