LITMIR.BIZ

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hoped Lisette could draw the information out of him.

      Lisette sat at the kitchen table that seated four and gestured for Saunders to take the chair across from her. Colton decided to stand back and assess the witness while she started the interview.

      She opened the folder she’d brought concerning the case, her movements precise, deliberate. “I see here you claimed that Joe Delacorte’s death was the tip of the iceberg, as per your conversation with Marshals McCall and Summers, who talked with you last in St. Louis. So what are you implying?”

      “Can’t you read?” Saunders flipped his hand at the folder. “It should be in there.”

      “What was Delacorte messed up in?”

      He came up from the chair and leaned across the table. “As I told the marshals in St. Louis, child smuggling from all over.”

      “Please sit down,” she said in a calm, soft voice. “This can be an easy process or a long and difficult one that sends you to prison in the full population. You know how some criminals feel about crimes involving babies. It doesn’t sit well with them. There is no telling what could happen to you in jail, not to mention if your boss found out you had been talking to us to cut a deal.”

      Saunders snorted but sank back in his chair.

      Colton lounged against the kitchen counter to watch the match. She was good. His respect went up a notch. She glanced toward Colton, giving the witness time to think over what she had said. In the instant their gazes met, a connection linked them, more than this case. It held for a few seconds before she severed it and swung her attention back to Saunders.

      Confused, Colton pondered his reaction to their shared look and nearly missed her next question.

      “What were the plans for Sophia Duncan? Why was she singled out? And then what about the other children? Do they all end up in St. Louis? You said you had specific information to share with us.” She shut the file, crossed her arms and set them on top of the folder.

      Colton forced himself to focus on Saunders. He didn’t need to be distracted by his temporary partner.

      Saunders shrugged. “Don’t know about all the kids. I know from my brother Luke he took jobs in Kansas, Illinois and Iowa and those came to St. Louis.”

      “But you don’t know about other states or where those babies ended up?”

      “No, except Colorado. That’s why we’re here.”

      “When your brother was arrested for the murder of Delacorte, did you take over for him in the organization?”

      “Take over?” Saunders’s mouth twisted.

      “Yes, your hearing is good. Did you take your brother’s place?”

      Saunders looked at Colton. “I have full immunity with anything involving this case?”

      “Only if you fulfill the agreement you made with the government prosecutor.”

      The lowlife took a deep breath and expelled it slowly. “Yes, Luke and me worked together. My next job was to pick up a package here in Denver and wait for instruction where to take it.”

      So this was the reason Saunders wanted to be here in Denver. Was the package he was picking up a baby? Or information about the organization? Colton pushed off the counter and approached the man, hovering over him. “It? What are you picking up?”

      Disdain flittered across Saunders’s face. “A baby, of course. Haven’t you been listening?”

      “When?”

      “I don’t know.”

      “From who?”

      “I don’t know.”

      Colton got down in his face. “What do you know?”

      * * *

      Lisette relaxed back in her chair, enjoying the exchange between the two men. One thing the FBI agent from Miami had said about Colton Phillips was that he was a good interrogator, usually getting what he wanted from his witness.

      Saunders smirked. “What’s this? Bad cop, badder cop?”

      Colton pulled back and crossed his arms over his chest, his expression chilling, the blue of his eyes arctic cold. “This isn’t working. I’ll be reporting to my supervisor that you haven’t given us any useful information, which means you’re in violation of your agreement with the government.”

      Saunders’s sneer fell. He blinked rapidly and turned his regard to Lisette, as if she would rescue him. Fixing a stare on him, she wanted him to squirm for a little bit. “We aren’t going to keep spending thousands of dollars to keep you safe if you aren’t going to fulfill your part of the bargain. Would you, if you were in our shoes?”

      Saunders’s cackles resonated through the cabin. “Never in a thousand years would I be a cop.”

      “We know this is about child smuggling. Tell us something we don’t know. Who is your boss in St. Louis?”

      “I don’t know his name. All I have is a burner phone I use to get my instructions, which you have now.”

      “Then what use are you to us? Marshal Phillips, make your call to your supervisor. This is a dead end.” She narrowed her eyes, boring into the man across from her. Silence fell. Colton towered over the witness but didn’t say a word.

      “Okay. Okay. Right before I was apprehended, this was all set up. I’m supposed to meet my contact in a few days at a masquerade ball for charity. If I check out, then he’ll give me the information where to pick up the baby.”

      “Where are you supposed to take the baby once you have it?”

      “My boss will call me with instructions once the handoff is successful.” He looked back and forth between Colton and Lisette. “You have my burner phone. Maybe that can help you.”

      She bent forward. “You know it doesn’t help. Is this all you have? Where’s the information about who might be behind this baby-smuggling ring that you insinuated you had in St. Louis?”

      “I—I can’t...”

      “You can’t or you won’t?” She raised her voice.

      Saunders snapped his mouth closed and pinched his lips together.

      Colton kicked the legs of the table nearest Saunders. “That’s it. The deal is off. You’re going back to St. Louis. You’ve been playing us for fools.”

      THREE

      “You can’t do that!” Saunders shot to his feet, color draining from his face. “You promised to protect me. I’m putting my life on the line because of you.”

      “Mr. Saunders, please take a seat.” Lisette forced a calmness into her voice while she worked to keep her emotions—anger, frustration, impatience—from showing in her expression. “Marshal Phillips has been dealing with you longer than I have and is no doubt tired of these games you’re playing. Give me a reason not to go along with him.” The stab of Colton’s razor-sharp look sliced through her, but she ignored him. However, his warning that he was in charge kept blaring in her mind.

      Saunders eased back into his chair, drawing in a deep breath. “I can’t tell you who the bosses of the smuggling ring are because I don’t know who they are, but I do know there are several running it. A person only knows who they directly work for. I’ve worked with a middleman for this part of the country a lot lately. I’m supposed to get the baby and deliver it to him. So until I meet my contact at the party and find out where to pick up the baby, I can’t tell you who the middleman is.” He paused, probably for dramatic effect, then continued, “Except he goes by Jackson. I don’t know if that’s a first or last name. We’ve been working together for over a year so I’ll have to be there. In fact, I have to call him the day of the party to make sure everything is still set

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