Page 35 of Bears Behaving Badly
David shook his head. “I don’t have to act. Thereisa superduper sinister plot. If anything, ‘superduper sinister’ is downplaying the plot. We’re just not sure who all is involved.”
“—because our priority here is Caro. This is a young woman who was traumatized so deeply she took refuge in selective mutism.”
“Is that what it is?” Nadia asked.
“Dev indicated she could talk, she just wouldn’t. And is it any wonder? They didn’t just abuse her, they documented it. Over and over and over.”
Which raised another troubling detail David was quick to point out. “So clients who were into abuse porn would get pictures?”
Nadia tapped a photo of rows of cages, a third of which were empty. “This is a lot of time and trouble and expense for anyone to go to for abuse porn.”
“Well, they’re brutalizing these cubs for a reason,” Annette replied. “And we can’t rule out sex trafficking, either. Maybe Lund had clients who wanted an exotic and/or underage fuck. Which he would provide, but only after the kids had been beaten into submission.”
And just like that, not one of them could stand to be in that sterile level of hell. Not for another minute. Another second.
“All right, ladies. Let’s pack this shit up and get the hell gone.”
“Hallelujah! I’ll lock up behind you and meet you in the car park.” Nadia was back on her feet and heading for the downstairs at a near-trot. “Iknewstaying naked was the right choice.”
“At last!” Annette called after her. “A title for your autobiography!”
It was a silly joke, but David snorted and Nadia actually laughed, and that helped. A little.
* * *
Five minutes later, Nadia was fully dressed and they were walking toward her car, parked one row over from David’s.
“All right. So.” Annette shifted her grip on the Hell Folders. Even touching them was vomit-inducing. “Copies first.”
“At least two sets,” David added. “And we gotta stash the originals in the local equivalent of Fort Knox.”
“Agreed.” Though she didn’t think the local FedEx would be the right choice. She could picture it: copying page after page of documented physical abuse while hunching over the files, repeatedly refusing assistance, and glaring at anyone who got too close. The police would be pulling up before they were halfway through the first folder. “As for our next step, I’ll say it straight out—I have no idea what it is. They always make going rogue look so easy on TV.”
“Well, we—”
Nadia stopped talking and walking so suddenly Annette almost plowed into her. Not that she could blame the woman. The three of them were upwind or they’d have caught on sooner.
Caro Daniels was sitting cross-legged on the Razer’s hood.
Chapter 14
“I know I keep saying this…”
“Whatis goingon?” Nadia and David chorused.
“Stop it, I’m notthatshrill!” This over her shoulder as Annette ran to Caro. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Thankfully, Caro shook her head. “Are you sure? How many fingers am I holding up?” In response to Annette’s three fingers, Caro smirked and raised eight. “Not helpful!”
Caro was sockless, wearing the same sneakers from yesterday, black leggings, and a Hamline sweatshirt. Same penetrating gaze. Same unsettling silence.
“Do I even want to know where you got the new clothes?”
“Kid’s got balls,” David muttered under his breath, and Caro rolled her eyes.
Annette squashed the urge to take the girl by the shoulders and give her a shake. “Caro, why did you run? Who let you out?”
Nothing.
“And why do I keep asking you things when I know you won’t answer?”
