The Wolf Code

The girl stirred, and Senora immediately turned her attention to the girl.  Unlike the other times, the girl’s eyes were fluttering and she was trying to open them.  When she finally did, she looked at the ceiling, furrowed her brow in confusion, then her eyes went wide and she shot straight up in bed, shrieking in fear.

Senora grabbed the girl by the shoulders, but that only made her fight harder, and she started clawing at Senora, trying to get out of bed and run away.

Ty appeared out of nowhere, scooping the girl out of the bed and holding her at arm’s length, hands held firmly at her sides. 

The girl screamed in frustration, trying to head-butt Ty and lashing out with her feet, but she was too weak and fell back onto the bed.  Ty guided her down and held her so she could sit upright, still holding her arms at her sides and waiting her to calm down so he could talk to her. 

Senora was amazed by his restraint when the girl’s foot caught him in the shin and he grunted but otherwise didn’t acknowledge the blow.  Senora moved in then, getting as close as she dared and trying to get the girl’s attention.

“You’re safe,” she said repeatedly.  “Whoever was chasing you can’t get to you here.”

Her words fell on deaf ears, so she repeated herself again and again until her words finally penetrated and the girl stopped fighting.

“You’re not working for him?” she asked, wild-eyed and looking suspicious.

“No,” Senora said.  “I don’t know who he is, but we’re not working for anyone.”

“The Sheriff.  He kidnapped me, and he-” her voice broke, and she started crying, burying her face in her hands and trembling violently.  “I trusted him.”

Senora turned and looked at Ty over the girl’s head.

“Kidnapped?” she mouthed, and he shrugged. 

The more information that came out about the Sheriff and this little town, the more confused Senora got.  Did the Sheriff kidnap this girl and Addie?  It didn’t seem likely.  This girl couldn’t be more than fifteen or sixteen, and Addie was in her twenties.  They were a different body type and build, and there were a lot of other differences that didn’t point to the same unsub as the perpetrator of both crimes.  The victims were nothing alike, and if there was something that every monster she’d ever caught had in common, it was that they had a definite type.  This girl’s disappearance might explain why the Sheriff had been acting weird since Senora showed up, but she likely had nothing to do with Addie’s disappearance.

“The Sheriff kidnapped you?” Senora asked gently.

The girl nodded.

“What’s your name?”

“Hannah.  Hannah Wise.”

“And how old are you?” Senora asked.

“Sixteen.  Please don’t let him find me.  He was going to sell me.”

“Sell you?” Senora’s stomach dropped. 

All at once, things started to make sense.  The secrecy, the suspicious way the men had spoken to her.  The way they’d watched her like hawks as she worked.  Senora shook her head in disgust.  She’d assumed that they were embezzling from the city, or at the very least laundering money from bribes and kickbacks.  It never occurred to her that the Sheriff was running a small time human trafficking ring.

But with all the open space, the seclusion of the city and the steady stream of tourists, it was no surprise that the Sheriff had seen an opportunity and used the resources he had to his advantage.

He was a sick man, and sadly, there were many more people just like him doing exactly what he was doing.  Human trafficking was the silent epidemic, and it was something Senora dealt with more than she ever imagined she would.

“He said something about an auction,” Hannah continued, then swallowed hard and breathed out.  “I’m thirsty,” she croaked.  “Can I have some water, please?”

Senora nodded and was about to get up when Ty appeared beside her with a small cup.  When he handed it to Senora, he stepped back, apparently keeping his distance to help Hannah feel safe.  For his effort, Hannah seemed unbothered by his presence even though she’d obviously been through hell.

  Senora helped Hannah drink the water a little at a time, then offered the girl a few pieces of cut fruit, which she ate greedily. 

Senora and Ty listened as Hannah recounted the moment that she’d been informed that her father was brain dead and the Sheriff would be driving her to Fort Worth to give them permission to pull the plug and donate his organs. 

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with my father,” Hannah said between bites.  “His memory isn’t right, and he had a stroke.  He forgets that I was in his room if I go to the bathroom while I’m visiting him.  I’ll come out, and he’ll look surprised to see me.  He won’t ever realize that I’m missing, and even if he does, there’s no way he’s going to know how long it’s been since I’ve been there to visit.  He gets his days mixed up, and he can’t keep track of the order of the months.”

“That made you a really easy target,” Senora confirmed.  “Which is probably why you were chosen.”

“I’m just so mad.  I can’t believe that Mark set me up like that.  He’s always so nice, but I know he had to be involved.  He’s the one that called me to the rehab center.”

Senora perked up. 

“Mark?” she said, then described the man she’d spoken to about the disappearance of Addie a few days before.

“Yes, that’s him.  He’s the one that called me out to the center.  I told my boss my dad was dying, and he told me to call him when I was ready to come back to work.  If I hadn’t gotten away, it would have taken them at least a week to realize I wasn’t coming back.”

Her voice broke again, the gravity of the situation she’d escaped sinking in. 

But Senora was focused on Mark.  Both Addie and Hannah had known him enough to form an opinion about how trustworthy he was, and it said a lot that both Addie and Hannah had obviously trusted him. 

Was he involved in both disappearances, or just Hannah’s?  Had Addie found out what the Sheriff was involved in and threatened to go to the media?  Or was Addie another victim meant to be auctioned off even though she didn’t fit into the typical mold of this ring?  Or was there some other piece of this epic puzzle they were missing?