Shades of Silence by Liz Lazarus

Author:Liz Lazarus
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Liz Lazarus
Published: 2021-11-09T00:00:00+00:00

18. Grant | Friday, July 9

Julianna’s eyes were closed, her shoulder was propped against the door panel and her head tilted against the window pane. The hour car ride to Orlando was probably the most rest she’d had in a while. I didn’t want to wake her, but I couldn’t leave her in the vehicle, not with my rifle strapped above her head.

I leaned over. “We’re here.”

She arched her back and turned her head toward me, but her eyes remained shut. “Michael?”

“No, it’s Paul Grant.”

She jerked up and blinked a few times.

“Sorry to wake you,” I said. “We’re here. Do you mind waiting in the lobby? I saw a Starbucks a few blocks back if you’d rather go there.”

She wanted to come inside so we walked to the office of Florida Cares together. Their headquarters was in a nondescript strip mall between a health food store and a bargain shoe store. When I opened the door, a bell jingled. A young woman in her early thirties appeared at the counter.

“Detective Grant?” she asked.

I nodded. “Okay if my friend waits in the lobby?”

“Of course. There’s coffee or tea if you like.” Ms. Pickett pointed to a drink cart at the front of the lobby. She opened the door next to the counter and escorted me to her small but organized office. Emily Pickett was much younger than I’d expected for the CEO of the organization. Barely five feet tall, with wavy blonde hair that reached her waist. She had an innocence to her face that I didn’t expect of someone who regularly dealt with commercial sex trafficking.

On her desk were several framed pictures, the largest one of her holding a newborn baby. Another was a group photo, probably of her staff, since they were wearing similar purple shirts.

“Thanks for making time, Ms. Pickett,” I said. “Chief Jamison was eager for me to meet with you.”

“Call me Emily,” she offered. “And I’d do anything for Michele. She’s one of my favorite board members. I’ve never met anyone who’s so perceptive. I’m very tactical, but Michele…well, she thinks on a whole different stratosphere.”

I didn’t know the chief was on the board of this non-profit. She never mentioned it at work and it wasn’t part of her online bio.

“How can I help you?” she asked.

“It’s a long shot,” I said. “But have you ever run across this girl?”

I pulled an enlarged copy of Brittany’s driver’s license photo from my case file and placed it on her desk. She shook her head. “I saw her picture on the news, but I’m afraid I’ve never seen her before.”

Great. I’d just driven an hour for nothing, but that was how it was with investigations. You throw a hundred darts before you hit a bullseye. Surely the chief had spoken to Emily Pickett and knew she’d never seen Brittany. So why ask me to meet with her? Did she have a hunch I’d find something else?

I knew a little about Florida Cares, although our sex crimes unit in Daytona interacted with them more than I did.

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