Brett Battles - Little Girl Gone

“The picture’s from the New York Times . It’s the outside of the Federal Courthouse in New York City. The two older gentlemen are Samuel Schwartz and Charles Bracher. The two others with them aren’t important. I want you to look at the three in the back, specifically the guy on the right. You should be able to enlarge it enough.”

He centered the person in question, and increased the size of the photo, then stared at it for a moment. “That’s him.”

“Robert Andrews?”

“Yes. I’m sure of it.”

“I was afraid of that.”

“Who is he?”

Silence, then, “His real name is Scott Bell.”

“He works for Bracher Schwartz?”

“Technically, he runs his own security firm. Of course, it is located in the same building as Bracher Schwartz’s home office.” She was quiet for a moment. “I went out on a limb, Logan. I talked to one of our people in New York. He says Bell handles all the firm’s dirty work.”

“Ruth, you didn’t have to take that chance.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s already done.”

“Do you trust this person enough that he won’t tell anyone you talked to him?”

“He’s a decent guy. He won’t say anything.”

“So which client is Bell doing work for now?”

“That, I don’t know. But my friend did tell me who some of their clients are, though.”

“Who?”

She let out a not quite tension free laugh. “You have any openings at your garage? I might need a job after this.”

“We’d be happy to have you.”

She paused, then said, “One of their big clients is a Silicon Valley tech firm called Okomoto Systems. They specialize in mobile devices and applications. Then, of course, there’s Laredyne Industries. You’ve heard of them.”

He had. They were a defense contractor like Forbus. “What about their connection to Burma?”

“I didn’t really look into them, but I doubt it. Again, it would be illegal.”

“True, but how many times has Forbus gotten into gray areas overseas?” Logan asked.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He smirked. “What about other clients?”

“LRB Oil, H. Wick, a medical supply company out of Indianapolis, a regional fast food chain. That’s about all I got at this point.”

H. Wick? He’d heard that name recently. But why would a medical supply company be involved in—

Angie .

The company she had stolen the money from. Hadn’t she said it was H. Wick Medical Supply? The company may very well not have been part of what was going on, but at the very least their attorneys—Bracher Schwartz—would have been aware of Angie’s embezzlement. She would easily have become an asset they could exploit.

“Thank you, Ruth. You’ve done more than I could have ever hoped.”

“You know, you never actually told me where you are?”

“You sure you want to know?”

She paused. “Please tell me you’re not in Burma.”

“I’m not in Burma.”

There was another pause. “You’re in Thailand aren’t you? That plane.”

“Yes.”

“Be careful, okay? And…and I hope you find the girl.”

“Me, too,” he said, but by then she’d already hung up.

After he showered and got dressed, he looked at Bell’s picture again.

A law firm fixer with a penchant for kidnapping, and, if Logan was right, murder. What kind of game was he playing? And was this actually for the law firm, or was he acting for someone else entirely? The generals in Myanmar, perhaps? As ludicrous as that idea had been at one point, Logan felt it was a very real possibility now.

He called Daeng. “Sorry to wake you,” he said as soon as Daeng picked up.

“You didn’t. I just got off the phone with one of my men by the river.”

“And?”

“Go downstairs. Someone will pick you up in a few minutes.”

Knowing he needed to stay flexible, Logan brought his backpack with him as he headed out of the hotel. At the curb, he found the same motorcycle driver who’d taken him to Christina’s the night before.

This time the ride only lasted fifteen minutes before the driver pulled to the curb a couple of blocks shy of the river, in an area where there seemed to be few other farang around.

Daeng was standing in the doorway of a pharmacy a few feet away, talking on his phone. There was a bandage on his injured ear, but otherwise he looked the same as he had the night before, save for the T-shirt. Einstein was out, and Bender, the robot from Futurama , was in.

As Logan walked over, Daeng nodded a hello, then held up a finger indicating he wouldn’t be long.

When he hung up, Logan asked “What’s going on?”

“We figured out what building they were in.”

“ Were ?”

“That’s the bad news,” Daeng said. “Either they were already gone by the time my men were in place, or they snuck out this morning and we missed them.”

Disappointed was not nearly a strong enough word for what Logan suddenly felt. “Is that possible?”

“Anything is possible,” Daeng said. “But I chose my men carefully. It would have been very unusual for them to have missed anything. But there is good news. They’re not all gone.”

“What?”

“The girl and most of the others, they’re not there anymore. But two farang men were still inside when we found the building.”

“Did you detain them?”

Daeng shook his head. “Not yet. They’re still there. Apparently, they’re cleaning up.”

Of course, Logan thought. Making sure there were no traces that they’d been there. Just like back in L.A.

“Do you want me to have my men move in?” Daeng asked.

Logan said nothing for a moment, thinking. If Daeng’s people grabbed them now, who knew how long it might take to get them to divulge where Elyse was.

“No,” he said. “We’ll let them finish what they’re doing, then follow them. In the meantime, get me as close as you can. I want to see exactly who was left behind.”

30

Logan and Daeng spent five and a half hours in an empty apartment across an intersection from the building Elyse had been held in.

More than once, Logan asked if it was possible that the men who were supposedly still there might have snuck out some other way. Each time, Daeng had dutifully checked, but the report would always come back that the men were still inside.

“I’m not sure I’ve actually told you thanks, yet,” Logan said after Daeng checked for him one more time. “Without you and your men, I don’t know what I would have done.”

Daeng shrugged. “You would have found her. You would have just done it a different way. You’re more resourceful than you look.”

“Thanks, I think.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’m serious, though,” Logan said after a few seconds. “You’ve done a lot more than you needed to.”

“I’ve done exactly what I needed to.”

Logan looked at him. Daeng’s eyes were focused through the window on the other building, but after a moment, he glanced over. “What?”

“That’s just kind of an odd statement.”

“Is it? Aren’t you doing the same?”

The question surprised Logan. He was doing what he felt he had to do, but was it exactly what he had to do? Only if he were able to bring Elyse home alive. Otherwise, what he was currently doing would turn out not to be enough. Again.

Daeng seemed to sense Logan’s discomfort. He smiled, then said, “How’s the weather in L.A.?”

Logan looked out the window. “Nice when I left. Seventies.”

“I miss that. Most of the time it doesn’t even get down to seventy during the night here.”