Gone Unnoticed: A Kate Reid Novel (The Kate Reid Series Book 3) (16 page)

“About an hour ago, maybe more. I came home. I didn’t stay with him.”

Nick sat down next to Gregor. “Can you call your brother and find out where he is?”

“Da.” Gregor pulled out his cell and dialed Vito.

He began speaking to his brother in their language and this made them both extremely nervous because neither knew what he was saying. He could have been warning is brother.

Gregor ended the call. “He says he’s on his way here and the girls are with Kovac.”

“Did you tell him we were here?” Kate asked.

Gregor closed his eyes and shook his head. “He does not know you are here.”

“We need to get eyes on Kovac,” Nick began. “If he hasn’t already met with Corbett, he will.” Nick stood up and walked towards the kitchen, phone in hand. “He just made the call. Do you have a location yet?” The man on the other end of the line began to speak.

“Thank you. No, I’ll call it in.” Nick returned to the living room.

“What was that all about?”

“I asked our local field office to help us out with surveillance. A small plane has been circling the city, particularly the area where the girl mentioned her friends, like Madlena, had disappeared. They had the Stingray mounted in the aircraft and have been waiting for the ESNs registered to either brother to show up. They just did.”

Kate was familiar with the technology and the ESN was a cell phone’s electronic serial number. Once Gregor called his brother, Vito’s ESN would have been discovered and, along with that, his location. She hoped they would find the girls before it was too late.

» » »

A small cabin cruiser bobbed up and down in the slip while James Corbett worked to secure it to the dock. A light sliced through the darkness just ahead and Corbett raised his eyes after a double check of the rope. The man had arrived and, with him, the precious cargo for which Corbett would be paid a great sum of money. He raised to his full height of not more than five feet, ten inches and placed his hands on his hips.

The van drew nearer and finally rolled to a stop along the edge of the boardwalk at the commercial docks. The headlights already dimmed so as not to call forth any attention. Corbett waited, staring at the van that had dark tinted windows in the front, but no windows in the cargo area.

The driver’s side door swung open and Stan Kovac jumped down. He scanned the immediate area and spotted his partner in the distance. Corbett raised a hand in acknowledgement and Kovac proceeded to the back of the van and yanked hard on the double doors. On opening, he looked inside at the cargo. Three woman, bound by their hands and feet, drugged to the point of near unconsciousness. Kovac’s nose wrinkled and his lips curled at the stench that wafted out. The odor of urine was overpowering. It happened sometimes if the girls were drugged too heavily, but least they were all still alive and he would be paid.

Another man stepped out of the passenger side and joined Kovac at the rear. Vito Bjuric tossed his cigarette to the ground. The conversation he’d had with his brother advised that he’d be better off not going back home. After this shipment drop, he would be leaving Richmond for a while.

“Corbett’s over there,” Kovac said. “Help me get the cargo out.”

Vito jumped into the back of the van and lifted one of the girls from beneath her arms, dragging her to the edge.

“Can she walk?” Kovac asked, but instead opted to slap the girl’s face to confirm a response.

The dark-haired girl wore little more than a tank top and shorts, but seemed unmoved by the strike to her cheek. If and when she returned to full consciousness, she might recall the last thing she’d said to the man in front of her now. “We’re closing; you’ll have to come back tomorrow.” She worked in a smoke shop and Vito had inquired about making a purchase.

“No. You’ll have to carry her,” Kovac replied.

Vito swallowed hard, not because he couldn’t carry this girl. She couldn’t have weighed more than ninety-five pounds, but it appeared as though he was having a sudden attack of conscience. The girl looked half-dead and this was more than he thought he had signed on for. But there was no backing out now. Kovac would see him dead before letting him walk away. “Okay, give her to me.”

Vito’s legs were unsteady at first from the extra weight, but he soon regained his balance. He looked down at the girl’s face. Saliva had pooled at the corners of her mouth and her eyes were half-closed, fluttering away at him. It looked like a perverse sort of flirtation. He knew this girl. He’d been to the smoke shop plenty of times. This was why Kovac allowed him to take Toma’s place. Vito knew plenty of his expatriates and she was the sister of a friend who’d come over from Ukraine. The two had been smuggling pot across the state border for the past six months, working for Toma on his side gig. It was the only reason Vito was still alive.

His legs were growing heavy as he continued to carry the near-lifeless body, but he made it to the boat.

“I’ll take her from here,” Corbett said.

Vito handed him the girl and stood there for a moment.

“Well.” Corbett’s eyes narrowed. “What are you waiting for? Go and get the others. We don’t have all night.”

» » »

“There’s no one here,” Agent Jameson said as he spoke to Nick on the phone. “The place is empty.” He continued to scour the diner, searching the storage area, the walk-in refrigerator. It was completely empty. This was where the call had come from, but they were already too late.

“Damn it. They can’t be that far ahead of us. Are there any signs of where he might’ve gone?”

“Not yet, but I’m still looking.”

“Just come back to the station. We’re bringing Gregor Bjuric in now. I have a sinking feeling he warned his brother.”

Jameson slid his phone back into his pocket as he continued to search for anything that might indicate where the women had been taken, if they had been there at all.

A camera was mounted in the corner of the storage room and an idea came upon him. He continued to the back of the building, where a small office was tucked away. If the cameras worked, any surveillance equipment would likely be kept in there. The door was locked, but he pushed his elbow through the glass insert and turned the handle. Jameson pushed open the door and stepped over the shards on the ground. His hand felt along the wall for the light switch. A fluorescent fixture hung in the middle of the small office and immediately lit up the room. The office appeared as he would have expected. A small metal desk, a computer that was a little outdated, a ten-key calculator with an empty tape roll, and a few filing cabinets along the walls.

Jameson pressed his lips together and rubbed his cheeks, sure that he’d struck out, and was about to turn around and leave until he spotted a metal panel in the wall. It looked like an ordinary electrical panel with a metal door, except that it was larger than normal. He glanced over his shoulder, always feeling as though someone was behind him. It was a hazard of the job, he guessed, but he continued towards the panel and noticed a small padlock that kept the door secured.

He quickly turned back to the desk in search of a key and, as he pulled the drawers out, he rummaged through the papers and pencils and miscellaneous receipts inside. Reaching into the back of the drawer, he felt around with his fingertips. A key.

A smile spread across his face as he held out hope that it had been the key to the panel and not one just for a filing cabinet. On examination, it appeared larger than a file cabinet key and so he moved back to the panel.

Much to his relief, the padlock dropped down and Jameson slid it off of the door. This was what he’d been looking for. It was the recorder for the CCTV system. And it was running. Jameson pulled the SD card from the slot and closed the door. He needed to get back to the station now to find out what the hell was on this memory card.

» » »

Vito unloaded the last of the girls and waited by the van for further instruction. Corbett and Kovac were deep in conversation near the boat. Vito lit up another cigarette and leaned against the back bumper.

The two continued for a while longer and Vito thought that someone could come along at any moment. Late night shipments were nothing unusual here and he began to grow concerned by the length of time, considering there were drugged women on that boat. Kidnapping, trafficking, and God knows what other charges law enforcement would come up with if they were discovered.

He puffed on the cigarette and the breeze coming off the bay blew it into his eyes, briefly obscuring his vision. He dropped the half-burned stick to the ground and noticed that Kovac was finally returning. What concerned Vito now was the fact that he looked pissed off, like the deal had gone south.

He pushed off the back bumper and stood firm on both feet. He studied Kovac’s face. His pulse elevated and his mouth dropped slightly as Kovac approached. Vito cast his eyes toward Corbett, who grinned and turned away, stepping onto the boat.

He knew then what was about to happen. Vito pushed off in a sprint, running in the direction from which they came. Kovac was going to kill him. His lungs began to burn as he pushed his legs faster. A quick glance behind him and Kovac was gaining ground, his gun already drawn.

“Fuck!” Vito yelled and continued to pump his arms, running as fast as he could. If Kovac killed him, he knew his family would be next. They wouldn’t leave any loose ends. Vito had done all of this to protect his brother. All because he talked to that girl FBI agent.

Light fixtures hung against the building that housed some of the boats, mostly those in service. Vito needed the cover of darkness if he hoped to escape Kovac’s bullet. He was pulling ahead, but needed more distance. Kovac wasn’t likely to pull the trigger if he thought he’d miss. People might hear the gunfire and call the cops.

Vito could hear the distant sound of a boat jetting off into the river towards the sea. Corbett was gone. Kovac was tasked with killing Vito and this would not end until he was dead. But there had to be a way out. Sweat began to drip into his eyes, stinging them and clouding his vision. He had put some distance between himself and Kovac; now he needed to find a place to veer off. He was nearing the main road to the entrance of the port. There would be traffic. This might be his only chance. If he could reach the street, Kovac likely wouldn’t fire on him.

It was past midnight now and none of the shops would be open for him to dart inside. He cast a glance over his shoulder. Kovac was losing steam. He was an older man, as far as the young Vito was concerned – Kovac was at least in his late thirties.

A small wave of relief began to surface, but he still pushed on. Because even if he survived this, his family would not be safe. He would need to warn them. That meant he would need to tell the FBI everything. At this point, however, Vito began to realize he’d either end up dead or in prison. Maybe prison was the better option from his current vantage point.

What looked to be an alleyway was just ahead. It could have been a niche between the buildings, but it was too hard to tell until he could get a closer look. On arrival, confirmation appeared in the form of a narrow alley. Vito turned sharply, almost losing his balance. He couldn’t see what lay ahead at the end, but that mattered little at the moment.

The alley was just wide enough to get a garbage truck through, which would explain the several dumpsters along the sides of the buildings. The smell was strong, rancid, and Vito considered the idea that maybe tomorrow was pick-up day. The odor filled his nose and he didn’t want to breathe, but his lungs screamed for air.

The other end of the alley was approaching. Vito began to slow, realizing he had lost Kovac. Light from the street lamps shone against the sidewalk just head. He slowed to a stop at the end and bent over, his hands resting on his hips as he tried to regain his breath. A shadow crossed in front of him and then two feet appeared.

He knew he was about to die and rose to look at Kovac’s face. That was the last thing Vito Bjuric ever saw.

SIXTEEN

J
ameson pushed open
the police station doors, searching for any signs of Agent Scarborough or Kate. He jogged to the front desk. “I need to see Detective Garrett and Agent Scarborough. Please, it’s urgent.”

The woman behind the desk didn’t inquire further; Jameson’s eyes said all she needed to know and she immediately picked up the phone. “Detective Garrett, there’s someone….”

“Agent Jameson,” he interrupted.

“There’s an Agent Jameson who needs to see you right away.” She set the phone down. “He’ll be right up.”

Jameson nodded and turned to the direction of the hall where he’d expected Garrett or Scarborough to emerge. He stared down that hall as if that alone would cause their appearance.

Finally, he spotted them. Jameson approached, holding the SD card in his hands. “We need to see what’s on here. Now.”

The two men quickly turned on their heels and began heading back the way they came.

“What is this?” Scarborough asked.

“It’s surveillance footage from the diner. It was in a locked wall panel and I was able to retrieve it.” Jameson looked at Nick. “What about the brother?”

“Nothing yet.”

“Well, depending on what we find on this, we may not need him anyway,” Jameson replied.

The three entered Garrett’s office, where Kate had stayed with Gregor. Nicola and her mother were in the small kitchen, which had a couch along the back wall. At last check, the girl had curled up and was sleeping in her mother’s lap.

“What’d you find?” Kate leapt to her feet.

“Some video from the diner,” Nick said. “We need to get it loaded up and see what the hell’s on this.”

Gregor’s attention piqued at this news. He watched as the agents huddled around the computer monitor on the detective’s desk.

Grainy black and white video appeared on the screen.

“This is the storage room,” Jameson began. “I didn’t see any other cameras, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any. I didn’t hang around for too long. But we may find something on these other files.”

The metal shelves were half-full of food items; large containers of mayonnaise, mustard, and other condiments as well as some canned goods and a few boxes of napkins and silverware. Otherwise, there wasn’t much else inside the room. A small door from the room led out to the back of the building. A delivery entrance, most likely.

“How far back does this video go?” Garrett asked.

Nick studied the image and quickly pointed to the timestamp in the bottom corner. “Looks like this is from tonight.” He looked at Jameson. “Can you find an earlier file? Say from around nine o’clock this evening, and we’ll start there?”

Jameson closed that file and searched for another. They were labeled with the date and military time. He pulled up the file with today’s date that showed 2100. “Here it is.”

The same image appeared. A quiet storage room, devoid of any movement or sound. A few minutes passed and they waited. Something was going to happen; they just needed to wait. Kate cast her eyes between the agents and Gregor. She moved back toward the kid. “Still no word from Vito?”

He shook his head.

“Did you tell him we were waiting?” Kate asked in a hushed tone

“I didn’t want him to be caught.” Gregor raised his eyes to meet Kate’s. “He saved my life. Kovac would have killed me.”

“We could have helped your brother. Now he’s out there alone with no one to help him.”

“There, look.” Nick pointed to the screen. “They’re coming in now.”

Kate returned to the monitor, discouraged by Gregor’s admission, but she was hesitant to mention it to the others. “What is it?”

Jameson looked over to Gregor. “You know what Kovac looks like, right, kid?”

He nodded.

“Good. Come over here.” Jameson waited. “Is that him?”

Gregor studied the image. “That is him.”

Another man appeared in the video. “And that is my brother, Vito.”

“But you don’t know where they were taking the women?” Garrett asked.

“No. I don’t know anything more than I’ve already told you.”

Kate was beginning to doubt his words.

They continued watching the video when a few young women appeared, being nearly dragged inside the storage room. It appeared as though they’d already been drugged.

It was disturbing and Kate struggled to watch, but looking away would only draw the concerns of the men around her. She didn’t want to appear frail, because she couldn’t afford to be. Never again had she wanted to see pity in the eyes of the men around her. And they did pity her, even if they would never admit it.

These girls were hardly able to stand on their own two feet. Their hands were tied behind their backs. Kate watched as Vito appeared almost hesitant to continue, like maybe he’d been having second thoughts.

“Wait, hang on. Can you go back a minute?” Kate asked.

“Yeah.” Jameson began to roll back the video. “What is it? What’d you see?”

“There.” She pointed to the screen. The back door of the storage room was propped open as they were taking the women out back, presumably to a waiting vehicle. And Kate thought that she spotted a small trace of that vehicle. “What does that look like to you guys?”

“It looks like the front bumper of a car,” Garrett said.

“I don’t think it’s a car,” Nick began. “A van maybe? Take a look at the wheel well. Much larger than a car.”

“And it’s got a mud flap,” Kate continued. “I’m thinking it’s a van.”

“We need more. Keep going. Let’s see if we get a better view of the vehicle,” Nick said.

Jameson pressed play again.

They waited until all the women were loaded up. The men now stood outside the storage room, the door still propped open.

“Let’s go,” Kovac said.

“Turn it up. What’s he saying?” Nick asked.

Jameson rolled it back just slightly and pressed play again.

“Let’s go. We’re meeting him at the docks in thirty minutes,” Kovac said and then closed the door of the storage room.

“The docks,” Kate started. “What docks?”

Detective Garrett spun around to his desk and picked up the phone. “I need to contact the marinas. Both of them, but I’ll start with the commercial docks first. If they were there, we’ll have video and a shipping manifesto.”

Kate headed back towards Gregor. “Can you try your brother one more time, please? This could mean helping those girls. We need to find him.” She’d hoped he understood now what was at stake. That this was the only way to help his brother out of the mess he’d created for all of them, and perhaps, if the local FBI office was still running surveillance, they’d get a location.

Gregor called his brother once again. This time, the line answered.

“Gregor. I’m so glad to hear from you. Where are you?” the man on the other line asked.

“Where’s my brother? Where’s Vito?”

“Oh, he’s waiting for you. Don’t worry. He is occupied with one of the girls. I’m sure you can understand. Now, tell me, Gregor, where are you? We could use your help. It could mean a lot of money for your family.”

Gregor immediately hung up and looked at Kate.

She could already see in his face what he was about to say. “Vito’s dead, isn’t he?”

“He would never let anyone else answer his phone. He always kept it on him. Yes, I think he must be dead.” Gregor’s lips quivered, but he tried to keep it together.

“Who answered the call?” Kate asked.

“Kovac. He asked where I was at and that they could use my help.”

» » »

The boat pulled into the slip and was docked by two men standing nearby. Corbett recognized one of them as the Arranger’s security guard. The other, he’d never seen before tonight. The women would be transported from here via another van with others who’d already been taken by Corbett’s counterparts. The organization spread far and wide and Corbett was just a small piece of the puzzle.

Stepping onto the deck of the vessel, he waved a hand to the men below. “Hey, you two wanna give me a hand?”

The men climbed aboard and began transporting the women to another van that would take them to their second and final destination. One of them, Corbett had on reserve as an apology for the trouble brought to Druseburg’s doorstep. He’d hang on to her for a while until the feds realized they had nothing on his client and backed down.

These were large men who had no trouble with the limp cargo. They unloaded the women with ease and placed them into the waiting van.

Corbett didn’t know where they were going or who would take charge of them. It was how the business functioned. Different factions, operating in different areas. Corbett had a contact, the Arranger, and was given instructions from there. But so long as the money kept coming, he didn’t question it. And it had been his call to silence Vito Bjuric. He couldn’t risk him getting soft again as he had with his brother. Far too much was at stake and Corbett had a boss too.

“I’m keeping this one,” he said to the men. “I already checked with the big man. You can call him yourself if you don’t believe me.”

The man looked at Corbett. “Fine. If you say so.”

“It’s an apology to one of our best clients.”

“Whatever, man. I don’t give a fuck,” the muscular, bald man replied.

Corbett raised his hands as if a gun was pointed at him. “Okay, I hear you. Just wanted to let you know it was copacetic.”

The man began to walk away. “You’ll get a call with another order soon.”

Corbett agreed and jumped onto the dock to untie the ropes. He needed to get back to find out if Kovac had taken care of the kid. It would be a mess to sort out if he hadn’t. But if the kid was gone, no one would really notice. His brother sure as hell wouldn’t go to the cops, if he valued the lives of his family and his own.

» » »

“You should get back to the base,” Nick said. “I’m sure you could use a few hours of sleep. There’s not much more you can do here tonight.”

“What about Nicola?” Kate asked.

“Assuming Vito’s dead, and I’d say that was a safe assumption at this point, Garrett will get them home and post a patrolman at their house. Right now, Gregor Bjuric is the only person who can identify Stan Kovac, so we need to keep them safe.”

“What’s going to happen next?” Kate stepped away from the others to have a private word with Nick.

“I doubt we’ll find Vito’s body. Not soon enough anyway. Best bet is to get those phone records from Druseburg. Find out if he’s contacted Kovac or Corbett. We’ve still got a shitload of evidence on him.”

“Circumstantial,” Kate said.

Nick grinned. “Glad to see they’re teaching you something over there in Quantico.”

“You forget, I worked in evidence handling and spent a lot of time helping Marshall with some of his cases.”

“I didn’t forget. And you’re right. We don’t have anything concrete on Druseburg—yet, not enough to charge him with murder or trafficking. In the meantime, we’ll still try to track down Kovac and Corbett, but Druseburg’s phone records will be our best bet.” He picked up her laptop bag from beneath her chair. “You’ve got class in the morning. I’ll be in touch with you later.” He glanced at his watch. “Later today, by the looks of it. I didn’t realize it was so late. Will you be okay to drive back to base?”

“Yeah, of course. I’m fine. In fact, I’m not tired at all, actually.”

“Adrenaline. It’s some pretty powerful stuff. You’ll start to feel the drag soon enough. I just hope you get home before it hits.” He opened the door of Garrett’s office.

“I’ll see you guys soon. I’ve gotta head back to base,” Kate said.

Gregor pushed up quickly from the table.

“Don’t worry. Agent Scarborough will make sure you and your family are safe.” She’d wanted to be angry with him. After all, he knew about and participated in this latest drop. They could’ve already saved those women if he’d come forward earlier. But looking into his eyes, she could see he was protecting his brother. Although, in the end, it was his little sister who made it possible for them to have gotten this far.

“I’d like to say goodnight to Nicola.”

“Come on, then.” Nick walked with her down the hall toward the break room. He pushed the door open slightly. “Looks like she’s still asleep.”

“I’ll be right back.” Kate walked inside and headed towards Nicola’s mother. She knelt down in front of the middle-aged woman, who was stroking her daughter’s thick and beautiful dirty blonde hair.

“Your daughter is very brave,” Kate whispered.

The woman smiled, although her eyes expressed a fear that only a mother could feel. “Like her father.”

“Agent Scarborough and Detective Garrett will see that you are safe in your home.”