Currents of Sin

by Arleen Alleman

  Mick reached over and patted her arm. She looked up at him with tears pooling in her eyes.

  “It’s never too late to make amends,” he said.

  “Maybe. I know I didn’t show it, but I do love Penelope. She is unbelievably smart, and I was so stupid.”

  She looked out the window and seemed to study the rooftops below. “While I was living in Seattle, I had this prepaid cell phone a pimp downtown gave me. He bought me food and a bunch of clothes and said I could live a luxury lifestyle with him. Not long after I moved in, he told me I would have to work as a prostitute to repay him.”

  “Was that Shimmer?” I asked.

  She stared at me with dawning realization. “Yes, he worked for the security manager, Mirabelle, right?”

  “Apparently so. Do you know that he was murdered?”

  She sat in silence for a minute. Shaking her head, she said quietly, “No, I didn’t know that. Who killed him?”

  “We think now that it was Nate Mirabelle’s doing, and it might have been at least in part because Shimmer talked with us. I feel bad about that.”

  “Don’t. It was inevitable. Sooner or later, guys like that end up dead. Maybe there’s some karma in that.”

  “So were you with Shimmer when Don found you after your mother died?”

  “That’s right. He told me this bizarre story about his adopted daughter being my sister. I couldn’t believe my mom never told me about her. He was really convincing and seemed very kind, so I agreed to go with him to Seattle. I didn’t tell Shimmer, and I thought he would hurt me if he found out.

  “But I kept the phone.” She shook her head again as if she couldn’t believe her own actions. “When I began to think the move was a mistake, I was scared, but I still called him. He seemed happy to hear from me and said all was forgiven. He paid for my bus ticket back to Vegas.”

  Her shoulders began to shake, and she sobbed pitifully. I moved my chair closer to put my arm around her. A sharp pain bloomed in my side, but I sucked it up. Finally, she quieted and said she wanted to finish her story.

  “I didn’t really understand Don’s and Charlie’s arrangement. They said they were married, but I didn’t have any experience with anything like that. I guess trying to get to know Penelope was a little overwhelming too.

  “Anyway, Shimmer met me at the bus station, and we went back to the Green Door and started up again. A few days later, he put me into a car with a driver and Chuck. He was my handler at Athens. They said my new name was Misty, and I could never use my real one again. They gave me pills that almost knocked me out and took me to the hotel. That was it. I tried so hard not to take all the drugs Chuck gave me. That made it even harder. He was so brutal. He beat me very badly several times.”

  She began to cry again, then wiped her eyes and gazed at Mick with so much gratitude it nearly broke my heart.

  “I’ll never be able to thank you for rescuing me from there. You saved my life, and I’m going to make sure I don’t get into anything like that again. Not even close.”

  Mick asked, “Do you want to come to the deli with us? You are welcome to, but if you’d rather stay here, we understand. We’ll only be gone an hour or so.”

  She gave it some thought. “The Strohmayrs were very good to me before, and I’d like to thank them.”

  “That’s great. You should come along. They will be happy to see you.”

  73

  Deborah and Walter made quite a fuss over Pammie and wanted to hear all the details of the raid at Athens Olympia. Curtis joined us, and it took a few minutes for them to grasp that he was not the dangerous pimp they thought he was.

  I was surprised when the normally stoic Walter embraced Pammie. “Deborah and I are so pleased to see you, and we’re grateful you’ve come out of your ordeal looking so well. What are your plans now? If you need a job, we can help you out here.”

  “I want to thank both of you for trying to help me before. I know I didn’t seem grateful. I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet, but I appreciate the job offer, and I’ll let you know.”

  Deborah caught my eye, and I explained. “She is going to meet with Don Freeburg tomorrow. He’s the one who found her downtown and took her to Seattle to live with his family. Her biological sister is Don’s adopted daughter.”

  “Oh, how nice that there is a family out there that cares about you. I was worried that you wouldn’t have anywhere to go.”

  Pammie smiled shyly. “I’m looking forward to seeing him, but I don’t know if it will work out for me to go back there.”

  “Let’s sit down and get something to eat,” I suggested, wanting to change the subject. Mainly I wanted to get off my feet. My body ached and throbbed all over, especially my rib and lower back.

  Easing into my chair, I thought about what Pammie had said. I assumed Don would try to talk her into returning to Seattle, but she was an adult after all and might have other ideas. In a way, I saw that it was wise for her to wait and think about such a big decision.

  Curtis filled us in on the status of Mirabelle and his crew as well as the gang members. He said they were all scheduled for arraignment tomorrow morning, and he doubted the court would grant bail for any of them.

  “They’ve broken a whole host of state, county, and federal laws. I’d say they’re definitely toast. I only wish we could make cases against some of the others. After the Asians lie low for a while, they’ll just start up again with a new bunch of gang members. Thankfully, I’ll be assigned elsewhere.

  “However, one of the gang members, Ray—the one with the facial tats—decided to talk. He’s providing information in exchange for protection because once he does that, his life won’t be worth spit.

  “Oh, another thing you’ll be interested to hear is that Tadashi Ping is in trouble with the gang because he was supposed to ensure your girls—Tina and Banu—were made available to traffickers. He failed in that mission. Apparently, there are periodic flights out of the country transporting teens that are taken from the motel, and they were scheduled to be next. The FBI is looking into that international connection and might also give Ping immunity and protection in exchange for his testimony. I told them they’d better hurry. He might not be around much longer.”

  Curtis was clearly frustrated and angry. “I didn’t even know that was going on with the flights out of the country. It’s amazing how much I didn’t know given all the time I spent down there. They are very discreet, and it takes a long time to penetrate the upper levels of the gang hierarchy. The levels below don’t even know who they’re working for.”

  More pieces fell into place for me with respect to Ping’s so-called mission. Tina and Banu were even luckier than I suspected. Banu’s instincts were good, and Tina literally owes her life to her little friend.

  Mick picked up my hand and looked around the table. “The girls will be safe at STAY, thanks to Darcy’s and Tom Smythe’s efforts to gain their confidence.”

  Deborah said, “Thanks again for all you did. By the way, how is Lucy doing, and what about her daughter?”

  I sighed and leaned back. “That’s another story, and I’m not sure the ending will be quite so positive. Lorraine is trying to help Marta, but the girl is an addict, and it isn’t clear she’ll allow herself to be helped. Lucy is recovering slowly under Lorraine’s care, but she probably has permanent brain damage. It will be a long time before she can work again, if ever. Lorraine is committed to seeing her through the recovery. She’s a saint in my book.”

  74

  Day 16

  After arriving on a late-night flight, Don spent most of the day with Pammie. They tried out different restaurants and took some long walks. Mick and I let them have their privacy, and when Don came to our room and announced that she’d agreed to go back to Seattle, I wasn’t really surprised. I was still a little dubious, though.

  He told us tha
t she freely talked to him about her ordeal. “The funny thing is I realize that was the first real conversation I ever had with her—you know, where I knew she was being completely open and honest. I reassured her that Charlie and I are here for her no matter what she decides to do.”

  He described how she convincingly assured him that this time she knew what she was doing. “She promised to enroll in school and actually said she wants to be part of our family. She even told me she can’t wait to see Penelope.”

  “That’s great news, Don. We wish you all the best.”

  “I know you have doubts, but I really believe she’s a different girl now. Hell, she’s practically an adult. So one way or the other, she probably won’t be with us that long. If we can convince her to go to college and she stays in contact with Penelope, it will all be worth it.”

  It sounded good, but I hoped the guys were not in for another even greater disappointment. My cynicism didn’t matter, and so he bought her a last-minute plane ticket, and they flew home. He promised to keep in touch and let us know how she and Penelope were getting along.

  Mick had to return to DC to work, but I couldn’t leave without seeing that Sid was further down the road to recovery. He said he understood and that he would see me when I felt I could leave. I sort of believed him, but this situation was not what either of us wanted for ourselves. We could put our lives on hold for our friends a little longer, though, and the possibility of Rachael coming to the States was a ray of hope.

  How I hated not getting on that flight with him. The past two weeks exhausted me both physically and emotionally. I needed to unwind, and his arms are always a good place to do that.

  On the other hand, for the past week, I’d been mulling over an idea that wouldn’t let me rest. My investigative nature and personal involvement with Sid’s problems made me want to get some sort of additional closure for her and for me. As soon as Mick left, I started doing some research and soon formed a plan. I was fairly certain he would try to talk me out of it, but I couldn’t let that stop me.

  In the early evening, I went to visit Tina and Banu. They were still settling in and seemed happy to be starting school and to be doing something productive with their lives. Lorraine told me she was very pleased with their progress so far.

  Lucy and her daughter were another matter. I was sorry to hear that my suspicions were correct. Lucy’s injuries would take a long time to heal, and the burden of her care was on Lorraine. Marta was resistant to shaking her drug habit and was of little help. Worse, she was already beginning to stay out after hours without permission.

  Lorraine said, “She doesn’t seem to have learned anything from the beatings and doesn’t want to acknowledge how lucky she is to be alive.”

  “Oh, I thought she was cooperating with the police and was on a better track.”

  “She did cooperate at first, and she says she’s glad the Athens Olympia operation was taken down. But she isn’t ready to make a big-enough change in her personal life. I suspect I won’t be able to let her stay here much longer under the circumstances. Lucy will be laid up for months, and I’m afraid Marta is headed for foster care. That would be the positive outcome at this point, but until she kicks her drug habit, she’ll end up in the care of the state.”

  “I know you are doing everything you can. You have a lot of responsibility, and I understand you have to put your energy and resources where it will do some good.”

  Saying that gave me an idea. “Lorraine, have you noticed how bright Tina is? I know she’s young and she was taken in by Tadashi Ping, but I’m wondering if maybe she could help you out. Maybe she could do some chores around here to lighten your load, at least until you hire another assistant. I think she has a good head on her shoulders.”

  “Hmm, that’s an idea. By the way, her last name is French. She was the victim of two extremely abusive parents and ran away from them before they damaged her too much. It’s a strange thing. She’s very lucky to have survived her time on the street, but in a perverse way, she might have been better off there than at home.

  “She knows she can never go back to her parents—doesn’t want to. And the county has taken control of her until she turns eighteen. She’ll be seventeen in a few months. You’re right about how smart she is, and I have high expectations for her. We’ll see how she gets along over the next few weeks. Maybe I could hire her for a few hours a day. I’ll give it some thought. She seems very happy to be attending school, and that is a good sign.”

  “Lorraine, I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear that. I hope it works out for her. By the way, what is Banu’s situation? I mean, how long will she be able to stay here? The reason I ask is that Tom Smythe is very interested in helping her, and I believe he’ll come to visit her before too long.”

  “She can stay up to a year if she follows the rules and stays in school. Actually, Mr. Smythe has called twice to ask about her. My impression is that he is quite involved. He told me he wants to pay for whatever she needs in the way of clothing and school supplies.”

  “I’m not surprised. That’s Tom. He’s a wonderful man, and you can be assured he’s completely sincere.”

  75

  Six weeks later

  Through the car window, the passing scenery reminded me of death—brown and desiccated—compared with the verdant vegetation in Florida and the DC area. I’d lived away from Colorado so long that the high desert in the middle of summer was beginning to look like a foreign, even alien, landscape.

  My drive down Highway 115 from Colorado Springs across the edge of Fort Carson Army Base, then on to Florence was quiet and uneventful. My destination brought me to within ten miles of Canon City and the state penitentiary. I was heading to a prison all right, but not such a mundane one.

  The Federal Correctional Complex, ADX Florence, is the only supermax prison in the country. It is a main attraction for nearby Florence, a town of just over 3,600 people. In a more illustrious past, the mining town served as a transportation hub for three railroads, including cars hauling coal northeast from the neighboring towns of Rockvale and Coal Creek.

  After the discovery of oil in 1862, the town enjoyed a period of rapid growth, and the western boomtown was incorporated in 1887. The past century brought many changes, including greatly diminished population and economic importance. Now it’s just a small Colorado town known for little else save being home to the most secure prison in the United States.

  To say that I was nervous about this trip would be an understatement. Before embarking, I studied many sources of information about the town and the prison, thinking that knowledge would help calm me. It didn’t work.

  After flying to Colorado Springs less than a week ago, I’d been living at my patio home atop a bluff at the north end of town, still trying to relax. While there, I also prepared to list the property with a Realtor.

  It was time to let go of the place where I was living when I met Mick and our story began. For a time, during the past year, we thought Mick might take a position with the US marshals in Denver, in which case we would live in Colorado Springs at least part-time. That job did not materialize, so there was no point in keeping the property any longer. The DC condo and Florida home were enough to worry about, and anyway, my days of identifying as a Coloradoan were over.

  After Mick returned to DC, I stayed in Vegas to help Sid and Brooks for several weeks before returning home myself. We spent two wonderful weeks at the condo while I prepared for this trip. Fortunately, he was able to take a few days’ leave, and the leisure time we spent together was pure heaven.

  Following his initial short-lived negative reaction to my plan, he came around to an understanding of my motive. By the time I left him again, he seemed to be on board with the idea and was even curious about the outcome himself. I was grateful for his help in preparing me for this venture. Visiting the prison was a new experience, and I picked his brain abou
t prison protocols and what I should expect. He has visited federal prisons a number of times for his GAO work evaluating federal law enforcement activities.

  As I crossed the Arkansas River just outside Florence, I analyzed how I ended up here in rural South Central Colorado on a dubious mission. Shortly after the arrests at Athens Olympia, I asked Grant Murray if he could help me with the idea that wouldn’t stop nagging at me.

  He graciously contacted the federal prosecutor in charge of Paul Denezza’s case, and after several rounds of discussion, I got what I wanted. The Bureau of Prisons gave me permission to see Paul under their policy that allows qualified media representatives to conduct interviews under regulated conditions.

  The visit required several weeks to arrange. During that time, Paul was consulted and agreed to meet with me. He supposedly added me to his visitor list, which was required in order for me to talk with him. I hoped he’d really done that. Otherwise, this trip was for nothing.

  I easily found a parking space in the near-empty visitors’ lot next to Paul’s residence, the US Penitentiary building. I was prepared, but the scene was still disconcerting. I observed the heavily armed patrols cruising the sprawling complex, the walls topped with razor wire surrounding the squat buildings, and the dozen manned gun turrets resembling a cross between grain silos and air traffic control towers.

  Sincerely hoping I would not later regret this, I exited the car and stood for a minute, taking in the disquieting surroundings while I breathed in the thin fresh Colorado air. I couldn’t help but think about the inmates and how little of the outside air they experienced.

  Like most of the four hundred inmates, Paul spent twenty-three hours a day alone in a seven-by-twelve-foot cell. Mick gave me a depressing description of these enclosures. The only furnishings are a concrete bed and desk with an unmovable stool; an all-in-one toilet, sink, and water fountain; and a shower on a timer. The inmates can’t see anything beyond the walls of their cells.