Eric’s low whistle rattled his speakers. “Do you think she was taken?”
He shrugged and his eyes stayed focused on the road ahead. Water sprayed on his windshield and his wipers worked to keep up. “Either that, or they found her on the street and brought her in to the sex-trafficking ring. She’s from Chicago, so if they wanted to move their sex ring here, it makes sense to bring in a local. Even if she hasn’t lived here in a while.”
“It’s another connection. What about Mickey? Do you think she was telling the truth about the woman breaking into her apartment and trying to kill her?”
“The more Idiscover about Connie, the more I believe Mickey. I can’t trust her completely until we find out why Pete slipped up with her and Becca. It doesn’t make any sense.”
His gripon the steering wheel tightened. Partly from his thoughts about Mickey, partly from the glare of the rain bouncing from the blacktop. “I also don’t think Pete would use two different women to deal with the girls he takes. It’d be too risky.”
“True,” Eric agreed. “Not to mention it makes more sense for a runaway abused by her traffickers to be used to help her captors. As sick as it sounds, most victims of sex-trafficking are chained to their abusers for life. A girl like Mickey, it’s hard to imagine how she’d end up in a mess like this.”
“Let’s hope she can stay out of it from now on. Harper gave me shit for going into Pete’s apartment with her. Why did you tell him before I had a chance to explain my actions to him? I knew it was crossing a line, but dammit, time’s running out to find these girls.”
A heavy sigh sounded through the phone. “I’m sorry. You’ve been on Harper’s shit list for a while, and going into his apartment the way you did definitely didn’t help the situation. I understand your motives, but Harper has to play by the rules. I’ll call him later and try to smooth it out.”
Graham pressed his lips together to hide his irritation. “I don’t need you fighting my battles.”
“We’re partners. This is our battle.”
“I have to call him anyway. I found another address listed under Connie Difico’s name. I’m on my way there right now.”
“Do not go into the house,” Eric warned. His parental tone once again raising Graham’s ire.
“I’m not an idiot. I called to secure a warrant, which should come through any minute, and I let the locals know I needed backup to work the scene. I want to be there and ready to go in as soon as I get the go ahead. Harper needs to know I have all my bases covered.”
“Dude, this could be huge. Do you want me to catch a flight back to Chicago so we can check it out?”
“We don’t have time. I have to get in there now.” He turned onto Cleveland Avenue and scanned the houses for the number he had scrawled on a piece of paper. “Besides, you need to look for Pete in Mexico. See if he has anything going on in his house down there. We need to track down every lead we find.”
“Be careful.”
“I will. I just wanted to catch you up. I’ll get a hold of you later if I find something.” He clicked off the line and slowed down.
There you are, you big ugly sonofabitch.
His nerves danced with anticipation. The house called to him to come inside for a closer look. The missing girls could be on the other side of those walls and he had to sit in his car and twiddle his damn thumbs. Bureaucratic bullshit and red tape were the bane of his existence. Young lives were on the line, but he couldn’t act until some judge crossed all the T’s and dotted all the I’s. Sometimes it didn’t make sense to wait.
A streetlight flickered, casting shadows across the lawn and slicing through the air. The full moon beamed down plenty of light for him to study the layout of the house and the yard, even through the fuzz of rain. His car idled in its spot and he watched and he waited. Nothing stood out as being out of the ordinary. The old house, albeit a bit creepy for his tastes, was located in a respectable neighborhood in a nice part of town. The yards were cared for and the houses well maintained.
Nothing about the scene in front of him screamed for help. Nothing alerted the neighbor’s children were being kept inside. He slapped his hands against the steering wheel. He didn’t need the house to tell him anything. His gut told him something wasn’t right inside this house, and it wouldn’t be long before he discovered the truth.
He glanced at the clock. How long would he be forced to wait here? He might as well call Harper and get it over with. He dialed his boss’s number, pressed the phone to his ear, and kept his gaze locked on the house he’d come to search.
“What have you got for me, Grassi?”
Graham winced at Harper’s sharp tone, but let it slide off his back. He didn’t have time to worry about the strain between him and his boss. “I wanted to fill you in on a recent development in the Bogart case.”
“I just got off the phone with Agent Short. He told me about the house. Has something else happened, or are you just calling to tell me what I’m already aware of?”
Graham ground the tip of his shoe into the floor. He’d told Eric he would call Harper. He couldn’t believe Eric would go behind his back…again…and call their boss first. “I apologize, sir. I was unaware he contacted you.”
“Maybe you two need to get on the same page. If you did, Bogart might be behind bars already.”
Graham bit into the tip of his tongue to keep from asking what Harper meant. He and Eric had always worked well together, even when they didn’t agree on how to handle every aspect of their cases. “Again, I apologize. I’ll talk to Eric about us being clearer with our intentions in the future.”
“Do that. I don’t like being dragged into problems.”
Now he and Eric had problems? Harper’s words made no sense, but he was wise enough not to question his meaning. “I understand, sir. If you’ve already been briefed, I don’t need tobother you. Once the warrant goes through and backup arrives, we’ll enter the premises and lock the place down. I’ll keep you informed of our findings.”
