“Bullshit.”
She let the corner of her mouth lift but said nothing.
“Where are they?” he asked.
“In my van. In the lot.”
“How many?”
“Four.”
“I’m waiting on five.”
She smiled, cocking her head slightly. “Well, now you get four.”
“Deirdre makes five,” he said.
“Deirdre’s getting the hell out of here.”
Josie pitched the manila envelope onto his desk, and Big Ben dumped the contents onto the pile of papers in front of him. He flicked through the documents to find the driver’s licenses, studying each one, mumbling the girls’ names and their weight and eye color, commenting on their appearance. He spoke with a light Mexican accent, drawing out some words, clipping others. He held up one of the licenses and read off the name. “Susita. What’s she like?”
Josie shrugged. “She’s all right. A little attitude.”
A gold tooth glinted when he laughed, giving him the appearance of a cartoon character. “I knew it. I know these mamas before they ever walk into my life, just by their picture.” He tapped the photo on the license. “This little mamacita needs to be trained.”
Josie smiled and nodded. He was referring to Sheila. Trained? “She’s a tough one.”
He stroked his goatee and eyed Josie. “Tough, huh? She won’t be tough for too long. I guarantee you that, my friend.” He laughed and stood from his desk. “Let’s go.”
He brushed past Josie and into the hallway. She followed him outside, where he peered into the parking lot and spotted her van. “Pull it around behind the building.”
He started to walk away and she said, “Hey! What about my check?”
“Don’t be rude, mama. Meet me in back.”
*
Josie climbed into the van and was peppered with questions. The undercover officers were wired, but they had no audio of Josie’s communication, nor could they communicate with each other once they entered the building. Josie’s transmission was only connected to Townie.
“I spoke with one man who identified himself as Big Ben. Tall, middle-aged with a goatee and a cheesy three-piece suit.” Josie turned in her seat to look at Sheila before driving the van around back. “He singled your driver’s license out and asked about you. I said you had an attitude. I think he’s looking forward to messing with you.”
One of the others, a Hispanic woman with big hair and a loud laugh, gave her grief. “Oh, girlfriend. He picked the wrong UC to mess with. Sheila will rip his ass good.”
*
The mood in the van would have seemed lighthearted to someone outside of law enforcement. But Josie knew it was nervous energy. Any situation with criminals involving innocent people, money, guns, and drugs could end in disaster in seconds flat. Everyone in the van knew that one wrong move could put their lives in jeopardy.
The back of the apartment building was down a sloped drive that ended in what looked like a loading dock and the building’s basement. Josie stopped the van where Big Ben was standing beside the basement door stroking his goatee. She opened the van’s side door and four women stared out at her, eyes wide, looking terrified, playing their parts well.
“Ladies. Welcome to the beautiful United States of America. My name is Big Ben and I’ll be your tour guide. We’ll get you set up in your lovely room and then I’ll introduce you to your trainer. For now, let’s see which one of you lovely ladies will rise to the top.” He held up one of the driver’s licenses. “Contestant number one. Juanita! Come out here and let me see you.”
The woman with the loud laugh climbed out of the van looking timid and scared. Big Ben pointed to the wall next to the entrance door and had her stand there. “Arms to your side,” he said. They all stared at the woman, who looked away, possibly searching the parking lot for the backup undercover minivan, but more likely humiliated at being treated like a piece of property.
“Not bad. Drop a few pounds, fix that mess of hair,” he said. “Now turn around, slowly.”
She did as instructed. Josie knew the women would thoroughly enjoy watching the handcuffs click tight around the man’s wrists.
This went on for at least fifteen minutes as Big Ben took each girl out of the van and assessed her physical qualities in front of the others, making it clear that he was in charge.
“Okay, ladies. You’re all mine now. Let’s set you up in your room, where you can pick out some clothes. Then you get your first lesson on cleaning toilets and keeping your mouths shut.” He turned to Josie and pulled an envelope out of the inner pocket of his suit coat and handed it to her.
Josie held the envelope in the air. “I bet I can make you a better deal,” she said.
He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t make deals with the drivers.”
“I’m not your typical driver.”