Midnight Crossing (Josie Gray Mysteries #5)(72)

Josie liked that Big Ben had no table to hide behind. When he finally sat up in the chair, Josie looked in disgust at the tears that ran down his splotchy face. His cheap suit hung off his shoulders in a wrinkled mess as he dangled his hands between his legs and scanned the room, noticing Josie for the first time. His anxiety symptoms gave way to a momentary expression of recognition that gave way to fury, before he could resume his pale-faced misery and look away. Josie smiled.

“I’ll remind you again that you have been read your Miranda rights. Do you still wish to waive your right to counsel at this time?”

Ben seemed conflicted. Common sense would indicate an attorney would be the best option, but Townie must have already convinced him that cooperating with the cops would be very advantageous to his situation.

“I don’t want an attorney. But I want the cuffs off,” Ben said. “I’m obviously not going anywhere, with a room full of police officers packed in around me like sardines.”

Townie stood to remove the handcuffs. “You were having such convulsive fits I was afraid you’d harm yourself from all that anxiety. Since you’ve calmed down, I think we’re safe to remove the cuffs. Lift ’em up here, Ben.”

Once the cuffs were removed, Townie and the other two cops who’d also been working the Maid’s Quarters investigation spent the next ninety minutes interrogating him about the operation.

Initially Ben was reluctant to offer anything, but once he gave up the first real morsel, Townie was unrelenting. Josie was impressed with the way Townie would ask the same question again and again with only subtle differences, until Ben would forget he’d denied something and offer up a new detail. Then Townie would take the new piece of information, combine it with something else, and re-form it into a new question. It was like watching a stone sculptor chip away at rock, and then backing away to see the complete picture from a distance. Townie was one of the best interrogators she had seen in action.

Josie sat patiently, listening to the exchange, knowing eventually he’d bring it around to what Ben had referred to as the “suppliers.” She’d talked extensively with Townie on the phone the night before, explaining the transport from Guatemala, Caroline Moss’s involvement, and the two drivers.

Townie finally asked, “How many suppliers do you work with?”

Ben shrugged and then said, “Four or five.”

“So you work with five suppliers?”

“Yeah.”

“What countries do they ship from?” Townie asked.

“Guatemala and Honduras. And all you have to do is get on the Internet and look at where these ladies come from. Then tell me what I give them isn’t better than what they had. Tell me I’m not providing a—”

“Spare me the goodwill lecture,” Townie said. “Ain’t gonna fly here. Start with your suppliers from Guatemala. How many?”

“Just one. The rest are Honduras.”

“What’s her name?” Townie asked.

Once again Ben didn’t seem surprised at the use of the female pronoun. “Lilith.”

Josie jotted the name down on the notepad in her lap.

“How many deliveries do you get from her each month?”

“From Lilith, maybe four or five times since last fall. She’s only been sending me girls for about a year.”

“Did she negotiate the deal for the girls you received today?”

“Yes.”

“How much did you pay her for the four girls?” Townie asked.

Ben turned in his seat and pointed at Josie. “Ask her. She took the envelope.”

Townie had opened the envelope when Josie and Dell had arrived at the police station, and they’d found four one-thousand-dollar bills.

“I’d like to hear it from you,” Townie said.

“A thousand per head.”

“How does she contact you when she has a load ready?”

“She calls me.”

Josie felt the skin prickle on her arms. She hadn’t expected a phone connection. It would be easier to trace.

“On what phone?”

Ben gave Townie a scathing look. “The phone you took from me.”

“This one?”

“That’s it.”

Townie passed it over to him. “Go ahead and pull up Lilith’s contact information. Let me see it.”

Ben scrolled through, found what he was looking for, started to hand the phone back to Townie, and stopped. “Not until I get some guarantees. How do I know you won’t take everything I’ve given you, and then you’ll arrest me anyway?”

Townie laughed and grabbed the phone from him. “Ben. You’re already under arrest. You’re going to jail, pal. We were just providing you an opportunity to come clean before we put you away.”

Ben’s face turned an angry red color. “You told me I’d help my case if I talked to you without an attorney.”

“And you did. We appreciate the information greatly. And so will the prosecutor.”

Big Ben came unhinged, yelling and swearing and demanding his attorney. Josie left the room feeling flattened. They’d finally gotten around to the information she needed and Townie had let the interrogation die out.

Josie stood in the lobby and talked to Dell on the phone while she waited to debrief with Townie. Dell was sitting in his pickup truck outside in the parking lot waiting for her to finish.