His eternal love.
“Hello?”
“Enzo. It’s Rick Castle from the Department of Justice.”
“Hey Rick. What can I do for you?” I asked.
“We’ve had a development regarding the data recovered from Smiley’s phone. During our investigation, we discovered Massimo wasn’t the mastermind behind the dark web operation as we initially believed. While he had been orchestrating the heinous acts of sex trafficking, it was a serial killer who was handling the underground site, catering to clients offering them a catalog of women for sale. After an extensive investigation, we traced the IP address to a cartel leader, Vince Romano. But here’s the twist—he’s currently locked away in federal prison.”
“If he’s behind bars, who the hell was running the operation?”
“We don’t know for sure. They must’ve caught wind of our investigation because the original site is gone. But we strongly suspect it’s been relocated to a new platform.”
“Great. So we’re back to square one. Who was handling the Romano case?”
“Javier Ramirez. He’s based in Tennessee and is currently investigating a string of cases involving babies being sold on the black market. Their mothers are killed after delivery, or in some sick instances, the babies are cut right from their wombs. This fucker has left a trail of bodies across the states.”
“Okay. What does this have to do with my case?”
“The girls you found in that trailer a few months ago are Latina college students. Among them was Naomi Sánchez, one of the girls who survived. She identified her kidnapper as the very same man who had abducted Gigi and brought her to the bridge. We think she’s linked to that investigation.”
Curiosity piqued, I asked, “Where is she from?”
“Tennessee, which is why I need you to collaborate with Javier and report back to me. I’ll set you up with a secure email to reach me. I’ll send you over the files now.”
“Alright. What’s his number?”
I scribbled down the number Rick recited and ended the call. My attention was already shifting to reviewing the files.
After three rings, a man’s deep voice resonated through the phone.
“This is agent Ramirez.”
“Hello, Javier, my name is Enzo, and I’m with RICO FBI. Do you have a moment?”
“You can call me Javi. What’s going on?”
I quickly relayed the grim details Rick had shared with me.
“That is some twisted shit,” Javi replied. “How can I help?”
“One of the girls found in Chicago from one of our recent cases was from Tennessee. Her name is Naomi Sánchez. Does that name ring a bell?” I pressed, hoping for a connection.
There was a brief, tension-filled silence.
“No, I’m afraid I’m not familiar with that specific case,” Javi replied. “It hasn’t been flagged or routed through our department’s jurisdiction yet.”
“Well, that’s about to change since she was recovered from a major sex trafficking operation in Chicago,” I continued.
The line went quiet for a moment, broken only by the sharp, rapid click of a keyboard. “Forward everything you have,” he commanded.
“I’m sending the files now.” I clicked send on the email.
“Okay, hang on.”
I heard him typing away on the computer.
“Fuck,” he whispered. “She’s the spitting image of my sister, Sadie.”
