A River Through Two Harbors

by Dennis Herschbach

  “Go back to the first file.” Gerald did. Deidre looked at the date November 20 and then the order, one. She jotted that down on a note pad. She looked at November 10. The order was three.

  “Return to the last file you showed me.” Deidre compared what she had written to what was recorded in the cells for that date.

  Where the cell coordinates for Espiranto and November 10 intersected, the figure $60,000 was entered. Where Star of India intersected November 20, the cell contained $20,000.

  “What do you think of these figures?” Deidre asked, looking at Gerald for a clue as to what he was thinking. His brow furrowed.

  “What do you think?” he answered her question with a question.

  Deidre thought for a moment before answering. “I think the orders filled refer to human beings, women. The going rate is $20,000 per individual, and they’re delivered to the various boats docked in Duluth. There is absolutely no evidence to base my suspicions on from what I see here, but something inside me says this is what the payments are about. You tell me what you think.”

  Gerald closed the file and opened another. This was not a spreadsheet. Instead, it was a picture folder. Gerald opened the first frame, and the images of a young girl filled the screen. There was a head shot, another of her partially clothed and sitting in a chair, the third was a far more explicit frontal shot.

  He screened through photo after photo until Deidre shouted “Stop!” Gerald paused the rolling pictures. Deidre gasped. On the screen was a picture of Anna, stripped naked.

  “My God, what have you discovered?” she asked, not needing an answer. Under the picture was a notation: Ishat—December 10, 6:00 a.m. Gerald, do you know what you’ve uncovered?” she asked, still not believing what she was seeing.

  “My father is a human trafficker, that’s what I’ve uncovered. We never got along, but I never thought he was an animal, until now. I want to see him out of my life and my mother’s life as quickly as possible. He has taken the spark from mom, and now he is responsible for the ruination of the lives of how many innocent people? He doesn’t deserve to be called human.”

  Deidre was stunned by his outburst. “I’m so sorry you had to find this. But I’m also grateful you did. And I applaud your remark­able sense of rightness, and your calling me. That was an act of true courage. What you have here is so incriminating, I honestly don’t know where to go next. Because of the manner I have come across this evidence, I don’t know if it can be used against your father. I have to talk this over with the district attorney and get his advice. I do know who I’ll contact first thing in the morning, the FBI. They need to be brought in on this case immediately. There’s plenty of evidence of kidnapping and trafficking. I do need to take this flash drive with me. Do you have a copy?”

  Gerald nodded.

  “I don’t think you should be around your dad until this comes to a head. I don’t want him picking up any vibes from you, and I certainly don’t want you placing yourself in jeopardy.”

  Deidre could tell by the way his pupils dilated that the thought never occurred to him that his father might do him bodily harm. “I suppose you’re right,” he mumbled. “I never go home anyway, except for a few holidays. Damn him.” Gerald turned his face away, trying to stem the tears that rolled down his cheeks.

  Chapter 20

  Deidre reached the top of Thompson Hill, where I-35 drops down to the city of Duluth. She pulled into the parking lot of an overlook and sat for a few minutes. The blue of the lake contrasted against the white snow made for a beautiful sight. Outside the harbor, three ships lay at anchor, and Deidre could tell by their outlines they were “salties,” ships that were built for ocean travel rather than Great Lakes sailing.

  The thought struck her that one of them might be the Ishat, the ship due in harbor on December 10, but then she decided probably not. That would mean a six-day layover, and every day a ship wasn’t moving cost its owners thousands of dollars. She wondered where they were from and where they were headed.

  Deidre reached for her phone and dialed the number of the Lake County sheriff.

  “Hi, this is Deidre Johnson. Will you connect me to Sheriff DeAngelo, please?”

  The phone rang twice. “This is Sheriff DeAngelo. How can I help you?”

  “Jeff, this is Deidre. Glad you were in to take my call. I’ve got some very interesting news concerning the case I’m working on, as well as that of the girl we found on Palisade Head.”

  Deidre went on to explain as briefly as she could what Gerald had shared with her about his father. Every once in a while she heard Jeff mutter into the phone, and she thought she knew what he was thinking.

  “I’m sitting in that rest area atop Thompson Hill, and I wanted to let you know I’m stopping at the FBI office to show them what’s on this flash drive. I’d guess they’ll take it from here, given the severity of what’s been going on and the implication it has to human trafficking, let alone kidnapping, and the international involvement of the individuals.”

  “You have no choice but to notify them. In a way, I’ll be glad to have them take over. A community as small as Silver Bay and a county department the size of mine is hardly set up to handle cases of this magnitude. Hope all goes well when you meet with them.”

  Deidre said goodbye and dialed Ben’s number. “Hey,” she heard his familiar voice. “I hope you’re not calling to cancel for this weekend. I’ve told the girls, and they are making a special surprise for you. They’d be disappointed if you can’t make it.”

  “No, I’ll be there. No problem on that front. However, I do have some big problems, work related. I’m calling in the big guns on this case and need your help. I suppose I could have gone through a receptionist, but you’ll provide a more direct line to the person I should see.”

  She briefly explained why she was calling, and she heard Ben exhale. “Sounds like you found the mother lode,” he said. “You’re at the top of the hill? That means you can be in our building in fifteen minutes. I’ll have a meeting set up for you when you get here. Check in at the front desk, and the receptionist will tell you who you’ll be meeting with. Will you stop and see me before you leave?”

  I-35 dropped almost seven hundred feet to the level of Lake Superior in about a mile, and as Deidre drove down the steep grade, she could feel her ears pop because of the change in elevation. In minutes she was at the bottom of the hill and driving near the slips of the harbor. Several ships were taking on cargo, and she couldn’t help but wonder if there were people being smuggled aboard as well.

  The Federal Building, which housed the FBI offices, loomed over her like a granite castle. As she walked up its time-worn stairs, she wondered if this would be the end of her involvement in the case. If that were so, she’d be able to retreat to her cabin in the Superior National Forest, but she worried that, after this experience, she could ever be content with its isolation again.

  Deidre didn’t have time to mull the idea in her mind. The elevator had her to the sixth floor in seconds, and she stepped out into the reception area. After identifying herself, she was escorted to an office down one of the halls. Her guide knocked on an office door and she heard a man’s voice answer, “Come in.”

  He stood and introduced himself as Zak Burton, district agent in charge of human trafficking. He offered Deidre a seat and pulled up a chair diagonal from her.

  “Ben tells me you have in your possession some very incriminat­ing evidence. How did it come to your attention?”

  Without disclosing too much of her personal history, Deidre related in detail her initial conversation with Gerald Colter, the attorney’s son. Zak wanted to know why Gerald chose to contact her rather than the FBI. In the end, the story of her history with the Colters was told, and the agent was satisfied that Gerald had selected the familiar rather than the FBI.

  “Ben tells me you have a
data storage device. Is there any reason you’d balk at sharing the information with me?”

  The question irritated Deidre. That was why she’d come to him, not to play hide-and-seek. “Of course not,” she answered rather sharply.

  “I wanted to ask. Too often we’re accused of bullying our way because of our backing. I certainly don’t want you to think we’re going to take what you have and push your agency aside. My goal is to work together with whoever is involved. Are there other agencies?”

  Deidre had difficulty not saying, “Let’s just get to the point,” but she answered, “The Silver Bay police force is made up of one full-time officer and a part-time assistant. He’s already relinquished author­ity to the BCA. Jeff DeAngelo is sheriff of Lake County. He was with me when we rescued a girl from her assailant, so he’s involved. He’s a good man, a team player who’ll be an asset to you, if you allow him to be.”

  Agent Burton smiled. “So it’ll be you, me, and Sheriff DeAngelo working together. Did you say his name is Jeff?” He wrote the name on a pad. “Show me what you have.”

  Deidre felt relieved to be getting to the heart of the matter. She wasn’t convinced why Zak had questioned her about who was involved in the investigation to date, but his tone had been non-threatening.

  He placed a laptop computer on the table between them, booted it up, and Deidre inserted the flash drive. The computer made the usual working sounds, and a message appeared on the screen, among the choices, open files. She clicked on those words, and a menu of the files in the flash drive was displayed across the top of the screen. She opened the first file, the spreadsheet showing names of ships, their arrival and departure dates, and what country’s flag they flew.

  Deidre explained to him that the list ended on a date that would roughly coincide with the last day of the shipping season. The locks at Soo St. Marie would close because of ice conditions, and the salties, if they weren’t out by that time would be trapped until spring.

  The second file held little interest to the agent. He remarked that the judge was being paid for an undisclosed service but there was no indication what that service was. He admitted it was a bit unusual for an attorney to have a record of payments to a sitting judge, however, that would be a matter for the State Bar Association to investigate.

  She closed that file and opened the third. Zak looked thought­fully at the rows and columns. “No doubt there’s a correlation to when a certain ship was in the harbor and an amount of money that exchanged hands, a considerable amount of money. Once again we can’t ascertain for what reason the exchange took place. We can surmise, but that’s about all.”

  Deidre was concerned about his dismissive tone. She opened the fourth, and clicked on Anna’s picture icon. The screen lit up with photos of her. Deidre sat silently, waiting for a reaction.

  “‘Ishat–December 10.’ It doesn’t take much imagination to tie this file into the others, does it? But a good lawyer would tear us to pieces with this as our only evidence. First, it was stolen from the attorney’s personal computer. It doesn’t matter that it was his son who committed the theft. Second, there’s no direct link between the files other than they are on the same flash drive. If I were an attorney for the defense in this case, I would claim the files were downloaded from separate sources and placed in this sequence on this data storage device. And, too, I’d link it to you and to the fact that you have a motive for framing the defendant. I’d even bring up the strained relationship between the son and his father.”

  “As for the pictures. I’d claim they should be considered privileged information, obtained from when my client was representing Mr. Leder. I’d claim they were really Leder’s work and had been accessed by you during your investigation into his background. That’d be a stretch, I admit, but then I’d give the jury a more plausible explanation. I’d say my client had them on his computer from when he represented Leder in that juvenile sex case. I’d say my client wanted to examine them to decide whether Leder should plead guilty to a lesser charge. That’s thin, I admit, but I would try to place doubt in the jurors’ minds.”

  Deidre’s shoulders slumped in anticipation of being dismissed. Zak continued. “However, there’s no doubt in my mind, or yours I’m sure, that we have a large scale human trafficking operation happening on the docks. We’ve known about it. Port security has known about it. The media knows about it, but until now we’ve had few inroads. Now we do. What you have here is invaluable.”

  Deidre perked up. “But with all the loopholes you pointed out to me, where do we go from here?”

  For the first time Zak laughed. “We catch them, that’s where we go. I’m going to download these files into my computer. I want you to take this flash drive with you, and share its contents with Sheriff DeAngelo. We’re going to be attacking the situation on the docks, but I want him informed. It’s only fifteen miles from here to the southern edge of Lake County, and I want him ready for anything that spills his way. I plan to meet with our trafficking division tomorrow. I’ll share with them what you’ve brought me, and get back to you on Friday. Will you be available to meet with us that morning?”

  I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Deidre thought. “Of course,” she answered.

  She turned the wrong way leaving his office and walked the distance of the hallway before she realized her mistake. Backtracking, she walked past Zak’s office. The door was open a crack, and she heard him on the phone, speaking to someone.

  “Hi, Sammy? I’m calling about a ship, the Ishat, scheduled to arrive in port on December 10.”

  She didn’t dare stop and eavesdrop on his conversation. She hoped he was on her side.

  *****

  Thursday morning, Deidre allowed herself some extra minutes to visit with Inga.

  “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all you’re doing for me. I’m just sorry I haven’t been a good guest. I come in at all hours, sometimes not at all, and you’re taking such good care of Pete. I think he’s gained five pounds since he started his stay in your kennel.”

  Inga patted her hand. “Think nothing of it. It’s nice to have something to do besides putter around the house. I do wish you’d take better care of yourself. Pete might have gained five pounds, but I think you’ve lost ten. You won’t be good for anything if you run yourself into the ground. Here, have another caramel roll.” She pushed the plate toward Deidre, who eyed it for a second.

  “Who could resist this treat?”

  The women chatted a few more minutes. Deidre stood to leave.

  “Tell you what, I should have a short day. Would you like to cook supper together tonight? I’ll pick up groceries on the way home.”

  Inga’s eyes lit up, and she left no doubt that was what she’d like.

  Deidre was late getting to work, and when she walked through her office door, Jill, very pointedly, looked at her watch. Then she laughed. “Good to see you relaxing a bit. How did your meeting go with Mr. Colter? Did he have anything productive to offer?”

  “Some.” Deidre evaded the question. “Now about you? Did you come up with anything on those initials?”

  Jill took a swig from the coffee cup on her desk. “Locally, nothing. When I widened the search to the Arrowhead Region, I still drew a blank. Next, I went state wide. There I had two hits. The first that came up was the Rochester Region Rowing Club. I think we can disregard them. They’re a small group with no facility or set meeting place. They wouldn’t have need for a key like you found. The second is the Red Rooster Restaurant in Belltown, Minnesota. It’s a tiny village in the far southwest corner of the state. It’s a mom and pop place. Hardly a crew you’d suspect of being murderers. As you would expect, a national search turned up countless possibilities. So many, in fact, that I doubt it’ll be helpful. I copied the list to your computer. You can wade through it, if you really think it’ll be of use.”

 
Deidre thanked her, not wanting to say that she had discovered a lead that would probably break the case wide open. “I’m running upstairs to talk to Jeff. Be back soon. Mind the store while I’m gone.”

  She sprang up the stairs to the top floor, taking two steps at a time. Fortunately, Jeff was in, and he welcomed her into his office.

  She walked out of his office an hour later, leaving Jeff shaking his head and being thankful someone else was leading the charge on this case. Jill was on her lunch break, but on her desk was a note: Call Zak Burton as soon as you get back.

  Deidre dialed his number, expecting the recorded message of an answering machine.

  “Deidre,” Zak answered excitedly. “I’ve just come from a meeting with the division members. I want you to meet them tomorrow morning, if you can free up the time. We want to get your opinion on a plan we’ve drawn up. Also, they want to meet the person who did the footwork to give us our big break. Can you make it?”

  Deidre was a little surprised. When she had first gone into law enforcement, the competition between agencies had been fierce. That seemed to be lessening, at least at the local level. A spirit of coopera­tion was evolving.

  “I’ll be there. What time?” She made an entry into her phone’s reminder function.

  For the first time in many days, Deidre was at a loss for something to do. She shuffled through some papers and considered calling the hospital to ask if Kimi had shown any improvement.

  When she could find nothing more to occupy her time, she picked up her phone.

  “Melissa, do you have time to talk?” Her call was greeted with a friendly, “Deidre. Great to hear from you. We’ve been receiving your reports. Seems this is a tough one. Any new developments?”

  She wanted to tell Melissa everything, but decided she better wait for the fallout to clear from her latest discovery.

  “Nothing of any significance right now. I’ve alerted the FBI to the possibility we are dealing with the trafficking of young women. Other than that it is pretty much status quo. I just wanted to hear your voice, and let you know I’m on the job up here. I didn’t realize this would be such a lonely job when I took it. Tell me, have Anna’s parents been able to claim her body yet?”