Anywhere but Here Page 14

  “One of the men in the Wharf where Etta stopped for lunch excused himself to go to the restroom. He called Ida Mae. She was the one that set the whole thing up. It was a stroke of luck for Ida Mae and Brian, and an unfortunate coincidence for Etta,” Dan said.

  “My poor sister. After all she’d been through with her ex-husband and then losing her son,” Ella said.

  “I didn’t know she had a son,” Dan said.

  “It was really the reason her first marriage ended. Etta has had a talent for attracting the wrong kind of men. Her little boy was born with cerebral palsy and heart problems. Her husband was a spoiled creep. He was jealous of the time Etta spent with their son, and he couldn’t handle the fact that the boy was disabled. Finally, they separated, and he just took off, never paid child support or helped her with their son in any way. The boy’s heart gave out when he was thirteen. Etta went through deep depression. She blamed herself for everything and thought she must have done something to cause it. She lost all confidence.

  “When she first told us about Mike Summers, we were happy for her until we met him. We knew right away that there was something really not right with the guy, but she wouldn’t listen. It destroyed my relationship with my sister,” Ella said.

  “Chief, your mom is here with Etta,” Chloe said over the intercom.

  “Okay, Chloe. Send them back.”

  In a moment, Tully walked through the door. She turned back and said to Etta who was behind her, “Come on in, hon.”

  When Ella turned around, she hardly recognized Etta. She got up and put her arms around her bone thin twin sister, but Etta just stood there with a vacant look in her eyes. The first emotion she showed was a single tear that spilled and ran down her cheek when Salty came up to her wagging his tail.

  She sat down on the floor next to the dog and he nuzzled close to her. Dan said that Etta would temporarily go to a safe house until the trials of Ida Mae and her son began.

  “What about Carl Schemke? He’s still out there, right?” David asked.

  Dan shook his head. “We don’t know. The FBI offered Etta the witness protection program.”

  Etta looked up. “No.”

  “But Etta, what if…”

  “No. I’m done running. When the trial is over, I’m taking my life back.”

  “Where will you go?” Ella asked.

  “I don’t know. Anywhere but here,” Etta said. “I don’t ever want to see Fort Landers again.”

  Etta smiled at Salty as he licked her face.

  “Come on, Mom. Why don’t we give them some time,” Dan said as he and Tully walked out of the office and closed the door.

  Dan walked Tully out to her car, and she asked, “Was Ida Mae really Mary Kettle’s mother?”

  “Yes, and Brian’s. Ida Mae was fourteen years old when she was sold by her own father into a marriage to a man three times her age. She had two children by him, and then when he tired of her, he sold her to a prostitution ring. When she got too old for them, they let her go. Their mistake was that she had learned the game during her time in captivity.

  “She came back to find her children. By that time, Mary was on her path of self-destruction and Brian was in the system. When he got out, he and Ida Mae teamed up. Their first order of business was to get rid of Ida Mae’s husband, Jeff Walton. Jeff didn’t know Ida Mae was anywhere around when his son went to the cabin after he was released from the boys’ camp. Brian drugged his dad and together he and Ida Mae hung the man from rafters in the barn.”

  “I’ve met people like her,” Tully said. “They become part of the horrible cycle.”

  “Ida Mae thought she was the boss, but Brian was really the brains of the organization. He’s meticulous and calculating. It wouldn’t surprise me if they end up controlling things from the inside. It’s a hard crime to crack.”

  “No wonder Mary went crazy,” Tully said. “What’s going to happen to Ida Mae and Brian?” Tully asked.

  “I guess we have to wait and see what happens in court, but it’s likely neither of them will ever see the light of day outside prison again,” Dan said.

  “What about Carl Schemke?”

  Dan shrugged. “We don’t know where he is. When we searched Ida Mae’s house, one of the bedrooms had a hospital gurney and there was fresh blood on the floor. Ethan Levi thinks it’s Carl’s blood. He could be dead, but Levi suspects someone did plastic surgery on him right there at Ida Mae’s.”

  He told Tully that they had found two trap doors in Ida Mae’s house that led to a tunnel in the field behind her house and up through the old tool shed that was there. Dan had been sure he’d heard someone talking to Ida Mae that night before she opened the door.

  “I think the doctor was still there. He possibly escaped through that tunnel. We may never know who it was, but Levi seems to think it’s a guy by the name of Nathan Peet. He was a famous cosmetic surgeon in Los Angeles until he killed someone, supposedly by accident. His license was pulled, and he pretty much disappeared off the planet.”

  “So, they’re still out there, him and Schemke. And all those women they’ve trafficked are still being victimized.”

  “Not all. We found a lot of information in Brian Walton’s basement,” Dan said looking at his watch. “Right about now, there’s a raid on a house in New Orleans where about thirty girls are being held. There’s another raid happening in Charlotte. They’ll never all be saved, Mom. You know as well as I do that there are too many of them. But at least some of them will be walking free tonight.”

  He opened her car door and she got in, but before he shut the door, he said, “Now, tell me about this date you have with John Deegan.”

  Tully smiled. “It’s not a date.”

  Dan laughed. “He seems to think it is. I had coffee with him at Frannie’s this morning when I went to take her statement about Brian Walton. She was pretty surprised to find out he was involved in all of this. He had actually been in the bakery. I think maybe she’ll be a little more careful from now on. Frannie’s actually a good gal, Mom.”

  “You’re not thinking about starting things up with her again, are you?” Tully asked.

  “No. We came to an agreement. We’re just friends. But speaking of starting things up… this date you’re having with Deegan? I’ve never seen the man so excited.”

  Tully shook her head. “Honestly. It’s not a date. I’ve hired a new girl at the pub and I’m taking every Monday and Tuesday evening off from now on. I’ve invited John for dinner to thank him for covering for me the last few days. I’ve also invited Samantha over, and I’ll expect you as well. Six o’clock tonight. Don’t be late and wear something nice.”

  She drove off and left him standing in the parking lot. The idea of spending an evening with Samantha both excited and scared the hell out of him.

  EPILOGUE

  The trial of Ida Mae Walton and her son, Brian Walton, were held in Argon County Superior Court. Judge Eli Morgan was on the bench, and a jury of twelve convicted them both of human trafficking, but they never had enough evidence to convict Brian of the murder of Lester Gutierrez. At the sentencing, Judge Morgan made them both stand as he pronounced their sentences.

  “Unfortunately, the sentence for human trafficking is a maximum of eight years. There are initiatives to increase that to fifteen years to life, depending upon circumstances. But for now, I can only give you eight years. But as a result of your involvement in the victims discovered in New Orleans and Charlotte, you’re each looking at fourteen counts at eight years each. Ida Mae Walton and Brian Walton, this is basically a death sentence for you. You’ll likely die of natural causes if someone doesn’t put you out of our misery first. Bailiff take these miserable examples of humanity away. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, thank you for your service. You’re dismissed.”

  ****

  In the shabby cabin near Alligator River, Carl Schemke popped two pain pills and opened the envelope that was left on the bed for him. Inside he found two thousand
dollars and a note.

  Carl, consider this your severance pay. Enjoy your new identity. IMW

  Carl went to the dresser and took a long drink from the bottle of scotch and then began unwrapping the bandages, anxious to see his new face in the mirror. There were several layers of gauze, more than usual, he thought. As he got close to the incision, the gauze was sticking to the blood, and he had to be careful. Finally, he was down to the last layer. He took a warm wet towel and held it to the gauze to loosen it.

  When the last of the gauze fell from his face and dropped to the floor, he stared at the grotesque man staring back at him.

  Carl’s scream could be heard for miles.

  THE END… FOR NOW.

  Thank you for reading Anywhere But Here. The next book in the Fort Landers series, The Blessing of Liberty, will be coming soon. I hope you enjoy your visit to Fort Landers.