“Not just for you.”
Noah and Lucy walked out. “That was nice of you,” Lucy said.
“I need her occupied. Siobhan is driven and intense and while her insight has been valuable, she’s focused on the wrong thing.”
“Why were there multiple pregnant women in that house and where did they go?”
“Exactly. And I tracked down that reporter who gave her the info on the girls in the first place. I’d rather she wasn’t around when we talk to him.” Noah pulled out of the hospital parking lot. “Check your email, read the report from Zach. He has property records, license plates-I didn’t have time to review it. I had a talk with Agent Lopez, the SSA running the Laredo office.” The FBI’s Laredo office was a Resident Agency under the San Antonio umbrella. “They’re swamped right now, but set us up to talk with the assistant sheriff, who may have information on a related case.”
“How so?”
“Woman, suspected illegal, gave birth at the hospital, then disappeared with the baby-even though she was granted temporary residency. It may have nothing to do with this… but Lopez said there were other suspicious things about the case. He only knew about it through interdepartment communications, not because he worked it.”
Lucy looked through Zach’s reports. Thin, but at least they had a direction. “All the vehicles are registered to a business,” she said. “Except the truck. Odd.”
“Odd what?”
“The house is also registered to a business.”
“Shit.”
“What does it mean?”
“It’s going to be a shell game.”
Lucy had no idea what Noah meant, but it didn’t sound good.
CHAPTER SIX
“Thank you for staying after your shift to meet with us,” Noah said to Assistant Sheriff Adam Villines.
“It’s not late-my wife will tell you we eat promptly at six every night, but by the time the kids get back from practice and clean up and whoever is supposed to be cooking actually cooks-we rotate between the kids-it’s closer to eight. Which is fine with me, because my seven-to-five shift rarely ends at five. And it’s Monday. Which means Isabelle is cooking, so help me.”
He motioned for them to sit across from his desk, then he closed the door and sat in his seat. “Tim Lopez from your Laredo office gave me a heads-up, says you’re sharp. I’ll admit, I’m not a fan of the feds. We get a lot of that here, between the DEA and ICE and FBI, pushing in, causing more problems than they solve. Tim and I are both local boys, I trust him. He says you’re okay, you’re okay. But what I want to know is why isn’t Tim investigating this case, why bring in someone from DC?”
“I’m working out of the San Antonio office indefinitely while SSA Casilla is on leave,” Noah said. “I spoke with Agent Lopez earlier, he’ll be assisting, though Agent Kincaid and I are running this investigation. As you know, the Laredo Resident Agency is a small office, they don’t have the time or resources with their current cases to take the lead. I’m keeping Lopez in the loop, however.”
Villines nodded his approval.
Noah continued. “Ms. Walsh spoke to you this weekend?”
“I’ve already had two visits from Ms. Walsh. Tenacious. I know all about the missing girls-she said they were her friends-and what she thinks she knows about the case. To be honest with you, we’re not seeing any foul play here. Not on the surface. We can assist in finding the infant’s mother, but because the baby was left in the county next door, I don’t have any jurisdiction to dig around. I made a call to the sheriff, she says she’ll look into it.”
“Not on the surface?” Noah repeated.
Villines nodded. “If Ms. Walsh wasn’t so dead positive that the baby belongs to one of her friends because of that locket, I would have thought it was left by a poor, young girl overwhelmed by the idea of motherhood. Devout, leaving it at the church. Figured it would be cared for. Or an immigrant who was concerned about her status, maybe unwed, scared. And then the note.”
“What note?”
Villines opened a file, showed Noah. Lucy glanced over. The photograph of a bloodied white T-shirt seemed odd. Lucy tilted her head and saw the message.
Trust no one.
“This is why the priest brought the infant to the Laredo hospital, he knew it was a different jurisdiction.”
“Do you know a Deputy Jackson?” Noah asked.
Villines grunted. “I’m not going to talk shit about another cop. Let’s just say he wouldn’t be working under me.”
Noah said, “Three months ago, a young pregnant woman was dropped off at a hospital here in Laredo. The staff suspected she was illegal, but the baby was in duress and they delivered it by emergency C-section.”
When had Noah learned about that situation?
“Correct. It’s a common situation-we’re a border town. The woman would have died across the border, as well as the baby. Desperate times, Agent Armstrong.”
“Dr. Davidson treated that woman as well.”
That must have been why Noah wanted to talk to the doctor without Siobhan. Lucy wished he would have clued her in earlier.
“And you think these cases are connected?” Villines asked.
Noah shrugged. “The mother and baby disappeared.”
“They were given temporary residency-thanks to the hospital staff who know the ropes-but walked away from a shelter two days after they were discharged,” Villines said. “It happens.”
“Dr. Davidson said you have the mother’s prints and belongings.”
“There wasn’t much-she packed up and left-but yes, I ran her to make sure she had no criminal record, a requirement of the shelter. It’s a church-run group for unmarried women with young children. She was clean, but I didn’t add her to the criminal database when she disappeared. She wasn’t accused of a crime.”
“I want to run her prints against all databases,” Noah said. “I’m getting a warrant for the house where we suspect Baby Elizabeth’s mother was staying before she left the baby at the church. I’m going to print the place.” Noah leaned forward, put out his left index finger as he counted. “One abandoned baby at a church.” Put out another finger. “One pregnant woman Ms. Walsh saw inside the house.” He put out a third finger. “One young girl carrying an infant leaving the house yesterday evening.” And his pinkie finger. “And three months ago a mother and infant disappear even though they were given food, shelter, medical care.” He leaned back. “Dr. Davidson said the woman didn’t speak much, that she’d clearly received prenatal care, and she filled out the birth certificate with false information. She had no identification on her.”
Villines considered. “I had two deputies called out to a house fire shortly after the woman disappeared. The fire department was able to contain it to one dwelling, but there were a few oddities. Four cribs in one room, several twin beds in another. No fatalities or injuries-the place was empty, and no one claimed any belongings-though there was little left. The fire investigator ruled it arson. The structure was unstable and demolished, but there are photos. You’re welcome to a copy of the file.”
“Who owned the house?” Lucy asked.
Villines glanced at her as if he’d forgotten she was there. “I don’t remember. A property management company? It was some sort of business on the records.”
“Was it Direct Property Holdings?”
He raised both eyebrows. “I think it was.”
Lucy glanced at Noah and said, “They owned the house outside Freer.” To Villines she added, “The house where Siobhan Walsh saw the pregnant women.”
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Villines said.
“Nor do I,” Noah said. “We’re running all property in the area owned by the same company, but I was hoping you might be able to spare a deputy who knows the area to help run them down.”
“I’m sure we can handle that. Get me the list.”