The door opened. Rose stood framed in slanting rays of sun reaching through the bedroom window. “It’s late. Where’s breakfast? Isaac will be coming in from the cafeteria any minute. You better get your ass out of bed if you know what’s good for you. You royally fucked up yesterday by not making dinner. He wasn’t pleased to say the least. I’ll be damned surprised if he doesn’t ship you out of here today. Only thing that might save you is his party tonight. You better plan on bringing in some money.”
I rolled away from her and stared at the wall. Just today, I thought. If Griff was coming then I only had to make it through today, twelve hours, fifteen at the most, but it was a big if. Head hammering and mouth so dry I thought my tongue might crack in half I swung my feet to the floor. My stomach threatened to revolt at the thought of food. I went into the bathroom, took the picture of Kira from the top shelf and slipped it into the pocket of my kimono. Kneeling on the floor, I pulled at the grate beneath the sink hoping my phone might be within reach. The cover screeched like an angry cat as I yanked it free of its metal base.
“What the fuck are you doing in there?” Elizabeth yelled from her bed, half asleep.
“I dropped something,” I called back.
“Well shut the fuck up. I’m trying to sleep.”
Setting the cover on the floor beside me, I lay on my stomach and slid my arm into the hole as far as I could reach, grasping and pleading, but coming up empty. The bathroom was directly above the bar. If there was a heating duct above the liquor cabinet, chances were good that my phone was sitting inside of it. There was no way I could get to it there. It was as good as gone.
The living room was empty when I crossed the threadbare Oriental rug and stepped into the alcove that housed the bar. Checking the ceiling I saw what I’d hoped I wouldn’t. Running the length of the ceiling was a heating duct. There was no chance the phone could have slid all the way to the basement where I might have been able to retrieve it. It couldn’t have made it past this ductwork. Fucking stupid, I reprimanded myself fighting back tears.
In the kitchen, struggling against my panic over losing the phone and nausea from last night, I brewed the coffee and lined up boxes of cereal on the counter. Ruth came through the backdoor at eight-fifteen as if on queue.
“Rough night?” she asked after taking a look at me.
I didn’t respond. Instead I took a mug from the cupboard and poured her coffee.
“Thanks,” she said. “You look awful.”
I sat down across from her at the table and wiped away one lone tear that hit my cheek with the back of my hand. “Your father. He called it my initiation.”
She stared at the wooden surface for a minute before speaking. “I tried to warn you.”
“Warn me?”
“In the store. The first day, I yelled at you to get out when he was pumping gas.”
I nodded remembering. “You screamed at me, but it was because I’d dropped the bottle and made a mess.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t give a crap about the mess. I knew what was going to happen and I wanted you to get out before he took you.”
“You were warning me?”
“Not very successfully.”
“You’re not loyal?”
“To that bastard? Are you kidding?”
“He’s your father.”
“First and foremost, he’s a bastard.”
“Why do you stay?”
“Where would I go? I run the store and stay out of his way.”
I felt the picture in my pocket, stood and walked to the counter to get myself coffee, stalling. I should be setting the table with silverware and cereal bowls. Have bread browning in the toaster for Isaac and the girls who would soon be wandering, bleary-eyed into the kitchen looking for breakfast. But I didn’t want to squander the moment. Who knew when I’d get another one and Ruth wasn’t going to turn me in to Isaac, not after what she’d just said. I filled a mug for myself and returned to the table setting a plate of toast and strawberry jam between us.
“Thanks.” She picked up a slice, slathering it with lumps of red jam.
I thought of the welts on Eve’s back and my stomach turned then I reached into my pocket for the picture of Kira. My hand shook as I laid it on the table in front of her and prayed that this gesture wouldn’t seal my fate.
Ruth looked at it and then at me. She didn’t speak.
“Have you seen her?” My words came out in a whisper though there was no one else awake yet. Ruth stared at the photo, but still said nothing. I wondered how much longer before my heart beat a hole through my chest.
She took another bite of her toast washing it down with coffee before she opened her mouth. “Why?”
“She’s a friend of mine. I’m trying to find her.”
“Why would you think she was here?”
“She’s been missing for a long time. Her father got a postcard that he thinks was from her. It led us here.”
“You cops?”
“No. Like I said she’s my friend. I’m just trying to help her dad.”
“Why didn’t he call the cops?”
“He doesn’t want trouble. He just wants to find his daughter.”
Ruth finished another slice of toast and drained her mug. After pouring herself a refill, she came back and sat down. Lifting the picture in front of her face, she pursed her lips looking almost wistful. “Yeah, she was here.”
I was afraid to speak, afraid of saying the wrong thing. Something that would make Ruth stop talking, walk out the door and go get Isaac. “Where is she now?”
Ruth lifted the picture again, looked at it and then at me. There were tears in her eyes. “I wish I knew,” she said. She set it back on the table. “Isaac will punish me if he knows I’m talking to you like this.”
“I just want to find my friend. Do you know where she is?”
Ruth shook her head. “She tried to get out, more than once. The first time she just started walking down the driveway. She was in plain sight. It was winter. She’d been out in the field cutting trees. Isaac saw her going. He called to her, but she just kept walking. I knew what he’d do so I started to run after her, to bring her back. Better me than him. But then he pulled up beside us in the pick up. I was arguing with her to turn around. He got out and hit me. He broke my nose. Then he shoved her into the truck. That’s when she moved from the dormitory to the house. I didn’t see her as much after that.” Ruth wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
I was getting the feeling that Kira had been more to Ruth than one of the farm workers. “Were you in love with her?”
“It was mutual.”
I wondered if that was the truth or if Kira had also pegged Ruth to be the weak link and a possible way out.
“What happened after she moved to the house?”
“Her clients built fast. She was beautiful and young and…” Ruth’s voice trailed off. “She was one of his best, but she was difficult. She didn’t want to be here and wasn’t afraid to tell him.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
Ruth sighed. “About a month ago. But Stebbins was here last week. He and Isaac were in the kitchen. Stebbins had a picture of her, said someone was looking for her. Was that you?”
“We went to Stebbins first.”
“We?”
“I was with her dad and a friend.”
“What’d he tell you?”
“Nothing much, but that doesn’t matter. No one cares what’s going on here. We just want Kira.”
“When Isaac told her she was leaving, she refused. All she’d wanted since she got here was to leave and then when he told her she was, she didn’t want to go. Can’t blame her, you never know how much worse it’ll be somewhere else. But refusing only got her a beating, a bad one. He had to wait a few days for her to heal. Clients who like bruises want to inflict them themselves, not start out with tainted goods. Most of the girls were out with Isaac the night she left. The ones that were here were h
igh, oblivious as usual. I went up to Kira’s room. She was in bed and I lay down with her. I just held her. She liked that. She had a scrap of cardboard that she’d written OK on. That’s all it said. On the other side was an address. She asked me to mail it for her.”
“And then she left?”
“And then Isaac came into the room and saw us. He threw me across the room. I hit my head on the nightstand and was knocked out. When I woke up it was hours later, Kira was gone and the postcard was torn into pieces scattered across the floor.”
“And you taped it back together and mailed it?”
Ruth nodded. A tear rolled down her cheek. “But I don’t know where he took her.”
“Would he have given her to Lucas?”
“Sold, you mean. They’re all sold. When the locals get tired of them Isaac rotates stock. He takes farm workers he’s designated for the house and moves them up or brings in new ones off the street, like he did with you. I think most of them go over the border.”
“With Lucas?”
Ruth nodded.
“He sells them in Canada?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s what I’ve overheard.”
The kitchen door swung open and Isaac walked in. “What the hell are you doing here?” He checked his watch. “You got a store to run. Get moving.”
I slid the picture back into my pocket and Ruth walked her coffee mug to the sink. As she passed him, he gave her a shove landing her hard against the counter. The mug fell from her hand and shattered on the tile floor. Ruth bent to pick up the glass.
“Leave it,” Isaac said. “What do you think she’s for?” He motioned to me, and Ruth slipped out the backdoor.
I gathered the pieces of Ruth’s mug from the floor while Isaac watched. “Not for long,” he said.
I sat back on my heels and looked up at him. “Not for long, what?”
“Where were you last night? Where was dinner?”
“I…” I started to explain, but he held up his hand to quiet me.
“I know where you were. Passed out.”
The last thing I recalled was lying on my bed after dropping the phone. My hand went to my stomach and I winced remembering the pink plastic razor, a vice I hadn’t used in years.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “After…after…” I couldn’t say it, couldn’t say, ‘after you raped me in the basement.’ The words wouldn’t come out of my mouth.
“I told you if you don’t follow my rules then there’s no place for you here.” He walked to the table and picked up the plate of toast and jelly I’d given Ruth. “What’s this? You fed her? Feeding the pig is not the job I gave you.” He threw the plate into the sink. It smashed against the porcelain. “No dinner and now no breakfast. Was that what I asked of you?”
I shook my head.
He stood in front of me. I was still kneeling on the floor, holding the broken pieces of Ruth’s mug.”
“Answer me,” he said.
“No,” I managed.
“Good, then we understand each other,” he said. Placing his boot against my shoulder, he shoved me backward.
I landed on my side and saw Rose in the doorway. Our eyes met and she smiled.
“You’ll do exactly as you’re told today and you’ll entertain my guests tonight and then you’re gone. I have no use for an ungrateful, drunken whore who can’t follow the rules.” He turned toward Rose. “She can leave sooner if need be.”
Rose nodded.
He walked past her and disappeared down the hallway.
As soon as I heard him leave the house I went upstairs and lay on my bed condemning myself for dropping my phone. It was all I could do to focus on what needed to be done today and keep my mind off yesterday. I could fall apart once I was out of here. He’d keep me for tonight’s festivities, which gave me the rest of the day to figure out what to do. I was sure that Griff and John would arrive tonight. But by the time they got here Isaac could have already sold me. If that happened I could end up over the border like Ruth said. They’d never find me. I could risk waiting to see if they showed up in time or devise an alternate plan. I was on my own.
Everyone but Rose had missed my debacle with Isaac in the kitchen so no one knew that this was my last day in the house. It would be best to keep it that way. I could hear her now, busy in the kitchen preparing food for the party. Like every other day the girls were drinking in the living room. If I tried to slip out the front door I’d be noticed. But if I offered to help Rose and she left the kitchen even for a minute, I could go out the back door, pass by the barn and make it to the tree line before anyone realized I was gone. Isaac was another matter. If he caught me, his recourse would be to beat me and sell me, but since that was the plan anyway, what did it matter. I’d rather go out belligerent than complacent.
I spent most of the morning on my bed, the girls drifted through the house in silence, but for the clinking of ice cubes in their drinks. No one shared Isaac’s excitement of the impending party. As Ruth had explained, it would be a more dangerous night than usual for them because of the clientele and they were in no rush for the festivities to begin. But Isaac was becoming obsessed with the preparations. His voice rose from downstairs barking orders at Rose.
I’d almost dozed off when Rose wrapped her knuckles against my door.
“Lunch,” she said. “Get it started.”
I was boiling water for pasta when Ruth came in with bags of groceries.
“He’s even crazier than usual,” I said as she set her purchases on the counter.
“There’re dollar signs in his eyes. For the most part clients are inconsistent. Some nights he gets the big money, some nights not. It depends on who wants what and when. Who’s having a late night meeting, who’s got business people coming from out of town, whose wife is out for the evening… Tonight, this party is by invitation only. It’s all the heavy hitters.”
“He mails out invitations?”
Ruth laughed. “Word of mouth. He has his mules. Two legged ones.”
I went to the counter and began emptying the bags Ruth had brought. There was a shrimp platter with cocktail sauce in the center, a plate with an assortment of cheese and crackers, marinated mushrooms and meatballs. My stomach churned.
“Put everything in the fridge,” Rose said sweeping into the room, a cigarette clamped between her teeth. “I’ll handle serving and arrangement. You just unpack.”
She turned to Ruth. “Where’s the booze?”
“I have to go pick it up.”
“Then what are you doing standing here? Go.” She shooed her away with a flick of her hand.
Ruth glanced at me and rolled her eyes. “Back in a couple of hours,” she said.
“Are you coming to the party?” I asked.
“Not a chance,” she said and closed the door behind her.
“Get this stuff put away,” Rose said and went into the hallway. The vacuum roared to life.
I placed the last item, a bottle of Tabasco sauce, on the counter and folded the empty bag. Something rattled inside and I opened it to see what I’d missed. At the bottom, lying against the brown paper was the watch Griff had given me. The one that I’d told Ruth was my mother’s when she’d taken it away that first day at the dormitory. I lifted it out and hugged it to my chest, overwhelmed by the emotions it triggered. I was getting out tonight, one way or another. I slipped the watch over my hand and pushed it high on my forearm hidden under the flimsy satin sleeve of my robe.
“If you’re finished putting things away, go upstairs and put some make-up on,” Rose said coming into the kitchen. “I’ll finish here.”
I felt sick as I turned to do as I was told. I climbed the stairs and felt the watch on my arm. Very soon it would all be over, one way or another.
Elizabeth was in the bathroom leaning over the sink, a wand of mascara in one hand and a bottle of Jack Daniels in the other.
“Starting a little early aren’t you?” I asked.
“Fuck-off,” she said
. “Like you should talk.”
“So tonight’s the big night?”
She turned to look at me. “Lots of money, important people. We don’t have to sit in some dick’s car and freeze our asses off. Tonight they come to us.”
“Isn’t a john, a john?”
She took a slug from the bottle. “Not always. Tonight it won’t be just anyone who has fifty bucks.”
“Ruth said the more they have to spend, the more they want the unconventional.”
“Ruth doesn’t know shit.”
“The girls don’t seem too excited.”
Elizabeth shrugged. “Isaac tries to pair us up with who we deserve.”
I lay back and looked at the ceiling wondering who would be coming through Isaac’s door and if any of them would be leaving in the back of a police cruiser.
“It’s all yours,” Elizabeth said coming out of the bathroom. She walked to the closet and selected a turquoise halter-top slit to the waist and a short, white leather skirt.
I’d never been much for make-up and had no experience with the array of products Rose had supplied. Give me a lipstick and mascara and I was good to go, but in the bag before me lay an array of eyeliners, eye shadows, blush and concealers that I had no idea how to apply. Seeing my quandary, Elizabeth laughed.
“You need help?” she asked.
“If you have the time.”
She did my make-up, tossed a black silk mini skirt and silver sequined tank top on the bed and took a pair of black patent stilettos from the closet. In fifteen minutes, she had me looking like I belonged there. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. But Isaac seemed pleased when we came downstairs dressed and ready for whatever the evening would bring. I followed her to the bar and accepted the shot of Smirnoff’s she handed me. A little fortification might counteract the adrenalin ricocheting through me.
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