Hearts and Aces (Kelsey's Burden Series Book 7) by Kaylie Hunter (dar e dil novel online reading txt) 📕

Katie walked in and set my cognac on the table before cracking another beer and dropping onto the other couch.

“Okay,” Lisa said, sitting beside Katie. “We gathered the list of possible abduction sites like liquor stores, churches, pawn shops, hair salons and at first none of them seemed likely.”

“How did you sort the lists?”

“First we narrowed by their neighborhoods,” Anne said as she pulled a list from another folder and read from it. “When you look at most of the businesses, though, either the neighborhoods had multiple options, like liquor stores on every block, or the locations were too big, like the local community college.”

“The larger places like the courthouse, college, YMCA, and social services all seemed unlikely locations to pull off abductions without witnesses,” Lisa said. “Other companies didn’t fit the profile of attracting prostitutes, like the limo company and a few nice restaurants.”

“You’d be surprised, but keep going,” I said, nodding. “That left…”

“A dental clinic,” Anne said. “They do discount dental work for pennies on the dollar for low-income patients.”

“It also made sense that the women wouldn’t be addicts,” Lisa added. “Junkies might target the clinic for drugs, but not for routine cleanings.”

“Did you run a background on the clinic?”

Anne pointed to the folder I was still holding. “They looked legit until last year when they lost their federal funding. The clinic was scheduled to close until they received a donation to keep the doors open.”

“A private donation?”

Tech nodded. “They filed the paperwork as an anonymous donation.”

I opened the file and flipped through the tax statements, quarterly financial report, a list of employees, and random news articles. The next twenty or more pages were patient names. On several pages, I saw the highlighted names of the girls who’d disappeared.

“Are all the girls on this list?”

“They all went to that clinic, yes,” Lisa said. “We can’t figure out who at the clinic is behind the kidnappings, though.” She handed me another folder. “We ran backgrounds on everyone. No one sparked an interest.”

“Who had the most to lose if the clinic closed?”

“Everyone,” Anne answered. “We originally thought only those in charge would care.”

“But it’s tough finding a good job these days,” Lisa added. “If someone was worried about paying their bills, they might’ve started the abductions.”

“What if the person responsible isn’t an employee, but scouts the clinic for girls?” Bridget asked.

“I don’t think so,” Anne said. “We had Sara hack the clinic’s appointment system. Each of the women had some type of dental work done on their last appointment.”

“They were drugged,” I said, standing up. “Damn, that makes perfect sense. It would make it easier to have them leave without making a scene as long as the dosage was under control.”

“They’d have to slip them something stronger than nitrous oxide,” Katie said.

“Or give them just enough nitrous so they were woozy,” I said, starting to pace. “They’re trying to stay under the radar, right? What if there’s an inside person who kicks up the gas a notch or two, or even slips the women something else that still leaves them able to walk and talk, but off their game? Then another person offers them assistance when they aren’t feeling well. It could be as simple as the girls feel dizzy or queasy. They’d be appreciative of anyone offering to sit with them or helping them home.”

“They’re not likely to accept a ride from a stranger,” Bridget said. “These are street girls. They’d know better.”

“Maybe they’d accept cab fare, though,” I said.

“That—” Bridget said as she stood, “—would work! The girls come out of the clinic, but they feel dizzy. A good Samaritan offers to get them a cab, paying it forward bullshit.” She waved her hands about as she thought out the con. “Then the cab driver, who was waiting down the street, pulls up and takes the victim to another location. Poof! They’re gone. It would explain why there weren’t any witnesses.”

“Now we’re up to three people involved,” Katie said. “The person who dosed them, the good Samaritan, and now a cab driver.”

“That’s exactly how a big fish would play the game,” I said. “Human trafficking is built on networking. Everyone involved has a role to play.”

“How do we find out who the actors are?” Anne asked.

“Surveillance,” I said, sighing and throwing myself onto the couch. “But they’d spot law enforcement a mile away, and I can’t get down there with everything else going on.”

“You already banned me from going, and it’s too big of a case to send Trigger alone,” Bridget said.

“What I need is time…” I drummed my fingers on the arm of the couch. “I need to stop the abductions until I get shit here sorted.”

Katie laughed, looking up at me with a devious smile. “What about a small kitchen fire?”

“It’s a dental office,” Tech said, looking at Katie with a raised eyebrow. “Not a soup kitchen.”

“Not her point,” I said, standing again. “A small fire would work. They’d have to make repairs and have re-inspections. Appointments would be rescheduled. If the fire was controlled, it would buy us a week at least.”

“It’s fire,” Lisa said. “How the hell are you going to control it from spreading?”

“Does the building have a sprinkler system?” I asked Tech.

He looked to his laptop and started typing. A few minutes later he nodded.

I pulled my phone and called Mickey.

“How’s my favorite cop?” Mickey asked when he answered.

“Ex-cop. You need a new line.”

Mickey chuckled.

“Is your phone clean?” He knew I’d mean if there was a wiretap.

“Phone is. The room I’m standing in isn’t.”

“That’ll work. I need a small fire to take place at a dental clinic. It’s related to that prostitution case I told you about. I just need the clinic to be closed for