Changing the Rules (Richter Book 1)(6)

“Exactly. But, as our sting started outing these dirtbags, some formed bigger organizations and changed the way they operate. And that’s the issue we’re having now. Our crisis in over twenty schools has seemingly gone underground almost overnight.”

“The unorganized became organized,” Cooper stated.

Warren pointed at him. “Right. And I’ve been asked to go out, hire a team, and flush out the problem. We still have dropouts, runaways, kids that fit the profile, and some that are just flat-out disappearing.”

“Flush out the problem,” Jax repeated. “That sounds as if you’re questioning your team.”

Warren lost any amusement in his face. “I’ve had solid men and women on my task force.”

“That wasn’t a denial,” Claire said.

The room grew silent, answering the question.

“My superiors want to rule out a team issue within before an internal investigation led by the feds occurs,” Warren admitted.

“So you’ll be telling us who your men are if we take on this task?” Cooper asked.

Warren shook his head. “No. I don’t want you following my team around and waiting for them to fuck up. I want you to go in and find the scum that are behind these kids disappearing or being sold. If in that investigation you uncover any of my men”—Warren’s words broke off, his fist clenched at his side—“any of my men with dirty hands, it won’t be because you’re profiling them. My team is sharp. They’ll know if they’re being followed. As any of you would, too. If they’re dirty, they’ll hide. Nobody wants that.”

It took a minute for Warren’s words to register.

Neil cleared his throat. “What Detective Warren is asking of us is to put together a team to have eyes and ears at two schools. Jax and Claire would be on the inside, different campuses. You’re both young enough to pass as high school seniors. We put Cooper at the higher risk school as an assistant coach and substitute teacher. I’m actively searching out a new member for the team to go with Jax. The details will be hammered out later.”

“This sounds extensive,” Claire said. And not at all like the Hollywood party detail they normally handled.

“We’ll be putting those new PI licenses to work.” Neil directed his comment to both Claire and Jax. They’d wrapped up their degrees in college and licensed themselves in six states so far. Along with a concealed carry permit, it gave them license to protect themselves, and others if needed. Legally.

“Will the school administration know we’re there?”

“Limited. Only the principal and vice principal will be aware of who you are. And we want to keep it that way. There is speculation that there might be someone on staff directing the perps to the kids most likely to fall for their lies.”

“That’s fucked up,” Lars voiced.

“No more than a dirty cop,” Cooper pointed out.

“Dirty cop is worse.”

“I’d rather it be staff than the other. Even better, I’d like the connection to have nothing to do with the people that say they’re there to help.” Warren looped his thumbs inside the pockets of his slacks and rocked back on his heels. “If you choose to work with us, you’ll report to Neil, and he will report to me. We’ll have a deeper briefing if you take this on.”

Claire rubbed her thumb against the palm of her other hand. Nothing ticked her off more than someone preying upon kids. A look around the room told her the rest of the team thought so, too. That aside, the job sounded a hell of a lot better than babysitting celebrities.

“Okay. Thanks for your time.” Warren moved to shake Neil’s hand. “I’ll be in touch.”

There was a chorus of goodbyes as the man exited the meeting room.

“So we’re working with the cops now?” Isaac asked once Warren left.

“Not completely,” Neil answered. He pushed off the desk and moved to a giant whiteboard in the front of the room. He drew a box on the board and then an identical box a foot away. “This is Bremerton, Emma’s school.”

“Your daughter?” Claire asked.

“Yeah.”

“This shit is happening at a prep school?”

Neil silenced them with his hand. He put an X in the other box. “Most of the known cases have been outside of Bremerton. The file Warren briefed me with indicated three positive victims that spent time at Bremerton before getting wrapped up in this. By the time the police caught up with these girls, they were nineteen, twenty, and wanted nothing to do with leaving their pimps.”

“How old were they when they were pulled in?”

“Two were sixteen, one was fifteen.”

Claire could practically hear Neil’s teeth grinding together.

“That’s sick,” Lars said.

Neil drew a line between the two boxes. “This is the school we’re targeting, Auburn High.”

“They’re rival schools?” Claire asked.

“Not directly.”

“Private schools and public schools don’t compete as a rule,” Lars said.

“True,” Neil said. “But it isn’t uncommon for kids to move out of the private schools and into the public schools when they show athletic ability. Especially if the private school doesn’t have an organized team. As an example, Bremerton doesn’t have a football team, Auburn does. Many parents cave to the pressure of letting their kids go to public schools so they can compete and possibly earn athletic scholarships for college. And therefore there are plenty of kids here . . .” He pointed to Emma’s school. “Who know the more vulnerable kids here.”