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“What am I not working on? I have a huge caseload, plus all my spare time is spent tracking my father. I’m also looking into the situation with Juliet and Lisa.”
“Any leads?”
“On my father? No, I’m sorry to say. On Juliet and Lisa? Still no, but I’m investigating kidnapping rings in the Caribbean. There are more than a few. Several women have gone missing from resorts in the area. Not just Jamaica, but the Virgin Islands, the DR, even a few from the Bahamas. These guys don’t discriminate, that’s for sure.”
“Is there any way to find Juliet and Lisa?”
“Not without money I don’t have. They were essentially naked when they disappeared. They had no ID, nothing.”
My nerves rattled. “Ruby, what happens to these women?”
She sighed across the phone line. “It’s not pretty, Ryan.”
“I’ve seen a lot of ‘not pretty’ in my life. You can tell me.”
“They’re usually drugged, deprived of food and water, and beaten and raped to learn submission. Once they submit, they’re fed to gain weight. They need to be attractive for buyers.”
“What if they don’t submit?” A lump was lodged in my throat.
“Then they don’t survive. They are eventually starved and beaten to death.”
God. I didn’t know those two women, but the thought of this… “Thank God Shayna got away.”
“I say that every day,” she said.
“I didn’t mean to start this conversation on a downer.”
“Most of what I do is a downer. Detectives don’t usually investigate good people.”
I chuckled. “Touché. How do you deal with it? All day and every day?”
“I guess you could say I’m driven.”
“What drives you?”
“My father. The guilt I feel for not being able to bring him to justice. So I bring a lot of others to justice instead. It helps.”
Her answer didn’t surprise me. “You’ll bring your father to justice, Ruby. We’re all here to help.”
“I know. But believe me, he’s cunning. He doesn’t slip up.”
“He will. We’ve taken out his two partners. He’ll screw up eventually, and when he does, you’ll swoop in and get him. I promise you.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Of course I am. Hey, it’s Friday. Do you want to come to my place for dinner? Maybe spend the weekend? You could use a break.”
She laughed. “I just got back from vacation.”
“Yeah, and you’re back at your job and everyone else’s already.”
“I was going to do some research this weekend.”
“Funny thing about my place. I have Internet.”
“Okay, okay. Sure. Can I bring anything?”
“Like a bottle of wine?”
