Page 46 of Gabe

“Do you think Newt and Sebastian realize we’re out here?”

Through the RV window, I could just see part of the safe house. Dusk had fallen while we’d been busy, and the lights glowing from inside the house looked warm and inviting.

“Probably. But I don’t think they’ll be too surprised.”

CHAPTER 17

Gabe

Sebastian’s leg was finally healed enough to get him a new, more manageable cast.

Supposedly.

Without an x-ray to check how his bones were healing, there was no way for us to know for certain. Unfortunately, an x-ray was one form of medical care that couldn’t be provided at the safe house by Newt or Frankie. We needed a hospital with proper medical machines.

It took some effort, but with Lily’s help, I managed to get an appointment set up in a hospital far enough away from the safe house that our enemies would not easily be able to track us.

“Thanks again, Lily,” I said into my phone as I sat in the hospital’s waiting room. “I wouldn’t have been able to set this up without you.”

“Eh, this was nothing,” her voice floated through the phone. “I wish all my jobs were this easy. Those lists of names you sent me are proving trickier than I thought.”

“The lists we got from the Senator’s new charity? What’s so complicated about that?”

In the seat beside me, Frankie perked up and strained to listen to my conversation. He must have been able to hear enough to realize what we were talking about, but not enough to get the full detail though, because he looked confused. If we were in private, I would have put the phone on speaker so we could both listen, but the hospital waiting room was too public. Someone could overhear, so I just signaled that I would tell him later.

In the background of the phone call, I could hear Lily’s pen tapping against her desk. “Well, the first two binders were exactly what you thought. There was a list of women who have used Love Without Limits’s services, and a list of volunteers who work for the charity. I’ve got people investigating those names right now. However, the third binder I can’t figure out. It’s a list of names, addresses, and phone numbers like the other two, but none of these people actually exist. My bet is that they are either aliases, or it’s some sort of code. I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”

I nodded, trying to keep the disappointment from showing on my face. “All right. If anyone can figure it out, it’s you. Is that it?”

Although I couldn’t see her, I could hear the laughter in her voice. “Would I leave you with just that? Have a little more faith.”

I sat up straighter in my chair. “You’ve got something?”

“Two things that’ll interest you. First, that guy you spoke with who was manning the charity booth. His full name is Ozias Wren. It’s a unique name, and it sounded familiar, so I dug a little deeper into him. Mr. Wren has been a busy little volunteer helper, specifically this last year. Wanna guess where else his name popped up?”

I didn’t need to guess. Just from her tone, I could already tell.

“One of the hospitals where children went missing?”

“Several of them, actually. The man has been all over the state of Louisiana, and even a few other states. I’d say he’s either a part of this pedophile ring, or at least working for them.”

Since my phone was occupied, and I didn’t trust myself enough to start hitting buttons without accidentally hanging up on Lily, I pulled out a notepad from my pocket and wrote down the name Ozias Wren as well as any details I could remember about the man. Lily would undoubtedly send me the man’s file later, but there was something about writing with pen and paper that felt more productive.

“Okay. That’s one lead we can look into. You said there was a second thing I’d want to hear?”

“Yep. I saved the best for last. Love Without Limits is having a big charity event soon. The Senator’s even going to show up. That would be a perfect time for you to do a little snooping.”

“I’ll mark it on my calendar. Thanks again. I’ll keep you updated on how it goes.”

“Not a problem. Helping you is certainly better than dealing with the chaos going on here since the Director was killed. Did you know some people are suggesting that I take over as Director? I said absolutely not and threatened to quit on the spot.”

I made sure to keep my laughter at a reasonable level for a waiting room, though a few people nearby still gave me odd looks.

At my side, Frankie was practically bursting at the seams with curiosity.

“You’d be a miserable Director.”

“I know,” she groaned. “I’d much rather be the woman behind the power. I’ve got to go now. Give my regards to Mr. Roth. I hope his injuries are doing better.”

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