Kingston Kidnappings (What Happens In Vegas Book 3)

by Matt Lincoln

“Okay,” she nodded.

  “Thank you,” I smiled warmly at her. “First, I want to hear about the person or people who took you from your parents. Did they come and talk to you or your family before you went with them?”

  “No,” Gabrielle shook her head. “It was a man I’d never seen before. I was playing jump rope with my friend Sara right in front of her house. Her mother was just inside making lunch. Then suddenly, a big, rusty pickup truck stopped right next to us. A man got out and pulled my arm and threw me into the car. I screamed, and then Sara screamed, but the man just shut the door and got behind the wheel. As we were driving away, I saw Sara’s mother come running out of the house. She ran after the car, but we were going too fast, and she couldn’t catch up to us.” Gabrielle paused for a moment to wipe a tear from her eye.

  “Would you like to take a break?” I asked. I didn’t want to delay this, but I didn’t want to traumatize this poor child either.

  “No,” she replied firmly. “I’m alright. I want to keep talking. So you can go find all the other children, too.”

  “Alright,” I smiled softly. “Tell me what happened next.”

  “They brought me to this ugly, old building. They said it was a school and that I needed to learn how to clean and cook and sew. I already knew how to do all of those things, but they would get mad if we didn’t obey, so I just did whatever they said. Just two days after that, they told me I was going to ride in an airplane. I didn’t want to, but they said if I didn’t do what they said, they would hurt one of the other children there.”

  “Where there a lot of other children?” I asked.

  Gabrielle nodded.

  “Ten, including me,” she sniffled. “I was the oldest one, and I would hold them or tell them stories whenever they were scared like my papa would do for me.”

  “That was very kind of you,” I praised her. I felt sick just hearing about what she had gone through, and I felt compelled to let her know how brave and kind she’d been considering the circumstances.

  “I didn’t want them to hurt the little kids, so I did what they said,” she continued. “The night before we were supposed to leave, they gave each of us a cup of hot chocolate. They said it was a graduation present, and that we’d be going to a different school in America the next day. I woke up that night, and I saw them sneaking around the room putting something on the children’s ears.”

  “The earrings?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Gabrielle nodded. “It looked like it hurt, but they didn’t wake up or make any noise. When the man came over to me, he was angry that I was awake. He made me drink more of the hot chocolate and then told me to go to sleep. When I woke up, I had an earring too.”

  “Okay,” I nodded. It was clear that they were drugging the kids in order to make putting the tracking devices on them easier. If they were unconscious, they wouldn’t be able to scream or fight back. This also meant that the American supplier that the Weavers had been in contact with wasn’t the one tracking the children. “What happened after that?”

  “The man took two of the other children and me to the airport,” she continued. “He told us to say that he was our father if anyone asked. After the ride on the airplane, he made us drink something sweet. It made me fall asleep, and when I woke up, the other children were gone, and the car was parked in front of a house. The man said that this was the Andersons’ house and that from now on, I had to live there and do what they said. He took me to the door, and he made me go inside while he and the Andersons talked. I heard him tell them that I could speak English really well, and they seemed happy about that. Then he went away, and the Andersons took me to the laundry room. They said that was my room now.” Her voice broke as she struggled to get to the end of the story without crying.

  “You are a very brave young lady,” I assured her as I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “And you have been a very big help to me.”

  “Do you think you’ll be able to find the other children?” She asked tearfully. “I was so worried when I woke up, and they weren’t in the car anymore.”

  “I’ll find them,” I promised. It was a risky habit I’d gotten into the past few days. Any experienced agent knew that it was never a good idea to promise anything because no matter how brave, or strong, or skilled you were, there was always the chance of failure. However, looking into her large, shining eyes, I couldn’t find it in me to let her down.

  “Thank you, Agent Naomi,” she smiled with tears in her eyes.

  “Why don’t you go and play with the other children now?” Irie suggested. I’d gotten so caught up in my conversation with Gabrielle that I’d almost forgotten she was here too. Gabrielle nodded and walked across the room to join the other kids. “Do you really think you’ll be able to find the other children?”

  “Yes,” I answered immediately. “Now that I’m aware this is happening, I couldn’t bear to live with myself, knowing that there was another child out there we’d missed. I won’t be at peace until I know they’re all safe and sound.”

  “I’m glad to hear that,” Irie smiled. “These children need someone in their corner. Do you think what Gabrielle said will help you in your investigation?”

  “Yes,” I answered seriously. “I believe it will.”

  14

  Charlie

  “The hair salon was a wash,” Miranda grumbled as she strode into the office with Junior a few steps behind her. The rest of us had already gathered in a group in the bullpen as we discussed what Patel had learned from interviewing the kids. “Didn’t seem like anyone there knew anything or was involved in any way. We even staked the place out for a minute, but we didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. My guess is that the supplier just used the address randomly. That being said, I still think it’s someone local. They’d have to be to choose a location that would obviously make it impossible for us to track them.”

  “Then our next point of focus will be the two other numbers that the supplier was in contact with,” Wallace declared. “Gardner, you said you had names and addresses for those, correct?”

  “About that,” Fiona started meekly. “I dug a little deeper into the addresses, and it turns out that one of them is definitely a legitimate address, but the other one is for a residential apartment complex that just finished construction and doesn’t have any residents yet. I’m working on tracking the correct location as quickly as I can.”

  “That’s fine,” Wallace nodded. “I’ll have Chapman and Castillo check out the one address we have tomorrow in the meantime. Hills and Patel, Nelson is ironing out the details for your flight to Jamaica as we speak. You’ll leave the day after tomorrow. Does anyone have any questions?” His question was met with only silence. “Good. It’s been a long day. Everyone go home and be sure to get a good night’s rest.”

  By now, it was nearly eight in the evening, and the sun had long since gone down. I glanced out the window as I trudged my way out of the office. The lights of the city glimmered below against the inky blackness of the night, and I knew that just beneath the dazzling glamour was a thick and grimy layer of wickedness. I shook the thought away as I left the building and walked into the parking lot. I didn’t need to bring work home with me.

  “Hey,” Miranda smirked as she bumped her shoulder roughly against mine. There was more force behind the impact than I would have expected from someone so slender, and I sometimes had to remind myself that Miranda used to be a Marine. “You okay? You look about really to collapse.”

  “Just a long day,” I responded. “I don’t know how you’re so upbeat after what we had to deal with today.”

  “Well, my choices are either laugh or cry,” she shrugged. “And no one wants to see the second option.”

  “I guess you have a point,” I chuckled.

  “Yep,” she hooked her arm around mine. “And besides. I didn’t really do anything. You and Junior and Naomi have been getting to have all the fun the past few days. I just sat at my desk all day and then we
nt and harassed some hairstylists.”

  “It really hasn’t been fun,” I groused.

  “You know what I mean,” she rolled her eyes. “It’s weird being on my own in the office all day. And boring. Fiona’s there, but she’s always holed up in her office. Wallace and Nelson always have their secret club meetings in Wallace’s office. I literally spent an hour watching videos on the internet at my desk this morning, and no one even noticed.”

  “Really?” I laughed.

  “Yes,” she sighed. “It was kind of fun, I guess. But I’d honestly rather be out in the field than just sitting at my desk slacking off.”

  I was about to tease her about how often I’d caught her slacking off when a clattering noise pulled my attention. I turned toward the source of the sound and caught sight of a man in a brown uniform near the front of the building struggling to pick a pile of packages off of the ground. He smiled sheepishly at us as he noticed us looking his way before scampering off with the boxes.

  “They deliver stuff this late?” I asked aloud.

  “Until nine, I think,” Miranda hummed. “I remember last Christmas. I had a delivery guy show up at like eight-thirty. He just chucked the package at my door and kept moving without even bothering to knock. I think they have to meet certain quotas or something. Poor guys.”

  “Sounds like a rough job,” I frowned.

  “Every job has its ups and downs,” Miranda shrugged. “We’d know all about that.”

  “That’s true,” I chuckled. “That also reminds me that I should take Amber’s birthday present up to Harry’s place tomorrow since I won't be here for her party this weekend.”

  “Aww, you’re such a sweet uncle,” she teased. “Anyway, you want to hang out tonight?”

  “What do you mean ‘hang out’?” I asked.

  “Am I speaking another language?” She asked sarcastically. “Hang out. You know, watch a movie. Get something to eat. I don’t know, play a card game?”

  I stared at her blankly, unsure what to say. Miranda and I had never really hung out together. The reason our “relationship” had worked out so well so far was that I’d always known what to expect. We’d get together, hook up, and go our separate ways. There were no feelings involved, so there was no way anyone could get hurt. It was straightforward and easy, and I didn’t want to mess that up by trying to turn it into something more serious.

  “Sure,” I answered, even though my own brain was screaming at me to stop.

  Miranda’s smile widened, as though even she was surprised that I’d actually agreed, and I found that I couldn’t bring myself to regret my decision to say yes. She tightened her grip around my arm, and it surprised me to realize that I actually was looking forward to spending the evening just hanging out with her.

  For the first time since we started seeing each other, we actually didn’t hook up that night. Instead, we spent several hours watching this crime drama that Miranda claimed was the best show currently on television. It was completely unrealistic, and I spent the entire time pointing out all the legal inaccuracies, much to Miranda’s dismay. After a while, though, she joined me, and we spent the better part of the night poking fun at the show. She also insisted on cooking me dinner using only the ingredients scattered around my kitchen, which wasn’t much. After setting off the smoke detector, we decided to just order a pizza.

  After dinner, she taught me to play a complicated card game, but after a few rounds, she admitted that it was much more fun to play in groups, so we abandoned the game in favor of trying to see who could build the tallest house of cards. It was nearly three in the morning before either of us noticed how late it had gotten.

  “It’s not fair that you get tomorrow off,” Miranda whined. “I’m gonna be a zombie all day at this rate.”

  “You’re the one who kept wanting to watch more episodes of that show,” I chuckled. “And besides, I only get tomorrow off because I’m about to go overseas for who knows how long. I’ll probably get less sleep while I’m gone than you will tonight.”

  “Yeah, fine,” she yawned as she leaned her head onto my shoulder. “I’m still jealous that you and Naomi get to go.”

  “Didn’t you just come back from Italy like a week ago?” I deadpanned.

  “Yeah,” she huffed. “But I’m always hungry for more adventure, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah,” I answered honestly. That was, after all, the main appeal of the job for me and the reason I’d left my sleepy, peaceful hometown.

  Even though she was complaining about how late it was, Miranda kept insisting that we watch just one more episode every time another one ended. I was having a good time, and since I wasn’t the one who needed to be up early the next day, I agreed. Eventually, she fell asleep, and I carefully extracted myself from her grip before draping a blanket over her and turning out the living room lights. I’d considered staying there with her, but there was no chance we’d both fit comfortably on the couch all night, and I knew that trying would only lead to us both waking up feeling sore and miserable, so I decided to retreat to my own bedroom for the night.

  It was past ten in the morning when I woke up the next day, and Miranda had already gone. I wondered vaguely if she’d made it to work on time. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this development in our relationship. Since I was visiting Harry today, I thought I might try to talk with him about it.

  I took a shower and got changed, then picked up Amber’s gift from where it was sitting on my kitchen table, still in the mailing box it had been delivered in two nights ago. I’d bought her a tablet after I noticed how much she liked the one I used for work. I’d let her play a game on it in the afternoon when the power had gone out while we were at Harry’s house, and she’d been enthralled. When I’d run the idea by Eliza, she’d agreed easily. I worried she might not have wanted Amber to have a tablet at such a young age, but she’d been all for it.

  “Kids these days are growing up on technology,” she’d shrugged. “It’s practically a necessity now, the way knowing how to use a paper and pencil was for us. We’ll just monitor it to make sure she’s only accessing children’s sites and taking breaks from it.”

  Once I’d had her approval, I hadn’t hesitated to buy it, as well as a few cute accessories like a case and a stylus that I thought she might like. Since I wasn’t that interested in luxury items myself, most of my pay went directly into my savings account. I didn’t mind spending money on Amber, though, and I often worried that we all might spoil her just a little too much.

  Once I had everything packed and ready to go, I headed out toward Harry’s place. Amber wouldn’t be there today, so, unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to give her the gift in person, but at least Harry would be able to on my behalf. I was almost to Harry’s house when I noticed another large brown delivery truck like the one I’d seen the clumsy delivery man driving the previous night. I’d never paid much attention to them before the conversation I’d had with Miranda last night. Now that I thought about it, it really did seem like a difficult job. I was used to making the drive up the mountain, but I could imagine that it must be frightening for someone to make the drive up the narrow and winding roads in such a large vehicle.

  The thought was quickly wiped from my mind as I crested up the final hill to Harry’s house and found Amber at the door. She was wearing a bright pink, pointed party hat and sprinted toward me as soon as I got out of the car.

  “Hey, little monster,” I smiled as she ran up to me with a wide grin on her face. “I didn’t know you were going to be here today.”

  “It was a surprise,” she laughed. “Are you surprised?”

  “I am,” I smiled down at her. I picked her up and was almost to the door when Eliza poked her head out.

  “Hey Charlie,” she grinned. “Harry called and said you wouldn’t be able to make it to Amber’s party because you were going on a mission. So, we decided to just come up here early.”

  “You didn’t have to do that,” I replied awkward
ly.

  “I know,” Eliza chirped as she took Amber from me. “But we wanted to. It doesn’t matter what day we celebrate. The point is to have everyone together.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered, feeling both grateful and guilty. “I’m glad I get to be here for it.”

  “Shut that door!” Harry called from the den. “You’re letting all the cold air out!” Eliza smiled and rolled her eyes as she complied.

  “Well, come on,” she commanded as she steered me further into the house. “Amber’s been bursting to open her presents and get at her cake.”

  “Of course,” I smiled. “Can’t keep the birthday girl waiting.”

  I felt all the residual stress from the previous day melt away as I watched Amber place a bright blue party hat on Harry while her mom started lighting candles on her cake. Not for the first time, I felt grateful that I had the opportunity to spend this time with my family before I had to leave for my mission.

  15

  Naomi

  The stiff pages of the old photo album crackled as I turned them. I looked down at the faces of my family members as they smiled up at me, and I clenched my teeth before slamming the photo album shut.

  I hadn’t seen any of my family in years. My parents, specifically, I’d been estranged from since I’d turned twenty-one. I hadn’t wanted to cut contact with the rest of my family, but their loss had been an unfortunate consequence of severing any ties I had with my parents. I’d made peace with the fact that I would never see them again, and now that I was going to be returning to the Caribbean, I was gripped by an intense, if unreasonable, fear that I might accidentally run into them.

  I understood, of course, why Wallace wanted me to go with Charlie to Jamaica. Most of my childhood had been split living between India and the Caribbean. I spoke Patois, Hindu, and even a bit of French, which would be extremely beneficial to us during our investigation. Obviously, I would be the ideal agent to send. It wouldn’t make sense to send Miranda with me because although Jamaica has made a lot of strides as far as the advancement of equal rights for women, it could still be a dangerous place for women to travel alone. Not that I thought that either Miranda or I couldn’t handle ourselves against any man that tried to come up against us, but it would just make the entire mission progress more smoothly if a man were to come with me. It was an awful, unfair truth that I didn’t like to acknowledge, but I would be foolish not to recognize the reality of it.