Page 30 of Broken Empire
“Yes. I’m certain.”
“What about my mother? Allison Knight. Do you know anything about her?”
Ari exhaled deeply and averted his eyes. “I heard some rumors over the years, but I don’t know anything concrete.”
“Just tell me,” I said, gritting my teeth. “Did the Schöneberg Group do something to her?”
“I believe so, yes. But like I said, those were just rumors that my men heard and passed on to me. I don’t know anything for sure.”
I scrubbed a hand over my face and let out a weary sigh. I didn’t want my theory about my mother and Robert Lind to be true, but it was looking increasingly likely that it was. I still had no idea why Robert would have wanted to hurt her, though.
Then again, I had no idea why he wanted to hurt Shay, either. Maybe he was just a sociopath who got his kicks from stealing women away from different male friends and acquaintances of his.
A light bulb suddenly flicked on inside my head. “You said the victims are kept in buildings owned by the Schöneberg Group,” I said. “But they aren’t all killed there, are they? Some are killed elsewhere. Like in the video I saw.”
If I could figure out where they intended to take Shay before they killed her, I could go there and save her before it happened. That plan depended on Ari knowing the correct locations, though.
He nodded. “That’s right. The people are killed in different areas, depending on the sort of setting the buyer wants for the film.”
“The video I saw was filmed somewhere in the woods, presumably close to DC. Any idea where that could be?”
Ari shook his head. “My men never knew exactly where the off-site killing grounds were. They weren’t allowed to know where the bodies were dumped afterwards, either.”
“How is that possible?”
“They were always blindfolded before they were driven to the kill sites, and they were blindfolded on the way back as well. So they could be anywhere.”
I cursed under my breath. “Fuck.”
“Again, I’m sorry,” Ari said. “I promise, I’ve told you everything I know. I know it’s not much, but I really can’t think of anything else that might help you.”
“Thanks anyway,” I muttered, stomach churning. “I’ll speak to my people about getting you moved.”
“Thank you.” Ari lowered the phone to end our conversation, but then his eyes lit up. “Wait,” he said, bringing the receiver back to his face. “I just remembered something.”
My pulse picked up. “What is it?”
“I don’t know if this will actually help at all,” he said slowly. “But do you remember what I said about the internet streaming? The red rooms?”
“Yes.”
“I just remembered the name of the website they use to host those red rooms and list all the victims they currently have for sale. It’s called the Meat Market.”
“The Meat Market? Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“It’s a dark net site, I presume?”
“Yes, I think so, because my men said it wasn’t publicly accessible,” Ari replied. “I wouldn’t have a clue how to get to it, but if you can find a computer expert who knows about that sort of stuff, you might be able to track it down.”
I nodded, heart pounding. “That’s helpful. Thank you.”
Ari inclined his head. “I really do hope you find Shay,” he said in a gruff tone. “She is technically my family, after all.”
“Yeah.” I steeled my jaw. “Me too.”
I rose to my feet and left the prison with my head held high and my hands curled into tight fists at my sides.
