Free Gone Unnoticed: A Kate Reid Novel (The Kate Reid Series Book 3) by Robin Mahle Page B

Scarborough’s got a lead on the case. I’ll see you tomorrow?” Kate hardly waited for a reply before she was off, leaving Will behind.
    “Sure.” His halfhearted gesture of goodbye went ignored.
    Kate scrambled for her keys and stepped inside the car. Her excitement at the news, however, made her careless. By the time she reached the guard gates to exit the base, she’d forgotten to retrieve her ID badge. The FBI had its own police force at Quantico and no one went in or out without identification.
    The guard already appeared irritated by her lack of preparedness as the growing line of cars formed behind her. She fumbled in her bag a while longer and finally found her badge, showing it to the man who stood impatiently outside her window. A nod of his head and the gate lifted, and Kate was gone.
    Heat ascended in waves off of the vast federal building known to those in the industry as the WFO, or Washington field office. As evening set in, the relentless temperatures remained above normal. Combined with the hour of peak traffic and summer tourists, Kate arrived hot, both mentally and physically.
    “Sorry it took me so long.” Her brow glistened and her FBI-issued polo shirt did little to hide the embarrassing dampness under her arms.
    However, Nick seemed preoccupied and hardly took notice of her arrival. He glanced up at her. “That’s fine. Come on in and have a seat.” He continued to study his monitor. “Got a call earlier today from our friend, Detective Garrett, in Richmond. They found another drop house.” He turned his attention to Kate. “Only it wasn’t empty this time. There were two dead women inside. He says they’re waiting on labs, but is pretty sure they overdosed.”
    She waited for the rest of the news before revealing any feelings on the issue because she was a little unsure what the issue was. Two dead women and a drop house. Where was this big break she’d been promised?
    He seemed to sense she wasn’t behaving as enthusiastically as he might have expected. “There was evidence that several people were occupying the home just a few days ago. Richmond police got a call from a concerned neighbor that he’d seen women coming and going for the better part of two weeks, but didn’t bother calling because it seemed to stop. And that today, he’d noticed an odor. So they went and checked the place out. Two girls were dead. No identification.”
    “So we’re heading back to Richmond?”
    “Yes, you and I are going down there first thing in the morning.”
    “Got it. I’ll have to get a pass on my classes tomorrow then.” She didn’t think that would be too difficult. Saturdays were considered light by comparison being only half-days.
    “You’ll have to make it up. If you think it’s too much, then let me know.”
    “No. It’s not too much. I can handle it.” What she hadn’t wanted to tell him was that the more involved she became, the more she learned about the women who fell prey to trafficking, the more she connected with them and wanted to see justice done.
    “Okay. Garrett’s sent over what they’ve got so far. Let’s take a look at it.” Nick punched a few keys and pulled up images of the drop house. “We need to check this with the other neighborhoods they’ve found these drop house in already. Find any similarities between them.”
    “Similarities like how? Size or style?”
    “No. Like community. How are these places being chosen? Are the areas known to be suited to a particular religious preference? What about culture? Ruxandra Sala’s Ukrainian. Are these locations in highly immigrant areas, like the ones Metro Police have found?”
    Nick’s cell lit up on his desk as he spoke. “Hang on.” He glanced at the caller ID. “Hey, hon, you in town yet?”
    Kate didn’t need to guess the identity of the caller and felt vaguely awkward for listening in on the conversation.
    “I’m not sure when we’ll be done here. I just got a lead on the trafficking case