Understanding Alice Du-Kane

by Riley Walker

  “Hot Lips.”

  “Pretty Girl.”

  “Alley Cat.”

  Each one of them shout out their pet name for me. When the three of them reach me, they all suddenly stop. I’m confused until they turn around.

  “Stop! Tell me you didn’t.” I can’t help but start laughing. On the back of each of their shirts are the nickname they each gave me. Seeing Ridge walking around in a purple shirt with ‘Hot Lips’ across his back is almost too much.

  When they turn around, each one has a smile on his face. Cash gets to me first, picking me up and twirling me around. “Congrats, Pretty Girl.” He passes me to Oren, who dips me, then plants a quick kiss on my lips. “I’m proud of you, Alley Cat.” Ridge jerks me out of his brother’s arms and throws me over his shoulder. I’m yelling at him to put me down, but he ignores me and carries me back inside the shop. He gently sets me down, running the back of his hand across my cheek. “You did good, Hot Lips.”

  Our moment is interrupted by boisterous laughter. “Well, Zoe is here and I’m guessing she’s seen your shirts.”

  “Oh mylanta! Ridge, is your nickname seriously Hot Lips? I can’t even.” Zoe is laughing uncontrollably.

  Ridge looks at me and smirks. “Oh Hot Lips, you never told her about our nicknames for you?”

  Zoe stops laughing immediately and gives me the look. You know, the ‘you are in so much trouble’ look.

  I clap my hands a few times and yell, “Okay, guys, let's get this shop open!”

  Later that night, Zoe and I decide to treat ourselves to a late night ice cream run. There’s an old 50’s style dinner downtown that serves the best milkshakes in town. Once we have devoured our shakes, vanilla for Zoe, strawberry for me, we decide to head home for the night. I need a shower badly. When we walk out of the diner’s door, a woman standing on the corner catches my attention.

  “Sally, is that you?” I squint, taking in the older version of the girl I used to be close friends with back in junior high, before my dad shipped me off to boarding school.

  “Alice Du-Kane?” She rushes over and hugs me. “I can’t believe it’s really you. It’s been what, fifteen years since you left?”

  “Something like that. How are you? What have you been up to?”

  A dark look crosses her face. “I’m okay. I’ve got three kids, all under the age of ten at home.”

  “A ten year old? We’re not old enough for that,” I say, laughing it off.

  “I got pregnant the year after you left. Had Garrett my sophomore year. I had to quit school, but it all worked out.”

  I grip her hand in mine. “I’m sorry, Sally. So, what are you up to now?”

  She squeezes my hand before letting go. “Oh, you know, I do this and that. Whatever odd jobs I can pick up to keep a roof over our heads. Look at you though. You haven’t changed one bit, Alice.”

  I’m about to ask her another question about her kids when a terrifying man walks up on us. My hand immediately goes to my bag to pull out my can of mace. I know Zoe is behind me doing the same thing.

  He surprises me when he leans in and speaks directly into Sally’s ear. “Sally, what do you think you’re doing? Standing around shooting the shit with some uppity women isn’t going to make me any money.” He grabs her upper arm and I see her flinch when he tightens his hold. “Why don’t you say goodbye to them and get back to work. Unless,” he licks his lips, looking Zoe and I over, “they might be interested in purchasing your services. What do you say ladies? You can keep chatting with old Sally here, but it’s going to cost ya.”

  I feel bile rise in the back of my throat. Zoe speaks up before I can, “How much for the whole night?”

  I whip my head around, mentally asking her what in the heck she’s thinking. She gives me a look that keeps me from speaking up.

  The man lets go of Sally’s arm and uses his now free hand to rub it over his disgusting beard. “For the whole night? That’ll cost ya, honey.”

  “I have money, just tell me how much.” I can feel the anger vibrating with each word Zoe says.

  “You can have her for a grand. Cash money.”

  Zoe elbows me and I look in my bag, opening my wallet without taking it out. I never carry cash on me, but it just happens that I have the store’s daily deposit still with me. I planned on putting it in the safe as soon as we got home, but we decided to go for ice cream. I guess it was fate stepping in.

  “Whoa, whoa there,” he says as he throws his hands in the air. “No transactions on the street. You can just pay Sally at the end of the night. She knows the drill.” He begins to step away from us. “Sally, I’ll be seeing you tomorrow. Don’t be late.”

  I watch Sally shiver from the tone of his voice. Zoe and I both flank her, grabbing a hand each and walk her to my car. The ride back to our house is quiet, no one knowing exactly what to say. Once we make it inside I lead everyone into the kitchen. This conversation calls for coffee. Or wine. Hell, I need to breakout the batch of pot cookies I hid from Zoe.

  I sit Sally down at the island and turn on the coffee maker. Zoe sits beside her and I guess she’s finally had enough of the silence. “So, you’re a hooker?”

  “Zoe!” I yell at her. “What the hell?”

  She just shrugs her shoulders and turns back to Sally. “That was your pimp I take it? He was certainly a piece of work.”

  Sally puts her head in her hands. “Look, you don’t have to pay me, okay. I can deal with Robert. I just need to call someone to come get me. We can just forget this night happened.”

  “Alice, give her the money.”

  “Zoe, she just said…”

  “I heard what she said. Now, give her the money.” Zoe looks to me, nodding her head.

  I walk back to the dining room where I dropped my purse. I take out the money bag and remove the thousand dollars. I take the bag into the laundry room and put the rest of the money in the hidden safe. Once I reach the kitchen, I place the money on the counter in front of Sally.

  Sally looks up at me, tears running down her face. “I’m so sorry, Alice. I didn’t want you to know what I really was.”

  “Girl, Alice don’t care about that. Tell us what happened?”

  Sally looks at Zoe. “After I had Garrett, I had to drop out of school to get a job. His dad ran off as soon as he found out I was pregnant.” She stops to take a deep breath. “My mom refused to help me and no one wanted to hire a teenager with a baby. I met Robert one night, and at first he seemed so nice. I was tired, lonely, and stupid. One thing led to another and, well, here we are. I’ve been doing this ever since.”

  “Damn.”

  I agree with Zoe. “Damn, Sally. You didn’t have anyone to help you?”

  She shakes her head back and forth. “I have nobody. I know it’s wrong and dirty, but I’ll do whatever I can to take care of my babies. I refuse to let them be like me.”

  An idea suddenly forms in my head. “Sally, how many other ladies work for Robert? Good women we can trust.”

  Sally looks at me curiously. “I know quite a few. Not all of them are Robert’s girls. We’re spread out around the city, you know turf wars and what not, but I keep up with them. Us working girls try to stay in contact in case something happens.”

  I look at Zoe, she looks at me and smiles. “FLAG?” she asks.

  I nod my head. “FLAG.”

  I turn my head toward Sally. “So, we have a proposition for you.”

  Twenty-One

  Illegal To Illegal

  The next morning I call Mrs. Bell who handles the rentals for Du-Kane, Inc. I ask her if we have an apartment complex empty. I know it’s a long shot, but if we don’t, I need to look into purchasing one.

  “Alice, it just so happens that we do have one. We purchased an old abandoned warehouse downtown off of Florida Street a few weeks ago. The developer we bought it from was in the middle of turning it into loft apartments. There’s only three floors in the building, but the first two are complete.”
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br />   “Mrs. Bell, that sounds perfect. Do we have anyone there working on it yet? I need to get inside and look around.”

  “I can meet you down there in half an hour with a set of keys. Does that work for you?”

  “Absolutely. I’ll see you then.”

  I hang up my phone and do a happy dance. This couldn’t have worked out better. The warehouse is only a few minutes walking distance to the store front. I race upstairs to get ready, tell Zoe where I’m going, and check in on Sally. I grab Dobey’s leash, and we head out.

  The warehouse is in better shape than I thought it would be. You can see all the windows have been replaced and the front doors already have the keypad. Mrs. Bell meets Dobey and me at the front door.

  “The first thing we have in here is the security desk. Over there,” she says pointing to her left, “is where a small coffee shop and cafe could go. We’re going to have the mailboxes installed next week. Also, over there behind the security desk is the door to the on-site manager’s apartment. Down the hall here, we have a small weight room with a sauna.”

  I look around, taking it all in. The small coffee shop idea is perfect. We could hire someone for it and offer all the residents free coffee. We could even have milk, donuts, and fresh fruit each morning for the kids to eat for breakfast.

  I follow Mrs. Bell to the elevator and we go up to the third floor. It’s a different world up here. It’s wide open with no doors or walls. The space has been cleaned and laying in the corner are stacks of doors and other building materials.

  “Our contractors are set to start renovating this floor tomorrow. It should only take them about two months since everything is already wired for electricity and the water lines have been installed.”

  “Can they do it in a month instead of two?”

  Mrs. Bell looks over at me. “What exactly are you thinking of doing with this building, Alice? We haven’t started the application process so we aren’t in a rush.”

  I walk over to one of the windows that faces the Mississippi River. “I want to do something for my community, Mrs. Bell. I want to use this warehouse to give back. I’m turning it into cheap apartments for low income, single mothers.”

  I don’t hear anything from Mrs. Bell so I turn around to look at her. She’s staring at me with her mouth hanging open. “Mrs. Bell, are you okay?”

  “You want to turn this into cheap housing?”

  “No. I am turning this into cheap housing.”

  “But-but, Alice, this is a million dollar piece of property. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather look into something closer to the south side of town? I mean, we have property that might fit your needs better.”

  “Why? These moms and their children deserve the same opportunity as anyone else. Why would I want to put them in an area that’s going to do nothing but take them down the wrong path?”

  Mrs. Bell looks at me like I’ve grown a second head. “You know, you are nothing like your Uncle. I like you, Alice Du-Kane.”

  I smile and pat her on the back. “Thanks, Mrs. Bell. I appreciate you saying that.”

  We finish touring the second floor, which houses ten units. Five of them are two bedroom lofts, the other five have three bedrooms. Each one offers state of the art kitchens with appliances, walk-in showers, and garden tubs. They are beautiful and will be perfect.

  I take the elevator back down to the first floor. “This is perfect. Call the contractors and tell them we need it ready in four weeks. I’ll have furniture delivered this week for the second floor so families should be able to start moving in next week. Do you already have a manager hired?”

  Mrs. Bell is furiously typing away on her tablet, a small smile on her face. “No, I haven't even listed the job yet. I’m guessing you have someone in mind already?”

  “I sure do, Mrs. Bell. In fact, I know the perfect person.”

  “No. I already told you, I have a place to live. Besides, I don’t need any charity, Alice.”

  I throw my hands in the air in frustration. “Sally, you are not a charity case. You will be doing me a favor. I need you to lease the apartments to good women like yourself. The ladies you vouch for will become my employees, not Du-Kane, Inc. You are only receiving free rent because you are under my employment. I expect you to lease apartments, handle renters’ complaints, collect rent, and make sure everything else runs smoothly. It’s a job, not charity.”

  Sally hugs me tightly. “A for real job? A for real, real job?”

  I giggle at her excitement. “Yes, but there is a catch. The renters can no longer prostitute themselves. If I find out they are still doing it, they’re out. Also, they’re now my employees. I hate to ask this, but I need to save my dad’s company. It has been in the red ever since marijuana became legal. Zoe and I have a product that can make us a profit, but until I get my greedy, thieving uncle out of the picture, we can’t sell it in our store. If the women are willing to sell our product instead of their bodies, I’m willing to give them free rent, utilities, and enough money for groceries and such.”

  Sally gives me a weird look. “So you want them to go from one illegal thing to another?”

  I shake my head. “Yes and no. It will only be for a few months. Once I get rid of my uncle and I get the company back in the black, we will distribute FLAG in the store.”

  “So then what? The girls will all be out of a job?” Sally asks.

  “Oh, god no! In the meantime, I can set them up with online courses. Every apartment will come with a computer and Wi-Fi. By the time the product goes to the store, the ladies should be on their way to being able to obtain a good job. Not just a job, but an actual career. Du-Kane, Inc. will hire as many of them as possible, and I’ll help the rest of them. It’s a short-term business deal that will benefit all of us in the long run. Also, the icing on the cake is a free daycare on the first floor that is open 24/7.”

  “Alice, it sounds good, but I just don’t know. Getting them to move here and work for you would be easy, it’s getting them away from their pimps that will be the problem. These men don’t play. They own us, Alice.”

  I knew this part was going to be a problem, but since this idea came to me, I’ve been thinking about it.

  “This is going to have to happen all at one time. Everyone needs to be ready to move when I say. We’ll have a van that will be at their current homes at the same time, on the same day. They have ten minutes to get out, and we’ll bring them straight to the warehouse. We’ll have a security guard stationed there around the clock. There’s no sign anywhere that would tell you what the warehouse is. The only way to get in is with a keycard that they will receive when they get there.”

  “What about their furniture? We can’t carry all of it and get it in a van, Alice.”

  “I know. I’m going to have every apartment fully furnished. They don’t need anything, Sally. Just have them pack what they can carry, the items they can’t leave behind, and I’ll take care of everything else.”

  Sally pulls me into another hug. “I hope you know what you’re doing. This is crazy, but I’m in. Lord help me, I’m in.”

  I squeeze Sally back. “It’s going to work out, Sally. Just have a little faith in me.”

  My phone ringing interrupts our conversation. I’m surprised to see Mrs. Bell’s name across my screen.

  “Hello?”

  “Alice, it’s Brandi Bell. I wanted to let you know that I spoke with the contractor and he said four weeks is no problem.”

  I let out the breath I was holding. “Thank you. I’ll start shopping for furniture so we can go ahead and get the second floor filled next week.”

  I expected her to say goodbye, but once again, Mrs. Bell surprises me. “Alice, I have no idea what is really going on, but I wanted to let you know, I’m here to do anything I can to help. I grew up in the projects. My mom was a single parent that worked two jobs so I understand what these ladies are going through. Please let me know what I can do to help you. Anything, anytime.”

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nbsp; “Well, Mrs. Bell, I’m glad you asked. I happen to need someone to take a group of ladies and kids to Target next weekend…”

  Twenty-Two

  Movin’ On Up

  “Tell me again what we’re doing here?” Ridge asks me while looking at a pillow with a pineapple on it.

  I grab the pillow and throw it at him. “We need to get furniture for ten apartments, and what better place to get furniture than Ikea? I can buy bulk here and save money that can be used for other things.”

  Oren comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my middle. “I think this is a great idea. Turning that old warehouse into a low-income housing is a great way to give back. I’m proud of you, Alice.”

  I cringe when he says this. Oh, Oren. If you only knew why we started this project to begin with. Something tells me the Michaelson brothers would not agree with what we’re about to do.

  The three of us spend the next four hours going through Ikea. If Ridge didn’t insist on sitting or laying on every piece of furniture, we probably could have gotten in and out in half that time. The guys are excited about everything we were able to find, until they got to the warehouse part.

  “Alice, why are we searching a warehouse with a flat cart?” Ridge asks with disdain.

  “You’ve never been here before have you?”

  “No. Well, I came here after it opened to try some of their Swedish Meatballs, but I didn’t go into the actual showroom.”

  “You and your food, Ridge.” Oren pokes at his brother. “Seriously, Alice, what are we doing?”

  I clear my throat. “The thing is, we have to find all the furniture then load it up. We get to put it all together once we get it back to the apartments. Fun, right!”

  Ridge throws his hands up in the air. “Hell no! I don’t mind helping, but we can’t get all this furniture in my truck, nor can we move it all in and put it all together. I mean, we’re pretty awesome, but we’re still just human.”