Kang and I gave each other a look.
“I want to show you something.” I sat next to her on the couch and Googled the Chinese sports schools and found some video footage. “Does this look like the place you grew up in?”
I handed her the phone. She perked up as the video played. After a moment or so, she glanced up at me.
“It reminds me of my home, but I’m not from this place. I don’t recognize anyone there.”
“We think this place is like the place you are from.”
“Oh, okay. The teachers look very serious. Our teachers were serious too. And we all listened to them, just like the kids in the video.”
“What about the training?”
“Some of it is the same, some of it isn’t. I did a little acrobatic stuff, but not like what those girls are doing.”
“I see.”
“But the room they are practicing in reminds me of where I practiced.”
Xiaolian continued to voice comparisons with her home and what she saw on my phone. The more she spoke, the more convinced I became that we had been wrong about her.
“I can’t believe there are other children like me living in another place,” she said.
That final acknowledgement sealed the deal for me.
When the video ended, Xiaolian looked up at me. The enthusiasm she’d displayed earlier had vanished.
“Did you find my home? Are you sending me back?”
I motioned between me and Kang. “We’re not sending you anywhere. But there are others who want to send you back. And there are others who want to keep you at that facility. The good news is I think we might be able to have you released from there, for good.”
“And I can stay with you?”
“Perhaps. Let us concentrate on getting you released for now.”
She still seemed a little down. I gave her a hug and a peck on the top of her head. “You’re a special girl, Xiaolian, and special girls stay strong. Can you do that for me?”
“I can,” she said with confidence.
Kang and I left Xiaolian to her television program and headed back downstairs.
“Looks like she was raised in a sports school. That explains her skill set perfectly. No spy mystery there,” Kang said as we walked down the stairs.
“It does, but...” I held that last word.
“But what?”
“Xiaolian said something to me last night that doesn’t sit right with me, nor does it fit neatly into the sports-school idea.”
“What’s that?”
“She said she doesn’t understand why she was raised to be like me.”
“With Xiaolian, there are always unanswered questions. It could be as simple as her not knowing she was artificially created. What would be the advantage of telling her? She’s probably just as confused about it as you are.”
Kang left shortly after our talk with Xiaolian. He was eager to follow up with the lab to see if they’d discovered anything while processing Ellis’s vehicle. He appeared to be making progress with the abduction investigation, but the initial connection I had made with those abducted men and Xiaolian weakened after talking to her about the sports schools. Is this turning out to be another crime we solve that has nothing to do with Xiaolian? It wasn’t a bad thing; it just wasn’t the mystery I wanted most to solve.
Reilly still had no idea we were spending time working on the abductions, or being insubordinate, as he would have called it. Eventually I would have to clue him in on why we had gone rogue. It wasn’t a conversation I was eager to have. Putting it off seemed like a good idea.
Chapter Forty-Five
Kang was on his way back to the office when he received a call from the lab. There were prints all over the inside of the vehicle belonging to one person: Johnny Ellis. He had showed up to claim his car while it was being processed. The tech on site had him printed. Other than that, their investigation turned up nothing else.
With Ellis’s vehicle turning into a dead-end, Kang headed back to Playtime to see more of the CCTV footage. The bar was open for business when he arrived. A bunch of young men was inside drinking draft beer and cheering a San Francisco Giants baseball game airing on the television sets. They looked like students from the art school.
Kang walked over to the bartender. He was busy washing pint glasses. “I’d like to speak to Owen Townsend, please.”
“Who’s asking?” he asked with a bit of annoyance in his voice.
Kang held out his identification. “The FBI is asking.”
The bartender’s posturing stopped instantly. He apologized and disappeared behind the double swinging doors leading into the kitchen. It was about a minute before both men appeared.
“Agent Kang, you’re back. How can I help you?”
“I’d like to take another look at the footage from outside the bar, if it’s all right with you.”
Townsend didn’t hesitate. “Not a problem.”
Kang followed him back to his office and waited for him to cue up the footage.
“Is there something specific you’re looking for?” Townsend asked.
“Toward the end, when he walks out of frame, it looks as if he actually didn’t. Fast forward a bit, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.”
Just before Ellis exited the frame, Townsend slowed the video to half speed.
“Right there, pause it.” Kang said. “Those are his feet. See it?”
Townsend squinted. “Yeah, it looks like he stopped. Must be at the curb of the next street over.”
“Now advance the footage slowly. It looks like someone appears next to him.”
Townsend did what Kang asked, and sure enough, a pair of shoes appeared. It was a lot easier to see on the desktop.
“You’ve got a sharp eye. Don’t know why we didn’t pick up on it the first time.”
“Keep forwarding slowly,” Kang said.
Townsend did as instructed, and both pairs of shoes disappeared at the same time.
“Looks like they left together. Maybe another student from the school saw him outside.”
“Maybe.”
Townsend tapped a few keys. “I’ll email you a higher resolution this time.”
Kang thanked Townsend and left the bar. As he sat in the front seat of the SUV, he dialed the number for Ellis’s cell phone. A woman answered.
“Hello. This is Agent Kang with the FBI. Am I speaking to Mrs. Ellis?”
“This is she. Is something wrong?”
“I have more questions I’d like to ask Mr. Ellis. I can swing by the house if that’s convenient.”
“Well, I don’t know what help he’ll be. His memory hasn’t fully returned. He remembers who I am. Can’t say the same for the dog.”
“Mrs. Ellis, were you at all concerned when your husband didn’t return last night?”
“I wasn’t. I figured he was with one of those young whores he keeps in the city.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“It’s not like it’s a secret. Johnny’s always been a playboy. I knew this before I married him. Sadly, his promise to change his ways lasted a single month, that son-of-a-bitch. You know the reason he won’t divorce me is because he’s afraid I’ll take everything he’s got.”
“Yes, well, I, ah… I’m heading your way now. I’ll see you in about forty-five minutes.”
Kang arrived a little later than he’d expected, but Mrs. Ellis didn’t seem bothered when she met him at her front door.
“I thought I would be here sooner. I apologize, Mrs. Ellis,” Kang said.
She dismissed the formalities with a flick of her wrist. “Please, call me Helen. Come inside.”
The couple lived in a large, two-story, colonial-style home, complete with shuttered windows, dormers, columns, and chimneys. Clean, white palettes dominated the décor inside the home. There were pieces of art hanging on the wall, but the spaces weren’t overly cluttered. “Pleasantly open” would describe the place.
�
�He’s in his study,” Helen said, looking back at Kang as she led him through a sitting room. “He’s been in there all day, drawing.” She stopped. “I’m sorry. I’ve forgotten my manners. Would you like something to drink?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
They continued to the rear of the home, down a hallway lined with dark oak flooring. As they approached an open doorway, Helen called out, “Johnny, Agent Kang is here to see you.”
Helen stopped at the entranceway and motioned for Kang to go ahead of her. Inside, he saw Ellis sitting at a drafting table with his back to them. He was hunched over a large piece of paper and drawing with charcoal.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Helen said before leaving.
Kang nodded as he waited for some acknowledgement from Ellis. There was none.
“Mr. Ellis. It’s Agent Kang. We spoke this morning at the station.”
Still nothing. Kang walked over to him and tapped his shoulder.
Ellis looked up. “Yes, can I help you?”
“Do you remember me?”
“Yes, of course. What do you want?”
Kang let out a breath as he removed his cell phone from his jacket. He cued up the footage and showed it to Ellis. “This is CCTV video of you leaving the bar last night. Do you remember walking outside?”
He shrugged. “Like I said earlier, I remember random images. A sidewalk was one of them.”
Kang paused the video. “You see this? These are your shoes. You appear to have stopped at the curb of the next street over, only there are no traffic lights there. So, really no reason to stop.”
“If you say so.”
Kang forwarded the footage a few frames. “Look here, this is another pair of shoes next to you. Someone was with you.” He allowed the footage to play on. “It appears you both leave the curb at the same time. Do you remember someone next to you? What he or she looked like? Any distinguishing markings, or something about their clothing come to mind?”
Ellis looked back at the drafting board and fondled the piece of charcoal with his blackened fingers. He had been drawing what looked to be some sort of outer-space mercenary character. It had a face like a bullfrog's, and a bulbous body covered in scaly skin, with muscles rippling underneath. He shook his head in frustration. “I can’t make sense of it, man.”
“How about making a list of the images you do remember? That might be helpful.”
Townsend began scribbling words on the piece of paper he had been sketching on.
Sidewalk
Street
Car
Stop Sign
Moon
Sky
Man/Men
Kang stopped him. “So you remember seeing someone. Was it a man standing next to you?”
“I’m not sure. It’s like I can see a face, but when I try to focus on it, I lose the image. I can’t even make out where it is. Outdoors or indoors. It’s like a void of black all around it.”
Kang prompted Ellis to continue with his list.
Mask
Bright Lights
Alcohol
“Wait—when you say ‘mask,’ do you mean like a Halloween mask?”
“I’m talking about a surgical mask. At least I think that’s what it is. I just see an object covering the face. It could be something else.”
“And alcohol is liquor? You saw bottles?”
“Actually this is a smell. Rubbing alcohol, I think.” Ellis stared at the paper but wrote nothing more. “The rest of the images are too brief for me to make out what they are. I’m sorry; this is all I have. Does it help?”
“All information is relevant until we can rule otherwise. So, yes, it helps. Anything else?”
Ellis shook his head and let out a defeated breath.
“Keep writing the images down as they become clear to you. I’ll check back in a few days.”
Kang was halfway down the hall when Ellis called out his name. He poked his head back into the room. “Did you remember something else?”
“I did. Cerberus.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Later that evening at the Shi household, Connie was busy preparing dinner. It was taco night. Her two boys, Colin and Merrick, were playing video games on their PlayStation. Her daughter, Hailey, was sitting on a stool next to the kitchen island, reading on her Kindle.
“Hailey, will you do Mommy a favor and set the table?”
“What about Colin and Merrick? Why can’t they help?”
“They will. They have no idea they have cleanup duties tonight.” She winked at Hailey while placing a finger against her lips.
Connie stirred the crumbled hamburger in the skillet for a few more seconds before transferring it to a serving bowl. She had already diced the tomatoes and onions. Hailey had helped earlier by shredding the lettuce. Connie couldn’t be bothered with shredding a block of cheddar cheese and always bought the packaged variety.
Normally they ate dinner around six; Albert was usually home in time. He was running late, but so was dinner. By the time the food hit the table and the boys were pulled away from the television set, Albert had parked in the driveway.
“Daddy’s home,” Hailey sang out.
She rushed toward the front door and escorted him back to the dining room.
“How was your day?” Albert asked her.
“It was fine. We had a test in math class today, but I’m confident I did well because I studied a lot yesterday.”
“That’s my girl.”
“Hi, Dad,” Colin and Merrick said in unison.
Albert gave his wife a kiss before sitting at the head of the table. They proceeded to have a stereotypical American dinner. Connie and Albert had long ago learned to play the role perfectly.
After cleanup, the children had homework to finish and retired to their rooms. Connie and Albert sat at the island in the kitchen, opposite each other. They were drinking black coffee.
“I got a good look at the girl today,” Connie said. “Abby brought her with her when she dropped Ryan and Lucy off at school—passed her off as a cousin.”
“What was she like?”
“Freaky.”
Albert scrunched his eyebrows as he sipped his coffee.
Connie added, “She looks exactly like Abby. They even have the same eye color.”
“Really?”
“I’m not exaggerating. It’s like she could be her daughter, or if she were older, her twin.”
“I wonder why that was never mentioned to us.”
“I’m sure it has something to do with why so much effort is being invested in retrieving her.”
“Maybe they are related.”
“Be that as it may, why activate us for something that seems so miniscule? I always thought that, when the time came for us to be involved, it would be for something much greater, much more important.”
Albert pushed his empty cup off to the side and rested both forearms on the island countertop. “We’re not here to question our orders.”
“I realize that, but don’t tell me you aren’t the least bit curious as to why we were chosen for this low-level snatch-and-grab. Our training is well above this. Anyone, really, could have grabbed the girl.” Connie held up a finger, stopping her husband from speaking. “And, no, I don’t think Abby is a threat or that her being an FBI agent is cause for concern.”
“Are you finished?”
“Sure.”
“Has it ever occurred to you that the reasoning could be as simple as the fact that we’re Chinese and so is the girl?”
“You don’t need to be Chinese to grab the girl.”
“We’ve done more than that; we’ve earned the agent’s trust. You, primarily. Surely, Agent Kane and the US government don’t think Xiaolian is just some Chinese girl. They’ve detained her in a secured, secret facility. Let’s not forget that.”
Connie hooked a few strands of hair behind her ear. “What is it that makes her so special?”
“I’m not sure. Whatev
er it is, it seems important.”
“I just wish we knew. It’s eating at me.”
Albert grabbed Connie’s hand and squeezed it gently. “Forget about that. Our mission is to grab the girl and deliver her without blowing our cover. All of this,” Albert motioned around him, “disappears if we don’t accomplish that, so stop minimizing our role here.”
“You’re right.”
“Were you able to catch them talking at home?” Albert asked.
“No. Abby and the girl went for a run, and then they spent time at that small park on Hyde Street. When they returned to the house, her partner, Agent Kang, was already there. I was able to pick up a conversation with the three of them. Abby questioned the girl about her upbringing. They think she’s either an orphan or attended a Chinese sports school.”
“Why would they think that?” Albert frowned.
“That girl isn’t normal. She kept up with Abby during that entire run. They even ran up Union Street to Hyde. So she’s had some sort of training. I think they showed her a video of one of the schools. Xiaolian made a lot of comparisons with the place she is from.”
“Hmmm, interesting.” Albert scratched his chin. “So it seems as though Abby isn’t leaving her alone with Po Po during the day. A day grab won’t work. What about the school?”
“She drops both of her kids off but picks up only Lucy in the afternoon. Colin and Ryan go to the dojo together.”
“Can you get to Lucy? Does she wait alone?”
“No, she’s always with one or two other girls.”
“What about the crowd of parents? Can that be used to our advantage?”
Connie thought for a bit. “The problem is separating the girl from Abby. Plus, today is Friday. We’ll lose two days waiting for Monday. And isn’t that the day she’s supposed to take the girl back anyway?”
“You’re right.” Albert drummed the countertop with his thumb. “I’ve got it. Tomorrow we’ll invite them over, make a day of it. We’ll make pizzas, the kids can swim, and we’ll have a treasure hunt for the kids. We’ll hide fake gold coins around the property, and the kid who finds the most wins a prize. Think about it. The property is big enough, and there are a lot of blind spots. It’s an opportunity to get the girl alone.”
The Curator: SG Trilogy Book 2 (Abby Kane FBI Thriller 8) Page 17
