“What do you need?”
“SVU and Crime Scene have taken the lead at the storage units. They’re working on getting medical care for the girls and reuniting them with their parents. They’ve also arrested the owner of the facility as he would’ve had access to the cameras and had to have known what those units were being used for.” He sat up straighter, took another breath and said, “Let’s get Asher Mayfield in a room.”
“Take another minute, Cap.”
“We need to put that fucking monster in a cage for the rest of his life.”
“I understand, but we have to do this right, as you certainly know. And before we can do that, we have to get our emotions in check.”
He took a deep, shuddering breath and released it slowly. “You’re right.”
“Maybe it shouldn’t be us with Mayfield. We’re too close to it.”
The look he gave her was full of rage and heartbreak. “We need the A team on this one. We can’t leave anything to chance.” After another cleansing breath, he added, “I requested warrants for father-and-son DNA last night, and they came through this morning. Lindsey will take care of that after she returns from picking up Luna.”
“Should we confirm the DNA is a match before we talk to him?”
“I don’t think we need to wait for that. We’ve got enough to start with.” He ran his fingers through his wiry gray hair as he tried to find his composure. “Sorry about the outburst.”
“Please don’t be. It’s horrible.”
“How’s Ethan?”
“Tracy said they all got some rest.”
“Good to hear. I’m going to grab a shower, put on some clean clothes and get my head together.”
“Do you want me to get Charity back here?”
“Yeah, give me an hour.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Sam stayed seated after he left, undone by her friend and mentor’s despair. He was someone she counted on to always hold it together. To see him broken by a case was rare, if not unprecedented.
Freddie came in and stopped short when he found her in one of the visitor chairs. “What’s going on?”
“Luna Ahern is dead, and they found thirty-two more kids in various conditions in the other storage units.”
“Oh God, no.”
“Malone took Luna’s death hard. He just left to shower and change before we talk to Asher Mayfield.”
Freddie took the chair recently vacated by Malone. “Are you okay?”
“I’m devastated for her, her family and everyone else who loved her, as well as all the other kids and families who’ve suffered at their hands.”
“Wouldn’t we have heard about thirty-two missing kids?” Freddie asked.
“Not if they were plucked from all over the place. I honestly cannot believe the details of this entire nightmare case. I’m not going to lie—I’m shook by it.”
“I know. I am, too. Just when we think we’ve seen everything…”
“Yeah, exactly.” Sam stood, feeling weary after the lack of sleep and overload of emotions. “I need to check in with Tracy and tell her we found Luna.”
“I came to tell you that IT reported there was no other activity around Carver’s room at the time of death. We’ve been through every minute of the sixth-floor film twice, and there was nothing else. They’re looking outside the hotel now and will let us know if they find anything related.”
“Thanks for closing that loop. O’Brien’s point was well taken earlier that we can’t assume it was the wife, but all my instincts are pointing in that direction.”
