by Lynn Landes
“Mon nom est, Bronnah.” My name is Bronnah. She clutches her throat surprised that she can finally speak. Bronnah reaches for the girl's hand and pleads desperately, “Help me,” she whispered.
Aimee puts an arm around her waist and pulls her up to her feet. "Come." Bronnah stumbles to her feet and leans on the young woman as they stumble inside her shop.
Kai follows and closes the door locking it behind them. They stumble up a flight of stairs inside a private residence. “Kai what have you brought me this time?” Aimee wonders as she helps Bronnah into a chair and rushes to pour them a glass of water. Bronnah sits and shivers as she sips the water.
“Merci,” Bronnah whispered.
Kai steps in front of Bronnah and lifts her chin to look into her eyes. He smiles, “Kai go home, now. Safe here.”
Bronnah’s eyes fill with tears, “Thank you, Kai. How will I ever repay you?” He touches her cheek and turns to Aimee.
“Bad lady give her drops. Looking for her.”
Aimee stares at them and pushes back her long dark hair with a sigh. “I’ll do what I can.” Bronnah’s eyes are closing, she can’t fight the drugs any longer. “Come along, Bronnah. You’re safe here.”
Bronnah stumbles along and collapses in a bed. Aimee covers her with a blanket and stares at the young woman. She is stunning and dressed as a high dollar prostitute, but Aimee is sure that most prostitutes don’t speak multiple languages. She lifts an eyelid and notices the tiny pupil. Her speech is slurred, and she’s stumbling as if drunk. It can only be the drugs. “Sleep well, Bronnah. It is high time I paid my gift forward.”
Cassandra Rivers helped her once by giving her the money to open her own dress shop with a promise that she would pay it forward. Aimee traveled under a famous designer for a year until his advances became too much to stand. Aimee opened her dress shop in New York, and it has been thriving.
She hurries to gather some medical supplies. Kai has a special place in her heart. Aimee pays him to work as a runner. When he's older, she will hire him to help deliver her dresses. Kai is the oldest of four children, and his parents are struggling to survive. For now, she feeds him when she can and helps any he brings to her.
"Who is this bad lady, he keeps speaking of?" Aimee checks on Bronnah and finds her sweating and breathing hard. Her body is fighting to push the poison out, and Aimee wets a cloth and puts it on her brow. Tomorrow is Sunday, and the Dress shop will be closed, thankfully. It's the only day of the week she has off. Hopefully, she will get some answers from the young woman then.
Bronnah sleeps fitfully for two days. Her dreams are chaotic, cloudy images, blurred and terrifying. She’s frozen and mute, screaming for help inside a dark enclosed space. No one hears, and she wakes, covered in sweat, with tears streaming down her face. Each time, a cool hand, and calm voice presses her back down, soothing her. “You’re safe, now.”
On the evening of the third day, Bronnah wakes in a strange room. She sits up slowly and hears voices below her. Laughter and people talking. The room spins for a moment, and she waits for it to still. Still dressed in the clothes she ran away in, Bronnah stumbles to the dresser with a large mirror and gasps in horror at the image looking back at her.
“What has happened to you?” she murmurs. Her hair is a crazy mess of tangles and grease. Her face is smeared with old makeup, causing dark smudges under her eyes and red lipstick is spread across her cheek. Bronnah lifts a hand to smooth her hair and notices the bandage still on her wrist. Her hands begin to tremble as all the memories rush back in.
“It was real?”
The door opens, and Bronnah jumps in fear. A young woman with dark hair and chocolate eyes stares at her. "How are you feeling?" She moves towards Bronnah who steps away in terror. Aimee stops. "My name is Aimee Lancour, forgive me, Bronnah. You've been through a trauma. I only want to help."
“Aimee? I don’t know you, do I? Where’s Kai?” She demands, fearing for his safety.
"Kai is at home with his family. He will be by tomorrow, and no you don't know me. Kai brought you to me. We help each other from time to time. I own the Dress Shop below. These are my apartments. If you'd like, I have a private bathing room. You can get cleaned up and change, then fill me in over a light supper. How does that sound?"
Bronnah pushes two hands to her forehead and squeezes. “So many images, I can’t…” Aimee steps forward and pours a cup of water for her, but Bronnah no longer trusts so easily.
Aimee stares at her as understanding dawns. She sips the water first and then offers it once more. “I only want to help you.”
“Why?” Bronnah demands.
"Once, I made a promise that I would do the same for someone in need. You're in desperate need, the question is will you let me help you, Mon Amie?"
Bronnah smiles through unshed tears, “Yes, please.”
Aimee smiles and holds out a hand. "Let me show you to the bathing room." A large claw foot tub is waiting and looks like heaven to Bronnah. "You just pull this chord, and hot water will fill. This chord for cold water. I'll bring towels and soap. I took the liberty of bringing you a few dresses to try on. They're hanging in the closet behind this door. You should find all you need. Call if you need assistance."
She steps out leaving Bronnah to clean up. Bronnah pulls the pins from her hair and grabs a cloth to scrub the makeup from her face. The water basin is quickly full of muddy water. Once that's finished, she peels herself from the corset and tights. Kicking the offending garment from her body, she slowly peels the bandage off her wrist revealing the crusty, bloody scab. Bronnah pulls the chord to fill the tub as she studies the scab. "Why did they mark us like this?"
Climbing into the steaming hot tub, she sinks in with a hiss of relief. Bronnah soaks and weeps. She cries for the dreams she had that are now shattered and allows herself one moment to take it all in. When she begins to think of the girls who weren’t as lucky as her, her tears turn to fury.
"I promise they will pay," she hisses. The soap washes away the bloody mess on her wrist, and the mark stands out, resembling a black flower of some sort. She scrubs her hair clean and finally begins to feel normal.
Bronnah stands with water raining off her body and is determined to fight back. She towels dry and opens the closet to find three dresses hanging. They are stunning, simple and perfect for her, complete with underclothes. She chooses a midnight blue walking dress with a bustle and tight waist. Double rows of buttons down the bustier and three-quarter length sleeves.
The dress is a perfect complement to her eyes and hair color. Feeling somewhat normal she steps from the room. Aimee gasps when she turns and looked at her. “C’est Parfait!” It’s perfect!
“I love it. Thank you, Aimee, you are so kind. Did you make this?” Bronnah asked.
"I did. Let me help with your hair, and we can talk over some broth and biscuits." Bronnah moves to the window to look out over New York. The sun has set, and still the streets are busy and crowded. "Do you ever get used to the noise?" She wonders.
"You do. Now come tell me your story." Aimee gestures for her to sit at a small table and serves a cup of broth with a plate of biscuits. Bronnah sits and drinks the soup slowly. It hits her system and rushes through. She sighs with contentment and nibbles on a corner of the biscuit.
Glancing at Aimee, Bronnah starts to talk, telling her of the journey and the destination. Then she describes the girls she left behind and wipes her tears away, angrily.
“I have to help them, Aimee. I can’t leave them to such a fate.”
Aimee is horrified by such a tale, but she nods in understanding. “Of course, but first we must keep you hidden and safe. Perhaps we could notify the U.S. Marshalls office. I have heard good things about them. Describe the location and names of those involved.”
“No, they said a Marshall was paid off!” Bronnah replied, squeezing her head as the memories come into focus.
"The Chen are the law here. Above even, the local police. I'm not sur
e you would find much help from them anyway. Prostitution is a big commodity here, Bronnah. What else can you remember?"
"The woman's name was Rose Killian. They mentioned the Chen. I was chosen for a Mr. Chen. We were to be sent to Brigham City via a train called… Rivers Refrigerated cars. Something about new railcars."
Aimee is shocked silent. “I know that name, the Rivers. It can’t be! Cassie’s husband was a rancher…who was in town talking about railcars! Cassandra Rivers is a friend of mine.” She jumps up excitedly and runs into the next room and returns with a paper to write on.
Glancing at the clock, she sighs in frustration. "They're closed now, but first thing in the morning I will send a telegram to her. She will pass on the information and help us get you to safety. I'm sure of it!"
“Truly? I need to send one to my friend as well. I’m afraid to go to her directly, but I would like to send her a message, so she knows where I am.”
Bronnah dreams of women, running, screaming, and hands reaching for her, begging for help. She sits up and sits near the window to stare out into the dark, busy night.
Chapter 11
Eve knocks on the door at precisely eight a.m. the next morning. After a few moments, she gets no response. Trying the door, she finds it is locked. Digging through her small bag, she frowns as she pulls out her key and opens the door.
The silence is striking. No movement, no noise, nothing. “Rose?” she calls out stepping into the sitting room and closing the door behind her. Eve pulls her pistol and moves to the first bedroom. Both girls are beginning to stir, that’s not good. They should have been given another dose to keep them under control.
Moving to the second room, she shouts when she almost steps on another girl. Diane has fallen from the bed and crawled towards the door. Tears stream down her made-up face and her eyes fly open wide in horror when she recognizes Eve. The other bed is empty.
Surveying the room, she sees Rose on the floor resting in a pool of vomit. Eve rushes to her side and checks her pulse, "Still alive." Lifting her eyelid, she checks the pupils, tiny pinpoints. "Overdose!" She puts her gun away and turns to look at the girl on the floor.
Diane is sobbing now and crawling through the door, desperate to escape. “No, we can’t have that.” She helps Diane sit up and smacks her face to get her to calm down. “Shut up and listen to me. Where is the other girl?” She points the bed.
“I, I don’t know?” Eve sticks a knife under Diane’s chin and pushes as she screeches.
"Are you certain?" Diane nods her head quickly, and the movement causes sharp pain in her head.
“She was gone when I woke up,” she whispered. “Why are you doing this?”
Ignoring the question, she looked down at the sobbing girl. “Damn. Mr. Chen will not be happy about this. One of you will have to replace the other girl. That should buy me some time to find her.” Squatting down she grabs ahold of Diane’s hair and jerks her head back.
“You need to listen to me carefully, open your mouth or I will have to hurt you.” Eve’s dark eyes void of compassion. Diane shakes her head no, pushing back against the door of the room.
Eve slides her knife down her throat and over the top of the girls pushed up breasts. “So pretty, I’d hate to cut you here.” She sticks the point of the knife against the pink flesh and drags it down over the corset and lower. Diane inhales sharply and freezes. “Oh, you are starting to understand now,” Eve said as she trails the sharp knife up the lacy stocking of her leg. “Come on lovely, open up for me.”
Diane is shaking all over, but she feels too sick to fight back. She opens her pink lips and Eve grins. "That's right," releasing the girl's hair, she pulls out a small vial of liquid, "Soon, all of this will be just a nightmare." Two drops hit her tongue, and she gags before Eve releases her.
Thinking quickly, Eve leaves Diane on the floor and opens the door to the hallway. Snapping out orders in Chinese to a young girl.
A few moments later, they arrive. Eve’s helper. “Clean up Mrs. Killian.” Pointing to the other room, “One of you stay with them. When they stir, feed them two drops on their tongue. Don’t bother diluting it.”
Diane is sitting against the door weeping softly when Eve glances over at her. “Someone clean her up. They need to be on the train at noon. Don’t let them out of your sight or you will answer to Mr. Chen personally.”
"How far could one sick, Irish girl, possibly get," she mutters as she enters the elevator. "I will just replace the lost girl, and Mr. Chen will not know. Once I find her, she will be a bonus. Now to choose a replacement."
Later that night, after the girls are on the way to Brigham City, and the second batch has been dealt with, Eve returns to check on Mrs. Killian. “How is she?” She asks the young girl.
“Not good, she is incoherent. Talking about a book.” Eve nods and moves into the back bedroom to check on her.
Rose is leaning back in the bed, propped against the headboard and dozing fitfully. Her skin is grayed and wrinkled, and her hair is stringy and dirty around her shoulders. Eve snarls in disgust and starts to leave. “Took it… he helped her. Took it…” Rose rambles. Eve pauses and moves closer.
"Rose, can you hear me? It's Eve." Her head flops to the side, and she stares at Rose with a bit of drool leaking from the corner of her mouth. She opens her eyes and stares at Eve.
“Eve?” she mumbles.
“Yes, it’s Eve. Can you tell me what happened?” Eve sits on the side of the bed and listens.
“Took it…my book. He helped her.”
Panic flutters in Eve’s stomach as she listens carefully. “Who took your book?”
“Boy,” Rose clutches at Eve’s hand, “Begging boy, took her and my book!”
Eve leaps up from the bed. "The Asian boy that's always hanging around? Why would he help her?" She drops into the chair in the corner of the room, when she understands what Rose is rambling about. "Oh my God, they have the book."
Mr. Chen does not tolerate failure. Eve knows only too well what her fate will be if she doesn’t clean this up. He granted her all his resources to make sure this doesn’t happen again. One set of girls was enough of a loss. Glancing at Rose, she shakes her head and closes the door softly. “One of us has to fall, Rose.” She pulls out the small bottle of opium and glares at Rose with narrowed black eyes.
“She’s sleeping peacefully,” Eve lies to the young girl after she closes the door. “You may go now.” After she bows and leaves, Eve returns to her own room. “Tomorrow, I will find this girl and make her pay for all this trouble,” she snarls staring out into the night.
Chapter 12
A knock at the downstairs back door has them leaping to their feet. “Hide,” Aimee hisses and moves down the stairs to the back door. “Who is it?”
“Kai.” Aimee opens the door cautiously and lets him inside before quickly locking the door.
“I see the lady, now?” he asks, hopefully.
“Of course,” she leads the way upstairs and opens the door for him. He rushes inside and finds the room empty. Bronnah waits behind the bedroom door for Aimee to call her.
When she steps out from the behind the door, Kai smiles and rushes to take her hand. “Kai!” Bronnah clutches his hand and smiles.
“You… better,” he said.
“I’m well, thanks to you.”
“You must go now.” Kai stammers and releases her hand. “Bad lady looking for you.”
“Kai, what are you talking about?” Aimee asked.
Poppy lady dead. Bronnah releases his hand and sits down before her legs give out. He turns back to Bronnah. “You go now!”
“Kai, are you sure?”
Kai is nodding his head. “Bad lady, sleeping sickness, another bad lady. Chinese one. Sends for Chen. You took book. They are hunting for you.” Bronnah hisses, she had forgotten about the ledger.
"Yes! Kai, you're brilliant!" She shouts and jumps up to run to her room. She digs through the clothes and finds a bag o
f clothes and the leather-bound book inside of it. The cash and derringer are there as well. After counting out the cash, Bronnah is shocked to find a hundred and ten dollars. She takes out fifty dollars and rushes out with the money and the papers.
“Kai, I want you to take this.” She takes his hand and presses the money into it. “Aimee, look at these.” She gives her the book and is stunned when Kai throws his arms around her legs.
His little body is trembling with unexpressed emotion. “Thank you,” he whispers. Bronnah drops to her knees, no longer caring about the dress or propriety.
"Kai, I would be dead or wishing for death if you hadn't helped me. I wish I could give you more. You've saved my life more than once, and I'm afraid more is required. Will you help me one last time?" she asks.
“Anything.” His dirty face stares at her with awe.
"Ok. Come eat, and we will plan this out."
Aimee pours more soup with biscuits and stares at the child as he eats. “Kai, you said the Chen were hunting for Bronnah. What does that mean?”
“Eve lady works for Chen.” His dark eyes turn to stare hard at Bronnah. “Chen are bounty hunters. They hunt for you to take you back.” Kai scarfs down another biscuit. “Very good hunters. Much badder than Rose lady, you go tomorrow!” Kai insists.
“How? Won’t they be looking for me, and where will I go? I have no papers.” Bronnah is beginning to panic. “I can’t go back!”
Aimee clutches her hand. “Let’s all calm down. First, I have already sent a telegram to my friend. We will wait for a response. No one knows you’re here. In the meantime, we will buy a train ticket for you. Papers are not required here.”
“Kai, you need to stay away from us.” Bronnah takes his hand, “I won’t have you endangering yourself anymore.” Kai frowns and looked at Aimee.
“Chen come!” he yells. “You must go!”
“I know you mean well, but I have nowhere to go, Kai. I just need a few more days.” Bronnah gathers her book.
