Midnight Crossing (28 page)

*   *   *

After arriving home at three in the morning, Josie fell into a deep sleep that she’d not experienced in days. She woke at ten the next day feeling refreshed and confident. She started her day with a cup of coffee and a phone call to Otto, briefing him on the day’s events.

“So what’s her mom have to do with this?” Otto asked.

“What do you use when you need a security code, or a password, or you want to disguise some piece of information? You use your mom’s name, or your sister’s, or some relative that makes it easy to remember and, you assume, unlikely for anyone else to trace back to you.”

“You think she used her mom’s name as her contact name for when she talked to Big Ben?”

“Exactly. It was easy for her to remember and probably not many people around here know her mom’s name. She lived in Pennsylvania when she died.” Otto was quiet and she added, “How many Liliths do you know? What are the odds this could be anyone other than Caroline?”

“It’s not conclusive, but it’s a hell of a good connection.”

“We’ve got her. I can feel it.”

“What now?” he asked.

“I have a plan,” she said.

“Let’s hear it.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Josie. You know I hate that phrase.”

“As the lead investigator on the case, I don’t think you really want to know my plan.”

“What does that mean?” His voice had turned guarded.

“It means you don’t want to know what my plan is.”

“You don’t want me to know, because I won’t agree with you. The last time you didn’t listen to me you ended up suspended. Sometimes I know what I’m talking about. Give me some credit.”

“I’ll check in later.”

Josie ended the call, feeling a twinge of guilt for leaving him hanging, but he’d been correct. Otto would no doubt disagree with her plan, but she didn’t care. She needed to take care of business.

*   *   *

Josie showered and dressed in khaki pants and a short-sleeved top and sandals. She’d have been more comfortable wearing her gun and badge, but the lack of a uniform wouldn’t stop her.

She drove about five miles out of town north of the Mud Flats, to a small subdivision that held four homes situated around a cul-de-sac. With no other houses around for miles, the small cluster of homes had always made Josie think of a group of elite homesteaders.

The homes were a variety of styles, from modern minimalist steel and glass, to a rustic stone and wood cabin. Her destination was a two-story that looked like it belonged in the Texas hill country, built with blocks of limestone so light in color they were almost white. Josie pulled into the paved driveway of Steve and Caroline Moss and didn’t stop to reconsider before she exited the jeep.

She followed a stone pathway to a massive wooden door fit for a castle. No doubt Caroline’s parents had paid for the lavish home. As mayor of Artemis, Moss’s salary was paltry, and his side consulting job could not support this kind of home. As far as Josie knew, Caroline had never worked for a salary outside the home, at least legally. For years, her focus had been setting up political functions for her husband in an attempt to get him into the limelight; her goal was national recognition. Josie had no idea if the Republican Party ever considered Steve Moss as a contender for anything, but she’d not seen anything to support that idea.

She rang the bell and was surprised when Caroline Moss answered. She wore dress slacks and a cream-colored blouse. Her blond shoulder-length hair hung loosely around her face and gave her a polished look, although Josie noticed fine lines around her eyes and a tired sag around her mouth. Josie wondered if her appearance at Caroline’s door had caused the weariness.

“Good morning, Josie. Are you looking for the mayor?”

Caroline typically referred to her husband as the mayor, rather than as her husband. Josie figured the term put the emphasis on Caroline’s priority.

“Actually, I’d like to have a word with you. Do you mind if I come in?”

“No, of course not. Come on in. Let’s have a glass of iced tea out back. The patio is in the shade this time of day. It’s a nice time to sit outside.”

“That would be great. Thank you.”

Caroline led Josie down a hallway past a cream-colored formal living room, then past a dining room filled with colorful artwork and a massive dining room table where Josie figured much politicking took place.

In the back, a covered patio ran the length of the house and connected to a pool and a tiered garden area. Caroline gestured to two comfy chairs situated around a coffee table, but Josie opted for the chairs arranged around a dining table. She wasn’t there for comfort.

Several minutes later Caroline carried out a tray with a pitcher and glasses and set them on the table. She poured them each a glass of iced tea and Josie suffered through small talk about the drop in temperature that morning and the enjoyable eighty-degree weather.

At the first lull in the conversation Josie said, “I suppose you’ve heard that the mayor placed me on administrative leave.”

Caroline tilted her head and gave Josie what appeared to be a sympathetic look. “I hope you aren’t here to discuss that with me. You know that I support you, but I’m afraid he’s been tight-lipped about your suspension. With everyone, including me.”

“You’re saying that you don’t know why I was suspended?”

“No. I have no idea.”

“It involves you,” Josie said.

Caroline placed a hand over her heart and looked incredulous. “What an earth would I have to do with your suspension?”

“I told the mayor I had evidence that connects you to a human trafficking organization.”

Her mouth dropped and she laughed like it was an outrageous statement. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m referring to the five women that paid you to transport them from Guatemala to the United States.” Josie paused and watched Caroline’s shocked smile turn into a frown. “More specifically, to New Mexico to work as maids.”

“I’d hardly call the humanitarian work I do human trafficking. If you’re spreading rumors like that, then it’s no wonder you were suspended.”

The French doors that led from the kitchen to the veranda opened and Mayor Moss stepped outside. His face was bright red and his eyes were bulging before he’d even seen Josie. Her jeep was likely enough to cause the reaction. It had been about ten minutes since she’d arrived at the house, and she assumed Caroline had called the mayor for help as soon as she pulled into the driveway. Josie figured the iced tea and friendly small talk had been a stalling technique until her husband could get here. Josie also assumed that Caroline knew exactly why she had been suspended.

“Not only will I have your badge and your gun, but I’ll also have your ass in a jail cell by the end of the day for harassing a public official,” he yelled. He walked directly up to her and stood beside her chair, pointing directly into her face. “Now get the hell away from my wife.”

“I went to New Mexico. I sat in on a sting operation where we delivered four undercover police officers to a man named Big Ben. He was expecting five women, but since one woman was murdered—”

“Get the hell out of my house! I won’t tell you again,” he yelled.

Josie glanced at Caroline, who was looking down, unblinking, staring at the iced tea sitting in front of her, watching the sweat drip down the glass.

Josie continued. “We delivered the four agents to a place in New Mexico called the Maid’s Quarters. It’s where young women from Guatemala pay twelve thousand dollars to endure a trip from hell to be delivered to a man who treats them like property and makes them sleep together in a room that looks like third world squalor.”

The mayor grabbed Josie’s arm. “I’m calling the sheriff to remove you.”

Josie jerked her arm out of his grasp. Her face was heated and she could feel her temper flaring. She would finish what she came for. “After Caroline collected sixty thousand dollars from the women’s families, she was also set to receive another four thousand for delivery of the girls to Albuquerque.” She paused and stared down Caroline until the woman looked up at Josie. Josie repeated her earlier statement. “It would have been five thousand, but one of the women was murdered.”

Josie heard the click of numbers being pressed on a cell phone behind her. No doubt the mayor was calling the sheriff, and she hoped he would. She’d enjoy listening to him try to explain his way out of this one.

“But here’s the killer,” she said. “When Caroline has a delivery ready, she calls Big Ben to let him know she has a load. That’s what they call the girls. A load. Caroline? She’s called the supplier.”

“Stop it,” Caroline said, but her voice was quiet, and her eyes had the unfocused look of someone whose brain was on overload, no longer able to process information.

“After Big Ben was arrested and his phone seized, he told me that his supplier for Guatemala was named Lilith.”

Mayor Moss made a noise behind her, almost a whimper, the noise he might make while having a nightmare.

Josie pressed a button on her cell phone and held it up toward Moss. He knocked her hand away but said nothing. “I’ve since learned that Caroline’s mom’s name is Lilith. I might not have made that connection, but when I looked at the phone number and recognized the West Texas area code, I found the obituary online for Caroline’s mother.”

Caroline again called out for Josie to stop. Josie turned in her chair to face the mayor. “This is over. There’s too much evidence for you to pretend this isn’t happening.”

Moss had grown quiet behind her, no longer yelling for Josie to leave. She scooted her chair back, bumping against him as she stood from the table. “I want my badge and my gun delivered to the police department by three o’clock today.”

Josie opened the French doors and walked through the house the way she had entered, leaving the Mosses to sort through the shrapnel from the bomb she had just exploded on their patio. But she damn sure knew the first step he had better make was to revoke her suspension.

*   *   *

Driving home with the windows down, she did not feel pleased or vindicated by the altercation at the mayor’s house. It was unsettling to think that someone in a position of power, a woman she knew well as a community leader, could turn such a blind eye to others’ suffering. Josie wondered if it had all started out as something positive but had somehow gone terribly wrong. But hard as she tried, she couldn’t escape the fact that Caroline Moss was making money off the plight of people who believed she was going to take care of them. And they had been brutalized while Caroline looked the other way.

Josie didn’t call Otto on her way home. She showered, dressed in her uniform, and drove to the police department. Lou smiled when she walked in.

“Welcome back,” Lou said.

Josie shook her head in amazement. “The news has already spread?”

Lou held up Josie’s gun in one hand and her badge in the other. “Helen brought these over about two minutes ago. She carried them in a paper bag and dropped them on the counter. She said the mayor asked her to make a delivery. That’s all she said. What did you do to piss Helen off so bad?”

“I made her boss mad.”

“So the drama’s over?” Lou asked.

“It hasn’t even started. But at least I’m back on the job. Let me know if you hear anything on the radio about it. Hopefully the mayor will make some sort of announcement.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Lou said. “Otto doesn’t know yet. He’ll be glad to see you. He’s been a grouch ever since this happened.”

“Is he upstairs?”

“Yes, ma’am.” She smiled and handed Josie her badge and gun. “Good to have you back, Chief.”

*   *   *

Josie walked upstairs and held up her equipment as she entered the office. Otto turned away from his desk looking shocked. “How did that happen?”

They sat together at the conference table and Josie explained her visit with Caroline and the mayor.

“You were right not to tell me. I’d have told you to quit being foolish.” He gestured to her gun lying on the table. “And now this. Good for you.”

“I have to talk to Holder. I have no idea what kind of charges he might bring against her.”

“Maybe none, since this is still circumstantial. The only physical evidence that ties her to trafficking, other than Ryan’s admission, is the Visa payment to set up the Web site four years ago. The name Lilith doesn’t exactly make the case.”

“Understood. But a jury will love it.”

“You know she won’t do jail time,” he said. “She’ll get a high-dollar attorney who’ll claim she was framed.”

“We also have an unsolved murder. Who says she’s not involved?”

“Speaking of the murder, Cowan called this morning. The lab ran the mouth swab from Josh Mooney. They were able to collect DNA off Renata’s underwear that was still intact. It matched the DNA collected from Mooney.”

Josie put a fist in the air. “Excellent. I hope that bastard pays like hell for what he did.”

Otto studied her for a moment. “Let’s go back to Caroline. To our former Citizen of the Year. What’s your opinion?”

Josie raised a hand to dismiss his question. “That’s why we have judges and juries. I just arrest them. I don’t have to decide guilt.”

“Come on. Don’t be such a cop. I’m asking your personal opinion about what Caroline did.”

Josie had thought about little else for days. “Okay, then. She used her humanitarian work to cover up something illegal. To me, that makes what she did even worse.” Josie walked to the back of the office to look out the window. She finally turned back to Otto. “But this goes deeper than that. It reminds me of one of those companies that make their money on the backs of the little people, with no regard for their safety. As long as they make their money, and they get away with their crimes, they can look the other way and get rich. Pretend what they’re doing is helping society. Until someone catches them. That’s what I think Caroline did. She didn’t care what was happening to those women. She didn’t bother to check on their safety because she didn’t want to know. That’s not just irresponsible, it’s criminal.”

Otto’s lips were pursed and he was nodding as she talked. “I doubt Holder can use any of that, but it sure as hell makes sense to me. Let’s get her.”