Eye of the Falcon (Psychic Visions #12)(93)

“Briefly I too considered your mother, but then I realized she never would’ve done it. She was absolutely heartbroken. We had our contact on the French side. They used to come back and forth, but they had already left. Goods delivered as always. That was Pierre Montigue. He had his own smuggling crew on the French coast. How he got the stuff that night or any other night, I don’t know. We didn’t ask questions. We heard they did pickup and delivery. Some of the stuff we sold ourselves. Your father had connections in the city. A lot of the stuff was delivered in town. We were just one leg of the journey.”

“There had to be somebody else.” But the Frenchman’s name was a big help. She watched as Hawk texted it to the detective.

Angus nodded. “I know. But I’ve been racking my brain all these years. I still have no idea.”

She groaned. “What was in the shipment? Do you know?”

“I don’t know, but it was more than just jewelry. There were casks. I don’t know what they were full of, but I’d assumed French brandy.”

She wasn’t sure she believed him. Something in his voice had changed. She glanced at Eagle who returned her gaze. She gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. He responded with a tiny nod.

But it was Hawk who snapped, “And that’s when your story turns to shit. You’re lying through your teeth. You know exactly what was in those casks.”

Angus groaned. “Not many things in my life I felt bad about. Taking Rory’s wife was something I could justify because I loved her so very much. But when we realized what was in the casks, it was more than any of us could deal with.”

“What was it?”

“And how many casks were there?” Issa asked.

He sighed and stared off in the distance.

“You didn’t say anything to anybody, even when you went to trial, did you?”

He shook his head. “No. I was a scapegoat. As long as I kept my mouth shut, I would live, and everyone else would survive. Twenty years have passed, and I don’t really care anymore.” He turned his gaze from one man to the other. “You will not understand.”

Eagle crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back. “Tell us.”

He groaned. “Issa, I would never have wanted you to know. But that shipment your father and brothers received were trafficked young girls.”

She stared at him in horror. Eagle gripped her hands.

Angus rushed to say, “We never had a shipment like that before. I swear it. We didn’t know what was in there when we started. But we heard one of them crying. They were supposed to be drugged for the entire journey, right up to being delivered. The shipment was headed for a house in Belfast.”

“Oh, my God,” Issa whispered in pain.

*

Eagle wanted to take her out of that room and protect her from more horrific news. He asked, “How does that fit in with the jewels?”

Angus looked at him and whispered with shame in his voice, “They all came from the same house. They were supposed to go to a fancy house in the city. I don’t know what happened to the girls. But this was big. This was way bigger than anything any of us had ever touched before. It was something we couldn’t deal with. Your father refused. He wanted the girls to be released. One of them was crying, pleading to be taken back. She spoke French, so I didn’t know what she said.”

“Wait. You said when you walked in the meeting place, my brothers were on the ground already shot. So how do you know about the girls? How do you know my dad said he wouldn’t do it?”

Angus winced. “Because I had just been outside. Initial shots were fired. I left Maier to collect Issa and shoo her back home, crossing paths with her as I left and raced down the hill to the pier where I snuck up on the shelter. That’s when I heard them arguing. I saw the girls. But they started shooting again. And I stayed out of sight until it stopped. Then I went in.”

“How many?”

He took a deep breath. “There were six girls.”

Anger once again rose high up Eagle’s throat. “This was a secret somebody would kill to keep. So when they refused to deal with the girls, some of the smugglers shot the other men who wouldn’t go along with the human trafficking? Is that correct?”

Angus nodded. “I also was attacked from behind and was unconscious for a little while, but I survived. I heard men scrambling to get away, and I know the casks weren’t there when I woke up. So they may have been taken elsewhere. And of course I was convicted of everything but trafficking. I kept my mouth shut about the girls so no one knew. I didn’t know who brought them. I just knew they all came from a fancy house where the goods were retrieved from too.”

Issa shook her head. “I found the jeweled necklaces. But good to know the girls came from the same place. Maybe the police can sort it out.”

Angus opened his mouth. “What do you mean, you found the necklaces? I thought they were lost.”

“Four stolen necklaces were in a keepsake box my mother told me to find. It had been stashed in the closet at the pub.” Almost as an afterthought, Issa added, “There was also a lot of money and documents.”

He sat and stared at her. “How is that possible? How would your mother have gotten them?”

“I don’t know.” Issa glanced at him quizzically. “You don’t know anything about it?”