Escape To Sunset - Sharon Hamilton Page 0,46

drugs, so they won’t go far. If they don’t know the language and have no papers, once they get to their destination, they owe their entire existence to the people who brought them over. And many don’t survive the trip, sadly.”

“That’s what Jason said. You guys were finding these people in Africa. Is that why he’s gone, to look for smugglers?”

“Last two trips have been all about the smugglers. Very dangerous people, Kiley. When you were here, I thought you were talking about some guys who liked to get their jollies having sex with young girls and were kidnapping girls for that purpose. But you’re talking about a whole organization. Is that right?”

“I’m afraid so, Andy. If you read on, you can see that there are a number of shelters in the Portland area, funded by some church groups and private businesses, formed to help stem the homeless growth in the area. Originally, they were for unwed mothers, runaways, and girls leaving abusive homes. These houses took care of them until they could successfully get a job and be on their own.”

“I don’t see anything wrong with that,” whispered Martel.

“The city began to give tax breaks to organizations who ran these. And my guess is that the introduction of the money, brought the crime. All the houses were full all the time, more shelters were needed, and the program expanded. This happened under the radar until people started noticing the girls didn’t stay in the area but were shipped all over the United States.”

Kiley waited while Andy read on, Aimee looking over his shoulder.

“You did a good job documenting everything, Kiley,” Aimee told her.

“I didn’t give names. Those I kept confidential, but I have all of them in my files. I interviewed a couple of social workers from Texas who came out to Portland to check on two girls who came through their area and were transferred to one of the shelters. They were unable to locate their girls. I have their pictures. Both of them were twelve, best friends. And it happened the same way. They told us that they came from the same village, and immigration picked them up abandoned by their Coyote in the middle of the desert. They had the address of one shelter with them as their final destination.”

“Wow, so someone in Mexico or Central America knew about the place in Portland,” said Martel.

“I think so. When the social workers inquired, the house was registered with the State of Oregon under a special license. They were told there were regular inspections, medical and dental services provided, as well as English instruction and skills training. But when they came to check, there wasn’t any record of the girls ever having gone through the system.”

“How did you get their information, Kiley?” asked Andy.

“They saw my first article in the paper and called me. That led to an interview with the head administrator at the place. I talked to several girls who lived there. It was orderly, clean, just how the social workers had found it earlier in the year. But no one ever remembered seeing the two girls from Guatemala. It was like they disappeared into thin air.”

“So you know who’s doing this?” asked Andy.

“It goes all the way to the mayor’s office. Someone in that office, maybe the mayor himself is either running it, or just making sure it continues to operate. But that’s what I put in my article that came out yesterday.”

“Way to make friends in high places,” Andy whispered. “So you left before this fourth article came out?”

“Yes. I listed the names of the ten girls I knew had been at one of the houses, even recently. And I mentioned the mayor’s office. That came out yesterday. I had Carmen following up with another reported missing girl, a domestic helper, and she was reported missing by the wife of a very prominent attorney. An immigration attorney. I checked my records and his name was listed as one of the owners.”

“That’s an awful lot of coincidences,” said Martel.

“My research found that the numbers were increasing, too.”

“I agree with Jason. You shouldn’t be poking around Portland on your own. I’m off to Team 4 in a couple of weeks. I think you should continue to lie low in Florida. But maybe you should move in with us and let the house go, Kiley.”

“I live alone now that Damon’s gone,” said Martel. “I don’t mind the company.”

“And there’s a couple other things, too, Kiley. We got