AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Four
Niko
“Niko.”
The nail falls from my mouth as I answer the unexpected call. I’ve been on a vacation for three days now, days I’ve spent in Aislin’s old house from sunup to sundown. Two months ago, I met with the realtor, and she practically shoved the paperwork into my hands. It was no surprise she’d had a hell of a time trying to sell the place because it needed a lot of work. Fortunately, flipping houses was a hobby of mine that I enjoyed. If I wasn’t deep in a case, I was building something. I’ve been that way since I was a kid. Usually, when I work on a project, I don’t want to be bothered, but something about the unknown number makes me pause from pounding nails and take the call.
“Niko, it’s Tripp. Got some news for you.”
Tripp is a contact from Georgia who I met on another case about three years ago. Every couple of months, we get in contact, usually when a suspect I’m hunting makes movement in his area. He’s heavily involved in human trafficking along the southeast coast. With the international airport in Atlanta and many ships coming in to port, he sees a lot of movement from criminals, especially those trying to move people in and out of the country discreetly and illegally. The man had stories that nearly gave me nightmares. That is, if I hadn’t already been stuck in my own for the past fifteen years.
A week after I moved in, a parolee named Tucker, who was in the area around the time of Aislin’s disappearance, didn’t show up for his check-in. Initially a suspect, he was convicted of raping a fourteen-year-old girl in the town over and imprisoned a year after her disappearance. No matter how hard we pressed, going as far as putting a bargain on the table, we couldn’t get a confession from him. Even so, I’d always kept my eye on his movements after his release.
Then he skipped town just days before Aislin’s body was found. Factually, I know he was in prison for eleven years after she disappeared, so he couldn’t have kept her that entire time, but what if he wasn’t working alone? A guy at his halfway house let it slip that he had a girl down south he’d been writing letters to while locked up. When I heard that, I made the call to Tripp with her address and asked him to call me with any info. This is the first time he’s made contact since.
The hammer slips from my hand, and the resounding thud makes my German Shepherd, Betsy, pop up and cock her head curiously.
“Lay it on me.”
“I’ve got to make this quick but still no sign of Tucker.”
“Figures.” I sit back on my heels and wipe the sweat from my brow.
“I have another lead for you. A big one. A ring up north in Minnesota has been blown wide open. The leader was taken out by what appears to be a couple of vigilantes.”
“You’re joking,” I growl.
“Couldn’t make this shit up. I can’t tell if they’re damn idiots or brave as hell. What I know is they saved a lot of girls. From what I’ve heard, the leader loved to keep trophies. Not a single female was trafficked through without leaving something behind.” His voice gets tight, giving away how sick the thought makes him.
“What are you talking here? Body parts? Hair?”
A moment of silence stretches before Tripp swears under his breath. “More along the lines of photos. Years’ worth of encrypted images on a portable hard drive. I’ve got a name and number if you want to get in contact about your girl.”
Shit. This could be a big break.
I close my eyes tight and send up a silent thought to Aislin that, wherever she is, I’m sorry I didn’t get his lead sooner. At the same time, I’m hoping she wasn’t in some sex trafficking ring for all that time.
“You there?”
“Yeah,” I grunt and clear my throat. “Email me the info. I appreciate it.”
“You know how it goes, man. Could take months to years for them to go through all the images and try to match them with missing persons, but I thought I’d help speed it along for you.” The line goes quiet, and then he continues. “Maybe it’s time to pass the case along. Now that she’s been found, that is.”
“No.” My reply was blunt. “Alive or not, I promised her.” I pause, choking on the next words as the emotion I usually feel at any thought of Aislin consumes me. When I continue, my voice is much lower. “I promised her I wouldn’t quit until I uncovered the truth, and I’m not about to go back on that promise.”
As if she senses my distress, Betsy crosses the room and nudges my ribs with her nose. I wrap an arm around her, sinking my fingers into her soft fur.
“I know. Take it easy, at least, and call me if you find anything else out. I would’ve made the call myself, but I figured it was something you needed to do.”
“Yeah. I appreciate it. Later.”
I end the call without waiting for his reply. I set the phone down and robotically pick up my hammer, tuck a few nails between my lips, and resume securing the new subfloor in what used to be Aislin’s kitchen. I guess it is my kitchen now, seeing as I bought the place, but it will never fully feel like mine. I swear, the first time I stepped in here after all those years I could still smell the scent of her shampoo and hear her voice echoing off the walls. Those first couple of days fucked with my head so badly I almost called the realtor back to rescind my offer. Then, in an attempt to calm myself, I closed my eyes, and each time the image of her lying under that goddamned white sheet entered my mind, I’d be reminded of exactly why I was doing this.
Aislin deserves justice, and I am the only one who can deliver.
The only reason I’ve taken a few days’ leave of absence is because after spending the past couple of months chasing my own tail, I needed time to regroup. Sometimes, it feels like I do my best thinking while working on a project, so that’s what I plan to do. Nothing seems to clear my head as easily as cutting new cabinetry or laying tile or painting a room. And when I can finally clear away the chaotic thoughts, the puzzle pieces will start to make sense.
Betsy shifts out of my way as I move down to secure the next piece of flooring, and my thoughts circle back to where they always do when I think about Aislin—the beginning.
