PART II Chapter Thirty
Kate had Lena settled back down and ready to talk. The answers she could give could make or break the case and now that Kate knew she was recruited by Jason she might be able to get some information to help solve that murder case as well.
Kate said, “Lena, we need to know everything you know. Every detail could make a difference so be as complete as possible.”
Lena began to let her story gradually unfold as she related it to Kate. She was soft spoken and she held her head down as if she was ashamed of what happened to her.
Lena said, “Like I said, I was at a party trying to make some friends so it wouldn’t be so lonely here away from home. This guy came over and introduced himself and we started talking and he went and got me drinks and brought them back. I had never drank much alcohol and to be honest I didn’t have a clue how I was supposed to feel.”
Kate replied, “That is actually why they pick girls at college from out of state. They know you are inexperienced and a bit naive and they exploit that. They know you wouldn’t detect something in your drink nearly as easily as a girl with more experience. Unfortunately, you are an easy mark for them. What happened next?”
Lena said, “I started feeling dizzy and Jason offered to make sure I got home. He was so nice, I felt like I could trust him. I thought I had just drank too much since I wasn’t used to it. So he walked me out of the dorm party and he said he would take me home but I passed out and when I woke up I was here at this place.”
Kate asked, “What happened next?”
Lena replied, “I was in this room full of people, they were all young and all naked. Some seemed groggy like I did and then someone came over and told me I was going to be in a movie.”
Kate asked, “Did you know the man that came over?”
Lena replied, “No!He was one of those fancy suit guys. Jason came over and said he had to go but he would be back to get me, but of course he didn’t.”
Kate inquired, “What about the movie?”
Lena replied, “It is all kind of a blur. Someone came out with food and drink. Juice mostly and I don’t remember after that. I am pretty sure something was in our drink. I guess we made a movie. I woke up with some bruises, I overheard at one point some guys talking about Jason and somebody said he had to go. I thought they meant there was an errand they needed him to go on. I never saw him again. I stayed in that room where you guys found me and began seeing other girls staying there too.”
Kate questioned Lena further, “Did you ever talk to the other girls?”
Lena responded, “We all kept to ourselves mostly, which I am sure made our captors happy. If we had talked, we may have figured out a way to escape. Most of the time the girls were groggy and barely awake. We were kept drugged for a reason.”
Kate excused Lena and gave her a card with the speech to call if she remembered anything else. The next girl was a young Latina girl who didn’t seem too excited by any of the events that had happened. She came and took a seat across from Kate. She introduced herself as Camilla Diaz. Kate told her to tell her story as complete as possible.
Camilla said, “I wasn’t one of the college girls, I came here for the money. They promised to make me a star. I had no idea the people I would be working with would be drugged out of their mind. I may be the only one here that wasn’t kept drugged. They manipulated everyone else, I did as directed.”
Kate asked, “Since you were alert, did you know any of the main guys here?”
Camilla answered, “I heard the guys talking to each other so I know some first names. I was introduced to a guy when I got here named Alanso Ramano. I was told he was the big boss and owned the house.”
Kate made a note of that information and their research department would check to see whose name was registered as the owner. She knew the possibility existed that some dummy corporation owned the house to hide the real owner but they would figure it out. They had a name to use and they would check it against the men they had in custody.
Kate asked, “So you were here willingly. What prompted that?”
Camilla replied, “They ran ads that promised good money for being in their movies. I needed the money and didn't have any other job skills.”
Kate asked, “Did they ever pay you the big money?”
Camilla answered, “I was held in that room with the others while we were working on the movie. You guys broke up production before the shoot was completed so I don’t know if I would have ever gotten paid. From the things I saw there I am going to guess that I would never see any money.”
Kate excused Camilla, gave her the standard speech along with her card for future contact information, but Kate was pretty sure that Camilla would disappear as quickly as possible. Kate knew that Camilla had come here to be a sex worker for money and if her background was checked it was very probable that she had some past arrest for being in that occupation.
Kate continued to interview the other girls one by one while the forensics team examined the house for physical evidence. The cameras had plenty of recorded video and they could make an easy case about the porn. There were enough of the girls to testify that they were drugged and kidnapped which added additional charges.
The important part for Kate was to shut down the operation but she hoped to discover the weapons confiscated had been used in multiple crimes, including the murder of Jason Brinkley. Kate also wanted to learn more about the girl who may have been overdosed on the drugs they use. Kate wanted to get these guys for every crime they ever committed, even a jaywalking ticket if she could find one.
While Kate was finishing up the interviews, one of the CSI team members came out and asked for her to follow them back into the house. They pointed out a new slab of concrete in the garage. It was a new slab about two feet by six feet. When Kate saw it she followed the recommendation of the CSI investigator and ordered an x-ray unit to be brought out to determine what was down under that slab.
Kate knew things were moving pretty well. They had weapons from all of those guys they took downtown, they would have testimony from the kidnapped girls and if her hunch was right there would be evidence of a body under a slab in their garage. Their wait wasn’t long, after a forty-five minute pause the industrial x-ray unit mounted on a truck was parked in the garage opening trying to make a shot where the new slab was.
Kate waited in anticipation while the truck moved the device over the required spot. Kate heard a buzz and saw a light shine for a moment then go off after a few seconds. Kate waited for the image to be ready and after a few minutes, they called her over to show the image. Kate wasn’t surprised when the visible evidence showed on their screen.
Kate looked up and said, “Bust it out of there. Let’s try to find out who it is.”
The crew began work and jackhammers were brought in to begin the demolition. Since it was a fresh slab, the concrete hadn’t set yet and was still in a soft state that broke up easily. Then the guys with brushes can come and extract the remains. Photos would be taken of the remains as found and then they would reconstruct them to see if a cause of death could be determined.
The careful extraction took almost two hours but Kate stayed and watched every movement and every stroke of the brush that moved the dirt out of the way. The CSI team carried boxes full of evidence out to their van. Kate didn’t know exactly what was in the boxes but would know soon enough. The coroner’s office was there helping to unearth the remains. There wasn’t much left for an autopsy but she hoped there was enough to make some kind of determination.
The forensic investigators had been at the house for hours, bagging and boxing items for study. Kate knew it would be at least days before they had answers and possibly months. She had to let them do what they do to gather and preserve the evidence they did find.
Kate finally decided there wasn’t much they could do until the evidence was processed. She decided to go home. She knew that Megan would be filled with questions when she got there. She liked that curiosity and knew that would make Megan a good investigator.
Kate parked and slowly walked to the front door. Megan was standing there waiting when the door flew open and Kate knew the questions would soon begin.
Megan asked, “Did you get the guys? Tell me what happened.”
Kate responded, “Karen got inside as planned, We broke inside the gates when we knew we had everyone gathered together. There was a room filled with other girls who had been drugged and kidnapped as well. We took the men into custody and the forensics team is processing the property. I interviewed several of the girls and I think we will have plenty of evidence to convict the whole group. I am hungry, let’s eat and I will give you details tomorrow.”