Visible Threat

by Cantore, Janice

  “I’m open to suggestions,” Maggie offered. She’d followed Brinna into the living room and stood leaning in the archway that separated the two rooms. “But just what do you want to search?”

  Blowing out her breath, Brinna threw her hands up. “I don’t know! This is so frustrating.” She faced Maggie with her hands on her hips, a frown creasing her features. Just then there was a knock at the door.

  “What now?” Maggie asked.

  Brinna went to the door. She opened it, and there was Jack with a young girl. Brinna gaped. It was Gracie Kaplan, the girl with the case of hero worship.

  “Hi.” Jack smiled. “I don’t know if I’m glad to see you up, ’cause it sure looks as though you didn’t get the sleep you needed.” He rubbed his chin. “Anyway, I’d planned to stop by and see if you wanted to go to the station with me. I figured you’d need to be doing something instead of sitting around.” He looked down at Gracie. “When I got here, I found this young lady loitering in your driveway.”

  Gracie shot Brinna a pained expression. “I wasn’t loitering,” she protested. “I came by because I want to help. I heard about your mother and the lost girl. I wasn’t sure if I should knock or not.” Her blue eyes were earnest, and Brinna understood her desire. But she had no idea how to nurture it.

  Brinna brought a hand to her mouth and studied Gracie out of the corner of her eye. How do I encourage the girl without letting her see how helpless I feel? she wondered.

  “I’d love your help if I had something for you to do,” she said after a minute. “For starters, you both can come inside. Maybe all of us together can think up a game plan.” She stepped aside and Jack and Gracie walked in.

  “Is it true your mother was kidnapped by gangsters?” Gracie asked.

  “Uh . . .” Brinna thought carefully before she spoke. She remembered being that age and hating it when adults talked down to her, so she decided Gracie would be treated like a grown-up. “That’s the best theory we have right now.”

  Gracie regarded her with a solemn expression. “I know how I would feel if someone took my mom. Even if you just want me to make you lunch, I will do that.”

  The girl was so serious, so committed, Brinna couldn’t help but smile. “I appreciate that; I really do. Right now we’re good, and I think this situation might be a bit too dangerous for you to get involved in.”

  “Could you use some moral support?”

  “Yeah, I can always use that. But do your parents know that you are here?”

  “I told them I wanted to help you.”

  “That’s not a whole answer.”

  Gracie looked away. “Maybe I could have been more specific.”

  “The best support you can give me is to call your parents and let them know where you are and make certain it’s okay for you to be here; got it?”

  “I guess.”

  Maggie stepped up. “Why don’t you introduce me to your friend and then we’ll call her parents.”

  “Thanks, Mags,” Brinna said. “This is Gracie Kaplan. She’s the girl who took photos of Henry Corliss. Gracie, this is Maggie Sloan.”

  “Oh,” Maggie exclaimed, “the little hero. How nice to meet you.”

  “I’m not a hero. Brinna is the hero,” Gracie gushed. At the sound of his name, Hero got up to sniff the smallest new arrival. “Are you an officer too?” she asked Maggie as she scratched Hero’s head.

  “You kidding? I taught Brinna everything she knows.” Maggie winked at Brinna, then directed Gracie to the couch and the phone on the table next to it.

  Brinna turned her attention to Jack. “What were you going to do at the station?”

  Jack sat in her recliner and shrugged. “I don’t know—answer the phones, look through reports. I just hate waiting.”

  “You sound like an echo,” Maggie said. “Brinna said the same thing a few minutes ago.”

  Gracie was punching in a phone number.

  Brinna looked at Jack and nodded toward the kitchen. He followed her there.

  “Did Chuck tell you what they found out about the house in Hawaiian Gardens?” she asked.

  “Actually, Ben called me. He’d been out there with them all morning and was on his way home to get some sleep. The entire operation has been taken over by the Feds.”

  “Something has to come of the search warrants.” Brinna pulled out a kitchen chair and sat, wishing she could hit something, but one broken wrist was enough. She did feel somewhat calmer now that Jack was here. He always seemed to stand on even ground, no matter what was swirling around him. She wanted to ask if he was praying and if he thought God was listening. She certainly hoped that he was.

  Just then her cell phone rang. When she said hello, the voice she heard on the other end nearly made her drop the phone. She felt her face blanch and stood up from the chair so fast it fell over backward with a loud crash.

  “Mom?”

  “Yes, Brinna, it’s me. I don’t have much time. You have to listen carefully.”

  “Wh-where are you?” Brinna stared at Jack and pointed at the phone. He moved next to her, leaning with his ear toward the phone.

  “I can’t tell you that.”

  Jack held one hand up as he pulled out his cell phone and stepped away. “Stall.”

  In the background Brinna heard a man with a heavily accented voice declare, “She’s got a gun to her head. That’s all you need to know.”

  “I need you to tell me . . .” Rose spoke again, pausing briefly, and Brinna could hear the man telling her what to say. “There was a man at the house the police found, where the girls were. Where is the man now, and what has he told the police?”

  Brinna frowned, covered the receiver with her palm, and mouthed to Jack, “What should I say?”

  He motioned for her to keep talking.

  “Mom, I don’t understand. Are you okay? Is Ivana okay?”

  “Just answer the question, please, Brinna Marie. It’s important.”

  Brinna sucked in a breath. Her mother had used her middle name. She hadn’t heard that in years, and then she’d only done it when Brinna was in big trouble. “He’s dead, Mom. The man in the house shot himself before we got inside.”

  Her mother repeated the message, and the connection ended.

  “Mom? Mom?” Brinna looked at Jack and held the phone up. “She’s gone.”

  Jack shot her a look, listening carefully to whomever he was talking to on his cell phone.

  In the archway Maggie and Gracie stood watching Brinna. “That was your mom?” Maggie asked.

  “Yeah. She didn’t say much.” Brinna righted the chair and sat, fearing her weak knees would not hold her up much longer. “At least I know she’s alive.”

  Jack shut his cell phone, and everyone turned to face him. “I just spoke to Darryl Welty. Remember the shopkeeper? Magda?”

  When Brinna nodded, he continued. “She’s in his office. She says she knows who has your mother and where she might be.”

  56

  A STRING OF CURSES erupted from Simon when he heard Brinna’s words about Sergei. He ripped the phone away from Mrs. Caruso and threw it across the room. Ivana cringed, certain this was the end for her and Mrs. Caruso.

  “I don’t believe them! They killed Sergei. Lying police. Lies, lies, lies,” he ranted.

  Ivana stood, rooted to the spot with fear, wringing her hands.

  Finally he shoved the gun in Mrs. Caruso’s face and pointed to Ivana. “Get back over there. I must think.”

  Mrs. Caruso moved to where Ivana stood, and the pair held hands. The other man began speaking in Bulgarian, and Ivana listened and watched, transfixed.

  “We must call for help now,” he insisted. “If they killed Sergei, we are next.” He waved a hand in Ivana’s direction. “Just kill them and let’s go, now!”

  “No!” Simon screamed. “I will not run. Animals run.”

  “You are a fool. They will slow us down.” The man pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. He turned away from Simo
n and headed for the door.

  “Gavin,” Simon called, “don’t. I’m warning you.”

  Gavin ignored him. He reached the door, and Simon raised the gun, yelling one more warning.

  “Stop now!”

  Ivana gasped and cowered against Mrs. Caruso.

  Gavin opened the door. Simon fired. Ivana screamed. The gun’s report was deafening.

  Gavin slumped against the doorframe and dropped the phone. His eyes were wide with shock. He tried to pull something from his pocket.

  Simon fired again.

  Ivana buried her face in Mrs. Caruso’s shoulder, not wanting to look at the dead man or the gun in Simon’s hand . . . now pointed at her and Mrs. Caruso.

  57

  CHAOS ERUPTED when Jack told Brinna, Maggie, and Gracie about Magda Boteva.

  “I know that shop,” Gracie exclaimed. “My neighbor Laura works there. Her boss is a kidnapper?”

  “No, no, that’s not what I said.” Jack raised his hands to calm everyone down. “She has information about the kidnapping.”

  At first Brinna was speechless; then a seething anger began to boil up inside. “And just how long has she known this?” she demanded. “My mother has been gone for hours.”

  “Darryl didn’t give me the whole story. You and I have to get down to the station, talk to the woman, and let everyone know about the phone call you just got.”

  “Should I go interview Laura?” Gracie bounced on her toes with anticipation. “Maybe she’ll know something about all this.”

  “No,” Brinna and Jack exclaimed at the same time. They exchanged glances, and Brinna shook her head, gesturing to Jack, wanting him to explain to Gracie why that was a bad idea.

  “Gracie, we appreciate that you want to help, but you have to leave this to the police, okay?”

  “But, Detective O’Reilly! Maybe there’s something I can do that the police can’t.”

  Maggie stepped in. “Hey, Gracie, it’s great you want to help, but the most important thing now is to get Brinna’s mom and Ivana home safe. You don’t want to jeopardize that, do you?”

  The girl looked crestfallen. “No, but—”

  “Mags.” Brinna took a deep breath. “Jack and I have to get going. What did Gracie’s mother say?”

  “She was happy to know Gracie was here with us and said she’d come to pick her up if we want.”

  “She also said that I can stay if I’m helping. I want to help.”

  “You and Gracie can help me most by walking Hero and then feeding him. Then you should probably go home, okay?” She looked from Maggie to Gracie.

  “Sure,” Maggie said. “How does that sound, Gracie? After we take care of Hero, I’ll give you a ride home.”

  “Okay, I guess.” She was deflated but Brinna barely noticed. She was halfway out the door, fanny pack in hand, waving for Jack to catch up.

  Maggie hollered from the porch, “Good luck!” Then she crossed her fingers.

  Brinna held that image in her mind, knowing exactly what her mother would have said had she seen it. “No use crossing your fingers. It’s not fate or luck that controls our lives; it’s a loving God in heaven.”

  I don’t really know how to pray, Brinna thought, but oh, Lord, if you’re there and you’re real, please bring my mom home safe.

  Brinna realized how much she wanted to have another conversation about God with her mom. Will I ever have the chance?

  Jack drove to the station. Brinna, in the passenger seat, had a white-knuckle grip on her seat belt.

  “Darryl said this woman had a lot of information about Ivana and the trafficking?” she asked Jack.

  “Apparently she knows a lot.”

  Welty’s news that this woman, this shop owner, was in his office ready to come completely clean with what she knew about Ivana and her mother was shocking and enraging at the same time. Brinna seethed, wondering just how long the woman had had this important information.

  “Did Welty tell you anything else?” she asked Jack through gritted teeth.

  “That she knew who was responsible for enslaving the girls and where Ivana and Rose were likely being held.”

  “This makes me furious. If she’d spoken up sooner, she might have prevented everything!”

  “We don’t know that. And we don’t know her involvement; maybe she is as much a victim as the girls.”

  “She runs a successful business and dresses in expensive clothes. She’s not a victim.”

  “Just hang on until we know the whole story.” Jack reached across the car and gripped Brinna’s hand. Brinna squeezed back and took a deep breath. Jack’s touch and presence calmed her, but the anger was there, just beneath the surface.

  The station was six minutes from Brinna’s house if you made all the traffic lights. Jack got there in five. SWAT was mobilizing in the parking lot when they arrived. Jack and Brinna jogged to the station and took the stairs up to the burglary floor.

  Brinna’s heart was in her throat when she stepped into the office and came face-to-face with Magda Boteva. The woman sat in front of Darryl’s desk, wiping her eyes with Kleenex. Holding her hand was a blond-haired man with one leg. Darryl had said that the woman came in with her husband.

  “You guys sure got here quick.” Darryl leaned back in his chair. “I’d like to introduce Magda and Anton. They’ve given us quite a bit of information.”

  There was only one bit of information, one question Brinna wanted answered. “Where is my mother?”

  58

  “MY LIFE IS OVER,” Simon said, standing over the body of his coconspirator. For the moment he seemed to forget about Ivana and Mrs. Caruso, but Ivana could not forget about the gun in his hand.

  Her entire body shook with fear. She had never seen someone die, much less be shot to death before her eyes, and now she couldn’t force her gaze from the gruesome scene just played out in front of her. Mrs. Caruso held Ivana close and tried to calm her fears, but Ivana could tell the shooting had cracked Mrs. Caruso’s calm reserve. The older woman shook along with Ivana, and Ivana wondered if they both were taking their final breaths.

  Simon rubbed his chin and mumbled something Ivana couldn’t make out. Her ears were still ringing from the two thunderous gunshots. When he turned and faced the two women, Ivana held her breath.

  “There is no escape. Demitri will find me, or your police will kill me.” He pointed the gun at Rose Caruso, and Ivana felt the older woman’s body grow taut. “How did it come to this bleak place?”

  Ivana’s hand tightened on Mrs. Caruso’s, and suddenly the room felt frigid. She stared at Simon, never having seen such dark, hopeless eyes. He had always been the cheerful, friendly captor, the only one she’d trusted. Now, watching him, and fearing the gun, she felt certain she and Mrs. Caruso were dead.

  “As long as you have breath in your body, there’s hope,” Mrs. Caruso said, her calm voice eerie in the dimly lit room.

  Ivana did not take her eyes off Simon to look at her friend. But she hoped with all her heart that Mrs. Caruso had the words to stop the madman, because Ivana couldn’t find it in herself to even speak.

  Simon grunted something Ivana didn’t understand.

  “It’s not too late to end this.” Mrs. Caruso continued speaking, her voice soothing. “American justice says you get a lawyer and a fair trial. Let us go; you haven’t hurt us. I’ll make sure the authorities know that you are not a bad man.”

  “You are wrong,” Simon shouted, pointing the gun directly at Rose Caruso. “I am a very bad man!” A sob escaped him. “But I am not as bad as Demitri.” He threw his head back, banging it against the door. “I do not fear your authorities.” A strangled laugh bubbled forth. “I fear Demitri. Only death will provide me with escape from him.”

  Ivana agreed with Simon even as the name Demitri caused anger to build inside her. He was the devil behind all of this. The only thing she understood in this entire crazy situation was the fear Simon had for that man.

  “I refuse to
believe that.” Mrs. Caruso continued to plead with Simon, interrupting Ivana’s train of thought and desire for revenge. “If Demitri is behind all this, then he should pay. You can help the police here arrest him, and he will be held responsible. Any help you give will just make things better for you.”

  Mrs. Caruso extricated herself from Ivana and stood. “Please, I know how the police work in this country. Let us go. I’ll talk to them, explain what you’re afraid of. Explain that you felt threatened by this man you shot. Give yourself up, and tell them what you know. There is still hope for you.”

  “You know nothing!” Simon screamed and Ivana jumped. But Mrs. Caruso stayed still even as Simon released a stream of angry Bulgarian.

  “I know that you are afraid,” Mrs. Caruso said when he took a breath. “So am I, and so is Ivana. But there doesn’t have to be any more bloodshed or brutality.” She held her hands out. “You think you have no power, but you’re wrong. You have the power to end this now and save three lives. Give me the gun; let us go. You won’t regret it.”

  Ivana held her breath. Simon’s face contorted, and his eyes seemed to grow darker. She remembered earlier, when Mrs. Caruso had sought to calm her fears by talking about God and the Savior Jesus. Mrs. Caruso had told her that when you had fear, if you prayed to God and believed that he was real and that he’d heard you, he would give you strength. Ivana wasn’t certain about Mrs. Caruso’s God, but she knew right now she needed strength.

  With all of her heart she prayed, begging this God to protect them both and to make Simon drop the gun. But the look in Simon’s eyes caused her hope to flee. He was not a man who would pay any attention to reason now.

  Her heart seemed to stop beating. She knew that, in seconds, both she and Mrs. Caruso could be dead. Praying harder, she begged for a God she barely knew to intervene.

  59

  “IF I KNEW EXACTLY where she was, I would tell you.” Magda held Brinna’s simmering gaze.

  “But you know who took her and who killed Ivana’s sister? You know that?” Brinna leaned into the woman’s face.