Chapter Six
Axton
I groaned and reached for my phone in the dark. Someone was about to eat shit for waking me up in the middle of the night. “This better be good.” I answered the call.
“Meet me at the command center, I have a possible case and obviously I can’t leave Morgan.” Creed said.
“Fuck off, I don’t do domestic cases.”
“It’s a Jane Doe and she was found with my card on her. It’s not a domestic violence card either, but a recruitment card. That’s why I can’t assign it to anyone but an Original, since our recruitments are top secret and you’re the one that put that into policy. I need you to go in my place to identify her. They offered to send a photo, but if she’s a DV case, I’d rather someone be with her in case she is found by the person who was wishing her harm.” He said.
“A dead body? It’ll still be there tomorrow.” I was still mostly asleep.
“No, dumbass, it’s a living but injured young woman, and all they found on her was my business card and an envelope with a stack of cash. I wouldn’t be sending you to protect her if she was dead, Axton. It could be a domestic violence case or one of our past recruits. She’s banged up pretty bad. I’ll have command get the jet ready, but I need you to help me sift through our candidates so you have photos of the ones we think could be a possibility. She seems a little too young to be one of our recruits, but she shouldn’t have that recruitment card if she wasn’t one. You’ll be going to Arizona.” That caught my attention. There was a resort I visited a few years back with Faye near Flagstaff, and it’s not couples only.
“What part of Arizona?”
He ignored me. “I think we should get someone out there just in case whoever she was running from finds her. It was a social worker that called, and she said the woman was dressed strangely, I believe she said her dress reminded her of 1987 or something. I’d send one of the others, but Irons and Magnus have a team to prepare for deployment, Drakos won’t leave Melissa and isn’t taking any missions, Baros is still undercover, and Val has a full schedule tomorrow. Granger and Steph are flying out with the kids in the morning for an early Christmas celebration with their families in Maine. We have too many operatives home with their families for the holidays, and I’d hate to call any in, they work all year for this vacation. You’re the only one available.”
I was open to a quick visit to Arizona and the resort I once visited a few years back with Faye. “Fine, give me a half hour.”
“Make it quick, Morgan is home alone with Addie.” He ended the call.
I was ready in less than a half hour and was more than interested in seeing if the woman was in the right area of Arizona for a quick visit to the resort. I typically didn’t go without Faye, but a night or two wouldn’t have hurt anything. When I arrived, Creed was in his office downloading files for me to take with me. “Where am I going and how long will I be gone?” I asked right away.
“The woman is unconscious, and if she doesn’t match these files then get her fingerprints and possibly a DNA sample. She has a mild head injury, and they have her in a medically induced sleep. You’ll be there long enough to identify her or if she wakes up and you can get her story. I don’t have much information other than what I already told you. I don’t know why a Jane Doe would have my recruitment card, it makes no sense. They found her outside a small town called Holbrook, but they took her to a hospital in Flagstaff. We have your jet ready and a reservation for a hotel and car is already arranged. When you arrive at the hospital, ask to speak with a woman named Tara Jones, she’s the social worker that called me. Keep me updated.” He handed me the files. I grabbed my ready bag from the locker room and headed toward the jet. We kept two bags already packed. One to take on missions and another with civilian clothes. It had everything I needed for a week away from home. The only time we typically packed luggage was for business and personal trips, otherwise we had ready bags waiting. It was four in the morning, and it was about a four hour flight, so I settled in the jet for some sleep. When I arrived, I got the car and checked into the hotel just for appearances. I already made a reservation for two nights at the resort I wanted to visit, but all Creed would know is that I stayed at the arranged hotel. After leaving the hotel, I made my way toward the hospital. Like Creed, I was confused how a random young woman had Creed’s recruitment card. We were very selective who we sent them to, and it didn’t make much sense. Dressed like it was 1987? Was she wearing a Madonna costume or something?
I parked in the visitors garage, and made my way to the front desk. “I’m here to see Tara Jones. I’m Mike Axton from Creed’s Lake Motorsports.”
The older woman typed something into her computer then lifted the receiver to her ear. “Hello, it’s Mary from the front desk calling. I have a Mike Axton here to see you. He says he’s from Creed’s Motorsports.”
I watched as she listened then she hung up the phone and smiled up at me. “She will be right down. Make yourself comfortable in one of those seats.” She pointed to the typical waiting room of a hospital.
I gave her my best smile. “Thank you.” I turned and took a seat as instructed. As I waited, I sent a text to Creed letting him know I made it to the hospital, then shot Faye a quick text letting her know I was in Flagstaff and would be visiting the resort without her. It was still early in Arizona, but it was almost nine in the morning back home and in New York. First, Faye replied with a sad face emoji, then Creed acknowledged my text to him.
I only waited about five minutes before I heard my name called behind me. I turned and saw a middle aged woman holding a door open. “That’s me.” I stood and made my way over to her. She stuck out her hand to shake mine.
“I’m Tara Jones, one of the hospital’s social workers, and was called in for this young lady overnight. Thanks for making the trip.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Mike Axton, VP of Creed’s Lake.” I shook her hand in return.
“Come with me and I’ll take you to see her. I wish I had more information for you, but she has no identification, only your President’s business card.” I walked next to her down a long hallway. “Like I told him, she was dressed a bit odd. I’ll show you her belongings first because she is in the trauma unit upstairs. I have her things in my office.”
“What happened to her?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Can’t say for sure. She was found behind a dumpster in a small town not far away. We have some suspicion she was possibly involved in a car crash and stumbled away from the scene. The last I heard, they were checking the area for a crash site. She had glass in her hair, and she does have some mild swelling of the brain. She’s asleep now, and the medication is just to make her comfortable. She doesn’t need surgery, but she did need quite a few stitches. It’s like road rash on her right side, like she jumped from a moving vehicle, but the glass doesn’t support that theory. No broken bones, but she will be sore when she wakes up.” We stepped into an elevator and got off on the third floor. “She’s a very striking young woman.”
We stepped off the elevator. “When was she brought in?” I asked.
“I believe around one am, and I got here about two.” She opened her office door and stepped inside. “Here we are, all she had was the clothes on her back and an envelope. She was wearing this cross necklace, but other than that she had a lot of money and the business card. See this dress, I think I had one similar in high school. I graduated in 1987, and she was even wearing this bow in her hair, and I owned one just like it.” She showed me a big ass bow. “The envelope was in this pocket, and I’m surprised she didn’t lose it.”
The dress looked like something my mom wore when she was a teenager. It wasn’t flattering at all, pink with puffy sleeves.
“She was wearing these white tights and these flats.” She showed me a pair of shoes.
The first thing I thought of was a polygamist cult, judging by the fashion of her clothes. They reminded me of the clothes women in Warren Jeffs polygamous community wore in pictures I once saw. I picked up the necklace and studied it, but didn’t see anything other than the 14k stamp on the clasp. There was nothing written on the envelope but inside was a few grand. It was becoming even stranger than I expected. “Do you see many people in these parts who dress this way?” I asked.
“Not since the eighties.” She answered.
“How about religious compounds? Are there any in the area?” I asked.
“Not that I know of to be sure, but there are rumors of some a few hours away to the west, but I’ve never seen it or the people. As far as I know it could just be a rumor.”
I nodded, reminding myself to check into some CPS agencies in the area for reports of children living on religious compounds.
“There is a motorcycle club about an hour from here, and they live on a compound. I have doubts they are religious though.” She added.
“I presume the police are involved. Are they saying much?” I asked.
“Nothing more than assuring us they are looking for a crash site. It was thicker glass in her hair, not the kind from a window in a house but the kind found on a vehicle. As you can see there was a lot of blood on her dress, but her wounds aren’t likely to produce this much blood, so they are pretty sure there are other victims involved.”
I picked up Creed’s business card and studied it. “There’s only a small number of people he would have shared this card with, and there’s a small chance she or a family member was given this card. I have some files I can check once I see her and maybe I can help identify her. The other option would be her having this card instead of an appropriate one for her circumstances. We have a not for prophet program for domestic violence victims and maybe she ran from the scene because she was scared of someone. This isn’t the type of card that would float around for that program, but maybe somehow the wrong card was given to her. Do any of her wounds look defensive or look older, like healing bruises or scars?” I asked.
“I don’t believe so, but I’m not an expert and I haven’t examined her. We can check with the doctor and see if he noted anything.” She suggested. “I’ve seen her, and she didn’t seem to be the type to have any tattoos. Like I said, she’s a striking young woman and I’d guess she’s no older than twenty five years old, maybe younger. She wasn’t wearing any makeup and most of her injuries are on her head and her arm. No major facial injuries, so hopefully you can identify her rather quickly.”
I wouldn’t state my presumptions out loud, but if I was a betting man, I’d say she was running from a religious cult. Most likely she was to contact Creed if she was able to escape. There had been some sex trafficking suspicions in Arizona, but they were typically children and young women that crossed the border.
“Ethnic group?” I asked.
“As far as I can tell she’s Caucasian.” Tara answered.
“Are the authorities aware that we were called?”
“Yes.” She answered.
I’d need Irons to contact his mom and step-dad for affiliated cops in the area for members of their MC or another one that was local. If I were to walk in there and say I didn’t have a clue of her identity, they’d say they got what they needed from me and wouldn’t give me more contact with the young woman to help her. I was honestly surprised they were allowing me all the information they gave me so far. I reached into my back pocket for my wallet and pulled out a business card. “Take this, it may take me a few days to identify her as a client, but if you or the authorities have any questions about our non-prophet, I can be reached at this cell number. I’ll have to get her photo and send it to our headquarters in Indiana. There’s a chance she’s a domestic violence case, so I don’t recommend sharing her information publicly for a few days, unless she wakes up and tells her story and we are confident she’s safe. Hopefully, the authorities agree and will give me some time to do some research. We have contacts in Arizona that may know of this woman, and we don’t want whoever she was running away from to find her here.”
“I will pass on your information to the authorities. Are you ready to see her?” She asked.
I nodded. “Sure, lead the way.”
We exited the office and made our way into the elevator. She asked a few questions about our DV program as we rode the elevator, and I told her about the law practice and educational services. “Funding comes from various sources, like donations and some government grants. We are in the process of becoming a Medicaid healthcare provider, so that will also bring down our operational costs. If they end up as full time employees they qualify for insurance through Creed’s Lake.” I explained.
“As a social worker with many years of experience under my belt, I’m impressed. I do sometimes come across DV victims and would love more of your cards to hand out.” She said.
“In that case, we do not just hand out cards to just anyone. You’d be given one to reach out to us, and we would review the case with you. If we feel it’s a case for us to take on, we would give you further instructions. We do a very in depth background check on all of our DV victims prior to offering our services. It’s not a secret that we offer these services, but we don’t exactly offer them publicly. That’s to protect our community and it’s residents. They aren’t always brought to Creed’s Lake. Sometimes we refer cases to satellite groups that can take them to safe houses. As I’m sure you’re aware, it’s not always as easy as the victims running away with their children. There are custody issues, and this is where our law practice comes into play. Only a portion of it is done pro-bono and we do have paying clients. We can’t put their cases at risk by having our attorneys stripped of their licenses. We have to be very careful as far as the law is concerned.”
“It’s wonderful to know there are organizations out there to help these people.” She said.
“If we can’t help them, we can refer them to other organizations. We don’t take victims with extensive criminal histories. We also cannot harbor illegal immigrants, but there are other organizations that fly under the radar that might be able to help.”
We stepped off the elevator and an uneasy feeling came over me. I halted my steps and took a look around. I didn’t see anything that should have had my hairs standing on end. It was a feeling of danger or some kind of warning, but I wasn’t quite sure what I was feeling. I didn’t feel the need to defend myself or turn away and leave.
“Mr. Axton, are you okay?” Ms. Jones asked.
“Yeah, it’s fine. Let’s take a look at this girl.” I tried to put the feeling aside, but as we walked further down the hall of doors, the feeling grew stronger. It wasn’t a gut instinct to turn around and leave, but one that drew me toward a particular door. Strangely, I knew what room we were going to stop in front of before Ms. Jones stopped walking.
“I’ll step inside with you. She’s asleep, and she is being monitored, but if she were awake her small head injury would cause her a great deal of pain. The doctors battled between medicating her to save her from the pain, or allowing her to feel it to get more information about a possible crash site where they could find more injured people. They decided, judging by the dried blood on her skin, she must have traveled a bit of a distance, and it wasn’t guaranteed there was a site within our jurisdiction. The authorities have contacted surrounding counties to do a search of their own and our doctors put our patient’s wellbeing ahead of other possibilities that might not exist.”
“How long will she be out?” I asked, while fighting my urge to step inside that room. That was strange for me. I had an aversion to hospital rooms. One reason was the fact that my life support was almost turned off and I almost died as a child, and then there was the hospital in Germany when I went to help Creed, and finally my last visit to a hospital was when a prospect died from injuries from a motorcycle crash. He was drunk and took the life of a young woman that just graduated college.
“It’s hard to say. She has some swelling and a small brain bleed. They will monitor that and her healing to make decisions as time goes by. Are you ready to take a look and see if you know her?”
I nodded. “Yeah, sure.”
We stepped inside, and the curtain was partially pulled so I could only see feet under a blanket at first. My heart began racing, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I got goosebumps the further I stepped into the room. I saw legs under a thick white sheet, then delicate hands, a small but tall frame and eventually beautiful copper toned hair. Then I saw her face and took a sharp breath.
“By your reaction, I presume you know her?” Ms. Jones asked.
I looked at that face and my entire body froze. I didn’t know her, but holy shit, she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. She laid peaceful, like an angel, but one with a broken wing. A strange and powerful feeling of protectiveness came over me. I couldn’t speak, only fight to draw in a deep breath to assure my heart was still pounding. There she was, with tubes and wires everywhere, yet her skin seemed to glow and everything about her seemed so delicate.
“Mr. Axton?” Ms. Jones tried to catch my attention, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the young woman.
“You’re right, she’s a very striking young lady.” I gulped.
“But does she look familiar to you?” She asked.
I went to shake my head but stopped myself. I knew exactly where I needed to be, and that was in that room looking over that girl. “Maybe, she does seem a bit familiar.” I lied.
“Well take a minute and think about it.” She encouraged.
I tried to shake myself out of whatever was happening to me. “I will need to make some calls. I think maybe I know how we can identify her, but it may take a little time. Do you mind if I stay with her?” I thought for sure she would bring up security and safety concerns, but she shrugged.
“Sure, I’ll just step out to the nurses station. Let me know if you need anything.” She walked away, and my first thought was that I needed to get the girl moved. What if I was the person that she ran away from? Did they have any security in that hospital? No protocols to ensure the safety of their patients? Nobody even checked my ID. I knew right then, I couldn’t leave the girl until I knew she was safe. I had my laptop, so I made it into a chair and started it up as I called Creed on my business phone. My personal phone was still quiet, but that wasn’t much of a surprise. It wasn’t like my mom or sister would call unless there was an emergency.
“What’s up?” Creed asked.
“I am with the girl and of course I have no idea who she is, but there are a few clues. I’m about to look through the files you downloaded for me, but I have a question. Who do you know, or who did you try to recruit that might have been involved in any way with religious cults here out west? Former military that might have been involved with helping people escape cults?”
“Hmm, that does sound familiar. Let me dig into these files along with you. What makes you think she is a cult escapee?”
“She was wearing the type of clothing I remember when Warren Jeffs was in the news. Oversized eighties style dress with puffy sleeves, large bow in her long hair, and she was wearing a cross necklace. She was carrying a few grand in an envelope and that’s all she had on her.”
He paused. “Arizona. There’s an influx of sex trafficking in that area. Is she of Latino descent?”
“No, she’s about as Caucasian as they come, but that doesn’t mean much. She has fair skin and copper brown hair. Obviously, I haven’t looked at her eye color but I’m hoping her doctor will stop by. I’d like to know if she has any distinguishing marks without being kicked out of this place for examining her myself.”
I scrolled through some of our past recruits. They were all ones that turned down our offers, choosing their families over their careers.
“It sounds so damn familiar. For some reason, I’m thinking of a woman, not a man, and she turned us down to keep a low profile in that area to work on her own cases independently. I think I remember her saying she was raised in a cult and her best escape was to join the armed forces. I just can’t remember her name, it was a few years ago.” He was hopefully on to something. “I’ll filter to only show possible recruits in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Utah and California.”
I did the same. One file after another only showed women that wouldn’t fit the criteria. “Maybe expand to include men?” I asked.
“Nope, bingo, I’ve got her. Open the file of Anna Marie Allred.” He instructed.
“Allred, that sounds familiar.”
“Look up that last name.” He said.
I did and found what I expected. “Yep, she was raised in a polygamous community in Utah, I presume. It’s a common Mormon last name. Wasn’t Jeffs a fundamental Mormon or something like that?”
“I believe so.” He sounded distracted so he must have been reading something. “Yeah, that’s her, and I bet she can tell us exactly who the girl was escaping from. I’ll give her a call when I hop off here. Did they say what they think happened to her?”
“She has a minor head injury with a small brain bleed. They are medicating her to keep her asleep to escape the pain she would be in if she was conscious. They found glass in her hair, leading them to believe she was in a car accident. The authorities are searching the area for a crash site. Do you think you could call Wrenly’s dad and get some information on any cops in the area that’s involved with their MC? I can’t take the chance of getting kicked out of her room. Their security here is pretty much non-existent and I think it would be best if I camped out here until we know she’s safe. They led me straight to her and didn’t even ask for identification.”
“Yeah, that would probably be best if that’s the situation. I’ll call Allred then contact Clint about getting you some backup. I’ll also have the team start doing some digging. Go ahead and send me a picture of her, get her fingerprint, and I’m hoping you have a DNA swab? If necessary and we come to a dead end, we can have some genealogy testing done with it. At least to narrow down some family members.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll do some research through our scanner database and see if there were any car crashes reported in the area. The dimwits around here are probably not checking and just driving around in circles. The social worker said the blood on her was dried when they found her, so she may have traveled a bit of a distance from it.”
We ended the call, and I took a photo of the girl then touched her delicate hand to get a fingerprint on my phone app, but as soon as I touched her a zap went through me, like literal electric static, and I could even see it. “Damn.” It actually hurt a little. I got the fingerprint and sent both to Creed, then reached into my bag for the DNA kit. I had to fit the swab beside a tube in her mouth and hoped it wouldn’t disturb the test having a foreign object that had been touching her inside cheek. I had it done before the doctor walked into the room and was already seated with my laptop.