Desperation in Death (In Death #55)(107)

“That’s a fair point.”

“Catch me up, will you?”

“Doggett, the former Baltimore cop, picked up and being transferred here. Maxine Pryor, picked up and currently being grilled—she settled for a less shiny lawyer, but she’s got some gloss.”

As she ran it down, Eve paced and absorbed.

“Let Beaty stew awhile longer. We’re going to run through as many of the others as we can. I’ve got Dorian Gregg coming in. Plenty of the other victims can ID her, but I want to give this to Dorian first. Mira can decide if any of the others are ready to do the same.

“She’s in three?”

“Last I checked. I should get back, keep it rolling. The boss and two more APAs are observing and serving.”

Eve walked down to the conference room, eased the door open. She saw about a hundred girls, some huddled together, some sitting still and quiet. And she recognized many of the faces from her board.

She signaled to Mira.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” she began when Mira crossed to her.

“Not at all. We’re making progress—getting names, evaluating, even contacting parents, guardians. The longest held we know of at this point was taken two years ago, the shortest was taken only yesterday.”

“The one we rescued from the infirmary?”

“Yes, nine years old, abducted from outside of Columbus, Ohio, walking back from her piano lesson.”

“I want to put Beaty and some of the others in lineup. I need you to decide which ones can handle that, can handle doing some IDs.”

She spotted the girl who’d fought her in the Academy sitting with her arm around a younger kid. And took a chance by crossing the room, crouching in front of her.

“Remember me, Lottie?”

“Yeah.”

“Carrie. You need anything?”

“I want to go home,” Carrie said.

“We’re working on it.” She looked back at the other girl. “Want to pay them back?”

“Fucking A.”

“Good. I’m going to send for you in a bit. You’re going to take a look at some people. They won’t be able to see or hear you. And if you recognize anybody, you just say so.”

“I don’t leave her.”

“Okay.”

Eve started to straighten up.

“You’ve got blood on your shirt. Is it some of theirs?”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Good.”

Eve walked back. “That one,” she said to Mira. “She can handle it. The one with her, I don’t know.”

“Carrie. We’ve notified her parents, and they’re on their way.”

“You wouldn’t have done that without taking a look at the parents.”

“Everything points to them being good people. They have two other children, older kids.”

“Let them know the one with her? She wouldn’t leave her behind. She wouldn’t leave her and fought to get to her. Let them know that if I don’t get a chance to speak with them.”

“I will.”

“I’ll let you know when we’re ready for the lineup.”

She walked down to Observation and found her commander stepping out.

“Let’s use your office,” he said, and led the way. Inside, he gestured to her AC. “If I could.”

“Absolutely.” She programmed coffee.

“The operation in France rescued forty-two victims and arrested eight suspects. One officer is currently hospitalized and in serious condition. Other injuries, on all sides, are reported as minor.”

He drank coffee. “Devereaux is dead.”

“He was dead when we got to him, yes, sir. Amara Gharbi, age twenty, was abducted from Tunisia nearly eight years ago. She was collared, Commander, as were the other victims we rescued from that location. Gharbi was in severe distress, in fear for her life when she picked up the knife from the table. She—”

“You don’t need to sell me, Lieutenant.”

“We have the names of all the victims rescued from the Devereaux estate, none are minors, all state they were abducted at various ages and trained at either the Academy in New York or the facility in France before being sold and/or rented. Devereaux raped all of them upon their arrival at the estate, multiple times, and often held what he called parties where his guests could also rape and abuse them. At this point in time, all but Gharbi were designated as domestics, which their statements agree was his routine. He recently traded in another woman.”

“I see. Do we know her status or location?”

“Not yet. EDD is searching his records.”

“All right then. Some of these subjects will also face federal charges. I’ve spoken with Agent Teasdale. She’ll consult with you when you’re ready.”

“I appreciate the leeway, sir.”

“You took considerable,” he reminded her. “And your judgment was correct.”

“Thank you, sir.” She turned at the tap on her doorjamb. “Detective Yancy. Dorian?”

“In the bullpen, Lieutenant, with Ro and Ms. Vera, from CPS. She did great. If I could show you?”

She gestured him in, waited while he opened his sketchbook. “She dug on the hand sketches, so I went with that rather than comp generated.”