Stolen Daughters, Carolyn Arnold [rainbow fish read aloud .txt] 📗

underway to exhume the remains, but it might be a long time before we ever get a name. If we ever do. No idea where Christina’s been living, but I did find her on the data chip. Her nickname had been Fresh off the Farm. Sickening.”

Amanda took a deep breath, her coffee still mostly untouched. “I really need you to help me understand something. What turned Christina Ross into one of them?”

“Short answer. Survival. She told me that she’d reported Randy Hart all those years ago.”

“The nine-one-one call.”

“That’s right. She was hoping police would dissemble the ring, but instead the ring caught up with her. She felt she had to make herself valuable to them if they were going to let her live. So that’s what she did.”

“But isn’t that unusual?” Amanda had heard of Stockholm syndrome. Was it something similar that had messed up Christina’s mind?

Patty pressed her lips and shook her head. “I wish I could say it was. You’ll be surprised—and shocked—to know that nearly forty percent of the people involved with sex trafficking are women. Many were formerly victims.”

“Wow.”

“Yep. As I said, it’s about survival. And the leaders in these rings need some women on their side. A young girl’s more likely to trust a woman than a man.”

“I get that.” Though the concept pierced Amanda’s heart. “And she was sent to kill her brother?”

“Yep, and she had no qualms about doing so. When she’d volunteered to take out the person killing the girls, she hadn’t known it was Daniel, but she was committed to seeing it through. She and her brother were never close.”

“I suspected as much, but I’m curious why she didn’t just shoot Daniel at the motel where she killed Hart. Did you ask her about that?”

Patty nodded. “Uh-huh. She wanted to toy with him and had him take them to their old farm. She thought it would be poetic to kill him there. She said she always hated the place. But apparently Daniel got the upper hand and managed to disarm her.”

“They were fighting in the loft when I arrived,” Amanda conceded. She didn’t remember seeing another gun and wondered if Christina’s had ever been recovered. Amanda knew her Glock was brought in as evidence, and she hadn’t been issued a replacement with her being on sick leave. “Were you able to get anywhere with who Christina was sold to?”

“The money trail seems to lead to somewhere in DC. Still working to narrow that down.”

Was the ring’s name, DC, unoriginal and purely based on location? Amanda had this niggling feeling there was more to it. Maybe one day she’d find out what. “Let’s hope it ends up getting us closer to the ringleader.”

“We can wish upon a star. Now, I’ve got more updates for you. Where do you want me to go from here?”

“With anyone who’s going to prison.” Amanda smiled at her new friend. It was so nice to finally be with her in person.

“Very well. The owners of the Sunny Motel and Ritter’s Motel are facing jailtime. They were facilitators—enabling the ring to solicit the girls at their motels. We’ve accessed their financials and see large and regular deposits going into the bank accounts.”

No wonder the owner of the Sunny Motel didn’t want Roy to call the cops. “Can you track those?”

“Uh-uh. I did, and we’ve got some names. Arrests will be made.” Another beautiful smile from Patty.

“That’s fantastic. Are the motel owners saying anything? Do they know who’s behind the DC ring?” Amanda leaned across the table.

“They both offered to turn state’s evidence in exchange for protective custody. They have some names, but don’t know the person at the top. All they know about them is that they are extremely powerful and believe it might be a prominent politician, or someone in law enforcement.”

“Scary thought.”

“Sadly, only to be expected in that world. Now, I’m still working on Second Treasures. The people there claim they had no idea that these girls have been shopping in their store. I subpoenaed their financials, and there’s nothing untoward that’s been found. The owners and employees there might be innocent, but at least we now know about it and can keep the place under surveillance.”

For all that Patty was offering, Amanda felt bad asking for more. “Anything useful turn up on those suspects I forwarded from the initial investigation into Lynch’s disappearance?”

“No dice, I’m afraid.”

Amanda twisted her cup and looked down into the coffee, one more question coming to mind. “Did Randy Hart lead you anywhere?”

“Unfortunately, no. We checked his home and came up empty. We also spoke with his former employer, Bonnie Pratt, at the Pansy Shoppe. She only had nice things to say about him.”

“Do you think the flower place is mixed up in any of this?”

“Involved in the ring? No way.”

Amanda was relieved to hear that and overwhelmed with gratitude. She made eye contact with Patty. “You’ve just done so much. It’s fantastic.”

“Don’t mention it. This job is my work and my passion. It’s also why I had to meet you, Amanda.”

“It being?”

“You’re like me and have a strong desire to find justice. You really care, and that’s—I’m sad to say—harder to find in the department than it used to be.”

Amanda smiled, so thankful that their paths had crossed, though sad at why they had. But there would be a lot of really bad men and women out there who would be hoping Amanda and Patty never joined forces. They may not know it yet, but their day of reckoning was coming.

Sixty-One

The following day…

Amanda was sitting outside Hill’s office with Malone and her lawyer. What a horrible way to start the week.

Hill’s assistant, Lily, kept smiling awkwardly at her. If needing the lawyer wasn’t enough of a bad sign, this was another one.

The phone beeped on Lily’s desk, and then a voice came over its speaker. “Send them in.”

Hill sounded sour, and Amanda couldn’t help quaking internally. This case had rocked her emotionally, mentally, and physically, and it felt like