“Agent Mitch Kenny. Why?”
She nods.
“Cuz I’m pretty sure I heard him mention your name.”
Matt and I share a look.
Chantel Staffman has given us the final nail in Chad Miller’s coffin.
That son of a bitch is going down.
“He lawyered up, by the way,” Matt shares when we get in his vehicle.
“Miller?”
He hums in confirmation.
“Let me guess; Russel Germain?”
“Got it in one.”
“Would be nice to find something concrete we can use on that dirtbag,” I suggest.
“And Melnyk,” Matt adds. “So far, we have the word of a high-school-dropout daughter of a meth head against that of a well-respected member of Congress. Doesn’t require a degree to see how that would play out.”
He’s not lying.
It’s no wonder these kids never bothered to seek out help from law enforcement or any other grown-up for that matter.
All they’ve learned in their young lives is that they’re not worth listening to.
That’s where I’m hoping the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section, our CARD unit, and organizations like GEM can make a difference. Give kids a voice, be advocates.
Which reminds me…
“What’s happening to the Lyons kid? Anything from him yet?”
There are still two kids out there, and the hope remains Jamie Lyons may be able to tell us where to look.
“Onyx was still working to soften him up. The kid is tough. Let me give her a quick call.”
“Agent Driver,” the woman answers in that elegant voice. “I was just about to call you.”
“Tell me you got somewhere with him.”
“He was warming up once I informed him both Melissa and Bobby-Jean were found. Quite chatty, ultimately.”
“How would he know those girls were missing? He was already gone for months by then,” I point out.
Unless, of course, he stayed in touch with someone. Maybe one of the kids?
“Ah, yes, I was wondering the same thing. It turns out Jamie kept himself abreast of what happened at the center by way of monthly phone calls to a friend.”
“Who’s the friend?” Matt wants to know.
“Apparently, the cook. Brian Tapper.”
Wow.
That’s one twist I didn’t see coming. I remember Kate mentioning the man seemed rather fond of the kid and suggested perhaps talking to him again, but we never really had the chance.
“He knew?”
“Jamie swears he never told Brian where he was and begged him not to tell anyone. He’d been afraid the information might fall into the wrong hands.”
“Whose?” I ask, making a mental note to finally pay this Brian a visit.
“It would appear our rather shady attorney has a penchant for boys. Unwanted interest in young Jamie, who felt he had no choice but to run. However, he did not go alone,” she adds.
“Jesper Olson.”
Those two were friends, it seemed a logical conclusion.
But the response I get from Onyx is a surprise.
“Actually, no. It was Bryonne Taylor. I’m on my way to pick her up in Paducah now.”
“Are you kidding me?” Matt exclaims. “Paducah?”
“Hiding under the Clark Memorial Bridge across the Tennessee River,” she confirms.
“Fuck me. She was right under our nose. I’ll call my friend to go pick her up,” he offers.
“I’d rather you didn’t. The girl is bound to take off. As a woman, I’ll present less of a threat.”
Onyx makes a good point, one that has become more obvious these past weeks.
I never really thought about the fact we don’t have women in our unit, but I’m starting to wonder if that should not be amended.
“Fair enough,” Matt concedes. “But at the very least let him provide some backup.”
“I won’t say no to that.”
All the kids accounted for except for one.
“What about Jesper Olson?” I prompt. “Did he say anything about him?”
“Yes, he did.”
A lengthy pause follows before she clarifies the statement.
“Jesper Olson was the one who lured them in.”
TWENTY-NINE
Opal
“Okay, hold on one second…”
I glance over at Janey who—as expected—is glowering at Lee Remington. The man is virtually leaning across the conference table, an expression of disbelief on his face.
“Are you saying one of the kids was in it with Kendrick?”
“We have reason to believe Jesper Olson was, yes,” Jacob’s tinny voice confirms from the speaker in the center of the table. “The boy was well-liked by the other kids, a bit of a heartthrob, and generally looked up to by his peers. He made for the perfect decoy.”
It had been Jacob’s idea to invite Remington to our office for a ‘briefing,’ after the journalist hounded us relentlessly for information since we found Sawyer and Bobby-Jean. Our boss is hoping to satisfy Lee with a few salient tidbits only pertaining to the missing kids, but referring him to the FBI for the rest. Personally, I’m not so sure the man will be that easily put off.
“Has he been located?”
“Not yet,” I answer. “We’re still working on it.”
It’s been two weeks since Janey and Raj drove me home from the hospital. Home, home, as in, my place a couple of miles outside Dry Ridge. Jacob had insisted on one week’s rest before he’d allow me back to work. It had been one of the longest weeks of my life. Luckily, Janey took pity on me and delivered a new laptop, in addition to the new phone she’d already provided me with.
Still, I watched more TV than I ever had. Mostly Hallmark Christmas movies that were incredibly lame, but very addictive and inevitably made me cry.
I did a lot of that too. Went through a six-pack of Kleenex boxes in seven days, although I can’t say it was just because of the sappy movies.
Mitch never called. He contacted Janey a few times and apparently inquired about me, but I never got a call myself, or even a text.
It’s the risk I took when I walked out of the house when Sawyer was missing, but I’m not going to lie, it still hurt. Mitch was the first guy I let down my guard with. Could envision something long term with.
So yeah, I felt the loss. Still do.
It was a relief when the week was over and Jacob allowed me back into the office.
Since then, I’ve spent most of my time trying to find out what happened to Jesper Olson. Yesterday, I got a lead that pointed us in the direction of the Cayman Islands.
In her interview with Jamie Lyons, he’d informed Raj that Jesper offered him, Chantel, and Bryonne, a chance to make a few extra bucks by serving drinks and food at some private Christmas party. It was supposed to take place at the Bluegrass Scenic Railroad and Museum in Versailles. By his account—which was later confirmed by Chantel—Kendrick drove them to the location in a van but it had been Jesper who handed out hot chocolates. Those had apparently been laced with something. Rohypnol, most likely.
Jamie says the only thing he remembers is finding himself half-naked in a railway car with Russel Germain. He freaked out, knocked the lawyer on his bare ass, and took off. He found Bryonne puking in the walkway of the next car and dragged her along.