Allison Brennan - Fatal Secrets

“That’s a lot you don’t know,” Detective Melanie Montgomery said. “Why isn’t the Chinese government doing anything to find their citizens?”

Sonia glared at the detective. “As I said, the girls were kidnapped from an illegal church. They can’t go to the authorities, there’s no record of the girls being born.”

“So they’re illegal in China?” Montgomery asked skeptically.

“The one-child-per-family policy has created a subclass of girls-unwanted by their families because they are not boys. Especially in the farming communities, where a son can help keep their plots working. Those babies born female are often killed or abandoned. Illegal churches and other human rights organizations will take them in. They can’t go to the authorities or risk their lives and freedom. But that’s neither here nor there, it is what it is.”

Montgomery frowned. “I have four bodies and no suspects,” the detective said. “Do you have suspects you’re not sharing with local law enforcement?”

Dean saw Sonia bristle. He was about to respond to smooth tensions, but Sonia said, “I’ve told you everything I know about the murders. If I had any idea who killed Xavier Jones, believe me, I’d tell you. Jones was a ruthless bastard, but whoever killed him is colder, more calculating, and completely without remorse. Jones was a businessman; he was in it for the money. He never thought about the fate of the women he’d sold; to him it was simply a business transaction. Whoever killed him is in it for power.”

Dean glanced at Sonia. He hadn’t realized she’d been profiling the killers, but what she said made sense to him. He leaned toward the speakerphone. “Dr. Vigo? Did you hear that?”

Hans Vigo sounded like he was in the room when his voice came through the speaker. “Yes, Dean. And I think Agent Knight is dead-on. I read your report on the homicides and came to the same conclusion.”

“So who are these people?” Detective Montgomery said. “I feel like we’re in the middle of a war. I haven’t seen so many dead bodies outside of gang turf wars.”

Vigo said, “That’s actually a good comparison, Detective. Xavier Jones is a top lieutenant of a ‘gang’-or, in our case, a human trafficking ring, who’d been given autonomy to operate within a defined territory. In fact, he’s been working the territory for so long he thought of this criminal enterprise as his organization. He got into a bit of trouble with the law. The leader of the ring doesn’t tolerate this kind of attention, so he kills Jones. Takes out his top lieutenant as well.”

Sonia interrupted. “I agree, Dr. Vigo, except your last point. The killer knew that Greg Vega was a government informant. Vega’s tongue was cut out. Jones wasn’t tortured; Vega was.”

“It could be that Jones was killed because his man was an informant, but the informant was made to suffer because he’d committed the more egregious sin.”

Montgomery said, “So who is this top gun?”

“Someone who has little fear that he’ll be caught,” said Vigo over the speakerphone.

“Most criminals don’t think they’ll be caught,” Sam said.

“But this killer is extremely confident. He’s stealthy. He’s not someone you’ve talked to or interviewed. I don’t even think he’s from the area. If he were, there’d be more dead bodies.”

“Four isn’t enough?” Montgomery sneered.

“This killer leaves a trail of dead wherever he goes. He punishes people fatally. He does not tolerate dissent; he does not tolerate imperfection. He rewards those who do what he says when he says it-he prizes loyalty. At the same time, he surrounds himself with smart people. He loathes not only incompetence, but stupidity.”

Sonia looked stunned. “You can tell all that by a written report on the murders?”

Vigo chuckled. “Not exactly. I have copies of the preliminary autopsy reports, as well as Agent Hooper’s psychological assessment of Mr. Jones after their meeting the other night. I’m also drawing upon my knowledge of known individuals involved in human trafficking, and my own experience.

“For example,” he continued, “the killer considered Jones incompetent; he was shot and killed. Simple and effective. He considered Vega a traitor. Traitors anger him far more than incompetence, therefore the torture. Cutting out his tongue while he was alive shows that he wanted to make it clear to not only Vega but to everyone in his organization that if they talked, they’d meet a similar fate.”

“This sounds like mob activity,” Sam said.

“Similar,” Vigo concurred, “but different in one key area.”

“What’s that?”

“Your killer has every reason to think he’s untouchable. He’s not an American citizen.”

After the verbal shock and comments subsided, Dean asked, “How can you be so sure about that, Hans?”

“Because he is unconcerned about evidence.”

“No prints were found on the knife or anywhere in the Vega house,” Montgomery interjected.

“He wore gloves, but he left the knife. He didn’t weight the bodies he dumped in the river because he didn’t care if they’d be discovered sooner rather than later. He left the Vegas in their house without disturbing the scene-no arson fire, no body removal, he didn’t care if or when they were found. The dead are in the past, unimportant, problems that have been dealt with. This is, ultimately, what’s going to trip him up.”

“What?” Sonia asked. “That he didn’t destroy the bodies?”

“That he considers them the past. Dealt with. He’s not concerned about evidence because even if we got his prints, they wouldn’t be in our database. He doesn’t believe he’s been photographed by American law enforcement; he is most likely in this country under an assumed name. This is why I’ve made initial contacts with Interpol and our attaches in Central and South America-they may have information on him or his M.O.”

Sonia said, “My boss, Toni Warner, can help with those contacts as well as finding out what, if anything, Homeland Security has on a similar M.O. Though without a name, description, or even a home country, it’ll be impossible to narrow suspects down. There will be far too many possibles.”

“You’re right,” Vigo concurred, “but we can assume he’s here right now, and that he’s likely to be present Saturday night.”

“Would a man in his position normally come in for what appears to be a routine exchange?” Dean asked. “That would increase his risk and the chance that someone could I.D. him.”

“I honestly can’t say why this man chose to come here now.”

“Maybe it’s not the leader,” Sam said. “Maybe he hired someone to kill Jones and Vega.”

Vigo said, “I suppose it’s possible, but if that’s the case, would a man who is operating for power relinquish control to an underling? One of this case’s fundamental problems is that we don’t know exactly why this shipment is so important. Not to diminish the humanity of the victims, but Chinese girls are trafficked in the tens of thousands every year. Why are these three or so dozen girls so important? Agent Knight? Do you have an insight here?”

“I hadn’t thought of the situation in that light,” Sonia admitted. “But you’re right-there is no lack of Asian girls.”

“What about smuggling?” Trace spoke up for the first time.

“Like what?” Dean asked. “Drugs?”

“Not from China,” Trace said. “It wouldn’t be typical, at any rate. But there are other commodities. Pirated software, fake brand-name pharmaceuticals, weapons. I could go on.”

“Trace is right,” Sonia said. “China has a huge black market export business. The women trafficked within their borders are predominantly used as slave labor. What the media likes to call ‘sweatshops.’ But why would they mingle the two illegal trades?”