Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Michelle couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
This wasn’t like when she didn’t believe Fletch’s compliments.
She enjoyed hearing them and while she didn’t totally agree, hearing them was nice.
She was more than pleased that he saw her the way he did.
Because to be honest, she hasn’t been at her best the last few days.
What Fletch was saying about her parents was impossible or at least highly improbable.
“You’re saying my parents were agents for this no-name agency while they pretended to be normal parents.”
“I don’t know what kind of parents they were.
It’s why I asked you about your childhood.
I didn’t know them then, but if you thought you had everyday parents, they were very good at hiding what they did.
I never wanted what they did—to live a double life.
It’s risky in its own way. You were a liability for them.
If they had been discovered…” He inhaled.
“Denny called me to meet with him the night he was killed. He was worried about Ralph Perkins.”
“Did he want your help?”
“Not with Perkins. He called me because of you. That’s why I was nearby when the fire started. It’s how I knew you were there. Hell, I was about to run into the blaze when I saw you.”
“How did you see me and the sheriff didn’t?”
“Sometimes there aren’t answers. Maybe there’s a higher being. Maybe your dad got one last wish. I told him I’d take care of you if anything went awry.”
Michelle tried to make heads or tails out of what he was saying. “Can you tell me more about what they did? What you do?”
“I’m not supposed to, but I will. From what I’ve heard, Tracy was a master at navigating the web even before it was a thing. She had computer skills that the NSA would have wanted if they knew about her.”
A smile tugged at Michelle’s lips. She’d never thought of her mother as a crusader for justice.
She had always just been her mom. Michelle recalled her mother’s death and her smile faded.
“My mom died in a house explosion on the night I came home for holiday break my sophomore year.” She was recalling.
“I was disappointed she wasn’t home. Dad wasn’t either.
” Her pulse kicked up. “Could I have been killed in that explosion? Was that related to this agency?”
His dark eyes flashed to her and back to the highway. A string of small reflectors lined the asphalt, highlighting the road. “If you had been there…then yes. As for it being related to the agency, Denny suspected.”
Fletch’s answer gave her a sinking sensation in her stomach. The cheeseburger she’d recently consumed churned. “You don’t think it was the gas company’s fault—or mine?” she added.
“It wasn’t your fault. You wouldn’t do that. Denny said the accusations were baseless. He couldn’t tell them the truth. He couldn’t tell them that he thought your home was targeted due to their work with the agency.” Fletch swallowed. “It was one of the reasons he chose to move to Massachusetts.”
She sighed. “I thought it was because I reminded him too much of Mom. I always got the feeling that while he loved me, it was difficult for him to look at me.”
Fletch shook his head. “It was the agency, Shelly. Denny said he lost too much to the agency. He didn’t want to lose you too.”
Her voice carried a faraway tone. “I wish he would have told me.”
“He couldn’t. I can’t.”
Michelle turned toward Fletch. “Then why are you?”
“Because Denny was targeted. We believe… Denny did a lot of the research...he was searching for a possible network responsible for many of the abductions.”
“A network?”
“They’re happening faster and neater. Professionals.
This network is large. Apprehending or stopping the kidnappers would only be a hiccup in their system.
We want those at the top, those making millions or more by selling people.
It takes individuals at all levels for a trafficking network to succeed. ”
“I’ve written a little about this.”
Fletch nodded. “You have. Most of what you’ve written is damn close to reality.
In fiction, it’s easier to have fewer players.
For one, it’s easier for your readers to follow.
Denny’s learned over the years that there are the abductions, such as Timothy Wells.
There are many other players. Social workers identify at-risk children and teens, especially ones without a support system.
Law enforcement comes across a homeless mother with two babies.
They all go missing and no one notices.”
Michelle’s nose scrunched. “I’d rather think it’s one stoppable person who’s responsible.”
“The people who need to be brought down are the ones with the money. The ones paying for the yachts and private flights.”
“That makes sense.”
“Denny suspected that Sheriff Perkins is part of that network, a cog in the wheel, you could say. You were right about your dad wanting to help Timothy Wells.”
That simple sentence revived Michelle’s faith in her father.
“Denny’s obsession was human trafficking, especially children,” Fletch said.
“He believed the Wells boy was taken and is currently being moved via yacht to Nova Scotia. He’d reported his findings to our boss at the agency.
If your dad’s hard work pays off, Timothy should be reunited with his family soon.
Hell, today’s Thursday. He could already be saved or on his way to a new country. ”
Michelle blinked, feeling the burn from salty tears she didn’t want to shed. “Dad was a hero. Wait, this network doesn’t kill children, as in Broken Promises?”
“It’s an imperfect operation. Some end up in the wrong hands—they don’t make it out alive. Some never adapt to the new life. Their whereabouts are unknown and unfathomable.”
“Dad was the good guy.” Thinking anything else was absurd. “Why would that get him killed?”
“If Perkins is part of a bigger network with powerful people at the top and he thought your dad was a risk to that endeavor, he’d kill him.”
Michelle tried to come to terms with what she was being told. Her questions continued. “I’ve been all through Dad’s house. He only has an iPad. That’s not exactly high tech.”
“There was an old shed about seven hundred yards behind the house.” Fletch shook his head. “Denny transformed it into a technological hub with a computer system your mom would have been proud to work.”
“Do you think the sheriff will find it?”
He pressed his lips together. “No. My contact was supposed to clear it out. Ralph may have had his suspicions about Denny, but if his setup is found, it could lead a talented cybersecurity person to the agency. We can’t risk that.”
“Who is your contact?”
“He’s one of the few that I trust.”
“Will I meet him?”
“Eventually. Tonight, like I said before, I’m going to take us to my place.
It’s not much—an apartment in the complex.
Think of it like a base. Sometimes it’s easier to equate the agency with a branch of the military.
” Fletch shrugged. “I spend a lot of time traveling. This apartment is my home base, I guess you could say.” He took a deep breath.
“Shelly, taking you to the agency is a one-way trip.”
The small hairs on the back of her neck rose to attention. “What does that mean?”
“If you’re willing to stay and if the powers that be agree you can be an asset, Michelle Holdcraft will disappear. She already has.”
“And do what? How could I possibly be an asset? I’m not a retired cop or a professional researcher.”
“I would disagree with the second. You research for your writing. Think of it as researching an idea for a book, but in this case, it’s real life.”
“What if I say no? What if I say, let me out at the nearest stop and I’ll…”
“Do what?”
The emptiness in her chest opened to a chasmic void. “I can’t go home.” It wasn’t a question. “You’re saying that I would need to start over.”
“Witness protection is an option, but you can’t divulge the agency.” He reached over to her thigh and squeezed. “I’m sorry, Chell. I made that decision for you. I should have talked to you about this sooner.”
You think? She didn’t say the words aloud, but they were there.
Leaving her life.
Michelle thought through everything she’d miss. It boiled down to her father, but he was already gone. There were her friends and her writing. Could she still write? Those thoughts and more swam through her brain. Michelle was quiet for a few minutes. “Dad’s passion was saving children?”
“Oh.” Fletch’s voice became more animated.
“He could rattle on about statistics for hours about missing children. Over 460,000 children go missing a year in the US. While the majority of those children are found safe, that still leaves hundreds who are never heard from again. When you broaden the statistics to adults, it’s much higher.
Technically, an eighteen-year-old is classified as an adult.
It’s not only in the US where children go missing.
Consider war zones, migration, and weather devastation, people go missing and no one notices or has the means to report them. ”
Would she be missed?
Michelle pushed that thought away and concentrated on her father.
A grin slowly formed. “You’re right. He did talk about it.
I think I used some of his stories in creating fiction.
I loved to hear him tell stories about his time on the force.
I was so proud of what he did.” She shrugged.
“I don’t think I could do what Dad did, but if whoever is in power will allow me to stay, I’d like to try to help. ”
“The first step is convincing Peterson.”
As they traveled, Michelle worked to settle her nerves. Her life was now in the hands of a person she didn’t know. And there was nothing she could do to change it.
The clock on the dashboard read one o’clock Friday morning when they entered Petroleum County in the nondescript black Ford truck Fletch had secured. The license plate was from a junkyard, and the truck was streaked with the salt and sand they used to keep the ice off the roads.