C, or Char, was taken out of the room next by another set of paramedics. I made eye contact with Roz and held up two fingers, reminding her that we were still looking for two victims. She nodded and without a word, she left with Terrence to continue the search.
As I watched Shannon being taken out of the room, M’s voice pulled my attention down to her.
“My name is Salem.”
Salem. I smiled and pressed my lips against the top of her head. Salem was one of the few women I’d ever held. I felt an extreme amount of calm with her in my arms. I didn’t know if it was because we’d finally busted Sebastian, or if it was because this young woman was somehow settling me and calming my storm.
“I’m Garrett.” I gently patted the outside of her thigh. “The paramedics will be in for you shortly.”
“Will I see you again?”
“Yes, absolutely. I’ll be at the hospital in a little while, and I’ll come see you. I need to finish things here.” I patted her blanket-covered back when another set of paramedics entered the room. “Okay, Salem.” I nudged her and kept the blanket tucked around her as I stood.
Salem was, by far, the healthiest in appearance of the five of them. The others had been here since I’d taken over the case years ago. I walked through the house beside Salem, and when we got outside, there was a police officer standing under an umbrella. He walked to the waiting ambulance holding the umbrella over Salem’s head so she wouldn’t get wet. The storm seemed to have moved on, and in its place was a light rainfall.
“I’ll see you at the hospital, Salem,” I called out loud enough from the back of the ambulance as soon as the paramedics pushed her gurney into the back.
“Okay! See you in a bit,” she replied, bringing a smile to my face. Salem was going to be okay. I would make sure of it.
William and I had headed inside to resume our search, when he received a text from Terrence. He looked at me and said they’d found something in the back of the building. In the drizzle, we raced around the building, and I slowed my pace as soon as I saw a handful of officers around a dumpster.
Jesus, fuck no.
I could tell there was a body in the dumpster by the way Roz had the back of her hand pressed against her nose. She and I stared at one another for a moment before I proceeded toward the dumpster. Roz, William, and Terrence all knew I had spent a great deal of the past two plus years watching these kids endure hell. None of them tried to stop me from walking toward the bin to look inside because they knew I could easily identify whoever was in there. I covered my mouth and nose as I approached where either A or B had finally found peace. I held my breath as I looked.
A.
It was A.
I closed my eyes, trying to control everything I was feeling. Anger and frustration surged through my body, and I slammed the palms of my bare hands against the green bin.
“Goddammit!” I yelled.
I clasped my hands behind my head and paced toward the kink house. When I reached the brick wall, I stretched my arms forward, placing both of my stinging hands against the damp building. As several thoughts raced in my mind, I lowered my head and stared at the wet asphalt and puddles by my feet. I tried to put myself back together and needed a minute or two. Out of the side of my eye, Roz’s feet appeared beside me.
“Garrett,” she began, but I cut her off.
“What’s so frustrating is that after all this time, I wasn’t able to save all of them. She’s been gone for a few months, or thereabouts.” My eyes focused on the puddles that were still being sprinkled on as I thought about A being found in the dumpster. Her body hadn’t looked badly decomposed. Not months’ worth. “Sebastian must have kept her inside. We need to finish searching the place,” I said.
As the four of us moved through the labyrinth of hallways, I wondered why Sebastian had killed the young woman. Was it because he had a younger and fresher version in Salem? Had Sebastian’s slaves had expiration dates on them? I walked into a room that had a stained mattress propped against the wall. I knocked it to the floor to make sure no one was hiding behind it.Or that no one was dead behind it.My thoughts were starting to consume me as I thought about A and how she had died. Had it been a quick death, or had it been a cruel, long, and drawn out one?
“Hey, Garrett.” William’s voice pulled me out of the dark place of wondering how A had died. He stood in the doorway and said, “Terrence found some freezers in a room.”
I frowned and followed him. Terrence and Roz were both grabbing photos of evidence with their phones. The freezers were large, and each could easily hold a body. Two of the ten freezers had blood in them. It was eerie to me because in the years I had been undercover here, I’d never seen anyone other than the original five kids and then Salem. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around this. William said a forensics team was on their way. I was sure they’d have one hell of a time with the DNA in all of the rooms.
There were two rooms left at the end of the hallway. One had a large padlock on it, so until we could get that one open, I went to the other door. I turned the door handle and was surprised to find it unlocked. Most of the other rooms either already had a light on or there was a tiny window near the ceiling. This room was pitch black, though. I stepped back into the hallway as the others were coming out of the room with the freezers.
“Flashlight?” I asked any of them. William handed me his, and I flicked it on as I led everyone into the dark room. “Let’s find the light, please,” I called over my shoulder to the others.
I only took a few steps inside and began scanning the floor closest to the door while Roz and the others stepped into the room behind me. Seconds later, a fluorescent light hummed to life overhead.
Motherfuck.
Lying curled up in a cage ten feet in front of me was B. I rushed toward him while the others grasped what they were seeing.
“Oh my God,” William murmured.
“I’ll grab some pictures,” Terrence announced while I examined the lock.
