“I’d like you to count down in your mind, starting with three hundred. Slow, going down, down, down. The numbers slip away. The thoughts and senses that hold you to this time and place are slipping away with the numbers. Away. Away. Away.”
Slow, deep breaths whisper from the recording.
“It’s eighteen months ago, Sadie. Fall. September 7. Remember September 7?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me about that day.”
“I was working undercover to infiltrate the Osorio drug cartel.” The pitch of her voice rises as she speaks.
“Deep breath, Sadie. I’m with you. Tell me where we are.”
“At the dump where I lived for my cover. Shitty little place in Druid Hills.” A gasp rises in the quiet. “He’s there. He came back. Like he said he would.”
“Who is he, Sadie?”
“Eddie—Eduardo Osorio. My target.”
“Your target.” Pause. “What do you mean by target?”
“The son of Carlos Osorio, the leader of the largest, most ruthless drug cartel in Mexico. Their reach extends up into the United States. From Atlanta to Houston. New York to Chicago. Everything in between,” Sadie explains. “Their primary base of operations in the Southeast was Atlanta. Had been for years. But, at the time of the operation, they were moving things for some unknown reason. Here. To Birmingham. Eduardo did all the face-to-face business. His father never left their Mexican compound. He was too afraid of being executed or grabbed by law enforcement. Still is, if he’s alive.”
“You’d met Eduardo before?”
“Yes. He stopped at my food truck every time he was in Birmingham. That was my cover: food truck operator. I stationed my truck near his hotel. He always stayed at the same place. A strange ritual that could’ve gotten him killed but he didn’t appear worried about it. He gave the impression of being fearless. Fierce. Powerful.”
“You sound as if you admired him.” Holden’s tone is tinged with a note of surprise.
“It was my job to understand him. To know his MO. How he moved, reacted.”
“All right. Explain to me how you were ordered to approach this target?”
“I was tasked with finding a way to get close to him. To lure him into trusting me. The goal was to get invited back home to meet Daddy. No one had ever gotten into that compound and survived to talk about it. I wanted in. Whatever it took.”
“Why was Eduardo back in Birmingham on this particular day?”
“It was Friday. I was supposed to go home with him for the weekend. He said he’d come, but I wasn’t sure. It was happening faster than any of us anticipated.”
“Who is us, Sadie?”
“The task force. We expected the infiltration to take far longer.”
“To what does the task force attribute this unexpected success?”
Silence.
“Sadie?”
“He . . . Eduardo became attached to me far more quickly than expected. I reminded him of his late wife. That was why my commander fought so hard to keep me on the task force. I was the perfect bait.”
“I see. Did you go home with Eduardo? To this compound in Mexico?”
“Yes.”
“How did you get there?”
“He had a plane waiting at the airfield, and that was it. I mean, I was in, and a lot of things could’ve gone wrong. If I was caught . . . I couldn’t let that happen.” Her respiration audibly accelerates.
“Slow your breathing, Sadie. Relax. You’re safe. You’re happy. Tell me what happened after you landed in Mexico.”
“We drove to the compound. His father wasn’t happy that Eddie—Eduardo brought me. He was suspicious. Nothing I hadn’t expected. I was prepared for his suspicions. I walked right up to him and hugged him. I told him how nice it was to meet him. My actions surprised him. He wasn’t sure what to make of me.”
“What did this compound look like?”
“Very large, which we knew. Grand. Countless acres surrounded it. Armed guards were everywhere. Along the outside of the perimeter wall there were a dozen different kinds of booby traps. Those guys weren’t playing.”
“Who else did you meet, Sadie?”
“Eddie’s daughter, Isabella. She was maybe eight or nine. This was new information. No one was aware he had a child until then. There was a wife who died but never any intelligence about children. Eddie eventually told me that he kept his child’s existence a secret to prevent her being abducted and used against him. I was surprised he’d been able to maintain the secret so well. I figured she’d been homeschooled. She probably was never allowed off the compound.”
“Did his little girl like you, or was she shy?”
“She liked me. That first day she took my hand and led me to the dining room to sit next to her at dinner. I’m not very good with kids, but she didn’t appear to notice.”
“How are you feeling, Sadie? You don’t seem nervous about being at the compound.”
“We drank champagne on the flight. He wanted to celebrate. So I was chill.”
“What was he celebrating?”
“I don’t know for sure. Maybe some big deal.”
“Did you meet any other relevant players during the meal?”
“There was only Carlos, the little girl, Eddie, and me. Besides the staff, of course. There were people running about, serving the food. Keeping the glasses filled.” Sadie pauses as if examining some memory in particular. “It was a little awkward because the kid kept watching me so closely. I guess she was curious.”
“What happened after the meal, Sadie?”
“We had a drink with his father. Then Eddie took me to his room to wait while he tucked Isabella into bed.”
Sounds of leather squeaking. Fabric brushing.
“You’re growing agitated, Sadie. Did being in his room make you nervous? Remember, you’re only viewing a memory. You’re not actually there; you’re here, in my office with me.”
“No, I wasn’t nervous. I had slept with him before.”
“Then why do you feel ill at ease at this juncture in the memory?”
Long pause with the sound of increasingly rapid breathing.
“Slow, deep breaths, Sadie.” Holden speaks softer. “You have no reason to be afraid. This is only a memory you are visiting.”
“I should have gone. Before . . .”
“Relax. Loosen your muscles. You are safe. I’m still with you, Sadie.”
Pause. Slower, deeper breathing.
“Now tell me; why were you afraid?”
“Because I knew what he was going to do.”
“What was he going to do, Sadie?”
“He came back to the room, and he just stood there, watching me.”
“Why did you find this troubling, Sadie? What was going through your mind?”
“I should have killed him then.”
Pause.
“But you had attained your goal, had you not? You were inside the compound. You had met Carlos Osorio. Why would you have compromised your cover?”
“Because that was . . . where it began.”
“Where what began, Sadie?”
“Me . . . becoming invisible.”