School of Fish (Fish Out of Water #6) - Amy Lane Page 0,64
“And so was the cop who got stabbed. Dima’s boy—Sergio Ivanov—was breaking into our office yesterday. Whatever it is they think he’s seen or wanted him to keep quiet about, it’s a big deal. We will take any information, Mira. His parents refuse to talk to the police, and he was unconscious for most of whatever happened. Herrera can’t give him protective custody, and he’s worried sick about his brother and sister.”
Mira nodded. “Okay, this is pretty urgent. When did you know about trafficking?”
“For sure? This morning. Last night we couldn’t talk to Tage without the guard who’d been beating him to a pulp. Herrera got him released this morning, and now here we are.”
Mira nodded. “Good. Good boy. See, Jackson? Authority helps, right?”
Jackson rolled his eyes. “Sometimes. Right now we want to keep Tage safe, and we want to find the kids, but we’ve got Dima Siderov’s location in return.”
“But do you have Sergio Ivanov’s?” she asked. “Because Sergio—he’s a new player in all of this. I’m talking since Christmas, maybe.”
“January?” Jackson asked, because God, that date wouldn’t leave him and Ellery alone.
She shrugged. “But he’s small potatoes. He was sponsored in from some guy who’s not Russian. We don’t even have a name for him. Just a big scary guy with a thick European accent.”
“German?” Jackson asked, remembering his conversation with the two officers the day before.
She slow blinked at him. “Yes. Why?”
Jackson looked at Tage, how vulnerable he was, and thought about leaving him on his cousin’s couch and hoping for the best. “I can tell you,” he said, “if it will get our boy here two federal marshals with several layers of Kevlar between him and a stiff breeze.”
She scrubbed at her short, spiky hair. “Gah! Jackson—I’m a paralegal—I do not have that kind of power.” She grimaced. “You’re just going to have to trust me on this one. You give me the name and the possible contact, and I will grab Eleanor by the hair if I have to and make her listen. They’ve got some law-student interns; maybe Ethan can throw one of those guys into the deposition or something. But I can’t.” She grimaced. “You’re looking pretty fit these days. Think you can keep him safe?”
Jackson refrained from telling her that he was looking fit because he’d just gotten released from medical leave. “Guess I’ll have to. And I don’t have a name, but two cops in the first district have a CI with a thick German accent and an attachment to Tage’s case that is”—he grimaced—“highly convoluted and really suspect. I can give you the cops’ names. Maybe you can speak to Lieutenant Chambers and get an interview with them. Lindstrom. Officer Lindstrom in the first district. She’s partnered with an asshole named Craft, and I don’t think they’re dirty but I do think they’re being manipulated. I’ve—”
His pocket buzzed, and he checked it.
Herrera found the leak, and I need you here.
Jackson grimaced. “Did you get all those names?” he asked sweetly. “Because Ellery found the leak and—” He looked at Tage. “Hey, could I leave him here with you? If you’ve got a lunchroom or something, this kid could use a nap like nobody’s business.”
Tage picked that moment to let an enormous, soul-splitting yawn through, and Mira’s bright brown eyes went limpid and Bambi on him. “Oh, baby, did you really just come from jail?”
Tage nodded and yawned again.
“No sleep at all, right?”
“No, ma’am,” he said.
“We can do that,” she told him. “I’ll take you back in a minute.”
“Let me give you cash for the vending machines,” he said to Tage. “You’re still growing.”
Tage smiled tiredly, and Jackson knew there weren’t enough candy bars in the world to cover his anxiety right now.
He turned to Mira to finish their business. “Look, here’s my card with my cell. I’ll be up to collect Tage in less than an hour, but if either one of your bosses wanders in before I get back, don’t text me, call me. This is important, Mira. We need these people locked up and Tage’s family safe.” And then he remembered protocol. “And you may have to work with Siren Herrera on this one. Since Tage was her case, she’s got some rights to—”
“Who?” Mira asked, and Jackson sighed.
“She’s been in the DA’s office for about four months. They have a habit of giving her Ellery’s cases because she’s new and they’re tired of him kicking the crap out of them.”