24. Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter twenty-four
M ason walked into Nick’s office with two cups of coffee and a white bakery bag. He and Lyric were staying in Montana a little while longer. Mason had helped Nick and Agent Hayward conduct the interviews with the kids yesterday, going over how they were kidnapped and what had happened to them after. Each of the kids astounded them with their ability to recall the names of the people who’d hurt them and what had been done to them in basic terms. They didn’t have first and last names for all of their abusers, but that’s where the investigation into Javier and his contacts and customers would fill in the blanks.
Today, though, he and Mason would concentrate on Stacy’s case and trying to get Mrs. Lopez to tell them where her son, Javier, was hiding.
“How’s the leg and shoulder?” Mason asked, handing over a coffee cup and the bag.
Nick peeked inside and found a chocolate croissant and a glazed donut. “Thanks. The leg aches and the shoulder sucks. The meds help.” Though both injuries still throbbed and his ribs reminded him that he’d been shot with every breath.
“Sounds about right. Lyric and I are planning on heading home tomorrow, unless you need me to stay.”
Nick shook his head. “I’ve got my interview end of day with IA about the shooting, then I’m on leave.”
“Aria will be happy to hear that. You two can spend some quality time together and get things back on track.”
Nick wished he could just go to Aria. But… “You forget that I have a death threat looming.”
“Fuck.” Mason took a sip of his coffee and eyed him. “So what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to Wyoming. I contacted the realtor and confirmed I closed on the house. I’m going to move in and lie low while Agent Hayward and the team go after Javier. He shot a fed; that means he’s our number one most wanted at the moment. There’s nowhere he can go that we won’t be looking for him.” And with all the resources the FBI was using to find Javier, he’d be in custody soon.
“Good. I want that motherfucker, too.”
Nick appreciated his brother’s enthusiasm for justice. Nick wanted to make sure Javier didn’t hurt anyone else either. He polished off his food, feeling better for it and the caffeine kick. “You ready?”
“Let’s do this. Who’s up first?”
“Mrs. Lopez.” Nick remembered how feisty she was going after him.
Mason rubbed his hands together. “Moms know everything. Let’s get her to talk.”
Nick doubted Mrs. Lopez would cooperate with him after he shot and killed her daughter. But he did have some leverage with her.
They walked down the hall to the room where Mrs. Lopez had been brought after spending another night in a cell.
Nick opened the door and stepped in. Mason followed but crossed the room and took up an intimidating position closer to Mrs. Lopez’s seat. Her lawyer didn’t seem fazed, but Mrs. Lopez eyed his bulky brother with the tattoos and death glare like she was facing her executioner.
He tried for a businesslike tone, even though he wanted to rage at her for keeping those kids in her cellar. “Good morning, Mrs. Lopez. I suspect you had a miserable night on a cot in a cell with your arthritis. I hope you were given your meds this morning and you’re feeling better.”
She rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. “Like you care.”
“I do care. That’s why I saved the children being held hostage and used as sex slaves by your children.”
“Those accusations are unfounded.” Daniel, her lawyer, defended her.
“I have statements from the four children, who were regularly abused, physically and emotionally.”
Daniel interjected again. “Mrs. Lopez certainly didn’t touch or even interact with the children.”
“They all saw Mrs. Lopez at one time or another while they were locked in her cellar. More importantly, she saw them, too. She knew they were there and did nothing about it. I found the kids stashed in a dark, dank, cold cellar with no blankets, food, or water. They were inadequately dressed for the temperatures, which got as low as forty-five degrees at night, making the kids have to huddle together to share body heat to keep warm. Mrs. Lopez showed no good will toward the children at all. She didn’t attempt to rescue them, let alone provide a blanket. She was as heartless as her own children.” Nick glared across the table at her.
Mrs. Lopez finally lifted her gaze to his. “I couldn’t.”
“Because your son is a monster? He wasn’t there most of the time. He only checked on his product a few times a month, whereas your daughter was in charge of feeding them and pimping them out to her and Javier’s clients.” He hated talking about the kids in those terms, but that was basically what happened and it made his stomach turn. “Toby had a spiral fracture to his upper arm. You know how that happens? Someone twisted his arm until it snapped. The boy…eight years old…was in excruciating pain. All he got was some mild over-the-counter pain reliever that did next to nothing to help. He needed a doctor. A hospital. Instead, he wailed all night, crying in those little girls’ arms as they held him and pleaded at the top of their lungs for someone to come help them. All you did was turn the TV up to drown out their cries.” His hands fisted on the table. All he wanted to do was wrap them around her neck and shake her.
Mrs. Lopez showed no remorse. “If I did something, he would be very mad.”
“Do you think he cares if you end up in a cell for the rest of your life? Because that’s what’s going to happen. You are an accessory to his crimes.”
Daniel leaned forward. “I’m sure there’s a deal to be made here.”
“Why?” Mason asked, staring down Mrs. Lopez. “We have her dead to rights on this. And she doesn’t seem apologetic, let alone ready to help stop her son.”
She locked her arms around herself more tightly. “I don’t know anything.”
“All your family knows how to do is lie and destroy other people’s lives,” Mason spat out. “You deserve a cold cell and the loneliness of knowing he’s not going to do a damn thing to save you.”
Her head snapped up and her sharp gaze met Mason’s. “He won’t let anything happen to me.”
Nick laughed, though it held no humor. “He was there. He could have taken you with him. Instead, he left and saved himself. He knew you’d be arrested and he didn’t care.”
“He’s going to come after you for killing my Julia.”
“You think that means he cares. All that is, is a way for him to save his reputation. To show everyone that he’s a cold-blooded bastard, who will take out anyone who comes for him. So if you know what’s good for you, tell us where he is and maybe we’ll go easy on you.”
“We want an actual deal. In writing,” Daniel added.
Nick stared across the table at Mrs. Lopez. “What will it be? Save yourself, like he’d do if he was in your seat? Or save him?”
“I don’t know anything.” Not a single ounce of conviction tinged her words.
Nick seethed. “Then enjoy your new accommodations.”
Daniel turned to his client. “Let’s talk before you lose any chance to bargain.”
She shook her head.
Nick stood. “I can appreciate the fact that you want to protect your son. I have a mom just like that. But in this case, you’re letting a monster roam free to keep hurting children. That’s not noble. That’s not being a good mother. A good mother would want her child to own up to his crimes and suffer the consequences so he never hurts anyone else again. Instead you’re allowing him to roam free and profit off the children he hurts. You’re letting him feed pedophiles’ deviant needs. You are making yourself as bad and complicit as him. So either you help me stop him, or you suffer the consequences of his actions.” Nick didn’t know how else to get through to her.
“Listen to what he’s saying,” her attorney pleaded with her. “You don’t want to spend the rest of your life in prison. Not for this. The other inmates will not look kindly on you for hurting children.”
Even Nick hadn’t thought to play that card, but the lawyer was right. Mrs. Lopez would be a target once she was transferred from her holding cell to prison.
She looked across the table at him. “He moves around a lot. I never know where he’ll be. I don’t know all the places he’d go. But he owns a bar and a motel. He has a cell phone that he keeps on all the time in case I need him.”
Mason pulled out a notebook from his back pocket and a pen. “Write it down. If it pans out, it’ll go a long way to reducing your charges.”
Daniel tapped his finger next to the notebook. “I want her charges reduced to misdemeanors.”
Nick shook his head. “Only if her information specifically leads to his arrest. If not, we’ll reduce some charges, but not all.”
Daniel nodded for Mrs. Lopez to go ahead. “That’s fair.”
And better than Mrs. Lopez deserved after neglecting those children and saving her ass and her son’s over helping those poor innocent souls.
He thought of Stacy and how she had no one to go home to. She didn’t deserve what her father and grandmother did to her, let alone the bastards who assaulted her.
This whole case made his stomach turn and his heart bleed.
Mrs. Lopez scratched out the name of the bar, motel, and one other place her son owned, along with the cell phone number. She slid the paper across the table to him. “I will never forgive you for killing my daughter.”
“She tried to kill me. You want to blame someone for that, look to your son. This is all because of him.” Nick stood and headed for the door. He was done with Mrs. Lopez and the guilt she wanted to lay at his feet. He mentally kicked it away. He hadn’t wanted to kill Julia. He’d thought she was holding out on her brother’s location. He never suspected her of helping her brother, until she used that cart to sneak something out of the resort.
Now he knew Toby had been hidden inside. With a broken arm. In agony.
Time to talk to the bastard who hurt him.