Inhuman Trafficking

by Mike Papantonio

“The court is adjourned,” Irwin said.

  Mustering what dignity he could, the judge gathered his robes, then nodded to the bailiff.

  “All rise,” the bailiff said.

  The judge was much faster in taking his leave of the courtroom than he had been to take his seat on the bench.

  Hiding his smile, Deke whispered, “That’s what you call a cool head?”

  “Said the man who just got fined fifty thousand dollars,” Gina said.

  XXXIII

  After their hour-long flight from Atlanta, Deke and Gina took leave of each other in the parking lot of Pensacola International Airport.

  “Thanks for having my back,” Deke told Gina.

  “Irwin has certainly given us plenty to work with for a solid appeal,” said Gina.

  Deke’s expression made it clear he wasn’t thrilled with that prospect. “I’d rather win the case outright, even if this whole gag order abuse by the judiciary is something we need to keep attacking.”

  “Agreed, but as your lawyer, I have two final words of advice for you based on Irwin’s directive. When approached by the media, your answer to everything is ‘No comment.’”

  Deke said, “If you promise to do the same, then I will as well.”

  The two hugged one another, then Gina got into her car and drove off.

  * * *

  Deke debated going into the office, or finishing off the day working at home. Despite the fact that he’d only been an observer in the courtroom, he couldn’t ignore his tiredness. His drive home to Spanish Trace took him through Brownsville, an unincorporated area northwest of Pensacola. As he approached an intersection, Deke became aware of a woman standing next to a car with its hood up who was flagging him down. Without thinking, Deke immediately pulled over to the side of the road.

  The woman said, “Thank god you stopped.”

  “Car trouble?” Deke asked.

  “Life trouble,” she said. “My phone isn’t working, and my car broke down. What a great start to my vacation.”

  Despite her troubles, the woman gave him a big smile, which brightened her attractive features. She appeared to be in her early forties.

  “Can I call you a tow truck?” Deke asked.

  She hesitated a moment before saying, “That’s very kind of you, but I think I’d prefer going the mobile mechanic route after I research my options from my motel.”

  “How can I help then?” he asked.

  “If it’s not too much trouble, can I impose upon you for a ride to where I’m staying? Even though I’m all turned around, I know the motel can’t be much more than a mile or two from here.”

  “Glad to help,” Deke said.

  “Do you mind if I bring my golf clubs? I don’t want to leave them in the car.”

  “No problem. I’ll even be your caddy.”

  “I’m ever so grateful,” she said, offering him her hand. “By the way, I’m Mindy.”

  He took her hand and said, “Deke.”

  After stowing her clubs in his trunk, Deke asked, “Where to?”

  “To ‘the Pensacola area’s foremost lodging bargain,’ or at least that’s what the ad said. I think I better lodge a complaint with them to the BBB, or somebody. The place is a dump.”

  “Sounds like they target out-of-towners,” Deke said.

  “No doubt about it. As soon as I arrived, I tried to cancel my reservation, but they said because I hadn’t given them a forty-eight-hour cancellation notice, they’d have to charge my credit card for one night’s stay.”

  “So, do you have an address for the Pensacola area’s foremost lodging bargain?”

  She laughed. “Unfortunately, I do,” she said, supplying him with an address on Cervantes Street. Deke entered the information into his GPS, which showed the motel was just under two miles away.

  As they set out, he asked, “First time in this area?”

  “How did you guess?”

  Her reply made Deke laugh. “Where are you from?”

  “I hail from a spot four hundred miles due north from here.”

  Deke thought about that and offered his guess: “Nashville?”

  She nodded and said, “The Athens of the South.”

  “One of my favorite cities in the world.”

  “It’s a lot more than just Music City,” she agreed.

  “What do you do there?” Deke said.

  “I work in public relations.”

  “You’re not a singer?”

  “I think I’m the only person in Nashville who isn’t,” Mindy said.

  Deke turned onto Cervantes Street. It looked long removed from pleasant dreams, or even the impossible dreams of Don Quixote.

  “I’m beginning to think you should cancel your reservation and eat the cost. If you’re short on funds, I’d be glad to cover a night’s stay.”

  “That’s a very generous offer, but I refuse to let you reward my stupidity.”

  “Better safe than sorry,” he said.

  “I’m supposed to be meeting a friend tonight for dinner. I’ll be okay.”

  Deke pulled into the parking lot of her motel. What he saw didn’t make him feel any better. “Offer still stands,” he said.

  “The room’s interior is actually better than its exterior,” she said, then added, “Thank heavens.”

  “How about I carry your clubs to the room?” he asked.

  “You’re a lifesaver, Deke.”

  Hoisting her bag, Deke followed her up a set of stairs to the second floor of the two-story motel. Mindy’s room was halfway down the exterior walkway. She opened the door and Deke carried the clubs inside. A queen bed took up most of the room. As Deke put the bag down next to a small vanity, he heard the door close. Turning around, he saw Mindy walking toward him.

  “I don’t know how to thank you,” Mindy said, but as she draped her arms around Deke’s neck, it seemed she had an idea as to how to try.

  Mindy tried pulling Deke close. He managed to avert his head while her lips sought his.

  “Whoa!” said Deke, putting his hands on her arms while trying to disentangle himself.

  “No?” she asked.

  “No,” he said.

  “I’m sorry. I was sure you were giving off signals.”

  “It was a simple misunderstanding. Don’t worry about it.”

  “I want you to know that I’m not in the habit of making passes,” she said.

  “Then I will take what happened as the great compliment it was,” Deke said.

  XXXIV

  Deke was buzzed on his private line, interrupting the meeting taking place in his office.

  “I’ll try and make this quick,” he announced to the four seated individuals.

  When he picked up the line, Diana said, “I hate to intrude, but you have a call from Jack Stadler of the American Enquirer. Mr. Stadler says he needs your reaction to a story he’s working on. I tried to take a message, but he insisted on talking to you, and said this might be your sole opportunity to respond to allegations he claims are being made against you.”

  “Sounds like classic ambush journalism,” Deke said.

  “Do you want me to tell him you’re unavailable?”

  “No, I’ll take the call, but tell you what, have him stew for a minute before putting it through.”

  Deke thanked Diana, clicked off, and acknowledged the curious gazes of the others.

  “A reporter from the American Enquirer wants to talk to me,” he said.

  Gina started shaking her head. “Remember our conversation yesterday? I stand by what I said, and I advise you to say nothing beyond, ‘No comment.’”

  Carol was quick to chime in. “That sounds like good advice.”

  “I’m not disagreeing, but I’m curious as to what story he’s working on.”

  Carol wasn’t done. “American Enquirer? I won’t even line my bird-cage with that rag.”

  The weekly tabloid was known for being long on sensationalism and short on facts.

  “I don�
��t like the timing of his call, especially on the heels of what happened in court yesterday,” Gina said.

  Deke’s phone began ringing. Motioning for silence, he picked up. “Nick Deketomis.”

  The caller said, “Mr. Deketomis, my name is Jack Stadler, and I’m a reporter with the American Enquirer. The reason for my call is I want to get your reaction to a story I’m working on.”

  Deke said, “Before we continue speaking, Mr. Stadler, I would like to not only tape this call but put you on speakerphone. Is that all right with you?”

  “I have no problem with your doing that, Mr. Deketomis, but before you proceed, you should know that my story involves some very unsavory allegations being directed your way.”

  “Should I be surprised? That’s the stock-in-trade of your paper, isn’t it?”

  “We stand by our stories.” The reporter’s voice could now be heard on speaker.

  “You better not be standing downwind of those stories,” Gina said.

  Deke gave Gina a look, and she mouthed the word sorry.

  “As you’ve surmised, you are on speaker, and this call is being recorded.”

  Stadler said, “That’s fine by me. The piece I’m working on revolves around your apparent conflict of interest regarding the plaintiffs you are representing in the Welcome Mat Hospitality case.”

  “And what conflict of interest might that be?”

  “My sources allege you have a long-standing history of consorting with prostitutes.”

  “Consorting?” Deke was barely able to control the outrage in his voice.

  “How often do you hire prostitutes, Mr. Deketomis?”

  The ugly question hung in the air. Gina began waving her hands, warning Deke to not respond. The faces of everyone in the room registered shock—Deke’s most of all.

  He allowed himself a moment of disgust before responding. “Since I want to be unequivocally clear about this, I’ll speak slowly for you. I have never been with a prostitute in my entire life.”

  “You are stating for the record, then, that you don’t frequent prostitutes, or avail yourself of escort services?”

  Despite Gina signaling for him to hang up, Deke said, “That’s exactly what I’m stating.”

  “Your claim is at odds with photographic evidence that has come into our possession,” the reporter said. “We have pictures showing you spending time with an individual we determined is a very high-priced escort.”

  Deke again ignored Gina’s gesture for him to cut off the call. “I can’t explain any pictures you are referring to, other than to speculate they might have been photoshopped, which is something I don’t doubt your paper has a history of doing. Aren’t you known for running pictures of flying saucers and aliens?”

  “The pictures we obtained were taken yesterday, Mr. Deketomis,” he said.

  “You’re kidding.” Deke knew his words were meant more for him than for the reporter.

  “I’m not kidding. The photos show you in the company of a call girl.”

  “Unbelievable,” Deke said.

  “How long have you known this woman, and what is your relationship with her?” asked the reporter.

  “I don’t know this woman, and there is no relationship.”

  “Our sources assert that the only reason you are representing sex workers in their action is because you frequent them.”

  Deke was shaking his head in disbelief. “Yesterday I gave a ride to a woman who waved me down and told me her vehicle was disabled. Before stopping to help her, I had never seen her before. After taking this woman to her motel, I carried her golf clubs up to her room. I don’t imagine I was in her room for more than a minute. If you are truly doing an investigative story, and not just a hit piece, you should be able to confirm everything I said.”

  “The pictures speak volumes, Mr. Deketomis.”

  “The only thing those pictures will show is that I was set up. I have told you exactly what happened. Now, you can roll the dice and run those pictures, but should you choose to do that I will do my best to bankrupt you, as well as your employer, in a jury trial.”

  “Don’t you find it a strange coincidence that your personal life seems to be intersecting with your professional life?”

  “The coincidence I find strange is how these pictures just happened to land on your desk, but I suppose I’ll find that out when I take your deposition.”

  “My copy deadline is the day after tomorrow,” the reporter said. “If you can provide any information that backs up your assertions, I will be glad to include it in my piece. I’ll email you my contact information.”

  “I stand by what I already told you, Mr. Stadler.”

  Deke ended the call. No one in the room said anything, but waited on Deke to break the silence. Finally, he said, “I’m sorry, Gina. I’m sure I would have been better served had I just followed your advice from the onset. But right now, I’m pretty damn angry. And I’m kicking myself for being stupid enough to get blindsided.”

  Gina said, “You were set up. We’ll show that.”

  “You think anything is going to stop the American Enquirer from running those pictures? They’ll muddy the waters, give themselves an out with a disclaimer, and bury a retraction a few weeks from now.”

  “Not if I can help it,” Carol said. “That story hasn’t been filed. If we can provide incontrovertible evidence that it’s false, we might get the powers that be at the Enquirer to kill it. We’ll establish your time line from the airport, to the motel, to your home, through footage from security cameras. And we’ll run a parallel investigation into identifying the woman that the reporter identified as an escort.”

  “Someone went to a lot of effort to make me look dirty,” Deke said. “What do you want to bet that this woman is already out of the country and incommunicado?”

  Carol said, “You’re probably right, but that affords us an opportunity to investigate this fraud and discover its perpetrator.”

  “Bines?” Gina suggested.

  Deke shook his head. “I can’t see him engineering anything like this. Yesterday I got a chance to be an observer in the courtroom while you were doing all the work. The most surprising thing I witnessed was how Bines reacted during the proceeding. He acted preoccupied, except when you said things that I suspect struck close to home. In two or three instances, I even noticed him flinching. Those looked like tells.”

  Closing his eyes for a moment, Deke tried to visualize what he had seen and heard in the courtroom. What he remembered made him start nodding.

  “Bines became agitated when you started focusing on his amicus brief where he advocated for the H2B inclusion of fifteen-year-olds. He almost looked guilty when you pointed out how teenage guest workers would be targeted by sex traffickers. Bines knew that what you were saying was true; the shame showed on his face.”

  “If it wasn’t Bines who went after you, then it had to be someone associated with Welcome Mat,” Gina said.

  Deke wasn’t sure about that. “Those are the obvious suspects, but what about the suspect, or suspects, we don’t see?”

  “I’m not following,” Gina said.

  “I could never understand why Nathan Bines took the Welcome Mat case. It wasn’t in his usual wheelhouse. But what if he had been pressured into taking it? It looked to me as if he wanted to be anywhere but in that courtroom. His body language said the last thing he wanted to do was argue the merits of his own brief. I think you hit a nerve when you talked about him having to defend the emperor’s new clothes. But who is the emperor?”

  “You think someone gave him marching orders?”

  “That’s how it looked to me,” Deke said. “And clearly Bines wasn’t happy playing the role of foot soldier.”

  “Maybe Bines himself was blackmailed,” Jake said.

  “At the very least, I suspect someone has leverage over him.”

  “That kind of influence peddling doesn’t come cheap,” Carol said. “We can try and follow the money.”


  Deke cautiously nodded. “We could do that, but it would take time. I’m thinking a better way to go would be to follow the amicus brief.”

  Gina’s eyes opened wide. “I like that. We might be able to figure out who Bines is fronting by studying his brief.”

  “We could conduct a legal search on similar briefs or cases,” Michael added.

  “Why stop there?” Gina said. “We’ll look into those groups or organizations advocating similar positions to those put out in the brief. That might put some light on who went to so much effort to put Deke in a compromising position.”

  “As much as I appreciate everyone’s concern, let’s not forget why we’re here,” Deke said. “What happened to me is infuriating, but it’s not life or death, whereas a lot of the matters you’re working on are. If the story runs and temporarily blackens my eye, I can live with that. What I can’t live with is you all dropping the ball on more important matters to try and help me. We’re not going to let ourselves be distracted. Got it?”

  Deke looked around the office, meeting the eyes of everyone there. Reluctantly, they all offered up nods.

  “Good. Let’s get back to what Michael was telling us. You said witnesses told you Vicky Driscoll was the one who arranged for her dancers to go out on her yacht Seacreto.”

  “Correct,” Michael said.

  “And you also said Nataliya was taken away by two men driving some large SUV with a camper shell and Nevada plates?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Deke looked at his notes. “And the bouncer, Andrei, told you that the bigger of the two men went by the nickname of Keebler. Is that right?”

  Michael nodded.

  “You must be an amazing conversationalist, Michael, to have both the club manager and its bouncer opening up to you like they did. You care to tell us how you got them to be so forthcoming?”

  Speaking carefully, Michael said, “The manager followed me into the men’s room at the club, where he drew a gun on me. I defended myself and removed the threat. Self-defense dictated my responses. It was only after he attacked me that I asked him questions.”

  Jake wasn’t going to leave Michael sitting alone in the hot seat. “I want to make it clear that I backed Michael’s decisions based on the circumstances we found ourselves in.”