Page 87 of Unexpected Redemption

When she meets my eyes again, she seems calmer. But it’s clearly forced.

I wrap her in my arms, hoping to infuse her with some of my comfort. “You okay?”

She raises her chin, eyes flickering with a spark of mirth. “Of course I am. It just so happens I’m an incredibly stable and level-headed woman. In no way did I make a scene.”

“What scene? There was no scene. It was a scene-less exit,” I toss back, playful enough to hopefully bring a smile to her sweet face.

It works.

After a quick peck, I usher her back inside. “Sorry about that. Anyone figure it out yet?”

Boss eyes us closely. “Nope. Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Lettie responds. “I thought I left the stove on at home. He said I didn’t. All good.”

Still a terrible liar.

She starts fiddling with the dolls, separating and checking inside them one by one. We’ve done that already, but I let her go. It helps to do something.

Turning to the board, Boss asks, “What’s the latest with the other shit? Anything new?”

“With Yev in jail, we’ve got the entire trafficking ring dismantled and evidence on all of them except Viktor,” Klein offers.

My skin crawls at the sound of his name.

“Don’t forget thecustomers,” Lettie adds without taking her eyes off the figurines.

It’s no surprise she’s bringing them up. In addition to the six men who staffed the house and assaulted the women, there was a revolving door of those who paid for the chance to helptrainthe women.

I want them all dead.

Mia looks up from her computer. “Did any of the perps they arrested talk about who the customers might be? Or how we can track them? Anything new there?”

I glance at Lettie to ensure she’s not growing uncomfortable with the topic. She appears fine. Preoccupied by studying the dolls.

Focusing on Boss, I relay our status. “Detective Salgado says the men they have in custody—the few whoaretalking—claim they never handled that. They just found out when someone was coming to the house, and if they knew the password, they let them in. The information on the phone I lifted from one of them supports that.”

Boss tips his chin at one section of the board. “Any luck on decoding Yuri’s tale of Icarus? Last I heard, Sue was looking into that.”

Klein perks up. “She sent me a message earlier, saying she wanted to talk to us about it today after she and Lionheart get into the office.”

Big Al checks his watch. “Where the fuck are they?”

Klein turns away from Boss, uttering quietly, “Doctor appointment.”

It’s odd that he’s trying to conceal it. There’s no way Boss doesn’t know Maddie’s daughter-in-law is pregnant.

“Did you guys x-ray this?” Lettie asks, holding up the smallest of the Russian dolls.

“We scanned it with a hand-held metal detector,” I answer.

Eyes discerning, she balances it in the palm of her hand. “One of the families I babysat for back in Climax had one of these. The little girl was obsessed with stacking and unstacking it, so I handled it a lot. In her set, the smallest one was heavier than the rest. I only remember that because I found it odd at the time.”

Mia leaves her workstation, returning to the table where we’ve all gathered. “And?

“It was heavier because it was solid, whereas the others were hollow.” Lettie grabs the doll that’s one size bigger and rests it in her other hand, comparing the two like the scales of justice. “However, the smaller one is lighter in this set. Perhaps it’s also hollow.”

She raises the hand with the larger of the two. “This is the second-to-smallest figurine. And it’sbarelybigger than the baby. But it’s heavier by quite a bit. Doesn’t make sense. Should have used less wood to make it than the baby.”She adjusts her positioning, lowering the larger doll and raising the smaller one.“Assuming it’s the same type of wood, I’d have expected the baby to weigh more. But it’s lighter.”

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