Cluttered Attic Secrets (25 page)

“I think you know, deep down, what’s been happening in your house is not what you’ve been told. Those women and children may have indeed been abused. But they were probably in the country illegally. And it’s a federal crime to harbor them.”

“No, no, I didn’t know that. I didn’t.”

“Then why,” Lisbeth asked, “did you refuse to talk to us at first?

“I was scared,” Bethany whispered.

“Bethany,” Tina said, “the only way you can get over being scared is to tell us all you know. There are people who can help you get through this. I know it’s been a nightmare for you. But you can wake up now, to a bright, sunny future.”

“I wish I could believe that.”

“You can believe it. I’ll help you myself.” A jolt of fear went through Tina when she realized what she said. The last person she’d tried to help had committed suicide. This woman looked to be near that chasm, too. She pushed her own thoughts aside and concentrated on Bethany. “The first thing you need to do is tell us everything you know. Names of people, dates, if you can remember them.”

With an air of total defeat, Bethany said. “All right. But I know so little, really. Only what Marc told me. And I don’t think I can believe him any longer.”

Tina couldn’t argue with that. “Well, first tell us what you know for sure. Then tell us what Marc said was going on. We’ll take it from there.”

In a monotone, Bethany McDonald gave them the names and dates she could remember. Lisbeth made notes. When she wound down, Bethany looked directly at Tina. “I’m counting on you to help me now. I can’t fix my life alone.”

“You’re smart to realize that. Do you have any family in the area?”

“Yes, but they’re not much of a family to me. They’ve very critical. I can never do anything right in their eyes. I shudder to think about how they will react to this mess.”

“Okay. We’ll figure something out. The police will give you my contact information. Can you manage to find a place to stay? I don’t recommend you go home even if the police release the house.”

“’The police?’ You aren’t police?”

“I’m a consultant.”
Unpaid consultant. How did that happen?
“I’m a trained psychologist, though, and I know how to find resources for you locally.”
As soon as I do some research on-line. What have I gotten myself into?

Bethany looked uncertain. And exhausted. She turned to Lisbeth. “Can I go now?”

Lisbeth stood up. “Yes. We’re going to release you. You’ve been very cooperative, and we appreciate it.”

“But I don’t have a place to stay.” Panic shone in Bethany’s eyes. “Can I at least go home and get some clothes and personal items?”

“I’ll check with the crime scene team. I doubt they’re finished, though. Wait here, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Tina said, “I’ll be in touch. Don’t worry. We’ll figure things out for you.”

When Lisbeth closed the door behind them, Tina said, “Is it safe for her to be out there alone? Will you be releasing her husband soon, as well?”

Lisbeth frowned. “That hasn’t been determined yet.”

Hank stood by the window, watching Bethany.

“What’s she doing?” Tina went to look. The woman sat in the same position she had been in when Tina first saw her, slumped in the chair. “This is a mess. We have to worry about Sophie, and Leslie, and Brandon, and now Bethany.

“We’re getting someplace now, though. You did good in there.” Hank smiled.

“Thanks.” Tina leaned against the wall. Then a sudden thought made her straighten up again. “What about witness protection? Can’t the FBI arrange that for her? This is a federal problem, case, isn’t it? If it really turned out to be human trafficking.”

“That’s a thought,” Hank said.

“I’ll look into it.” Lisbeth watched Bethany for a moment, then started down the hall. “Stick around, will you? I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”

Tina and Hank exchanged a look. “Have a seat.” He pulled out a chair for her, and they both sat down and watched Bethany. She didn’t move.

“You didn’t tell Lisbeth about Michele and Mr. Hall.” Tina kept her voice low.

“I think Rudy has better resources to deal with that then the local police do.”

“I suppose.”

Lisbeth came back much quicker than Tina expected her to. “We’re officially off the case now. The Feds have taken over. Of course, we get to assist when needed.” Her tone sounded bitter. “They’ll be here shortly.” She stomped away without another word.

“What does that mean?” Tina asked.

“Just what you think it does.”

“Will they investigate Joshua’s death, too, then?”

“Since it may be connected to the human trafficking case, yes, they will.”

“I bet he came back here and found his own home. Maybe knew about the secret room, and tried to get inside. And maybe even did. Those clothes—for man, woman, child.”

Hank nodded. “That’s a reasonable scenario.”

“Someone found him wandering around. He couldn’t explain himself well, if at all. So, they killed him.”

Hank looked sad, and she loved him for that. “You don’t think the nice Mr. Hall is capable of killing him?” she asked. “And Michele was in New York when it happened. Or was she?”

Hank cocked his head at her. “You don’t think Mr. Hall could do it, but you think Michele could?”

“Yep.”

Hank grinned and shook his head. “My vote is for Mrs. Irene Hendricks.”

Tina thought for a moment. “She’s just mean enough, isn’t she?’ Then she shuddered. “But that means Sophie…”

“Sophie was living with a murderer. But realistically, it could have been anyone. Someone living in one of the other houses harboring illegals. Most probably whoever was using Leslie’s house again. I suspect they had a large influx and didn’t have enough places for them to stay. So, desperate, they decided to use her house again.”

“It’s all beginning to make sense now. But how do we stop it?”

Hank put on his stern face. “No we about it, doll. You’re out of it now. If it was dangerous before, it’s even worse now that we closer to some answers.”

“Hank, I’m sick and tired of this argument. I bet you are, too. I’m in. If the other side doesn’t know that by now, they’re a lot dumber than we think they are. The only way to make everyone safe, Leslie, Brandon, Sophie, Bethany,
and
me is to find out who’s behind all this and get them put away.”

Hank scowled at her, then slowly nodded, and sighed. Tina didn’t know whether to be happy or scared to death. She thought she was learning toward scared to death.

“All right,” Hank said. “There’s nothing more we can do here.” He stood up.

“But what about Bethany? I promised to help her.”

“She’ll be here a long time now. The Feds will interview her again. And decide what to do with her.”

Tina realized Hank wasn’t happy about that. “So,” Tina asked, to lighten the mood, “will I get to meet the charming Rudy?”

Hank did that thing where he became completely still. She figured the mood had not lightened, but perhaps become even darker. Then Hank laughed. “I’d like to see that. I’ll see what I can do to arrange it.”

Tina stood up. “What are we going to do now?”

“There are two big questions left. One is, who is running this operation? And the second is, where is Sophie’s mother? We find the answer to one, we may find the answer to the other.”

“We’re going to see Sophie, then?”

“You got it.”

As they walked to the parking lot, Tina said, “You know, I’ve seen that man several times I called you about. And Michele follows us off and on. But I’ve also noticed Leslie’s neighbor, Peter Collier, shows up rather frequently. Is his house one of the ones that came up for sale this morning? I didn’t pay attention to the addresses when I forwarded the email to you.”

“I don’t know.” Hank grabbed his phone, then tapped and swiped the screen. “Here’s the list. The house number should be… No, it’s not listed. No houses in the immediate area of Leslie’s are listed.”

“Maybe he’s just the curious sort. You see any sign of Michele?” They’d arrived at Hank’s car. He opened the door for her.

“No.”

Tina glanced around. “I don’t see that man, either.”

When they arrived at the Fitzgeralds, Briana opened the door, and invited them in. Tina introduced her to Hank, and they shook hands.

“Have a seat. I’ll go get Sophie. She’s playing in her room.”

“How’s she doing?”

“Really well, for the most part. Once in a while she gets sad and a bit moody, but she soon snaps out of it. Brutus has become very protective of her, and he seems to realize when she’s unhappy. He goes and licks her face, which makes her laugh.”

Tina and Hank smiled.

When Briana came back with Sophie, Brutus at her heels, Tina was glad to see she had had a bath, her hair washed, and wore a clean outfit. “Hi, Sophie. You look nice. How are you?”

The little girl hung back, holding onto Briana’s hand. Then she grinned at Tina and came over to give her a hug. Tina held her for as long as Sophie wanted, then settled her on the couch next to her. Brutus sat down and rested his head in Sophie’s lap “You remember Hank? And his car?”

Sophie nodded. “Go for ride?”

“Not right now. Maybe later. Can we talk for a while?

Sophie just looked at Tina for a few beats, then slowly nodded.

“You like it here, don’t you?

Another nod.

“And Brutus.”

“Love Brutus.”

“I can tell.” Tina smiled. “Can we talk about your mom for a minute?”

Sophie’s face crumpled. “Went away.” She began to rock.

Tina placed her arm on Sophie’s arm. “Do you know where she went?”

Tears welled. “Jail.”

Tina exchanged a startled look with Hank. “Do you know why?”

“Not bad!” Sophie wailed. “Wrong, wrong, wrong.”

Tina hugged her tight. “Do you know your mom’s name?”

Sophie blinked at her, frowning. “Mom.”

“Yes. What did other people call her?”

V—Vicky.”

Hank stood up, pointed to his phone, and went outside.

“Want my mom.” Sophie whispered. Brutus stood up and licked her face. She pushed him away.

“I know, honey. We’re going to find out if there’s a way for you to see her.”

Sophie’s eyes got huge. “Honest?”

“We’re going to try. No promise. We know you miss her. How long has she been gone?”

“Don’t know. Long time.”

Tina knew even a week would seem like a long time to Sophie. She caught Briana’s eye. The woman looked as sad at Tina felt.

Sophie stroked Brutus’s head, and he leaned into her. The little girl’s eyes closed.
She must be emotionally exhausted,
Tina thought as she continued to hold her close. She wanted to ask if Mrs. Hendricks was Vicky’s sister, but decided they could probably find that out on their own.

When Hank came back inside, Sophie was sound asleep, leaning against Tina, her hand resting on the dog’s head.

“Found her,” Hank whispered.

“That’s wonderful.” Briana stood up and gently roused Sophie enough to walk her toward her bedroom.

“We’ll let ourselves out,” Tina said. “And let you know what we’ve found out.”

Briana nodded.

Tina walked to Hank’s Jaguar as fast as she could without jogging. Once they were inside, she asked, “Where is she?”

Hank shook his head. “Right here in Portsmouth. As Sophie said, in jail.”

Tina stared out the window. “We should have looked for her earlier.”

“I know. We got wrapped up in the problem with the illegals. I thought Vicky had left on her own, or was dead, too.”

“So did I. And I didn’t want to upset Sophie more by asking her. Mrs. Hendricks should have told us.”

“An impossible woman.” Hank started the engine.

“What were the charges?”

Hank scowled. “Shoplifting. And resisting arrest. She didn’t make bail, so she’s been in jail for ten days now, awaiting trial.”

“Resisting arrest?”

“Yes.” Hank looked disgusted as he drove off. “I talked to the arresting officer’s supervisor. When he and his partner confronted Vicky, she started screaming and waving her arms around. She wouldn’t let them search and cuff her. So, they had to subdue her. Sophie was with her.”

“Oh, no. Did they realize Vicky might be mentally challenged, and that Sophie is?”

“The supervisor admitted to me that they realize that now. They didn’t know it at the time. Thought she was probably on drugs.”

Tina closed her eyes and slumped into her seat. Then she suddenly sat up and looked to see where they were. “Where are we going?”

“To jail.”

Tina’s eyes widened. “Will they let us see her?”

“Maybe. I called Brandon. He’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”

“Lucky for Vicky we know a good lawyer.”

Hank smiled.

When they entered the police station and Hank told the officer at the front desk who they were, she scowled and told them to take a seat.

After about fifteen minutes, a man in civilian clothes approached them and introduced himself. “Captain Swanson.” He held out his hand to Tina first, then shook with Hank.

Hank introduced himself and Tina. “Bandon Young will be here shortly. He’s a lawyer from Newport.”

Swanson nodded. “I know him.”

Brandon walked in, briefcase in hand, cell phone to his ear. He looked so professional and no worse from the attacks. Relief washed over her as Tina looked at him.

Brandon put away his phone and greeted everyone.

“Come into my office,” Captain Swanson said. “We need to talk.”

Brandon nodded, and they followed the Captain to a corner office in the back of the building’s second floor. “Have a seat, everyone. Can I get you some coffee?”

No one wanted coffee, and after they were settled, the Captain said, “I need to talk to you before you see Mrs. Young.” He blinked and then stared at Brandon. “Brandon Young. You and she related?”

“We might be, by marriage. It’s not certain yet.”

Swanson quirked an eyebrow. “Really? How so?”

“It’s complicated. You probably know about the recent murder in Newport. The man has been tentatively identified as Joshua Young. No one in the family knows him, but my father is also named Joshua. We believe the murdered man may have been secretly placed in an institution in Massachusetts for the mentally challenged before my father was even born. He walked away one day, and they never found him. They’re checking DNA from him and my father. It appears he came to Newport and somehow stayed under the radar. Perhaps married Vicky, and they had a child named Sophie.”

“I see.” Captain Swanson took a few moments to process all that. “So Joshua Young was murdered after his wife Vicky was jailed for shoplifting and resisting arrest. Where’s the child?”

“It appears that’s what happened. The child was staying with a woman she called Auntie. That situation is under investigation now, and she’s been placed in a foster home here in Portsmouth.”

Tina realized that Joshua must have known what happened to his wife and been distraught. “Did a man claiming to be Vicky’s husband come to try to see her here?” she asked.

Swanson opened a file in front of him. “No.”

“Then he may not have known what happened to her. He must have been frantic. Where did the police take Sophie after they arrested her mother?”

Again, Swanson looked in the file. “To an address in Newport.”

“Well, you must have told whoever was there where her mother was.”

“Child Protective Services spoke to a Mrs. Hendricks. And yes, they would have told her where Vicky Young was.”

Hank frowned. “No one was there except Mrs. Hendricks?”

“No.”

“What was Sophie’s reaction to the news?”

“That I don’t know. You’d have to talk to Child Protective Services about that. I would assume there was no problem, or they wouldn’t have left the child there.”

“All right. I think you’re up to speed on what we know,” Brandon said. “Now tell us what happened to Vicky Young when she was arrested for being a suspected shoplifter.”

Captain Swanson sighed. “A clerk at the store thought she saw Mrs. Young place some lipsticks in her pocket, so she called us. When the officers approached her and asked her to show them what was in her pockets, she became agitated. She tried to walk away. One grabbed her by the arm, and she began to fight and yell. They had to subdue her or she would have gotten away. So, they did, and brought her in to be searched by a female officer.”

“And this officer found?”

“Four lipsticks in one of her pockets.”

“Oh.” Tina put her hand over her mouth.

“Yes.”

“So, she’d left the store with them without paying?” Brandon asked.

Swanson cleared his throat. “Not exactly. They arrested her inside.”

“What?” Brandon looked incredulous. Tina couldn’t tell if he was putting it on or not. “Did it occur to anyone that she simply put them in her pocket until she could get to the checkout counter? I bet she was holding Sophie’s hand. She’d need the other one to choose more items.”

“If that’s the case, she should have used a basket.”

“Maybe she forgot to get one when she walked inside. Maybe she was in a hurry. Do you know if she’s mentally challenged? We think she probably is since she apparently married a man who was.”

Swanson sighed again. “Somewhat, we think.”

“You did drug testing, of course.”

“Yes. Negative.”

Brandon scowled. “You know this is a publicity nightmare for you.”

“Yes.”

“You willing to have me talk to her?”

Swanson closed his eyes for a moment. Opened them. “Yes.”

Brandon stood up. “Good call. My assistant, Ms. Shaw, will come accompany me. Mr. Silver won’t be needed. Too many people can be intimidating, but in these circumstances, having a woman with me might be helpful.”

Swanson nodded and stood up. “This way.”

“I’ll go wait in the lobby.” Hank scooted out the door ahead of everyone else.

Feeling flustered, Tina grabbed her purse and followed the captain and Brandon. First she was a consultant, now she was an assistant. She did think Brandon was smart to have her along, though.

When they arrived at the jail on the first floor, the Caption told the office at the desk to bring Vicky Young to one of the interview rooms. They stood waiting, not saying anything, until the man came back and said she was there.

Tina didn’t know what to expect when they stepped into the tiny room. Captain Swanson introduced everyone, then left. Vicky showed little reaction. She sat upright, hands clasped in front of her on the desk, wearing an orange jumpsuit. Tina could see her feet crossed at the ankles under the table. At least she wasn’t shackled or handcuffed. A striking blonde, she was petite and smooth faced. She looked early twenties, but since Sophie was ten, Tina figured she had to be late twenties or early thirties. And probably older since she apparently married a man at least in his fifties.

Brandon pulled the other two chairs away from the table so he and Tina could sit down. “Captain Swanson didn’t mention I’m a lawyer. I’d like to help you. The lady with me has become acquainted with Sophie, and she wants Sophie to be with her mom again.”

“Sophie.” Tears tickled down Vicky’s face. “She okay?”