“Goddammit!” Schäfer yelled, and hit the folder, sending it flying across the room. “Where the hell is it, then? Where’s the evidence that implicates Mossing? Where are the pictures of him with his dick out?”

Heloise shook her head in confusion. “This doesn’t make any sense. Why would she lie about that?”

“She didn’t,” Schäfer seethed. “Mossing is behind all of this. I know he is. He’s the one Anna is gunning for. That’s what she said. This whole thing is about him. If only we could get her to testify against him …”

“I tried to make her understand that too,” Heloise said. “I told her that she should report him to the police. But she said it was too late, that the statute of limitations had expired.”

“That’s not true,” Schäfer said, shaking his head.

“Yes, she said that. You heard it yourself.”

“Yeah, she said that, but it’s not correct. The statute of limitations for aggravated rape cases, which this case would qualify as, is fifteen years. And when it involves the rape of a person under the age of fifteen, the statute of limitations isn’t until fifteen years after the victim’s twenty-first birthday. So, Anna Kiel has a year or two to go before it’s too late to do anything about the matter legally.”

“Okay, but then she doesn’t know that.”

Schäfer narrowed his eyes and peered skeptically at Heloise. “Oh, she knows.”

Heloise stood up and started gathering the things up off the floor, while Schäfer took a couple of deep breaths and looked down at the notes he had taken as they reviewed the contents of the folder.

“We have twelve names,” he said. “Twelve people we can build a case around.”

“Yes, but not Mossing.”

“Anna said it took place in his warehouse,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “She said that Johannes Mossing owned the place. So, if I can get one of those other guys to testify against him … Someone must know something that can bring him down. At least one of the twelve must be willing to negotiate once they’re caught.”

Heloise nodded.

“I’ve always known that this asshole was up to something illegal, but I wasn’t expecting him to be this … this cruel. Children, man …” Schäfer flipped through the pictures, and Heloise could tell from his jaw movements that he was clenching his teeth. “For the love of God, they’re just children.”

“What do we do now?” Heloise passed him the documents she’d gathered up from the floor.

“You just get to work writing your story so that it’s ready to go. But you need to sit on it until I give you the go-ahead. Got it?”

Heloise nodded reluctantly.