“And there is zero crossover among friends or groups on their socials,” Nina adds.
My arms folded over my chest, I pace the floor of the war room, trying to figure out what we’re missing. I want to believe there’s a connection between the two—that there is some bit of crossover somewhere in their lives.
“What are you thinking?” Astra asks.
“I’m thinking that if we can’t find the crossover in the lives of these two kids, that we’re dealing with something bad. Really bad,” I reply.
“You’re talking about a trafficking ring,” Paige says.
“Maybe.”
“Aren’t they a little old for trafficking?” Rick asks. “I thought traffickers usually snatched up young, young kids.”
“Not always. Unfortunately, there is a market that caters to every sick appetite out there,” Astra says. “Sixteen-year-old girls are just as in demand as eighteen-year-old boys like Peter Olange.”
“Exactly. So, let’s be proactive about it,” I reply. “Mo, I want you to get with the Bureau’s trafficking task force. I want to find out if there are any known active rings in this area. Get the names of players and anything else you can squeeze out of them. And remember, don’t take no for an answer. Don’t let them off until you get some real answers from them.”
“Copy that,” Mo says.
“Tell me about the Olanges, folks,” I say.
“Susan Olange is the President and CEO of O-Tech Industries, a technology firm her father started, which she has expanded. She’s turned it into a Fortune 500 company that has interests in everything from defense and weapons systems to video games,” Nina reports. “Her husband Dutton owns a construction company that has done very well over the years and has plenty of government contracts too.”
“Okay, so both do business with the government,” I say. “Do any of their interests overlap with Senator Barlow? Is there perhaps a nexus there?”
“Not that I can find,” Rick says. “Barlow doesn’t sit on any of the committees that hand out contracts to either of the Olanges. So far as I can tell, they’ve never been in the same room with each other at the same time.”
“We know Senator Barlow has some detractors out there. Do the Olanges have any public positions that might be considered controversial? Any fringe theories they endorse? Any extreme candidates? Anything that the crazies out there might take umbrage with?” I ask.
“The crazies will take umbrage with anything these days,” Astra offers.
“Fair,” I reply with a dark chuckle. “But are the Olanges associated with anything unusual that might ruffle some feathers?”
“Nothing that I can see,” Nina says. “They don’t seem to endorse any specific political ideology and contribute to a wide range of social causes, but nothing that seems fringe or radical.”
“Ditto that with their political contributions. They donate to candidates of all political stripes,” Rick adds. “The only common thread I can see is their support for politicians who do a lot of important social work that’s mainly centered on the welfare and protection of children. For the most part, though, they seem apolitical.”
“So, nothing crazy, nothing radical, no connection between the kids, and no parental connection to Barlow,” Astra says. “This is looking more and more like the angle we’d all rather not consider might end up being the right one.”
“Yeah,” I mutter darkly. “And the only thing connecting these two kids is the man in the smiley-face mask and that black panel van.”
“Yeah,” Rick says softly. “On the surface, that’s all we can find right now.”
“Okay. Then let’s dig deeper. A lot deeper,” I say. “Get into every aspect of the lives of Senator Barlow and the Olanges. They gave us permission to look through their electronic lives, so do that. Find a connection, no matter how tenuous, between the two families. There has got to be something that links them.”
“Blake, it’s possible there isn’t,” Astra says softly. “I know you don’t want to think so, but it’s possible, if not likely, that these kids were snatched up and trafficked. I think our time would be better spent looking at that angle instead of digging into the lives of the families.”
“I think we can do both. We need to be flexible enough to look at multiple avenues at once simply because we don’t know anything right now,” I say.
“Okay,” Astra says.
“What about the whole sugar baby angle? Could it be somebody from the site—this Joey Bauer guy—who’s behind all this?” Paige chips in. “Kind of seems like the business he’s in might have some potential crossover with trafficking rings.”
“That’s doubtful,” Nina says. “Nothing we’ve found on him so far points to him being involved with anything illegal. There’s absolutely nothing that even hints that he’s connected to a trafficking ring. It’s like Blake said, he seems more like a wannabe mobster than anything.”
“He could be good at covering his tracks,” Paige says.
“Not that good. He’s definitely not better than me,” Nina replies.
“So, there’s nothing there with him?” Astra asks.
“Lots of self-created smoke that he fans himself, but not even the first hint of fire,” Nina replies. “Trust me, I’ve turned over every rock I can find, and there’s just nothing there. If there was something to find, I would have found it.”
My frustration levels are rising, making my heart pound in my ears. There’s an invisible hand pressing down on me so hard, I feel like I can’t breathe. I always feel responsible for the victims, but this time, it’s something more. There’s an added weight. And that extra pressure is coming from the OPR review that’s hanging over my head and the possibility that failing to find Ashley will have severe consequences for my career.
I’m worried that if I don’t come through for DD Church and Senator Barlow, I really fear that as a practical matter, I might be done in the Bureau. At the very least, I’ll be exiled and stuck on a dead-end track until it sucks the life out of me, and I end up resigning. That’s just one of the many vast and varied reasons I hate politics so much. It’s like a live hand grenade. If you don’t handle it just so, it will blow up in your face.
“Bad news,” Mo says.
“More?” Astra asks.
“Unfortunately, so,” she replies.
“Lay it on us,” I say.
“I just got off the phone with a contact on the task force,” she says. “As of right now, they’re not aware of any trafficking rings operating in the area. He said he’ll keep his ear to the ground and let me know if he hears anything.”
“And the hits just keep on coming,” Astra says.