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“You’re thinking of Antolli,” Moe said. “That’s his brother.”
Novak in Poland was like Smith in the USA. “Pre 9/11, Antoni was involved in small time kidnapping and thievery. When the US went to war with Iraq, he saw a golden opportunity to exploit families fleeing the area in search of a new home.”
“He’d learned a lot about lifting valuable jewelry from his brother, however,” Moe continued. “And when you think about it, both are similar targets: Highly prized but rarely have more than average security around them.”
Amelia made a disgusted grunt. “Children are far more valuable than jewelry.”
Beatrice didn’t miss how Rory squeezed her hand. “To parents like yours, yes. To others?” She shrugged. “Children are easy to locate and track these days, thanks to social media and the fact all of them have cells and other devices. Like Moe said, they have minimal security most of the time.” She rested her hands on the back of a chair. “Initially, Antoni concentrated in the Middle East and North Africa but still returned to Poland on occasion. One of those jobs involved Rena Zelinska. She was fifteen and on the run from her family, who owned several factories in Poland. He believed they were rich, but he failed to do enough due diligence to discover they were on the brink of bankruptcy. Her parents couldn’t pay the ransom he requested, and instead of killing her, he kept her.”
“Kepther?” Amelia looked horrified. “Like a prisoner? A sex slave?”
“The authorities believe it was consensual.” Beatrice gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “I know this is hard to hear, but it does happen.”
Amelia dropped her gaze. “Sorry. It’s just…”
“Don’t apologize.” Beatrice found it tough to not get emotional about these types of things, too, especially now that she was a mother. They both had to stay detached, though, in order to not end up in a quagmire of useless, even if it was heartfelt, sadness. Amelia had walked into this meeting with a bit of bounce in her step, and it was good to see, but if she got too emotional over the information Beatrice and Moe were about to present, it wouldn’t help any of them. “Please remember that we can’t change the past, only affect the future. And that’s why we’re here. It’s quite possible this ring is planning another abduction, and soon.”
Amelia paled. “Are you serious?”
“You may have uncovered something of national importance,” Moe told her.
Beatrice nodded at Amelia’s questioning glance. “Antoni trained Rena and they ran a bunch of cons, stealing jewelry and art, as well as kidnapping kids. They brought on a co-conspirator whose name and identity have never been verified. An unknown but powerful person whom the authorities suspect moves in higher-end circles and has access to rich and famous families.”
“How do they know this person joined them if they don’t know who he is?” Amelia asked.
“The MO changed,” Moe said. “Originally, Antoni and Rena were targeting easy kids, but low risk, low reward. When the third twit came onboard, they began going after bigger gains.”
“Which meant higher risk, so they added yet another partner. One highly trained in security measures and able to avoid even the best of those.” Beatrice hit the remote. A new set of faces peered back at them. “These are potential candidates, because again, we don’t have confirmation. The group wears disguises, uses false identities, and they stay off the radar.”
Amelia’s spine went ramrod straight. “Wait.That’sone of them?”
“Potentially,” Moe said, eyeing the man with the scar. “After the Concordia hijacking, the heat was on. They didn’t get all the ransoms they asked for, but they earned enough that the group broke up for a period of years. Interpol and the Feds suspect at least two bopped over here to America.”
Rory made a note on his laptop. “Concordia, I remember that. A bus of kids from a British military boarding school was hijacked and six of them kidnapped. That’s when this group was dubbed with that name by the press.”
“They ranged in age from ten to fourteen.” Moe stared at the table in front of him. “The bastards held them at gunpoint, brutally beat them, tied them up.” His voice went low, all trace of accent disappearing. “One boy died trying to save the others.”
Beatrice shot Rory a look, hoping to telegraph the importance of that last sentence.
Rory caught her stare, his attention zeroing in on Moe. “You knew him?”
Moe’s Adam’s apple bobbed. His chin jerked. “Not important.”
“The fuck it isn’t.” Rory snapped a finger at him, earning him a glare when Moe met his eyes. “Did you attend the Academy?”
“You’re a tosser, you know that?”
“I’m worse than that.” Rory dropped the antagonism and leaned on the table. “You were close?”
“He was my brother.”
Amelia gasped and reached for Moe’s arm. “Moe, I’m so sorry.”
Rory blew out an audible breath. “Shit, you fucker. Why didn’t you tell me? Jesus.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “It’s not in your dossier. That sucks beyond words.”
Moe’s jaw flexed, eyes darting to the corner of the room as he made a dismissive gesture. “Like B said, we can’t change the past.”
The unsaid and unresolved grief in the room pressed on Beatrice. Solving this case and nailing someone—anyone—involved in that ring could bring him some closure. She flipped to the next screen. “The FBI had an interest in our Bluebird mystery man, who went by Jan Meidros and lived in a small town south of the North Carolina border.”
