Page 42 of Thaddeus

“What about outside? Did the security team patrol the grounds?”

“Yeah. There were two outside. I was only allowed in the back garden when Jefferson was with me. And there were two men for sure that would stick close. I don’t know if there were others I couldn’t see. And I do remember he had a full-time caretaker for the property and of course the men who trained the dogs lived there, as well. I don’t know if you’d consider them security but they’re there, too.”

“Any women or children?” Kyle asked.

“None that I saw.”

My opinion of the team going to Jefferson’s training camp hadn’t changed. They were nuts. If any of Jefferson’s people opened the pens the dogs were kept in, it would be game over.

A phone clattered on the table and Declan scooted it in front of him and pushed some buttons before answering. “Tex. You’re on speaker.”

“I sent the aerial footage of the camp. It should be in your inbox.” A deep voice came over the line. “And, Tatiana, I need to play you a voice clip. Are you ready?”

“Yeah, play it,” Tatiana answered.

“Here it is,” Tex said and a moment later a new man’s voice filled the room. “I don’t give a shit if they’re ready or not. I want them moved. All of them. The American is mine. I want her delivered unharmed.”

“That’s Leon Brown,” Tatiana said immediately.

“No, it’s not,” I corrected.

I knew that voice, very well in fact.

“What do you mean, that’s not Leon Brown?” Tatiana asked.

“That man’s name is Harry Landry,” I told her. “He’s from Connecticut. He’s an investment banker. Harry’s the only man in the last eight years that broke things off with me.”

Every person in the room looked at me in shock.

“Are you sure? Tex, can you play that back for Emerson?” Declan asked.

The recording started again, but I didn’t need to hear it a second time to know the voice.

“I’m sure. That’s Harry Landry. If I still had my old phone, I could play you an old voice recording I’d made. A hundred percent that’s him.”

“Tex? You have anything on Harry Landry?” Declan asked.

“Sixty-five, Harvard educated, parents deceased, no siblings, comes from an extremely wealthy family. Being as he was the sole heir, Harry inherited millions, which he turned into nearly a billion. He was married, wife died in an accidental drowning. No children. Harry is one of the three men Emerson left alive when she was done with them. What can you add, Emerson?”

Holy shit’s creek. This man Tex knew I hadn’t killed three of my marks, which also meant he knew I’d killed four of the eight. Jefferson would’ve been number five but Thad’s team had beaten me to it.

I looked around and saw everyone staring at me expectantly. They knew. They’d all read the report, everyone except Thad, so the cat was out of the bag and I had nothing to gain by lying.

“Not much. Harry was extremely tight-lipped. The closest he ever came to slipping in front of me was when he was on the phone. He’d talk about shipments being delayed. A few times he mentioned the cost of goods in America was too high and he wanted new products purchased from Colombia. He tried to tell me he had invested in an up-and-coming coffee company. He has an estate in Colorado, a home in Italy. He told me he was a venture capitalist.”

“Maybe he was importing coffee?” Max said.

“I picked Harry Landry because I’d overheard an argument between Harry and the man, Charlie, I was with. Charlie was irate because his last shipment of drugs was late and was blasting Harry over the phone. Harry explained the delay was with the supplier in Colombia but everything was under control. To appease Charlie, he offered him dibs at the next auction. Just so you understand, Harry didn’t actually use the word dibs, he explained in detail to Charlie what he’d be getting at the auction and Harry specialized in very young girls if the conversion was any indication.”

I didn’t want to think about the disgusting, vile shit Charlie and Harry spoke about. There weren’t enough hours in the day to pray for the details to be wiped clean from my memory.

“And Charlie is Charles Simmons from Atlanta, Georgia? The second man you took out?” Tex asked.

“Jesus,” Thad muttered.

“As a matter of fact, yes. Just curious, did you commit my crimes to memory or did you make a spreadsheet?” I snarked.

“Right. So here’s the thing, Emerson,” Tex started. “Under normal circumstances, I’d be against this vigilante gig you’ve got going. Not only is it criminal, but dangerous. You’ve been incredibly lucky. The only reason I’m even a little bit impressed by the intel you collected and the operations you executed is because every man you chose had indeed played a part in sex trafficking. Men who’d greatly harmed women. I also was able to track the shipments you disrupted, which meant that you freed those women from a lifetime of misery. I also understand why you’ve done everything you’ve done. What happened to Autumn… well, they’re no words for that. Now, to answer your question, I have several spreadsheets on you. Which brings me back around to the dangerous part. You aren’t real good at covering your tracks. And if you think you were doing anything to conceal your identity by changing the last name you used, you’re wrong. Your time’s run out. I hope you know that.”