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“I can take our bags up to the rooms,” Alex offers. “I’ll be right back.”
I should let her go. I should greet all the agents. But I follow her. She’s acting strange. Whatever’s going on needs to be resolved. I need her to have my six if we’re going to be outnumbered by a swarm of territorial agents.
She pushes open the guest suite door. Fresh flowers are out on the table, just as before. Alex rolls her suitcase into the room she stayed in last week. I drop my bag on the bed in her room. She raises one solitary eyebrow.
“No one’s coming in here,” I say, knowing she is thinking of our little keeping-it-secret game.
She crosses her arms, and one toe taps the ground. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I want to pull her up against me and interrogate her.
“If there’s…” She huffs and brushes past me. “Come on. We’re going to be late.”
Confused, I follow her down the stairs. She has something she wants to say, but damn if I know what it is, and with the strides those long legs make, there’s no time to find out.
Alex and I gather in the back of Sullivan’s home office.
He’s lost weight in the last few days. There’s a greasy film over his unkempt hair. Dark circles shadow the skin below bloodshot eyes, and he sports the beginning of a beard. When we enter, he acknowledges us with a nod, but not much more.
Liam and another agent, Agent Mokowski, lead the discussion, recapping everything we know. I would grow antsy, except they complete the recap in under five minutes. Easily done with no evidence. Everyone in the room already knows the gist. Wealthy girl missing, initially a suspected runaway, then evidence of tampering with the security camera feed provided evidence of foul play. Anonymous ransom received.
A projector on the wall lists the ransom demands.
Twenty-five million dollars to be paid via cryptocurrency.
Once the funds are received, they will provide an address for where to locate Sophia.
No option to negotiate. If funds aren’t received within forty-eight hours, they kill her.
The slide flips to a video.
I have not seen this video, so I surge closer.
Sophia is bound to a bed, sprawled out flat. Each wrist and ankle is tied to a bedpost. The skin below the binding on each wrist is rubbed raw, and there appears to be some blood. She tugs on the bindings. She’s not wearing a blindfold, nor is her mouth covered. Her face is red and splotchy, and she whimpers. Her blonde hair appears matted and dirty.
The lack of blindfold means they aren’t worried about her outing them when this is over. And wherever they have her tied up, they aren’t worried about her being heard.
The dress she is wearing is floral. The cut of the dress isn’t something I see regularly, and I doubt it’s something Sophia would own.
Agent Mokowski speaks up. “This video is the only proof of life provided. We have a team reviewing it closely. There are no windows. No artwork. The walls are cinderblock. The iron bedframe isn’t manufactured in the US. The dress is not a dress from Sophia Sullivan’s wardrobe. Which means they put her in this dress. Possibly because the outfit she was wearing was damaged or soiled. Reasons they waited to make the video and the ransom could be because they needed to transport her. Or because this wasn’t the original plan.”
Jack speaks up. His hands rest on his hips, and his wrinkled shirt is unbuttoned at the collar, with the sleeves rolled up nearly to his elbows. “I don’t care about the money. I’ve already requested the funds be collected.”
Agent Ryland and I exchange a glance. We both understand his desire to pay the ransom. But doing so almost guarantees Sophia’s life will end.
We need a lucky break. Something that can lead us to her captors.
Another agent stands, introducing himself as Drake Williams from ATF. He points at a photo of Larry Reyes and another man.
“We’ve been watching Larry Reyes for two years. This man he’s with is Carlos Morales. He’s a reseller, meaning he buys legal arms and equipment and delivers it to countries on our watch list. Specifically, he’s the biggest source of weapons to two of the cartels in Mexico. He’s good at what he does. If he wasn’t, he’d already be locked up.”
He clicks, and a photo of Larry Reyes in an outdoor setting by a pool with the other man flashes.
“This is a photo of Reyes and Luis Sanchez, head of the Jalisco cartel, taken last summer.” He flashes another photo of the two men in a restaurant in Mexico City. Another photo flashes of Reyes and a group of men on a city sidewalk. “There’s no financial evidence of wrongdoing. At least not by Larry Reyes. But we know he has connections.”
Agent Ryland adds, “To be clear, we have no reason to connect this kidnapping to Larry Reyes. But, of the board of directors and executives, he’s the only man with a compelling background.”
“It’s guilt by association,” Jack says. “Larry’s a young guy who likes to party in Miami. He’s successful for his age.” Jack turns to me, addressing me as if he and I are the only two people in the room. “I’ve already told them I don’t think he’s involved.”
“Is he based out of here or Texas?” Sullivan Arms is headquartered in Houston, Texas. But the security camera footage showed he visits Jack in San Diego regularly.
