The Ghosts of Paris Read online

  THE GHOSTS OF PARIS

  A JAMES ACTON THRILLER

  J. ROBERT KENNEDY

  About the James Acton Thrillers

  "James Acton: A little bit of Jack Bauer and Indiana Jones!"

  Though this book is part of the James Acton Thrillers series, it is written as a standalone novel and can be enjoyed without reading the other installments.

  What readers are saying about the James Acton Thrillers Series:

  “A great blend of history and current headlines.”

  “You stop breathing from the first page.”

  “If you like Indiana Jones then you will love these stories.”

  “The Acton series is one of the most entertaining and enjoyable series I have read.”

  “Non-stop action that is impossible to put down.”

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  BOOKS BY J. ROBERT KENNEDY

  Please click here for the intended reading order.

  * Also available in audio

  The Templar Detective Thrillers

  The Templar Detective

  The Templar Detective and the Parisian Adulteress

  The Templar Detective and the Sergeant's Secret

  The Templar Detective and the Unholy Exorcist

  The Templar Detective and the Code Breaker

  The Templar Detective and the Black Scourge

  The Templar Detective and the Lost Children

  The Templar Detective and the Satanic Whisper

  The James Acton Thrillers

  The Protocol *

  Brass Monkey *

  Broken Dove

  The Templar’s Relic

  Flags of Sin

  The Arab Fall

  The Circle of Eight

  The Venice Code

  Pompeii’s Ghosts

  Amazon Burning

  The Riddle

  Blood Relics

  Sins of the Titanic

  Saint Peter’s Soldiers

  The Thirteenth Legion

  Raging Sun

  Wages of Sin

  Wrath of the Gods

  The Templar’s Revenge

  The Nazi’s Engineer

  Atlantis Lost

  The Cylon Curse

  The Viking Deception

  Keepers of the Lost Ark

  The Tomb of Genghis Khan

  The Manila Deception

  The Fourth Bible

  Embassy of the Empire

  Armageddon

  No Good Deed

  The Last Soviet

  Lake of Bones

  Fatal Reunion

  The Resurrection Tablet

  The Antarctica Incident

  The Ghosts of Paris

  The Special Agent Dylan Kane Thrillers

  Rogue Operator *

  Containment Failure *

  Cold Warriors *

  Death to America

  Black Widow

  The Agenda

  Retribution

  State Sanctioned

  Extraordinary Rendition

  Red Eagle

  The Messenger

  The Defector

  The Delta Force Unleashed Thrillers

  Payback

  Infidels

  The Lazarus Moment

  Kill Chain

  Forgotten

  The Cuban Incident

  Rampage

  Inside the Wire

  Charlie Foxtrot

  The Detective Shakespeare Mysteries

  Depraved Difference

  Tick Tock

  The Redeemer

  The Kriminalinspektor Wolfgang Vogel Mysteries

  The Colonel’s Wife

  Sins of the Child

  Zander Varga, Vampire Detective Series

  The Turned

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Table of Contents

  The Novel

  Preface

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Acknowledgments

  Don't Miss Out!

  Thank You!

  About the Author

  Also by the Author

  For Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II.

  May she rest in peace.

  “You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.”

  William Wilberforce, British politician and abolitionist

  “Human trafficking is an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ. It is a crime against humanity.”

  Pope Francis

  PREFACE

  The latest global estimates for modern human slavery now stands at almost fifty million people as of this writing, an increase of ten million since the last update in 2017. One in four are children, and 54% are female.

  The modern definition of human slavery includes forced labor, forced marriage, debt bonded labor, descent-based slavery, and child slavery/trafficking/soldiers/marriage.

  One of the most insidious aspects is human trafficking, where men and women of all ages are taken and forced into prostitution, labor, marriage, and organ removal. Perpetrators can be terrorist groups like Boko Haram, and organized crime like the Triads.

  But some of the most sinister are at the high end of the slavery spectrum, where the rich don’t get their hands dirty, and instead bid at auction from the comfort of their own homes for innocent young men and women who have done nothing wrong but fall on hard times.

  These ghosts, forgotten by society, are easy prey for the organizers of these slave auctions.

  And sometimes these ghosts aren’t ghosts at all.

  Sometimes they are the ones we love most.

  The ones we would give our lives to save.

  1 |

  Unknown Location Present Day

  Tommy Granger groaned as someone shook him, his head pounding. He pushed through the fog, struggling to recall what had happened, then his eyes shot wide as he remembered. They had fought back. They all had. And they had won.

  Until something had taken them all down at once.

  His girlfriend, Mai Trinh, was beside him, on the floor like the rest of them. A man he didn’t recognize stood in front of them with a gun aimed at them. He shook their captor, passed out on the floor, with his boot. The man called the Caretaker woke, in as rough shape as the rest of them, as the new arrival tossed zip ties at them and they bound each other’s wrists.

  The rebellion was over.

  The gunman cut the Caretaker’s bindings with a knife and the man rose, rage written on his face. His partner handed him a gun and he took it, aiming it directly at Mai who had instigated everything.

  He squeezed the trigger.

  “No!” cried Tommy, diving in front of the woman he loved in a desperate attempt to save her. The bullet slammed into him like a sledgehammer, and he cried out as he spun from the impact, collapsing to the floor.

  The Caretaker’s partner smacked the gun down. “Are you insane? Those two are worth ten million!”

  The Caretaker spat. “She’s probably nine and a half of that.”

  Mai rolled him onto his back and he winced, the agony unbelievable, every movie he had ever seen suddenly a lie. No one got shot then continued to fight. Words were spoken around him, but they were lost to the din ringing
in his ears as he weakened. The love of his life was battling to save him, and he gazed up into her beautiful eyes and asked the question his fading mind demanded.

  “Am I going to die?”

  She stared down at him, her tears flowing, and he knew the answer before she spoke it.

  And his heart broke as he realized he would never get to marry the only woman he had ever loved.

  2 |

  Lavigne Estate Paris, France October 8, 1898

  Isabelle Lavigne stared into the mirror and smiled. Her makeup was flawless, her hair perfect, and her dress divine. Tonight would be the best night of her life. She was sure of it. Jacques would be here any minute now to pick her up, then they were meeting up with friends and heading to the most exclusive party in Paris. Rumors had been swirling around her peers at the university about parties at a wealthy aristocrat’s château. No one knew where it was, only that the pickup location changed each time, and everyone was transported there in blacked-out carriages. The parties were apparently lavish, with all the food and drink one could enjoy provided.

  She had been skeptical when she first heard about these parties, but as more people spoke of them, and then she finally met someone who had actually attended one, she and her friends had been determined to get an invitation. Jacques Blanchet, her childhood friend and the man she intended to marry, had somehow managed to wrangle an invitation with the location of the pickup point for tonight’s party.

  She had already told her parents she was staying at Caroline’s house and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow afternoon. She intended to get tipsy, then completely inebriated, depending on how the evening went. She was determined to tell Jacques how she felt tonight, and if he was receptive, she would be demanding a kiss.

  A carriage arriving in the courtyard sent her heart aflutter, and she dashed to the window, peering outside to see Jacques stepping out. God, he was handsome. He looked up and smiled at her. She waved, her heart melting. He climbed the front steps, passing out of sight, and she rushed to the mirror, taking one last look before heading out of her bedroom and into the hallway.

  His voice, so light and cheery, carried up the stairs as he exchanged pleasantries with her parents. She was certain they would approve of the match, as would his parents, both families part of the upper strata of Parisian society, both from old money. She was quite sure her mother was aware of her feelings and that her father was as oblivious as Jacques.

  She stopped at the top of the stairs and drew a breath, holding it for a moment as a horrific thought occurred to her. What if he didn’t share her feelings? What if to him she was merely a friend? If he rejected her, what would become of their friendship? She valued it more than anything. Yet why was that? Was it because she thought there was a future there? If there wasn’t, would she still feel the same, or should she move on and find someone else to create that idyllic future with she had been imagining for years?

  She shook her head. No, she was certain Jacques felt the same way. He had to. There was no way a boy and a girl could be so close for so long and not have feelings develop for each other. She had them, and he had to share them.

  She headed down the staircase and Jacques caught sight of her first, his jaw slackening and his eyes widening.

  “Isabelle, you look stunning!”

  Any doubts she might have had as to how he felt about her were washed away by his praise. Her parents turned and her mother’s hand darted to her chest.

  “Oh, my child, you’re so beautiful.”

  Her father concurred. “Stunning, absolutely stunning. All eyes will be on you tonight, my dear.”

  She blushed, her cheeks and ears burning from the praise and the eyes all upon her. She finished descending the steps and Jacques greeted her with a courteous bow.

  “And just where are you taking my daughter tonight?” asked her father.

  Jacques laughed. “Well, that’s the fun of it, isn’t it? We don’t know where we’re going, though we’re assured of a wonderful time.”

  Isabelle’s mother reached out and took her hand, squeezing it. “Just be careful, my dear. Stay with Jacques until he drops you off at Caroline’s. You, of course, have heard that the Joliette boy was found dead?”

  Isabelle’s jaw dropped. “Pierre? He’s dead?”

  Her mother frowned. “I’m sorry, dear. I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I had known you weren’t aware. Don’t let it put a damper on your evening. I’m sure he got himself into something he shouldn’t have. He was always a troublemaker, that one.”

  Jacques held out his arm. “We should get going. We have to be at the pickup point in less than thirty minutes. I’ll tell you everything I know about what happened to Pierre on the way.”

  She took his arm, still stunned with the news. Pierre was a friend. They had all grown up together, and he was not as bad as her mother made him out to be. He had begun partying younger than the rest of them, having fallen in with his older brother’s crowd. Whatever he was into certainly didn’t merit death.

  Jacques led her out of the house and down the steps. The coachman held open the door to the carriage and she climbed inside, not saying a word. Jacques sat beside her and they were soon underway. He took her hand. “Are you all right?”

  She shrugged. “Just shocked, I guess. I just spoke to him a few weeks ago. We hadn’t seen each other in ages. He’s the one who told me about the parties.” She faced Jacques. “What happened? How did he die?”

  Jacques regarded her with a frown. “Are you certain you want to know? The details are rather grim.”

  “Yes. I need to know. I’m sure my imagination is far worse than the reality.”

  Jacques sighed. “Don’t be so sure of that.”

  3 |

  Acton/Palmer Residence St. Paul, Maryland Present Day, Two Weeks Earlier

  Something was up, that much was clear to Archaeology Professor James Acton as the young woman he thought of as a daughter, Mai Trinh, stood before them with her boyfriend, Tommy Granger, both of them grinning ear to ear.

  Acton’s wife, Archaeology Professor Laura Palmer, regarded them. “All right, out with it. What has the two of you so giddy?”

  Mai’s left hand darted out. “Tommy proposed! We’re engaged!”

  Laura squealed in delight as she hopped up and down before rushing forward and embracing Mai, both of them with tears rolling down their cheeks.

  Acton stepped forward and shook Tommy’s hand, drawing him in for a thumping hug. “Congratulations. You’ve done well for yourself.”

  Tommy beamed at Mai. “Better than I could have ever imagined. She’s perfect.”

  “She is that,” agreed Acton. He held out his arms toward Mai. “Hey, don’t I get a hug?”

  Laura finally let their Vietnamese savior go and the young woman rushed into his arms and he held her tight. “I’m so happy for you.”

  She sniffed. “Thank you.” She pushed back slightly so she could see him and Laura, who was now hugging Tommy. “Thanks so much, both of you. It’s because of you that this has happened.”

  Tommy eyed her in mock disappointment. “I’d like to think I had something to do with it.”

  Mai giggled. “Of course. What I mean is the professors have given me a life I never thought I could have. Because of that, I met you and now not only do I have a great life here in a free, safe country, but I have good friends, a wonderful fiancé”—she held up her hand—“and one hell of a rock!”

  Acton’s eyes bulged as he got a good look at the ring for the first time. “How in the hell did you afford that on a university salary? Dylan must be paying you one hell of a bonus every time the CIA calls you in.”

  Tommy chuckled. “As much as I’d like to claim credit for socking away enough to buy something like that, it’s actually a family heirloom. My grandfather gave this to my grandmother, and when she heard I was planning to propose, she insisted on giving it to me. She said my grandfather would have wanted me to have it.”