“Individuals, regardless of nationality, who disappear in Mexico or the US under certain circumstances, such as sex trafficking. It’s a long list, but it helps in case Kane and his team comes across a group or individual.”
“I helped them get the job in Monterrey,” Siobhan said. “They were saving money to rebuild their village. They wrote and called several times … wrote their grandmother—and then it stopped. Kane and his team helped initially, but there were no leads. Nothing. It was like they vanished into thin air.” She took a bite, washed it down with water. “When Eric—a friend of mine who’s a reporter—heard a rumor that Mari was in a brothel in Del Rio, I sent out flyers to every church in the area, then branched out to border towns in both Mexico and the States, thinking maybe they’d been grabbed for sex trafficking, or maybe took illegal jobs in the US. I don’t really know what I was thinking, except they had to be somewhere.” She took a big breath.
Lucy said, “Noah and I talked to the reporter. He gave us photos from his report into the brothel. Zach is running the images against our database and against the photos Siobhan took last night. Webb County has been very helpful, but the adjoining county less so.”
“Jack lived in southern Texas for a long time,” Sean reminded her. “You should reach out to him, get the information about the small-town cops. Who you can trust, who you can’t.”
“I might do that. It was too easy getting Siobhan out. Dropped charges an hour before her arraignment. They’d made up their mind before we even arrived.”
Siobhan said, “Rick can be very persuasive.”
Both Sean and Lucy knew Rick well, and if Lucy thought something was off, something was off. “Trust your instincts, Luce.”
“Noah and I are on the same page. We think this is a black-market baby operation.”
This time, Siobhan stared at Lucy. “What? No—it’s set up to be a typical sex shop. A house to lock up the girls when they’re not working.”
Lucy didn’t waver from her opinion. “It’s not typical. The house wasn’t in a major city. It was in an unpopulated rural area. You saw a young girl with a baby, another girl pregnant, and Father Sebastian found Elizabeth. There was also another young mother who was left at the emergency room in the middle of labor and needed an emergency C-section—we believe that may be connected to the same group. She left without giving any information, but police traced her to a house that had been set up just like the one in Freer. Also abandoned. Now she’s in the wind as well.”
“I don’t have to leave,” Sean said quietly. “If you need me, I can stay.”
She shook her head. “I’m okay. Really—we have leads, we’re going to find out what’s going on down there.”
Sean didn’t want Lucy to go back to Laredo. And he didn’t want to go to Mexico. Something about this case bothered him. Or maybe it was his own situation, not wanting to leave the country when Lucy was involved in something like this.
Lucy asked, “How long will you be gone?”
“Hopefully not more than three days.”
“So back by the weekend. Perfect, I’m not on call this weekend, and one thing I’ve learned this last year is not to work on my days off.” She squeezed his hand, but even her little smile was sad. He wanted to talk more about this case, what she saw, what she was thinking, because he could see Lucy’s mind at work. She always internalized her cases, unable to put them aside to give herself some peace. It made her good at her job … but it took its toll.
“What kind of case are you working?” Siobhan asked Sean.
Sean didn’t want to explain the situation until he had a chance to tell Lucy in private. “An old friend from college came by today—her husband and son disappeared while in Mexico. The husband may be involved with something shady. Kane and I are going to look into it.”
“I didn’t know you were working with RCK again,” Siobhan said. “It’s about time.”
“I’m not with RCK, but since I know Madison, and a child is at risk, I feel I need to help. Kane knows the area and people better than I do, but considering he had major surgery three months ago, I’m not going to ask him to go alone.”
“He knows everything,” Siobhan said with a touch of sarcasm. “Stubborn jerk,” she muttered.
Lucy glanced at Sean, eyebrows up. He shrugged. “Rogans tend to be stubborn,” he said.
“Some more than others,” Siobhan countered.
“Seriously, though—I’ll be available by phone. If you need anything, call me.”
“Will do.” Siobhan rose and stretched. “I’m going to sleep. Noah—what a genuine guy, even if he’s a bit gruff—said he’d pick us up at seven to beat traffic. I’m setting my alarm for six forty-five. It doesn’t take me long to get ready, and I really need a good night’s sleep.”
She hugged Lucy and kissed Sean on the cheek. “Thank you for letting me stay.”
“Mi casa es su casa.”
She laughed. “Your Spanish is pathetic, Sean.”