“But why haven’t you ever told me about him?” Paula persisted.
“I don’t know. I don’t talk about him much,” Miles said, obviously resigned to answering his fiancée’s questions. Blake almost smirked. What else could one expect from a lawyer but a grilling?
“We were very close growing up,” Miles said, “and then we kind of went our separate ways when we graduated from high school. I later learned he was murdered.” He gave a short laugh that held no humor. “Sometimes when I’m having a hard day and I’m missing him, I pull his picture out and think about him. It’s stupid.”
“It’s not stupid,” Blake said. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” He turned back to Paula. “But it’s in the past. I want it to stay there, okay? Now, please.” He lifted Paula’s fingers to his lips and kissed them. “Change the subject.” He glanced at his watch. “Ouch. Actually, it doesn’t matter about the subject. I have to go.” This time he kissed her lips. “I’ll talk to you later tonight.”
Paula bit her lip and frowned, then nodded. “Fine, but we’re not finished discussing this.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”
With an aggrieved look at Blake, he left and she gave an exasperated sigh. “Where are my parents? I told them I was coming over and we needed to talk.” She disappeared into the back of the house and Blake now had an inkling of why the Worthingtons hadn’t put in an appearance yet. Nothing like good old-fashioned avoidance.
Linc stepped into the room, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “What was that all about?”
“Nothing.” Well, it was something, but it wasn’t on his priority list for the moment. “We’ll have to leave in the next thirty minutes to get him there,” Blake told him.
“It’s a twenty-minute ride,” Jo said. “We’ll talk to him on the way, so quit grumbling.”
Blake sighed. He knew he was being a bear, but worry for Rachel wouldn’t let up the stranglehold it had on his throat. Why had she left the hospital without asking for help? He’d watched the security footage over and over and Chloe was right. Rachel had definitely been following the guy. But why? And why hadn’t anyone been able to figure out who he was?
Linc shook his head. “I can’t wait any longer. I’ve got an appointment at ten o’clock myself. I’ll call you in a couple of hours to get an update.”
He left with a wave, after Blake and Jo promised to keep him updated.
Ten minutes later, Judge Worthington’s appearance shut off Blake’s mental questions, only to bring different ones to the surface. Like, had the man lied about knowing who wanted him dead?
Blake turned to the judge. “We’re ready when you are, sir.”
“I’m ready. Sorry for making you wait. I had to deal with a daughter who wants me to cower behind closed doors and not go in to work.”
“Understandable. She’s worried.”
“I get that, but I refuse to let these people win.”
“Good for you, sir.”
It didn’t take long to get the judge loaded into the black SUV. Paula climbed into her BMW and peeled away, her scowl saying more than any words she might have uttered.
Chloe tipped the water bottle and downed half of it. From the bowl on the ground, Hank lapped up his water too. They’d worked hard for the past two hours training and keeping their skills razor sharp. She’d chosen Finlay Park for their morning exercise and couldn’t help visiting the steps Rachel had told her about. Or the parking area where the girls’ cars had been found. Sweatpants and the long-sleeved hoodie kept her warm along with the workout, and sweat dripped down her temple.
Clapping hands caught her attention and she turned to find Brady walking toward her, applauding hers and Hank’s performance. “Nice job.”
“Thanks.”
“You always did have a special love in your heart for animals.”
“Yep. Probably why I love all my brothers so much.”
He grinned. “Ahh, a little witty this morning, are we?”
“It’s the fresh air. Trying to clear my head and think this case through.”
Brady sobered. “How’s the investigation going?”
“Slow.” She shook her head. “A lot of things just don’t make sense. And the things that make sense individually, don’t come together as a whole.”
“That’s sort of clear.”
“I know.”
“I’ve heard of Alessandro Russo. He’s a bad dude.”
“I looked him up before Hank and I came out here for our workout. He’s got a lot in common with Tony Bianchi.” Just saying the man’s name sent shudders through Chloe. Tony Bianchi had been a powerful organized crime figure in their city. Fortunately, he’d been brought down by her mother and Columbia’s finest that had included Izzy and her brother, Derek, especially.
Hank walked over to Brady and dropped his rope. Brady threw it and Hank gleefully bolted after it. “Guess Russo decided to stake his claim after Bianchi was killed.”
“I guess. The door was kind of left open.” Chloe sighed. “Now we’ve got to shut it again.”
“Right.”
“How are the people you fished out of the river?”
“Doing well. I checked on them yesterday. The mom had a concussion and a broken collarbone. Kids were in their car seats when they hit the water. They had a bad scare but are recovering.”
Hank returned the rope and Brady gave it another throw.
“That’s good to hear,” Chloe said.
“The job has its good moments.”
“Are you glad to be diving again?” He’d resigned from the dive team to work as a detective full-time, but a shortage of experienced divers had sent him back to filling in when necessary.
“I love it. It’s tough doing both, but until they hire a couple more divers, I don’t mind.”
Brady continued the game with Hank while they talked. “Does it seem to you that human trafficking around here is on the rise?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I think it’s always been rampant, but yeah, we’re just more aware and actively looking for the victims now.”
“And sometimes they just fall in your lap,” she said, thinking about the girls in the trailer.
“Rachel didn’t know anything about Penny, huh?”
Chloe frowned. “No.” Hank loped back and sprawled on the grass at her feet, panting and happy with the extra time playing his favorite game. “I think about her every day,” she said. “Even more so now. I really believe if we find Russo, we’ll find what happened to Penny.”
“You think she’s still alive?”
“I pray she is, but honestly, for her sake, it might be better if she’s not. Is it awful to think, much less say, that?”
“I’ve thought it.”
“I feel like we’ve failed her. A whole family of cops and we can’t find her or the people who took her? That’s unacceptable.”
Brady didn’t answer with anything other than a nod. So. She wasn’t the only one who felt that way. As far as she knew, she was the first one to voice it, though. He slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. “We won’t give up.”
“I know.” She stepped back. “Have you talked to Damien?” Penny’s brother had her very worried about his mental state.
“No. He’s still blaming himself for not stopping her that night, for not moving fast enough to get the license plate of the guy driving.”
“Who we know was Carson Langston, which probably isn’t his real name.”
“I know and Damien knows. And he’s still out walking the streets looking for her every minute he’s not working.”
“I’ve been checking websites. As many as I can find. So many girls,” she whispered. “I want to rescue them all.”
“You know as well as I do that we’ve got undercover officers on those websites day in and day out. We’re making busts and putting these scumbags behind bars, but I’ll admit, some days it feels like we’re swimming against the tide.”
“I keep telling myself that it makes a difference to the ones we do manage to rescue.”
He smiled. “Absolutely. Gotta look at it that way or we’ll go nuts.” He glanced at his phone. “Linc said Blake and Jo were heading to the courthouse with the judge. I’ve got to run and tackle some paperwork. Catch up with you later?”