Profile of Fear: Book Four of the Profile Series (Volume 4) (21 page)

Cameron was incredulous. “That doesn’t sound like a professional to you?”

“Hell, Cam. You know yourself that anyone with a television watches CSI and would know to wipe down a stolen car to get rid of prints,” said Brody.

“I know. It’s just that when it comes to Becca’s safety, I get a little crazy.” He wiped mashed potatoes from his child’s little face and hands, and then pulled her out of her high chair to sit on his lap. “I don’t even want to think about anything happening to her.”

“It may have been a fluke. A child predator and not Juan Ortiz. We’ve beefed up security at the house, and we are either armed, or have a weapon nearby when we’re home alone with Becca. I can’t tell you how sorry I am that this happened, but please don’t make her a prisoner in her own home. We’ll be more careful. I promise. She’s safe living here, and she’s safe with us,” Carly pleaded.

Chapter Forty-three

Diego held his cell phone as he sat in his room at home. He’d just checked on his mother and she was immersed in a Lifetime movie in the living room, so he knew he’d be safe talking business behind his locked bedroom door. His mother thought he worked a janitor job at the hospital. He wanted to keep it that way. It would kill her if she knew what he did with his time, and who he spent it with. Hurting his mother was not an option.

He thought of the events of the day: one could get him killed, the other should make Juan Ortiz a happy man. That is if anything could make Ortiz happy. The man was a monster on every level. A fact that never wandered from Diego’s mind. He regretted ever getting involved with Ortiz. No matter what the man paid him, it wasn’t worth the fear of disappointing him and losing his life. His mother depended on him as her caregiver, and as her sole source of income. What would happen to her if he should be killed? What would happen if Ortiz took out any disappointment on Rosalita? It was a thought he wouldn’t let himself consider.

Earlier, he’d had Juan’s kid in his grasp. He’d been watching the Chase house since that social worker had given up the kid’s location to Ortiz. Diego had read in the paper how her body had been found tied to a tree with her throat sliced. No doubt the handiwork of Juan Ortiz. If Ortiz had been a sane man, he would have abandoned his plan to get his kid back when he learned she was living in a house filled with law enforcement officers, including the county sheriff. Not Ortiz. He loved a good challenge. He only seemed more determined, more threatening, placing sole responsibility for nabbing the kid on Diego’s shoulders.

When it came to children, Diego had a soft spot. Ortiz was the last man on earth who should have a kid. Who knows why he wanted her back? The man trafficked women for sex. What would he do with a little girl? The whole thing made him want to throw up. If anything bad happened to the kid, it was on him. He’d have to live with it the rest of his life. That seemed worse than getting caught, like almost happened today.

He’d followed the two women and Juan’s kid from the house to GoodBuys, and sat in the truck he’d stolen as they emerged from their car. The women seemed unusually watchful and he had to duck down when they looked in the truck’s direction. Once they entered the store with the kid in the shopping cart, he lifted the hood to his jacket to cover his face and entered the store. One thing he had going in his favor was that people usually didn’t notice him. Except for his height, he was nondescript. People looked past him, not at him.

Finding the women and little girl in the kid’s department, he waited until the right time to grab their shopping cart with the kid inside. He’d almost made it to the entrance when the blond bitch, running like a gazelle, began closing in on him. From there, it was all downhill, and he ended up fleeing the scene without the kid, just grateful he could get away. Maybe the whole thing was a sign that he shouldn’t grab the little girl. His mother believed in signs like that. Maybe he should, too.

Lifting his cell, he punched in Juan’s number. He hadn’t told Juan about his plan to abduct the girl in the department store, so he had no intention of telling him now. Who knows what Juan, with his quick temper, would do to him if he knew?

“Hello, boss. I’ve got good news.”

“It better be.”

“Got a job on the construction crew I told you about.”

“What construction crew?”

“The crew that’s building the new home on the Chase property. I start tomorrow. I’ll be able to avoid their security gate in front and enter through the construction road in the back. I’ll have my eye on things at the main house where your kid is living.”

“You’ll do more than that. You’ll figure out a way to break in and get my kid. I’m tired of waiting.”

“I was thinking maybe one of your other guys, like Carlos, could do the breaking in. He’s better at break-ins than I am.”

“What are you saying? You won’t do it?”

“No, boss. Of course not.”

Juan paused for a second and then said in a low, menacing voice, “I met your mother, Rosalita, today.”

Diego’s heart pounded painfully hard and he could barely breathe. “You met my mother?”

“Yes, I paid her a visit when looking for you. Poor woman, trapped in that wheelchair like she is. Who knows what could happen to her, helpless like that.”

“Leave my mother out of this. I’ll do what you want.”

“Just think of all the unfortunate things that could happen if you don’t, Diego. To you, to your mother. Do you understand?”

Diego understood perfectly. He understood exactly what he had to do. Remove the threat. Kill Juan Ortiz.

Chapter Forty-four

Hailey hopped on the escalator, stood behind Niki, and rode up to the second level, to the H&M store. The air practically buzzed with excitement as teen shoppers hustled to snap up the newest CD deals with fragrant cups of Starbucks in hand to give them a caffeine boost.

Escalators were great for people-watching, and Hailey spotted Tim Branson, super-popular high school basketball star and all-around hottie, at the cell phone kiosk below. Sending him a friendly wave, she tugged on Niki’s shirt and told her Tim was in the mall.

“Of course, he is. All the popular kids are at the mall on Friday night.”

“Just so we’ve covered our bases, I told my mom I was staying all night with you tonight. She’d have a fit if she knew I’d driven to the mall,” said Hailey.

Niki nodded, pushing a strand of purple hair away from her lips. “Stop worrying. Your mom will never know we drove to the mall. Our plan is solid.”

The girls leaped off the escalator onto the second floor and entered a Bath and Body Works store. Zeroing in on a fragrance sample, Hailey spritzed her forearm with ‘Pretty as a Peach.’ “Smell this, Niki. Isn’t it awesome?”

“Makes me hungry for fruit.”

“Very funny. Try this one.” Lifting a spritzer of ‘French Lavender and Honey,’ she sprayed Niki’s wrist.

“Oui, Oui. Getting that one.” Grabbing the bottle, she giggled, and aimed herself toward the body lotions, where she picked up one with the same scent.

At the checkout counter, Niki declared it was her treat, and paid for all their purchases with a gift card she’d been holding onto since last December.

Exiting the store, the girls stood at the railing to look over the crowd below. Hailey spotted a handsome man in his early twenties with an armful of pink flyers and pointed him out to Niki. “That guy in the navy shirt is too hot to be hot.”

Niki looked him over. “Agree. We’re talking rock star hot.”

“Wonder what he’s selling?”

“Let’s go down, get a flyer, and a closer look.”

By the time they reached the lower level, rock star guy was gone, so the girls went to the food court, which was brimming with teenagers. They each got a hot pretzel, packets of mustard, and bottles of Pepsi, then sat down to eat at a small table.

The food court was a hub of commotion with teens sitting at tables talking on their cell phones or texting, while others called out to friends they’d just spotted. The aroma from the many small restaurants wafted in the air: meat grilling, buttery popcorn, cinnamon, BBQ, and more. Hailey’s stomach growled.

Hailey had taken a couple of bites of her pretzel when she jabbed Niki in the ribs with her elbow. “There he is. The rock star guy.”

Six-foot-three or so, he looked athletic and had a face like a movie star, and a smile that would make a young woman want to follow him anywhere. A mane of black hair curled from his forehead to just below his ears. They made eye contact and he flashed Hailey a brilliant smile as he headed toward their table.

Chapter Forty-five

Carlos Rodriguez glanced at the caller display on his cell and groaned. Juan Ortiz. Just what he didn’t need, his boss checking up on him again. He resented the constant grilling about his business decisions. Carlos’s operation was running smoothly long before Juan Ortiz decided to return to the states from his hideout in Mexico to take charge and take a third of his profits. It was a bitter pill to swallow.

Carlos accepted the call. “How are you liking Indiana, Boss?”

“This isn’t a social call. What’s going on with your operation?”

“Things are going well. We’re still recruiting runaways at bus stations and—”

Shouting, Juan interrupted. “Where are you? It’s so fucking noisy I can barely hear you.”

“I’m at the mall.”

“What the hell are you doing out shopping? You’ve got a job to do.”

Carlos clenched his jaw, fighting a rush of anger. “I
am
doing my job.”

“At the mall?”

“Where do you think young girls go on the weekends? We’re using the modeling scam to recruit, and we’re getting some beauties. We’ll take them back to the house to break them in. Some of them will be workers for your restaurants, or nannies for our clients. The others become escorts we advertise on Backpage. ‘Dial-a-Ho’ on the Internet. Easy.”

“You don’t have to explain the modeling con. I created it. If it’s so damn easy, why are your numbers down? Mateo in Ohio is making twice the money you are with his girls.”

“Mateo is a meth-head thug. He’s just stupid enough to get us all locked up.”

Juan ignored his remark. “Bring up your numbers or Mateo comes to Indiana to teach you how it’s done.” Juan disconnected the call, and Carlos shoved the cell in his pocket. He was so pissed he wanted to hit something.

Looking over the railing to the floor below, he noticed a kid swipe an accessory from the cell phone kiosk. That’s what they get for not keeping a better eye on their merchandise.

Carlos never took his eye off his merchandise, and that’s why he was successful. No matter what Juan Ortiz thought.

Turning, he scanned the food court, looking for teenaged girls who looked naïve enough to fall for his modeling con. Sitting at a table near the pretzel place was an auburn-haired beauty who was a dead-ringer for Britta.

Carlos remembered the last time he’d seen Britta, and how much she’d repulsed him. She was five-foot-six and weighed maybe 90 pounds soaking wet. A field of open sores covered her arms, and every time she opened her mouth she revealed rotting or missing teeth. She was not the go-to babe she’d been when he’d met her the year before. Not by a long shot.

Once upon a time, Britta had been the most requested of his team of escorts. That was before her love affair with meth began. The drug he used to control her had taken over until she was lost to him. She’d become a liability—not an asset.

If she disgusted him, what must her clients be thinking? It wasn’t surprising that requests for her services had narrowed down to occasional calls. How was that impacting his bottom line? Stupid question. How in the hell did he think she was adding to his business? She wasn’t. He’d have to get rid of her soon. Maybe ask his cousin, Pedro, for a ride in his single-engine Cessna and drop her ass over the Wabash River.

Carlos made eye contact with the Britta-look-alike and flashed her a brilliant, practiced smile as he angled across the crowd to reach her table. She looked young, maybe sixteen, just the age his clients wanted.

“I apologize for staring. It’s just that you’re so beautiful,” he said to Hailey, and then grinned when she flushed with color. “Let me introduce myself. My name is Carlos, and I’m a talent agent for Vogue Modeling Agency.”

“I’m Hailey, and this is my friend, Niki.”

Glancing at her friend, he noted her eyes widening under a thick veil of mascara. Her hair black with streaks of purple. She was trying too hard to get attention. Carlos made a snap decision to recruit them both.

“Are you two already with an agency?”

Hailey seemed confused. “Agency?”

“Modeling agency. Are you models?”

Niki choked on her soda and Hailey stuttered, “N-n-o.”

“Then it’s my lucky day. My clients are looking for models, and you two fit the bill perfectly. One of my customers heads a huge retail chain and is looking for fresh new faces to headline his new lines of designer clothing.”

“And you think we could model?” Niki asked.

“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t sure of it.” Carlos watched as the girls exchanged smiles. They could barely contain their excitement. He’d hooked them, now all he had to do was to reel them in. “But let me tell you about Vogue Modeling before we continue.

“Our agency is the Midwest’s premier resource for professional models and actors, as well as video production services. As a full-service talent agency, we provide our clients with the best professional talent for print, television, promotion, and runway, and offer on-site or remote casting, based on the company’s needs. We currently have too many clients and not enough models. That’s where you two come in.”

He pushed a pink flyer to each of the girls. “This flyer describes our casting call. Sorry about the late notice, but our next call-out is tonight. I can give you a ride from the mall. We’ll go to our facility where you’ll have professionals do your hair, makeup, and nails. Our photographers will then take pictures of you so that we can have 8x10 glossies made to show our clients.”