Chapter Twenty-eight
All the way back to the house, Sophia rethought Barney’s words. How the hell did Manos have three kids with him when she knew for a fact that Maureen and him only had a set of five-year-old twins? Where did the third kid come from?
And why did her case suddenly get so convoluted? It was one thing to snatch a couple of kids back from a father who stole them from their American mother. It was a completely different scenario when the father was partnered with Russians in a vicious smugglingoperation.
And from the way Barney described his guests, she wondered if the Russians at his hotel were somehow tied to the trafficking the city had begun dealing in? And Manos was involved in the whole goddamn mess.
On the way back, Bill Bruner called through on the car phone, and she had to squash her first inclination of ignoring the call.
“Hey, boss, what’s up?” Knowing the ASAC would pick up on her tone, she purposely used teasing to cover up her worry.
“You okay, brat?”
He was alone or he’d never have used those words. Good, she could let him in on the situation, and he could get her some answers. “Yep. All set up for a meeting tomorrow with Manos Savas at a family barbecue, and Barney’s having both of us to dinner at his hotel the next night. He’s my cousin’s wife’s cousin.”
“He’s your cousin’s… what the fuck? Never mind. Just tell me what you need. I can hear it in your voice that you’re ready to drop something on me.”
“Yep. I am. Barney just told me that Savas has three kids with him at his compound, and they’re supposedly all his.”
“What? Compound? Three kids? Are you losing it, kiddo?”
“Call me that again Bunny, and I let loose with your nickname in the coffee room.”
A thick chuckle broke through and a ground out cuss word before he answered, “Don’t you dare blackmail mecauseI still have that baby picture of you with your gigantic stuffed grumpy cat. The one where it’s hard to tell which is chubbier, you or the cat.”
“Not that threat again. I keep telling you, no one can prove it’s me.”
“Proof isn’t necessary if I tell them. Think anyone’s going to argue with me?”
Backing down like they both knew would happen, she giggled and replied, “Okay, okay. Sir Boss, can you get me everything there is on Manos’s background – if he was married before, mistresses, whatever? Barney said this kid was around nine or ten and his name is Alexandro. And Bill, there’s some shit happening here on the island that I kind of got involved in.”
A raspy groan sounded before he said, “What is it this time?”
“I rescued a girl called Anastasia Dedov from her Russian pimps the other night, and she’s not alone. She was brought over in a shipping container from Sochi along with a dozen or so more just like her. They’re trafficking here too, Bill, and it makes me sick. The old mayor’s death is suspicious to say the least, and they now have a new mayor and police commander to cover up all the dirty, underhanded bullshit going on.”
“Ooo-kay. That sounds too dangerous for you to get mixed up in, Sophia. I mean it. Snatch the twins and get the hell out of there. We’ll get to Manos later, when he tries to get back into the country to steal his kids again.”
“Who’s to say he won’t send someone else. Look, I met a man you’ll approve of who’s helping me with this case. We’ll be fine, and I’ll get back just as soon as I can. Just get me that info I need.”
“Not until you tell me who this character is?”
“Fine. Have you ever met the governor’s brother?”
“Sam Reagan? You mean the bigshot, private muscle with a good rep, and a whole hell of a lot of influence?”
“Bingo!”