you know so far,” Claire demanded.
“Not much yet. We need to find a way to track this baby pipeline, because I think there is one. Eldon Osceola says a lawyer in Fort Myers might be the one calling the shots around here.”
“Yeah, Max Kellen. I know,” Claire said. “I looked him up.”
“I bet Jose knows about him,” Black said.
“After I got Kellen’s name, I dug up some stuff, too. Let’s compare notes—but first we need to talk to Eldon so you can meet Alcina and her brother. They’ve been anxious for you to get here. After that, we’ll talk about how to take this whole thing down.”
A bunch of tourists were wandering around the shops and loading up on souvenirs. Eldon’s office and conference room were located down a hall behind an Employees Only sign. A plate-glass window in one wall revealed people sitting around a long conference table. Alcina and the kid were sitting together at the far end. Alcina was the only woman there. The walls were decorated with all kinds of Native American artifacts and paintings and wall hangings.
As soon as they got inside, Claire headed straight for Alcina, not even waiting for introductions. Kneeling beside her, Claire took both her hands. “We’re going to find Rosa. I promise you that I won’t stop looking until we bring her home and put her back in your arms.” That brought a rush of tears to the grieving young mother. “We’re gonna get your daughter back,” Claire said again. “We’ll never give up until we find her.”
“Thank you so much. I’m just so grateful you’re here,” Alcina whispered back. Apparently she believed Claire, because her tears dried up and she hugged Claire. Eldon stood and introduced himself and his sons, and then politely held Claire’s chair as she sat down beside him. “This is a bad affair we’ve gotten into,” he said. “As you know, Eloise has learned a great deal about the child abductions going on down in Guatemala City, and she thinks this thing is farther reaching than anybody knows. Rosa’s only the latest victim. Even worse, she thinks they target pregnant women as well as newborn babies. She told me that pregnant women have been going missing down there, and their bodies found later after they gave birth. Their babies have never been found.” His eyes lingered briefly on Claire, and nobody had trouble understanding his concern. “These people are worse than animals. I told Novak that we want to help. We’re at your service from now on. As long as it’s legal, we’re in all the way.”
Claire nodded. “Thank you, Eldon. We don’t know everything yet, but we’re just getting started. Your input’s going to help us more than anything. Eloise gave me a name and I tracked that child and found a reference to Max Kellen. That’s why we’re starting with him. He may be totally innocent, just acting as an attorney for them. I don’t know yet.”
“Well, I do. My wife knows him,” Eldon told her. “She’s faced him in court, and she says she wouldn’t trust him for the time of day. She isn’t a bit surprised he’s a suspect in this case. By the way, you’re welcome at Ocean’s Edge if you need a place to stay, but it’s about two hours north of here. We all live in Naples, which is closer. Feel free to set up your investigation anywhere you want. It might be better down close to us since the Skulls attacked Alcina and Pedro at the condo. I’ve upped security there. I don’t think they’ll come back, but they could. One thing we’ve learned about them is that they’re unpredictable. I don’t think they think things through before they jump in.”
Novak agreed. Those gangbangers seemed more than comfortable with drowning two young people on a public beach in full sight of four buildings full of people. That wasn’t exactly Einstein caliber, but they almost got away with it.
“Would they attack us out here on the reservation?” Black asked Eldon.
“Not unless they want the Bureau of Indian Affairs to come down on their heads like a ton of bricks. This is tribal land, and we protect it with our own police force. The boys and I have concealed carry permits, and everything we do out here falls under tribal jurisdiction. I’m still worried about how they found Alcina and Pedro at Ocean’s Edge. We took every measure to keep their whereabouts secret. Somebody had to clue them in.”
“Are you thinking you’ve got an informer?” Black asked.
“Nobody on the res would do that. Everybody working at the Safari is family.” He hesitated and looked at Novak. “I want to take a minute to thank Will Novak publicly for saving Alcina and Pedro’s lives. We let those guys get by us, and these two kids almost paid the price.”
Claire glanced at Novak. “Novak’s handy to have around.”
Novak looked at her. “You know who those guys are, don’t you? Remember the Skulls when they rode in New Orleans?”
“Is it the same club? Gabe LeFevres took them down on his own when he worked undercover. They’re all still in jail.”
“Same kind, just in other chapters. They’ve got one in Fort Myers, and they’re Kellen’s enforcers, we think. If he turns out to be the man we’re looking for.”
Claire remembered them, all right. “I had some problems with them when I worked homicide at Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office. Down there, they ran drugs and prostitutes, but we never heard anything about kidnapped children.”
“I know Kellen’s calling the shots, but we can’t prove it,” Eldon said. “We try to stay out of their way, but the other night changed things. They’ll be gunning for us.”
Black caught Novak’s attention. By the frown on his face, Novak knew he wasn’t thrilled Claire was about to go up against a violent motorcycle gang. Novak nodded, sympathizing, but not worried. Claire knew full well that she could not do everything she’d done in the past. Both men knew that, and as long as she remembered it, too, she’d be okay. He wasn’t going to worry about her until he had a reason to. On the other hand, she wasn’t used to sitting around and letting everyone else investigate her cases. She’d been a lead homicide investigator too long.
Now Claire wore a look of steely determination. “I want that baby safe and sound and back with Alcina, and we’ll do whatever it takes to get her there.”
That was pretty all-encompassing and overly optimistic, but Novak agreed. Alcina promptly collapsed into fresh sobs, revealing her stifled emotions were as ragged as hell. Pedro put his arm around his sister’s shoulders. Claire smiled encouragingly and put her hand atop her own belly. At that moment that Novak felt a curious sort of chill go down his back, a weird sense of foreboding.
“So this attack took place at your condo?” Black asked Eldon. “My primary concern, of course, is my wife’s safety. If there’s any doubt, I’ll be happy to arrange secure accommodations and professional bodyguards for Alcina and her brother.”
Eldon seemed fine with the idea. “Like I said, I don’t believe they’ll show up there again, and we’ve upped the number of guards, but there’s no way I can guarantee it. The other residents are unaware of what happened, and we want to keep it that way. Those condo rentals are what keep this place open.”
Novak was not in favor of Claire staying at the beach, either. It was no fortress against armed assault. He waited for Claire to tell Black to stop worrying about her, but she didn’t. That told him Claire had no intention of doing anything that would harm her or her unborn child. After that, he relaxed considerably and felt better about her involvement. He did not want anything to happen to Claire. She’d been injured and hurt so many times before that he was always spooked when they got a new and dangerous assignment. This time was different.
