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Once they were back in the two-bedroom apartment, Jan went toward the computer and Ward went toward the bedroom door. She needed to see the message; he needed to give her space. The apartment was small, but contained all they would ever need. In one corner of the room was a computer set up that rivaled the best seen in any governmental department and could be illegally connected to most. A small, but efficient kitchen led off from there. The windows of the living room opened like doors onto a balcony that overlooked the ocean and all the furniture in the room focused on the view out the windows and balcony door. Two bedrooms and a bathroom led off the other side of the living room. In the master bedroom, which was where Ward headed, the windows had a spectacular view of the ocean and beach. The on-suite bathroom was modern, the bedroom comfortable and large. The other bedroom and bath were just that, another bedroom and bath, not that they ever expected guests. Ward stopped just short of the master bedroom door, pausing to take a breath first, he then continued.
“I’m going to shower. I suggest that you read the e-mail from Eddy and then do your research. No one here is going to hand you a file that contains all the information you need to know,” he turned to look at her. “Do your research. Then decide if it is a job you want to take on. Remember there are things to consider.”
Jan watched as he went into the room and contemplated joining him in the shower for only a second. Glancing back toward the computer, she knew he was right; there was a lot to consider. Sitting down she started up the machine and waited. Pulling out paper and a pen from the drawer, Jan noted the date at the top of the first page. After the computer started she opened the e-mail that Eddy had sent. He seemed about as close to Ward as one could be without knowing who they really were, or as she now had to remember, had been. Only one other person, besides her, was as close to Ward as Eddy, only Eddy had no clue that they were mind readers.
After leaving the department one might think it would have seemed easier to let the secret slip. That was far from what the reality of it was. More than before the truth would need to be hidden in order to allow them any type of normalcy. Of all the people who had left the department, of which she now knew of only one other, each guarded their secret carefully.
Hey, it started out friendly enough, Have you fallen off the edge of the world? Haven’t heard from you for a while. Know you two might not be up for a problem yet, but I have one if you are interested. Seems like a few colleagues of mine are missing relatives (females) they sent money to, to have them brought to the states. Not all of it is on the up and up so they are afraid to go to the authorities to ask for help. Most likely wouldn’t get any help from anyone else anyway, only a free trip home to visit the family if you get what I mean. This doesn’t seem like the normal request. They have used chicken farmers before, so it isn’t like they don’t know what to expect, but something has gone really wrong. They say they aren’t even getting ransom requests and they haven’t been contacted by any of them at all. If you are inclined to help, send me a line, and it was signed Eddy.
Jan knew the slang that Eddy had used in his e-mail. Coyotes were the people who transported illegal aliens across the Mexican-American border. Often the people they transported were referred to as pollos, chickens, no more than a meal ticket for the coyotes. It was an underworld ignored by most of the world and nearly impossible to stop. Coyotes provided a way for desperate Mexicans, as well as other nationalities, to cross the border into a world that they thought would bring them endless opportunities. Often, the situations they encountered were in actuality no better than what they left. Most are able to make some extra cash and send it back to their families in Mexico, but the human price they pay is high.
Treated as substandard humans, with pay and living conditions that usually matched, only a few were really better off. Over the last few years the patrols had gotten better on the borders of California and Texas. Arizona was the only place to get across with any certainty. The fee to cross was high, being somewhere between a thousand and two thousand dollars to take a long treacherous walk across a very unforgiving desert. A higher fee would almost guarantee being transported across the desert in some kind of vehicle that had been modified to hide people, but not always.
Jan jotted down a couple of items on the paper and closed the e-mail. Two things she would need to know would be where and how they contacted the coyotes. Had they contacted a coyote in the same town or had it been many different places? She would need a full description of each missing family member, a picture if possible, and the names of those missing. She then began to access the files available to her from the Bureau of Immigration.
Ward’s computer set up was something to marvel. She had never had better access to files and information at the department. It seemed that no program locks or encryption codes could keep him out of the main frames of any computer. After Ward had unceremoniously, and without permission, left the Paranormal Enforcement Department, or ‘PED’ for short, he had managed to gain access to the data bases that the government had to offer. The ones that Ward had not gained immediate access to, he had worked on breaking the access codes; after all that was one of his talents the department had trained him for. Now Ward had a network of information that would rival the top officials in any US department; security clearances were not a problem for him, nor did he have to wait for permission anymore.
Jan looked at her notes and something made her skin crawl. If these people and others had disappeared, where did they go? Who did these coyotes meet up with after they crossed the border? These were not run of the mill coyotes. Jan wrote down a couple more questions. What types of things could these people be used for besides earning a few dollars for getting them across? Could it be drug related? Or was it worse? Was it slave labor they were selling these women for? Jan knew what else these women could possibly be sold for, none of which would be good dinner conversation. She wanted to know if any other governmental agencies were working on cases related to this. The last thing she wanted was to cross anybody else’s path. Jotting down information she read and might need, she continued to read the computer scene. She now had two groups of people she would need to keep track of during this investigation.
Jan knew that finding a coyote and getting across would not be a problem. The problem that existed was to find the right coyote and try and follow the path the missing people had taken. The more information Eddy could get to her, the better. Jan suddenly remembered that she was not the only one that could work the case. Depending on the information they received, how they proceeded in the job would have to wait.
Jan looked at her questions again and tried to think of any other information that she would need to know before starting the case. First, exactly who, and how old, were the people they were missing? Next, did they know which coyote the missing people were going to use to cross the border? And, at what place were they going to cross? How much was the fee and was it paid up front? For now, that was what she needed from Eddy. Hopefully, he would be able to get some of this information for them, without it there may not be a case.
Now the next set of questions was more for Ward. Was there anyone buying people from coyotes for unknown or known reasons, or is this a new and dangerous trend? Some of the other information would have to be collected as the case went on. Jan decided that she may need to make a list of agents and agencies that could be working any related cases as she read through the list. This may be important; it wouldn’t be good to run into anyone they didn’t want to see while they were looking for the missing people. After all, they wanted to be missing people themselves. As she scrolled down the computer screen over and over again, she noticed that there weren’t any names she recognized in any department working on any cases that would be related to coyotes, or illegal entry from Mexico. That would be a bonus for the both of them. That’s when she understood what Ward had been waiting on from her.
Ward looked over her shoulder and nodded his head as he read the questions on the paper that she had written. A small drop of water from his wet hair dropped onto her shoulder. There was still one question she was missing, and it was the one he needed her to contemplate. He picked up the pencil and added that one question, ‘Is it worth dying for?’
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