Always Watching (16 page)

“
What kind of
mark?”

“
A brand, or tattoo. 
It resembled a UPC symbol.”

“
Jesus,” he
muttered.  “So you’re thinking what exactly?”

“
If I can get a look at
the books for his fishing business, it might give us a lead. 
When you couple the corruption in this city with how human
traffickers smuggle people into this country, Darkwater Bay becomes
the perfect storm for this sort of activity.”

Johnny’s hands covered his face and
magnified a slow exhale of breath.  “It just can’t be
something simple.  Ever.  All right, Doc.  We’ll
play this your way for now.  Why do you need to get to the
morgue before Preston does?”

“
Because Maya needs to
understand what information is still officially pending and what
Preston can be told.”

“
You know it’s a crime to
lie to the FBI, Helen.”

“
It’s only a lie if he
asks the right questions, and I plan to make sure that Maya offers
what little information I want him to have before he says a single
word.”

“
I don’t think you should
do this alone.”

“
Johnny, if you’re there,
his guard will be up.  This way, it looks like the indulgent
head of OSI is merely placating his lover.  I’ll meet you at
OSI when we’re done talking to Danny.”

Chapter 13

A billion questions bounced around in my
head long before I walked into the county morgue that
afternoon.  How could I leverage Datello’s gratitude and
parlay that into an in-depth analysis of his books for the fishing
company?  Was foul play involved in the death of the little
Asian girl we found last night?  Would I have to use trickery
to get Maya to cooperate with my plan to deceive the FBI?  Did
I have enough time to formulate a solid plan that would get Preston
out of Darkwater Bay immediately?

More important, what had possessed Johnny to
propose marriage?  Had I been unclear regarding my feelings on
that particular subject?  It was out there now, the question,
floating in the universe.  An answer would eventually be
required.  What would I say?

Briscoe’s cold accusation uncurled like
cancer in my brain.  He couldn’t have been more wrong. 
This case, missing and exploited children of any age, had been the
lure that sucked me into Darkwater Bay in the first place.  I
thought of all the slaughtered young girls who suffered at the
hands of Jerry Lowe for over three decades.  A slow agonizing
death would be too kind for Lowe.  The victims of his attacks
who didn’t die were probably the unlucky ones.  Carrie Blevins
came to mind.  Forever fearful, eternally damaged.  Yes,
death might’ve been a blessing for her.

This was a siren for me, some inexplicable
draw that I could not ignore.  She sang a song of mercy, of
justice for the dead, the vulnerable, for protection of those who
could not defend themselves.  Dad’s lessons in self defense
floated back to me.  He was so cautious with me.  So
determined that I learn at a very young age to defend myself. 
Was this why?  Had he seen too many children victimized by the
perversity of mankind?

My temples throbbed with the agony of my own
indecision.  Dad’s lessons included something else, something
that I tried to discard but couldn’t.  He taught me to walk
away.  Two months ago, I put a new escape hatch in
place.  The wall safe of my den at home held that identity, my
way out of Darkwater Bay that would leave the world scratching its
head, wondering what ever happened to Helen Eriksson.  How had
she simply vanished without a trace, and why had she done it?

It was the safe play.  Let Johnny and
his incorruptible men at OSI hammer out the details regarding who
was involved in what with missing children.  I could circle
back to the house, get into the new character and disappear before
Agent Preston realized I had no intention of meeting with him or
facilitating a conversation between the FBI and Danny Datello.

Glassy dark eyes flashed
through my mind.  Jane Doe’s little blue lips moved, closing
the gap between her front teeth. 
Help me.

Even though I’m no longer a member of law
enforcement in Darkwater Bay, the guys who guard the bodies never
question me when I show up to see my best friend.  Today was
no different.  I strolled past Seth with a grin and a
salute. 

“
Hey
you!” 

I turned toward him.  Seth held up a
fist and waited for the bump from mine.

“
Fantastic job you did
today, Eriksson.  Congratulations.”

I was the crowned hero again, the queen of
the blind lady justice who served all without prejudice, even
someone as guilty as Danny Datello.  “Thanks Seth.  Do
you know where Maya is this afternoon?”

His smile faded.  “Finishing up with
the little girl from last night.  Too bad we can’t save them
all, huh, Eriksson?”

Too bad indeed.  My
little victim screamed for my attention, my focus, and an
unwavering commitment to draw a line in the sand and say,
this far and not one step farther. 
I pushed through the swinging doors to Maya’s
favored autopsy bay.

She pulled off her goggles and pulled the
drape over the tiny body.  “Hey there, my friend.  How
are you hanging in today?”

“
You heard about the
Datello baby?”

“
The city is buzzing over
the news like crazy.  I assume you’re here because of this
one.  If you give me five or ten to close, I can talk probable
cause of death.”

I sucked in a steadying breath.  “It’s
all right, Maya.  You can finish up and tell me while you
work.  Yesterday was rough.  I’m under control now.”

“
My friend, the rock,” she
murmured.  “All right, here goes.”

The drape flipped back and Maya started
doing her typical postmortem review for me.  She pointed to
the lungs exposed in the tiny little chest.  “She died of
pneumonia,” Maya said.  “If you need the specifics, you’ll
have to be patient.  Micro is growing cultures from the fluid
in her lungs, but I can tell you now that this infection was nasty
and fulminating.  We won’t know if it was viral or bacterial
for at least forty-eight hours.  The poor darling’s
respiratory system was overwhelmed with whatever it was. 
Maybe even influenza.  Contrary to popular belief, the little
bugger and all his nasty permutations do not lie dormant from March
to October to accommodate our vaccination schedule.”

“
I’m aware.  Anything
else remarkable?”

“
The ink on her arm was
temporary.  It was higher quality than those that the kids buy
to slap on their skin and give their parent’s heart failure
over.  I’d estimate a duration of weeks if I hadn’t found a
solvent that would remove it.  The intention was not
permanent, but longer than a few weeks.”

“
Like henna?”

“
I’m not sure henna would
last as long as this one.  I can’t tell you when it was placed
for sure, but based on the type and strength of solution we had to
use to remove it, I’d give it six months on average before it would
completely disappear.”

“
So if this child was
marked with a brand that wasn’t intended to be permanent, but still
served the same purpose of that type of mark, it could indicate a
few things.”

Maya nodded.  “Like inventory until a
buyer is found, perhaps.”

“
I had the same
thought.”  My eyes traveled down the drape.  The little
girl was still covered from the waist down.  I hated that this
question would even occur to me, but unfortunately, I
have
seen too much over
the years.  I closed my eyes and turned ninety degrees away
from the table.  “Signs of sexual activity?”

“
In a six year old,
they’re pretty obvious, even if we’re not talking complete
penetration.”

“
I take it that means
yes.”

“
It means yes,” Maya
said.

I cupped my hands and dragged them over my
mouth.  “I talked to Crevan on my way over here.  He
spoke to our resident Neanderthal Tony Briscoe’s new partner. 
There’s no record of a girl matching her description in any of our
databases.  Are you certain about the age?”

“
Five to seven,” Maya
said.  “Dentition supports that estimate, Helen.  She’s a
very petite little girl.  It’s not all that uncommon in Asian
populations.”

“
Or Darkwater Bay
populations.”

“
Do you think she was a
local girl, that someone let her die and then dumped her instead of
reporting it?”

“
If there’s one thing I’ve
learned about this city, it’s that anything is possible. 
While her cause of death doesn’t seem to be intentional, it was
still failure to seek medical attention that killed her. 
Abuse of a corpse.  Class A felony sexual assault. 
Whoever did this had plenty of legal reasons not to report her
missing, or to seek medical attention when she got sick enough to
die.”

“
Knowing what I know about
human trafficking, I think we need to expand the search to the
international stage,” I said.  “This country isn’t the hunting
ground for predators as much as it is a lucrative point of
sale.”

“
Ah, Helen, I don’t want
to think about that.  We have people in this country who are
buying slaves?  Jesus Christ and General Jackson.  What’s
wrong with the world?”

“
It has often been my
opinion that some of them are here without raising too many
eyebrows under the guise of
domestic
help
, but that’s not the only places where
these people land.  Forced prostitution, pornography,
sometimes they even snatch young boys and sell them to armies or
for sports teams.”

“
Not here!”

“
No, that’s not how
they’re typically used in the United States.”

“
How many victims are we
talking about here?”

“
Entering the U.S.? 
The State Department estimates anywhere from fourteen to eighteen
thousand.”

“
There are that many
slaves in this country?  How can people not know about this,
Helen?”

“
That’s how many are sold
into slavery in this country
per
year
.  The number worldwide is a
staggering million.  And you know how these statistical
estimates are made.”

“
Too low,” Maya
rasped. 

“
A lot of times,
yes.  You can see why even a mere hint that this girl was
going to end up on an auction block or was already custom ordered
by some criminal of the lowest form makes me sick.”

“
No wonder you don’t want
to do this job anymore.  I’ve seen a lot of shit over the
years, Helen, but it ends on this table.  I don’t have to go
out and find the people responsible for this garbage.  I don’t
have to try to figure out how they think and what motivates them in
order to catch them.”

“
Don’t ever underestimate
the value of your job to mine,” I said.  “Without everything
you observe, we’re shooting darts at the globe.  Literally on
this one.”

“
Your best bet on finding
her identity might lie in the fact that she appears to be so well
cared for, Helen.  She’s well nourished, despite being under
the third percentile for children in this age bracket.  There
are no vitamin deficiencies.  She had regular dental care and
fluoridation treatments to her teeth.  Her hair is silky and
strong.  Nails are without evidence of malnutrition. 
Somebody snatched a child who was loved.”

“
If she’s not from the
U.S., maybe it’s an indicator of her family’s wealth,” I
postulated.  “If she came from a family who could afford a
ransom demand, why sell her into slavery?”

“
Maybe she fit the type
someone wanted,” Maya shrugged.  Or maybe it was a
shudder.

I thought about Melissa Sherman, her tiny
frame, the perfectly coiffed blonde hair.  Another mental
image flashed before my eyes, that of baby Sofia’s biological
mother.  My eyes widened.  “You know Maya, sometimes your
brilliance bowls me over.”

“
I’m not sure if that’s a
compliment or not.”

“
Oh, it definitely is a
compliment.  I think you might’ve put your finger on why the
Datello baby was targeted in the first place.”

“
Seriously?  You
think people advertise for what they’re looking for?”

“
Yeah,” I nodded. 
“Figuring out where just might be the next step in this
investigation.  But there’s something else we need to discuss
right now.  I haven’t got much time to waste before the FBI
shows up asking questions about our little girl here.”

“
They’re in this case now
too?”

“
Trying to be.  My
fear is that we’ll have a city crawling with men in navy
windbreakers with
FBI
emblazoned on the back in yellow letters before nightfall,
and if there are local conspirators in this trafficking ring,
they’ll be in the wind before we can find them.”

“
How can I
help?”

“
Don’t lie to him. 
It’s a crime to lie to the FBI.  But I want you to be as vague
as possible about your autopsy findings.  If something is
pending, stress that point.  It won’t buy me much time, but it
might be enough.”