Page 67 of 2nd Strike
In my years working for the FBI and profiling criminals, I've seen and heard a lot of strange things. Mental health is often times the source behind unusual, illogical behavior.
Money and greed, power, unhealthy relationships—they round out the other reasons.
Wine in hand, I think about money and power struggles. About a pregnant woman paying another to take—or kidnap?—her baby.
Meg texts.Lily’s not coming. She texted Carl and said she didn't want to have her heart broken all over again if Jon isn't hers. Ordering pizza now. Want to come over?
Oh Lily. You drama queen. I told Carl we had the DNA test, proving Jon was his. It may not be admissible in court, but it's still accurate. “Well, at least Carl and Jon have met," I tell JJ.
"No Lily?"
I shake my head.
“Do they want to join us? There's plenty to go around."
While that's the considerate thing to do, I'd rather sit and brainstorm with the handsome, although tired, looking guy across from me. I think both of us could use some downtime.
I reply.Having dinner now. JJ made spaghetti. Want the leftovers?
A minute later, she responds.The boys want pizza, but I'd love some, if you have extra.
I'll have him bring you a plate in a little bit.
She sends me a thumbs-up emoticon.
Money, money, money. Something niggles at my brain. I eat more pasta and then, as lightning strikes, I jump up and run to my office.
"What is it?" JJ calls after me.
I return with one of the files I still have from the original case. “When we went through Amelia's house after we found Ethan, she had two suitcases packed––one for her, the other for him. There was a false bottom in hers and ten thousand dollars in large bills under it."
He whistles softly and motions at me to go on. “So?”
“She had those bags in case she had to leave in a hurry. I figured for a get out of town quick emergency. She had a bank account, but only used it to pay bills. No savings. No credit cards. She lived paycheck to paycheck on minimum wage, yet the house was in a nice, middle-class neighborhood."
JJ finishes a fork full of pasta and shrugs. “She was living under a false name after she kidnapped a baby. Makes sense she’d be ready to run if anyone found out."
I flip through my notes, reading quickly. "She had no mortgage because she rented, but she also had no car payment. She must’ve used cash for the car, and her rent was over a thousand dollars a month, which she also paid in cash when she had a child to raise and no one to help her financially? It doesn't make sense."
He and I once more stare at each other across the table. “You think she used the money the California mother paid her to buy the car and rent the house?”
“And for new identities and travel expenses for herself, the baby, and her sister. Yet, she still had ten thousand dollars in cash. That adds up to a hell of a lot."
“Maybe that wasn't the only child she was paid to take? Or she had a longer history of buying and selling children?"
That's what I'm afraid of. The kid we know as Ethan might not have been the first child Amelia and Susie brokered. He might not be the last they stole. "I need to talk to Susie."
JJ makes a huffing noise. “You know that's not going to happen. Call Taylor. Let her go down that rabbit hole.”
I try to remember Amelia, the woman I saw and talked to for only moments before she killed herself. She had a quiet, simple beauty like her sister. She seemed completely normal, in fact, no hint of mental issues, but they're rarely obvious when you first meet someone.
I remember her self-righteous indignation that we’d come to take Ethan away. That anyone could love him more than she did.
I also recall the look on her face when she realized the gig was up. Her fury that her neighbor had fingered her as Ethan's kidnapper. The way she seemed to care more about herself than him, despite her claims that she loved him.
Lily's face flashes across my mind. That same righteous indignation and anger covering up her fear.
My phone rings and it's Matt. “We’ve got a match on Ethan.”
