Page 68 of Missing Marcus

“Are you ready for breakfast? I’m making pancakes and bacon. I didn’t get a chance to eat before leaving,” he explained.

Her stomach growled as if the child inside her pulled the umbilical cord, demanding her to agree to his suggestion. Gabby laughed. “I guess you have your answer.”

He chuckled as he rose to start breakfast. Gabby bent to her task as she added numbers and reported her time. Something about the log bugged her, and she opened the file to study how the transactions appeared. She barely noticed when Knight set a tray before her and poured the syrup over the food.

“Gabby, eat it while it’s hot,” he admonished as she stared at the notations, making no move toward the food.

“In a minute,” she said as something clicked into place. Her heart raced as she put the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle. “I found something.”

Knight leaned over her chair, distracting her from her discovery. “What did you find?”

Gabby pointed to the screen. “Do you see the notation after these lines? It’s on the ledgers with a key. Most people don’t use paper anymore. It appears after each deposit. The color of the notation must be assigned to a specific customer. Here’s their order, the funds requested, the date it shipped, and another for delivery. They’re all accounted for, accept this one. It’s due next Monday. This number,” she pointed to the last column, “It’s not a sum. It’s a time. If we can figure out the drop off point, we might save them,” she exclaimed.

“You’re a genius, Gabby.” He stood and texted Saint.

I need the team at the cabin. Gabby deciphered the accounting notes. Can you come?

We’ll be there in fifteen.

Saint replied.

Gabby held her cheeks. Excitement ran through her as she thought about saving the helpless victims. Knight cut up the pancake and held the fork to her mouth.

“Eat. Once they get here, you’ll forget as you explain all those numbers. Our child demanded food and I’m making sure his or her mama eats,” he softly demanded.

She opened her mouth and accepted his offering. His gaze held hers as her lips slid over the tines. She glanced down as she started chewing. He went into the kitchen and brought her a glass of milk and took her teacup. She smiled as she picked up her fork and dug into the fluffy, buttery goodness.

Knight shook his head when she devoured her entire plate by the time he cleaned the kitchen. He took her dish and exchanged it for a bowl of mixed berries.

Gabby rose from the chair and headed down the hall to the bathroom. Taking care of her most pressing needs, she washed her hands and plopped back into her chair, feeling invigorated at catching these awful people. Whoever did this deserved a sentence behind bars along with the rest.

Knight walked to the door as the team arrived and filed into the living room. Matthew sat at the bar, logging into his computer. Leo, Saint, and Taco sat on the couch and Shadow stood against the wall. Whiskey and Ragu grabbed stools from the kitchen and joined the group.

“Way to go, G-girl.” Matthew complimented her. “Show me what you got.” He waited as she sent him a copy of the file to share on his larger screen, then moved it near her.

She pointed to the image and explained her theory.

“How did you figure out the dates? They’re written as sums,” Leo asked.

“An accountant won’t list sums like this. Plus, the amounts don’t add up until you get to the product column.” She pointed to the figures noted in red. “These numbers appear small, usually ranging from one to five. Red indicates a negative number. When I saw the deductions taken from this column, I realized they’d lost some of their products. Since I know they’re human trafficking, I can only guess it indicates someone died or escaped. If you search the dates, it shows the profit.”

“Great job, G-girl,” Taco praised her. “Assuming this ledger shows profits from Seattle, what are the chances they’ll schedule a drop somewhere near their last port drop-off? Shall I call the task force in?” Taco asked his leader.

Leo studied the information. “Julio plans to check in tonight. Technically, this involves the FBI and CIA. With Rebecca underground, she can’t confirm this as an international crime. Hold off on the task force until we hear from him. You did an incredible job, Gabby. Matthew’s building a case against your boss, Mr. Wilkinson. We’ve uncovered several deposits to international banks amounting to the numbers shown here. There’s no doubt he’s in on it.”

Gabby sagged against the chair in disbelief. It’s not as if the news came as a surprise, but she trembled at the thought of working with someone who considered humans as property, bartering and selling them.

“On Friday, they planned a luncheon for Jackie. Can I go? We keep a backup system on the floor below the offices. When we have a new client and our boss needs information fast, we use the systems down there rather than the ones in front of a prospective client. They want to give the impression we’re on top of all things. They may not recall all files from our computers get downloaded at six every evening. I stayed late and worked because I took off the following day for a doctor’s appointment. All my files updated the night before my accident.”

“It’s most likely how they discovered you in the file. Each time you entered, it left a date and time stamp,” Matthew informed her. “If Jackie copied your files to bring to you, it wouldn’t trigger an alert. It’s not unusual for an assistant to take files from their boss’ office. How did they know she took them?”

“Do you think she worked for them? Her record indicated she’s one of the longest working employees there,” Leo surmised.

Gabby shook her head. “No. Jackie cared too much about people. She always brought in homemade goodies and passed them to employees who didn’t have family around. She said everyone needed to feel like they filled a purpose. She made the office feel like a second home. When she discovered my pregnancy, she cared for me like a mother. Jackie even carried a backup box of saltines when I suffered morning sickness and forgot mine.”

Knight rubbed her shoulders. “Leo’s only covering all the bases. It’s his job to question everything and everyone.”

Gabby nodded. When she scanned the men, they focused on Knight.

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