Forgive Me(75)

Angie held up her phone. “This usually doesn’t stop ringing. My dad thinks that’s the reason I’m still single. He may be right.”

“Since we’re on the subject, maybe I could buy you a drink sometime.”

Angie liked his confidence. There was no reason to dance around attraction. People got picked up in bars and online, so why not after helping to break up a human trafficking ring?

“I live in Virginia,” Angie said.

Bryce did not seem deterred. “I have this contraption called a car. I swear it makes long distance seem like nothing.”

Oh, that smile.

“Yes. You can take me out for a drink some time.”

“McSorley’s,” Bryce said, an eyebrow arched, finger pointing at the wall behind her as if to imply the bar lay just beyond.

“Some time, but not tonight. It’s been a heck of day and I’ve got to get home, check up on my dad. I just have to wait for Nadine’s parents to show up. They’ll be here soon.”

“It’s not going to be an easy re-entry for her,” Bryce said.

“Tell me about it. Her parents are the anti-Waltons.”

“The Waltons? Who are they?”

Angie felt a flush of embarrassment from the joke that had fallen flat.

Bryce gave a little laugh. “I’m kidding. I know the Waltons. Good night Bobby Sue, good night John Boy, goodnight moon.”

“Another of your favorite poets?”

“Margret Wise Brown. One of the best.”

Angie found Bryce refreshing. She had gone on plenty of dates where after three sips of a drink she was eyeing the door. She had the feeling she could talk to Bryce for hours and never tire of his company.

“What about the crew?” she asked. “How long will they be off the streets?”

Bryce gave the question some serious thought. It wasn’t all jokes and games to him.

“The trafficking charges are going to be easy. Any girl under the age of eighteen involved in sex for money is by law being trafficked. That’s years in the clink right there.”

“What about kidnapping?”

“Good point,” Bryce said. “None of the girls were chained up, but there were bars on the windows and most of the apartments locked from the outside. So there’s a case to be made for forced confinement.”

Angie’s eyes turned fierce. “It’s not a question there. It was forced.”

“Hey, I’m on your side,” Bryce said, holding up his hands. “I’m talking in the eyes of the law. You and I both know Nadine did what she believed she had to do to survive.”

“How long?”

“Just my opinion, but I’d say Buggy gets twenty-five to thirty. Shooting at U.S. marshals isn’t a good idea. Casper and Ricardo, this wasn’t their first rodeo, so they’ve got the minimum fifteen coming their way. Now, Ivan Markovich is another matter entirely. Guy has no record. He’ll get bail of some sort, and then it’s a question of how many years they can pin on him. They’ll give him twenty and he’ll do fifteen. That’s my best guess.”

“Fifteen years for destroying all those lives.”

“Nadine’s still alive. It could be worse.”

Angie’s mind flashed on a picture of Sarah Winter. Was Sarah one of those worst-case scenarios? “Any chance Markovich gets off?”

“Not really,” Bryce said.

“Why’s that?”

“Because of Nadine.”

“What if she won’t testify?” Angie asked. “She did try to save Ricardo, after all.”

“She doesn’t have to testify. The FBI boys found her diary.”





CHAPTER 39



Angie drove Mike from her office to the Duke Street skate park, where Bao was waiting for them. The cloudless sky was the kind of cobalt blue that made the spring and summer months seem so darn short. It had been three days since the Nadine job had come to an end and Angie hadn’t spent much of that time outdoors. She’d been with her dad, who was still feeling under the weather and working from home these days, or she’d been at the office trying to put the pieces of her neglected business back together again. She had heard from Bryce, but only via text message. His texts were friendly and struck the perfect balance between I’m interested in you and I’m not going to turn into a stalker. They hadn’t made an official plan to meet, but no question, he intrigued her. She had every intention of continuing their cafeteria conversation in person.

For now, text messaging would have to suffice. Bryce provided updates on the girls, and he wanted Angie to pass along a message to Nadine. Ricardo, Buggy, and Casper didn’t or couldn’t make bail. Those three were locked up at least until trial and there was every reason to believe they would stay incarcerated for years longer.

Ivan “Stinger” Markovich was a different story. He’d posted a half million-dollar bond, no problem there, and had only to surrender his passport. Essentially he was back to living the life of Ivan. Nadine didn’t need to know everything.

The bright sunshine and warm wind brushed against Angie’s skin and rejuvenated her spirits, though her time outside would have to be short. Nadine and her mother were driving down from Potomac to meet Angie in her office. The purpose of the meeting was simply to say thank you. It would be the first time Angie and Nadine had met in person, and the pending encounter left her feeling strangely anxious.