Page 92 of Forged in Steele

“Honestly, I was the one who wanted the questionnaire. He didn’t really care if the people I evaluated would be fit parents. Just if they had the ability to pay and keep their mouths shut.”

“And that didn’t bother you?” Bristol asked, trying hard to hide her attitude that was growing by leaps and bounds on this woman.

“Not when I learned that he was helping unfit mothers find homes for their babies.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder with a sharp flick of her hand, and her cuffs jingled. “It meant there would be fewer children in the system needing our intervention and protection. It was a win/win for everyone. Me too as he paid me five grand per couple and ten grand for each child I found.”

“Found—or abducted and brought to him?” Bristol asked.

“No comment.” She clamped her mouth closed.

“You already admitted to getting parents to sign over their babies and bringing them to his house,” Jared said. “And the women staying there saw you.”

“Hmm.” She tapped her chin. “I don’t remember saying anything like that.”

“We both heard you, and the women saw you bring in babies.” Jared looked like he wanted to growl at the woman.

“Good luck in getting any of them to testify to that fact.” She grinned. “They’ve been beaten down so much by Holloway that they can’t think for themselves anymore.”

Resisting the urge to reach across the table, grab the woman’s shirt, and shake her, Bristol took a calming breath instead. “As you know, Holloway isn’t at his usual places. Do you know where he might be?”

“He always talked about a beach house he went to with Melissa. That’s his assistant.”

“Do you know where?” Bristol asked.

“I think he said Netarts Bay, but I’m not sure. I pretty much zoned him out when he talked about Melissa. It’s too hard to see others so happy when you’ve been striking out in your own love life.”

Maybe that’s the reason she was so bitter, but no matter what, Bristol still couldn’t condone her behavior. “Does one of them own the beach house?”

“Don’t know.”

“Anything else you can tell us about Holloway’s operation or how to find him?” Jared asked.

“Nope. That’s it. And it should be enough to share with the DA to go easy on me.”

Bristol stood and stared down at Pam. “No deal. No way. You stole babies from their mothers. Sure, you might have gotten them to sign a form, but they likely didn’t know what they were doing. For that, you will pay.”

Bristol bolted from the room and into the hallway, gulping big breaths of air.

Jared joined her. “She’s really something.”

“With that personality, I can’t see how she ever got into social work.” Bristol continued to breathe. “The worst part is, if Holloway destroyed all of his records, we really have no proof of what she did either.”

“Our agency will locate adoption records that involved Holloway and launch an investigation,” Jared said. “Not sure if charges other than impersonating a county official will be brought, but we can try.”

“Either way, she didn’t help with finding Luna.” Bristol marched down the hallway and retrieved her phone and sidearm.

Jared was pocketing his phone when it rang. “It’s Adair.”

He answered and listened. “On my way.”

“Good news.”

He shook his head. “Adair is frustrated that Holloway is still in the wind and wants an in-person update. I need to head back to the command center for that, and we’ll get started on the beach house lead too.”

“The last thing I want to do is sit in an update meeting,” she said with conviction. “I need to move. To do something.”

“But what?”

She let the investigation steps race through her mind. “Since Luna was in the car at Reya Isaacs’s house, I think I’ll go back to her place to see if we missed anything.”

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