Among the Shrouded (31 page)

An hour-and-a-
half later, he walked hesitantly across the parking lot beside Kate toward the police cruiser that would take them to the second holding facility and possibly her sisters.  The anxiety radiating from her was palpable and he knew she could probably sense his nervous energy as well.  As they climbed tentatively in the car, he prayed silently their mission would be a success.

CHAPTER

43

MIA

“I’m hoping the wire won’t be necessary,” Jack commented as Mia taped the tiny microphone onto his chest.

“
I don’t think it will be.  But since we know Dalton may have been planning to kill me, I don’t trust that he won’t do something crazy.  At least this way, if something happens, there’ll be proof.”

“
Well, I just hope he backs down at the sight of the warrant Stella got us.”

“
Me too.  But if I’ve learned anything in the last week, it’s that I can’t be too careful,” she said.

As the partners finished their preparations, they received notice that Thomas and Kate had
just left with the group heading to the second holding facility.

“You think Kate’s sisters are there?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know.  They could be anywhere.  I have a feeling we’re only looking at the tip of the iceberg with regard to this trafficking operation.  I just hope if they aren’t there, we’ll be able to get enough information from Dalton to find out where else they could be.”

“Do you think Dalton is the top of the food chain?”

“Maybe.  It would make sense, given everything we know about him.  I guess time will tell.  Are you ready?”

“Ready as I’m
gonna be,” he replied as he walked out of their office and into the hallway.  “I sure hope you’re right about Dalton, Mia.”

“I’m right about
him.  You just have to help me prove it.”

The drive to Commissioner Dalton’s house was far shorter than
she had anticipated.  She thought she’d have more time to compose herself and wasn’t even close to being mentally prepared when Jack parked the cruiser in front of a large corner row home in the historic section of Federal Hill.

“We’re here already?” she said
.

“Want me
to circle the block again?” he asked.

“No,” she
replied, unhooking her seatbelt, “let’s get this over with.”

She
followed Jack up the steps to the front door of Dalton’s home and rang the doorbell.  A teenage girl with the brightest of auras answered the door.  She smiled at how goodness could blossom in spite of where it was planted.

“Are you here for my dad?”
his daughter asked, leading them into the foyer.

“Yes, please,”
she replied.

“
Is he expecting you?” the girl continued.

“No,” replied Jack.

As the girl disappeared up the staircase to the second floor, she was left with a lingering sadness.  The far-reaching ramifications of what she was about to do became tragically clear. After seeing Dalton’s daughter consumed by such a radiant light, she realized she would be posing a threat to that light when she went public with the commissioner’s crimes.  She knew all too well that children were often haunted by their parents’ poor decisions.  And now, although she knew Dalton’s family’s suffering was a small price to pay for saving the lives of hundreds, admitting that truth did little to quiet her distress.

Moments later,
Roger Dalton appeared at the top of the staircase dressed in his robe and slippers.  He descended the stairs and she observed a momentary look of dread on his face as he recognized who she was.  Although undetectable to Jack, it was obvious to her that he had assumed she was still tucked safely away in the warehouse basement and it was a shock to see her standing in his foyer.

“To what do I owe this Sunday morning visit?” he asked,
composing himself and smiling broadly as he extended his hand in greeting.

“
Good morning, Commissioner.  We’re here because there have been some developments overnight in the human trafficking case and we thought you needed to be made aware of them,” Jack began cautiously.  She hoped only she detected the anxiety in his voice. 

“Oh really?” Dalton replied, unable to
keep himself from glancing in her direction as he spoke.

“Yes
, Sir,” Jack continued.  “We received a tip about the location of one of the facilities where women were being held captive, and at 0200 hours, a team led by Officer Derek Rodriquez rescued fifteen women out of the basement of an abandoned warehouse.”

“Rescued?”

“Yes, Sir.  All fifteen are alive and well,” Jack replied.

“That’s… well, that’s fantastic news,” said Dalton.

“Yes, Sir.”

She
could see Dalton’s anxiety level rising with the knowledge that women who could identify him had escaped with their lives.

“I assume there were guards at the facility?” Dalton asked.

“Yes, Sir.  Two of them.”

“And?”

“And one was mortally wounded during a volley of gunfire at the time of the infiltration and the other was apprehended without incident.”

“So I assume he’
s in custody now?”

“Yes, S
ir.  I questioned him myself overnight and he gave us the location of a second holding site.”

“Nothing more?”

“No, Sir.  Nothing more.”

“And are there plans to infiltrate the second facility?” Dalton asked.

“Yes, Sir.  A team left half an hour ago.”

There was a pause in the conversation and
she watched as the commissioner ran his fingers through his hair.  It was clear to her that he was on the verge of becoming unhinged and she knew it was time for her to become involved in the conversation.

“It’s interesting to me,
Commissioner, that you haven’t asked about the well-being of the women who were found.  You know, the women who you are so passionate about protecting.”

“Yes.  Yes.  How
are the women?” he asked, unable to make eye contact with her as she spoke directly to him.

“As a matter of fact, most of them are doing
pretty well, thanks for asking.  I actually got to spend quite a bit of time speaking with them.”

“Oh.  Really?” replied Dalt
on.

“Yeah.  You see, this funny thing happened to me.  I was in my apartment last week, minding my own business, and these two thugs showed up and knocked me out.  I ended up in the basement of an abandoned warehouse with fourteen other women who were being auctioned
off for sex.  Can you imagine such a thing?”

“No.  I certainly cannot
.  How… dreadful.”

“
Quite dreadful.  I couldn’t have imagined it either.  And you know what else I couldn’t imagine?  I couldn’t imagine why in the world I was there with them.  It was the strangest thing.  Especially since you and I had just spoken about what I had seen the night before at the little stakeout I conducted at Wayne Brookins’.  It was almost as if someone saw me at Brookins’ house and tracked me down.”

“That m
ust have been what happened,” Dalton agreed.

“Yeah, I thought so too for a while, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t happen that way.”

“Oh?”

She
watched as a bead of sweat made its way down the commissioner’s forehead and was absorbed into his eyebrow.  His left eye began to twitch and he licked his lips nervously.  She smiled.

“Nah
.  No one saw me at the stakeout.”

“How can you
be so sure?” Dalton asked.

“Because I wasn’t alone that night.  And the person who was with me was never approached in any way.  Wouldn’t make any sense to lock me away and leave the other witness walking around on the street all week, would it?”

The commissioner fell silent and reached for the newel post at the foot of the stairs for support.

She
continued, taking a step closer to where Dalton was standing.

“Did my father ever tell you about this funny little quirk I have?”

Dalton didn’t respond as he attempted to regain his composure, wiping his brow and adjusting his robe.

“I have this gift.  I was born with it.  It’s kind of cool.  Comes in handy on the job.”

“What are you babbling about, Officer?” he demanded angrily, standing up straight and returning himself to full height.

“I see people’s auras. 
They’re like windows into people’s souls.  It might sound a little clichéd, but good people are surrounded by brightness.  Bad people are surrounded by darkness.  The first day I met you, I knew.”

“You knew what?”
he spat at her.

“I knew you were capable of
every atrocity known to man.  And now I know that includes selling innocent women for sex on the black market to the highest bidder.”

“You have no proof of any such thing
!  That’s a huge accusation based on paranormal hocus pocus and I will have you fired immediately for slander and insubordination!”

“You can try,”
she said, venturing another step closer to the commissioner, “but first, you might be interested in taking a look at this.”

She
handed him a copy of the warrant from the district attorney giving the police permission to search his home and vehicle for information regarding the trafficking ring.

“What the hell is this?” he yelled.

“I’m surprised you don’t recognize a warrant for search and seizure of property, Commissioner,” she responded.

“I’m quite familiar with what it
is
, Officer,” Dalton responded, his words slicing the distance between them.  “What I’m interested in is how you were able to obtain this.  On what grounds was this issued? 

“It’s funny you should ask,”
she replied, smiling broadly at him.  “We happen to have an eye witness who observed you at an auction.”

“An eye witness account
?” he spat, unable to mask his contempt for her.  “From whom?  Some cracked up whore living in a brothel?  Who do you think a jury is going to believe?  Her or me?”

“I only needed the eye witness to
obtain
the warrant and it was obviously sufficient enough for a judge to grant it. Now I’m hoping what we find in your personal files will put you away for a lifetime.  So if you’ll excuse us, we need to begin collecting evidence.  Can you point me in the direction of your personal computer?” she asked sweetly.

Enraged by
her coyness to the point where he was no longer able to maintain self-control, Dalton snapped, throwing himself at her in an uncharacteristic display of anger.  Before she realized what was happening, he quickly pinned her arms behind her back and secured her in a painful headlock.  Across the foyer, Jack had already drawn his weapon.

“Let her go
, Commissioner.  You don’t need another nail in your coffin,” Jack said reasonably.

“I simply cannot believe the audacity of you two,
” Dalton began, his voice suddenly calm, “coming to my home under the assumption I’ve done something wrong. And if that wasn’t bad enough, you believe the commissioner of the Baltimore City Police Department would allow himself to get caught in something as tawdry as human trafficking?  It’s laughable!”

She
winced as the commissioner’s fingers began to tighten, bruising the flesh of her neck.  The pressure he was placing on her trachea was extraordinary and she concentrated on filling her lungs with much needed air.

“Dad?” said
a frightened voice from the top of the stairs. 

“Not now
, Pumpkin.  Daddy’s dealing with some insubordinate employees.  Just go on back into your room.  Tell your mother and sister to stay up there too,” Dalton said with a level of confidence that belied what he was doing.

“Do you want me to call 911?” his daughter asked.

“Yes, please!” cried Jack.

“No.  No
, Honey.  Just go to your room and lock the door.  Daddy’s got everything under control.”

She
struggled to breathe.  With each gasp of air, Dalton tightened his grip around her neck.  Her field of vision began to darken around the edges and she knew her brain was beginning to feel the effects of oxygen deprivation.  She watched as Jack took a step closer to the commissioner, still pointing his gun in their direction.