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“Are you suggesting that we get all of you involved?” frowned Gaspar.
“No, not at all,” said Alexandra, “but we may want to involve kids. Not ours. But I’m talking about young men and women who look like kids. The police department does it all the time, sending in new officers that look like they’re in high school and getting them to behave like teenagers.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” said Ian, nodding his head. “We could always ask the NOPD, or we could see if the Navy or Army recruiting stations have some new kids that might be willing to help.”
“See. Problem solved,” smiled Grace.
“Problem not solved, babe. We don’t know what’s happening to these kids, if they’re still in the city, nothing.”
“What about their phones?” asked Alexandra. “Has anyone tried to access their last known whereabouts with their phone locator?”
“One of the kids, Spencer, didn’t have a cell phone,” said Antoine. “His aunt was worried about him getting distracted and it affecting his grades. Poor woman is distraught. We asked Calla to visit with her, and I think she’s going to set up regular visits.”
“This is all so strange,” said Faith. “We can usually pinpoint things based on where these kids are from, their family lives, schools, all of it. But this group doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Alexandra pulled her tablet onto the table, the others all smirking in her direction. She held up a hand, shaking a finger at them.
“No one say a word. Not if you want help. Okay, I pulled the kids’ phone numbers from the information you had in your files,” she said.
“Wait. You hacked into Gray Wolf’s files?” asked Gaspar.
“Please. Don’t insult me. Of course, I did. Anyway, all of the phones are out of operation currently. However, the last known locations were all in and around Jackson Square. One of them was taken off of Bourbon, inside a club. Have you checked video of that one?”
All of the men shook their heads. Alexandra just raised a brow as if to say get on it.
“This one was taken near the Canal shops. One of the boys taken a few weeks ago, he was taken near a strip club, but I can’t really see which one. If he was just walking the streets, then it could be a total coincidence.”
“A strip club? These kids aren’t old enough to get into any clubs. Usually, the clubs on Bourbon are pretty good about checking IDs. They could get shut down fast for that, and no one wants that on their head,” said Raphael. “If they’re getting fake IDs, maybe that’s where we start.” Gaspar nodded at his little brother.
“Sounds like as good a place as any.”
CHAPTER NINE
Callan couldn’t stand to see these kids coming in to get something covered up that they never wanted in the first place. It was hard for him to picture his old friend doing this to kids. Maybe he didn’t really know what he was doing?
It was wishful thinking.
“Ouch!” yelled the man lying face down on his table.
“Sorry, man. I lost my train of thought for a moment. All is well,” said Callan.
“It’s cool, dude. You’re the best there is, Callan. That’s why I drive all the way from Lafayette to get my tats. No one does design and color like you. No one.”
“Thanks, brother. How is the family doing?”
“All good. My kids are still little, in elementary school. It’s been tough since the divorce, but Sandy and I are trying to co-parent together. I really want to say horrible things to her face, but that won’t help the kids.”
“You’re doing the right thing. It sucks that she met someone else and left, but at least she told you before things went too far.”
“I know you’re right, but it doesn’t feel any better. We’ve dated since we were fourteen, brother. Fourteen. We’ve got two kids together. I never thought I’d come home and she’d be sitting there with my bags at her feet. I thought it was because of working the rigs initially.”
“She wasn’t bothered by that, was she?”
“No. She liked the fucking money, that’s for sure. No, she just said she was lonely and met someone that made her not lonely. She was sorry. I could see it in her face, but I almost couldn’t be mad. I’m gone a lot, brother.”
“What are you doing now? Still on the rigs?”
“Yep. Headed out again tomorrow. She’s got the house. The kids live with her and Terrance. Terrance. What the fuck kind of name is that?” Callan laughed, shaking his head.
