Free Operation: Midnight Rendezvous by Linda Castillo Page B

believe things like that can happen in the United States.”
    “You’d be surprised by what happens in the United States.”
    “How does it work?”
    “It’s an ugly business. Young women, usually living in impoverished conditions, are promised a better life here in the United States. Sometimes they’re told they can do domestic work to repay the cost of transportation to the United States, which is usually by ship. Of course the organizer charges a fee for taking the risk and putting it all together. Usually the fee is so high these women will never be able to pay it back.”
    “Indentured servants.”

    “In essence.” Madrid grimaced. “Once they arrive, they’re sold to the highest bidder or sold into prostitution.”
    “But why don’t they go to the police?”
    “Because they’re illegal immigrants. Most of them don’t know English. They don’t know their way around. They have no friends or family here. They’re lied to from the moment they arrive.” He rolled his shoulder. “A few escape only to wind up on the street. Most don’t.”
    “That’s incredibly sad.”
    “It is,” he agreed. “Especially for the women who have children.”
    Jess looked out the window. Madrid saw her blink rapidly, knew she was thinking about Nicolas. “If the Lighthouse Point PD is involved, we have to expose them.”
    “I know.”
    The problem was Madrid wasn’t quite sure how to go about it. If he’d been operating alone he’d already have come down on the Lighthouse Point PD so hard and fast they wouldn’t know what had hit them. He would have taken advantage of the myriad resources he had access to through the MIDNIGHT Agency.
    But nothing was going right this time. He’d estranged himself from the agency, so he couldn’t call upon them for help. At least, not officially.
    More important, he didn’t want to put Jess in danger. He wished he’d been able to convince her to stay back at the mission with his brother. If something happened to her…
    “How are we going to get inside the police department?”

    He frowned at her, not liking the question, but liking very much what he saw when he looked into her eyes. Damn, he wished she hadn’t come along.
    “We create a diversion,” he said.
    Her eyes narrowed. “You have something in mind?”
    “I always have something in mind.” He slid the photos back into the file and put the file under the seat.
    “Perhaps you could enlighten me.”
    “Arson,” he said.
    “Arson?” She gaped at him. “You mean as in breaking the law? Burning something down? What kind of agent are you?”
    “The kind who knows how to get the job done.”
    She sighed. “What are we burning down?”
    “There’s a new police station and city hall being built on the south side of town. Right now it’s just being framed. Lots of wood.”
    “A fire waiting to happen.”
    He lifted a shoulder, let it drop. “Part of the roof is up, so it should be partially dry.”
    She seemed to think about that for a moment. “What if someone gets hurt?”
    “It’s a stand-alone building.”
    “How do we go about it?”
    “Leave that me,” he said, and started the engine.
     
    J ESS HAD KNOWN unraveling the mystery behind Angela’s murder wasn’t going to be easy. But she’d been so intent on bringing the culprits to justice that she hadn’t considered the dangers.
    Her heart pounded hard in her chest as Madrid idledslowly past the skeletal structure of the new Lighthouse Point Police Department. The building was just off the main drag, nestled between a vacant lot and a small park. She’d driven past the place a dozen times and never given it more than a passing glance.
    He parked in a narrow alley a block away, out of sight from the street, and shut down the engine. Jess watched as he reached into the backseat and retrieved the small satchel he’d brought from the cottage.
    “What’s in that anyway?” she asked.
    “It’s just Angela’s bag of tricks.” He opened the