Kingston Kidnappings (What Happens In Vegas Book 3) by Matt Lincoln (classic books for 10 year olds txt) 📕

on, I had to live there and do what they said. He took me to the door, and he made me go inside while he and the Andersons talked. I heard him tell them that I could speak English really well, and they seemed happy about that. Then he went away, and the Andersons took me to the laundry room. They said that was my room now.” Her voice broke as she struggled to get to the end of the story without crying.

“You are a very brave young lady,” I assured her as I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “And you have been a very big help to me.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to find the other children?” She asked tearfully. “I was so worried when I woke up, and they weren’t in the car anymore.”

“I’ll find them,” I promised. It was a risky habit I’d gotten into the past few days. Any experienced agent knew that it was never a good idea to promise anything because no matter how brave, or strong, or skilled you were, there was always the chance of failure. However, looking into her large, shining eyes, I couldn’t find it in me to let her down.

“Thank you, Agent Naomi,” she smiled with tears in her eyes.

“Why don’t you go and play with the other children now?” Irie suggested. I’d gotten so caught up in my conversation with Gabrielle that I’d almost forgotten she was here too. Gabrielle nodded and walked across the room to join the other kids. “Do you really think you’ll be able to find the other children?”

“Yes,” I answered immediately. “Now that I’m aware this is happening, I couldn’t bear to live with myself, knowing that there was another child out there we’d missed. I won’t be at peace until I know they’re all safe and sound.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Irie smiled. “These children need someone in their corner. Do you think what Gabrielle said will help you in your investigation?”

“Yes,” I answered seriously. “I believe it will.”

14

Charlie

“The hair salon was a wash,” Miranda grumbled as she strode into the office with Junior a few steps behind her. The rest of us had already gathered in a group in the bullpen as we discussed what Patel had learned from interviewing the kids. “Didn’t seem like anyone there knew anything or was involved in any way. We even staked the place out for a minute, but we didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. My guess is that the supplier just used the address randomly. That being said, I still think it’s someone local. They’d have to be to choose a location that would obviously make it impossible for us to track them.”

“Then our next point of focus will be the two other numbers that the supplier was in contact with,” Wallace declared. “Gardner, you said you had names and addresses for those, correct?”

“About that,” Fiona started meekly. “I dug a little deeper into the addresses, and it turns out that one of them is definitely a legitimate address, but the other one is for a residential apartment complex that just finished construction and doesn’t have any residents yet. I’m working on tracking the correct location as quickly as I can.”

“That’s fine,” Wallace nodded. “I’ll have Chapman and Castillo check out the one address we have tomorrow in the meantime. Hills and Patel, Nelson is ironing out the details for your flight to Jamaica as we speak. You’ll leave the day after tomorrow. Does anyone have any questions?” His question was met with only silence. “Good. It’s been a long day. Everyone go home and be sure to get a good night’s rest.”

By now, it was nearly eight in the evening, and the sun had long since gone down. I glanced out the window as I trudged my way out of the office. The lights of the city glimmered below against the inky blackness of the night, and I knew that just beneath the dazzling glamour was a thick and grimy layer of wickedness. I shook the thought away as I left the building and walked into the parking lot. I didn’t need to bring work home with me.

“Hey,” Miranda smirked as she bumped her shoulder roughly against mine. There was more force behind the impact than I would have expected from someone so slender, and I sometimes had to remind myself that Miranda used to be a Marine. “You okay? You look about really to collapse.”

“Just a long day,” I responded. “I don’t know how you’re so upbeat after what we had to deal with today.”

“Well, my choices are either laugh or cry,” she shrugged. “And no one wants to see the second option.”

“I guess you have a point,” I chuckled.

“Yep,” she hooked her arm around mine. “And besides. I didn’t really do anything. You and Junior and Naomi have been getting to have all the fun the past few days. I just sat at my desk all day and then went and harassed some hairstylists.”

“It really hasn’t been fun,” I groused.

“You know what I mean,” she rolled her eyes. “It’s weird being on my own in the office all day. And boring. Fiona’s there, but she’s always holed up in her office. Wallace and Nelson always have their secret club meetings in Wallace’s office. I literally spent an hour watching videos on the internet at my desk this morning, and no one even noticed.”

“Really?” I laughed.

“Yes,” she sighed. “It was kind of fun, I guess. But I’d honestly rather be out in the field than just sitting at my desk slacking off.”

I was about to tease her about how often I’d caught her slacking off when a clattering noise pulled my attention. I turned toward the source of the sound and caught sight of a man in a brown uniform near the front of the building struggling to pick a pile of packages off of the ground. He smiled sheepishly at us as he noticed