Chapter 28: The Investigation Expands

POV: FBI Agent Sarah Collins

My phone burst with calls as I drove into Millbrook Bay at ninety miles per hour.

"Agent Collins, we have a shooting at the marina," my partner Agent Martinez said through the radio. "Sheriff Morrison is down, and we have multiple suspects in custody."

"Is he alive?" I asked, my heart racing.

"Barely. They're taking him to the hospital now."

I'd been tracking Eleanor Blackwood's trafficking ring for two years, but I'd never expected it to lead to a fight in a small fishing town. As I pulled into the marina, I could see paramedics and police cars everywhere.

Detective Sarah Kim from San Francisco PD met me at the dock. "Agent Collins, thank God you're here."

"Where's Maya Chen and the girl?"

"Safe. They're with the firemen." Detective Kim looked tired. "But Sarah, this is bigger than we thought."

"How much bigger?"

She gave me a folder full of photos. "These are copies of Eleanor's files. The trade network goes through Oregon, Washington, and Nevada. We're talking about hundreds of deaths."

I looked through the pictures and felt sick. Names of lawmakers, judges, police chiefs, and business owners. All of them taking money to look the other way while children were stolen and sold.

"Jesus," I whispered. "How did Eleanor build something this big?"

"She didn't build it. She just joined it." Detective Kim pointed to a photo of a guy in an expensive suit. "This is Victor Petrov. He runs the whole business from Seattle."

I knew that name. Victor Petrov was meant to be a respected businessman who donated money to children's charities.

"We've been trying to catch Petrov for five years," I said. "Eleanor's files could finally bring him down."

"There's something else." Detective Kim looked around to make sure nobody was listening. "The fake FBI agents who were here? They work directly for Petrov."

My blood ran cold. "How do you know?"

"Because one of them used to be my partner when I worked in Seattle. Agent Marcus Webb. He left three years ago, and we thought he was dead."

"Webb's alive?"

"Very much living. And he's been feeding information to Petrov about our research."

I felt angry and deceived. Marcus Webb had been like a brother to me when we worked together. The thought that he'd been helping crooks hurt children made my stomach turn.

"Where is Webb now?"

"In jail. But he's not talking."

I walked over to the ambulance where Maya Chen was sitting with Riley. Maya had a bandage on her arm, and Riley looked scared but okay.

"Ms. Chen, I'm Agent Collins with the FBI. I need to ask you some questions."

Maya looked at me suspiciously. "How do I know you're really FBI this time?"

I showed her my badge and called my boss in Sacramento. After Maya talked to him directly, she seemed to relax.

"What do you need to know?" Maya asked.

"Everything Eleanor told you about the trafficking scheme. Locations, names, how they moved people."

For the next hour, Maya told me everything. The warehouses in different places. The boat plans. The corrupt politicians who helped cover everything up.

"There's something else," Maya said. "Eleanor stated that some of the trafficking victims are still alive. Hidden in safe houses."

"Do you know where?"

Riley spoke up. "I remember some locations from the files. There's a house in Sacramento on Oak Street. Another one in Portland on Main Street."

I immediately called our field offices in those towns. "This is Agent Collins. I need teams to check two addresses quickly. We may have kidnapping victims held captive."

While I waited for responses, Detective Kim pulled me away.

"Sarah, there's something I haven't told you about Riley."

"What?"

"Her birth father is Senator James Walsh."

I looked at her. Senator Walsh was one of the most powerful leaders in Washington. He'd built his career on guarding children and fighting crime.

"Are you sure?"

"DNA tests proved it last month when I was trying to find Riley's real family. Walsh had an affair sixteen years ago, and the woman gave Riley up for adoption."

"Does Walsh know Riley exists?"

"We don't think so. But if this gets out, it could destroy his future."

"Maybe his career deserves to be destroyed," I said. "Walsh is on Eleanor's list of corrupt politicians. He's been taking money from the crime ring."

My phone rang. It was the Sacramento field office.

"Agent Collins, we found the house on Oak Street. There are twelve people locked in the basement. They're alive, but they need medical attention quickly."

Relief flooded through me. "Thank God. What about Portland?"

"Still checking. But Agent Collins, the people we found say there are more sites. Places not in Eleanor's files."

My heart sank. "How many more?"

"They don't know. But they say Petrov has been moving people around for years. There could be dozens of hidden places."

I looked at Maya and Riley. These two brave women had risked their lives to uncover this network, but we were just seeing the tip of the iceberg.

"Maya, I need your help," I said. "You're the only person who heard everything Eleanor said. We need to find all the lost victims."

Maya nodded. "Whatever you need."

But as I was talking to Maya, Detective Kim got a phone call that made her face go white.

"What is it?" I asked.

"That was the Portland office. They found the house on Main Street."

"And?"

"It's empty. But there are signs that people were held there recently. And Sarah, they left behind a letter."

"What kind of message?"

Detective Kim showed me a photo on her phone. Someone had written words on the basement wall in what looked like blood.

The message said: "Agent Collins - Stop looking or more people die. - V.P."

V.P. Victor Petrov.

"He knows we're coming," I whispered.

"It gets worse," Detective Kim said. "The Portland agents found evidence that Petrov moved at least twenty people out of that house yesterday."

"Where did he take them?"

"We don't know. But Sarah, there's something else."

She showed me another shot from the Portland house. This one made my heart stop.

It was a picture of my own daughter, Emma.

Emma, who was meant to be safe at college in San Francisco.

Emma, who I hadn't heard from in two days.

"Oh my God," I whispered.

Maya saw my face. "Agent Collins, what's wrong?"

I tried to call Emma's phone, but it went straight to voicemail.

"Victor Petrov has my daughter."