Chapter 9

I allowed Ajax and Flynn two days before I went to see them. Knowing how arduous the task had been I knew that it would take time and patience before even the smallest progress could be seen. No one needed an overbearing boss looking over their shoulders, but it was time for me to find out where they were up to. Tank had agreed with my thinking though I knew that he'd spoken to them a couple of times and Hector had been helping out with some of the programs that they'd wanted access to.

Stepping into the conference room I was surprised when I looked at the boards. My eyes were drawn to the amount of paperwork pinned up. My first instinct was to walk over to the boards and begin to read how they were relevant.

"Maybe I should explain, sir"

I was aware of Ajax as he'd stood up and walked over to where I was standing, so nodded my head encouraging him to give me an explanation.

"We read through the info from Interpol first and then took another look at the names that they'd come up with. They assumed that the unsub was using different disguises and passports to move around. Hector showed us how to access immigration records, but we were dubious with their assumptions. They'd assumed that the man Chevré was on that flight that came into New York, but we've come to the conclusion that they were wrong. Our reasoning being that a man that smart wouldn't make it that easy. Flynn looked carefully at any single men flying into New York. When he backtracked those names to previous flights from the relevant cities, that Interpol had highlighted, there was no way they were who we were looking for"

I turned to look at Ajax wondering how they'd come to that conclusion.

"They were too nervous. The man that we're after would be confident and purposeful as he travelled"

I'm sure that I frowned at hearing that as a reason because it wasn't exactly evidential based.

"They had to be decoys. The way that they looked around and avoided crowds inside the airport didn't, well, feel right to me"

I looked over to Flynn who was now stood beside Ajax noting how he avoided eye contact with me and seemed to stand slightly apart from us. He was the one who had suffered from PTSD which was apparent from his behavior.

"I looked at other flights, before and after the ones that Interpol had identified from the different cities where explosions occurred and ran a program that would match characteristics of faces. We identified another possible traveler to follow up on. Our unsub thought that he was smart by using different disguises and aliases, but it seems that he likes the pendent around his neck too much. Those are the disguises that he used"

I was looking at four different men, or so it seemed, that looked nothing alike. Underneath each photograph were closeups of different aspects of the men and as Flynn had said they were all wearing the same pendent. Between them, Ajax or Flynn, they'd managed to cobble together a full image of the pendent from different photos. The symbol was on a round, gold pendent hung around his neck by a simple gold chain. My assumption was that it could have Chinese origins.

松

"I know it seems weird. We think that it's a Chinese symbol but have no idea what it represents. Anyway, once we knew what we were looking for we scoured arrivals at JFK through immigration and found a man going by the name of Mat Duncan. He was on the flight before the decoys and was disguised as an old man in a fucking wheelchair who was wheeled through by staff with a duffle bag"

I was hoping that the man had rented a car or even hailed a taxi because that would have given us a lead to follow.

"Took the subway. We found the wheelchair, but lost him"

I suppose that seeing as how the man had avoided detection for so long, he was very good at what he did. It would be easy enough for him to dispose of a disguise, one piece at a time, whilst he changed trains.

"Can you determine what he might actually look like?"

A question that I wasn't confident that they could answer, but I needed a better idea of what this man might look like. Would he forever wear a disguise or once within a country feel confident enough to walk around as himself?

"6 feet, 180 lbs. He gave us a glimpse of his ankle when he was in the wheelchair that showed skin tone that was tanned. So maybe European. He'd used makeup and wax to change the shape of his nose, lips and cheeks and used wigs and different styles of clothing. We used a program to put together a possible look based on the dimensions of his head, shape of eyes and ears and I suppose other similarities the program picked up"

Ajax was pointing to a face that was obviously a computer generated image of a man that looked to be in his mid thirties. Brown eyes that were oval shaped and dark hair with an angular shape to his jaw. His skin tone was lighter than mine and Ajax had given him long fingers, which made sense if he built intricate devices that could explode.

"We're going through high end hotels to start with because I think that this man likes his comfort seeing as he always travels first class"

I was impressed that these two men had totally knocked both Interpol's and the FBI's theory out of the window and even had something that might identify the man.

"You've done an amazing job so far. Are you still prepared to follow this through?"

Just looking at the amount of paper around the room and the fact that they had five laptops running showed just how much effort they'd made.

"Yes. Well, I do. I want to be able to find this guy"

A nod from Flynn was all that I got so knowing that they looked to be working well together and had used a lot of initiative to get them this far I returned the nod before leaving the room. I was feeling really pleased with their progress so wanting to share what I'd just seen and heard I went straight to Tank's office finding him sat working at his computer. He sat back in his chair when he saw me and watched me as I took the seat in front of his desk.

"You were right, those two men, Flynn and Ajax, have produced some excellent results already. They managed to track the man into JFK and have a composite for what he might look like"

Tank had a smirk on his face as if to say, I told you so. I assumed that maybe he was already up to speed on what Ajax and Flynn had found because his next comment was on a totally different subject.

"You finished the paperwork yet?"

He asked, I suppose more out of curiosity than anything else. I was pretty sure that he wouldn't have offered to help me with it.

"Yes. Though I think we need to look into ways of making it easier on ourselves. An accountant would be able to take over pay roll and ensure the financial records were kept up to date"

Tank nodding his head conveyed his agreement but what he said next had me knowing that he'd been thinking of other ways to make our lives easier.

"Someone to manage rotas and upload the men's reports would be useful. They could also oversee stock ordering and inventory. Hector says that there are programs out there that would streamline a lot of the paperwork. He even suggested providing the men with their own PDA that would feed directly into our systems"

I sat back and considered what he'd said. He was right because too much time was spent by the core team doing administrative tasks, when we should have been focusing on clients and being out on the street.

"Have you someone in mind?"

"Me? Nah. I'll put together a couple of job profiles to discuss at the next core group meeting"

Now why didn't I believe him? I knew that I'd lost touch with the goings on around the office, but I had a sneaky suspicion that Tank had already come to the conclusion that we needed administrative help. I was still curious as to whether or not he might have someone in mind. I needed to ask Santos to ask around because he was the one who caught onto any gossip that concerned the men.

That had me considering how much paperwork I'd come back to. In the past, yes, there was some catching up to do but the amount this time was beyond normal. Tank had said that things had been quiet so was he preoccupied with something else? Had Tank met someone. Had he been with her when I'd called him about Steph's car? Was that why he was so brief with his answers?

"Carlos?"

I looked up to Tank my nerves tingling with what he was going to say. He never called me by my first name unless he was broaching into a subject that was personal to me.

"I'm sorry. I should have kept a better eye on Little Girl. It's just that, well I was preoccupied, and there being no news on her I took as being good news. Santos told me about her going out of town and that maybe Morelli was with her and that you were worried about her"

I raised an eyebrow hearing what he'd said and was about to respond when he interrupted me.

"Do we need to find her?"

My elbows rested on my knees as I considered what he'd said. I wasn't about to have a go at him for what he'd said because he was right I did want to find her and make sure that she was okay, but I would never blame him for taking his eyes off Steph.

"I have no idea where she went so haven't a clue where to start. I think that she used an old truck that I can't get a lead on"

Tank seemed to contemplate what I'd said and to be honest I didn't think that he'd have any suggestions to help me.

"Lula. You talked to her? That woman has a way of knowing things. She's tight with Steph so if anyone knows anything then she will"

That had me remembering how she'd reacted when I'd been at the bonds office. Tank was right, she was who I needed to talk to next.

"Thanks Tank"

I said as I stood up from the chair and even as I walked out of his office, I was formulating a way of doing it. I had a client meeting here at Rangeman scheduled for early afternoon so would look to visiting Lula after that.

A meeting that had Rangeman a new client was never a bad thing. The bad thing about the meeting had been the client's wife. I was pretty sure that she hadn't married the elderly man for love and that she seemed to think that it was acceptable to openly flirt with me in front of him. That just plain annoyed me. What that meeting did do was to put me into a mood that was just right for talking to Lula.

Fortunately, Santos was off duty and was willing to accompany me down to a street a few blocks from Stark Street. There was no way that I would leave a car unguarded in that neighborhood which was why I was pleased to have Santos with me. I parked on the opposite side of the street to the building where Lula lived scanning the streets for any sign of trouble. To be honest it was probably too late for the drug sellers to be out and too early for the corners to be filled with women waiting for passing cars. Looking up to the top floor of the four story building I couldn't understand why Lula continued to stay here. It wasn't a safe area of town to be in unless she was known so well that people tended to ignore her or maybe she maintained the friendships with the working women so felt comfortable.

I slipped from the car into the dark, keeping to the shadows, and made my way to the back of her building. There was a rear entrance that was easy to get through and gave me access to the stairs. Once on the top floor and sure that there was no one around I made my way down the hallway, voices from TVs and families filtering from the doorways. Shouts from arguments echoing around the narrow dimly lit hallway with the wailing of young children in the background. I ignored those sounds and the smells that seemed to linger in the hallway and focused on Lula's door pulling on gloves first before opening my lock pick set. Lula's lock was easier to pick than Steph's, so I was soon inside the empty apartment using a penlight to quickly scan the room that I'd walked into.

I wasn't surprised at the small space that I encountered or at the poor quality of the furnishings. I knew that Lula didn't make much money as a file clerk for Vinnie and probably relied on Steph paying her for when she helped with bringing in FTAs. An area in the corner held a double unit that could pass as a kitchen area with a stainless steel sink fitted into the top with a double cupboard on the wall above it. Next to it was a narrow table that held some electrical appliances like a kettle, toaster and microwave. As my eyes moved over the room, I was seeing a large couch set in front of a TV that had been attached to the wall. The paper was yellowing but Lula had made some effort to brighten the place up with brightly colored posters on the wall. Walking through the first door I was in a bedroom where the floor seemed to have disappeared underneath an array of clothes. It was so untidy that I wasn't even sure what I would be looking for so closing that door I stepped out and over to the next door.

I was expecting a bathroom so was surprised to find a second bedroom. This was much tidier and to be honest set the scene for seduction with a circular bed and red drapes hanging from a central point in the ceiling. Hanging on one side of the room on a purpose built rail were outfits, outfits that I assumed were ones that Lula had used when she had been a ho. Every conceivable style was on view and surprised me with their trashy seductiveness, if that was what Lula saw them as. On a small table close to the bed were items of her trade, from handcuffs to whips to lotions. Hell there were things that I'd only rarely ever used because I had never been a man who would want to hurt a woman. Nipple grips, butt plugs and gag balls, even chains and cock rings that looked lethal with their spikes.

Did Lula still trade as a ho, was what I was asking myself or were her preferences for partners on show here. The idea of Tank having dated her had me closing that door very quickly because I just didn't want that image in my head. I found the bathroom, a small, outdated place with cosmetics crammed into every available space and a shelf filled with wigs. I knew Lula still had a penchant for the outrageous so wasn't surprised with what I was seeing. I returned to the main room and perched on the arm of the couch waiting for Lula to get home and hoping that she was on her own.

I didn't have long to wait before I heard her key in the door and then watched as she stepped into the room, stripping off her jacket and throwing her keys and bag down onto the floor. She had no sense that I was there watching her until she flicked on the light switch and the single central bulb glared its light over the room. That was when she saw me. I knew that she instantly recognized me wearing my usual black, minus the Rangeman logos.

"What the fuck. What the hell are you doing here?"

She was halfway between annoyed and worried as she quickly surveyed the room.

"I know that you have more to say concerning Stephanie and her leaving town. Did Morelli end up going with her?"

Her eyes darted everywhere but toward me which led me to believe that I could be right. I waited as she strutted into the kitchen area and pulled down a can of coke from the top cupboard knowing that she was trying to avoid having to say anything. When she eventually turned to face me, it was now with annoyance.

"That Morelli, he's a prick. He threatened me, yeah me, if I said anything to Steph"

That wasn't what I'd expected her to say so was now curious as to what she was implying.

"Explain it to me Lula"

I kept my face blank and my voice low, not to frighten her, but to show her that she needed to talk. Lula spent a moment adjusting the tube of sparkly material around her chest and pulling down the hem to a decent level. Yeah, she didn't want to talk to me. Well tough shit Lula, because one way or another that was what she was going to do.

"I told him about Stacy's boy, but would he take me seriously? No. Just because Stacy still works the streets don't make her kid any less important"

Her anger showed through how she said that but I was probably frowning now because I had no idea what she was talking about or how this related to Stephanie.

"What did you tell Morelli?"

Hoping that maybe if she started at the beginning then things would start to make sense. I watched as Lula slowly began to lose some of her anger, as her shoulders slouched, and she took in a deep breath.

"He's just fourteen and he's a good kid. Attends school and has got himself some good grades. Anyways, over all the damn lockdowns he became isolated. Always on his computer or phone. Stacy thought that he was doing schoolwork, but he got quiet and, I suppose isolated, wouldn't leave his bedroom. She thought he was going to school until she got this letter from them telling her he wasn't attending. They had one hell of a blow up and he just up and left. Told her his new family would look after him"

Okay, so maybe I was seeing a second boy who had left home and to be honest was beginning to worry that it might be a similar situation to Morelli's nephew. Lula was on a roll now and didn't hesitate to continue.

"His computer is one of those big things so he couldn't take it with him, so Stacy had one of her clients take a look at it. Samuel, the kid, well there weren't naught on it or his phone. Damn thing had been reset back to factory settings"

Shit, had he been involved in a grooming site where the other kids were probably adults whose sole intention was brainwashing children into their way of thinking. I knew of these sites and that Homeland tried to keep an eye on them. Hadn't some cajoled boys into some pretty desperate and dangerous actions. Wasn't that how some of the fundamentalists recruited? I was making assumptions because to me the fact that all evidence had been erased was too much of a coincidence.

"Lula, what has that to do with Stephanie?"

Now worried with what I was sure she was going to say. Her whole demeanor changed, and I watched as she sank down onto the floor with her back leaning on one of the cupboards.

"Sam and Danny knew each other so I suggested to Morelli that maybe the two kids disappearing was linked. I wanted to tell Steph but well. She's a good person so I was sure that she'd try to find them, I mean to me it seemed that they could have run away together. So I confronted Morelli, but he turned nasty on me, telling me it was stupid thinking on my part. I got mad at him and told him that I was going to tell Steph whether he liked it or not. That was when he threatened me and I, I couldn't"

I was sure that what Lula had told me was the truth but for the life of me I couldn't understand why or how Morelli had threatened her.

"Lula, how did he threaten you?"

She looked down at the floor with tears running down her cheeks which told me that she really didn't want to tell me that part of her story.

"Lula"

I growled at her because this was important.

"He threatened to have me arrested for prostitution and dealing. That would have lost me my job and maybe even got me put away with the record that I have"

I could believe the prostitution part just from what I'd seen in the second bedroom, but the drug dealing?

"Do you sell drugs?"

An honest question on my part, not that I cared.

"Maybe. What Vinnie gives me is a pittance, I have to subsidize it somehow, but only with clients"

That explanation seemed possible but to be honest I wasn't interested in what Lula did for kicks. It accounted for how Lula kept her Firebird in such pristine condition and had so many clothes that she had nowhere to put them. What Lula was doing was up to her, I wasn't going to make a comment because it wasn't my place to pass judgement on her.

"How did he know?"

Had Morelli known all along and kept quiet because of Steph, hoping that Lula would reevaluate her life or was this how Morelli worked, collect information on people until he felt that it would be useful to him.

"I don't know"

If I'd heard right, then Morelli hadn't told Steph about the other boy's disappearance. Had he been worried that had she known that she would have got more involved in looking for them? What the hell was I missing here?

This thinking wasn't helping to find Steph so looking at Lula, who was still sat on the floor, I knew that I had more questions for her.

"I need to find her Lula, so anything that you know might help"

Her looking up at me and then wiping her eyes gave me the impression that she was willing to tell me anything that she knew. As though it might vindicate her for not being honest with Steph.

"Do you know what truck she was driving?"

Knowing that might help me to track it through street cams because I'd found no other vehicle registered to Steph.

"Only what Steph told Connie, that it was old and shitty looking, but I never saw it. She told her that she wouldn't be needing no smart clothes, only casual and her boots"

That wouldn't help to narrow down the search for the truck and finding it now wouldn't be easy.

"I'm sorry. I should have talked to her but. Morelli he was so damned pushy, and I never got the chance"

What she said surprised me as though she wanted to help me but felt that she couldn't. Was that because she felt so threatened by Morelli? I was sure that Lula was hiding something, but I was also aware that she'd finished saying anything else to me, so I stood up and was about to leave Lula with her own thoughts.

"She should have been back by now. You'll find her, won't you"

I nodded my head and reached for the handle of the door. I wasn't sure what to think of Lula. She'd struggled her whole life to survive, and in some ways, Steph had been her salvation. Steph would be devastated to know that she'd fallen back into her old habits especially after surviving the assault from Ramirez. I felt that I should do something to help her but didn't know what and at the moment I had too many things going on, the most important thing was finding Steph. What Lula hadn't said was becoming obvious now. She hadn't said that Morelli had gone with Steph.

I let out a breath once back in the car and just sat going through what I'd learnt from Lula.

"You were up there a long time, so did she have much to say?"

"Old truck and Steph took clothes that were more for the outdoor"

We fell into silence as I drove and even on reaching Rangeman we went our separate ways without a word being spoken. I wasn't in the right frame of mind to try and look anymore for that truck so went straight up to seven. Lula had unsettled me with what she'd said, especially about the other boy going missing as well. I was fuming with Morelli and had he been around I would have been knocking on his door and probably his face. A shower did little to settle me.

I was remembering what I'd asked Hector to do and wondered if he'd hit a dead end as well. There wasn't anything else that I could think to do, and that was a dangerous place for me to be, one that was playing havoc with how I was feeling and there was only one way to gain a semblance of control.