Page 37 of Logan

CHAPTER 14

Logan

My second tripto San Francisco felt significantly shorter than the first time, despite it being the same number of miles. Less than a day after I crossed the border into the city for a second time, I found myself sitting in a random, rundown diner with a familiar young man sitting beside me.

I’d only met Jordy once for a few minutes, and I’d feared he would be hard to find again. Yet, like the pull of an invisible compass arrow, my steps drew me right to the same abandoned archway where I’d met him the first time. He was there, still huddled against the wall, as if he’d been waiting for me all that time.

Steam rose from the bowl cupped in Jordy’s hands, which hovered like a cloud before his face.

“Doorbell cameras.”

The spoon I’d been idly stirring around my coffee cup clinked heavily against the side, echoing in the mostly empty dinner.

“What?”

Jordy didn’t look at me and stared vacantly into the steam. “You said Clay told you about how the Bell ringers operate. Well, he doesn’t know this, about a year after they let him go, they started using a new tactic. You know those home security systems with doorbell cameras? I’m not sure how, but they’ve managed to get access to some of the systems that support those cameras. They used to find victims by ringing doorbells, but now they’re in the doorbells.”

This information should have surprised me, but it didn’t. These “Bell ringers” already snatched children right out of their homes. To them, using the very systems that were supposed to keep kids safe as a way to prey on them was probably just a matter of efficiency.

“Are the security companies involved, or are they unaware that someone is tapping into their systems?”

Jordy shrugged and took another sip of his soup, drinking straight from the bowl and not even bothering to use the spoon provided. “I don’t know. Could be some of both. I don’t really know how those things work. I don’t even have a smartphone that can download apps. Just a cheap flip-phone for calls and texts. You’ll have to ask someone who knows more about these things.”

At the mention of smartphone, I was reminded to pull out my own phone and start making notes about this new information.

“Doorbell cameras. I hadn’t thought to look at something like that. We’ve been checking into other door-to-door services, and we’ve managed to find a few new cases of missing kids that we think are related. This new angle should help a lot. Thanks.”

With a few decisive nods, like he was psyching himself up, Jordy finished off the last of his soup then jumped up from the stool he was sitting on.

“All right. Let’s do this before I lose my nerve.”

After paying, I led him out of the diner to the building across the street. It was a facility that specialized in recovery for trafficking victims. Not every city, or even every state, was lucky enough to have these kinds of places, so I was glad to find one so close to home for Jordy.

“I’ve called ahead,” I assured him as we hesitated in front of the doors. “They know to expect you. And you have my number. If there’s anything wrong, you aren’t comfortable here or you don’t think they can help you, then just call me. Any time.”

Jordy’s blue eyes were wide as he stared up at the sign. Whatever thought or memory that was playing in his mind utterly consumed him, and I wasn’t even sure if he could see the building standing in front of him.

One of his hands drifted over to clutch his inner forearm.

“You know... I’m lucky. A lot of the other kids never made it out, and those that did were so hooked on hard drugs that they didn’t survive for long. The fact that I’m here, and I’m mostly clean... I have Clay to thank for that.”

The moment Clay’s name was mentioned, I was hanging on Jordy’s every word. Not wanting to seem too eager, I tried to keep my tone casual as I asked him what he meant, but on the inside, I was vibrating with the need for him to keep speaking.

I may as well have not bothered. He barely noticed me, he was so lost in his own thoughts. “Clay was smart. He never fought themor gave them an excuse to drug him. Even the ones that hurt us and wanted us to fight. He only gave them what they wanted, and nothing more. Kids who fought too much were drugged, or worse, they disappeared. Clay knew how to make them feel like they were the ones in control. It was why they let him go in the end. He wasn’t a threat to them. I copied his example, acted exactly as he did, and I was able to escape, too.”

The light returned to his eyes and he focused on me again.

“You’re still in contact with Clay, right? Is he doing okay with his brother?”

I thought back to the brothers’ tearful first meeting, along with every phone and video call I’d exchanged with Clay since then. Nearly a month had passed since I’d taken Clay to Maryland. Things had been rocky between the brothers at first, but their relationship seemed to be improving.

“It hasn’t been an easy adjustment for him, but he’s moving in the right direction and taking the time to heal.”

“That’s good.” Jordy nodded one last time. “Keep taking care of him. I owe him a lot, even if he doesn’t realize it.”

That was a promise I didn’t even need to make, but I did. Jordy looked more comforted by my promise to help Clay than by my promise to help him. As I led Jordy inside the building, I wondered how deeply his decision to follow Clay’s example really ran.

If my suspicions were correct, more than one life depended on Clay’s success.

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