Searching For Jenna novel Chapter 6

"You know we can only hold him until he can get bonded out," McKenzie explained to Darlene.

"Trust me," Darlene said as she brushed herself off. "I've been around cops long enough to know what will be done." She looked up at the house that was still swarming with police officers. "When will I be able to go inside?"

"Let me check with the crime scene sergeant," Terry said. "Michael and Jenna were in Jenna's room, so the bulk of the crime scene is in her room and going down the back stairs."

"What really happened?" Darlene asked.

Terry and McKenzie exchanged glances. Terry sighed before saying, "Michael apparently walked in on Jenna and Cara kissing."

Darlene put her hand to her mouth. "Oh no! Did he hurt Cara too? Caroline didn't say anything about it. Of course, I didn't give her a chance. I dropped my phone and rushed home." She felt her pockets. "Oh my God! My phone is still at the hospital. Jenna might have tried to call me."

"Cara is okay, but Michael hit her pretty hard. She's going to have a stellar black eye tomorrow. I'm pretty sure Mrs. Marshall is going to press charges," Terry said.

"Good," Darlene said. "That sorry son of a bitch needs to be in jail."

Darren said, "Darlene, why don't you let me take you back to the hospital to get your phone so we can see if Jenna called you."

"That's a good idea," McKenzie agreed. "By the time you get back, we'll make sure the crime scene techs are done with your room so you can get some clothes. Do you have somewhere to stay?"

"I can stay with one of my friends from work," Darlene assured them.

"Okay," Terry said. "You go get your phone. McKenzie and I will see what the techs have learned. I sent a text to the K-9 unit's sergeant. They're on their way over." He put his hand on Darlene's arm. "We'll find Jenna, Darlene. I promise."

Darlene shook her head sadly. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Terry. I'm sure you all promised those other girls' families you'd find them too."

"This is different, Darlene," Terry said. "Those girls were drug addicts and runaways."

"And you don't think Jenna didn't run away?" Darlene asked.

Defoe's thumbs flew over the keys of the throwaway phone he used to contact Jonas. He sent him a text about what had just transpired. Defoe didn't dare call in for fear that someone would hear the conversation and blow his cover.

Two years of undercover work may have just gone down the drain because Michael Matthews was an asshole. Defoe hated working with the guy, hated pretending to be his friend, but it was part of his cover.

The FBI knew Michael Matthews was a recruiter and cleanup man for the Cobra Cartel human trafficking ring operating out of Cincinnati. The cartel used the Ohio River and Interstate Sixty-Four to transport young girls and boys, mostly runaways, to dealers who sold them to the highest bidder.

The FBI team Defoe was working on had been collecting evidence and information for almost two years. They had managed to rescue close to one hundred kids and were very close to shutting down the operation.

Most of the kids came from bigger cities like Louisville, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. Occasionally, they would find kids from smaller towns like Owensboro, Paducah, Bloomington, and Lexington. There had only been a few kids from Evansville, but when two of those girls were found murdered, it raised a red flag. At first, the murders were considered just random, or drug deals that went badly. Then the tattoos on the lower backs of the victims were traced back to the Cobra Cartel. That was what initially led the FBI to Matthews. He'd arrested both girls on drug charges. Their investigation of Matthews uncovered his side job for the trafficking ring.

Other recruiters and handlers from the organization had been caught, but the FBI had never been able to get enough information to cut off the head of the snake. They thought a prominent organized crime group ran it, but they hadn't been able to pin down which particular group was behind it. That's what they were hoping they were going to find out from Matthews. As a cleanup man, he seemed privy to more information about the leadership than the people they already had in custody.

Both girls from Evansville had been strangled, whether it had been a john, a handler or an ordered murder couldn't be determined until they found out more about the group using these girls. The time of the death of the girls had been originally thought to be within twenty-four to forty-eight hours before they were found, but the second girl's liver was still partially frozen. That led the investigators to believe that the bodies were being kept in a freezer for a while before they were dumped.