The Interregnum: Chapter 21
By Helena Fallon
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
Spencer stood by his desk with the printout in his hand and just stared at the name that was almost at the end of the list. It was as if the time had stopped for him as he tried to get his head around the meaning of that name being there.
'What was it, number 49?' a part of his still functioning brain asked but the genius was still shocked by the reality. He knew this man; this man was in a trusted position. This man had been into his home; he had been to his apartment in Alexandria and to the Berwyn Heights house. Jo had made him and his co-worker coffee and given them home made cookies whenever they called, no matter if it was day or night, just to make everyone feel comfortable with the situation.
Spencer mentally shook himself to get back to the task in hand, he needed to check this man's finances and see how he could afford to use the Torte services on his salary.
Dr. Katie Cole was stuck in a traffic jam. There was nothing she or her fellow drivers could do but curiosity led her to tune into a local radio station to see if she could find out what was happening ahead. It didn't take long before the snippet came about problems due to an accident involving two cars and a lorry. The 'roving helicopter' report led Katie to think that all three vehicles had been travelling too fast, and too close to one another, when the two cars crashed and the lorry following had ploughed into the cars. A few moments later, the helicopter pilot reported to the listeners that it looked like the lorry had ploughed into the back of two cars and then had turned over on its side spilling it's load of fruit on the highway. This had all happened on a section of the road that was already down to single lane traffic due to maintenance work on that stretch of the highway. Dr. Cole turned off the engine with a sigh because it was going to be a long wait and she accepted that it was going to be one of those mornings. Katie chose an easy listening CD of popular Mozart piano pieces and let her mind wander over CACU matters…
The previous evening she had hoped that Spencer would come in and tell her that he'd been successful with his hacking but when she finally left, at just before 9 p.m., the deputy's office was dark and obviously empty. Katie wondered if she had put too much pressure on the young deputy but he was certainly coping with the unit and their workload and was well liked. It was difficult to have a real genius with them; she just didn't know what was 'normal' for him. Normally an agent would have far more experience before being in a deputy's position, even if they had a doctorate in criminal psychology, but then Reid had gained his qualification at 21 and the Bureau had accepted him for training. Katie knew that Gideon had kept the young Reid under his wing but Jason Gideon was himself not an easy man to work with and there had been plenty of rumours coming out of Quantico that Gideon's final year had shown up a lot of cracks in the senior psych. It was strange but Spencer Reid had youthful looks while his mind was ageless and with a fathomless depth that was awesome at times. She sensed the previous evening that he was excited and sure of himself when she handed him the paper with Nigel's password….
Katie could see the whole scene again in her imagination, and she confirmed to herself that he had left her with a self confidence in his abilities, so this made her explore the possibilities as to why he'd not come to see her before going home.
To be fair, Katie had not asked him to report to her before leaving so he'd not broken any order but it irked her a little. Perhaps she was just reading too much into his non-appearance, it might have been that seeing her door shut that he assumed that she was busy and didn't want to be disturbed. Afterall, whatever he found would take time to process and get it into order for a prosecution case. It all depended on what he did find to down load; it would be really useful if the hacked material contained images of children who they could run against the 'missing children' database. The more Katie thought about this case, the more she felt that the children had been kidnapped or sold on by drug cartels or their clients. It would be even more useful if he had some details of the clientele so they could tie up some of the images from Nigel's films that Danielle had not been able to identify so far. There was even more film now from Nigel for Danielle to work on and this might yield even more surprises but she was well aware that a lot of people were involved with the illegal venues and the material made for the Torte site.
Perhaps it had taken Spencer longer than anticipated because his initial idea didn't work. If this was the case then he may have had to adjust the 'key' he had prepared and all that further mental work had left him very tired. Or, he had failed completely and he had to re-think the whole approach to enter the site…
They were working on several fronts with things that Spencer had managed to bring into the open. The visit to see Austin Shields, now safely hidden as a cop-killer in Connecticut, had been an eye-opener for Katie. She had tagged along but let Carl and Spencer interview the prisoner now known as David White, who had finally been caught for a crime that was over four years old, and they hoped no one would start delving behind that cover.
Spencer was an expert at quietly using his psychology to break a prisoner and Katie thought that the young genius had obviously observed Gideon and then refined his own techniques that he had used to interview the convicted psychopaths for his doctorate. She had watched from the observation room and was fascinated that the prisoner had refused to have a lawyer with him because he didn't know who he could trust anymore, despite the FBI assuring him that they had found a trustworthy and experienced one for him. He was trying to bargain for a more lenient sentence if he co-operated but Dr. Spencer Reid was not a 'push-over'….
"I think you've been disposing of the girls once they got too old or troublesome," Spencer said softly facing him across the table with Carl Miyake sitting quietly to Reid's left.
"I swear, I never killed any kid…I just did the cleaning up…" protested the prisoner and looked agitated with the inferred allegation of being a child murderer. "Look I killed Rankin, but no kids," he stated firmly.
"So what did this 'cleaning up' really entail?" Spencer persisted for specifics.
Shields leaned his large muscled bulk back in his chair and seemed to compose himself and his thoughts before he answered.
"Wallace Torte would ring me saying his or his wife's car needed some attention, just in case someone was listening in at the garage where I worked, that way if one of the other mechanics heard anything they just thought that I was doing a bit of work on the side for a friend. We all did that in our spare time but none of us ever used the garage equipment …we just did small jobs that we could do quickly and just needed a mechanic's expertise."
The two agents nodded in understanding and Spencer smiled slightly and kept eye contact to encourage the man to continue.
"I'd go out to the Torte home, big place on the outskirts of Philadelphia. He's got an enormous garage there, big enough for 5 cars, and he also has a hidden cellar beneath the garage where he keeps his fancy cases of wine that he's laid down and there are also a couple of big chest freezers. I never knew what they looked like because the bodies were already wrapped tightly in black garbage bags and placed in the freezer until they could be disposed off. They were light enough and put in a trunk for transporting in my van.
It was always at night so the traffic would be lighter on the way to Baltimore's marina where Torte had shares in a boat. It was my job to transport the trunk and other innocent looking luggage…A few times it was two trunks while at others it was the trunk and a few big cases. Wallace Torte and Michael Wells would drive behind me all the way there. We acted as if we were going out to do some sea fishing and were just getting the gear on board for an early start the next morning. No one ever stopped or questioned us because they were known at the marina, and I became known as one of their fishing friends, so the security there just accepted everything as normal. We would get on board and get some sleep, and raise the anchor and set out for sea at dawn.
Once we were well out into deep water, then I took the body out of the trunk and tied anchor chains around it for weight so it would sink easily. We actually did some fishing and it was quite a pleasant social time really. If there were no other boats in the area, then we slipped a body over the side. But if other boats were fishing, we'd wait until the late evening. We'd return late afternoon or the next day depending on whether we were able to slip the body quickly over the side," he recounted in an emotionless voice.
Spencer gave no comment but asked for further information, "What was your payment?"
"Access to the Torte site and freebies. I got credit put on my Torte account so I could get their merchandise and then there was sometimes access to young boys for doing a cleaning up job efficiently."
"So you don't feel an attraction for the girls?"
"No, I prefer young boys but they had more girls and the venues usually have girls just beginning to blossom…if you know what I mean?"
"Yes, in our work we do know what you mean. But where did you have access to these boys?"
"I don't want to talk about that until I have some assurance that the DA accepts that my co-operation is going to be taken into account. They wanted Rankin dealt with because he was too soft with his girls and thought he was soft enough to try to do a deal…"
"But what I don't understand is why you took on a murder rap for 'silencing' Ranking?" Spencer pressed trying to understand all the motivations because he was sure that Torte and the fellow members of the syndicate had something on this man to make him eager to obey their orders.
"I was trying to protect my younger brother, Gary. I've always tried to keep Gary out of trouble and I think he only does the deliveries of the special 'spare parts' and isn't involved in the venues or the site… I don't think he knows what he's really delivering…You see, Gary has always tended to trust people and he's worked for the Torte Spare Parts for years. It was the old man who gave him his job and Gary just loyally drives for them without asking questions. When Lisa married Wallace then she came under his spell and became as devious as her husband. Gary just loves driving…he likes women but he hasn't the money to be part of the venues. He got his truck licence but didn't like all the days away from home and the girlfriend he had at the time…So when the old man offered him the driving position he took it. The pay was less but he was able to cope with the daily driving just delivering spare parts to garages…and it was just garages in those days…the old man was clean."
Spencer let the prisoner ramble on without interruption because he was building up a more comprehensive picture of the syndicate they were trying to come to grips with. But he wanted to know how long it had been running and how extensive it was.
"So how long have you been 'cleaning up'?" the young deputy mildly asked. Katie thought Spencer Reid was doing an excellent job because whatever revulsion he felt for the prisoner there was no indication in his voice or posture.
"Four years," he replied with a smile, "Didn't think it had been going that long did you?"
Spencer kept a steady eye contact with the prisoner…
"Why should I believe you? You could be telling me quite a yarn to try and keep yourself outside the Capital region," the agent calmly retorted.
Katie smiled to herself at the exchange but she was worried about it if it was the truth. If Shields had been 'participating' for four years, then just how long had the illegal venues been working? Or had Wallace Torte and Wells encouraged a co-operation between separate operators in order to milk the wealthy vice together and on a grander scale? It was a world of secrets and the wealthy were vulnerable to blackmail once their weakness was known. Katie was very aware that it was only by chance that they had been given a slender thread that they were now trying to carefully unravel and it had taken months so far.
"You don't believe me?" the big man challenged, "Look I'm the one trying to prove my self worthy of preferential treatment!"
"Preferential treatment…" repeated Reid softly, like a kitten patting a ball of wool playfully around a room before the more sudden and aggressive pounce. "Now that's an unusual thing to say, big words for a very small cog in the scheme of the syndicate. To me you were expendable, you owed these people your loyalty because of what they had on you…and you had crossed them in someway and that is how we got you…selling your own photographs of kiddie porn in an indiscreet manner and molesting young boys. It must have annoyed your masters to have you arrested; messing around with your girlfriend's sons after the syndicate had given you access to safer delights."
Katie felt chilled to hear this normally good humoured young man bait a paedophile like this because it seemed so out of character to hear him turn the screw of pressure a little tighter. She was transfixed by the interview room's confrontation and wondered when Reid would go in for the kill.
The prisoner shrugged but Carl and Spencer knew that Shields was uncomfortable because he had lost ground despite all the information he had seemed willing to give up.
"I'm telling you the truth, its up to you, but you had me moved here and I was delivering on that bargain we struck in Baltimore," he stated again. "It's you who's reneging!" he loudly accused Reid and Katie knew that her agents were aware that this change in demeanour signalled the prisoner's insecurity.
"Look Shields, I know that Wells and Torte didn't buy that fishing boat until three years ago…so the time scale doesn't fit. If you had been 'cleaning' up for them for four years then where were you burying the bodies before the boat? I know that there is no indication in the financial records of either men for hiring a fishing boat, or any boat for that matter, during the period before they acquired the present one," Reid stated in a quiet but firm commanding voice.
Katie unconsciously rubbed her hands together and a cunning smile crossed her lips in anticipation of the answer that the man might give. The prisoner certainly had decided to drop the eye contact with the slender young man opposite him and seemed to be very interested in the finely scratched surface of the grey plastic tabletop between them. Both Reid and Miyake sat immobile, both men were studies in calmness and assertiveness, just waiting for the prisoner's reply.
"If I tell you that then you'll know where they keep some of the kids," he finally said and looked up, "And I still need some bargaining power," he added trying to regain his former defiant position.
"We're the ones with the upper hand here. Like I told you in Maryland, if you feed us false information then we won't keep you hidden. We haven't even told your brother where you are, not that he has tried to visit you since you murdered Rankin. I suppose he doesn't want to be tainted by your actions. I guess its one thing to have a brother on remand awaiting trial for peddling paedophile porn and molesting his girlfriend's sons but to then add murder to the list…Or perhaps Gary's in deeper than you want us to think?" Reid taunted to keep the pressure on the prisoner.
"Look our Dad used to mess with us and I tried to protect Gary from it…But he's never been interested in behaving like Dad but he has tried to be a good brother. He didn't like visiting me but he did out of duty… but I know his girlfriend didn't want him to."
"Ah…so you think she won the argument?" Reid asked in a solicitous manner.
Shields nodded but to Katie his bulk didn't seem as imposing as earlier.
"What did you really do to annoy them so much that you were no longer allowed access to boys as payment for your services?" asked Reid continuing his probing.
Shields looked up and his face was momentarily stricken with indecision.
"I need assurances that I'll be in a wing with other prisoners who like boys…I'm willing to undergo whatever treatment is offered me," Shields pleaded and his demeanour cried out for understanding but Carl's face was neutral and Spencer was not giving in so easily.
"Your co-operation in breaking this syndicate will be taken into account at your sentencing but you have committed offences against children, which never goes down very well with a jury, and you have also killed a man on orders from… Torte?"
The prisoner nodded.
" You're finally agreeing that it was on Wallace Torte's orders?" persisted Reid to get a verbal answer.
"Yeah, or at least I assumed it was from him…that lawyer I had told me that Gary would be looked after if I silenced Rankin and the box of paints would contain a possible means… 'Like sticking a pig…'he said. I don't think Gary knew what was in the box. I asked for a box of watercolours and of course he mentioned it while at the delivery office and Lisa said she'd get one while out shopping to save him breaking off from his delivery schedule. Guess someone planted the sharpened wooden weapon while he was out delivering…"
Whatever the agents really believed they didn't show it to the prisoner but accepted the answer. They had suspected the lawyer from Shields's earlier remarks in Baltimore but now he had formally said the man was implicated. The watching of the corrupt lawyer in the Public Defenders Office would continue but the Director would be pleased that they now had this on tape. So this implicated Lisa Torte aswell and Katie was delighted that Barbara Phelps had been correct with her intuition that the woman was hiding things when she had spoken to her following the attack on Rankin.
"Why were you in the syndicates' bad books?" Reid asked gently, which seemed so odd considering his former persistent tone.
The prisoner looked up and seemed to search the young agent's face, perhaps looking for some compassionate understanding of how trapped he felt.
"It would be best to get the story from you because we're going to move against this syndicate and don't you think the big people, who have been making all the money, should also pay up for their actions. Or is it going to be another case where only the small fry, like yourself, take the rap because the big people have the money to buy the lawyers to get them off?" suggested Spencer deliberately to magnify the prisoner's doubts, and sense of self preservation, that were already there.
Austin Shields was full of indecision but the agents waited calmly for him to weigh up the issues that were going to affect the outcome of his case.
"I swear I've never hurt a kid, they've always enjoyed it…But this one…he must have been sick and they didn't know…I don't know how or what happened…" the big man fumbled and Katie thought he was genuinely distressed for the first time that day.
"What happened? If you tell us it will help us to understand…like you say, perhaps the child was already sick?" replied Spencer in a soothing coaxing voice. Katie nodded to herself at the way Reid seemed to reach out in his willingness to understand this massive man's actions.
"I'd cleaned up two and they said that they had a new boy, about 8 years old. Wells said that this boy looked like an angel because he had pale blond hair, blue eyes and was slender with a very pale skin. They said that if I was interested they'd let me have him first the next night…They knew I'd be gentle with a new one you see," Shields looked up at his interrogator, his eyes pleading for understanding as he tried to explain.
"When was this? Reid asked trying to get some time scale.
" A few days before you people raided the Wells venue."
Reid nodded and softly added, "Then what happened?"
Shields seemed reluctant to continue and Katie thought that perhaps he was having second thoughts about explaining an actual incident with one of the children. However, her agent kept his nerve and waited patiently, giving the prisoner space to organise his thoughts. Austin Shields silently re-focused on his interrogator but Spencer Reid looked at him with large doe-like sensitive eyes that dominated his long thin face and nodded his encouragement, while Carl kept his schooled impassivity.
"Well the next night, I turned up at the given address and was taken to a bedroom…He was called Simon and was like an angel, so beautiful for a boy, even his hair had soft curls like you'd expect with a girl. Simon had been prepared…you know, given a little something to relax him and he was just in a bath robe. Well I got undressed and we had a bath together first because I find that always relaxes them and it's a good way to get to know one another in the warm water. After, I dried him and I tried to get him to talk to me but he was so silent. I understood that, they sometimes are the first time. But I kept telling him that I wasn't going to hurt him and that we'd enjoy our time together…He was still a bit shy about touching me but I was taking my time and well…finally I wanted to penetrate him. I always use lubricant…some don't you know, but I don't think that's right. I was cuddling him on the bed and we did it. Afterwards, I held him close to me and kept telling him about how good he'd been and wiped away his tears. We fell a sleep together but when I woke up he…Simon was cold beside me…I was really shocked but Torte blamed me and said that I must have given him something. But I swear I never give kids anything…I'd not done anything to that angel…I'd not hit him, I'm never violent toward kids…I'd just loved him."
"You don't consider sodomy against an eight year old a violent act?" asked Reid with a steady cool voice.
"Look, I was gentle and took my time and treated him right and he responded and enjoyed it," protested Shields.
'Sure you did…that's what they all say," muttered Katie to herself but she was so proud of the two agents who did not rant or rave but calmly listened even if Reid's tone had cooled somewhat.
"What happened then?" Reid asked in a matter of fact voice trying to get as much information as possible.
"I was told to wrap up the body in a black garbage bag and take it to the freezer back at his garage. Torte said that I'd cost him a lot of money because they had a lot of bookings for sessions with Simon and now all those clients would be disappointed. Torte was really angry with me and said that he'd have to think carefully as to if and when I'd have access again to their special merchandise from the site. After a couple of days he'd calmed down a bit and I was allowed to buy DVDs from the site but not allowed one to one access to the live merchandise. Then those boys squealed to their Mom and she went to the police…you know the rest…"
"Is Simon's body still in the freezer?" Reid asked to get Shields back on to the Torte case again.
The prisoner looked up and his face was momentarily blank before he realised the implications of the question.
"I did as I was told and put the kid's body in the freezer but I wasn't asked to dispose of it. Perhaps Torte's got another cleaner for his dirty work by now," he replied and Katie noticed that Reid gave a slight nod of assent that she interpreted as believing the prisoner at that moment.
"How many bodies did you dump at sea?" Reid suddenly asked the prisoner who looked as if he was beginning to be lost in his own thoughts, perhaps even feeling some remorse over the death of the boy.
Shields focused on Reid once more and thought about his answer carefully.
"I can't remember," he replied tersely.
"That's convenient…Come on Shields, I don't think you're as hard as you would like us to think…So what was it …less than 10 or more than?" delved Reid watching the man's reactions carefully.
Austin Shields looked coldly at the agent opposite him, "More than!" he spat out.
"So where are the bodies buried?" Reid asked as he retraced his steps and changed tact again…
"Not saying until I have solid assurances that I'm going to be treated well and I want them from someone higher than you," the prisoner said leaning back and clenched his large hands together and that action made the muscles ripple on the massive arms. He may have intended the gesture to intimidate but the slender looking Reid merely cocked his head slightly to one side and gave a cunning cruel smile which seemed so shocking on this normally friendly young man. But Katie knew the act was deliberate in order to re-assert the upper hand.
"We'll take our time about getting back to you because you've given us a lot of detail to check out and it will give you space to think about your future. If you want to be more co-operative sooner, rather than later, then tell the Prison Director here that you want to speak to me. Then I'll see if I can find the time to come over here again," Reid calmly and quietly replied and then pushed his chair back and left the prisoner without a goodbye or further glance. Carl moved as soon as Spencer and they both left the room in a cold efficient manner. Katie had been very impressed with the pair of them and she mentally noted that she would have to remark upon the procedure of this visit in her individual assessment reports of the two agents.
Spencer Reid entered the observation room first closely followed by Carl Miyake, who closed the door behind him.
"Well, Torte's garage sounds an interesting place...that cellar had not been found when they did their search of the house after Torte's initial arrest following the closure of the venue run by Wells. Torte may not have risked disposing of any body since fearing that the house was being watched. What do you think of that reply…of 'more than'?" Spencer asked Katie without any preamble.
Katie shook her head more in sorrow than disbelief.
"Well if the syndicate has been going in some form for 4 years then there could easily be more than 10 bodies that have been disposed of at sea or buried…The trouble is we're not sure about the size and numbers of children involved. The club venues have had the adolescent girls but usually not more than 10 and mostly runaways…It's other children at the secret addresses that worries me because there are so many missing children in our country that we know of… In addition to those, there is the underclass of unknown missing that troubles me. These people have been successful so far so I bet they also have contacts with the drug runners to keep the children pliant…drugged to be manageable for their clientele," Katie said sadly, unconsciously shaking her head. "They may also be taking some of their payment in flesh…Children just being sold on by their parents to pay their debts to the drug dealers and the dealers passing them on to the syndicate as part payment for the merchandise. It wouldn't be the first time it's happened, the drug barons have no shame and sometimes have their fun first before passing on the children."
Both men were silent, each lost in their own thoughts about the interview and Katie's comments…
Katie finally walked into the CACU two hours late but she was pleased to see her people all busy as she passed through the bullpen and stopped by the kitchen to make a much-needed coffee.
Tony had just made his and smiled as she grabbed her fine china mug with a leopard prowling around the mug's outer surface.
"I just missed it!" he gleefully announced and Katie knew instantly he was referring to the accident.
"Lucky you! However, I did get to do some thinking before the constant phone calls began from people wanting to know where I was!"
"Nice to be missed Katie!" he teased.
"I even had Adam call to ask about budgeting over the next month because this outpost is looking very expensive at the moment…."
"We're not being asked to cut back are we?" Tony asked seriously as the work they did often needed a lot of man power to cover arrests and all the evidence gathering, both before and after arrests were made. They did have their successes but it was a never-ending battle to keep a sense of success against the bleak statistics they were faced with.
"No way…we were ring fenced in the cuts and we've justified our existence especially with the recent positive publicity we're had with those successful prosecutions last week and Spencer uncovering that 'adoption' scam of that mother and daughter…Now what were their names? Katie asked as she poured boiling water into the mug and stirred.
Ann-Marie Brown and her daughter, Sandra Brady," he replied sipping his own coffee.
Katie nodded and added a little milk.
"Have you seen Spencer this morning?" she asked.
"He was in very early according to the entrance security desk and I've only glimpsed him once when he emerged from the office to refill his mug," Tony replied wondering what was going on after the previous evening's activity.
"How about Danielle?"
"She's been holed up in the office after getting her morning tea…The pair of them have been as thick as two thieves so far this morning."
"Oh good…sounds as if Spencer's work has been successful ...or I'm hoping it has been," said Katie softly while moving away and Tony watched her sip her coffee on route to her own office.
However, the boss didn't make any attempt to enter the deputy's domain. Katie went and hung her coat up on the back of her office door and sank into her chair to read through the day's internal mail while she drank. It was a relief that there was nothing demanding her immediate attention and was just draining her mug when there was a brisk rap on the door.
"Come!" she invited and she was pleased to see it was Spencer looking very like an academic in a fern green cashmere sweater and brown corduroy pants. The ensemble was pulled together by a pale cream shirt that showed off the fancy silk tie that looked like random splashes of a variety of greens. Katie briefly wondered if it had been a Christmas present. But her eyes then quickly settled on the file in his large hands that his slender fingers held tight, a sure give away by his air of intensity that he had something of importance. He closed the door before sitting down and that was another sign to the Unit Chief that this was for her ears only.
"You have an air of success about you," she stated and stared into a serious face.
"Oh yeah, I was very successful but pretty tired last night so I went home and came in early today to assess my hacking expedition. The great news is that we now have a complete customer list for both the legal and illegal sales and the names of 'club members', even if they are not their real ones, but we also have their contact phone numbers. I just couldn't believe how much was down loaded last night. The site owners have very tidy minds and totally thought their site was impregnable because they even had the history of the merchandise bought and where the payment money was destined. Certain areas were protected by further passwords, of course, but once I'd broken through the initial barrier I got a feel for the site's creator so it wasn't too difficult thinking of the further passwords to access the down loaded material. I have the names of the syndicate with the proportionate distribution of their money and the bank account numbers both here and off shore. Danielle is thrilled because that is all the hard work done for her…." replied Spencer evenly.
Katie was speechless for a few moments, "All of the account details?" she repeated as if checking that she had not imagined what he had just quietly reported.
"All…I briefly told Danielle and she's on cloud nine because she now hopes to be able to put faces to the customer names and hopefully identify the clientele on Nigel's latest films and the ones that she didn't know from last time. Danielle has started separating the individual faces on Nigel's latest films this morning. Then she'll try and get images of the names on the clientele list I've downloaded...She's working like a demon next door as if breaking into that site has given her an extra boost of energy."
Katie smiled and nodded. It sounded simple but the process was time consuming for Danielle but she had done an excellent job so far and Spencer's success was a wonderful bonus for the whole case. She knew that Roy would be ecstatic with such a break through because this was solid evidence for the prosecution and she couldn't see any wriggle room for the syndicate or clientele.
"Spencer you've made our case," Katie simply stated still overwhelmed by the information that they now had to work upon. She was already thinking about which of her experienced agents she could assign to work on specific tasks with this new material.
But then she noticed that the deputy was not that happy despite this being the essential information that any investigation would long for.
"What's wrong, Spencer?" she prompted as he seemed reluctant to break into her good mood.
Dr. Reid took a deep breath and plunged on.
"I have also identified and printed off the list of Bureau employees listed on the forbidden site, along with their positions and bank account details…There was one name that particularly affected me because the man has been to my home, both here and back in Alexandria. He's in a position of trust but I couldn't see how he could afford to pay for the Torte pleasures on his salary. But he was listed as a club member where they only pay cash so it would never look suspicious if the Bureau did a spot check on his finances. I checked his buying history on the site, he never used a credit card but they had to know his real identity to attend the 'special one to one' sessions that he was allowed to pay cash for. These were for young girls, he likes them aged around 10 according to the client profile that the site has on the buying habits of its clientele."
Katie stared at him and picked up the agent's distress that he was carefully controlling, but he obviously felt a sense of betrayal.
"Is this another agent?" asked Katie carefully because she had no idea what to expect and Spencer was tip toeing round actually naming the man, perhaps because he was still coming to terms with the reality of finding the man's name.
"Jeez no but…he has contact with agents everyday through his work and, if I'm right, then he's using them to fund his perversion," Reid stated with a hint of the suppressed anger that he felt over the betrayal.
"Spencer what does he do…who is it?" Katie decided to force him to get to the point.
"A senior lab technician who works with the drug testing team called Bradley Tyler, he's been to my home," he repeated still trying to believe what he had discovered. "Jo… she made him, and his partner, welcome no matter what the hour…You know, giving them coffee and cookies to just normalise the situation because she knew that they had a job to do and just wanted to get over the embarrassment barrier."
Katie nodded in understanding but sensed there was even more to this and she was pleased when he continued without further prompting.
"I used my position to enter 'Personnel Records' and read his supervisor's reports. He's thought of very highly and was promoted to Quantico from the New York office. There has never been any reason to doubt this man's character because he has a clean record and has been well praised by all of his supervisors. The Torte site lists the contact phone numbers of their clientele and showed that Tyler has a 'pay as you go' cell phone, of course, because he couldn't risk giving them the phone number of the one issued by the Bureau. So I hacked the records of that other phone this morning because I just didn't have the time to go through the pleasantries of contacting the Telephone Company. Tyler sends a lot of text messages, always just before weekends and to Bureau staff, all of them agents…The interesting bit is that I checked the 'random testing dates for the units those people work in and guess what?"
"They coincide with a texted warning!" Katie replied feeling a certain anger rising in her.
Spencer nodded, "Usually around 8 days before a random test. One of my former colleagues receives texts from this guy," Spencer stated bleakly and Katie now fully understood the true sense of betrayal.
"I've been under going all these extra drug tests and all the time I've worked alongside someone who's probably dabbling in recreational drugs and getting away with it and…God I just feel so angry!" he finished explosively with disgust and Katie thought it was rare to see this glimpse of anger from their genius.
"Do you have the list of the Bureau people who are Torte clients?" Katie asked re-focusing Reid on the case.
"Sorry…Yeah, there are 54," replied Spencer as he opened the folder he had brought with him across his lap.
"54!" Katie replied horrified and accepted the sheet Spencer was offering her. She glanced down the list and felt at first a mixture of anger and sadness that then turned to a strengthening resolve to 'nail the bastards'.
"I need to make an appointment with the Director," she said briskly and reached for the phone on her desk.
Less than an hour later, Dr. Katie Cole and Dr Spencer Reid of the CACU sat together with the Director as he read down the 'Bureau' client list that Reid had produced. Reid watched the man who seemed to physically grow an even straighter stature with the obvious anger and revulsion he felt.
"And you say that our random drug testing is compromised aswell, Dr Reid?"
"Yes, Sir," and Spencer explained what he had found by his delving in to Bradley Tyler's other cell phone record.
"Thank God there only appears to be one rotten egg in the drug testing team. I need to believe that I can trust Richard Hincks…He has always run a good testing programme but he'll be angry when this gets to him… You've cross checked the recipients of these texts with Bureau agents?" the Director's dark eyes bore into Reid's own and the young man sensed the anger and disappointment that the Director still felt against those on the Torte client list.
"Yes, Sir, here is the list of people he sent texts to. The texts themselves appear very innocent but it's the timing of them in relation to those receiving the messages that are significant. They are always 7 to 8 days before testing…The lab technicians themselves usually have 48 hours notice but Tyler is a Senior Lab Technician so he'd know 7 to 8 days beforehand. Those taking the drugs would only be on low doses or they would risk detection. It's probably a purely recreational thing and those involved wouldn't see themselves as addicts. In fact some drug counsellors would argue that they are not addicts when compared with those who need their daily fix," Reid reported and Katie noted how very professional the agent was being this time with the Director whereas with her he had allowed some emotion to show through.
"Of course there is always the possibility that Tyler could personally be choosing 'his' agents' samples to carry out the lab tests so if one of his agents was suspect he could give a false result. I should also say that these agents do not appear at all on the Torte site...it was just Tyler," Reid further added with scrupulous thoroughness.
The Director checked down the listed calls and texts to agents that Reid had clearly produced and nodded, "Very thorough, Reid, I'm very impressed with your desire to get to the bottom of this and I can understand your disquiet where the BAU is concerned. I'm going to see if Hotch is in the building because I would like his imput on this."
The Director moved to his phone to make the necessary call. Katie caught Spencer's eye and gave him an encouraging smile. He had uncovered the Bureau's rotten eggs participating in the paedophile ring but also another scam that was going on in the Bureau itself to pay for Bradley Tyler's tastes in expensive Torte merchandise.
A few minutes later the suave Aaron Hotchner joined them and was filled in on Reid's discoveries.
"The idiot!" Hotch pronounced with suppressed anger, " But if anyone would be involved with recreational drugs, and I believe it would be only in that category, then Morgan would be the one to risk it. He has always pushed certain aspects of his life to the limit. Morgan will deny it of course, and say that the messages are all innocent and that they knew each other from his days in New York. Perhaps that is all true and he really has been clean, especially since he met Angela. I thought she was a good influence in that he seemed to be finally acting his emotional age. I hope that he is clean now, especially with his marriage on the horizon and I don't think he would put that in jeopardy. Angela herself is far too sensible to be the sort of woman to become involved in the drug and party scene that Morgan might mess with …Some how I don't think that Morgan would introduce her to that. What do you think Reid?"
"I've not met Angela but I was hoping that, like you say, she has been a good influence and perhaps all his random tests have been genuinely clean. There appear to be traces of alcohol on his drug reports but that is common with a lot of personnel and its nothing excessive. He never showed any indication when we were working on a case that he had any drugs in his system but he'd probably be very careful not to use anything if there was a chance of being called out. We do get the occasional 'stand down' periods where he might have felt safe to have what… 'E' or even coke," reasoned Reid and Hotch nodded his agreement. The Director gave them both a sour look but everyone in the room was obviously unhappy about this turn of events.
"So you think that the agents pay Tyler for their tip-off's in cash…" Hotch asked trying to take in the implications of Reid's discoveries.
"Always cash, that way nothing can be traced back via a bank account that's why I think Tyler felt he was safe with Torte because he was allowed to pay cash for what he wanted. Clients have to pay cash to get into the club venues and for the access key and code for the Torte site. I found no evidence that any of the BAU agents were Torte clients," Reid added and Hotch looked relieved but he was still seething with annoyance that Morgan had put himself under suspicion over drugs.
"What are you planning to do, Sir?" Hotch asked the Director.
The older man sighed, drink related problems he could cope with but drugs…and this blurring of the boundaries with the term 'recreational drug use' just annoyed him further. The Bureau had a very strict rule over drug abuse but then he felt a surge of understanding towards this young agent who was subjected to the extra random testing through no fault of his own.
"Well, we've obviously got to be very careful with this major paedophile ring we are trying to bring down. Reid here has got a lot of detail from the site but we haven't worked out a plan of co-ordinated action against these people yet…and I know we have to be extremely careful Hotch… There are very vulnerable children involved and we already know that they will kill them when they are difficult or no longer useful to them. I don't want to say anything to Hincks at the moment or give any indication whatsoever that we know about Tyler's activities just in case it sends the Torte syndicate underground. The slightest suspicion that we're on to them and they will disappear into a prepared bolt hole and then we'll only be left with a few small fry," the Director replied thoughtfully and mulled over the possibilities…
"I'm inclined to plant an agent in the labs…I'm sure we can find someone with a bio-chemical background who could play the role of a lab tech just to keep an eye on Tyler. It needs to be someone who has never met him and from out of the area…." said the Director who then seemed to lapse into his own thoughts for a few minutes before re-surfacing and turned on Spencer Reid again.
"Are you going to Morgan's wedding?"
Reid seemed to physically flinch as the unexpected question was shot at him.
"N- no, Sir…We had an invitation but Jo and I have booked a vacation to visit friends in England…Her Aunt and Uncle paid for the plane tickets as a wedding gift and Jo has several friends we can stay with over there. But…"
"But?" the Director jumped in on the young man's apparent doubt.
"W-We…we have a wedding present that Jo and I thought we'd take over to Morgan's house one day before we left on our trip," replied Reid suddenly unsure of just how close the Director thought he was with Morgan.
"Mmm…What have you bought them?"
"A painting, Sir," replied Reid regaining his composure.
"Ah…yes it would probably be best, and the most natural thing to do then is to deliver it yourselves…But I'm sure that you have realised that you have to be very careful, especially if we haven't acted against this paedophile ring. We'll pick up Tyler initially in that sweep and just keep an eye on him and these people in the meantime. I'll have him sent on a 'staff training' course away on the west coast for a week to allow us time to get our agent in place for when he returns."
"What are you going to do about the random drug tests?" asked Hotchner who felt that it wasn't fair that those using drugs should be able to get away with it, especially if Tyler was falsifying results.
"Perhaps I'll bring in an extra team from… Utah, just to help out with some random checking while our lab people are kept very busy. The Utah people are a good team and might enjoy a change of scenery and sight-seeing in the capital for a few days and who knows what surprises they might pick up during their stay!"
Spencer thought that the Director was enjoying the movement of 'players' on the board in the hope of catching out the drug cheats. However, he sincerely hoped that Morgan had stopped his silly hedonistic dabbling…The more Reid thought about it, the more he tried to convince himself that Morgan had probably just taken the odd tablet of 'ecstasy' and nothing more. Hotch seemed to be leaning in that direction and Reid was comforted by Hotchner's opinion.
A few minutes later, Hotch left the Director's office and as he waited for the elevator he thought that Reid was obviously unsettled by his findings concerning Tyler. Hotch thought that he'd not heard Reid stutter for a long time. The genius had not anticipated the Director's question and that made Hotch smile and re-assured him that, despite all of Reid's recent success, the incident had showed that he was still very human and not invincible. Hotchner remembered how Reid used to stutter when he was enthusiastic about something and his thoughts would race ahead of his speech. The young agent had changed so much after Hankel… After his sick leave, Reid appeared to have lost that youthful enthusiasm that had often manifested itself in the stream of endless facts that sometimes covered up the young agent's distress or Reid's eagerness to please with detail. The Reid that had returned to them was the serious man behind the harmless 'geek' mask he had previously worn. This Reid was now unafraid to be confident in his abilities and no longer needed Gideon's approval or his own for that matter. The Clinic and the psychs had sent back an agent who looked like Spencer Reid but who was probably closer to the real genius behind the mask than ever before and that for a time unsettled the unit and Reid himself. But now…Aaron Hotchner saw a capable agent who was a friend with many concerns but was still managing to keep his head above water.
"So where do you think the children might be kept?" the Director asked the two agents.
"I have Tony, Rick and Carl checking the property owned by the other members of the syndicate. We are looking for places that are remote but in good areas so they do not draw any suspicion and preferably with cellars or outbuildings where a few children could be kept isolated. I think I'd have them scattered and perhaps they are bought to venues for the special one to one appointments," Katie replied in her best business like manner.
The Director shook his head, he hated child abuse and paedophiles were the manifestation of very sick individuals hiding within normal society.
"Does Roy know you're got all of this yet?"
"No, he's in court all day, and Andrea…" replied Katie confident that the pair of them would be appreciative of Reid's abilities.
The Director suddenly flashed a smile towards Reid, "Ah yes, Andrea on the war path…and you Reid are her Knight…Good job you're married but your Jo will protect you!"
Katie giggled as Spencer felt a little uncomfortable and thought that although Andrea was single-minded when it came to justice he also felt she was utterly faithful to her marriage vows.
"I'm just glad that Andrea's on our side," Reid answered back, "I'd hate to be grilled on the stand by her…now that would be torture!"
"Oh yes, the lady takes no prisoners when she is in full flow and her righteousness drives her along where angels fear to tread…Like you say… She's on our side!" agreed the Director and then refocused.
"We have an abundance of information now but we've got to get in control of the minute details so we can carefully plan the rescue and arrest operation…Who else have you got helping Danielle?" The Director enquired of Katie, once more becoming very serious about the case.
"Besides the three men already trying to identify possible hide outs for the children, I have Amanda helping Danielle by the getting photographs of the clients from the list Spencer ran off so Danielle can use them for identifying the venue clientele. Nigel sent in some more film so Danielle had already started isolating the images for identification and she said that there were some new faces. Melanie will join Amanda when she has finished in court. Meanwhile we left Mike and Chris concentrating on trying to identify the children in the photographs for the 'one to one' special services. I think I have already identified the boy Shields called Simon, from the 'missing children' data base. If I'm correct, the boy had a heart condition so if he had been given drugs, to make him more pliable, then it probably assisted in his death," reported Katie quietly.
"Who do you think he was?" the Director asked sadly.
"Simon Lovell who disappeared on the way home from school in Clarksburg, West Virginia on October 10th. I've not said anything to the family yet because we don't have proof …and Spencer says that there is no image of a fair-haired boy called Simon amongst the present 'merchandise'. If Shields was telling the truth then the body might already have been disposed of…" Katie answered in a matter of fact voice but the Director winced despite his experience in the job.
"Barbara and Claire are working on the background of the men listed on the secret Torte site. We decided to concentrate on that now, but Spencer had already run the legitimate list against the 'secret' one and there is some correlation. It appears that Torte car spares are quite cheap compared with other sites and a lot of garages do genuinely use them for their supplies because the delivery service is reliable. It all gives a good impression to any law enforcement scrutiny…Just like Wallace Torte was claiming, he runs a legal business and denies knowing about Wells and his illegal club venue."
The Director listened carefully and then turned to the acting Deputy.
"These names…Reid, I'm appalled…and you think this NSA man might have set up the website?" he suddenly asked looking up from the sheaf of papers listing names and addresses in his hand.
"Yes, Sir, you see it was very sophisticated and had excellent security features, the type that are often found within National Security sites and there is the link with the lawyer in this building."
The Director nodded, "Yes... the lawyer and a brother who conveniently works in the NSA cryptography division…You are sure that he's a client too?"
"Yes, Sir and has bought DVDs and special personal services,"
"Bastards!" the Director muttered fiercely, "The pair of them bought the special services?"
"Yes, Sir," replied Reid crisply and would even reel of the dates if needed because it was all recorded on the 'customer' base.
"I'm going to have to tell the President, but I will need you to prepare a report of the personnel involved in the Security Services, the Senate and Congress and the inner workings of the White House. Then there are the doctors, judges, lawyers, military personnel and well-known Washington dignitaries…the husbands of the ladies who lunch… To think I sit down with so many of these people at charity events and they have such high profiles in the media…"
"Sir, I think it might be best to keep the President out of the loop…We can't risk anyone realising we have broken the security of the Torte site. I can totally trust my people and I would never doubt Hotch's integrity…But…Not that I don't trust the President, but I think we could argue a case that the President doesn't need to know until we have actually begun to sweep them up… Then the President can honestly tell the public that he was kept in the dark to prevent anyone tipping off any big name…As far as I'm concerned no body, absolutely no body, is above the law!" finished Katie vehemently and Spencer nodded his agreement.
The Director stared hard at his two agents and weighed up Katie's words carefully.
"Christ…This is one hell of a cess pool!" the Director exclaimed.
"Yes, Sir, and I want to clean it up and just because we have some big names on this clientele list doesn't mean that we shouldn't go for them. It will shake some institutions but this is why I do my job and why I took the oath to be an agent."
"Pax, Katie…Pax!" the older man replied and felt proud to be in the presence of this fearless pair, "I'll not say anything yet…and I'll discuss the timing with you."
"Thank you, Sir," Katie replied in a more conciliatory tone but Spencer sensed that she was in the mood to fight her corner and thought that Katie and Andrea together would be pretty terrifying.
As they left the Director's office, Spencer asked his immediate boss what she wanted him to do when they got back.
"Help the men try to pin point the possible sites for holding the children and where they might hold the special one to one appointments. If need be we can go and lean on Shields, and perhaps we should take Roy with us as the prosecutor. Afterall, he wanted your superior to give him assurances so I'll pay him a visit but I'd prefer you to be there aswell because you're done a lot of the work and know the man." Katie said softly as they rode the elevator on their own down to the street level.
Six hours later, Katie sat with her two deputies discussing their progress.
"Melanie joined us at 3:00 and got stuck in getting photographs of the real identities of the men…Amanda had got 105 faces for ID purposes and Melanie added her own total of 60 by the time they went home at six. They were pretty tired by then and they'll continue tomorrow with the remainder but they have worked really well at getting almost half way through those names. Of course, some are easier than others, but its quite a shock when you come across well known Washington insiders, they were quite subdued by the time they left...
I've isolated images of children and adults on one of the films Nigel sent in. Some seemed familiar from other images we have but others were new to me although I thought I recognised an art historian from the National Gallery of Art…" reported Danielle.
"How have the men been getting on?" the Unit Chief turned on the male deputy.
"Working well isolating the images, Chris on the 'boys' and Mike on the girls…"
The phone cut in and Katie looked annoyed but then saw the caller ID.
"Sorry Spencer, I have to answer this," she said and picked up the receiver.
"Katie Cole…Yes Sir, they're with me…Oh God we're in real trouble now!"
End of Chapter 21