Mourning Dew -- Chp. 10

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Chapter 10 –

Paul entered the ranch’s house and checked out the surgery. “Adequate. Do you have the supplies I need?”

“Yes.”

“And, how is my special ward?”

“Doing well. We are keeping him alive as you asked.”

“Mind if I check on him?”

“Sure. Follow me.”

Paul was led down a path to an out building guest house which was in a run down state. It had little in the way of amenities, but it did function as an excellent prison for the occupant.

Paul opened the door and saw a scruffy looking man who was chained to a central pillar. “Hello Dr. Kendricks.”

“Who are you?” came a resigned response.

“The only person keeping you alive whether you like it or not. You can call me Paul. We have the same first name it seems.” Paul said in a distant rather matter of fact manner. He was enjoying the sense of empowerment this was giving him. Seeing his plans beginning to bear fruit with Camille successfully integrating as a female in school and at home. Then, she was becoming sexually aware of erotic longings. And, even though he was about to tear that apart, he was seeing his role in changing things as a pioneer. All of this justified in his mind what he did to this poor man.

“What are you going to do with me?” came a painful resigned response.

“That, my sorry friend, is on a need to know basis. You will find out soon enough. I am almost done. By the way, you have a new job. I hope you like it. They may keep you on. In the meantime, you are my insurance policy. If all goes well, you should be out of here in two to three weeks. I have been known to keep my word for those that follow my instructions. Just relax and don’t try to escape.”

Paul returned to the surgery and completed his assigned task for that weekend changing the looks a lieutenant in the cartel. With his work done, then he had a three hour session with four woman getting rid of some pent up energy and then he was returned to Exit 0 where his car was waiting for him. He was looking forward to the next week’s release of energy too.

***

Sally and her mom were enjoying a mani-pedi when a cell phone went off. Mine? Yours? The ringtones were the same. That was dumb. It was answered as soon as one of them figured out whose phone was ringing. “Yes. … A break down. … I understand. When did it happen. … Jessica knows now, huh? Couldn’t keep it from her forever. … Right. No, we are just having some girl time. Jean’s fault really, bless her brilliant fashion sense. … Yes, I think that would be prudent now. … No, I think she can handle it. She is remarkably mature for her age. Family first and all that. … About five, I should think. We are at Shannon’s Nails and are half way done. … Yup. How about Skip’s across the street? … No, you’re right. Not private enough. Okay, Rosettes. … That will do. See you in a few.”

Sally asked, “Who was that?”

“Your aunt. Honey, don’t you have a date tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“What time?”

“6:30.”

“Can you get a thirty minute delay.”

“We are going to a movie. And the movie starts at 7:00. Gerald was going to pick me up.”

“Call the Thompson boy and see if you can meet him at the movie theater at 7:00 instead. This is important.”

“Mom, unless it is critical, I would rather not.”

“Sally, that was your Aunt Sandra calling us about a family situation. We need to meet with her to discuss a family crisis. It is critical that you be included in the discussion.”

Sally was taken back by the serious tone of her mother as well as being curious to hear that someone of her age in the family was needed to be included. She reached for her phone and texted her date, “Slight emergency. Can I meet you at theater at 7:00 instead of you picking me up?”

“No problem. See you at 7:00 at movie theater. xoxoxo” came the reply.

She texted back, ‘TY xoxoxo.’

Rosettes was a coffee shop around the corner from Shannon’s Nail Salon. It was fashioned inside to look like a red bricked Tuscan home with discrete nooks and crannies where you could sit with a friend, or more than two, or a even a group in front of a fireplace to discuss over a cup of coffee and an entree secrets of the sisterhood. And since you pre-ordered and picked up your food beforehand, bused your own table, and got drink refills on your own, you could almost discuss national security without fear of being over heard by the Russians at the table next to your table unless you entreated them to pass the salt. Like that every did any good.

Stella and Sally, fresh from the nail salon, came wandering in. Stella searched the place for her sister-in-law. After a moment, they both found each other. There was her aunt and her cousin Jean along with her. She was pleased to see that they had ordered and had at the table a pot of tea with the place’s infamous large cinnamon bundt cake in the middle of the table meaning that everyone could share. The two were quickly seated such that Sally and Jean were next to each other. Sally noticed immediately that Jean looked exhausted and cried out.

“What is this about?” Sally asked realizing that all eyes were upon her now.

“Jean had a PTSD breakdown after the French movie. It has come out that she saw a murder in Mexico. Now, right now, that is all that might get out. But, it could get worse.” said her mom. Sally was startled by the fact that her mother knew something and had been keeping it from her.

Before Sally could call her mother on it, Sally’s aunt Sandra then added, “We need you to help protect Jean if the real truth gets out. She may not have any one on her side if it does, Sally. She could be really hurt more than you could possibly know. The women in this family have to protect her. It’s our duty.”

Sally looked at Jean wondering what it could be that would cause them to say this. Jean looked down clearly trembling from fear of something. Sally’s heart melted for her cousin. In the last few weeks, she had come to love her like a sister. Whatever it was, it was as critical as she had been told. At that moment, Jessica came back from the bathroom and sat next to Jean. She, too, Sally thought, looked frightened for her new sister.

“What could be worse than viewing a murder? That ought to bring her sympathy I would think.” Sally asked cautiously.

“Sally,” Stella said to her daughter, “it is time for you to know the truth. You remember Camy, right?”

A horrible thought hit her and she went with it. “Was Jean a witness to his murder?”

Shaking her head, Stella just came out with it. “No, Sally, Jean is Camy.” Sally’s face drained of blood. She looked at Jean whose worried expression and sad eyes confirmed the truth.

Sally sat there silently taking it in and put her hands up to her face as her mother, Stella, explained what had had happened after the kidnapping. For the first time, it all made sense. Slowly, with tears streaming down her face, Sally embraced her cousin and told her it would be okay and that she was loved beyond measure.

The family circle of girls was now completely protecting Jean.

***

“So, this is an American high school. Very nice.” The bell rang soon after the two men entered a tiled hallway to head to the main office from the side door where Bishop parked his police car. The walls were white and the floor glistened. The pristine hallway soon turned into a deluge of hustling bodies pushing to and fro in a chaotic wave of students rushing to their next class.

Bishop teased out, “I know. Scary, isn’t it? It contains the strangest animal known to man. The teenager.”

Juan laughed and added, “I know. They are just as scary in my country too.”

The two men stayed on course as best they could. No one paid any attention to Juan’s crisp white uniform shirt with its dark blue shoulder epaulettes and Juan’s seven pointed star which said Policia Municipal. They just pushed on by with regard only to their next class or the flirting glances they could use on someone that caught their eye. Nor did they notice Bishop’s golden badge hanging on his belt as they moved along. They probably thought he was a security guard instead of a highly trained police officer. They were adults and to be ignored. There, in the hallway, was all that mattered. They were the future of the country and they had become self-aware.

As they worked through the hallway towards the officer on duty’s room, suddenly Juan was assaulted, much to his sincere delight. “Senor Juan. It’s you, it’s really you.” The beautiful teenage girl threw herself onto him and hugged him hard. She was beaming ear to ear even though she was shedding a tear or two.”

“Camillia, it is so good to see you again.” The two cheek kissed. Juan smiled enthusiastically and said, “I came here to see you, you know.”

“I know. I love the uniform. I am so glad you wore it. You look so very handsome in it. Just how a policeman should look.” said a giddy Jean.

“Well, I am on duty.” he said proudly.

“But, I have to get to class or I will get a tardy. When will I see you?” she pleaded.

“What class are you in, Jean?”

“French.”

“We will call you out in a bit. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I know why.” Jean looked down feeling the weight of what she had to face. Then she lifted her face and her smile returned. “See you in a few minutes then.” and she skipped off down the hallway.

Bishop laughed after the whole exchange and said, “I feel so left out. It’s the uniform, isn’t it? It always gets the girl.”

Juan shrugged his shoulders and teased Bishop. “Well, with or without the uniform, some of us just have it while others don’t.”

Bishop put his arm on Juan’s shoulder and mused, “Gee, thanks. Do you have to rub it in?” The two men continued on their way teasing the heck out of each other.

Somewhat stung from the weekend, Hank watched the whole encounter with Juan unfold. He could see the Mexican flag on Juan’s uniform and the memory of her collapsing during the weekend into a balling frightened girl made some sort of sense. He was jealous of her treatment of Juan. He wanted that hug and kind of unconditional love. He wanted to be the knight gallant whose embrace brought her joy. He cautiously approached her after she left them and said, “Can I please walk you to class, Jean?”

“Oh would you?” she warmly smiled at him, “I would love it. I am sorry about this weekend.” She took his free hand which seemed to make him feel better. Maybe he could be her knight after all.

With a degree of worry in his voice, Hank asked, “Is that officer here to see you about your bad experience?”

“Yes, Hank, he is. I can’t discuss it with you, but I can tell you that I witnessed someone murder a child. That is why the movie caused me problems. I had what they call a flashback.”

“So, there wasn’t a cartel involved, was there?”

“Oh no. If that were the case, I would be under witness protection. The fact is that my folks want me to live here with family after all that bad stuff happened. They wanted me to be safe. It was time for me to leave anyhow. They had been talking about having me move back to Little rock for a while since I was born here. But, they feel their job wasn’t done in Mexico.” Jean continued the lie in order to not talk directly about the truth.

“Do you miss them?”

“Yes. I will see them on occasion. But, this is much better for me than staying there. I needed to get out of the dark ages. And I love my new family, well, my old family since I have a rather large one. I don’t know what I would do without them. It has been a good change. Scary at times, but good. I needed counseling I couldn’t get in Mexico as you recently found out.”

“Do you think you will get over it?”

“I hope so. I hope your Mom wasn’t too bothered and upset by what happened.”

“Well, yes. She says I should stop seeing you.”

Jean stopped and looked up at him. Her frown betrayed her growing feelings for him. He stopped and looked down at her and compassion filled his heart. Tears were in her eyes and she couldn’t look at him in the eye. She timidly inquired, “Do you feel the same way?” Hank could see the fear in her eyes as she asked and knew she was being genuine with him. He could also see she really cared about him more than he at first thought.

“No. I really like you Jean. Nothing has changed.” He wanted to tell her he loved her, but something held him back. Maybe it was his mom.

“Oh Hank, thank you.” She looked into his eyes once again and gave him a warm hug. He felt awkward at first not knowing how to handle a girl pressing her chest into his, but returned it.

“C’mon. We gotta get to class.” he finally said. The two walked to class hand in hand.

A little while later, Jean was released for the day. Juan opened the door for her and she climbed into the car’s front seat like the lady she was with Bishop driving and they all headed off to the station so she could be interviewed by both countries and issue a formal statement to be used later in court in both countries as might be needed.

***

Paul pulled into his parking place feeling exhausted. Dr. Larson was just coming out. “Hey Paul, how was your weekend?”

“Good. I identified another teenager. His family will have closure.”

“I understand. It was a busy weekend though. We had two gang killings. I just finished processing the victims for trace evidence. I would love it if you did their autopsies.”

“No problem. That is the easy part.”

“Not easy for me. You don’t have a teenage daughter.”

“So, one of them is a girl.” Kevin nodded yes. “Sorry to hear that. I will get on it right away.”

“The family is likely to stop by. They only speak Spanish, so, I was wondering if you would handle them for me?”

“Okay, Kevin. Just don’t make it a habit, please. I am not really good at counseling anybody. I can tell them how somebody died. The why isn’t something I can explain.”

***

Cam finished his yearly evaluations of personal and dropped off the work to be reviewed by his district manager. He breathed a sigh of relief. As he was coming out of his office’s parking lot, he turned and headed out to the police department to pick up Jean. They were going on a father daughter date soon. He smiled at the thought. He mused that he had a teenage daughter and when did that happen. He pulled over in his Camry and texted Bishop to say he was on his way. He forgot he was supposed to do that. In a moment, he got a text back saying they would meet him in front of the station when he got there.

When he got there, Jean was waiting with Detective Bishop and Officer Juan. “How did it go?” he asked all three.

“She was a champ. The statement should be ready in the next day or so for her to sign.”

“Dad, I would like to meet Senor Juan. He was the one who released me from the chains. He is a real gentleman and cute too, for a policeman.” Juan smiled at her tease.

“Sir, I can’t thank you enough for rescuing my daughter. I …” Cam began to get choked up and in a broken voice he continued, “… can never repay you for your kindness to her.” The two men hugged. Juan felt in the embrace where Jean’s strength came from.

“You are welcome Senor Cam. It was my pleasure. You have a very beautiful daughter. You must be so proud.”

He looked at Jean and put his arm around her, “You got that one right. Thank you again. Both of you.”

As Cam drove off with his daughter, Bishop turned to Juan and said, “A girl throwing herself at you. A man giving you a hug. Man, I have got to get the name of your cologne.”

Juan looked back at Bishop. “Easy my friend. Old Spice.” Bishop lost it.

***

“Hey Mom.”

“How was school today?”

“Fine.”

“Did you let Jean down easy?”

“Didn’t get a chance. A policeman from Mexico came in and she went off with him.”

“In handcuffs?” she asked worriedly.

“No. As a matter of fact, she knew the policeman and was very happy to see him. By the way, when I asked her about it briefly, she did mention that she saw a boy murdered, but that she can’t talk about it.”

“Oh my. That would explain a lot of her reaction on Saturday.”

“Yeah, based on what she said, I think her parents sent her up here to be with family because she couldn’t get the counseling she needed down there.” Hank hoped humanizing Jean would sway his mother’s angst about her.

“So, they are still alive. I thought they were dead.”

“Seems they are alive. I am getting the feeling that the murder she witnessed was pretty brutal.”

“So it could have been a cartel killing. I thought so.”

“No. If that had been the case, she would be in witness protection.”

“How do you know? Maybe I am right.”

“Maybe you are wrong. Anyway, the rumor mill is going. She was seen going out with him and another officer this afternoon. They were chummy, so the rumor mill says she is involved in some hush hush legal stuff. Rather than squashing her appeal, it appears to be adding to her popularity.”

“Interesting.”

“That means I could lose her to some of the other guys in the 10th grade who think she is some sort of mystery and potentially dangerous foreign spy.”

“That wouldn’t be so bad. That girl is trouble. Trust your mother on this.”

Hank muttered under his breath, “No, I trust dad. Wish you did too.”

***

Juan ordered a steak while Bishop ordered a salad. “Got to keep my girlish figure.” Bishop quipped.

Allison nudged him and teased, “Hey, I am the one with the girlish figure here. Juan, I am so happy to meet you. You stole my date night from me and I needed to make sure it wasn’t with another woman.” Allison tickled Bishop.

“I have to thank you and apologize to you Bishop. When you first came to my country, I thought you would be an arrogant American. I was proved wrong.”

“You’re welcome. Sadly, I guess I could have been arrogant. Truth be told, I read the reports before I came. I was struck by how thorough you were in them and the kindness you showed Jean. So, I already knew how good you were even before I laid eyes on you.”

Allison and Bishop spied a young woman coming to their table. “Well, because you stole another date night from us,” Allison giggled, “we have a surprise for you.” Bishop stood up to greet her. Juan, seeing the reason why, stood up also. A lovely young blond woman about twenty-four with a nice body and a withering smile approached their table. She waved. “Hey Claudine, I am glad you could make it. This is Officer Juan Valendez of the Hermisillo police department. Juan, this is Claudine Lansing of my detective division. She is my back up on this case.”

Claudine looked over Juan and by her reaction, both Bishop and Allison knew that she really liked what she saw. Juan, took her hand and gave it a latin kiss. “Buenos Noches mi Senorita bonita.” Juan then pulled out a chair for her.

“Well, Bishop. How come you didn’t learn any manners while you were in Mexico? Officer Juan knows how to treat a lady right.” Claudine said with a wink.

The three sat down. “Please call me Juan. May I call you Claudine.”

“Yes, by all means. Bishop has brought me up to speed on the case. I looked over your reports. They were very well done. I did have one question.”

Bishop looked impressed wondering if there was something he missed. But, that is what partners are for, to catch what you don’t. “I know that she ordered a lot of her clothes from catalogs. But, what is missing from the crime scene is all the labels, receipts, and other stuff one would expect by an investigative crew. Nor was there any found by the Texas ranger crew that went in recently. However, the crime scene had most of the catalogs she had been ordering from. My question is how do you think Mr. Jack collected and ordered the clothes?”

“Probably used a drop box in the city to place the orders and get them.”

“I don’t think so.” said Claudine. “I am thinking he had them made. In the report, Camille never mentions that the clothes were returned. I order clothes from catalogs all the time because my hours prevent me from going shopping like I like to do.” She glanced at Allison who responded with a knowing nod. “My guess is that he had them custom made because there were no labels in the clothes. I mean, why remove the labels and yet keep the catalogs.”

Bishop and Juan looked at each other saying almost in unison, “Why didn’t we catch that?”

Allison chuckled and casually stroked Bishop’s arm. “Because you are guys. You go to the Wal-Mart and put on what fits. You don’t care. But we gals do.”

Allison then looked over at her and said, “Nice catch Claudine.”

A wicked smile came over Bishop’s face. He whispered into Allison’s ear and she giggled. “Well, Claudine, would you like to help Juan find the place that made her clothes?” Allison asked. Claudine turned a beat red. Juan just grinned.

“Seriously. We can grab some of her clothes that she got recently and track down who made it. I mean, China isn’t the only place these days that does copy catting.”

“For that, we would need the catalogs.”

“We have them in my office. And we have digital photos of the outfits. But, we don’t have the staff to look them over with me.” Juan added.

Bishop looked at Claudine. “Volunteers?”

Claudine snapped back with a quick, “Yes, sir. I am ready to report for duty.” She punctuated it with a brief salute and then turned to Juan to ask, “Do you mind, Juan?”

“Of course not.” Allison and Bishop exchanged a quick glance and a knowing smirk.

For the next hour, during their dinner, they chatted and laughed. Finally, Juan asked Bishop something to bring them back to the case. “Mi amigo. There is something I have been meaning to ask you. This isn’t your first case like it, is it?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, you seemed too comfortable with what you were dealing with. I know, once I found out what happened to Camille, I had to change my mind about things I always assumed were right. But, you seemed, how shall I say, not to care as though you had already dealt with it before.”

Bishop laughed sadly. “You are a good policeman. You read me correctly. I have had to deal with two unique cases involving someone like Camille. The first involved an older transwoman who had been kidnapped and turned into a sex slave. The second was a transwoman, really girl, who had been left on the side of the road dead after been used up in the sex trade.” Bishop looked away. He was clearly tearing up.

“You don’t have to talk about it, hon.” Allison said in an effort to comfort him.

“No, I should. Not if we are going to be good cops. We can’t hide the fact that man’s inhumanity to man doesn’t get to us. Or else we will become jaded.”

***

Louis and Peggy Laignaux drove up to the police headquarters early Tuesday morning from Memphis. Gaston's message a few weeks earlier that Jean needed a cover family, or, rather cover parents was the reason they were there for Jean. Juan, Bishop, and Jean were there to greet them. Hugs all around. Jean’s resemblance to Louis and Peggy, like the rest of the family, was unmistakable. However, Louis had not been seen often in these parts, so few if any knew him. They wore plain clothes like there were country bumpkins. Unlike their usual pattern of being well kept, they let themselves look un made up and quite ordinary.

Bishop handed Juan the keys and playfully shook his finger at him as he patted his car with his other hand. Juan opened the door for Peggy while on the other side of the car, Louis opened the car door for Jean who smoothed her dress and got in the back seat. Louis walked around to the other side quickly. He and Juan entered the car at the same time.

Bishop and Claudine waved as they drove off. At Fairview High, it was the height of kids dragging themselves into school. It was the bustle of the start of a second day of a new week with kids wandering in not wanting the weekend to end still and hungry for the next one to come as soon as possible. Summer vacation hadn't passed from their daily thinking yet. Juan drove up to the circle and got out with his uniform looking sharp. He opened the door for Jean while Louis opened the door for Peggy. They walked up to the curb to meet a waiting Sally. They all said hello. Sally kissed and hugged Louis and Peggy.

Sally held Jean who was crying a little and smiling. They waved goodbye to Juan, Louis, and Peggy as they drove away. Sally then held her arm around Jean comforting her as they entered the school that day. The amount of students who saw this scene was numerous. But, the one that mattered most to Jean watched from the front of the building. Hank thought to himself exactly what he was supposed to think. That, these were her parents up here for a visit. And they were going home with Juan. As Sally went into the entrance, she looked around at the other students. She could tell by their faces, the rumor mill was satisfied. They saw what they expected.

***

At a lab in Langley, a tech was asked. “How long before you can do it?”

“Based on the sample we got from the police, about two weeks.”

“Do what you can. ASAP though.” The man quietly looked at his phone as he said that. An email just sent had an ominous overtone.

***

Jason looked over his work for the morning. A bunch of story leads. A new call to stop drugs. A plea or two to do a story on the gangs that were changing Little Rock. And then, an email about Camille. The subject was ‘proof of life.’

Jason,

The photo I am sending you is proof of life. It was taken four months ago in Mexico. It shows a man walking with a young child. The child is Camille in disguise.

I. B. Anonymous

Jason pulled up the photo. It was of a man and a child walking away from the camera into a farmer’s market. The child walking was a girl and looking up at the man. Baffled by what he saw, he sent a note to Bishop. They needed to talk asap.

After taking Juan and Claudine to the airport, Bishop swung around to see Jason. He was waiting for him at the Starbucks. “I have a girlfriend you know.”

Jason chuckled. He gave him the email with a print out. “Can’t be Camille. It’s a girl in the photo. How is that proof?"

“I was wondering the same thing. It is just that ...”

“What?”

“She is Caucasian and all the other people in the photo are Mexican. I don’t know. I turned on a Novella the other night while channel surfing and the actors look every bit of being American as watching Big Bang Theory.”

“True. In order for there to be real proof, this isn’t enough. But, who knows it could be true. That is one way of hiding a child.”

“I know, a few minutes ago, he sent me this.”

Bishop read an email that said, “I was able to obtain a DNA sample from this child and sent it in to GenTreeMaster.com. I have been notified that the results will be in by the end of the month. That is only two weeks away.”

“Okay. Let’s assume it is this child and that the DNA proves it. What does I. B. want? Ransom. Finder’s fee.”

“As long as it brings him back, I guess that is the important thing. Don’t you think?”

“Sorry, years of being a skeptic. Thank you for bringing this to me. But, be cautious. The only way to get that spit sample is for the person being tested to do it voluntarily. Just as a guess, one of two things happened. Either this is the child and he is trying to find a way to be traced or there is a good Samaritan who has figured out a way to check his story.”

“Yeah. I am skeptical too. We are almost at the six year mark later this month. Nothing has been heard since the kidnapping. Now, out of the blue, here is someone claiming to know the victim and know he is alive.”

“Makes me wonder what I. B. chose DNA. Does he or she know something we don’t.”

“DNA doesn’t lie.”

“True. But, with this amount of time, it is conceivable that he or she has obtained a family member’s DNA.

Bishop thought through the various scenarios where this could go. He knew that Mr. Jack was setting a trap and he was likely to get burned. He remembered a class at university where the professor was discussing the nature of the tense combat between police and the press. It was a love hate relationship. This was a fork he didn’t want. Technically, he should walk from the table. However, his pray partner had sent him a suggestion. A simple one. Just one word explained it all. He had a week to think about it and it was time to see if the word would work. Embed.

“Jason, do you know what an embeded reporter is?”

“Not really, I have heard of it because of the Gulf wars.”

Bishop pulled out an envelope to hand to Jason. “I talked it over with my boss after our discussion the other day. This is an agreement to embed you in our investigation. There will be no limitations on what you can report. Just when you can report it. You will be able to be in on our discussions and intel, so long as you keep the total story out of the press until it successfully prosecuted. And you will be able to report on a limited basis any press releases before anyone else before it is prosecuted.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. I think we can trust you. You have been extremely helpful. If this is really turning up the truth, you will be on the inside from here on out. I will leave you to think it over and discuss it with your boss. She has to sign on to it too. It is legally binding on both of us. But, here is what is crucial, you will have all rights to the story from here on out.”

Jason seemed taken back. “Are you hiding something from me?”

Bishop turned on the charm and smiled. “Well, if I am, I certainly am doing something stupid by letting you in on everything. Hell, I can’t even write a story about it if it turns out to be sensational because you will have all the rights to it. Well, except the family will have their rights still. But you will have an exclusive. And frankly, I think you deserve it. I have admired your investigative reporting for years. You are a damn good reporter.”

Jason looked over the form. “I have been told beware things that are too good to be true.”

“Jason, this form is coming to you because of your twenty years of hard work. If you were a cub reporter just starting out, you wouldn’t be getting this deal.”

“Well, I will take it to my boss and see what she has to say.”

“That is all I can ask. Let me know as soon as you can. I would like to introduce you to the rest of the team. Well, what will be the team if this turns out to be true. You will notice that we have notarized our signatures. Be sure to do the same. Once you do, it becomes active when you deliver it to me.”

Copyright © 2017 by AuP reviner

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Comments

The noose is tightening

I wonder if the cartel will take care of Dr. Jack before the police capture him. He has a lot to answer for.

Thanks for the story I am enjoying it.

Possible mix up?

Jamie Lee's picture

Has Paul seen Sally? And noticed how Jean and Sally look alike? If he plans of kidnapping her again, will he be able to tell the difference between the girls so Sally isn't taken by mistake? Because if she is taken by mistake there are only two possible outcomes. Either he kills her to keep her quiet or keeps her and uses her like he plans on using Jean.

From other things in this chapter it appears there are a lot of people involved behind the scenes who might or might not be working for Paul. If they are working for him they are loose ends, ends which might have to be tidied up a bit.

Others have feelings too.