Page 26 of The Familiar Stranger

Well, nothing to do about all that except to juke.

And juke I did … with young Andi’s help. Such a pretty thing, that Andi Leland, even though she must be about eighteen years old now. Too old to be the valuable toy she once was years ago.

But I digress …

Turns out, Andi was the biggest help of all in luring Sloane to my web.

Andi called Sloane, like I knew she would—thanks to my urging while we bothjust happenedto be in line at her favorite coffeeshop. I made sure the newspaper headlines recounting that drag queen’s death was front and center in my hand. We got to talking—two total strangers—as people often did in the South.

Indeed, Little Miss Andi had heard about Grady’s death and was “deeply saddened.”

Boo-hoo.

I did a great job of acting, like,Oh my, you’re the girl who helped bring down that human trafficking ring.

“Hmm. I wonder if those two women are still around,” I’d said, tapping my chin. “I remember their hard work had made all the difference in catching that awful Hugh Barnes. Well, with your help too … Andi.”

The Leland girl got a faraway look in her eyes and said, “You know, that’s a good idea.”

Then it was her turn at the counter, and I skittered out the door.

Mission accomplished.

Sloane and Maddie are here.

And now it’s time to tighten the net.

CHAPTER20

Our GPS led us straight to the Lelands’ door, where Mike and Andi awaited us with sandwiches and cold drinks. Andi’s mom was visiting her mother in Florida and wouldn’t be back for another week.

My mind was all over the place, the rock in my stomach reminding me that in the blink of an eye, another person in my life could die.

We sat in the living room filled with colorful décor and soft lighting, including candles. There was a poster advertising an evening at the popular nightclub with Racy Lacy—that was Mike’s name when he performed—posing alongside of Lady Grady. Their costumes outlandish, their eyelashes even more so, but their hearts …

I knew them well—at least as well as I’d known anyone during my casework. They were good people. And now one of them was dead.

Mike saw me looking at the poster. “A good place to start, huh? Grady was our honcho, you know? A friend to all. Encouraged us to go out there and have fun. That’s why we did it. For the artistic expression, to do something outside the box for a change.”

“I remember, yes,” I said, Maddie nodding alongside me on the couch.

Mike was an accountant—not the most creative of professions, unless finding loopholes could be considered a way to express oneself. But it was a good, solid profession.

I clasped my hands on my lap, biting my lip.

While Grady’s fourteen-year-old nephew had disappeared, only to be found dead by apparent suicide, we never could connect him to the human trafficking ring that was focused on others his age in the Savannah area.

But Andi Leland had been one of those teens—and had fought her way out, her bravery leading us to Hugh Barnes.

Hugh Barnes, the ringleader, had a long history of evil, almost as if he were born into it. This included a quirk with the number 5. That quirk had led us to him and his system for collecting his “product”—focusing on fourteen-year-olds: 1 + 4 = 5. We had Maddie to thank for connecting those crazy dots.

Barnes was long dead, but Grady’s murder was fresh. Part of the same circle, but not completely, and I was desperate to find out what was going on.

Maddie broke the ice, as she was known to do, and grabbed a sandwich and a beer. We all followed suit, except Andi and I each chose a probiotic-infused soda.

“The funeral was a big deal,” Mike said. “The number of people who showed … crazy good stuff.”

“It was so beautiful,” Andi said.

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