Poof!

by M. Lee Prescott

  “Chips?”

  I nodded and she grabbed a huge handful of potato chips and plunked them on both our plates.

  “Why don’t you grab two glasses and ice and pour us some iced tea. We’ll eat on the back porch. Come on.”

  We settled down at wrought iron table. “This is nice. I don’t remember this table and chairs.”

  “A recent donation. Don’t think the donors had used the set more than once when the lady of the house changed her mind.”

  “It’s quiet here today,” I said, leaning back, marveling at the lush gardens. Ruth enlisted the kids’ help in planting her gardens whether they liked it or not.

  “Yes, we only have three residents. Two are out, one sleeping. We’re expecting a crowd Monday and Tuesday.”

  “Gardens look great,” I said, biting into my delicious sandwich.

  “They’re comin’ along.”

  We ate in silence for several minutes. Finally, she said, “How’s your father?”

  “Annie was in town last week so we got together a few times.”

  “I’m glad.”

  During the many years I was estranged from Dad, Ruth never stopped encouraging me to mend the rift. They had been dear friends for many years until Rita came along. In her tired, moth eaten sweaters and lumpy skirts, Ruth was not exactly “smart” or stylish and Rita had never warmed to her.

  “You know they’re letting us hold our annual fund raiser at the cottage this year.”

  Cottage, there’s a misnomer, if there ever was one. Dad and Rita’s beach house was eight thousand square feet with six bedrooms, movie theater, pool and fully equipped outdoor kitchen looking out on a huge lawn that led to the sea. “No, I didn’t.”

  “I hope you’ll come. It’s a clambake, your favorite.”

  “Hmm, tempting. When is it and how much are the tickets?”

  She laughed. “It’s next weekend and it’s sold out.”

  “Just as well. I have my three Whitley school buddies coming for our annual sleepover.”

  “Bring them. I have a small bundle of tickets in the house. It’s Saturday night, six-thirty. I’ll expect your check that evening.”

  “Well, we all love a clambake. I went to one with Bunny last week and stuffed myself silly.”

  “Come, it would mean a lot to me and your father.”

  “Okay, deal. They’re coming in Friday afternoon and we eating at the Rainbow. I’ve been charged with finding a good restaurant for Saturday.”

  She smiled, twirling a chip on her plate. “What could be more perfect.”

  “So, finding a good restaurant next Saturday is not why I came to see you, Ruthie.”

  “I thought not. Let me get some dessert and more tea and then you can tell me all about it.” She rose on creaky knees and went into the house, leaving me with my thoughts as I admired her lush, fragrant peonies.

  When she returned with a plate of cookies and pitcher of iced tea, I said. “Peonies were my mom’s favorite flowers.”

  “Mine too. You know he absolutely adored her”

  “Yes.”

  “He was devastated when she died. I was afraid we’d lose him.”

  “Yes.”

  Before our mother’s death, Dad was a different person, affectionate, the casual tousle of our hair as he passed, a loving husband and father. All that changed the day he came home to find his two young daughters covered in blood vainly trying to shake life back into their mother, screaming because they could no longer find the face she had blown away with her father’s old service revolver.

  “It was a long time ago.”

  “Twas,” she said, pouring our tea. “Now why don’t you tell me how I can help, dear.”

  “I’ve been asked to look into the disappearance of two young Chinese girls. The person who hired me was their teacher, at a school run by a company called Meridian Imports.”

  Ruth’s eyes clouded over and her normally open, placid demeanor gave way to a brittle hardness. I wondered if she had suddenly taken ill. “Ruth, are you okay?”

  “I know Meridian,” she said in a voice just over a whisper. “We’ve been quietly watching them.”

  “I thought the kids you oversee are mostly older?”

  “Yes, but we couldn’t ignore Meridian once news of what they were doing came across our radar.”

  “And?”

  “Ricky, I’m not sure I should say more. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Please, Ruth, we believe these girls’ lives are in danger.”

  “They are.”

  “If you know something, please help me.”

  She gazed up at the second floor windows, then stood. “Let’s sit in the shade,” she said, leading the way to a stone bench in the corner of the yard overlooking a small pond, filled with Koi.

  “You understand that nothing I tell you can go further?”

  “You have my word.”

  “We’ve been aware of Meridian and the school for over a year. We’ve been to the police numerous times, but every time they go out there, they find no trace of children or the classroom. We’ve been trying grab the children, but so far, we’ve only rescued one boy. He had just arrived when we waylaid him so he spoke no English.”

  “What do you mean, just arrived?”

  “As far as we’ve been able to learn, almost every child who passes through Meridian has come from mainland China. Maybe a few from India. They’re either kidnapped or sold to Meridian and brought here illegally in containers. Some die in transit, others are barely alive when they arrive. They feed them, get them moderately healthy, then send them to school.”

  “For how long?”

  “Some a few months, others sometimes a year. It depends the work for which the child is being groomed.”

  “What kind of work?” I asked.

  “The lucky ones go into domestic service, others to factories, where they are virtual slaves. However, Meridian is one of many operations across the country that specializes in something more vile and horrifying than child labor. Many of their children, boys and girls, are sold to wealthy buyers, who-” She paused, tears rimming her soft gray eyes.

  “Sexually exploit them.”

  “Yes.”

  “Child pornography?”

  “Some, but as I said, Meridian specializes in grooming personal sex slaves, some as young as five.”

  “Oh, my God,” I said, remembering the two-way mirror. “When I broke into Meridian, there was a lavishly furnished lounge area with a two-way mirror that looked over the classroom.”

  “We’ve heard about that. Prospective buyers are brought in to observe the children and make their selections. They give instructions about how they want a child trained, language and so forth. It’s unspeakable. We’ve also heard that some children are auctioned off, but not in that building. One of our people got close, but now they’ve vanished again. They always seem to be one-step head of us, and the police. I understand that the Vice Division has been working hard on this.”

  “So, you have people in Child Services investigating?”

  “Not exactly. We recruited outsiders for this. They work with a few of my most trusted people.”

  “Could I speak to them?”

  “I’m not sure it’s safe, my dear. I heard about your abduction, which means that Meridian already has you in their sights. I can’t risk my people, especially after this week.”

  “What happened,” I asked, realizing with sickening clarity what she was about to say.

  “One of our inside people was murdered.”

  “Jimmy Chen,” I whispered.

  “Yes,” she said quietly. “He was one of our best and very brave. The poor man was brutally tortured before he was killed. I doubt he told them anything, but we have had to pull back and lie low.”

  “You said ‘one of our inside people.’ Does that mean you still have someone of the inside, working for Meridian.”

  “Yes, one, but I cannot say more.”

  “Is
there any way I could speak to one of your people safely?”

  “Let me do some checking and I’ll get back to you.”

  “Do you know the cops in Vice who have been working this?”

  “No, but Captain Roberts would know. He’s overseeing things.”

  Is he indeed? No wonder he didn’t want me involved.

  “What about you? Are you in danger?”

  “My dear, I’m eighty-two. If something happens to me, I’ve lived a full life. Jimmy’s had just begun.”

  “Oh, Ruthie,” I said, hugging her. “Do be careful. I have a bodyguard I could lend you.”

  “Not right now, but I’ll think about it.” She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out four tickets. “The clambake, a hundred dollars each, good cause.”

  “We’ll be there.”

  Chapter 21

  After a power nap, I called Josh Peabody. He was staying the weekend at his parents’ home at the Bluffs. He sounded upbeat until he heard I learned nothing. “I can’t sit here imagining what might be happening to them,” he said, whispering.

  “Do your parents know about all this?”

  “No and I don’t intend to tell them. Dad would freak out and try to throw money at the situation, probably hire a bodyguard for me, like that goon that’s following you around.”

  “Frank is not a goon and his presence is quite reassuring.” I refrained from telling him that Wilda was keeping an eye on him already.

  “Well, I’m not a senior citizen and I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “Neither am I, thank you!”

  “Look, I have a couple of leads I want to follow, so lay low.”

  “Can’t. Got a lead on a new apartment. I may be moving in this week.”

  “I’d rather you stay put in your gated community.”

  “No way.”

  “Why haven’t you changed your cell number yet?”

  “Today. It’s on my list.”

  “Even a burner phone is better.”

  “Look, I gotta go. I’m meeting Mike at the beach.”

  Mike indeed, I thought saying goodbye. At least someone was having fun. I wondered what kind of bathing suit Wilda favored. Probably black, sleek and skin tight like a seal’s skin.

  I was just writing up a tentative schedule for the week ahead, when Charlie called. “Hey, how’re you doing? Back to normal.”

  “Whatever that is,” I answered, already in love with his deep, resonant voice.

  “Carter and I are heading out for a walk in a while. Wondered if you’d like to join us?”

  “Love to,” I heard myself say, despite my resolutions about getting involved.

  “We’ll be over in an hour or so.”

  I rang off and continued my paperwork. I would to need pay another visit to Brackett and Pearson, but this time I intended to speak to Phillip Brackett, the person who handled the Meridian account. No telling what the aftermath of that tete a tete would bring, but at least Frank would have my back. I also intended to gently beg Ruth again, hoping she would put me in touch of one of her people who was looking into Meridian’s activities, ideally the inside person.

  I called my dad and asked if he and Rita would be around sometime the next day. Turned out they had just returned from a quick trip to Bermuda to see friends from the Bluffs. Tom and Ginny Brown had the Bermuda house, a ski chalet, a villa in Malaga, Spain, and, of course, the McMansion at the Bluffs. To say ‘different world’ would be a gross understatement. Their jaunt explained why my stepmother hadn’t been nagging me day and night to see how the case was progressing. Dad invited me to lunch, I accepted and rang off.

  I changed out of my torn, stained tee shirt in favor of a clean, intact one and was just tying my sneaker laces when Charlie knocked at the door. Like me, he wore shorts and sneakers.

  “Ready?”

  With Herculean effort, he restrained Carter who was scratching my hall floor and pulling at the leash, no doubt having caught Beaky’s scent. She was nowhere to be seen and would likely remain invisible for several days after her near-death encounter with the horse dog.

  We waved to Frank as we passed the Tacoma. I was beginning to wonder when the poor man slept. An afternoon breeze tempered the sun’s heat as we set off, talking and throwing a tennis ball for Carter. When we reached the boat ramp at the far end of the spit, we sat on an edge of old pier and gazed out at the river.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” I said.

  “Yes.” I turned to find that he was not looking at the river. He brushed an errant strand of hair from my face, fingers lingering.

  I took hold of his hand, gently laying it at his side. “Listen, Charlie— “

  “There’s an attraction here, you feel it too. Don’t you?”

  “Yes, but I’m trying very hard to ignore it.”

  “Why?”

  “Self preservation.” I gazed into his blue eyes.

  “I shouldn’t say this, but Vinnie’s told me a bit about your past relationships.”

  “I’m sure he has,” I said, looking away, reminding myself that I would have to kill Vinnie very soon.

  “Don’t blame him, I asked. And asked and asked and asked. I wore him down.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s been a long time since I’ve met anyone I’m even remotely interested in, and I’m really interested in you.”

  “As I told you, I’m not very good at relationships.”

  “And who says I am?” He turned and took both my hands in his. “Don’t you think we owe it to ourselves to see where this might lead?”

  “I’m also sick of having my heart broken.”

  “Sounds like you’ve been with jerks.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Okay, listen, can we at least agree to be friends?”

  “We already are.”

  “Friends that see a lot of each other?”

  I laughed. “We do live in the same neighborhood. I’ve managed it with Vinnie so it could work.”

  His face fell.

  “Well, maybe not quite like Vinnie,” I added and leaned forward to kiss him.

  In seconds, my friendly kiss morphed into a deep, sensuous one with lots of tongue and heavy breathing. Fortunately, Carter spied a small dog and went berserk, or no telling where the kiss would have led. Charlie did a nose dive into the sand as I stood and stepped on the leash.

  Face beet red, Charlie scrambled to his feet. “Carter, sit!” he said to no avail. Carter was in the zone. The owner of the tiny white fluffy thing was hightailing it in the opposite direction, Fifi clutched to her breast.

  “Pain in the ass,” Charlie muttered, brushing sand from his face and clothes. When he looked up and saw me smiling, he said, “What do you say we ditch this wretched, untrained beast and have dinner at the Rainbow?”

  “Good plan,” I said as we headed back down the beach, veering off to his house, which was actually closer to the Rainbow than mine.

  We both opted for slightly healthier choices, salads and chowder, but did break down and share one chorizo roll between us. When we got back to my house, I said, “Want to come in?”

  “I’d love to, more than you know, but I’m catching a plane at three in the morning and I haven’t packed a thing. Raincheck?”

  “Where are you off to?”

  “Conference in Washington.”

  “For?”

  “For the World Health Organization.”

  “How long will you be gone?”

  “Till Thursday. I’m spending a couple of days with my sister Ellie. She lives in Alexandria.”

  “Will you miss me?” I said flippantly.”

  “Yes, I will,” he said, eyes serious. “Take care of yourself.”

  Before I knew what was happening, he had pulled me close. This kiss threatened to send me into a swoon. What will Frank think, I thought, as Charlie released me grinning.

  “Something to look forward to,” he said. “Until Thursday then. How about dinner Friday night
? My place?”

  “Can’t. My high school friends are coming for the weekend. Our annual summer sleepover.”

  “Okay, then how about Thursday night?”

  “Won’t you be too tired?”

  “Never. I get in at noon. What do you say, six thirty?” I nodded as he leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead. I love it when he does that.

  Chapter 22

  One of the more modest homes at the Bluffs, Rita and Dad’s place was still pretty spectacular. Not sure how they’ll fare in a hurricane, but on a warm summer day it was a lovely spot. We sat on the back terrace that led to a perfect green lawn stretching. My lawn never looked half this good, but I suspected that here in McMansionville, deadly chemicals were involved.

  “I’m sorry I don’t have better news, Rita,” I said, sipping my iced tea.

  “Poor Cassie will be devastated. She’s crazy about him and they were so happy together.”

  I decided it was not my place to tell her Josh’s version of their deteriorating relationship. “These things happen, I guess,” I said, nodding to Dad as he plunked a plate full of sandwiches on the table.

  “Help yourself, darling. There are plenty.”

  I selected two cucumber quarters and two that appeared to be avocado and bacon. “Rita, my work for you is completed and I really didn’t use the full retainer so I’d like to give you a refund.”

  She gave a listless wave of her hand. “I wouldn’t dream of it, especially when you had to go through the terrible ordeal of finding that roommate murdered. How horrible for you.”

  “Rita’s right,” Dad said. “You more than earned your advance. Please keep it.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “Is there anything else I can do? Did Cassie have things at the apartment? I could probably get them after the police release it to Josh.”

  “No, I don’t think so and even if she did, I’m sure she wouldn’t want them now. I’ll ask though.”

  My stepmother looked ready to launch into a full swoon, so I turned to Dad. “I saw Ruth Channing yesterday. She was asking about you.”

  “How did you find her, well, I hope?”

  “Same old Ruth, saving one child at a time.”