Quinn shot a glance at Maggie. “Let’s go back to the office. Maybe we can look over the interviews of those who were rescued from Sloan and Roxanne and see if we can figure out through them where they boarded the White Lily and if anything was said about their next destination.”

  “Good idea.”

  Greg thanked the workers and left them to clean up the papers and the rest of the mess. Maybe the cleaning would give them the insight to take down the Southside gang. Currently, he had other things to worry about.

  One was Ericka. Where was she? Had she returned? Or had she caused them all to lose their jobs?

  Chapter Five

  Dr. Ellen sat on her couch. She wore high heels and crossed her sheer pantyhose covered legs. When the light hit them just right, they would shine. Interesting.

  Ericka looked at herself in her sweatpants and white T-shirt. She’d been lucky that someone let her borrow their clothes from their workout bag. Her clothes had been smeared with something. She’d had them sent to the lab to analyze in hopes it would tell her if she’d been somewhere other than the sanitorium. Truthfully, how would she know? The stupor she’d woken from at the fountain had been a different experience.

  Dr. Ellen cleared her throat and Ericka realized she was still studying how the light bounced from the leg off her pantyhose and created a rainbow type effect on the wall. Ericka lifted her head and offered an apologetic smile.

  “Let’s get started. You said that you finally met your father.”

  Ericka nodded. Her throat clogged with emotion. When she made the impromptu appointment with Dr. Ellen, she thought she could handle the questions. Now she wasn’t so sure.

  “Tell me how that happened.”

  Ericka couldn’t tell if Dr. Ellen was fishing for information on her father or truly trying to help her. The good doctor worked for the department. Ericka would do well to remember that.

  “He’s in hiding. A friend brought me to him.”

  “Where did you meet?” Dr. Ellen’s pen was poised above the yellow pad of paper.

  Ericka licked her lips.

  “You seem to be hesitant to answer my questions?”

  “And you seem to be asking all the wrong questions for a psychologist.”

  “Pardon. Should I be asking how you feel?”

  “Well, yeah!” Ericka scooted farther back on the couch and folded one leg in front of her. “I mean, like,” she ran her hand through her hair, “my father abandoned me when I was three.” She used her hands to punctuate her words. “He was right there! Right there! He saw me being left outside a hospital and he did nothing. My life was hell. Do you understand? A living hell. Death would have been preferable. He could have stopped all of that, but he didn’t want to blow his cover.”

  “So, you’re angry?”

  “Of course, I’m angry.” Her voice rose. She was sure the tiny fan that whirled outside the door to keep others from hearing wasn’t currently enough.

  “Did you tell him?”

  She guffawed. “Tell him? Nope. There was no time to talk about feelings. No, we had to talk about what the government started years and years ago and how it is affecting everything now.”

  Ericka leaned forward. “I just want it to be over! I don’t want to worry about the Petrovs or my father, or my mother being brainwashed or anything else. I just want to do my job.”

  It was true. Her family being the job was tiring. She just wanted to solve regular cases. Her family could go off and do whatever they wanted to do. That’s what they had done for years anyway.

  “Your mother was brainwashed?”

  She sighed. “It’s a long story.”

  “That’s why we’re here.”

  Ericka readjusted until her feet were flat on the floor. She’d slipped off the one loafer, now she slipped her foot back inside. Sure, she stalled. Trusting Dr. Ellen or anyone else didn’t come easy. And this information, this information could harm more than just her.

  “Detective Stone?”

  “Yes?”

  “I know you’re attempting to decide if I’m trustworthy enough to hear your story, but I assure you, I’m here for you. Unless you are about to hurt yourself, whatever you tell me doesn’t leave these walls.”

  What if the walls listened?

  How often did they debug the place?

  If she admitted out loud that her mother had been brainwashed into thinking that she was and is Maria Petrov, then what happened? The department could use her to get to her mother. If her mother remembered who she was. Did brainwashing erase that parental instinct?

  A knock on the door and an alarm broke Ericka from her stupor.

  “I guess that’s our time.”

  “I guess so.”

  “Maybe you should look into me. See if anyone else has had an issue with my confidentiality and come see me again tomorrow.”

  Ericka pushed up from the couch and started toward the door. She opened it. In the doorway, she was surprised to see Nick Malone, Blake’s second. He wouldn’t look at her directly, but she held her head high as she walked around him.

  He turned. “They are looking for you. In fact, everyone is looking for you. Director Manis threatened to fire your entire team if you didn’t show up today. I guess it’s a good thing you did.”

  Ericka kept her face blank as she nodded and turned toward the door facing the hallway. The door behind her clicked closed. Outside the door, she leaned back against the wall and slipped to the floor. She dropped her head into her hands.

  Greg.

  Maggie.

  Quinn.

  They could have lost everything if she hadn’t come back. Maybe it was time to consider leaving. She couldn’t have these many peoples’ livelihoods dependent on her. She was too unstable.

  Tears came and she swiped them away before rising to her feet. She was Ericka Stone. She didn’t cry, she acted.

  She’d go to the Director and tell him that Sasha kidnapped her or took her to see her father. That was better. He would understand that. He would understand the importance of family.

  ****

  The lifeboat landed on American soil. One thing they hadn’t anticipated was the Coast Guard searching for papers. Perhaps they would understand a ship sinking?

  Maria doubted it.

  She’d married a Russian and taken his citizenship. They would never allow her to just walk in. She would be detained. She would be sent back.

  Maybe the government had changed her status when they asked her for help. And maybe monkeys would fly…

  She bit her bottom lip.

  The money from this last sale would have prevented that forever. Her island dream was disappearing faster than a popsicle in July.

  “We must hurry and disembark.” Paulo was out of the lifeboat and dragging it ashore.

  Maria and the others jumped into the water and followed his lead.

  “What should we do? Where should we go? Only a few of us have American passports. The rest of us don’t have a right to be here.”

  They were looking at her. Fortunately, Paulo answered, “Go ashore. Wait for us to call you. As soon as we find the White Lily we will call and bring you back in. Now, go.”

  The sun hid behind dark clouds. Boats bobbed erratically on the water and Coast Guard boats could be seen going to their aid. Agents were still close by. Maria hesitated. Paulo grabbed her hand and pulled her farther up the shoreline. They reached a whitewashed building that reeked of fish.

  Paulo had them lean up against the building. Guards passed. They were in a heated discussion about a baseball game. Paulo put his finger to his lips for her to be silent. Like she would have done anything besides that.

  Once the guards passed, he grabbed her hand and began to drag her to the open road. Paulo had been a recent addition to their crew, but he seemed well versed in the art of hiding. Perhaps he’d been put with her for such a time as this.

  He found a warehouse that was open and slipped inside. People milled around placing fish into bins filled with ice.

  She hated the smell of fish.

  Paulo scooted them into a dark closet. The smell wasn’t quite as bad inside.

  “We need to look over the manifest.” He drew a long piece of parchment from his shirt.

  Maria had forgotten to grab it when the ship was sinking, but Paulo, he had not. Who was this man? Where had they met again?

  He unrolled the parchment out on the floor of the building. Using the flashlight on his phone he highlighted the words. “It looks like the White Lily was scheduled to unload another shipment near Fishers Island tomorrow. We need to be there and get on that ship.”

  “What about the Maroon Peacock coming to Block Island?”

  Paulo looked over the words again. “One communique must have been mistaken. I say we follow the manifest.”

  Maria bit her bottom lip. “What about the others?”

  “What about them?”

  “You told them to wait until we called.”

  “I don’t have their numbers. Do you?”

  This was not going how she’d imagined. Not that she had any loyalty to anyone who had been on the Black Dahlia. They worked on the ship. She knew little more than their name. She didn’t even know if they had family. What country they hailed from. What their goals in life were. She didn’t know them at all.

  So, why was this so jarring?

  “I do not.”

  “As I assumed. Now, what we need to do is find one of these fishermen in the marina that are going to Fishers Island. We’ll catch a ride on the White Lily and talk to the captain about a replacement ship. Shouldn’t be too hard. They need the services we provide.” He rerolled the paper and stuck it in his back pocket.

  That parchment had been in a locked box on the bridge. She’d been the only one with a key. She’d kept it around her neck…

  She reached up.

  It wasn’t there.

  Had she laid it down somewhere and he’d taken it?

  “You gave it to me.”

  “I gave you…”

  “The key. You told me to keep it, remember? You said things were vanishing from your room and you wanted me to keep it safe. Then you told me about the manifest. You said since I was new to the ship, I wasn’t yet corrupted.”

  Maria didn’t remember any of that conversation. She massaged her temples. Her stuff wasn’t the only thing that seemed to be vanishing. Apparently, her memory was going as well.

  ****

  Greg and the others arrived back at the office. Blake grumbled under his breath as he left and went to his own team. Greg wasn’t sad to see him go.

  He opened the door to the Alpha Team office and stopped. There was Ericka sitting in her chair in front of their brand-new computers. Whomever had taken the old batch had destroyed them by mistake or on purpose, the jury was out on that one.

  “Ericka!” Quinn raced to her side and gave her a hug.

  “Welcome back, Ericka.” Maggie was more subtle but still she smiled.

  Greg nodded in her direction. Anger permeated his every cell. But at least they hadn’t had to go searching for her. They wouldn’t have had time to find her anyway.

  “I guess no luck at the dock.”

  Greg cocked his brow.

  “Monica told me where you were.”

  Greg didn’t reply. He couldn’t. Not yet.

  “No, luck. The entire thing was a trick.” Quinn plopped into his chair and rotated it toward his own computer. He typed in a few keys and a colorful beach scene with an ocean liner in the background popped up.

  “What is that?” Ericka pointed at the still screen.

  “Ah, that is my dream vacation.”

  Greg couldn’t imagine Quinn on a cruise, but he wasn’t sure why.

  “I think Fanny wants to go on a cruise.” Maggie took a seat.

  Quinn stuck out his tongue.

  Greg was happy to have the team back together even if things weren’t exactly normal.

  “It’s true, Fanny wants to go on a cruise, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to go as well.”

  “Do you want to go?” Ericka asked.

  “Well,” he scratched the side of his forehead.

  “I knew it!”

  “Well, you don’t want to leave and move away with Tristan.”

  Greg could feel his eyes widening. Maggie looked ticked.

  “You’re leaving?” Ericka’s shocked voice expressed what they were all thinking.

  “No, I’m not leaving. And that was a private thought, Quinn.”

  “Sorry.”

  A knock on the office door had them all clamping their mouths shut. The door cracked open then was pushed all the way.

  Director Manis leaned against the doorjamb. He looked ready to blast someone then he paused and eyed Ericka. “She’s really here, right? That isn’t some stunt double.”

  “No, sir, I’m really here. Sorry I’m a day late. Family issue.”

  He cocked his brow but didn’t question.

  Greg jumped in. “Sorry, sir, we just returned from the docks.”

  “I know. Monica filled me in. You got nothing but the runaround.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “The young men that masqueraded in that office have yet to be detained, but local law enforcement is looking for them.”

  “Good.” What else could Greg say? They’d walked in on another group creating chaos. Either they were looking for the manifest as well or it was, as the officer said, just the Southside raising havoc. They might never know for sure.

  “I’m here because I have another task for your team.”

  “Sir?”

  “The manifest case will be handled by Beta Team.”

  Greg kept his cool. Blake would only solve this with the help of Tito and Burle. And Burle would be retiring in a few weeks. He didn’t think his group should be moved off the case, but he no longer had a say.

  Director Manis flopped a file on Greg’s desk.

  “Rochelle Rawlings, the owner of Rochelle’s, was found dead in her store just a few days ago. While local law enforcement has investigated, they’ve come up with zero leads. I want your team to find out who did this and why. That neighborhood has gotten a bad rap for years. Rochelle was one of the good ones trying to make it better.”

  “We’ll get right on it.”

  “Sadly, that thin folder is all that we know. There was a 911 call that I understand Maggie took. Maybe that will give you a leg up. Good luck.”

  The director turned on his heel and walked across the hallway. It was rare for him to come to the lower floor and dole out their cases. However, after the incident with Marsha Evers he’d been closer to the teams. Hopefully that was a good thing.

  Chapter Six

  Robert paced the sanitorium. Sasha had taken Ericka back to the city then returned. Her sister and nephew thankfully were out of town for a few days so they wouldn’t realize that she wasn’t at home. He felt bad, but he needed her.

  “Did she say she would help?”

  Robert had wanted to ask if Ericka would help locate Maria aka Morgan, but she’d run out before he’d gotten the chance. Last, he’d seen she was in Sasha’s car headed away from him.

  It hadn’t been how he hoped things would go.

  He’d wanted to ask for her help and explain that Morgan had been in hiding for most of her missing years. They weren’t sure where she’d been or how she’d gotten free. So, while she’d been busy making a name for herself recently, the list of offenses wasn’t overly long.

  “I think I gave her too much serum. She went to sleep as soon as she got in the car.”

  “Oh.”

  So, neither of them had asked her for help.

  “What do you want to do?”

  “I guess that we’ll just have to look for Morgan ourselves before she gets in anymore trouble.”

  Robert took a seat behind the desk and turned on the old television set in the room. It had cable although he wasn’t sure how.

  He’d thought upon his return that someone was living in the place. He’d heard noises. Smelled food. Seen signs of footprints. He tried to convince himself that perhaps all these things had been there for ages, but with the office so clean and the cable that was a hard sell.

  “Are you sure we should be here?”

  Sasha had voiced the opinion often. He agreed in part, but where else could they go? Most of his places had been burned and were out there. His handler was gone. WITSEC had attempted to connect with him but as soon as he did that then he would never see Ericka again. He needed to do this one last thing for her before he disappeared forever.

  Her mother leaving was because of him. If he could bring her back, then that was what he was going to do.

  “We’re fine.”

  He leaned in. On the screen was an office on the docks. The reporter told a story that Robert couldn’t believe.

  “Gang members took up residence in this very office that you see behind me. The office had been closed for several years. When a team from the Police Assistance Unit arrived, they were fooled into believing those inside were actual dock workers. The officers spent hours combing through old papers only to realize they’d been duped. The PAU has been under investigation recently in regard to their validity and usefulness. This is just another example of how useless the group really is.”

  Video showing people running from the building and laughing showed up on the screen. When the scene cut back to the reporter, Robert moved his chair closer and stared at the clear screen.

  In the far-left corner was a man and a woman trying to sneak along the building.

  Robert sucked in a quick breath.

  “What, what do you see?” Sasha was there looking at the screen as well. “Morgan! That’s Morgan.”

  “I can’t believe it! You’re right. We need to get over there now.”

  ****

  Ericka gnawed on her bottom lip and continued to look out the window. Greg had insisted on driving them to the crime scene. Quinn and Maggie rode in a separate car in case someone got called away.

  Greg had seemed angry since she entered the office. With good reason since she almost cost him and the team their jobs. Why hadn’t he asked her where she was or what she’d been doing? He knew her well enough, at least she thought he did, to know she wouldn’t run off without a good reason.