Witness Betrayed

by Linda Ladd

  Mickey just beamed at the both of them. “You two really ought to be extras in my movies. You look like tough guys; you know, the real ones, just raring to murder somebody.”

  “You’re a mind reader,” Frank told him.

  Novak had had it with the small talk. “Oh yeah, we sure are, just raring to get a kill,” Novak said. He stood up and towered about eight inches over the bigwig producer. “And just so you know, we’ve got people, meaning cops, who know where we are and who you are. If I were you, I’d be careful with what you order these guys to do to us.”

  His face adopted an incredulous expression. Mickey glanced at his armed guards. “Were you rude to these gentlemen, Paco?”

  “No, sir. We just picked them up as you directed and brought them here. Just following your orders, sir.”

  “Well, that’s splendid. Please, gentlemen, join me inside my private office. We’ve got a lot to talk about, I believe.”

  Imogene stopped typing and watched to see what might happen next. She seemed very interested in their fate. Maybe she’d seen guys go in and come out in brown paper bags. Frank remained his usual shade of livid, clenching and unclenching his teeth and fists, half an inch from showing them what he was feeling, up close and personal with Mike Mickey’s face. Novak had a similar desire, a relentless tug on his willpower. They were both sleep deprived, hungry, thirsty, and angry. They hadn’t even had coffee.

  They followed Mickey into a gigantic office that took up the length of the rear of the bungalow. A red and white kitchen sat at one end, and an ultra-modern office setup was on the other end. White fuzzy couches, black leather uncomfortable chairs, and a round granite table sat out in the middle. All quite lavish and modern and expensive, Beverly Hills style. The walls were hung with life-size movie posters, most with Stephen Locke caught frozen in midair while leaping between rooftops or hanging off a mountain by a rope as he mowed down thugs with a machine gun. It appeared the producer and star were best buddies. That didn’t bode well for Mike Mickey. He hadn’t seen the post-beatdown Stevie.

  “Your money-maker star in that poster over there? He doesn’t look much like that anymore. I rearranged his face,” Frank told him. His voice had risen and was belligerent in tone.

  “Yes, I know, I heard about that. That’s precisely why I’ve asked you to visit me here. I’m very curious as to why you’d want to damage the face of a multi-million-dollar franchise. Not cool, mister.”

  Not cool, mister? Novak took up the conversation. “Okay, I’ll spill the beans. Your star is a low-life, dirtbag creep pervert who abuses women and children and sells them as sex slaves. I think you already know that, Mr. Mickey. I think you are, too. I think you’re part of that movie franchise, right? That means you’re party to the criminal activities as well.”

  Mickey should have been the actor. He looked hit by shock and awe. Then he actually laughed at the notion. He took a moment to drain his glass. Then he returned his amused gaze to Novak. “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. I’ve never heard anything about any criminal activities that Stephen’s involved with. All I know is that you’ve ruined poor Stephen’s career, and I’m going to sue you to kingdom come for damages to my star property. And you can trust me when I say that I’ve got the best attorneys in Southern California.”

  Novak was damn sick of him. They needed to get to Lucy soon, or they might never find her. “Listen to me and listen good. We want Lucy Caloroso. We want her right now. We know you’ve got her hidden somewhere. Stephen Locke told us you did. So tell us where she is, and you won’t get hurt.”

  “I’ve never heard of any girl by that name. Lucy who? Is that Italian? Is she some young actress who came to me looking for a break?”

  “Is that how you whitewash this stuff?” Frank demanded. “The junior high girls we found with your star in Scottsdale didn’t call it that. They called it abduction and abuse and forced prostitution.”

  For the first time, Mickey’s good nature seemed strained. “Who the hell are you to come into my studio and accuse me of something so perverted?”

  “I’m Lucy’s father. I’m giving you one more chance. Where is she?”

  Novak decided it was time to end the conversation. Only one guard had come inside the office with them, and he was standing too close to Novak for the guy’s own good. Novak had ten inches on him and was double his size. Nobody was watching Novak anymore, not even his guard. Novak moved quickly, disarmed the man in a matter of seconds, and grabbed him back against his chest. He placed the gun barrel in his ear. The guard was smart enough not to move a muscle. Frank stepped back, fearing blood spatter. Mike Mickey assumed a shocked expression and reached for his desk phone. Frank grabbed it away from him and jerked out the cord. Then he patted down Mickey and came up with a Luger 9mm. He racked it and held it at Mickey’s ear. Novak dropped his guy to the floor and kicked him in the head. Paco groaned once and passed out. After that, the room became very quiet.

  “Did you just murder Paco?” Mickey asked Novak, seemingly astounded by the violence he witnessed even if he witnessed worse in every movie he made. “I can’t believe you just kicked him like that. Right in the head. I believe he might be hurt rather extensively.”

  “He should wake up eventually, maybe. He deserved some payback; he wouldn’t let us stop for bathroom breaks,” Frank told him. “He was rude during the entire ride.”

  Mickey looked a tad less confident now. In fact, he looked scared out of his gourd. He tried to walk around them toward the front office. Frank shoved him back. Then he slapped him hard in the face, followed by a backhand that drew blood at the corner of his mouth. Frank was good at drawing blood.

  “Wait, now wait just a minute,” Mickey said, holding his mouth. He took out a snowy white handkerchief and dabbed away the blood. “What do you want from me? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I swear it. You’ve come to the wrong person.”

  “We didn’t come anywhere. You brought us here. I want my daughter back. But first, I want you dead for taking her.”

  Mickey still played his dumb-as-a-stump card. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have no connection with sex trafficking or anything remotely close to that. I make movies and build movie stars. I’m not a criminal.”

  Frank searched his desk and came up with a file full of photographs of young women in skimpy attire. None pictured Lucy, though.

  “Are these the girls you’re selling?”

  “No, of course not.” Mickey gave a nervous little laugh. “Those are aspiring actresses who want to screen test for Stephen’s new film. Are you crazy?”

  Novak had pussyfooted around enough. He grabbed Mickey by the front of his gray linen tropical shirt and jerked him up on his toes. “Listen up, Mickey, you’re going to tell us where Lucy is or we’re gonna kill you. That’s two clear alternatives. Be smart with your choices.”

  Mickey looked confused, followed closely by terrified. “I don’t know anybody named Lucy or anybody who is abusing girls. I’d never be involved in something like that.”

  “Hold him down, Frank.”

  Frank obliged with pleasure.

  Novak held Mickey’s right hand down on the shiny mahogany desk and picked up a heavy gold statuette, otherwise known as an Oscar. He stared into Mickey’s wide blue eyes, which were not nearly so merry now. “Last chance. Tell us or I’m going to hurt you a lot. Then I’m turning you over to Frank so he can bloody you up some more and destroy your nice neat office. Got that, Mike? You are going to die right here and now. But first, I’m going to give you a chance to do the right thing.”

  “Security will be here any minute. Imogene’s already called them. She listens in on all my meetings.”

  Novak handed the Oscar to Frank. Frank took it and wasted no time. He raised it up high over Mickey’s hand as Mickey struggled desperately to pull his arm out of Novak’s grip.

>   “Stop, stop it, don’t you hurt him! I’ll tell you what you want to know!”

  They all turned and stared at little Imogene where she stood in the doorway.

  “I’m the one you’re looking for, not him. Michael has no part of this. He doesn’t know anything about it. Let him go, I said.”

  “What are you talking about, Genie?” Mickey said, still in the dark as to what was going on.

  Novak wasn’t. He let go of the producer. Mickey staggered away.

  Imogene ignored her boss’s questions. “Michael’s got nothing to do with any of this. I work with Locke. I’m his contact out here. I move the girls. Michael is not involved in any way.”

  Mike Mickey sank down on a couch. His expression told Novak that she was telling the truth. He just sat there and stared disbelievingly at her.

  “So you know where my daughter is?” Frank walked up closer to the little woman.

  “I work for the judge. I have for years. He got me this job out here with Mr. Mickey. He threatened me with my grandchildren. I’m glad it’s over now. I’m glad you found me out.” She turned to her boss. “I’m sorry, Mike. Stephen’s not who you think he is. None of us are.”

  “Where’s Lucy?” Frank asked, impatient.

  “I can tell you where you can find her.”

  “No, you’ll show us. We’re all going out that back door, and you’re taking us straight to where she is. Where are your car keys?”

  “In my purse,” she said. She was calm, her voice quiet. “I drive the white Cadillac.”

  “Go get the car, Frank, and bring it around to the back door.”

  Frank took off in a hurry. Novak watched him run across the back parking lot and climb into the car, and then he looked at Mickey and Imogene.

  “Come on, you’re both going with us.”

  They obeyed without argument, and Novak took them out through a pair of French doors and past a small rectangular lap pool with a hot tub at the end. Frank circled around and rolled to a stop in front of them. Novak could smell the pots of roses and gardenias sitting around everywhere. Novak put the woman in the front seat and pushed the producer into the back seat. Mike Mickey was asking his assistant all kinds of questions now, still flabbergasted at what was going down, but she didn’t answer him or turn around. She just sat in silence, staring straight ahead, unable to face her boss.

  “She’s down in Malibu,” she finally said. “Stephen’s got a house down there. Nobody knows about it except for me and a few of his men.”

  “Is she all right? Did he hurt her?” Frank kept glancing across at her as he drove.

  “Nobody’s hurt her that I know of. The judge told Stephen she was fragile cargo. So we treated her that way. She’s staying in a lovely house overlooking the ocean.”

  They had reached the front gate, and Frank stopped at the cross bar. The guy in the booth recognized Imogene and let them through without question. Frank turned out onto Wilshire and headed for the freeway.

  “Is she in danger? Tell me what they’re doing to her.” Frank was not done questioning; he had to know. Novak hoped the answers were not the ones he was afraid of.

  “She was fine until now. Then Stephen called the other night and said there was a change of plans. That he intended to sell her abroad because you were after them and getting too close. He said he wanted her out of the country so we wouldn’t be tied to her disappearance.”

  “Did he hurt her?”

  “Nobody touched her in the way that you mean. Like I said, she was off limits. I hope she’s still out there. I know you don’t believe that, but I do.”

  “You’re going to jail, lady, as soon as she’s safe with us,” Novak said. “How would you feel if your granddaughter was in the hands of these animals?”

  “She was. I bargained for her release by working for them and keeping Mike in the dark. Stephen didn’t want him to know what we were into. The studio was a good cover for what he was doing.”

  “Who bought her?” Frank’s words came out tight but controlled.

  “I don’t know things like that. I don’t handle that end of the agreements. I just get the girls out there, and they take care of the rest. The ones that come for them are from Turkey. They come in on a big yacht and pick up the cargo. That’s all I know, I swear. I just do what they tell me. They’ve threatened my family for years.”

  “What are they planning to do with her?” Frank’s voice was low.

  Imogene hesitated. “They sell them overseas as slaves. Her red hair made her a lucrative commodity. That’s what they called her: a lucrative commodity.”

  Frank’s face had blanched. Novak feared he was going to snap, but he didn’t. He knew the stakes.

  Frank knew Southern California well and got them to the Pacific Coast Highway, but traffic was terrible and held them up. When he finally hit the road to Malibu, he pressed down on the gas pedal. Nobody felt much like chitchatting. It had been a trying day, so it was dead silent inside that car for the entire drive. Novak just hoped to God that Lucy was still there and not on a boat sailing for the Middle East.

  Chapter 24

  Novak had worked a case in Malibu about three years ago, right along the same stretch of beach that held addresses for many of Hollywood’s elite. The houses were constructed side by side at some points, all sporting lots of glass and weathered wood, the gigantic windows opening for vast views overlooking the silver-blue Pacific Ocean. Sunsets were gorgeous out there, and lots of exclusive people in lots of exclusive homes enjoyed it every day of the year. Most homes were modern and sleek, with the beaches close to their patios and decks, always alive with the roaring, rolling surf. Imogene was scared and cooperating fully and maybe relieved, not such a great mastermind when held by fear. Mike Mickey still seemed in shock, or maybe he was turning the whole thing into a movie plot inside his head. His sweet little secretary had been running a sex trafficking ring right under his nose, and he, a famous Hollywood producer, hadn’t had a clue. Yeah, he was probably thinking it could be a hit.

  The home they sought was not down close to the beach but among houses that sat high on the cliffs overlooking the sea. The cowed and ashamed granny pointed out the way and readily gave them the password for the privacy gate at the upper end of a paved driveway. They reached the house a minute later. Novak got out and told Mickey to stay put or else. He agreed because he had no choice and he didn’t want to get hit again. Then Novak opened Imogene’s door and took her by the arm. They followed Frank up to the double front door made of dark inlaid drift wood.

  Almost there, they heard a girl scream. That did it for Frank. He stepped back, slammed the door open with one brutal kick, and the sound of screaming intensified. He ran down the hallway and kicked open a locked bedroom door with Novak right behind him, gun drawn. And there they found little Lucy with some big guy lying on top of her and trying to rip off her nightgown. She was fighting him like hell, punching him in the head and kicking and screaming. Just as the door flew wide, her attacker slapped her in the face, hard enough to stun her. That’s when her father went absolutely berserk, and Novak didn’t even try to stop him. Frank charged the guy from the side, hit him like some kind of runaway bulldozer, and they both went flying off the bed to the floor. The would-be rapist was big, and he easily threw Caloroso off, but Frank was finally releasing all the rage he’d contained for days, and that gave him more than enough edge. He was back at the man in seconds, pummeling him in the face and then grasping him around the throat, trying to throttle the life out of him.

  Lucy had fled the bed and backed as far away as she could get, but then she saw Novak and ran to him, sobbing her heart out. She came to herself almost at once, however, and stopped crying. When she saw her attacker slug her daddy in the head, she pulled out of Novak’s arms, grabbed a lamp from the bedside table, and swung it as hard as she could against the man’s skull. It shattered
, and he went down like a felled redwood. Novak ended the last remnant of his fight with a well-placed kick to his head.

  Frank was back on his feet instantly and had Lucy in his arms. While they hugged and wept together, Novak got busy binding up the man and dragging him out into the living room for the cops to find when they showed up. Lucy was excited and still crying tears of joy, but she was trying to tell them that other girls were being held down in the lower level. Imogene had been standing in the living room, silent, but stepped forward and poked in numbers on the keypad beside the locked door. She stood back, and the two men followed Lucy down a short flight of steps. That’s when Novak placed a call to the Malibu police department as Frank kicked open one bedroom door after another and freed the girls inside. They all appeared to be around Lucy’s age, all blondes, all barely into puberty, and all bearing bruises and weeping with joy to find themselves freed from a fate that was surely worse than death.

  “Are there others?” Novak asked Lucy.

  She nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Her face metamorphosed into anger. “They bring in different girls every week, always on different days. They kept me here for a while, so I watched and listened. I knew Daddy would come for me. A boat comes in close and picks up girls and takes them out to a big yacht that comes in after dark and anchors somewhere offshore. I guess about twenty or thirty girls have been taken out there since I got here, Daddy. Usually around ten go out at a time. They kept me separate from them and guarded by that guy who had me down on the bed. He hadn’t touched me until today.”

  “Did they hurt you, baby?” Frank’s voice was tight with fear of what her answer would be.

  “They hit me a few times, slapped me mostly, but that guy was supposed to protect me. He wasn’t supposed to let anybody hurt me, kind of like my bodyguard, I guess. Then he got a phone call today from over in Phoenix, I think, and he told me I’d be going to Kuwait on the next boat but he wanted to teach me some things first. That’s when I got past him and tried to escape, but he chased me and dragged me back to the bedroom. Daddy, I’m so glad you came for me. I was afraid they’d put me on that boat and you’d never find me again.”