“What will you charge Caroline with?” Otto asked.
“That depends on what you bring me. I’m not ready to file yet.” Josie started to protest and he cut her off. “Under Texas criminal code, I can charge her with the first-degree felony called ‘continuous trafficking of persons.’ But it only applies to people who commit two or more acts of trafficking. As a first-time offender, she could get twenty-five to ninety-nine years. You get me the timeline. I want to know how many women she delivered, and the dates they were delivered.”
“We’ve got Josh Mooney and this Big Ben fella in Albuquerque to work for information,” Otto said.
“Hell, no,” Josie said. “I don’t want to give Josh Mooney a break. That piece of scum needs to spend every second in jail that we can get.”
“Talk with him. See what you can get without making any deals,” Holder said. “And see what your buddies in New Mexico come up with. If Big Ben can provide us a list of dates and women’s names, and we can link them to the Web site and their families? I’ll feel better. I want the connections between Caroline Moss and the various players to be crystal clear.”
“What do we do about the mayor?” Otto asked.
Holder pursed his lips and shrugged. “We do nothing. Do you have any indication he’s involved with the trafficking operation?”
“No.”
“Then we do nothing. Josie tried the professional courtesy route. We won’t do that again,” Holder said.
NINETEEN
Josie drove home that night feeling like she was back on top of the world. She and Otto had left the prosecutor’s office and called Townie in New Mexico, who had already made headway with Big Ben. Turned out he was a midlevel player in an organization that had spread northeast to Oklahoma City. And he kept impeccable records of the girls entering and exiting the Maid’s Quarters. Bottom line, Big Ben was selling out everyone he could think of in order to strike a deal with the prosecutor. Big attorney or not, Caroline was in trouble.
*
Earlier that day Nick had called to get the story behind the cancellation of Josie’s suspension, and he’d asked her to meet him at Dell’s house when she got home. Dell had offered to make barbecue brisket for Nick, Beverly, and Josie. When she arrived home at eight o’clock, the lights were off at her house, but she could see a bonfire in front of Dell’s. She changed into jeans and a sweatshirt, and found the three of them sitting in lawn chairs around the bonfire, talking and laughing.
The sight of the people she cared most about in the world sitting together and enjoying each other’s company made her chest swell up with happiness. She thought it was the kind of simple moment that comes out of nowhere and knocks you to your knees: the kind of happiness that has nothing to do with money or success or material things. She realized in that moment how fortunate she was, and she was glad that her mom was a part of it.
“We got a plate full of brisket waiting for you over here. Come sit down and take a load off,” Dell said.
Nick held a beer in the air. “Fresh out of the cooler. Ice cold.” He scooted the empty chair closer to his own and Josie sat down, accepting the beer with a wide smile.
“This is nice,” she said, looking around the fire.
“We’re celebrating that you’re back on the job,” her mom said, raising her own beer and tilting it in Josie’s direction.
“Smokey Blessings made a statement on the public radio station about an hour ago. He said that the information about your suspension was shared in error, and that you were never suspended. He said Chief Gray has the full support of the council and that you were, and still are, actively serving the community.”
Josie tipped her head back against the seat and exhaled a long slow breath of relief. “That’s more than I expected. I figured they’d just pretend it never happened.”
“Smokey’s got your back,” Dell said.
And that was all that was said. The conversation turned away from the mess the town was now facing. The drama could wait until morning. They enjoyed the cool evening and the warmth of the fire and the easy conversation of friends and family. At midnight, Nick and Josie drove Beverly back to Manny’s Motel. Josie walked her mom to her room and asked if she’d thought any more about her plans.