Secrets at Cedar Cabin

by Colleen Coble

  “Yes, sir. I make no excuses.”

  His ire cooled. Chey had been doing his best to find Bailey, and his forces had been spread thin. This changed things though. There might be all manner of clues the FBI might discover—clues that would lead the Feds right to his door. “It might be time to cut our losses for now, concentrate on other avenues of income. Our arms smuggling has been going well, yes?”

  “Yes, sir. It’s bringing in more than the girls at the moment.”

  “Think you can find buyers overseas for the girls? I’d hate to have to figure out how to dispose of that many bodies.”

  “I’m sure I can. There are several clients in Saudi Arabia I’ve had particular success with—and China, of course. The oldest one we have is Lotus, so they’re all young enough to dispose of easily.”

  China was hungry for women. After disposing of so many girl children, they’d found there weren’t enough brides for the men.

  King knew all the girls, but his gut clenched at losing Lotus. She’d been kept only for him at the beginning, but his eye had eventually fallen on a new girl who’d been brought in from Oregon. He liked to rotate the girls out so none of them were older than twenty-one or twenty-two. He’d found buyers all over the world for his merchandise, so they were easy to dispose of.

  King gave a heavy sigh. “See to it then, as soon as you can.”

  “It’s likely to take a couple of weeks to arrange for the sale, the transfer of money, and to transport the girls. I may have to move some of them again too.”

  “Do whatever you have to.”

  “Of course. Oh, and you have a visitor.”

  “Oh?”

  “Kyle Boone.”

  He curved his hands into fists. “Send him in.”

  Chey nodded and exited the office. Moments later Kyle stepped through the door and shut it behind him, then approached him with his hand extended. “Uncle! Good to see you.”

  King ignored the outstretched hand and leaned back in his chair. “Sit.”

  The uncle moniker was just to try to soothe him. Kyle was his wife’s nephew—not his. And because of that he’d had to put him on the board.

  Kyle’s smile faded, and he sat heavily in the leather chair across from the desk. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the shattered glass globe on the floor. “Look, I get that you’re mad, but it wasn’t my fault. Bailey overheard me on the phone. Two days later and I would have been out of there, no harm done.”

  “Where is Bailey now?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve tried calling her phone, but I think she’s changed her number.”

  “You surely have some idea where she might have gone. Did Olivia have a summer house, relatives or friends Bailey might have contacted?”

  “Not a summer house, but I did give Bailey the deed to Cedar Cabin. She was so mad that I’ll bet she tore it up after I left.”

  “You what?!” He rose and leaned over the desk. “What made you think you could do that without talking to me about it?”

  Kyle stuck out his bottom lip. “I have a share in Baker, too, you know. I’m on the board, and I have the authority to do something that minor. My lawyer thought we needed to sweeten the pot to get her not to talk to the press. She wasn’t interested though, and she agreed not to say anything.”

  “I don’t care anything about the media, but that property is mine.” That property couldn’t fall into the wrong hands or what he’d done might come back to haunt him. “You little twerp, you’d better get that deed back to me. Find her and return my property.”

  Kyle flushed as his steely words echoed off the walls. “I-I’ll try, Uncle, but I have no idea where’s she’s gone. If I could only talk to her, I’m sure I could get her to sign it back over to me. Can you find her for me? Your goons have great resources.”

  King wasn’t about to tell Kyle about their lack of success as well. “You made this mess—you can fix it. I shouldn’t have intervened for you with Olivia. That was my mistake, and I won’t make it again.”

  Kyle leaned back in the chair and crossed his ankles. “It was a pretty cool thing to see though. Olivia went from ordering me out of the house to being sweet as candy. What did you tell her to get her to abandon her objections?”

  “She owed me. If she didn’t do what I told her, I promised to make sure Bailey ended up in a brothel.”

  Kyle chortled. “Man, that was cold, but it did the trick. Why’d you order the old broad dead though?”

  That was a secret that would never get out. He rose and turned back to the window. “You can let yourself out, Kyle. Don’t come back without that deed.”

  Was it possible Bailey had gone to the cottage?

  The lantern light glowing out the window of the cabin winked out, and Lance shifted in the seat of his truck while Daniel had his head tucked into the collar of his jacket like a turtle. Their breaths had fogged the windows in the cold night air. “I don’t think anything is going to happen tonight. Not with Lily there.”

  Daniel poked his head up a bit. “Bailey seems harmless enough. You picking up any vibes from her? You’ve spent more time with her than me.”

  Lance shook his head. “I didn’t like lying to her though. I’m glad the truth about who we are is out.”

  “Part of the job.”

  It might just be part of the job in other investigations, but this one felt more personal because of Bailey. He liked the way she quieted a space when she came into it. His mom would call it good energy. She had a way of listening as if she really cared about people.

  Daniel yawned and rubbed his hand over the foggy window. “We’d better take a stroll around the property or I’m going to fall asleep.”

  Lance glanced at the dim glow of his watch. Nearly eleven. “Yeah, let’s take one excursion around the place before we head to the motel.”

  Uneasiness rippled down his back at the thought of leaving, but they couldn’t stay here twenty-four hours a day. The traffickers probably knew the bodies had been found and would be making themselves scarce.

  He eased his door shut, and his boots crunched on the cold gravel as he followed his partner deeper into the woods. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out. He didn’t recognize the number, but he walked deeper into the woods to answer it anyway. The scent of crushed pine needles wafted to his nose as he stepped away from the house.

  “Phoenix,” he barked.

  “L-Lance, is that you?” The female voice trembled, then ended on a choked sob.

  He froze. He knew that voice. It cried out for help in his dreams. Ava was right there on the other end of this call.

  He gripped the phone in tight fingers. “Ava? Where are you? I’ll come get you right now.”

  His eyes wide, Daniel swung toward him. He stepped closer to Lance and pulled his phone out.

  She gave a soft sob. “I don’t know where I am. It’s by the water, but that’s all I know. Is it really you, Lance? Did you forget me?”

  He swallowed hard. “Never, Ava. I’ve been looking all this time. Hang on.” He changed the screen to reveal the number and showed it to Daniel. “Call in a tracer,” he mouthed. “You there, Ava?”

  “I’m here. Oh, Lance, you have no idea of the trouble I’m in, what they’ve made me do.”

  “I know, honey. We’re going to find you. Stay on the line, and we’ll get a fix on your location. I’ll come right now.” He only had one bar on his phone, so he stayed where he was in case movement would make the call drop.

  “It’s been so long since anyone has called me by my name. They call me Lotus here. I want to come home. This is the first time I’ve managed to get hold of a phone. T-The last client left it behind. He didn’t know it fell out of his pocket, and I didn’t tell him. I wasn’t sure you had the same number, but I hoped so.”

  Lance clenched his fists at her volley of soft sobs. It was really Ava. She was alive. Lotus. He shuddered at the moniker. He’d heard of the elite Apsara-dancer brothel. Lotus was their
premier dancer.

  “It’s okay, honey. I’m coming.” He looked at Daniel, who gave him a thumbs-up. “We’ve got a fix, Ava. We’re sending in anyone who’s close, and I’m on my way too.”

  He prayed fervently for the connection to hold as he ran for his truck with Daniel on his heels. He motioned for his partner to take the driver’s seat. He wanted to hang on to the sound of Ava’s voice.

  Ava’s sobs grew harsher and louder. “I want you here, Lance. I can’t stand much more.”

  He’d barely slammed the door behind him when Daniel floored the accelerator, and the truck spit gravel from under its tires. “Calm down, Ava. Don’t let anyone hear you.” His pulse pounded in his chest at the thought of her being discovered with a phone. They’d punish her.

  He heard something slam on the other end. A door maybe or a cupboard. A voice shrieked in Khmer. “Ava?”

  When she didn’t answer, he looked at the screen. The connection was gone, and he wanted to throw something.

  Daniel did a fist bump. “We got her!”

  “What was her location and how far away are some agents?”

  “She was in Seattle, about two miles from our closest agents. They’re on their way.” The back end of the truck fishtailed as Daniel took the corner fast.

  “Two miles could take too long if traffic is bad.” And he was hours away. “Can we head for the airfield here, that Hurricane Roost one just down the road? Maybe we can snag a chopper to Seattle.”

  “Yeah, the owner had posted his number on the billboard for emergencies. See if you can find it online before we get there.”

  Staying focused took Herculean effort when Lance’s mind wanted to run to all the things that might be happening to his sister. He called the number he found, and a man answered in an alert tone.

  “Zach Bannister.”

  “Zach, this is agent Lance Phoenix with the FBI. I need a ride to Seattle right away. It’s life-and-death.”

  “Hold on.” The line went quiet for what seemed like hours. Then Zach came back on the line. “My wife will take you in her chopper. She’ll be at Hurricane Roost in fifteen minutes.”

  “Thank you so much.” Lance ended the call and stared out the windshield toward the lights of town.

  The airport was five minutes away, but what was happening to Ava? His sister was alive. He’d felt it in his gut all these years, but to have it verified felt like a dream he might awaken from. All he could do was pray as Daniel hurtled the truck toward the airport. They had to get there in time. He refused to accept any other possible option.

  Chapter 23

  Lance pointed out the chopper window. “Can you put us down in that field?”

  Most of the buildings were dark, but streetlights shone enough light to reveal an empty space between a warehouse and a big block building with no lights.

  The pilot, Shauna Bannister, nodded. She reminded him of someone with the widow’s peak in her black hair and her facial structure, but he couldn’t concentrate enough to figure out who she resembled. All he wanted was to get out of this bird and rush to the door of the house. The closest agents had been broadsided by a pickup truck en route, and they were both on their way to the hospital instead of this location. The delay might be deadly for Ava, but Lance couldn’t let his thoughts go there.

  The chopper’s runners bumped to ground, and Lance had his harness off and his door opened before the helicopter really settled. Shauna shouted something at him, but his feet hit the ground, and he ducked under the rotors to run toward the massive stone building to his left. Daniel was right behind him.

  The stink of helicopter fuel followed him as he ran over rough ground to the back door of the building, and he caught the odor of rotting garbage from the Dumpster by the alley. He motioned for Daniel to go around front, then waited until his partner was in position.

  Glock in hand, Lance went up the concrete steps to the metal door and pounded on it with his fist. “FBI, open up!”

  A startled cat, ears laid back, darted past his feet and vanished. He pounded again and heard Daniel do the same. When no answer came, he tried the door. The knob turned in his hand, and he opened the door with a protesting screech. The scent of patchouli incense floated in the air, and he felt for the light switch on the wall. Light illuminated a laundry room, and he caught a glimpse of the elaborate gold costumes and headdresses of Apsara dancers.

  This was the right place. Crouching down, he kept his Glock ready and moved to the front door through what appeared to be some kind of ballroom with a stage. “I’m unlocking the door,” he called to Daniel. He let in his partner and gestured to the stairs. “You check the rest of the rooms down here. I’m going up there.”

  He didn’t say what they both felt. This place felt as empty as a discarded candy wrapper. His heart rate kicked up a notch as he mounted the steps and cleared each room. Lavish silk tapestries in rich colors covered the walls and gleamed on the marble floors. A large bed with the same tapestries took center stage in every room, and the closets held more of the Apsara costumes plus street clothes like jeans and T-shirts.

  He reached the last room and pushed open the door. A coppery odor struck him, and he flipped on the overhead light to see blood pooling by the window. It was fresh enough that it glistened. A phone, its screen shattered, lay on the floor. This was the room Ava called from. Her blood?

  The strength went out of his legs, and only his training kept him from sinking to the floor and touching the blood. He couldn’t contaminate the evidence. Please God, let her be okay. The prayer ran over and over in his head.

  He swallowed down the boulder in his throat and went to call to Daniel. “Up here.”

  Down the stairs he heard voices and knew more agents had arrived, probably crime-scene technicians as well. If they were very lucky, evidence would lead to where they took Ava and the rest of the girls.

  It was after four a.m. by the time he and Daniel walked back across the weeds to the helicopter waiting for them in the dark. Shauna Bannister’s eyes opened when he rapped on the window. She looked pale and her eyes were swollen with sleep. He felt a stab of guilt for keeping her out all night.

  The men climbed into the chopper and fastened their harnesses. Her gaze flickered from him to Daniel and back again. “Not a good night?”

  He shook his head. “Not so good.” He couldn’t talk about Bureau business, and he stared out at the lights of Seattle as the chopper took to the air. Ava was out there somewhere. The phone call from her couldn’t be the last.

  He’d find his sister. Where did he look next?

  This was not the kind of call King liked to get in the middle of the night. Swathed in a hotel robe, he stood in his suite and listened to Chey’s explanations. “How did she get a cell phone? I’ve left instructions for the rooms to be swept every day.” He moved to the bar and poured himself a scotch before facing Chey.

  Even at four in the morning, Chey was dressed in an impeccably tailored suit and tie. His dark hair gleamed from a recent shower, and he ducked his head. “We think she hid it before Maly checked the room after her client left.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “At the Citadel.”

  The Citadel was a stone structure up in the mountains where they trained girls. The place was cold and austere with no hot water, and the girls stayed there until they were ready to comply with orders. It usually didn’t take long, but he suspected Lotus would be different. The hint of rebellion in her eyes had never really vanished but had gone underground instead. He doubted he’d ever be able to fully trust her, but he was still reluctant to get rid of her. She brought in way too much money to make a decision like that easy.

  He sipped his scotch and let it warm him. “What’s she saying?”

  “She just missed her brother and wanted to hear his voice. According to her she listened to his voice mail message over and over but didn’t speak with him. It’s a lie, of course. Before we destroyed the phone, we saw she made one call tha
t lasted ten minutes.” Chey cleared his throat. “There’s more bad news though, sir. Per protocol with a security breach, we evacuated all the dancers, but we barely finished in time. The FBI showed up and swept the place.”

  “FBI? How’d they get wind of it so fast?” He glanced at his watch. “It’s been what—barely two hours?”

  “Unfortunately her brother is with the FBI, sir. He mobilized forces immediately.”

  He set down his empty glass. “Traced the call for sure.”

  “We lost most of the Apsara costumes too. When our men pulled up to retrieve the contents of the property, FBI and crime-scene specialists crowded the place. Our people left immediately.”

  Costumes could be recreated but it would take time. He’d been thinking about changing his mind and keeping his Apsara dancers. “Did we save any of them?”

  “One.”

  “Not enough to stay in business. Order more immediately and cancel the sale of my Apsara dancers. I’m going to move operations. With Lotus’s brother looking for her, Seattle isn’t safe. California would be a good option with its diverse culture, but maybe now is the time to move to China. My dancers will be a big hit there. My high-rise in Shanghai has a ballroom on the top floor. Let’s get the place ready and move the girls there. It will likely need some small renovations like locks on the doors and some other things. You should be able to get everything in order within a week or two.”

  “We suspend operations in the meantime?”

  “Yes. In the meantime gather all the girls and put them in the warehouse.”

  The warehouse was a remote property along the strait. The long, nondescript building held plain cells with showers for the girls and was where newly acquired women were held until they were ready to be put into service. Security was tight, and they’d never had a breach there.

  King still had to deal with Lotus. “I’ll see Lotus myself and assess what to do about her.”

  “Of course.”