Gone Unnoticed: A Kate Reid Novel (The Kate Reid Series Book 3) (9 page)

“I don’t know yet. I haven’t decided.”

“I told you, brother. No policija.”

He understood now why Vito hadn’t wanted him to go with those FBI agents. He was a part of it and now Gregor was too, whether he wanted to be or not. He closed his swollen eyes and, in his thick Croatian accent, he replied, “No more policija, brother.”

» » »

The trainees lined up along the mats inside the gymnasium, wearing gloves and headgear. The instructor paired them off and the rounds were about to start. The purpose of boxing was to get the agents used to taking a punch and how to react when it happened. They’d also have to wrestle one another for forty-five seconds until one of them managed to get the other one down on the ground, hands pulled behind their backs.

There was no discrimination here. With only seven women remaining in their class of thirty-two, there would be no special treatment. They were expected to fight against another trainee and it didn’t matter if that trainee was a woman.

Will and Kate were teamed up once again for this round of training. He hit his gloves together like a boxer and turned to Kate. “How’d it go the other day in Richmond?”

“I was only there for a few hours, but Scarborough and Jameson are coming back today. I’ll know more later. They’re checking for any surveillance video from public safety cameras, but I don’t know if they came up with anything. Scarborough had me running on a piece of evidence I found in one of the drop houses, so I spent some time with Forensics, but nothing yet.”

“Caison, Reid, you’re up.” The instructor blew his whistle.

“I’ll take it easy on you,” Will said, walking out onto the mat.

“Don’t flatter yourself. I can hold my own, Caison.”

Kate wanted him to take the first swing, but wasn’t sure if he would. Someone needed to, though, because this was no game. This was training and they had to do it because it could save their lives someday. She could hear her breath echoing in her ears and the heat from it bounced off the chin guard and into her eyes. She blinked first and then stars filled her eyes.

He’d taken the first swing and struck her across her left cheek. It stung, but it was the shock of the blow that caught her off guard. She’d have to strike back. A right hook to his chin and Will stumbled back a few steps. Kate cracked a small smile.

He struck again. This time, it felt as though he was trying to take it easy on her, and it pissed her off. She nailed him in the gut and Will doubled over, but only for a moment. She could see him smile and shake his head. It was on now.

Two minutes and the whistle sounded and both stopped to catch their breath.

“Okay, Hicks and Goldman, you’re up,” the instructor said. “Good job, Reid. Caison, good defense.”

They stepped off the mat and removed their headgear. Kate wiped away the band of sweat and the hair that stuck to it from her forehead. She still breathed heavily, but not from physical exhaustion. It was the image of Hendrickson’s boot striking her head the moment Will’s glove made contact that caused her pulse to rise and her breaths to deepen. She looked away from him, afraid he would see in her eyes what she felt in her head—fear.

“You all right?” Will asked.

“I’m fine. Are you?” She tried to brush it off. If something like that happened to her in the field, would she be able to get past it? Would it slow her reaction times, like what Hawes suggested was happening during her ops drills? If it did, it could cost her her life or that of another agent. This was a problem and one she was ill prepared to handle.

“You got a pretty mean right hook, I’ll give you that.” He rubbed his chin.

“Yeah, well, I’ve had some practice.” Kate revealed a nervous grin.

Another round and they were up again. This time, no headgear allowed. The reasoning behind the technique was for the NATs to understand how to react rationally if he or she was hit. The shock of a bare-knuckled blow could throw people off. She could personally attest to that. Her concern now was that another vision would surface. She was frightened by the idea that she could no more control them than she could have controlled Hendrickson in the first place.

Recalling Nick’s words that not all agents were faced with daily life-threatening situations, she closed her eyes for a moment to clear her thoughts.
Who the hell would want me for a partner?

When the whistle blew this time, she understood what was required of her and knew that she wouldn’t get a third chance. Failing this and struggling with ops training would find her on the way out.

Her eyes opened and she moved in to strike first. An effective blow, Caison stumbled back after she caught him with an uppercut to his ribs. He doubled over and quickly lost his footing. Caison face-planted onto the mat and struck his nose hard.

She reached for his arm to help get him to his feet. “I’m sorry, Will. Are you okay?” He didn’t look it.

“Caison? You all right?” The instructor looked at him with only mild concern.

“Fine. I’m fine.” He held his bleeding nose and stepped off the mat.

Kate noticed some of the other trainees showing some unease for his plight. She felt really bad, but also kind of proud. So it hadn’t been her strength that brought him down, just his two left feet, but still. Her earlier concerns started to fade—a little.

“Again, I am so sorry, Will.” Kate helped him put his gear back in his bag.

He pulled the tissue away from his nose to check and see if it had stopped bleeding. “Hey, no problem. You were just taking out your aggressions. I get it.”

He was piling on the guilt, all right. “I—I wasn’t…”

Will laughed. “I know. I’m just giving you shit. The least you can do is buy me dinner.”

“Sure, but you want to go out in public looking like that?” Kate pushed open the gym door for Will and she followed behind.

“Maybe you’re right about going out in public. How about we just grab some food from the cafeteria and hang out in your room again? We can go to my room, but you know what Lancaster’s like. He’ll give me shit about this for the rest of the night.”

“Hang on.” Kate reached for her phone as a call came in. “This is Reid.”

“Kate, I’m still in Richmond,” Nick began, “but forensics came back on that earring you found at the house. Jameson ran the DNA sample and got a match. An unidentified woman was found in Virginia Beach last week and the case was entered into CODIS. It’s the same woman who was there at that house. We’re heading to Virginia Beach shortly to talk with local police there. She was discovered behind a laundromat. Local cops think it was overdose again, but are fairly certain she was moved after her death.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” Kate asked.

“No. I got it this time. But if this is the break that I think it will be, then I’ll let you know and we’ll go from there. Right now, I think you need to stay put. But, Kate, if you hadn’t found that earring, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“Thanks, Agent Scarborough.”

“I’ll call you as soon as I know something.” He ended the call.

“Something happening with the investigation?” Will asked.

“I think so. We might be getting a break on this case after all. Another woman was found dead, but this time, we know she was one of the kidnapped victims. We just need to find out who she is.”

They reached the dormitory. “So, we heading out for food, or just up to the room?” Kate asked, her thoughts still on the girl in Virginia Beach.

“Let’s just grab something from the cafeteria. Actually, I’ll hit the Marine Px and pick up some brews first. How about I catch up with you in say, half an hour? I’ll just meet you at your room.”

“Sure. Sounds good. See you then.”

She’d wanted to be there with Scarborough. She wanted him to say, “Meet me in Virginia Beach.” But they both knew that she could only do so much. The more she thought about this latest development, the more concerned she became about the rising toll of bodies.

As she walked to the building’s entrance and showed her ID to the guard, she hiked the four flights of stairs to her room. Another woman had been found dead. Yet another woman in a string of deaths all related to a human trafficking ring. And they still had no idea where the leader was or who his partners were.

Kate reached her room and dropped her bag on her bed. She checked the small mirror on the desk and noticed her left cheek was a little red. Pressing lightly on the raised lump, she looked at the scar on her temple. She pulled her hair over to conceal it.

Will had arrived and now stood outside with his hands full. “Here. Let me get that for you.” She grabbed the paper bag and peeked inside. “You managed to get this past the guard?”

“He took one look at my face and said I looked like I needed a beer, so he let me on up.”

Kate smiled and stepped aside to let him in. “You want an ice pack for that? I think I have one in the mini fridge.”

“No thanks. I’ll survive.” Will opened the pizza box and grabbed a slice. “Here. I just picked this up on the way.”

“Thanks.” Kate popped open a beer and took a big drink.

“How’s it been without Munoz?” He sat down on the former roommate’s bed.

“Okay, I guess. She sent me an email last week saying she was sorry for not telling me first. I don’t blame her. It must have been hard leaving her kids and husband.”

“Yeah. Well, they told us from the very beginning that not all of us would make it through.”

“I know.” Kate took another swig out of her can of beer. “I just didn’t think it would be her. I mean, with her background. But then, I still may not yet survive this.”

“You will. I know you will.”

Kate could see that while he believed she would make it, perhaps it wouldn’t be of her own doing. “You think Scarborough is going to make sure I pass, don’t you?”

Will cast his eyes towards the window. “That’s not what I’m saying.”

“Well then, why don’t you spit it out?” Kate felt a growing sense of irritation.

“Look, Kate, I’m not trying to start an argument here. I believe you are more than capable of passing this program. You’ve already proven your abilities… in more ways than one.” He stopped for a moment. “I’ve read a little about you. I know some of what you’ve been through.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t too hard to find.” It had only been in the past couple of months, since the end of the Branson trial, that the media attention finally died down.

“It’s just that I think Scarborough feels responsible for making sure you pass. For making sure you get everything you want because he knows firsthand all the shit that you’ve been through. I mean, you’ve lost a hell of a lot, Kate. I was in Iraq and I saw men die, but I didn’t lose my childhood friend or the person I loved.”

Kate had a hard time listening to anyone else talk about them. She could hardly talk about them herself. Her heart dropped into her stomach, but she pressed on. “So you think Scarborough is going to do whatever he has to do to see me through the Academy?”

“I think he’ll help you if you need it and he’ll make sure you know you’ve got a safety net. I just don’t think you need it.”

She set down her paper plate. “Excuse me for just a second.” Rising from the bunk, she began walking towards the bathroom.

“I’m sorry, Kate. Are you mad at me?”

“No. I’m not. I just need a minute.” She turned to him. “You might be right about Agent Scarborough, but I
can
do this without his or anyone else’s help.”

The bathroom was shared by the adjacent room and Kate went inside and locked both doors. She was upset by Will’s honesty. If he was able to pick up what was happening with Scarborough, then others in her class probably could too.

“Kate? Your phone’s ringing. It’s Scarborough.”

She pulled the washcloth from her face. “Can you grab it and tell him to give me a second. I don’t want to miss his call,” Kate said from behind the door. “Code is 3626.”

Will entered her security code and unlocked the phone. “Agent Reid’s phone. This is Agent Caison.”

Nick was quiet for a moment. It seemed he wasn’t expecting to hear Caison’s voice. “Yeah, I need to talk to Reid.”

“Hang on. She’s in the restroom.”

“Never mind. Just have her call me back ASAP.” Nick hung up.

Kate stepped out of the restroom and reached for her phone, noticing the peculiar look on Will’s face.

“He hung up.”

NINE

I
nstructed to sit
on the couch, the young woman who’d been too high to remember her own name followed the orders. Corbett reached for his camera. “Spread your legs.” He began snapping pictures of her genitalia. His clients demanded to see the goods before making their deposits and the images could also be used for the websites to promote their offerings.

It was a lucrative industry, one that found Corbett on the receiving end of more money than he ever made in his previous life as a high school counselor or before that when he worked in the food service industry. Never an ambitious man, he was often preoccupied with the young girls for whom counseling services were offered or the part-time kids who worked in the fast food restaurants on his delivery route.

It had been all too easy for him to pass the background check and the tests required to work at the school. Of course, he hadn’t had a criminal record, which helped. And their job requirements were a joke. But it gave him the idea to take his talents and put them to better use. From there, it didn’t take him long to align himself with the man who was running the show.

What put all that in jeopardy was that he’d been required to submit fingerprints for the school district. That had been the reason his identity was so easy for the cops to obtain. That, and the fact that he’d failed to use a proxy server on one of his websites that led them to his door. Corbett hadn’t wanted to leave his home, but there was little choice. Now he had to be constantly on the move, and it was becoming a hassle. The biggest danger was in transporting them. It would only take one person to witness him taking half-unconscious women and tossing them into the van. It was best when his partner could keep them. His place was secluded. But it wasn’t always possible. The only good thing was that he could unload them within just a few days. Demand seemed to be at an all-time high.

His boss still had great concerns for the operation and what would happen if the feds managed to track Corbett down. No matter how many times he’d offered assurances, the only true assurance was for him to continue to deliver high-caliber assets, which he intended to do. 

“Turn around,” he said to the girl, taking more pictures.

Two more waited in the bedroom for him. Corbett wasted no time breaking in his latest acquisitions. Humiliation and denigration was the key to keeping them submissive. The drugs kept them from struggling.

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The track was still slick from the morning drizzle as Kate made her way around it. She was preparing for the second of three physical fitness tests she would have to pass in order to graduate. The mile and a half run was just one part of it, but Kate wanted the practice. She checked the stopwatch and smiled as she crossed the finish line. Light sprinkles of water landed on her face as she tilted her head up towards the misty skies and tried to catch her breath.

Kate returned to the lockers. She was the only one inside the building, except for the maintenance man who opened it up for her. With all the time she had been away on the investigation, it would be on her to keep up with the rest of the class. As hard as it was to stay put while Scarborough and Jameson were working on the Jane Doe found in Virginia Beach, making up for lost time, lost practice, was the only way to make sure she didn’t fail. Will might have been right about Nick, but she wouldn’t accept that she couldn’t do this on her own. They were all watching her now; the instructors, the agents in the WFO. Watching to see if she really has what it took to be a federal agent.

Whether it had been the run that cleared her head or the cool water that now flowed down her body as she stood in the shower, Kate couldn’t be sure, but an idea sparked. Something she had missed before. Something they had all missed.

This couldn’t wait; she had to talk to Nick. Kate jumped out of the shower and hardly dried off. Fumbling to get dressed, she reached for her phone to call him. “Come on, answer.” The line continued to ring and finally went to voicemail. “Damn it.” It was seven a.m.; Nick had to be at the field office. She knew he’d gotten in late last night, but also knew the man rarely slept longer than four hours, spending much of the rest of his time at the office.

The consequences of missing the eight a.m. class would have to be considered later. Kate needed to get to the field office now.

A few of her colleagues were on the track now as she left the building and headed towards her car, still parked at the dormitory. She waved, but did not stop to speak to them.

The car unlocked with a beep from the remote entry, and Kate tossed her bag onto the passenger seat, sliding inside. She tried Nick once again, but the line still went to voicemail. “Where the hell are you? Pick up!” He’d hung up before she’d gotten a chance to speak to him last night and now he wasn’t answering. Something wasn’t right. She decided to try Agent Jameson. “God damn it! Where the hell is everyone?” Had there been some sort of staff meeting or some other bullshit that was keeping these guys from answering? Her patience had just about run out and, combined with the heavy rush hour traffic, Kate wanted to scream.

Finally arriving at the WFO, Kate rushed inside to find Nick. The obligatory security scans only irritated her further.

Agent Vasquez emerged from the break room, stirring a cup of coffee. Kate immediately stopped. “Have you seen Agent Scarborough?”

“I just got here, Kate. I haven’t seen him yet. Is everything okay? You look upset.”

“Sorry. I’m not upset; I just need to see him or Agent Jameson and traffic was hell and I’m missing my class…”

“Okay, okay. Calm down. Let’s check his office first.”

Vasquez was right; she needed to calm down. She just felt so damn stupid for not noticing it before. It was only over the weekend, when she’d had a chance to update the files that she’d seen it, but it didn’t click with her then. It seemed that was just how her mind worked. It needed time to process information, work to find a solution. It was as if she’d begun to develop this ability, one that made it possible for her to pick up on the finest details and find a connection. Perhaps she’d always had it and never gave it a purpose, until now.

“Agent Scarborough?” Vasquez asked, now standing in his doorway with Kate anxiously waiting. “I think NAT Reid would like to speak with you.” She stepped aside. “See? There you go.”

“Kate. Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

She was surprised by his casual tone. Hadn’t he checked his messages or seen that she’d called? Being irritated with him wasn’t going to help. He didn’t know why she was there or that she’d put her training in jeopardy because of it.

“I tried to call you a couple of times. Agent Jameson too.”

“I saw the missed calls. Sorry about that. We’ve been busting our asses trying to light a fire under Virginia Beach PD to get us those labs and keeping up with Garrett too. Anyway, what it is? What’s so urgent that you’re here and not at the base?”

She stepped inside, but not before giving a nod to Vasquez, thanking her for her help. “The other night, after we returned from Richmond, I was updating the notes on the files and I came across images of the websites that’ve already been shut down.”

“Okay. What about them?”

“I studied the pictures of those girls for a long time. I don’t know why, particularly, except I guess I was just saddened by them.”

“Kate, you and I have talked about this.”

She raised her hand. “I know. I’m working on it. Anyway, I went for a run this morning at the base and when I was in the shower, it occurred to me that I’d seen tattoos on some of the women.”

“And that’s unusual?”

“It’s unusual if they’re virtually the same tattoo on several of them.”

Nick slowly began to sit up straight in his chair. He folded his arms across his broad chest, waiting for her to continue. “I remember seeing tattoos, but not that they were of anything unique, or that they were the same.”

“On at least three of the women that I can recall, each had a tattoo of a flower.”

He pursed his lips. “Lots of women have flower tattoos.”

“You’re right. But what if he’s marking them? Branding them. Maybe Corbett calls them by the names of their tattooed flowers. Rose or Lily or Daisy. I don’t know. But, Nick, I think it’s worth considering. What about the woman found in Virginia Beach, the one that came up as a DNA match from that earring we found? Does she have a flower tattoo?”

“Scarborough?” Agent Jameson appeared in the corridor. “You got a second?” he asked, eyeing Kate.

“Yeah, what’s up? I was just talking with Kate and, um, she has found something that could be of interest.”

Jameson moved inside to join them. “I just got a call from one of Detective Garrett’s officers. He said Ballistics showed the bullet that was used to kill Petrovich was definitely from a .50 caliber Dezzy.”

“We already assumed that, right?”

“We didn’t assume that we’d find the gun, or the man who appears to be the owner of said weapon.” Jameson puffed out his thick round chest and placed his hands on his hips, content with his role as messenger of these glad tidings.

“They found the gun? Did they arrest the man?” Kate asked, believing this news meant they’d be able to get the shooter to talk and that they’d find Corbett as a result.

“Apparently the gun was found next to the body of the man who, in all likelihood, fired the weapon at Petrovich. The guy turned up in an alley behind a strip mall not far from the drop house. He’s been identified as Toma Soric. According to local PD, they’d been watching Soric for a while to get him on drug-related charges. And in fact, on initial discovery, they believed it had been a deal gone bad. But I don’t think so and neither did the officer who contacted me. This is too much of a coincidence.”

“I’d have to agree with you, assuming that not many people in the neighborhood carry a monster of a gun like that. The man kills Petrovich a day after we talked to him, then he winds up dead a few days later. What about Bjuric? Any idea of his whereabouts yet?” Nick asked.

“Not yet,” Jameson replied. “No one in the area’s willing to talk. Oh.” He raised his index finger. “They did find a safe in Petrovich’s apartment. Guess what was inside?”

Both Kate and Nick smiled, already knowing the answer.

“Surveillance tapes. I’m waiting on a call back from Garrett to see if they find Corbett on any of those tapes with his as of yet unknown partner. We know the cameras weren’t working on the day Petrovich was killed, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t working prior. And if Richmond PD was surveilling Soric for dealing, they got to know who he was hanging out with. We can start talking to those people.”

“When it rains, it pours.” Nick leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. “Kate thinks Corbett is branding his girls. Tattooing them.” He directed his sights to Kate. “Can you go back through the files and pull up every image of the sites we’ve shut down and get with computer forensics to find any more that have popped up since. I want you to scour the pictures of the girls to find any and all tattoos. It might not just be flowers; who knows? Now, we just need to identify the Jane Doe and we might actually be getting somewhere.”

» » »

The instructor raised his starter pistol and, although the sound of the shot always rattled her, Kate sprinted off the mark without hesitation. The afternoon skies were clear and the sun bounced off the red clay track as she pumped her arms and legs as fast as she could.

She passed by two of the other women in her class and was on her way to catch up to Sherman. He was fourth. Her mouth opened to pull as much air into her lungs as possible. Her legs were beginning to burn and her heart felt like it might beat right out of her chest. But she pushed on. A primal urge took over; to push past each one of them just to prove that she could.

Kate started to feel a new energy rise in her. Perhaps it had been due to her discovery about the case; she was feeling unstoppable. Her voice screamed inside her head as she raced towards the leader. Will was coming up on her right, but she didn’t look at him. She could feel his eyes land on her and follow her as she passed him by. This was no longer a race to meet the goal of simply passing the test. She was only required to beat a time of 13 minutes, 30 seconds and she was well beyond that now. The goal wasn’t to beat all her classmates either. The goal was to prove that she deserved to be here.

The ring she wore around her neck began to cling to her chest. The delicate silver chain stuck while the ring bounced beneath her clothes. Kate had become so accustomed to wearing it that she didn’t notice it on most days. Today, however, it was a reminder. And it impelled her even further.

Just as she was nearing the final stretch, Hewitt remained the only person in front of her and he crossed only milliseconds before she did. She wished it hadn’t been him that beat her, but she’d accomplished her goal. Kate slowed her momentum until finally coming to a stop. Her lungs burned with each gasp as she worked to bring her heart rate down. She doubled over and grabbed her knees.