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He was just pulling himself together when the doctor came back in.
“I assume you’re going back to your office?”
He nodded. “In a little while. I have a lot to wrap up.” He glanced at Dana. “But not just yet.”
“My opinion is, she shouldn’t be alone right now. If there’s no one to stay with her I think we should keep her here until you can pick her up.” She smiled. “And you can check in with me whenever you need to.”
Two hours later, he was in the office, having been literally forced from Dana’s side so she could sleep. Fortifying himself with Harry’s coffee, he sat with Scott and Gaylen, answering questions about Dana’s condition and getting a full report from them.
“Bishop’s on his way to San Antonio to federal lockup,” Scott told him. “His wrists and ankles are flex cuffed, and I sent two men with him, fully armed. I don’t trust that bastard for anything.”
“Andi, Mickey, and the two federal CSI’s collected every bit of evidence.” Gaylen looked as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. “Fingerprints, his so-called toys. Can you believe the son of a bitch even took pictures? We found his stash.”
Cole swallowed some coffee, wishing it was something stronger. “I’m sure he thought he was safe. He has been all these years.”
But it was the gruesome discovery in the back that had everyone losing whatever they’d had for dinner.
“There was a dry well back there,” Scott told him. “It was a pile of bones and rotting flesh, some so new the stench was nearly unbearable when the cover was lifted.”
“I had two deputies tossing a coin to see which one had to go down into the well,” Gaylen added, “and send up the remains.”
“We’ll need a forensic anthropologist to sort all this out,” Scott added. “I called Clark and put in the request. We’ve got two of my men and two of yours out there until George gets back with enough body bags for all the remains.”
Nita Sanchez walked into the room, cursing steadily in two languages. “I hope they give that son of a bitch a three-hundred-pound roommate in jail who wants a piece of his ass at least twice a day. Even that wouldn’t be enough.”
“A lot of people are going to be shocked when this comes out,” Cole said in a heavy voice. “Has anyone talked to my aunt?”
Gaylen nodded. “I roused her pastor, filled him in, and sent him over there.”
“I’m sure she’s in shock. I’ll have to make time to get over there today.” He rubbed his face. “I just don’t know what to say to her. What about the girls?”
Scott stared at him. “What girls?”
“He has two daughters. My cousins.”
“I know they’re your relatives, Cole, but how the hell could a man with daughters of his own do this to so many innocent little girls?”
“Makes one wonder, doesn’t it?” Nita said.
“Yeah, and then some.” Scott grimaced. “It doesn’t matter how long I do this job, there are still some things that will never stop surprising me.”
“Me either,” Nita agreed.
“The pastor can get their numbers from Adele’s phone book. He knows them. I’m sure they’ll fly in right away. God.” Cole shook his head. “What a mess.”
“My guys found his cell phone.” Scot pulled it from his pocket. “Lucky for us, all the numbers he calls were still in the history and they led us right to the trafficking ring. I’m sending everything back with the FBI. They’ll get a task force together to start rounding up all the people involved.” He paused. “Go on, Cole. Get back to your lady. We’ve got things under control here.”
By the time Cole returned to the hospital, Dana was in a private room. Cole pulled up the big armchair and reached through the rails to capture her hand. She slept fitfully through the night, panicked each time she woke, then relaxing when Cole squeezed her hand and murmured to her reassuringly.
Early in the morning, Gaylen and Scott stopped in to bring him up to date.
“George brought us back a load of body bags and a forensic anthropologist to supervise moving the remains. There’s no telling how many bodies are down there.”
“God.” Cole wondered if he’d ever get rid of the sick feeling.
“Some are so old there are just bones. After we get all of them out, she and the bodies will go back to San Antonio and begin the work of trying to identify them.”
“That may be impossible if they were smuggled over the border,” Cole pointed out. “What about my aunt? How’s she holding up?”
