“There’s the birthday boy!” called out Doug from the center of the bullpen. 

     Everyone cheered as Garrett walked from the elevator directly toward Doug. 

     “In my office,” he said sternly. 

     The smile on Doug’s face fell as he watched Garrett storm across the room and into the wing of agent offices. 

     “What do you think’s going on?” wondered Monique when she and the others watched. 

     “Can I go with you, Mr. Fagan?” Trevor eagerly asked. 

     “Stay here, Trevor,” Doug answered. “If he wanted to see you, he would have told you. Let Mr. Pinkerton know he’s here so we can get business out of the way before the party.” 

     “Yes, sir,” Trevor replied and hurried to do as told. 

     By the time Doug entered Garrett’s office, his brother had already removed his blue scarf, black winter coat, and light grey suit jacket. He was sitting at his desk with a box in front of him and staring at a letter as he pulled off his thick, black leather gloves. 

     “What happened?” he asked in concern. 

     Garrett watched Doug take a seat before replying. 

     “What have you found out about that foster family and the name I gave you?” he asked in response. 

     “There was only one without required credentials that could be authenticated. They’re no longer in business,” Doug answered. “You were right. They were heavily involved in child trafficking. They were discovered six years ago when a new county clerk was going through old files. They ran their own version of a foster home and collected money on the children sent to them by an adoption agency. 

     On the outside, the agency was completely legal. Underneath, the director and several of the staff were in the business of selling children to the highest bidder. The kids came from all over the world, so it would have been difficult to trace them back to their birth families.” 

     “What was life like at that foster home?” Garrett asked. 

     She’d been honest with him so far, and he was finding that soft spot again for his dreary neighbor. 

     “Like you’d expect,” Doug answered with a sad expression. “Kids from infancy to eighteen lived there. There were upwards of twelve children at any given time. Some kids stayed on from the moment they were brought there until they aged out of the system. Others seemed to have disappeared overnight without any notice. The investigation found some of those had been given to others in the area, who used them for anything from slave labor to sexual exploitation. 

     There were some who died from abuse. They were malnourished, under-clothed, had medical conditions that were untreated, beaten, and just about anything else you can think of. Testimony by the children who were rescued will turn your stomach. No child should live like that.”

     Garrett swallowed the lump in his throat when he thought of children he’d saved from such situations. Then he thought of Fawn. 

     “What of that girl Yuè?” he asked Doug. 

     Doug shrugged. “No such girl existed there or in the entire state of Utah. I didn’t look at the whole list of names. It’s extensive but I can if you want. I just looked up that name and didn’t find it.” 

     Garrett sighed and handed Doug his cellphone. 

     “Read the messages from beginning to end,” he instructed. 

     Doug’s brow creased and he began to look through the messages. 

     “Wow,” he said softly. “Poor thing. She’s your neighbor?” 

     Garrett gave a nod as he passed him the note from that morning. He knew the moment Doug drew the same conclusion as him. 

     “It can’t be her,” Doug said, shaking his head in disbelief. 

     He watched Garrett remove the mooncakes from the box and he gasped. He grabbed one that was made from cocoa and bit into it. 

“These are Fawn’s,” he remarked. “The cocoa ones are my favorite. I’d know them anywhere. Garrett, I can look through the names on the list again, this time for Fawn, though it would have stood out if I’d seen it the first time. Why do you think she’s using a fake name to speak to you?” 

     “I don’t know,” Garrett replied. “It seemed suspicious as soon as I figured out who she is. After finding out just now she was telling the truth about everything else, maybe she’s afraid of them. She has to use her real name here because of legalities. Unless…” 

     “Unless?” wondered Doug. 

     “She would have to use her legal name to sign a lease,” explained Garrett. “She wouldn’t have to use it here at the office if the man who hired her knows her secret.” 

     Doug gave a small grin. “You’ll be off to question Mr. Pinkerton now, I presume.” 

     “Not yet,” Garret said. “I think I’ll observe her a bit more. If he is keeping her secrets, it’s for a damn good reason, and he won’t readily tell me about them. I don’t want to put him in the middle of us, either. He’ll be torn between his loyalty to me and his friendship with the woman who he credits with saving his life. I won’t do that to him.” 

     “So what now?” wondered Doug. 

     He stood when Garrett stood and followed him toward the door. 

     “Right now, I’m going to enjoy a party,” Garrett answered. “I’ll follow her for a while this weekend and see where this all leads.”

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