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Agent Shields took the phone from me and enlarged the photo. “We received the same photo. That’s why the local police issued the alert instead of waiting the customary twenty-four hours for missing persons cases.”
“Makes sense,” I said and then read them what the tipster had said.
“This texter say anything else?” Bishop asked, scribbling in his notepad.
“No. But know, this text line is completely anonymous. We can’t reply to or trace the texts that come in,” Viper added, pointing to my phone.
“I bet if you offered up a reward for any witnesses, someone might come forward,” Phoenix said.
“I mentioned that to the boss after we got the photo,” Agent Shields replied.
“We did talk to a couple of dock workers, one said he saw the boat. He didn’t give us any information that wasn’t in the photo except he confirmed the stripe is red, and also said the boat’s name is The Trickster.”
Bishop raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? You got a name for this witness?”
Phoenix looked at me questioningly. “Not sure I should say. He’s a vamp who claimed to have a photographic memory. We gave him the text line in case he remembers anything else.”
Bishop jotted notes into his notepad. “Forward us anything he sends you.”
I nodded in acknowledgment. “Who are those girls, anyway?” I asked, just because I was curious. “I mean, we know their names, but how were they taken? The AMBER alert didn’t say.”
“Their parents say one was at a sleepover with the other, but there were no signs of forced entry, so they assumed the girls must have snuck out sometime during the night. No idea who took them or where they were last seen, though.”
“So, whoever took that photo knows about not only us, but the BSI as well,” Phoenix pointed out. “And he or she somehow knows or assumes the kidnappers are vamps.”
“We need to find this person,” Shields said, seeming frustrated.
“Your computer guys get a trace or anything on the sender?” I asked.
Bishop shook his head. “No, it was sent to the FBI’s Crimestoppers anonymous text line, but from a burner phone which is no longer active.”
I chuckled. “So, it’s not actually anonymous then if they can trace it.”
“No, but the reason it’s called that is because they’re not required to give their name, but if people want to assume the messages aren’t traced, that’s on them.” Bishop shrugged.
“Well, it seems you guys are on top of it, so we’ll back off for now,” Viper said. “I hope you find the girls.”
“There are rumors of human traffickers coming to the city, so we suspect this may be the start to it, unfortunately.” Shields sighed.
I knew that but didn’t say anything. However, I was under the impression that the traffickers were humans. I never thought they’d be vamps.
“That’s terrible,” Bloome said, coming into the breakroom with Shadow trailing behind her. Though, I knew she’d been eavesdropping outside the room since I could smell her pheromone perfume the whole time. “I’m happy to help with a locator spell if you bring me something personal of theirs. But I’ll need an item from both girls, not just one.”
“We’ll take that under advisement,” Shields said, looking skeptically at the witch.
“You’d be a fool to turn it down,” Shadow said from behind her.
The agents stood. “Understandable. Obviously, contact us if you find out anything else,” Bishop said.
Shadow and Phoenix walked the agents out.
I looked at Viper. “Still want me to see what I can dig up?”
He stood. “Of course.”
“On it,” I replied, getting up to head to my apartment. “But after I get some shut-eye.”
My eyes widened as I hopped off the bus and looked around. The streets of Los Angeles were bustling with beautiful people, and the sun behind tall buildings cast shadows over the sidewalks. Homeless begged for money, and street buskers played instruments in hopes of getting tips thrown into their coffee cans and upside-down hats. Adjusting my backpack on my shoulder, I looked again at the address on my phone and put on the walking directions. Seemed I had six blocks to go to reach the pay-by-the-week motel where I’d made a reservation.
