with this guy the other night.” He turns to me. “What was your name? Brock Jacobs?”
I chuckle. So does Blade. “Sure. That’s what my ID says.”
He holds out a hand. “Gordon Shepherd.”
“’Bout as legit as Brock Jacobs, I assume.”
“Probably.”
Blade crosses his arms. His feet are planted wide, forehead creased. I can feel his impatience. “If you’re undercover, why the hell are you here?”
“Same reason you are. Need to find the missing woman before Lazinski or any of his goons do.”
“Well, you can save yourself time on that task and go have some coffee,” Blade retorts. He’s not often a fan of cops.
Gordon lifts both brows and glances at me before looking back to Blade. “You know where she is?”
Blade nods. “She’s safe. No one’s going to find her.”
Gordon lets out a deep breath. “Thank God. Who hired you?”
Blade doesn’t hesitate. “She did.”
Both of Gordon’s brows lift even hirer. “No shit?”
Blade gives him no other information.
Gordon draws in another breath. “Look, last Thursday night I saw her leave like someone was about to chase her down and kill her. I followed her here. I knew she worked here. Been watching the place. She never came back. That’s why I came today. Was hoping to find some information in her file that might help me find her without having to alert the owner, Cindy, that anything was wrong. When I arrived, she immediately assumed I was with the alarm company and...” He sighs. “Well, fuck me, that would be you guys.”
“Yep,” Blade says.
Gordon rolls his eyes. “Alarm company. Sure. Whatever. Anyway, I used that info to get inside, hoping to be gone before Cindy realized I wasn’t who I said I was. I try to keep every civilian out of it that I can.”
Blade stares at him. I’d be chuckling at how imposing he can be if the situation were remotely funny.
“Look,” I interject, “obviously we’re on the same team, like you said earlier. Not what you meant, but here we are. You want to help us or are you planning to make things difficult?”
“Depends,” Gordon says. “I was about to say the same thing about you.”
Blade clears his throat. “We’ll share what we know if you do too, but the woman stays in my custody, ya hear? Not a chance in hell I’m turning her over to the cops. She’s safer with me.”
I appreciate the fact that he’s implied he has Britney himself or put her somewhere.
“Agreed. You know my boss won’t care. He’ll be happy not to have to expend the resources.”
“How long have you been working this case?” I ask.
“Almost a year. Ever since the last woman disappeared.”
“Did you know Britney was the next target?”
“I suspected, but I wasn’t sure. Boss man got sloppy when he met with the middle man in his office that night. He knows it too. He’s been a dick ever since. I’m betting he even suspects Britney overheard him.”
“Scared the fuck out of her. Couldn’t your people have moved in a bit sooner?” Blade accuses.
“You know the cops don’t operate like that.”
“Of course, I do,” Blade tosses back. “Why do you think we didn’t even call this in?”
Gordon sighs. “I get it. I do. But at the precinct, we have to work within the law and with limited resources.”
“How many women have been abducted and sold so far?” Blade asks.
“Not sure. At least three.”
“I’m up to six,” Blade tells him, posturing.
“Fuck.”
“Yep. One a year. Could go back farther. That’s as far as I’ve gotten.”
I turn to Gordon. “Do you know who the buyer is?”
“Not yet, but it’s someone from the Middle East. Lazinski is supposed to bring Britney to a rendezvous point this Saturday. The buyer comes personally that day. He likes to approve of his purchase before he hands over the money.”
“Fuck. This Saturday?” I stiffen. That’s not much time. “He was vague with me. Didn’t give me a specific date.”
Gordon nods. “I had to do some digging to figure that out myself. Eavesdropping mostly.”
“And what about Lazinski?” I ask. “I assume he’s a middleman too. He’s laundering a lot of money, but not as much as he’s receiving.”
Gordon nods. “You’re right. Don’t know the answer to that yet either.”
“Is the buyer always the same?” Blade asks.
“Can’t tell you that either, but it seems like a specific arrangement. Yearly, as you noticed. The women are all…similar.”
“Yeah, we got that.”
Gordon shakes his head slowly. “I’m guessing Lazinski isn’t interested in more than one transaction a year. He doesn’t want to arouse suspicion among his