Chapter 57
I SPENT MUCH of the day huddled at my desk with Alain Creasy, going over everything we’d gathered so far. By everything, I meant theories, evidence, and reports. Alain’s grasp of English was astonishing. He read reports faster than I did. He had insights that could only come from vast experience.
His tortoiseshell reading glasses were held around his neck by a homemade band of white fabric.
There were tiny drawings and French words written on the fabric in blue ink.
He noticed me looking at it and said, “My granddaughters made it for me for Christmas. It may be a little tattered, but it makes me happy.”
“I think it’s wonderful. So personal and fun.”
After a while, he turned away from my computer monitor. His insights were making me reevaluate how I had viewed human trafficking, which was as something done by a single criminal organization. Almost like a corporation with employees.
Alain said, “Perhaps that is more how a drug cartel works, but trafficking people is more… vague. It is more likely that procurers are paid for each girl they deliver. To disperse the people and cover more areas.”
“Wouldn’t that mean there are more people who can give them up to the police if they get in trouble?”
Alain nodded as he took off his reading glasses.
“True, but my experience says that these groups are careful not to tell their stringers anything of value. Usually, only one person meets with them. If something happens and they go to the police, they really can’t bring down the entire organization.
At best, one person will be identified, who will then disavow any knowledge of human trafficking. It’s a very difficult situation.”
I said, “Maybe that explains the murders. If there’s no quality control over who they hire, what if one of the stringers also has homicidal tendencies?”
Alain appeared to think about this carefully. “That’s a keen insight. I can see how you have risen so far in your profession.” He nodded like he agreed with his own comment.
I had to add in a reality check. “That is if the bodies and the missing girls are even related.”
“I’m also afraid that the homeless population offers a wide array of potential targets.”
“So far, only one of the victims seems to have been homeless. Missy Harris from Palo Alto never told her mother she was homeless, but our research shows she stayed at several homeless shelters in the weeks leading up to her disappearance.”
“It is the same everywhere in the world. Criminals prey on the weak. It appears as if each of these girls had troubled home lives that left them vulnerable.”
“I agree. But what can we do to stop it?”
“My dear Lindsay, no one will ever be able to stop it. Human trafficking has been going on as long as humans have roamed the earth. What we need to figure out is how to stop this group. And recover some of these missing girls. I sincerely hope they are still nearby. Once they end up in a place like Russia or some countries in the Middle East, we have very little chance of ever rescuing them.”
That didn’t make me feel any better.