Chapter Twenty-Two
After Sam had sent Neveah home to pack for her overnight trip, she went out to the pit to see what the others were doing. Matt and Cam were huddled around Cameron’s computer. Gonzo was working on the warrants, and Freddie was writing updates to the reports on the Carver case.
“What can I do, peeps?”
“We got the warrant, and Walters did the dump on Carver’s phone,” Cameron said. “We’re dividing the data to track down the contacts, starting with the local ones.”
“I can do some, if you want.”
“We’ve got it, but we’ll let you know if we need help.”
“Sounds good.”
As she turned to return to her office, Captain Malone came in from the hallway that led to the morgue.
Sam met his gaze.
He shook his head.
Her heart dropped into her stomach. “No.”
“I’m going to fucking murder that son of a bitch Mayfield.”
Sam had never seen the captain look more furious or heartbroken.
“What he did to that little girl…”
As her mind raced with a million thoughts—primarily that she’d have to tell Tracy this news, and Tracy would have to tell Ethan—Sam took the captain by the arm and led him into her office, closing the door and nudging him toward one of her visitor chairs.
She sat next to him, keeping a hand on his arm.
He exhaled and dropped his head into his hands, his shoulders shaking with quiet sobs.
Tears rolled silently down her face as she absorbed the news as well as the captain’s emotional reaction, which broke her heart all over again. Thinking of Luna’s parents and everyone who’d loved her was almost more than she could bear.
“She was just a baby,” Malone said many minutes later.
“A baby with her whole life ahead of her.” He wiped the tears from his face and made a visible effort to pull himself together.
“There were three more storage units with kids in them,” Malone said.
“Thirty-two girls waiting to be sent who knows where.”
“Good God. Are they okay?”
“From what Emergency Response reported, they’re mostly in decent condition, but of course they’re terrified after being held for who knows how long in dark storage units with no food, water or toilets. They said the smell was unholy.”
“This tracks with what the informant told Freddie, about Asher Mayfield being a major trafficker.”
“Yeah.” Malone took a deep breath and blew it out.
“What do you need?”
“SVU and Crime Scene have taken the lead at the storage units. They’re working on getting medical care for the girls and reuniting them with their parents.
They’ve also arrested the owner of the facility as he would’ve had access to the cameras and had to have known what those units were being used for.
” He sat up straighter, took another breath and said, “Let’s get Asher Mayfield in a room. ”
“Take another minute, Cap.”
“We need to put that fucking monster in a cage for the rest of his life.”
“I understand, but we have to do this right, as you certainly know. And before we can do that, we have to get our emotions in check.”
He took a deep, shuddering breath and released it slowly. “You’re right.”
“Maybe it shouldn’t be us with Mayfield. We’re too close to it.”
The look he gave her was full of rage and heartbreak.
“We need the A team on this one. We can’t leave anything to chance.
” After another cleansing breath, he added, “I requested warrants for father-and-son DNA last night, and they came through this morning. Lindsey will take care of that after she returns from picking up Luna.”
“Should we confirm the DNA is a match before we talk to him?”
“I don’t think we need to wait for that. We’ve got enough to start with.” He ran his fingers through his wiry gray hair as he tried to find his composure. “Sorry about the outburst.”
“Please don’t be. It’s horrible.”
“How’s Ethan?”
“Tracy said they all got some rest.”
“Good to hear. I’m going to grab a shower, put on some clean clothes and get my head together.”
“Do you want me to get Charity back here?”
“Yeah, give me an hour.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Sam stayed seated after he left, undone by her friend and mentor’s despair. He was someone she counted on to always hold it together. To see him broken by a case was rare, if not unprecedented.
Freddie came in and stopped short when he found her in one of the visitor chairs. “What’s going on?”
“Luna Ahern is dead, and they found thirty-two more kids in various conditions in the other storage units.”
“Oh God, no.”
“Malone took Luna’s death hard. He just left to shower and change before we talk to Asher Mayfield.”
Freddie took the chair recently vacated by Malone. “Are you okay?”
“I’m devastated for her, her family and everyone else who loved her, as well as all the other kids and families who’ve suffered at their hands.”
“Wouldn’t we have heard about thirty-two missing kids?” Freddie asked.
“Not if they were plucked from all over the place. I honestly cannot believe the details of this entire nightmare case. I’m not going to lie—I’m shook by it.”
“I know. I am, too. Just when we think we’ve seen everything…”
“Yeah, exactly.” Sam stood, feeling weary after the lack of sleep and overload of emotions. “I need to check in with Tracy and tell her we found Luna.”
“I came to tell you that IT reported there was no other activity around Carver’s room at the time of death. We’ve been through every minute of the sixth-floor film twice, and there was nothing else. They’re looking outside the hotel now and will let us know if they find anything related.”
“Thanks for closing that loop. O’Brien’s point was well taken earlier that we can’t assume it was the wife, but all my instincts are pointing in that direction.”
“As are mine. Is Charles good to go get the phones?”
“Yeah, she’s booked and will hopefully be back late tomorrow night. She’ll be flying for the first time.”
“Oh wow. Is she okay with that?”
“She says she is.”
“You want me to go with her?”
“I appreciate that, but I’m going to let her do it. She says she can handle it, and I need to give her the chance.”
“Okay, but if you change your mind, I’ll go with her.”
“Thanks, Freddie.” She went to sit behind her desk to call Tracy while he went to the pit to report the new information to the others.
Tracy answered on the third ring. “Hey.”
“How’s it going?’
“Pretty good. The boys are being discharged this morning.”
“That’s great news.”
“Have you heard anything about Luna?”
Sam didn’t want to tell Tracy that news. “Are you with Ethan?”
“He’s in the bathroom.”
“Trace…”
“Oh God. Don’t tell me she’s dead.”
“I’m so sorry to have to tell you that.”
Tracy let out a wail full of pure distress. “Oh, Sam. What in the world? These kids are babies. She was thirteen.”
“I know. It’s horrifying.”
“Her poor mother. I talked to her last night and saw her on the news pleading for her daughter’s safe return…”
Tracy’s sobs echoed through the phone, bringing new tears to Sam’s eyes.
“Other missing kids were found, too,” Sam said as Tracy gasped, “which is the one good thing to come out of this, that they’ll be reunited with their families.”
“What does all this mean for Ethan and Tomas?” Tracy asked hesitantly. “Are they in trouble?”
“Not that I know of. From what they told us, they were used as pawns in a much larger scheme.”
“It’s unbearable. Every bit of this is truly unbearable.”
“I know, and I’m so sorry.”
“I’m enraged, Sam. I can’t imagine how I’ll stay with Mike after this.”
“Don’t say that when everything is so raw. Take some time.”
“What time do I need to recognize that he allowed something that ended up changing our lives forever, and not in a good way? If only he’d listened to me, our son would’ve had nothing to do with any of this. Now his name is permanently linked to the murder of a young girl. It’s beyond horrifying.”
“It is, but, Trace, don’t do anything you might regret later.”
“I won’t regret it. I’ve got another child to think about, too. His judgment is whacked, and it led to this. I can’t stay with him.”
Sam couldn’t picture her sister without the brother-in-law who’d been in their lives since Sam was in high school.
“I know you love him,” Tracy said.
“We all do. When I think of him, the first thing I remember is how he came into your life and Brooke’s and never blinked an eye about becoming her father.”
Tracy was crying too hard to speak for a moment. “I’ll always love him for that and a million other things… But this… I can’t live with this. I told him it was a huge mistake, and he said I was being dramatic. He wouldn’t even listen to my point of view. How do I go forward with him after that?”
“Consider this… Even if you’re not with him, he can still allow them to do things you wouldn’t approve of.”
“Not if I sue him for full custody of Ethan and Abby.”
“Tracy…”
“I have to go. The doctor is coming to talk to us.”
The line went dead. Sam held the phone in her hand for a long moment as she processed what Tracy had said. Not only did she plan to leave Mike, but she was going to sue him for full custody of the kids. What would’ve been unfathomable to her days ago was now her sister’s reality.
Freddie returned to the office. “What’s wrong?”
“I talked to Tracy just now.”
“Is Ethan okay?”
“He’s doing as well as can be expected, but Tracy… She said she’s leaving Mike and suing for custody of the kids.”
“What?”
“My feelings exactly. I can’t imagine a world without them as a couple. He’s been in my life since I was a freshman in high school. He’s… Well, he’s the big brother I never had, you know?”
Freddie closed the office door and took a seat. “I know he is. Do you think she’ll go through with it?”
“She’s so angry. I’ve never seen her like this.
Apparently, Mike totally blew her off when she expressed concerns about letting Ethan go out with his friends.
She said he was too young for that kind of responsibility, but Mike was okay with it.
And once Ethan knew that, there wasn’t much Tracy could say. ”
“Their united front was breached.”