Sinner or Saint

by Brenda Donelan

  “I got to know him through Ma and Da when he would stop by to get payments for his loan, but I actually knew him before that. His little sister and I were mates back in school. Not good friends, mind you, but we knew each other. He was from the neighborhood, and everyone knew he was bad news.”

  “You told me that at first he approached you about dancing in his strip club to pay off your parents’ debt, but then you agreed on smuggling the antique pipe here. You said you didn’t want to perform at the club, but I’ve been wondering if you actually did dance there.” Marlee let her comments hang in the air as Kelsey thought about her response.

  A tear rolled down the young Irish woman’s face, the memories of her past not that far behind her. “I did. I took off my clothes there on two nights, and then I couldn’t do it any longer. Ian was furious with me and said he had pictures of me he would show all around Dublin.”

  “Is he the one who started you on Oxy?” Marlee asked.

  “He was. I used marijuana, of course, before that. Everyone does. Then he gave me some Oxy before I danced at his club that first night. I felt like I could do anything. The feeling was so intense that I couldn’t stop. And when the pills wore off, I felt awful, like I had a bad hangover and the flu at the same time. Ian knew he could get me hooked and then I’d do whatever he wanted, and he was right. Ever since I got mixed up with him, my life has been nothing been a tangled-up mess,” Kelsey said.

  “Why did you get involved with your parents’ debt problems anyway?” Marlee asked.

  “Because my Da encouraged me to talk sense into Ian. When that didn’t work, Da pushed me to dance in the strip club to pay off the debt,” Kelsey said, wiping away her tears with the sleeve of her sweater.

  I was so annoyed when one of my foster fathers made me help him with his fix-it business. Guess I owe him a debt of gratitude for showing me how to open sticky windows. It’s time to up my game.

  Chapter 18

  “Your dad forced you to be a stripper?” Marlee tilted her head toward Kelsey, not sure that she’d heard correctly.

  “Well, yeah. More or less,” Kelsey said.

  “Had he ever asked you to do anything like this before?” Bridget asked, not really believing any decent father would push his daughter to take off her clothes in front of strangers to pay off his debt.

  “No, they always paid off their debts before, so this was the first time they’d fallen into trouble.”

  “Was it a regular thing for them to get into financial trouble and then seek out a loan shark?” Marlee asked, realizing this story was morphing into something different from what Kelsey initially told her.

  “I wouldn’t say it was regular, but it had happened before. Since the economy went in the toilet, they’ve had a hard time paying their bills and keeping the B&B open.” Kelsey went to the kitchen and returned with another glass of wine. “Last one, I promise,” she said looking at Marlee’s disapproving face.

  Tomorrow, Marlee would hide the remaining bottles of wine in the basement. She’d asked the underage Kelsey not to drink, but the Irish visitor had seen fit to ignore Marlee’s wishes. The beer in the fridge wouldn’t be a problem because if Marlee and her cousin put their minds to it, there wouldn’t be any left after tonight. If Kelsey couldn’t get her hands on pain killers, then she’d continue to use alcohol.

  Marlee rose and came back with two beers for herself and Bridget. “Drink up!” she said, looking directly at Bridget, intentionally avoiding looking at Kelsey, lest the teenager think she was included.

  “So, after your dad asked you to strip to pay off the debt, you agreed?” Bridget asked.

  “Not at first, but eventually, I did it. Ian took photos on his mobile and later on, told me when I tried to quit that he’d put them on Instagram for all my friends to see. I couldn’t let that happen, but there was no way I could continue stripping. He finally said I could pay off the debt by bringing the antique pipe here to Elmwood,” Kelsey said, gulping down more wine.

  “Take it easy on the alcohol,” Marlee chastised, no longer able to hold her tongue. “You’re going to be drunk off your ass if you don’t slow down.”

  “Maybe we should have some food,” suggested Bridget. “I’ll order pizza.” She dug her cell from the back pocket of her jeans and scrolled down the menu to their favorite pizza place.

  An hour later, the single medium pizza was gone, and they were all wondering what else there was to eat in the house. When the doorbell rang, Marlee was surprised to find Hector on her doorstep holding a twelve-pack of beer and a greasy bag of fast food burgers. “Thought you might be ready to discuss the case,” he said with a smile, inching his way past her and throwing his coat over the arm of the couch. He kicked off his boots and made his way into the dining room, giving Bridget and Kelsey a hearty greeting.

  Marlee frowned, following him to the table and sitting back in her place. “I wasn’t expecting you to come over tonight.”

  The raised eyebrows told her that he’d picked up on her curt tone, but he didn’t offer an explanation or an apology. “Here, have some food.” He emptied the sack out on the table and pushed a burger in front of each of them. Bridget, a sensible eater, hadn’t ordered nearly enough pizza, so Marlee and Kelsey were still hungry.

  After the burgers were devoured, Kelsey stood and pushed her chair toward the table. “Sorry I have to put an end to the fun, but I’m really tired and need to have a lie-down. I’ll see you tomorrow. And thank you for bringing the hamburgers,” she said to Hector.

  Marlee turned on the television and turned it to a music channel, settling on classic rock, which now meant songs that were popular when she was Kelsey’s age. Bridget looked at her questioningly as the bass and screaming guitar thrummed through the house. She gestured toward Kelsey’s room. “She’s going to listen in to see what Hector found out,” Marlee whispered.

  “Why didn’t she just stay at the table and hear first-hand instead of eavesdropping?” Bridget enquired.

  “Because she isn’t sure what he knows and needs some time to formulate her answers. She wants to get her story straight without all three of us grilling her at the same time and tripping her up,” Marlee said, and Hector nodded. She updated him on her conversation with the sergeant at the Garda, including his suspicions of Ian O’Sullivan. Then the McCabe cousins filled Hector in on Kelsey’s latest claim of her father forcing her to perform in Ian’s strip club.

  “If she’d been telling the truth, the whole truth, there wouldn’t be any reason to leave,” Hector said, shaking his head in disbelief. “It’s not even 9:00 o’clock, and someone her age doesn’t usually go to bed so early.”

  Bridget nodded, understanding that Kelsey was still attempting to control the narrative. “So, what did you find out, Hector?”

  “My friend put me in touch with a guy he knows who lives near the Rafferty B&B and is familiar with Ian O’Sullivan. This guy, Tom Laughlin, said the Raffertys are in deep with O’Sullivan. They keep taking out loans they can’t repay, and then he gets them to help him carry out some illegal business. They’ve harbored drug dealers when the cops were looking for them and helped launder money through the B&B.”

  “Oh, my god! I never would’ve thought that of them. They seemed like such nice, regular people,” Marlee said, shaking her head.

  “Sounds like they were nice, regular type folks who got in a tight spot financially and then found themselves doing all sorts of things to keep out of the poor house. How’d you end up staying at their B&B last month?” Hector asked.

  “I found them on the Internet. They had several five-star ratings on a couple different hotel sites. Plus, they were located near the River Liffey, so I could go for long walks when it wasn’t raining. The main reason was they were in the center of Dublin. I could get anywhere I needed to go without much hassle. Oh, and they were much more reasonably priced than any other B&B in the downtown area.”

  “Laughlin didn’t know if their business was doing any worse
than any other B&B in Dublin or if the Raffertys are just poor money managers. He said it wasn’t unusual for people in the neighborhood to turn to Ian and his ilk when they had money shortages,” Hector said.

  “I still don’t understand why they just didn’t get a traditional loan at a bank,” Bridget commented. “At least no one would be forcing their daughter to strip when the loan couldn’t be repaid on time.”

  “No, but the bank could foreclose on the B&B and leave the Raffertys without any way to make a living,” Marlee interjected. “Kelsey said her parents had taken out as many legitimate loans as they could before turning to Ian.”

  “Another beer?” Hector asked Bridget, noticing her empty bottle.

  “Nope. If I drink any more, I’ll have to call for a cab. I better leave now before I’m tempted.” Bridget stood and moved to the kitchen to collect her coat and snow boots. Marlee walked with her to the back door and watched as her cousin hopped into her car and drove off.

  Hector, still sitting at the table, opened another beer, in no hurry to leave. “Bridget seems to be doing well,” he commented.

  “You can’t do this,” Marlee said, sitting back down at the table.

  “Do what?” Hector asked, even though they both knew what she meant.

  “You can’t just drop in whenever you feel like it. I know I asked you to help me with the Kelsey problem, but the only reason I called you was because Bettina is on her honeymoon, and I don’t trust any of the other detectives.”

  “I know, but I thought you’d want to know what I found out about Kelsey’s family and Ian,” Hector said.

  “I did want to know, but you could’ve called and told me. There was no need for you to come over here, especially at this time of night. I know you came over at any time of the day when we were going out, but that’s not the case now. We need to have some boundaries or else I can’t work with you,” Marlee said, rubbing her cold hands together.

  Hector looked at the floor and nodded. “I know. I just wish things could go back to the way they were. And before you say anything, I know it’s my own fault.”

  “So, you agree that there’ll be no more pop-ins at my house?” Marlee raised her eyebrows waiting for him to answer.

  “Sure, I can do that. Did you open a window? It feels really cold in here all of a sudden.” He crossed his arms and shivered, looking around for the draft.

  Marlee checked the thermostat, which was on, but there was a definite draft. She moved toward the hallway and realized the cold air was coming from Kelsey’s room. Knocking on the door, she waited for Kelsey to answer. When there was no response, she opened the door. The light was off, but the unmade sofa sleeper piled high with clothes was visible in the moonlight. The window to the west was open, and Kelsey was gone.

  “Where the hell did she go?” Hector asked, flicking on the overhead light and looking in the closet.

  “If I had to guess, she probably made a new drug connection through the Internet and is out picking up more pills,” Marlee said.

  “I thought she was broke,” Hector said.

  Marlee raised her eyebrows. “I did too. Who knows how she’s paying.” She inched the windowpane down and pulled the blinds.

  They got into Hector’s vehicle and drove around the area, looking for Kelsey. She wasn’t on any of the main streets in a four-block radius, so they suspected she was either at her location or taking the back alleys.

  “I swear to God that I’m putting her on a plane tomorrow. Kelsey’s done nothing but lie and cause trouble since she got here. At first, I felt sorry for her and wanted to help her, but most of her problems are her own doing, and she deserves what she gets!” Marlee pounded her fist on the dashboard to drive home her point.

  “That doesn’t sound like you. The Marlee I know is a humanist and always looking for the good in people, even when they mess up,” Hector said as he turned the Jeep into an alley two streets over from Marlee’s house.

  “I do look for the good in people, but when they screw me over and lie to me, I start to rethink my position. I have no idea if what Kelsey said is true or if it’s a lie. Most likely, she told the truth when it will benefit her and told lies for the same reason. What I do know for sure is that she doesn’t want to go back to Dublin.”

  “Because Ian said he would post the photos of her stripping?” Hector asked, recalling the latest chapter in the Kelsey saga.

  “No, he can do that anyway. No matter where she lives, that can follow her unless she changes her name and her appearance. Even if Kelsey makes friends here in the U.S., Ian can find out where she is and send the naked photos to her friends, any boyfriends she might have, or her employer,” Marlee said. “I can’t imagine she’s too keen on going back home since her dad encouraged her to strip at Ian’s club.”

  “That’s sick. I can’t believe any father would do that to his daughter. I could be in debt up to my eyeballs, and I’d never expect my kids to bail me out. Certainly not by taking off their clothes and dancing,” Hector sneered. “What kind of person does that?”

  “The guy must be desperate. I wonder how else the Raffertys were involved with Ian.”

  “And with other crooks just like him?”

  “What is Kelsey’s role in all this? Is she a victim or a criminal?” Marlee mused, thinking of the information the Irish teen had shared with her while in Elmwood and back in Dublin.

  “Both. I think she’s a victim in that she didn’t want to strip but tried it because her father pushed her. Ian got her started on pills and took pictures of her stripping, so she’s a victim of those things too. Then she felt pressured to smuggle the pipe, which may or may not contain emeralds, to the United States. Kelsey’s lied about a lot of things, but I think for the most part, she’s just trying to make the best of a bad situation,” Hector said.

  “What do you mean?” Marlee was puzzled. Hector usually took more of a black or white approach to people and their behaviors. It was Marlee who tended to see the good in liars, thieves, and cheats.

  “Her lies were to protect her family or herself. That doesn’t make it okay, but she’s not trying to harm anyone outright. Yes, she’s broken laws. Lots of them, and she’ll have to pay for that, but her main goal has been to alleviate her family’s debt to a loan shark. Her smuggling and drug use are all a result of that.”

  “Sounds like you’re turning into a bit of a humanist yourself, Hector,” Marlee said with smile.

  “Maybe somebody’s compassion has rubbed off on me,” he said, looking over at her and returning the smile.

  Marlee pressed herself against the passenger side door. It was more than obvious that Hector wanted to get back together with her. It wasn’t an option. She’d only stopped hating him a few months ago, and it took everything in her being to call him asking for help. There was no way this was going beyond a working relationship, and he needed to understand that. Hell, she didn’t even want a friendship with him, let alone a romantic relationship.

  “There she is!” Marlee yelled, spying Kelsey’s bright orange stocking cap that she bought at the MSU bookstore. She was staggering down the alley, one hand in her pocket.

  “Kelsey, what are you doing?” Marlee yelled out the window as they pulled up next to her.

  “Just meeting someone,” she slurred. “Can’t fall down, or I’ll freeze.” It was obvious Kelsey had ingested much more than the wine at Marlee’s house earlier that night. Her eyes were wide and glassy, and she seemed to have little concept of where she was or where she was going.

  After their further questions didn’t yield any productive answers, Hector stepped out of the Jeep and helped Kelsey into the back seat. She tipped over on her side, her eyes wide open yet looking at nothing.

  “What did you take, Kelsey?” Marlee asked, unhooking her own seatbelt and turning to look at her house guest. “What did you take? Oxy or something else?” She climbed over the seat into the back with Kelsey and shook her until she began murmuring.

  �
�Keep her upright and talking,” Hector directed. “We’re going to the hospital.”

  “No, no hospital,” Kelsey slurred. “I don’t want to go to hospital. I’m fine, just need to walk.”

  “Can you follow us if I walk with her?” Marlee asked, rising up from the back seat to look at Hector.

  “Okay, but if she passes out again, we’re going straight to the ER.”

  Marlee helped Kelsey out of the Jeep and steadied her on her feet. To her credit, Kelsey rebounded after five minutes of fresh air and walking. When they were a block away from home, Kelsey started to talk.

  “I got a text from a guy who said he could hook me up with some pills, but I knew I couldn’t get out of the house without you asking a ton of questions. Your window was stuck, but I kept working at it until I pried it open. Then I left but planned to be back in a few minutes.”

  “Where did you meet this guy?”

  “Outside the convenience store on Main Street. I don’t know his name, and he was wearing a parka with the hood pulled up. He was a white guy about Hector’s size, but that’s all I know,” Kelsey said, her speech now much clearer.

  “Where did you get the money? I thought you were broke.”

  “I was desperate. You don’t know what it’s like to need a fix so bad that you’ll do whatever it takes to get it.”

  Marlee paused, waiting for an answer to her question. They walked in silence until they approached the front door.

  “Tell Bridget I’m sorry that I took her money. I saw she had cash in her purse when she paid the pizza delivery guy. Never would I steal from her or you or anyone else, except I needed Oxy so bad. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t do anything but try to figure out how to get some pills,” Kelsey said, her voice catching as she talked.

  Kelsey walked inside the house, and Marlee walked to the street to fill Hector in on what she’d just learned.