by Leigh Jones
Kate’s throat constricted at the thought of Reyes going free.
“If that’s what’s going on here, Reyes will get away with it. All of it. How is that even possible?” Her voice warbled, but she was too distraught to care. She looked from Mattingly to Lewis, willing them to tell her she was wrong. After a few heartbeats of silence, a sickening dread bloomed in her gut and crept up her chest, burning a trail along the inside of her ribcage.
“He can’t get away with it!”
Mattingly shook his head slowly. “It’s not right. But it wouldn’t be the first time someone got away with something like this, or worse.”
“I don’t think Reyes is innocent,” Lewis said. “But it’s possible that he didn’t really know what was going on. Vargas could have been the one behind the whole thing.”
Kate shook her head. “I’ll never believe that. You think Vargas, a petty criminal who dropped out of high school, had the contacts with businessmen in Houston to keep an operation like this going?”
“Well, we only know of one businessman—James Finney. It’s possible all the other customers were local.”
“How likely is that?”
“Probably not likely. But unless Finney gives them up as part of a plea deal, we’ll probably never know.”
Kate groaned.
Across the newsroom, her phone started to ring. Relieved for an excuse to escape Mattingly’s office, she jumped up and trotted across the open space, snatching up the receiver just before the call rolled to voicemail.
“Kate Bennett.”
“Miss Bennett, this is Beverly Pointer, with Eduardo Reyes’ office. Mr. Reyes asked me to let you know he will be holding a press conference at his warehouse in Galveston in an hour, if you would like to attend.”
Kate’s heart raced, thumping like a dozen little hammers beating against her ear drums. What was Reyes playing at?
“I’ll be there,” she yelped and slammed down the phone.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Dark clouds hung low in the sky and an icy drizzle had started to fall when Kate climbed out of her car in front of Reyes’ warehouse. The flowers at the gate, which had bloomed so brightly during the building’s dedication six months ago, were brown and lifeless. But the same Houston news vans filled the parking lot. Cameramen were setting up their equipment on the loading dock.
Kate climbed the steps, recalling Reyes’ exuberance the last time the media gathered there. She nodded to the TV reporters but kept her distance. She was just beginning to wonder how long Reyes would keep them waiting when a familiar black Cadillac rolled into the parking lot. Mayor Matthew Hanes climbed out of the driver’s side, and Reyes emerged from the passenger’s seat. He waved and flashed one of his trademark grins, only slightly dimmer than usual, at the waiting media. Kate grimaced, disgust mixing with the bile rising in her throat.
As he walked up the steps and across the dock, Reyes shook hands with each reporter, greeting them by name and thanking them for coming. Kate hung back, nodding curtly when he looked her way. For a moment, his sanguine mask slipped and he glared at her with naked hostility. But before she could react, the placid smile returned and he moved on to his next guest. Hanes trailed behind, putting his hands in his pockets and taking them out again in a constant cycle of unease. He looked like he would rather be anywhere but there.
After Reyes had greeted everyone and checked to make sure the cameramen were ready, he took his place at the front of the semi-circle of reporters. He paused, bringing his hands together in front of his torso and tapping his fingers tips, as though considering how to begin. Butterflies beat a nervous dance in Kate’s stomach. She didn’t expect him to make a public confession, but whatever he said would be nearly as momentous.
“Thank you for coming, on what is, I’m sure, a busy Saturday. All of you have been covering this tragedy that has unfolded on our island. Like my fellow Galvestonians, I have watched all of your reports, read every word of your stories, and wept over this plague of immorality. It has cut all of us to the heart.”
Hanes, standing about three feet behind his friend, nodded solemnly. Kate dug her pen impatiently into her notebook, staring at the blank page. Anticipation whipped her butterflies into a hurricane of restless energy. Surely Reyes hadn’t called a press conference to talk about how broken-hearted he was over this story.
“I asked you here today because I have a confession to make, one that pains me more than anyone will ever know.”
Kate’s head snapped up. Her pulse skittered, as a dizzying surge of adrenaline shot through her chest.
“The house on Sportsman Road, where this tragedy unfolded, belongs to me. I bought it several years ago, planning to tear it down and build a waterfront home for my family. But those plans got delayed, as so many of our plans do. In the meantime, I learned a distant cousin of mine, Jose Vargas, needed a place to stay.”
Reyes paused to let the information sink in. Kate tightened her grip around her pen until her fingernails dug into her palm. Her left hand trembled, making it hard to read the words she scribbled in her notebook.
“As you all know by now, Jose was a troubled young man. I had hoped that he would be able to put his life back on the right path, with a place to stay and someone he could come to for advice and help. Sadly, that’s not the road he chose to take.”
Kate’s pulse roared in her ears as the full picture of Reyes’ plan to make Vargas his scapegoat came into focus. It was the perfect solution.
“This last year has been a busy one for me, expanding my practice in Houston and working to get this warehouse built to help provide some power for Galveston’s economic engine. I did not keep as close an eye on Jose as I should have. I will carry regret for that to my grave.”
Behind Reyes, Hanes shook his head sorrowfully. He was the quintessential picture of the sympathetic and supportive friend. But he shifted from foot to foot, clasped and unclasped his hands. He couldn’t seem to figure out whether to look at Reyes or the audience. What had him so antsy?
“Although I do not know all of the details, it appears as though Jose somehow got involved with this trafficking ring and brought some of the girls back to the house. As for the rest, you all know as much as I do. When it seemed as though the police were closing in on his criminal operation, he ran, with disastrous results.”
Kate clenched her teeth together to keep from calling out, branding him the liar every ounce of her intuition told her he was. Nausea swirled in her stomach. Vargas was the ideal fall guy.
“I wanted to be the one to share this information with you because I didn’t want anyone to think I had something to hide. I will cooperate fully with the police as they investigate what happened here, not that I’ll be able to shed much light. But what I do know, I’m happy to share. I’m deeply ashamed that someone in my family, no matter how distantly related, was involved in something like this. And I’m horrified that I somehow helped enable his criminal activity by giving him a place to operate.”
Reyes paused and cast an appraising glance at his audience. Kate met his eye and shook her head just enough for him to catch the movement. She wanted him to know at least one person saw through his pretense. If he noticed, he didn’t react.
“I will never forgive myself, but I hope in time the people of Galveston will,” Reyes concluded, his hand over his heart.
The other reporters surged forward to bombard him with questions. Kate turned away in disgust, trembling with anger and helplessness. Unless his last victim was willing to testify, Reyes would get away with using and selling women as though they were dirty magazines good only for someone else’s gratification. He was a modern day slave trader. Kate took several slow, steady breaths to try to control her shaking. She couldn’t even turn back to look at him. Just the sound of his voice set her skin crawling.
While Kate stood with her back to the gaggle of reporters surrounding Reyes, she noticed Hanes drift away from the group and slink down the steps to the parking lot. She watc
hed as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and fumbled with a lighter. She’d never seen him smoke before. Had he known what his friend was up to all along or was he just now figuring it out? Did he share Reyes’ deep-seated misogyny?
Kate jogged down the steps and stole up behind him as he was taking his second, long drag.
“That’s a nasty habit,” she said.
Hanes jumped, almost dropping the cigarette. He scowled at her before catching himself and offering a wan smile.
“It is. Don’t tell my wife. She thinks I quit in college.” He huffed a mirthless chuckle, smoke curling serpent-like from his nose.
Kate’s eyes narrowed. Hanes looked as guilty and nervous as Reyes had every right to be. What was he afraid of?
“Are you confident the police have this investigation under control?” she asked, stalling as her mind raced to figure out what was at the root of his unease.
“Absolutely. As far as I can tell, they have arrested everyone who was involved. Now we just have to wait for the legal process to play out. I have great faith in our courts, as you know.”
Kate pursed her lips. He was acting as though the case was closed. What was the rush?
“Chief Lugar said yesterday he anticipated making more arrests, particularly at the port. They’re still trying to figure out how many people were involved in this operation. Do you know something the rest of us don’t?”
“No, no, no. Not at all.” The little bit of color in Hanes’ cheeks had drained away. “Really, Miss Bennett, it’s like you’re trying to put words in my mouth.”
Hanes dropped his cigarette and ground it out with his shoe.
“If you don’t have any other questions, I have a phone call to make,” Hanes said, leaning against his car with one hand and pulling his cell phone from his pocket.
A phone call.
The last time Hanes had tried to dismiss her with the excuse of a phone call was the night she was attacked at The Clipper. She thought he was calling the police chief. What if he was calling Reyes, to warn him his operation had been compromised?
Kate’s eyes widened. She opened her mouth to say something when another memory exploded—Hanes stumbling out of the raucous party at Joe Henry Miles’ respectable Victorian, followed by a motley crew of dock workers. She thought it was odd at the time. Now it made perfect sense.
“You knew,” she whispered, horrified at how far the trafficking ring’s tentacles spread. “You knew all along.”
“Excuse me?” Hanes turned around slowly and looked at her warily.
“You knew. About the trafficking ring. Probably about the murders. You knew all along.”
Hanes scowled, his face bright red. Kate took a step back. All of the final pieces of the puzzle had fallen into place. Excitement swirled with revulsion, leaving her dizzy.
“That’s why you told the chief to call off the prostitution task force. You were giving them cover.”
“That’s outrageous! These are baseless accusations.”
Hanes took a step toward her, raising his hand as though he meant to grab her by the shoulder. Kate took two more steps back.
“The night I was attacked at The Clipper, you called Reyes to warn him. They knew I was watching them.”
Haynes glared but didn’t respond. His angry flush slowly faded.
“And that night the police had to escort you home from Miles’ house, you were partying with dock workers. It didn’t make sense then, but now... What? Were you celebrating getting away with two murders, your sick little operation undetected?”
Hanes stared. He didn’t say anything, but the pallor in his cheeks betrayed him. He pulled his pack of Marlboros out of his pocket and tapped a cigarette into trembling fingers. He lit it slowly and took a long drag. Kate watched in disbelief as a cloud of smoke briefly obscured his face.
“You can’t prove anything,” he finally said, his voice flat. “And if you try to print any of these accusations, you’ll regret it.”
They stared at each other for what seemed to Kate like a long time. She wanted to tell him he was wrong. Longed to insist he would pay for his role in making so many women suffer. But as she stood there, she began to realize the scope of the injustice unfolding around her.
Hanes was right. She couldn’t prove his involvement. She doubted Johnson could either. And Reyes had the perfect alibi.
Haynes took another drag on his cigarette, looking more confident the longer she stayed silent. Kate turned away. The mission she’d given herself after her mother’s death was suddenly too heavy to bear. She’d set herself up as a crusader for justice. But that was a fantasy. Justice was a cruel joke with a punchline that eviscerated her longing for something she could believe in.
Reyes would never be punished. Neither would Hanes. She would have to learn to live with that. But how?
Case closed
Officials say they do not expect to make any more arrests in the sex trafficking ring that left three people dead
By Kate Bennett
Galveston law enforcement officials do not expect to make any more arrests in the sex trafficking ring case, declaring it for all intents and purposes closed.
But that doesn’t mean everyone involved will face justice.
“We know there were other people who participated in this operation who are still out there,” Galveston Police Chief Sam Lugar said during a news conference Monday. “The Johns, for example. We know at least a dozen men visited the house on Sportsman Road, but we have no way of identifying them.”
The one person who likely could identify the men isn’t talking. James Finney, who faces murder charges in the death of Gloria Suarez, has so far refused to name other men he saw at the house. Finney has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer has made it clear he intends to take the case to trial.
Last murderer, victim identified
While Finney has been uncooperative, investigators have had more luck with the longshoremen who took the trafficked women off cruise ships and transported them to their next destination. All three men named Ricardo Peña as Julian Costa’s killer.
Peña was the manager at The Clipper, the hotel where the trafficking ring operated for a while this summer. After police raided the hotel, Peña disappeared. He is believed to be in Mexico. Local prosecutors have been in touch with Mexican officials, but even if they found Peña, it is unlikely they would send him back to the United States. Peña could face the death penalty, a punishment Mexico staunchly opposes.
Despite their disagreement over sentencing guidelines, Mexican officials cooperated with Galveston investigators to identify the woman Costa shot to death in Fish Village in July. Maria Sandoval was an 18-year-old from Tulum, Mexico, who paid the traffickers $800 to smuggle her to America. Her mother told police she wanted to work in the United States to make money to send home, to help care for her five younger siblings.
Investigators had no leads on Sandoval’s death until Muriel Costa came forward last week and named her husband as the murderer. She also provided information that led to the arrest of the other longshoremen involved in the ring.
Although the widow denied for months knowing anything about her husband’s death and could have been charged with obstruction of justice, Galveston County District Attorney Nathan Mahoney said yesterday he did not intend to press charges.
“Mrs. Costa has been through enough,” he said. “We believe she acted out of fear for her safety, and that of her children. Trying to punish her would only punish them.”
Ring leader
During yesterday’s news conference, Mahoney thanked Eduardo Reyes for cooperating with investigators trying to piece together how the ring got started. Last week, Reyes revealed he owned the house on Sportsman Road where the ring set up its last base of operation.
Reyes claims he had no idea what was going on there. Reyes also owns The Clipper and said previously he had no idea Peña was allowing the traffickers to use its rooms for illicit encounters.
Ba
sed on information provided by Reyes, police believe his cousin, Jose Vargas, was the trafficking ring leader. Reyes said he allowed Vargas to live in the house, hoping a stable living situation would help him turn his life around. Vargas was no stranger to police and had served time for drug-related charges.
Investigators say they have no evidence linking Reyes to the crimes.
Police think Vargas set up the ring with help from contacts in Houston’s sex industry. Vargas knew Peña, who used his relationships with the dock workers to make contact with the cruise ship employees. They in turn made contact with smugglers in Mexico. The longshoremen claim none of their bosses at the docks knew anything about the operation.
Tim Hammond, head of the dock workers union, said he was shocked to learn about the ring. He and Port Chairman Joe Henry Miles have pledged to tighten security at the docks and work with cruise ship operators to make sure no smuggling, human or otherwise, happens again at the Port of Galveston.
“The people of this community, and the thousands of people who board cruise ships at the port every week should have confidence in our ability to ensure their safety and run a facility that is above reproach,” Miles said.
Final victim
The only eyewitness to the sex trafficking operation was released from the University of Texas Medical Branch on Sunday. Police have not named the woman, citing a desire to protect her privacy.
The woman, who was found at the house on Sportsman Road when police raided it, has returned to her family in Mexico. She provided written testimony that will be used against Finney in his trial for her sister’s murder. But police do not expect her to return to the United States to testify in person.
“This young woman has been through a tremendous trauma,” Mahoney said. “She has cooperated in the investigation into her sister’s death, but she declined to participate in any further prosecutions. While that means some people involved in this operation will escape punishment, we have no choice but to respect her decision.”