“Sure, just be careful. Put the light on.”
Penelope eased open the door and started down the stairs, flipping on the light switch right inside the door. The air was slightly damp, but not unpleasant, and the earthy smell of the basement grew stronger the farther down she went. The wooden stairs groaned under her feet, until she stepped onto the concrete floor at the bottom.
The walls were lined with shelves where Mrs. Sotheby had placed several sets of mason jars containing pickles, tomatoes, and some preserves. A new-looking washer and dryer set was pushed up against the far wall, and a few pieces of laundry tossed in a wicker basket sat on top. Penelope’s saw there were four stone steps leading up to the storm doors out onto the patio.
Penelope climbed back up the wooden stairs to the kitchen. “Mrs. Sotheby, have you ever seen anyone come in or out of those storm doors in the courtyard next door?”
Mrs. Sotheby thought for a moment, rubbing her chin thoughtfully with one finger. “I haven’t, now that you mention it. It’s always locked, which isn’t unusual in the city. You don’t want people getting into your house through the basement doors.”
“Right,” Penelope said. “That makes sense.” She thought about the photos Arlena had found and about the plastic plates and cups Sinay had been washing in the sink. “Excuse me for a minute. I’m going to step out and make a call.”
Mrs. Sotheby nodded. Her oven timer went off again and she rotated the cookie sheets in the oven.
Penelope walked down Mrs. Sotheby’s front stoop and over to the edge of the courtyard. The laundry cart was still outside, but it was otherwise deserted.
“Gomez,” Officer Gomez answered crisply.
“It’s Penelope. I’m at Christian’s place. Actually, I’m next door visiting Mrs. Sotheby. Are you close by?”
“Kind of. I’m in the neighborhood.”
“I have an idea of what might be going on at the agency, but I’m not sure what to do.”
“What are you talking about?” Officer Gomez asked, her voice wary.
“I think the modeling agency is a front for something else. I think they may be trafficking young girls out of there, and that they’re keeping them down in the basement.”
“What?” Officer Gomez said sharply. “What did you see? Do you have any proof?”
“I didn’t actually see anything. It’s just a theory, but it might explain some photos of the young girls Arlena found in Joyce’s office. I met Joyce’s house girl, or whatever she is, who is also very young. She was washing a bunch of plates and cups the other day. I didn’t think about it at the time, but Mrs. Alves had been travelling, and it was a lot of dishes for just one person to use, even for the whole weekend. The door leading down to the basement is locked from the outside, and the storm doors are padlocked.”
Officer Gomez sighed. “Let’s say your theory is correct. I can’t do anything about it unless I have a complaint or a warrant to search the property, which I don’t have and won’t get without solid evidence.”
“But Mrs. Sotheby complains about the house all the time,” Penelope said.
“Has she seen anyone taking underage girls in or out of the basement?”
“No. But maybe they do it late at night so the neighbors don’t see.”
“I got pulled aside by my captain today. Joyce Alves called in on us again, said we were at her property harassing her. It’s a lie, but she’s got some kind of pull in the department.”
Penelope considered that for a moment. “It would make sense for her to have some kind of protection from inside the police department. Maybe she pays to get people to look the other way?”
“You’ve been watching too many movies, Penelope.”
“Look,” Penelope said. “You know a lot more than me about the law, but I know there’s something wrong going on in that house.”
“Maybe. But that doesn’t get me anywhere. I need some proof. You haven’t seen anything or told me anything I can use.”
“Let me see what else I can find out and call you back.”
“Penelope, don’t get yourself into trouble. I don’t want you getting hurt again.”
“Gotta go,” Penelope said and hurriedly hung up. Sinay had come back out the side door to retrieve the laundry cart. She looked around cautiously and rolled it towards the sidewalk.
Penelope followed her at a distance as she walked towards the avenue, wheeling the cart along the bumpy sidewalk. She parked it outside the bodega and went inside, Penelope following her in a few seconds later.
The small convenience store smelled like coffee and cold cuts, and Middle Eastern music was playing from somewhere in the back. Penelope walked down the first aisle and grabbed a bottle of ibuprofen while casually scanning the store for Sinay. She finally spotted her in the back in front of the beverage coolers. The young man she had seen in the courtyard was with her again. They were whispering to each other in the corner.
“Hi, Sinay,” Penelope said, walking towards them.
The young man turned away quickly and walked towards the front of the store.
Sinay looked at her, a worried expression on her face. “What are you doing here?”
Penelope held up the bottle of pain medicine. “Just needed these. I was visiting your neighbor.” She glanced towards the front counter and saw the boy had taken the spot behind the register, ringing up a man who had stopped in for a pack of cigarettes. “Is he your boyfriend?”
Sinay blushed and looked at her shoes. “Yes,” she said in a small voice. “Please don’t tell Miss Joyce.” She looked up into Penelope’s eyes. “I’m not allowed.”
“I won’t say anything,” Penelope assured her. “Sinay, have you been down in the basement at Miss Joyce’s?”
She looked down at the floor again and nodded her head.
“Sinay, what’s in the basement?”
“That’s where we stay, it’s our room,” she whispered.
“Who stays down there?” Penelope asked quietly.
“Just the girls who come and stay for a while until they get work.”
“But you went upstairs yesterday to lie down,” Penelope said softly. “Your room isn’t upstairs?”
“Sometimes Miss Joyce lets me take naps upstairs on a cot if I get all my work done.”
“Can I help you, ma’am?” The young man approached them and pulled Sinay by the arm to stand behind him. “Are you having trouble finding something?”
“No,” Penelope said, looking around his shoulder at Sinay. When he moved to completely block her from view, Penelope looked up into his face. He was sweating profusely, the neck of his shirt and armpits damp despite the cool weather. “Are you okay? You look ill.”
He gave her an angry glance. “I think you should leave. Sinay doesn’t want to talk to anyone.”
Penelope tried again to look around him at Sinay, but he took a step closer and blocked her again.
“Excuse me, but she can answer for herself. Sinay?” Penelope put her hand on his upper arm to gently push him aside. She felt something under his sleeve and pressed harder. It was a bandage wrapped tightly around his bicep. She looked down, saw red tennis shoes, then looked back up at his sweaty face.
He held her stare for a second, then turned and bolted towards the door, knocking over a few bags of potato chips from the nearby shelf.
“Adir!” Sinay shouted as he ran.
Penelope took off after him, skidding out of the doorway and heading right. She chased him down the avenue as he ducked around a few people on the sidewalk.
“Stop! Adir!” Penelope shouted as she ran. She kept her injured wrist tight against her body so as not to bump it or catch it on anything. It began to throb with each step, but she pressed on, keeping his head in sight as she ran.
A police siren blipped behind her and a familiar voice came over the loudsp
eaker. “Police! Stop!” Officer Gomez sped past Penelope and turned the next corner, cutting Adir off. He pulled up and stopped, putting his hands on his knees for a second, then collapsing onto the sidewalk. Penelope ran up behind him just as Officer Gomez emerged from the car and walked towards them from the opposite direction. They stood over Adir, who panted loudly and held his bandaged bicep with his opposite hand, writhing in pain on the sidewalk.
“Who is this?” Officer Gomez asked as she knelt down to get a better look at his face.
“This is Adir, boyfriend of Joyce Alves’s housekeeper, Sinay. He works in the bodega,” Penelope said, regaining her normal breathing. Her head and wrist ached in protest.
“And why were you chasing him?” Officer Gomez asked, a confused expression on her face.
“He’s the one who pushed me out the door the other night. He’s the one Joey shot.”
Chapter 31
Officer Gomez stood at the counter of the bodega talking to Adir’s uncle, the store’s owner. Penelope, Adir, and Sinay watched them through the doorway of the stockroom, picking up on a few words here and there. They had pulled Sinay’s laundry cart inside and shut the door, flipping the sign to CLOSED.
“Why did you run from me?” Penelope asked Adir.
He sat on a tall stool, holding his injured arm and rocking back and forth slightly. Sinay watched him with quiet alarm, clearly overwhelmed by everything that was happening. His face was pale, his brown skin taking on a greenish hue under his eyes.
“I don’t have to say anything to you.” He sneered. “You’re just another rich housewife who thinks it’s okay to purchase children to clean your mansion. You make me sick.”
“Adir,” Sinay said, but he raised his hand to silence her.
“Is that what’s happening at your house, Sinay?” Penelope asked.
Sinay nodded, keeping her eyes on Adir.
“If Miss Joyce is mistreating girls, then we can do something about it,” Penelope said, glancing back at Officer Gomez. She was nodding at Adir’s uncle as he spoke, her hands perched on her police belt. “Officer Gomez has suspected something’s going on at the house for a while now. Why haven’t you gone to the police?”
Sinay stared at the floor and pulled her sweater sleeves up slowly, revealing the welts Penelope had noticed when Sinay was washing the dishes. “Miss Joyce said I was gone too long one time and she did this to me. Said it would be worse for me if I ever told on her.”
Penelope gazed at the rash and went to touch it. Sinay pulled her arm away at first, but then held it up for Penelope to see. It looked better than it had the day before, but was still red and irritated. “What did she do?”
“Drain cleaner. She made me keep it there for five minutes, because I was five minutes late.” Sinay trailed off and her eyes glassed over with tears.
Penelope fought back her own tears, fueled more by anger than pain. She put her arm around Sinay’s stiff shoulders, hugging her gently. “Did you see a doctor about this?”
Sinay shook her head.
“You see? That woman is the devil,” Adir said, spitting his words.
Officer Gomez stepped inside the stock room and looked at the three of them. “Okay. You want to tell me what is going on here?” She glanced at his arm.
Adir glared at her for a second, then shrugged. “I don’t have to.”
“You appear injured. Your uncle says you’ve been sick but refuse to go to the doctor. Did you get shot the other night while fleeing a crime scene?” Officer Gomez’s radio sputtered on her waist and she reached down to mute it.
“Adir, I think this lady wants to help us,” Sinay said, looking at Penelope.
“Help us?” Adir scoffed. “Yes, she will help us go to jail.”
“What were you doing at Christian’s the night he was killed? Did you go there and shoot him because he was hurting Sinay?” Penelope asked.
Sinay shook her head furiously. “No, Mr. Christian didn’t hurt me. He was very nice to me.”
“What were you doing in his apartment, then, Adir?” Penelope asked, glancing at Officer Gomez.
Adir stared at them silently, but Penelope felt he was considering his options.
“Fine. If you’re not going to tell me, I’ll place you under arrest. We’ll sort it out with the detectives back at the station,” Officer Gomez said, unhooking her handcuffs from her belt.
“Wait,” Sinay said. “Please don’t. It’s my fault. I don’t want Adir to get into trouble.”
“Sinay, don’t,” Adir warned, his face softening as he looked into her eyes.
“Adir, we’re going to trust her,” she said.
She slipped out of the door of the stockroom and over to her laundry cart, pulling a few bags of dirty clothes off of it and digging out a shoebox underneath. She came back to the stockroom and handed it to Penelope.
“What’s this?” Penelope asked, pulling off the lid.
“This was in Miss Joyce’s suitcase. I unpacked it when she got back from her trip. She’s planning on bringing over a new group of girls from Venezuela, where she got me.”
“How do you know this?” Penelope asked.
“Look at the pictures,” Sinay said.
Penelope pulled a stack of Polaroids from the box.
“That’s my sister,” Sinay said quietly.
“How does she bring them over here without anyone asking questions?” Penelope asked.
Sinay reached into the box and pulled out a document, holding it up for Penelope to see. It looked like a handwritten invoice, but it listed descriptions for five girls, including names and ages. For each girl there was what looked like an adoption agreement, signed by Joyce Alves.
“What is all of this?” Officer Gomez asked, stepping closer to look at the papers. Penelope filled Officer Gomez in on what she had found out and her trip down to Mrs. Sotheby’s basement.
“It looks like she’s pretending to adopt these girls,” Penelope said.
“But when they get here, she sells them as servants to wealthy clients,” Adir said. “They pay a fee and then they get a nanny or a housekeeper. They treat the girls like slaves.”
Penelope’s stomach did a slow turn. She thought about the burns on Sinay’s arms and turned to Officer Gomez. “There, you have proof now. Call for backup and arrest her.”
Officer Gomez thought for a second then asked Sinay, “Is there anyone being held in the basement right now?”
Sinay shook her head sadly. “She found work for the last girl yesterday. But she told me to clean the basement, wash the towels and sheets.” She nodded towards the laundry cart. “The new girls on that list are supposed to arrive tonight. Please, you can’t let her hurt my sister.”
Officer Gomez sighed. “This is good. With this it’s possible I can get a warrant to search the house, hopefully find more evidence.”
“What else do you need to arrest her?” Penelope said, pointing at the paperwork.
“This is a start, but to really make the best case against her, make sure she doesn’t walk out the next day for something minor like assault, it would be better to catch her with a victim or making a transaction. She’s abused Sinay, but if she’s really adopting and selling off young girls, I want to have iron clad proof of that when I arrest her.”
“How do the clients know to get the girls from Miss Joyce?” Penelope asked.
“I don’t know how they find out. Probably from each other, by word of mouth,” Sinay said. “But I know they use a system. Miss Joyce calls them her Blue Card Clients. If they mention they got a blue card from someone, she’ll know one of her clients referred them to purchase a girl.”
Penelope looked back down at the names of the girls on the paper.
“Denise, what if I go in there and pretend to buy a girl for Arlena? Joyce knows I’m on her staff. I’ll say we need he
lp around the house.” She looked hopefully at Officer Gomez.
“That’s pretty risky. We should call this in and have the detectives send over an undercover unit to do that.”
“Gomez,” Penelope said. “You’ve suspected this woman of doing something illegal for a long time, but no one believed you. You’re the one who said someone in your department might be protecting her. We can’t let anyone else fall victim to Joyce Alves because someone is tipping her off.”
Officer Gomez looked at her. “Even if that’s true, I can’t send a civilian into a dangerous situation.”
“Pretend I didn’t say anything, then. I’m just going to talk to her, like I did before,” Penelope said quickly. “Joyce is by herself in the house now that Christian is gone. She’s met me with Arlena already…she’s going to trust me more than someone she’s never met before.”
“Still, I don’t think—” Officer Gomez began.
“I have a better chance at not making her suspicious, Denise,” Penelope insisted.
“I would like to take her down,” Officer Gomez said warily. “I can’t stop you from talking to her, obviously. I also can’t endorse you doing it either. I’m advising you not to do it.”
Penelope’s shoulders caved and she shook her head.
“But if I was going to talk to her,” Officer Gomez said, looking away from Penelope, “I’d bring up the subject of getting a house girl, but I wouldn’t get in her face about it. And I’d get out of there immediately if I felt at all threatened.”
“I will, I promise,” Penelope said, relieved.
“I didn’t hear that,” Officer Gomez said. “But I’ll be waiting outside, taking my break.”
Sinay hugged Penelope, which took her by surprise.
Penelope looked at Adir and said, “You still haven’t said why you were in Christian’s apartment the night he was murdered.”
“We’re running away,” Adir said. “We knew he had cash and drugs up there, and we could use all of that money to escape.”
MURDER ON A DESIGNER DIET Page 15
