Page 27 of Forgotten Girls

“Waiting for you to wake up, I imagine.” Styles filled the doorway and the smell of coffee drifted toward her. “Wolfe’s orders were to check you every two hours overnight. He was concerned about the bump on the back of your head from where you fell. That guy must have weighed three hundred pounds, I’m surprised he didn’t break every bone in your body.”

Beth searched around for her alarm clock. “My clock seems to have gone missing. What time is it?”

“Almost noon. I didn’t want you getting up at six and heading to the gym.” Styles handed her a cup of coffee, dragged a chair from in front of her dressing table, and sat down beside the bed. “Wolfe was reluctant to give you a shot to make you sleep, but as both he and Nate couldn’t determine any signs of concussion, they both decided that making sure you had a long sleep would be more beneficial than leaving you to toss and turn around in pain all night.”

Trying frantically to recall everything that had happened during the examination and the hours she’d spent at the local hospital having X-rays and an MRI on her skull, Beth did recall drifting off for a time on a hospital cot. In fact, that was the last thing she remembered. They had left Wolfe to deal with the transportation of the body to his office in Black Rock Falls, and Nate, Styles, Jo, and Carter had accompanied her to the hospital. She’d had her little chat with Jo as she waited for the hospital to get organized. She recalled Wolfe coming to see her after the MRI, and explaining everything was okay but she would be sore and sorry for herself for a few days. She recalled him giving her a shot and then nothing. She sipped the coffee. Styles had made it ready to drink, and she appreciated it greatly. “How did I get here? Last thing I remember is being in the hospital.”

“Carter carried you, and I opened doors.” Styles smiled at her. “He’s asleep in my apartment. We took turns watching you all night. Jo stayed over in the apartment upstairs. We’ll need to keep it ready for them in the future. I had plenty of spare bed linens and rustled them up some coffee and fixings for the night. TJ sent breakfast along, so everyone is good for now.” He pointed to a bottle on the nightstand. “Nate prescribed some pain meds for you and something to take down the swelling. Your neck and ribs are badly bruised.”

Everything hurt and Beth nodded. “Tell me about it. I feel like I’ve been hit by a train.” She allowed the warm coffee to bathe her sore throat and leaned back against the pillows. “So I guess visiting the neighboring towns to look for Shoebridge is out of the question today?”

“Yeah, well it is for now and it might be a waste of time.” Styles sipped his coffee and eyed her over the rim of his cup. “It seems that Amber, Cash’s new receptionist, is more efficient than we gave her credit for. She has already contacted the sheriffs of the towns and asked them to watch out for anyone fitting the description of Shoebridge or the doctor. She has contacted all the local mines and left Shoebridge’s name with them just in case he does try to take a job in his current name. She mentioned that people come and go on a daily basis in the mines, so it would be very difficult for them to pinpoint if he was one of the new men that they’d hired over the last week or so. Security guards were a dime a dozen. They didn’t last long because the workers find them invasive, which leads to resentment and trouble in town at times, so usually the security guys don’t last too long in the position.”

Beth placed her cup on the bedside table. “What about a new doctor? He’d be easier to find.”

“Apparently not. Unless he opens a new practice in town, he would hardly get a passing glance.” Styles shrugged. “Many of the doctors who visit these outlying towns are on a rotation basis or they just fill in at some of the local hospitals, so rarely the townsfolk get to know them. They’re just glad to have one available when they need them. I believe Nate is the only doctor in these parts who has a practice in the middle of town. The mines have their own medics, and if it’s anything serious, they can go to the local hospital. It seems to be the way of things of late. It seems that doctors are in short supply.”

Beth pushed both hands through her hair and then threw back the blankets. She still wore the clothes that Styles had taken to the sheriff’s office for her, apart from her coat and woolen cap. “I need to take a shower and then get something to eat.”

“We’ll head over to TJ’s for lunch.” Styles pushed to his feet and collected the cups. “Carter has already been in contact with Kalo. He mentioned a few ideas he wanted to toss around with you when you’re feeling better.”

Clearheaded, Beth headed for the bathroom. “I’m okay. Go and wake Carter. I’ll be ready to leave in fifteen.” She stopped with one hand on the door handle and turned to face him. He was always there, like a rock she could depend on. She needed to thank him, say something, and she chose her words with care. “Thanks for watching out for me. I appreciate you more than you know. Bear too. He is one special dog.”

THIRTY-ONE

Styles insisted on driving to TJ’s Bar and Grill. He gave the excuse that the weather was cold and miserable. Insisting that Beth take the ride rather than walk to the bar in her condition would never have worked. Admitting to being unable to do her job was never an option for Beth. They left the dogs in the office, although Carter’s Doberman, Zorro, gave the best impression of sulking he’d ever seen. Beth had insisted she was fine, but the bruises on her neck were getting blacker by the second, likewise the very painful marks across the backs of her wrists. She moved slower than normal, indicating that her ribs were more painful than she would admit. They took a quiet booth at one end of the bar and ordered their meals. He added fixings to his cup of coffee and looked at Carter. “Did Kalo get back to you?”

“Yeah, but not about the abductions. All the info on those is on the server.” Carter removed his hat and pushed a hand through his shaggy blond hair. “He has a theory about the missing babies, but not the girls taken from foster care. He figures because the girls are taken from foster care and reported as runaways, they’re never followed up on. He said it was impossible to distinguish which girls had actually run away from those who had been sold into slavery. In the majority of cases, neither have ever been found. So he concentrated on running the DNA profiles of the men who are known to be the fathers of some of the babies through some popular databases. He started his search when Jenna and Dave exposed the baby-selling racket in Cottonwood Creek.”

“Yeah, I know about those sites.” Beth leaned forward in her chair resting her hands on the table. “Many adopted kids are using it to find their real parents. Did he find anything interesting?”

“Oh, yeah.” Carter added cream to his coffee and smiled. “The three men involved in Jenna’s case had sired five children listed on the database. So this goes way back.” He stirred slowly and raised both eyebrows. “Five we know about. All old enough to be seeking their parents. This was only one of the databases. Since that hit, Kalo has expanded his search.” He narrowed his gaze. “This is Jenna’s case, but she handed over the hunt for the missing babies and the location of the foster carers to the FBI. The foster parents of the three missing girls they found were doing jail time but the investigations died there. No one would talk about any involvement with a pedophile ring and all took the blame for the scheme.”

Styles shook his head. “I’m not surprised. They’d be aware whoever is masterminding the organization would have murdered them before they opened their mouths.”

“So it would seem.” Carter leaned back in his chair and blew out a long sigh. “Thing is, they all died in jail within a month of being sentenced. Same with the daddies of the babies. They’re all dead. Someone cleaned up real well.”

“So, the kids’ searches would have met a brick wall.” Beth lifted her gaze from her cup. “But Kalo would have their names and contacts. That’s how these sites work: kids and parents leave contact details. If we have names, we can discover who adopted them. The judge involved in the case would be on file as well. The parents are the people we target. We’ll discover which agency they went through and which judge signed the adoption papers.” She shook her head and raised both eyebrows at Styles. “I told you a door would open. I’ll contact Kalo and get right onto this today. I’d bet dollars to dimes the parents had no idea of the circumstances that led to them adopting their kids. They likely paid a huge amount to push the adoption through and believed them to be legit. If they hadn’t, they’d have never allowed their kids to be DNA tested, but when we explain, I’m sure these respectable families will give us the information we require to bring down the organization behind the illegal adoptions.”

“It’s gonna be dangerous.” Carter rubbed his chin. “I figure you’re going about this the wrong way.”

“How so?” Beth stared at him.

“Maybe hunt down one family but keep well away from them.” Carter’s brow creased into a frown. “If they’re innocent, we don’t want them murdered. Maybe call them and say you’re the mother of a friend of one of the kids. Ask if she can recommend an adoption agency.”

Styles stared at him. “What good will that do? They’d cover their tracks or make it all look legal.”

“You have one of the best undercover agents, sitting right there.” Carter indicated to Beth. “She can create a backstory, an entire new life that no one will question. Don’t forget to add your ability to pay any amount to obtain a baby or two. Wherever this agency is, make an appointment. Maybe to add another level of security we’ll swap partners. I’ll go with Beth looking for a baby. We need to know who is involved. We’ll need to see a birth certificate or insist we meet the doctor who will be delivering the baby. We’ll offer double what they want for a newborn and see if money talks.”

“I can manipulate Bitcoin accounts over the dark web.” Beth nodded slowly. “Once they give me their wallet details, I’ll be able to track the money. What we use won’t actually exist, and I’ll be able to drain their accounts dry in seconds.”

“What exactly do you mean, Beth?” Jo turned her concerned expression on her. “You’re not planning on stealing from this organization, are you?”

“Not stealing, removing.” Beth’s eyes flashed but she smiled. “They need a currency to pay everyone along the way. Removing their funds will cripple them.” She shrugged. “It will appear to vanish into cyberspace. In truth, I’ll make sure charities get a boost.” She looked around the table. “Think about it. Who would ever know outside of this room? I didn’t need to tell you, did I? My way means people in need get it. Kids needing lifesaving operations, the cancer foundations. I can donate to them anonymously and everyone who really needs the money benefits.”

“It’s against our code.” Jo blinked a few times and then shrugged. “It’s Bitcoin, right? So only you really know how much we’re talking about, am I right?”

“Yeah. Well, Kalo might as well.” Beth rubbed the end of her nose. “I guess I could hand it in, but it seems such a waste and it will only go to pay politicians.”

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