CHAPTER FOUR
The mission to Pakistan had been a real bitch.
Eddie and the rest of his team had gotten into one hell of a firefight, during which Boone chased a scumbag trafficker into a tunnel.
The asshole tossed a grenade in his friend’s direction and set off a chain reaction that caused a major cave-in that had almost killed Boone.
His friend credited his survival to his girl, Luna. He said she appeared before him as he lay helpless in that cave and that’s what gave him the will to fight. Eddie wasn’t sure he believed in all of that woo-woo stuff, but if his friend believed it, that was all that mattered.
Eddie and the rest of the team had stayed with Boone when he was transported from Pakistan to the hospital at Ramstein and then on to the States.
As tough as it had been, they’d managed to rescue all six girls and took out a piece-of-shit, traitorous sex trafficker. Aside from his friend almost being killed, the mission had been successful.
Eddie’s plan had been to return to San Salsillo once their Pakistan op was over. But a short time after arriving back in the States, the team was called up for another urgent, dangerous rescue mission in Taiwan.
With Boone being out of commission, the team would’ve been down a man for the critical op. Eddie touched base with Mark, who told him no other girls had gone missing, assured him he had things under control, and promised to keep him in the loop if there were any updates.
Confident his friend was all over it, Eddie decided to delay his return to San Salsillo until his friend was back in action.
The Taiwan mission had been a huge success, and seven weeks after the cave-in, Boone was finally medically approved to return to work yesterday.
Eddie let Cole know he would be heading back to San Salsillo. His friend reminded him that the team was ready to support the effort however necessary. Eddie thanked him, headed to the airport, and hopped on the first flight available.
He flipped on his blinker and turned in to the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department parking lot. He parked and headed toward the main entrance.
Mark, waiting for him in the lobby, extended his hand.
“Welcome back.” Mark shook his hand, and they headed to his office. “How did it go?” He shut the door and pointed to a chair in front of his desk.
Eddie recounted some of what happened in Pakistan and Taiwan, leaving out details that were considered mission-sensitive.
“Glad all those kids are okay,” Mark said.
“Yeah, me, too.” If they’d have delayed going after them even one day, they would’ve been sucked into the dark world of sex slavery, never to be seen again. “I’ll let Cole know we’re ready.”
Eddie texted his boss, and a moment later, Mark’s computer chimed to indicate an incoming video call.
He turned the external monitor slightly so Eddie could see, then he tapped a key on his keyboard, and Cole appeared on the screen.
“Morning, Cole,” Eddie said. “This is Detective Mark Collins with the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department.”
“Nice to meet you, Detective.” Cole was in the conference room at the Dark Ops compound in Virginia, which was an hour ahead of San Salsillo. “Eddie told us a bit about what’s going on down there, and we’re ready to support you wherever you need us.”
“That’s great to hear, and please, call me Mark.” He shifted in his chair to reach for a file.
When Eddie first came down here after what happened to Violetta, Cole had volunteered the team to help out—before Eddie even had to ask. The honor and loyalty of his team, his boss, and the O’Hallerans was another reason he loved his job.
“Let me introduce you to the team.” Cole went around the large table, giving the names and a brief list of skills and specialties for each person, and they either lifted their hands or nodded in acknowledgment.
Dark Ops was a division of the highly respected O’Halleran Security International organization. The specific mission of Dark Ops was to identify, locate, and liberate victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking, and to destroy and dismantle the individuals and organizations responsible.
It was incredibly rewarding work, but it made watching over his family a bit of a challenge sometimes.
“Why don’t you bring us up to date on your investigation?” Cole sat back and turned the meeting over to Mark.
“Thanks.” Mark flipped open the file. “So far, we have four missing girls.”
“So far?” Cole sat forward.
“Each of the last four months, we’ve had a girl go missing. And with December looming, we’d like to break that streak.” He sighed, the weight of the investigation apparent on his face.
“Our first girl went missing in August, the next in September, then again in October and November. They tried to grab Eddie’s sister, and my guess is, when that failed, they turned their attention to Elizabeth Flannery, this month’s missing girl.
” Mark went on to describe what happened.
“Her parents said she went out to the backyard with their dog. Something she apparently does almost every night. They live on a fenced acre and have a big German shepherd, so they thought she would be safe. About fifteen minutes later, Mrs. Flannery stuck her head out the back door and called out to Lizzie, telling her it was time to come inside. When she didn’t answer, her mom thought she might be around the side of the house and just couldn’t hear her.
She went looking for her, but Lizzie was gone and the dog was on the ground by the fence. Apparently, it had been poisoned.”
“Son of a bitch.” Hawk, one of Eddie’s teammates, had a K9 partner, Remy, that was part of the Dark Ops team, so he had a deep appreciation and love for dogs.
“What time was that?” Cole asked.
Mark checked the file. “About seven fifteen that evening.”
“Whoever did this must’ve known that she went outside every night,” Eddie said. “And they would’ve had to act quickly to poison the dog and grab Lizzie.”
“Do you know what they gave the dog?” Hawk asked.
“The vet thought it might’ve been rat poison but couldn’t be sure, so we had some tissue and blood samples sent to our state lab,” Mark said. “Unfortunately, they’re pretty backlogged, so shit only knows when they can get to it.”
“We have our own forensics facility at our PacNW location. If you’re amenable, have your vet send samples there, and our people will get to them right away,” Cole said. “Have you found any other evidence you can send them?
“A wadded-up tissue was found near the fence in the Flannerys’ backyard.” Mark looked through the file. “And there was a pretty distinct boot print in the mud beneath Teresa Romero’s bedroom window. The only reason we got that was because their sprinklers were set to run that night.”
“Feel free to send that and any other forensic evidence you might have collected. If you get any pushback from your leadership there, let me know.” Cole would make one call to Beck O’Halleran, the man who started OSI, and the barriers would disappear.
“Dr. Beatrice Parker O’Halleran runs our forensics facility.
I’ll give her a heads-up to expect your evidence.
Go ahead and give me your cell number, and I’ll send you her contact information.
” He tapped his phone screen and entered the number Mark gave him.
The cell phone pinged on the desk, and Mark picked it up to look at the screen.
“Excellent. I’ll make sure that gets done today.” The detective set his phone down.
“Have you found any connection between the missing girls?” Cole asked.
“None. They all went to different schools, lived in different parts of town,” Mark said. “They didn’t know each other. Their parents didn’t either.”
“Interesting.” Cole rubbed his hand down the side of his beard. “I presume Eddie shared his suspicions about Rodrigo Munoz?”
“He did.” Mark chair squeaked as he sat back.
“I’ve got our tech specialist, Luna Pannikos, looking into that.” Cole took a sip from his insulated tumbler and set it down. “If he’s connected to this in any way, we’ll find out. The team will depart here tomorrow at 8 a.m. and should be there by noon at the latest.”
“Do you need any help making arrangements for accommodations?” Mark asked.
“Thanks, but Luna has arranged for vehicles and a rental house,” Cole said. “Whenever possible, we like to keep the team together.”
“Makes sense.” Mark tossed his pen onto the desk. “Anything else I can do for you guys before you get here?”
“Yeah, let your team know we come in peace. We’re not interested in taking over or stepping on anyone’s toes—unless we have to.” Cole smirked. “Last thing we need is for this to turn into some kind of dick-measuring contest.”
“Anyone involved will be made aware that you will be assisting with the investigation,” Mark said. “If you have any issues, just let me know.”
“Count on it.” Cole leaned forward. “We’ll see you tomorrow.” He ended the call.
“He’s a pretty intense guy.” Mark tapped a key, the screen saver flashed on, and he lounged back in his chair.
“You have no idea.” Eddie had known Cole for years, and the guy had actually softened a little, but only around his wife, Dulce, and their little boy, Carter.
“That’s a hell of an impressive team you’ve got there.” Mark actually sounded jealous. “Calliope looks like she belongs on a college cheerleading squad.”
“Yeah, don’t let those pigtails fool ya.
” Eddie had learned very quickly not to underestimate her.
“She was raised in the swamps of southwest Florida by her dad and grandad. She’s barely over five feet and can scurry up any tree and shoot clean through a knothole the size of a quarter from six hundred yards …
with one hand tied behind her back.” He chuckled.
“And her tongue is almost as sharp as her shooting skills.”
“Sounds … unique.” Mark straightened the papers before flipping the file shut.