Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
River, Eli and Maren sat at the conference table with Emmett at the head of it. The dogs had been left in kennels at the training center.
“I think everyone who can be here is.” Emmett glanced over at the screen where Lizzie’s and Autumn’s heads were visible along with Trevor Slate, a tall, dark-eyed officer who lived near Colorado Springs.
Emmett spoke up. “We’re glad to have River fully onboard now that Elsie has been returned safe and sound to her mother.”
Several of the officers whispered congratulations.
“I couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help,” said River.
Emmett cleared his throat. “It’s always good when a child is found safe.
That having been said, I need to give everyone an update on where we are with the baby trafficking case.
New information has come in that will determine the direction of our investigation.
The clock is ticking for finding Mia, so we need to move on this. ”
“I’m glad to be back and able to give a hundred percent,” said River. Maybe if he focused on this investigation, he could shake the intense sense of loss that he felt.
“Glad to have you on board,” said Trevor from the screen.
Emmett shuffled the papers in front of him. “As you all know, we’ve been homing in on the free clinics here in Denver because we know that Gayle Gorman visited one.”
From the screen, Lizzie spoke up. “We questioned the staff at each of the clinics to see if they recognized Gayle or the other two victims.”
Autumn spoke from the screen as well. “We also wanted to know if staff remembered anyone approaching any of the young women who frequented the clinic, offering to help them.”
“Did you pinpoint the clinic where Gayle went?” River shifted his weight in his chair as the memory of Lydia and Elsie hugging him floated through his brain.
“Yes,” said Emmett.
“But she only went there once,” added Lizzie.
“One of the leads that I need to advise you all of is that, in the course of questioning staff at that same clinic, a receptionist remembered a high-end silver SUV with a man and a woman sitting inside. It struck her as odd because the two of them never got out of the vehicle. They sat there for quite a while. She’s pretty sure no one came to the SUV, either. ”
River tried to focus on what Emmett was saying, but the memory of Lydia and Elsie holding his hands flashed through his mind. “So, like they were watching the parking lot and who was coming and going from the clinic?”
“Exactly,” said Emmett. “The receptionist didn’t have a clear view of the two of them and could only say that the man had light blond hair.”
“That’s not much to go on,” said River. “No license plate or anything?”
“I did that interview,” said Lizzie. “The receptionist only brought up the SUV when pressed about unusual things happening in the last few months. What struck her as off was the amount of time they were in the parking lot. The only thing she was sure about where the SUV was concerned was the color.”
Trevor ran his fingers through his tousled brown hair. “So, no one at any of the local clinics where the respective victims lived recognized Gayle or Jenny or Nina? Only this one free clinic here in Denver?”
Emmett shook his head. “These girls may not have been seeking medical attention because of the shame they felt or the expense. They may have been snatched off the street just like Mia was.”
“Jordan said that his sister Jenny never said if she was getting medical help, though he encouraged her to do so,” said Autumn. Because of her engagement to the first victim’s half brother, this case was deeply personal to the blond K-9 officer.
“Dodger told us that his wife took Mia to her OB/GYN appointments, but it wasn’t at a free clinic.
” Emmett shook his head. “I can’t emphasize enough how much this is tearing Dodger and Clara up.
The one blessing is that he shared with me that Mia had started attending church with them and was really leaning hard on her newfound faith. ”
“At least that’s something,” said River. “So where is our focus going to be? Finding the SUV with so little to go on or the people inside feels like a rabbit trail.”
“It’s just something to keep in mind,” said Emmett. “It could mean nothing, and it could be the key to this case. We’re still dealing with a lot of puzzle pieces.”
River wondered about the two people in the SUV. Could they be the nurse and doctor who performed the deliveries or was someone else involved who watched clinics for vulnerable pregnant women?
Emmett spoke up. “Just as a reminder, Eva is combing databases right now to give the task force some leads on medical personnel who may have lost their license or otherwise have a reason to engage in illegal activity. Once we pull up some possibilities, I’ll send a couple of officers out to question known associates and colleagues at the medical facilities where they worked. ”
“And what about Erin and Edward McGrath, that couple that adopted a baby and then left the country without explanation? We still need to find the three babies who were already born,” said Maren. “Any news on them?”
River’s jaw clenched. Maren’s question reminded him that vulnerable infants still needed to be found.
“We’re still trying to find them for questioning.” After Emmett spoke, he wrapped up the meeting.
On her way out the door, Maren put her hand on River’s shoulder. “Eli and I are headed down to get our partners and check out the new K-9 trainees, why don’t you come with us?”
River rose from his chair.
As they made their way down the hallway to the stairwell, Maren commented, “You seemed a little distracted in there.”
“Did I?” He opened the door so Maren could go ahead of him down the stairs. Was it that obvious that he couldn’t get Elsie and Lydia out of his head?
Eli was behind them on the stairs. “I noticed that, too. You asked good questions, but you kept staring out the window, like something was on your mind.”
River didn’t know if it was a good thing or bad thing that the other task force members were tuned in to what was going on with him.
Once inside the facility, they found the lead trainer, Dev Singh, working two German shepherd puppies through an agility course.
Dev was a tall, fit man with salt-and-pepper hair and a beard.
Already a grandfather, he was set to retire soon, and the facility was looking at three candidates to replace him, all of whom had excellent qualifications.
Each candidate had someone connected to the task force rooting for them.
Christian Dane was Emmett’s cousin. Though their relationship had been strained, Emmett was trying to remedy that.
Emmett didn’t have much family since his mother had been found, strangled, in a river when he was only eighteen.
His mother’s drowning was the reason Emmett had chosen water rescue with his Newfoundland, Gemma, as his K-9 specialty.
The other two candidates were Tanya Fielding, who worked at the facility and was Dev’s protégé, and Jacob Wexley, who was a friend of Dodger’s.
One of the German shepherd puppies made his way over a hurdle and up a ramp. The pup focused on Dev when he gave a hand command. That must be Chance, the dog who had been doing well in the program. The other puppy barked at some unseen foe and then lay down inside a tunnel.
Maren reached in the tunnel and lifted the dog out. “You must be Trooper. I heard you had focusing issues.” The pup offered her doggy kisses as his little body wiggled.
“I don’t know about that guy,” said Dev. “Great personality but totally doesn’t have the drive we like to see in K-9s.”
Chance finished the course and sat looking up at Dev, who tossed him a snack. “I’m thinking this guy might be good at suspect apprehension.”
“It’s still early in training.” River stepped over to where Maren still held Trooper as he snuggled against her neck. “This guy still might turn things around.”
“Sure,” said Eli. “Dogs can change patterns of behavior just like people can.”
Eli’s words sank in. Ever since Noah’s death, River had seen himself as unworthy of keeping a child safe. With that fear driving his actions, he’d put up a barrier to ever thinking he could have a child of his own. Maybe his pattern of thinking needed to change.
Dev excused himself, calling after the puppies to follow. Even though Maren put Trooper down, he had to be called three times before he lined up behind his brother. The pups were still too small for their big paws and floppy ears. Trooper had one ear that was still crooked.
“Dog’s grow and change, don’t they?” River’s voice drifted off as he thought again about why Lydia and Elsie were foremost in his mind. “They can learn and grow and so can people.” Lost in thought, River’s voice drifted off. Could he change the way he viewed himself?
Maren stood on the other side of him. “You gonna tell us what’s on your mind?”
River’s cheeks heated. “It’s Lydia and Elsie. The case is over, but I can’t seem to get them out of my head.”
“You care about them?”
Maybe more, thought River. Maybe I love them. “I spent so much time with Lydia under such trying circumstances. She’s an incredible lady.”
Maren leaned in and tapped her elbow against his arm. “So maybe there is something worth exploring between you two.”
“It seems to me that if you feel something for her, you shouldn’t just walk away.” His voice swelled with emotion as he stepped closer to River. “When you find true love, you need to hold on tight to it.”
Eli, of all people, understood immense loss.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” The three of them walked over to the kennels to get their respective dogs. Being with Lydia meant loving Elsie, too, and protecting them both from whatever life threw their way. He had a lot to think about.
* * *
“Elsie, take off your hiking boots so Mama can clean them.” The girl sat on the sofa with a menagerie of stuffed animals.