InTooDeep (14 page)

“You’re not as stupid as I thought you
were.” The woman’s voice hardened. “Fortunately for you there’s something I
need, and you’re going to help me get it.” Carley remained quiet, giving her
nothing, showing no emotion. Her father had taught her well, training her to
stay calm in the face of danger, give nothing to the enemy that could be used
against her.

“Not even interested in what that something
is, Ms. Morgan?”

Still Carley didn’t speak, just blinked at
her.

The woman’s lips parted to reveal even
white teeth. “If I were to need to contact someone who worked in close
proximity with Lieutenant Franklin, who would you suggest?”

“I’d suggest you go to hell but I’m sure
you’ll be going there soon enough anyway.” Though Carley tossed the words out
carelessly, her mind raced.

Had Franklin kept something hidden,
something that could incriminate his partner? The thought almost made her
smile. She couldn’t help but wonder if her captor was as confident inside as
she sounded. Perhaps not if she thought Franklin had information that could
destroy her.

“I have two names and you’re going to tell
me which one I should contact, Ms. Morgan, or things are going to get ugly.”

“That’s an idle threat considering the only
person I gave a damn about was killed by Lieutenant Franklin who, I believe,
worked for you or with you. So there’s nothing else you can do to me.”

“You might be surprised at what I can do.”
The brunette strolled forward, engulfed in the aroma of floral perfume. “Like,
say, telling you your sister is actually alive and well.” She tapped one finger
against her cheek. “Actually, maybe not well but, as far as I know alive.”

Carley’s heart stuttered and her mouth went
dry. Could it be true? Could Dani actually be alive? “Why should I believe
anything you say?”

The woman lifted her shoulder in an elegant
shrug. “You don’t have to believe anything but on the off chance I’m telling
the truth, don’t you want to try to stay alive long enough to try to find her?
The only way you can do that is by cooperating with me.”

Believing anything this woman said was
unpalatable but if there was even the slightest chance Dani was still alive she
had to know…she had to find her. “So what is it that you want?”

“My sources tell me that Detectives Hunt
Brandon and David Polponia worked closely with Lieutenant Franklin. Now I want
to know which one would be the best person for me to contact about a business
proposition.”

“What makes you think I would know?”

“Because you’ve been sleeping with
Detective Brandon.” The woman bared her teeth in a parody of a smile. “Is that
surprise I see on your face? Did you really think, once I found out who your
sister was, that I wouldn’t track you down? It didn’t take me long, actually.
You didn’t even try to cover your tracks, which I find astounding considering
your career choice.”

Carley’s heart rate sped up as knowledge
sank in, becoming a stark, vicious reality. This woman didn’t want her help,
she wanted her as bait. And though Hunt might not like her very much right now,
he wouldn’t let her die. He would take the bait and possibly lose his own life
in the process, which probably meant anything this bitch said couldn’t be taken
for truth.

“You have a very expressive face. I imagine
that can be a downfall for someone in your profession.” The woman spun around
and started toward the stairs. “It looks like I’ll be contacting Detective
Brandon then. I’m sure he’ll be very helpful. If not, I’ll let you know his
last words. Who knows? They might be of some comfort to you.”

“Were you telling the truth about my
sister? Is she still alive?” Though the effort might be wasted, Carley had to
ask. Ordinarily she was very good at reading people but this woman, she was
like a block of ice.

“That’s something you’d have to ask the man
I sold her to. Oh but wait. You won’t be in any position to ask any questions.
I have the perfect buyer for you, and he’s looking forward to meeting you.”

Her high heels clicked up the stairs and as
the door closed behind her silence descended in the dank room once more. But it
didn’t matter. Carley had caught something in the woman’s voice, possibly a
kernel of truth.

And that truth was going to get her out of
here because now that she knew there was a possibility, no matter how slight,
that her sister was alive, Carley would get out. And she would find Dani…right
after she killed the bitch who sold her.

“How did it go?” Deputy Director Baulding
waved Hunt into the interrogation room he’d taken over. His laptop and a stack
of files took up one end of the table and a large screen TV, the channel tuned
to a local news station, took up the opposite end.

Hunt stood in the open doorway, his
shoulder against the metal frame. “The victim was the wife of a low-rent
criminal named JT Everly. He was killed in a warehouse explosion down at the
docks last night. She was badly injured, died not long after I got there.”

Baulding blew out a breath. “I take it you
got nothing from her then?”

“I got a first name. Not much but at least
it’s a start.” As the director’s eyes lit up Hunt continued, “A woman’s behind
this. Goes by the name of Rena. The victim never saw her so we don’t have
anything else to go on but…” Hunt’s words trailed off when his boss got to his
feet, his face several shades whiter than his starched shirt. “Director? Is
everything okay?”

Tugging almost frantically at the collar of
his shirt, Baulding nodded, but it was more of a jerk. “How generic is that
name? Is it popular in this area?”

Hunt tipped his head to one side. “I
haven’t done any research on it but it’s not a Jim or Ann. Director, is there
something wrong? The second I mentioned that woman’s name your skin became
practically translucent.”

Baulding gripped the edge of the table so
tightly his knuckles whitened and as Hunt watched him, his eyes narrowed to
slits. It might not be much to go on but it solidified Hunt’s belief that the
director knew something he wasn’t sharing.

“Is whatever it is you’re not telling me
pertinent to this case?”

The director’s head swiveled. “Don’t be
ridiculous.” He adjusted the knot in his tie, loosened it then tightened it.

Hunt moved fully into the room, closing the
door behind him. “I wasn’t aware that I was being ridiculous. I asked a
question. Maybe it was the wrong one. A better one probably is do you know
someone named Rena?”

Baulding looked like he wanted to slug him.
His hands balled into fists and Hunt considered taking a defensive stance. If
the man was going to come at him, boss or not, Hunt would take him down.

Shoulders slumped, Baulding backed into the
chair he’d abandoned. “It’s probably even ludicrous to mention it but in the
interest of full disclosure, my wife’s name is Rena.”

News to him. Hunt thought back to the last
time he’d seen Deputy Director Baulding’s wife. A party at their house last 4th
of July. She was a petite brunette, pretty, kind of bitchy and more than a
little flirtatious. She’d come on to Hunt enough times to make him
uncomfortable. Baulding had tried to rein her in, calling her over to him
several times, but the name he’d used definitely hadn’t been Rena.

“I thought your wife’s name was Annie.”

“Middle name. She hates Rena, never uses
it.”

Hunt wasn’t buying that his wife’s first
name was the only reason the director had lost all color. There had to be more,
something much more damning, he’d wager. “Okay. Well, do you believe she might
be involved?”

Baulding cursed, straightened and whirled
around, stalking toward the coffeemaker that set atop a rickety table in the
corner of the room. “I’d like to say no.”

“What makes you think you can’t?”

“Let’s not jump ahead of ourselves.”
Baulding’s voice was so strained it was tinny. “My wife’s been on a personal
vacation for a few months. We thought the separation might do us some good. She
didn’t mention coming here, but then, I doubt she would have told me had I
asked.”

Hunt didn’t reply. Admitting your marriage
was in jeopardy to a subordinate had to be a bite in the ass. He figured there
wasn’t much he could say to make that any easier, and he wasn’t touching his
boss’ suspicions about Rena until he had concrete proof of his own.

“If you know if she paid by credit card, we
can run it to check her travel itinerary.” Hunt figured that was about the
safest thing he could say at present. The last thing he wanted was to get in
the middle of a marriage on the rocks, but he was going to catch the bitch
behind these kidnappings and murders. And if that meant pissing off his boss,
well, he’d just have to take his chances.

What was that saying about damning the
torpedoes? One thing was for sure though. If he went after the deputy
director’s wife, he’d better make sure one of those torpedoes wasn’t taking
direct aim at his ass.

“Chandler?” Baulding turned from the
coffeemaker, his eyes now bleary. “I don’t want to think my wife could be
involved in something like this but while you’re checking, my secretary quit
before my wife left Virginia. She just left a note telling me she was
quitting.”

“And now you don’t believe she quit?”

“I’m not sure what I believe but it wasn’t
like Robin to walk away from her duties like that without talking to me. I
tried to call her several times to discuss it but I kept getting her voice
mail. Finally I called her mother, who hadn’t heard from her either. She filed a
missing persons report but the police haven’t had any luck finding her.”

Sounded like cause for concern to Hunt.
“Sounds like you think your wife might have something to do with Robin’s
disappearance, at least that’s what I’m hearing in your tone.” He gave the
director the option of denying it.

“Let’s just say some things are starting to
come into focus, and I’m not liking what I’m seeing.”

No man would like knowing his wife was a
cold, calculating murderer but other than a pale face Deputy Director Baulding
was taking the potential news remarkably well. A little too well for Hunt’s
level of comfort.

He’d find out where Rena Baulding had been
these past few months—but hers wasn’t the only itinerary he’d be perusing.

Chapter Thirteen

A plan. Carley needed a plan, a way to get
word to Hunt before that woman did. The first problem once she got out of these
damn chains was finding a phone.

“Was she right about that Brandon guy?” The
same blonde who’d been talking to Carley earlier approached from the shadows.

Carley craned her neck to see the cuffs
securing her wrists. “I know him.” She wasn’t about to share any more
information, not until she knew if any of these women were foes.

The woman picked her teeth. “Hope you
haven’t gotten too close to him. I mean, that you don’t care about him or
nothing.” She looked up with a frightened look in her hazel eyes. “He’s gonna
die.”

“Not if I can help it.” Carley jiggled the
chains again.

“Whatcha think you’re gonna do? It’s not
like you’re in a position to help him, and I wouldn’t believe anything that
woman says about your sister. You can’t trust her.”

That Carley could agree with. She dropped
her gaze back down to the woman’s face. “What’s your name?”

The fear in those watery eyes grew
stronger. “You don’t need to know my name.”

“You know mine.” Carley softened her voice
in an attempt to put the woman at ease. “And if I do have a plan that could get
us all out of here, wouldn’t you want to know what it was?”

Hope flared on the woman’s face but faded
quickly. “We’re locked in a dungeon. A couple of us have been here months now.
Don’t you think we’ve tried to get out?”

Yeah, well, you haven’t tried with me.
There wasn’t a lock made she couldn’t pick. “How about just giving
me your name first and then we’ll go from there?”

The woman shuffled her bare feet on the
stone floor. “Rebecca, though most people call me Becca.”

“Well, Becca, you think you can find
something sharp, something I could use to pick the locks on these wrist
chains?”

Becca took a stumbling step back. “If she finds
out I helped you, I’m dead.”

She? These women didn’t know their captor’s
name either? What was it? Some kind of secret? It wasn’t like the woman had any
intention of letting these witnesses live. So why not share her name, at least
give them something to call her?

“Who’s
she?
” Carley prodded for
information.

“Like we told you, we don’t know her name,”
came another voice from the circle of emaciated women.

“Okay, well, since we’re all women here,
it’s going to get kind of confusing if we don’t have something to call her.”
Carley thought bitch would be appropriate. “So why don’t we just call her
Agnes?” The name brought a giggle from behind her. “I know she doesn’t look
like an Agnes but we’re working on a time clock here.”

As Carley talked Becca’s shoulders relaxed
and she took that one tiny, first step toward trust. “How can you be sure
Agnes,” she lowered her voice to a whisper on the name, “won’t find out about
us?”

“Because you’ll be long gone before she
even knows you’re missing.” She looked over the woman’s shoulder, noticing the
other women were drawing closer. “All of you will.” And Carley would be one
step closer to finding out the real truth about Dani.

Folding her arms over her chest, Becca
nibbled her lower lip. “I don’t know. No one has ever been able to get away
from her before…at least not alive. The last woman who tried ended up hanging
in those same chains until she died of starvation. We couldn’t feed her or even
touch her. I think it’s too dangerous to try to leave.” There were murmurs of
agreement.

“So is staying here,” Carley countered. “Do
you really think she’s going to leave any of us alive after she tracks down
Detective Brandon? And you don’t really think she’s looking for the detective
only to talk, do you? Look, she had Franklin killed so what’s one more cop to
her? Once she’s done she’s going to get the hell out of town but not before she
makes sure there aren’t any witnesses.”

Those same murmurs became anxious snatches
of conversation. Becca looked behind her. “You’re scaring them.”

“They should be scared. So should you. This
woman isn’t going to sell me because she knows I’m damn good at what I do.”
Carley took a deep breath before finishing, “Agnes was right about my being a
thief, ladies. I have been for most of my life and I’ve never gotten caught. So
do you really think she’s going to let me live? Of course, if she kills me,
she’ll have to kill all of you now since you were witnesses that I was here.”

Becca lifted bony shoulders in a shrug. “We
knew that girl Dani too, but Agnes didn’t kill us after Franklin took her.
She’s keeping us because she’s trying to get money out of our families since no
one bought us. I don’t think she’s going to kill us if she thinks she can make
a dollar.”

Carley wanted to smack all the women’s heads
together. “You can’t seriously believe money is on her mind right now. Survival
is all she’s thinking about and, to her, survival includes not getting caught.
If you leave witnesses behind, that increases the likelihood of your crimes
catching up with you. Just think about that, but do it quickly. We don’t have
much time and I’d like to get the hell out of here before Agnes decides to
eliminate all of us.”

“Hey, Brandon, take a look at this.” Dave
winced. “Sorry. Chandler. Give me time to get used to the new name.”

Hunt took the piece of paper Dave wielded.
“You help me catch this Rena and you can call me Popeye.” He scanned the
contents and scowled. “Shit. Baulding really isn’t going to like this.”

Eyebrows raising in inquiry, Dave waited
for Hunt to fill him in.

“His wife’s first name is Rena, and we now
have proof she’s been spending a little time here in our city.”

Dave sucked his teeth and shook his head.
“That’s
my
city, partner. You’re just here on a work visa.”

Hunt flashed a grin, realized how good it
was to be working with Dave again even if only temporarily. “I’d better go fill
him in, maybe find out if he has a way to draw her in so we don’t have to go
looking for her.”

His cell phone vibrated against his hip and
he yanked it off and barked his name into the mouthpiece.

There was a slight hesitation before a
feminine voice said, “I’m sorry. I must have the wrong number.”

The husky fuck-me voice slapped him like an
open palm to the face. Rena “Annie” Baulding. It wasn’t a voice he was likely
to forget, since she’d whispered in his ear so many times.

“Who were you trying to reach?” Behind his
back he snapped his fingers, signaling the techs to trace.

Another pause followed. “Detective Brandon
with the Charleston City Police Department.”

He’d answered the phone with his real name.
That’s what had thrown her off. She’d been expecting his alter ego. No sense
trying to cover it up now. The longer he could keep her talking, the better his
chances of finding her and any other women.

“I’m guessing you’re Rena Baulding. How’d I
do?”

She hissed in a breath but when she
responded her voice gave no indication of her momentary lapse in control. “So,
Chandler, how do you know me? And should I be flattered?”

“Actually it’s
Agent
Chandler, and I
know everything about you, Rena.” He looked over his shoulder at the techs
working furiously to track her. One of them made a slicing motion across his
neck. Damn. Of course she was using a throwaway phone. This wasn’t her first
trip to the market.

Soft laughter flowed across the line.
“Somehow I doubt that. Now would you be so kind as to pass the phone to
Detective Brandon? It’s obvious, since you answered his cell, he’s nearby. So
please spare the insult to my intelligence by trying to convince me he’s not.
The good detective and I have a few things to discuss.”

“Obviously I know way more about you than
you do about me.” Hunt rolled his fingers, telling the techs to keep recording
the call. Maybe they’d hear something in the background on playback, a train
whistle, anything that might indicate where she was now.

“Why would I know anything about you?” She
sounded genuinely perplexed.

“Because Detective Brandon is an alias…my
alias.”

“That’s impossible.” Rena’s voice lost all
trace of self-confidence. “I would have known.”

How would she have known? Because of her
husband’s position or because he knew she was behind this all along? Was he
keeping the law away from her, protecting her even?

Hunt strove to keep his voice even, not
letting even a trace of doubt creep into his voice. “Really? Sounds like you
didn’t. It’s a bitch to get blindsided, isn’t it? Like those women you took?
They didn’t see what was coming to them either.”

“It’s funny. Carley didn’t mention you were
with the FBI.”

Rena had regrouped and her words punched
Hunt in the stomach. “Maybe she didn’t want you to know.” Though he kept the
panic out of his voice, he frantically wrote down Carley’s cell and handed it
to Dave.

Snatching the piece of paper, Dave whirled
around and snagged his own cell phone, dialing the number so rapidly the beeps
were barely heard.

“Perhaps. She wasn’t much of a talker, come
to think of it. Must have been the tape across her mouth.”

As Hunt’s temper soared, Dave turned and
shook his head. Hunt’s hand threatened to crush the cell phone. “For your sake,
she’d better still be alive.”

“Definitely sounds like love to me.” Heels
clicked against some type of flooring. Wood? Tile? Hunt couldn’t tell.

“Where is she? There’s no reason to keep
her. We know about you, about the sex slaves, Franklin’s murder, everything.
You’re not leaving this city.”

Rena made a tapping noise against the
mouthpiece. “Who said I was still in the city? I’ll be in touch.”

The line went dead and Hunt threw his phone
against the closest wall, cursing so loudly the room went silent. “She’s got
Carley. She fucking took Carley.”

Dave cursed too but at a much lower volume.
“Look, man, you gotta keep it together. We know who’s behind this now and
that’s half the battle.”

“How? She could be anywhere by now. I
haven’t talked to Carley since yesterday. There’s no telling what time Rena
took her, considering she probably has more than enough money to buy her own
fucking private jet.” Hunt slapped the desk in front of him, drawing in several
deep breaths.

“Agent Chandler, would you care to fill me
in?” Deputy Director Baulding strode forward, his hair standing on end and a
wan look on his face.

Hunt straightened and whirled, ready for
battle. “You want to know what’s happening, Deputy Director? Your wife, your
Annie, sells women to the highest bidder, to fucking perverts who probably
can’t get it up unless they’re beating the shit out of the woman they’re
fucking.”

As he talked he walked forward, approaching
his boss with no thought of his career. “And now she’s kidnapped another woman,
someone I know and—” He broke off. He’d almost said “cared about” but he
wouldn’t give that information to Baulding, not without knowing if he could
trust him.

“And that woman might already be dead
because you were too busy screwing your secretary to realize your wife is a
fucking psycho,” Hunt finished with a sound of disgust. “Or maybe you did
realize it but just didn’t give a shit as long as she left you alone. So what
is it, Director Baulding? Does your wife call the shots because she has the
money in the family? Did her daddy pull strings to get you promoted to your
position? Is that why you turn a blind eye?”

The room thick with tension, Baulding
shortened the gap between him and Hunt. “I’m sorry. You must have forgotten who
I am, Agent, so let me refresh your memory. I am the man so far above you I
could piss on you without getting any blowback. So unless you want to spend the
next ten or twenty years as a mall security guard, you’ll dial that temper down
a notch.”

Red haze filtered over Hunt’s vision. The
director had only thrown gasoline on a fire already out of control. “You gotta
be kidding me. You’re going to pull rank when your wife is
auctioning women?
You knew your secretary didn’t just quit. Didn’t you just stand in that room
and tell me that? You suspected her but I’m sure it was too much effort to
actually do your fucking job and clear your conscience. No, it was easier to
just keep your head buried underneath a new secretary’s skirt.”

Baulding lunged but Hunt was ready. He
ducked back, rotated and slammed his boss face first into the wall. Twisting
Baulding’s arm up behind his back, Hunt placed his mouth close to the man’s
ear. “If anything happens to Carley because you were too much of a coward to
find out what the hell your wife has been doing, you’ll never fuck another
woman again because you’ll be too busy trying to cough your balls up.”

Struggling, Baulding cursed and called for
assistance but no one moved. Or breathed. “I swear to God, Chandler, I’ll have
your badge for this.”

Hunt pulled him away from the wall only to
push him hard back into the plaster. “And I’ll gladly give it up just for the
pleasure of kicking your ass.” He took hold of the man’s collar and pulled him
away, practically throwing him across the room. “Now get the hell out of here.
You can’t be a part of this investigation.”

Baulding straightened his shirt, his tie,
his mouth working furiously. “This isn’t over, Chandler. You’re spending your
last day as a federal agent.” He spun and stormed down the hall, pausing to
add, “And each and every one of you agents that did nothing to assist me,
you’ll all be on report tomorrow morning.”

Dave finally breathed a sigh of relief when
the man was gone. “I just thought I knew you.” He clapped a hand on Hunt’s
shoulder. “Turns out I like the agent a hell of a lot better than the cop. Now,
let’s get busy. We need to find your woman and put another one away for a long
time.”