Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
I wasn’t sure I believed them, but these people were the first ones to take me seriously. I wasn’t ready to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I’d give them any information I could and see what happened.
Another woman entered the room. She had long brown hair reaching down her back in loose curls and kind, brown eyes. She smiled as she entered, greeting the other women warmly.
“Hey, guys!” Her gaze found mine. “You must be Iris. Shotgun’s added your sister to the search. We pulled footage from the party to get her picture. We hacked into the city’s camera system and are using facial recognition software to find a match. It’s a matter of time until we find her.” She held out her hand to me. “I’m Shotgun’s wife. Eden.”
“You’ve already started?” I took her hand, and she squeezed gently.
“Oh, yeah. We were already working on it. We didn’t realize this ring included any of the group homes we hosted for Christmas each year.” She frowned. “We thought it was mostly homeless girls and boys. That’s bad enough, but to think this ring has someone who’s supposed to protect these kids working for them has all the guys here in a snit.”
That surprised me. It also gave me real hope that maybe they would find my sister, and this wasn’t all lip service. “Why is that? These kids are nothing to you guys.”
Jezebel jerked like I’d struck her. “Honey. Those kids are ours as surely as if we’d adopted them. El Diablo and the club pour money into a foundation that is supposed to help each child in those homes go to college or trade school. They can start receiving scholarship money while in high school for classes until they’re adopted. It’s one of the main reasons we found out something fishy was going on.”
“I don’t understand. I’ve never heard about anything like that. Once I was emancipated, I was sent on my way with a smile, a princess wave, and a solid don’t-let-the-door-hit-your-ass-on-the-way-out. Was it because I left early?”
“No, honey. You should have had help through high school if you wanted it. In fact, there have been two different group homes we noticed that took money from the foundation, but the recipient in question either never enrolled in school or disappeared altogether.” Jezebel had a delicate frown on her face as she spoke.
“In fact,” Eden added, “it wasn’t until about a week ago we made that discovery. I found where someone had applied for Jerrica to have a tutor for gifted children a couple of months ago. That had to be approved by Wrath, who’s in charge of the finances. She got approval a week ago. The first check was cut three days ago. Now, you’re telling us she’s gone.”
“Yes.” I felt numb. “Are you telling me this is all an attempt to take money meant for kids in these group homes to have a chance at a better life?”
“Partially.” Eden looked very uncomfortable. “We believe it’s also an attempt to make it look like these children are still where they’re supposed to be. The two homes in question have all applied for scholarships for children taking trade classes or dual-credit college classes. We’re trying to track down the children now. So far, all of them have closed adoption records. While the scholarships should end once the adoption process is final, there are exceptions made if there is a financial need in the new home. It rarely happens that a child that age is adopted from a home, so that part of our program hasn’t had to be looked at much, but the two homes in question have had about eight of those exceptions applied for in the last six months. Which means, it’s not just the home. There is someone in more than one school helping them. Which screams of a trafficking network.”
“So, if you take this to the authorities, they’ll be able to unseal the adoptions and make sure the children are all safe.”
“Perhaps.” Jezebel pursed her lips. “But that’s not how we operate.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Time is of the essence. If we do this by the law, it may be too late. It will still take time, but we intend to not only find the children, but shut down this shit show permanently.”
“Still not getting it.” I thought I might, but it seemed a bit extreme for embezzlement.
“You do.” Hope’s words were soft, and she gripped my hand where she sat on the couch beside me. “We believe this is all part of a human trafficking ring. If we’re right, then anyone involved deserves whatever El Diablo dishes out.”
I was silent for a moment, letting it all sink in. I knew Jerrica was in trouble, but I think my mind didn’t want to go there. It made sense she’d been sold, but the thought of what was happening to her made me want to throw up. Right after I killed someone. Starting with Mr. Brown.