“It was my pleasure. Besides, Molly’s my favorite niece. What kind of uncle would I be if I didn’t take care of her?”
“Y’all did take care of her, Peter. Y’all saved her life.”
“No, not me alone. It was a joint effort.” He turned sharply, balancing the stack of boxes, and headed back toward the kitchen. “We’d better get these pizzas eaten before they get cold.”
Maggie followed Peter into the open kitchen where he set the stack on the counter. She and Camille took care of setting them out on the table in the dining area. The rest of the gang had congregated in the family room.
“Pizza’s ready! Dig in!” Camille announced.
“Molly, you go first,” Peter suggested.
Eventually, they all filled their plates and settled in to easy conversation. Before they were ready to bring the ice cream out, Isabel and Emily collected everyone’s plates and took them to the kitchen.
“Em, I’m glad we have a minute away from everyone else.”
“Why’s that?”
“I spoke to Special Agent Ellis this morning and he told me some things he learned from the lead interrogator about the Jade Thai Spa and the ring of sex traffickers.”
Emily’s eyebrows raised in curiosity. “What?”
“Apparently, according to Ratana—that awful woman who ran the spa—Molly was scheduled to be transported and sold the next day. A rich businessman from Thailand was supposed to fly in on a private jet and Molly would have been whisked out of the country. A young, fair-skinned beauty, especially a redhead, would bring a high price.”
“Oh, Isabel. I can’t even imagine how horrific that would have been.”
“It was unclear whether the businessman wanted her for himself or if he had plans to sell her to someone else on the open market. He would have gotten a lot of money for her, I’m sure.”
Emily rubbed a hand over her stomach. “Oh, Is, I feel sick at the thought.”
“Let’s just be grateful we were able to rescue Molly.”
Emily peeked over the breakfast bar and into family room, watching Molly smiling and laughing as she talked with Peter and Maggie. She was thankful Molly was safe now, and glad they were able to rescue the other girls in that house, but a nauseating feeling continued to roil in her gut.
“What about all the others?” Emily wondered about the thousands whom they could not save.
“I guess all we can do is try to keep our eyes open, watch for others who might be caught up in it.”
“I totally agree.”
“Turns out most of the Thai girls had been kidnapped from their villages and snuck into the US.”
“What about the dead girl in the river?” Emily asked.
“Your girl, Maliwan, confirmed she was one of the girls from the house, but she didn’t know why she had been killed.”
“Probably because she turned up pregnant.”
“Maybe,” Isabel supposed. “Oh, before I forget, Jerry admitted he had been the one breaking into your house. He was searching for the infamous hypothetical gun. I hope that helps to put your mind at ease.”
“It does.” Emily nodded. “I assume that means he won’t be following me anymore either, right?”
“I don’t know why he would.”
“Emily?” Molly interrupted, standing across the breakfast bar.
Emily turned and smiled at her.
“I wanted to thank you for believing me about that sad Asian girl…and for rescuing me.”
“You’re welcome, Mol.”
“You wouldn’t have had to do it if I hadn’t screwed up.” Molly rested her forearms on the breakfast bar and pursed her lips.
“What do you mean?” Emily cast a sideways glance at Isabel.
“If I hadn’t been snooping around that house, searching for clues—I only wanted to be part of the investigation, of saving those girls.”
Emily flew around the breakfast bar and flung her arms around Molly. “You’re a brave young woman, Molly Hawthorne, to attempt something so dangerous, but you could have gotten yourself killed.”
“Honey, please don’t do anything like that again,” Isabel added.
“You guys don’t get it.” Molly pulled back from Emily’s embrace. “I was only trying to help, to be more like you.”
“Hush, Molly,” Emily warned in a low tone, putting her hands on the girl’s shoulders as she glanced around to make sure Camille wasn’t within earshot. “Your mom will kill me if she hears you talking like that. She’s already mad at me.”
“But Emily,” Molly argued.
“I do get it, really I do,” Emily replied in a tone just above a whisper. “I probably would have done the same thing, but I’m not seventeen.”