Page 44 of Forged in Steele

Jared introduced them again. “We’d like details of your son’s adoption.”

“What do you want to know?” The guy on-screen had graying temples in sleek black hair.

“Did you pay Mr. Holloway for your son?” Jared asked bluntly.

Mrs. Wetzel gasped again, but if her husband was upset his expression didn’t show it. “We did. Which is not uncommon in a private adoption. We paid for all of the birth mother’s expenses and legal costs.”

“Did Holloway tell you how he located babies for adoption?” Bristol asked.

“He said he was known to doctors, nurses, and hospitals in the area,” Mrs. Wetzel replied. “So if a woman came to them wanting to give up their child for adoption, they referred them to him.”

“Did you know that Holloway’s methods of obtaining the babies were often illegal?” Jared asked.

“I’m not going to answer that question, and Felicity, don’t answer either.” Mr. Wetzel clamped his lips closed.

“Let’s assume the reason you aren’t answering is that the answer is yes.” Jared leaned closer to the phone. “Didn’t you question where the babies came from?”

“No,” Mr. Wetzel said. “And there’s no point in speculating now. We have our son and have documents on file to show he was relinquished by his parents.”

“Tell us the process you went through and how the financial transaction was handled,” Jared said.

“Simple. We applied. A home study was conducted. We were approved. We gave our preference for a boy and were told a woman was due in four months with a boy, and he could be ours. We put down twenty grand and then began making monthly payments of five grand until we picked up our boy. Then we paid another twenty grand.”

“All told you paid sixty-thousand dollars for your son,” Bristol clarified.

“And I would’ve paid double that, if need be,” Mr. Wetzel said. “A few cash payments and we’re the family we always wanted to be.”

“You paid in cash?” Bristol asked. “Didn’t you find that odd?”

“Not after he explained.”

“Explained?” Jared asked.

“He said in the past he had issues when government overwatch got involved and delayed adoptions for months just to do all of their paperwork.” Mr. Wetzel frowned. “We didn’t want that to happen so we withdrew cash according to his guidelines and paid it to him.”

“What kind of guidelines did he have?” Bristol asked.

“Nothing much.” Mrs. Wetzels’ hands tightened. “He just said to keep our withdrawals under ten grand so the bank didn’t have to report them to the feds. He said that could trigger inquiries that would slow things down.”

“And you never considered the fact that cash made your transactions untraceable, and he needed that because he wasn’t performing legal adoptions?” Jared asked.

“The thought might’ve crossed our minds,” Mr. Wetzel admitted. “But there was no evidence of any wrongdoing. As I said, we have the papers to prove our son is ours.”

“Let’s hope what you’re saying is true,” Jared said. “Now I have to impose on you. First, don’t tell Holloway about our conversation. If you do, you will be charged with an accessory to any crimes he’s charged with. Do you understand that?”

“Yes,” Mr. Wetzel said, and his wife nodded.

“Next, Deputy Steele and I might be going undercover to gain additional information on Holloway. If we do, we will use your names as the couple referring us. If he calls you to confirm that detail, we will need you to confirm it.”

“And if we don’t?” Mr. Wetzel stuck out his chin. “Will you threaten to take our son away?”

“Of course not,” Jared said, looking offended. “The only thing that could happen—and it’s a big thing—is you could be putting our lives and the life of a helpless baby in danger.”

Bristol couldn’t have said it better but might’ve added that the clock was ticking down and even a second could matter in saving baby Luna.

9

Jared got up and paced across the conference room a few times to burn off his frustration. Didn’t help. He needed to get out of this space holding the evidence of their failed leads. Every single one had fallen through, and he couldn’t remain in the place where the walls shouted his failure. Nor could he let the team see his mood. He was the team leader, and he was failing them. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—bring them down with him.

---