Christopher Baughman - Off the Street

Advance Praise for the Off the Street series

If I was to describe the characteristics of the cop Id want protecting my town, theyd have to be an almost superhuman blend of cunning and driven---cunning enough to think like a crook, to consistently out-fox the criminals theyre tasked with catching; and driven, as in driven like a freight train, with an unrivaled passion, to get the bad guys.

Detective Baughman harnesses his fantastic passion, putting a unique voice to paper. He gives us a glimpse into his dark worlda rarely seen criminal world filled with horrible people and yet, somehow, we walk away with a brighter outlook on life, knowing there are cops like Baughman out there protecting us and our loved ones. For that, the world is a better place.

Andy Cashman - Network Television Producer

Here is a powerful view from the inside, as only a detective who fights vice can know it. Off the Street is another nightmare for your bedside, one you wont be able to set aside or get out of your mind.

J. Ross Baughman, Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and author

Detective Baughman has created an eye opening MUST read about the seedy underworld of the prostitution subculture. His story line is filled with images that compel you to see how violence and manipulation are the crafty tools that pimps use against vulnerable young women! If you believe that prostitution is a victimless crime, you will think again!

Lieutenant Karen D. Hughes LVMPD - Vice Section

Real people, shattered dreams, stolen lives. A story of Detective Baughmans calling to fulfill his mission from God.

Bill Hartness, Homicide Detective /Sheriff Sergeant (Retired)

Excellent. A must purchase book. Once you start reading you will not be able stop. To keep it short and simple.........it will keep you intrigued all the way to the end.

Regina Porter - Special Victims Unit, Victim Advocate

Baughman serves up an action-packed ride into the dark underbelly of the sex industry. Off the Street is an inspired page turner about one undercover detectives fight against the pimps and bad guys--who are prostituting women and girls into human trafficking.

Aaron Cohen, author of Slave Hunter

OFF THE STREET:
Redemption

by
Chris Baughman

California
USA

Behler Publications California

OFF THE STREET: Redemption

A Behler Publications Book

Copyright 2014 by Chris Baughamn

Cover design by Yvonne Parks - www.pearcreative.ca.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

Library of Congress CIP data is available.

FIRST PRINTING

ISBN 13: 978-1-933016-64-1

e-book ISBN 978-1-933016-65-8

Published by Behler Publications, LLC

Lake Forest, California

www.behlerpublications.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

The Promise

To my dearest daughters, Christian and Tiara, as a father, I wrestle with the same thoughts; have I given you the best of me? Have I told you how much I love you? Have I held you in my arms tightly and whispered in your ears

...there is nothing more precious to me than the both of you.

You were selfless enough to share your father with the world. My promise to you is that I will continue to fight the bad men, but, if a time should ever come when either of you call out for your daddy, I would stop the world to be there for you.

I love you both.

Preface

At the outskirts of the city, I lean with my back against the driver-side door of the crimson Ford Mustang GT I call The Beast. Beside me on the hood, steam escapes from the cover of a smallor is it tall?cup of hot Starbucks coffee.

In this serenity, I can remove myself, if only for an instant, from the chaos and lose myself in the night sky. Tonight the view is unobstructed. Not even the bright lights of my city can compete.

Glimmering against the opaque blanket of night is the star Vega, radiating gently in the heavens. From where I stand, it appears calm and beautiful, even though its brightness fluctuates and is, at its core, at war with itself.

My city, Las Vegas, is the glowing star of the nation and is also, at its core, at war with itself. She has been shamelessly stripped of her dignity and left bare, branded with the tag line, What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas.

For the time being, I can only watch in disgust as those entrusted to shape her image fail to protect her purity.

They promise visitors that anything goes here, as though we dont care whats done in our home, that theres no pain, no penalty, no guilt in the morning. They do this with no thought as to what else they invite into our community to feed upon the good people who live here.

I know the Las Vegas Strip too well, where traveling billboards of women dressed in near-nothing crawl along the corridor. 1-800-Girls2u.

Gaggles of people milling on corners sport T-shirts that advertise Hot Girls in minutes. Smut peddlers congest the sidewalks, the veins that support my city, by cramming card stock photographs into visitors hands. Their messages show women spread-open, with absurd little markers super-imposed to afford them the barest of modesty. Those possessed by greed, grab stacks of magazines cramming them into newspaper stands, Women for sale!

While I respect and value the freedoms given us by the Constitution, and champion freedom of speech, I demand to know where is the freedom, the justice, in beating a woman throughout the day and bartering her out at night? These dark souls have caused my city to slip into the abyss.

The people who keep Vegas living and thriving wish to see Vegas beauty free from the haze and gloom of the pamphlets, billboards, and magazines that litter our streets.

Yet my city grows weaker through the crippling blows by litigators, who represent the very thing I fight to abolish. Instead, human traffickers flock here, funneling in women and children, making them into slaves in our city.

I shake myself out of my reverie and dive back into the underworld, amongst the privileged dregs to find what is lost.

The Gateway

The coffeehouse is nearly empty as I sip my tea and wait for Detective Catherine Hui to show up. My phone conversation with her earlier in the day was brief. Hey, Cathy, what does your schedule look like this evening? Id like to talk a bit about the young woman you arrested the other night. Eliza was it?

I had offered to meet at her office, but she demurred. No, I dont want people asking questions. Theres a small coffeehouse just south of our building. But just so you know going in, I arrested and charged her with solicitation.

Even though P.I.T., or The Pandering Investigation Team is regarded as one of the top in the nation, our ability to destroy criminals who force women into prostitution is based largely on the leads we pursueour breadcrumbs, so to speak. Even though Cathy arrested Eliza, she has developed a bond with her, and because of that time and care, a gateway into Elizas world has materialized. This is the first step in saving a life.

Apathy is the attitude carried by many in our position. Across the nation, prostitutes arent seen as women, or even as people. They become more akin to heads of cattle.

They are considered by many as acceptable losses, casualties of their own chosen career path. I blink and can picture a sea of faces, and my mind is flooded by the pain of a thousand empty eyes. No matter how expendable Eliza may have looked to others, Cathy has made her the exception, and believes I can offer some light. People like Detective Hui are a rarity in the Age of Me, Myself, and I, and I cant help but mentally salute the young detective.