you. Stop it, right now.
Glancing one last time into the mirror, she hissed to her reflection, “You don’t have time to be soft. Who will find her if you don’t?”
The stark, cold face of an angry American Chinese woman stared back. She used to be pretty, but now her dark hair was pulled into a tight knot that brooked no soft tendrils or femininity. The day for pretty make-up and smiles was past. All Mei needed was to keep her head down and blend in.
Despite the bitter chill in the weather, she opted for no coat. Not until LiLi was home would she be warm again. Resolute steps took her to the elevator and out to her assigned parking stall. Everything weighed against her, even the frost on her windshield. While the engine warmed the inside of the car, she scraped the windows clean. Shivering in the arctic breeze, Mei shook the melting cold from her fingers and climbed back in. At least the heater worked.
Today, I will find her.
Shifting the car into reverse, she pressed the accelerator, slowly backing up. The driveway had been salted. Snow was in the forecast, but had yet to arrive. The steering wheel shuddered. What now? It didn’t take long to find out the rear tire was flat. That solved one problem. There was no longer any reason to worry about fuel, at least not today.
Parking the car again, Mei grabbed her computer bag, squared her shoulders into the wind, and gritted her teeth.
Today, I will take the bus.
Zack’s fingers tapped a steady beat on the table. Sitting around the Sit Room doing nothing but talking drove him crazy. The minute the op ended, he planned to ask for an assignment overseas. Exciting or not, he needed something a whole lot more physical to do than meeting with Alex or Mother
“Here’s the contact information you asked for on Tony Brown.”
Alex scanned what Mother handed him. “Put it up on the screen.”
“Thought you’d never ask.” She flashed the info to the overhead.
It showed the individuals Brown had contacted. She’d organized the info by orphanages visited, persons contacted, dates, times, and length of each conversation. All of the names were Chinese except one: Mr. Reginald Richards, attorney, Washington D.C.
“That’s our man. David, you and Zack—”
Mother flashed another list overhead, interrupting Alex. The profile of Mr. Richards, an adoption lawyer who specialized in overseas adoptions, replaced the previous list. The room was silent as Alex, David, and Zack absorbed the attorney’s list of clients and his fees. Mr. Richards catered exclusively to the rich and famous. There were a few well-known celebrity types on the list, as well as diplomats from all over the world. His adoption fees ranged into the millions and all the children he’d dealt with were between the ages of newborn to eight-year-olds. All girls. Hundreds of girls.
“See this?” Mother used the laser pointer to indicate the far right column titled EXOTIC . “These are bi-racial children with one Chinese parent. Apparently there’s a market for girls who have different and unique looks.”
“I want this dirt bag,” Zack muttered under his breath. “All he’s doing is selling babies.”
“Do we know why Brown contacted Richards all the way from China?” David asked.
Mother shrugged. “Ember and I were talking about that. If the right people got their hands on the right baby girl, they could turn her into a model, maybe even a movie star. It’s all about marketing and appearance. A blue or green-eyed Oriental woman would make a breathtaking model. She’d be a real money-maker for some of these cosmetic companies.”
Alex growled and pushed away from the table. “Only if they were halfway decent people to begin with, and I doubt it. We’re not tackling an operation this big without federal backup, the FBI for sure. Contact them, and Immigration and Customs. Let them run with it.”
Zack glanced at David, and immediately wished he hadn’t.
Alex noticed. “What’s
Glancing one last time into the mirror, she hissed to her reflection, “You don’t have time to be soft. Who will find her if you don’t?”
The stark, cold face of an angry American Chinese woman stared back. She used to be pretty, but now her dark hair was pulled into a tight knot that brooked no soft tendrils or femininity. The day for pretty make-up and smiles was past. All Mei needed was to keep her head down and blend in.
Despite the bitter chill in the weather, she opted for no coat. Not until LiLi was home would she be warm again. Resolute steps took her to the elevator and out to her assigned parking stall. Everything weighed against her, even the frost on her windshield. While the engine warmed the inside of the car, she scraped the windows clean. Shivering in the arctic breeze, Mei shook the melting cold from her fingers and climbed back in. At least the heater worked.
Today, I will find her.
Shifting the car into reverse, she pressed the accelerator, slowly backing up. The driveway had been salted. Snow was in the forecast, but had yet to arrive. The steering wheel shuddered. What now? It didn’t take long to find out the rear tire was flat. That solved one problem. There was no longer any reason to worry about fuel, at least not today.
Parking the car again, Mei grabbed her computer bag, squared her shoulders into the wind, and gritted her teeth.
Today, I will take the bus.
Zack’s fingers tapped a steady beat on the table. Sitting around the Sit Room doing nothing but talking drove him crazy. The minute the op ended, he planned to ask for an assignment overseas. Exciting or not, he needed something a whole lot more physical to do than meeting with Alex or Mother
“Here’s the contact information you asked for on Tony Brown.”
Alex scanned what Mother handed him. “Put it up on the screen.”
“Thought you’d never ask.” She flashed the info to the overhead.
It showed the individuals Brown had contacted. She’d organized the info by orphanages visited, persons contacted, dates, times, and length of each conversation. All of the names were Chinese except one: Mr. Reginald Richards, attorney, Washington D.C.
“That’s our man. David, you and Zack—”
Mother flashed another list overhead, interrupting Alex. The profile of Mr. Richards, an adoption lawyer who specialized in overseas adoptions, replaced the previous list. The room was silent as Alex, David, and Zack absorbed the attorney’s list of clients and his fees. Mr. Richards catered exclusively to the rich and famous. There were a few well-known celebrity types on the list, as well as diplomats from all over the world. His adoption fees ranged into the millions and all the children he’d dealt with were between the ages of newborn to eight-year-olds. All girls. Hundreds of girls.
“See this?” Mother used the laser pointer to indicate the far right column titled EXOTIC . “These are bi-racial children with one Chinese parent. Apparently there’s a market for girls who have different and unique looks.”
“I want this dirt bag,” Zack muttered under his breath. “All he’s doing is selling babies.”
“Do we know why Brown contacted Richards all the way from China?” David asked.
Mother shrugged. “Ember and I were talking about that. If the right people got their hands on the right baby girl, they could turn her into a model, maybe even a movie star. It’s all about marketing and appearance. A blue or green-eyed Oriental woman would make a breathtaking model. She’d be a real money-maker for some of these cosmetic companies.”
Alex growled and pushed away from the table. “Only if they were halfway decent people to begin with, and I doubt it. We’re not tackling an operation this big without federal backup, the FBI for sure. Contact them, and Immigration and Customs. Let them run with it.”
Zack glanced at David, and immediately wished he hadn’t.
Alex noticed. “What’s
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