“Very good. We’ll see you then.”
“So, that’s all set,” Rafael told Victoria. “I thought meeting at the office is better than here at home. I want to keep our home out of the public eye for as long as possible.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Victoria agreed.
It had been a long day, so they turned in early. They knew that they wouldn’t always been in the park from open until close, but that first week, at least, they did want to be there. They speculated on whether or not the turnout would be as good on Monday as it had been on Sunday. They knew that there were plenty of activities competing for the public’s attention, as it was Memorial Day.
First thing the next morning, Rafael took the money to the bank. He and Victoria had previously opened a new business account in Westlake Village just for Thornton Park. He was too early for the bank to be open, so he just put the deposit into the night drop and went back home. After breakfast, the couple went back over to the park about nine-twenty, just to make sure everything was in order before opening time.
They needn’t have worried about the turnout. There was already a long line at the ticket booth of folks waiting for ten o’clock. Rafael went to the barn to check on the animals. He found Jim gathering up the eggs that the chickens had laid that morning. He had already told the “farm hands” that he and Victoria would like to have a couple of dozen eggs each week, and that the three on-site employees could divide up the rest.
Victoria went into the gift shop to restock the shelves and generally tidy it up before the doors opened. She found Sarah Dixon already at work doing the same things. April and Caryn, the two cashiers for the day came in shortly afterwards, and pitched right in to help get the store ready to open.
The day went much as had the previous day. The numbers, if anything, were somewhat higher. But Victoria and Rafael both knew that not every day would be like the first two. For one thing, it was a holiday weekend and more people were out looking for something fun to do. And for another, it was the grand opening of a new attraction. Once people had been there, they might come back again at some time, but not day after day after day.
But that was fine. Actually, the crowds had been a bit overwhelming. If fewer people came at one time, those who did come would have a richer experience. This park hadn’t been developed as a means of making more and more money for the Riveras. As long as it paid for itself, that was all they cared about financially. Rather, their goal for this park was that it bring joy to as many people as possible.
Thursday morning at eight o’clock they were in the office downtown, as was Carmen Blakely and her cameraman. It had been quite a while since Victoria had been in the Thornton Building. She had instant flashbacks of Marian’s standoff there in the lobby, along with all the usual memories of coming to see her dad in this office.
Frankly, she had been so busy, and so much had transpired since that awful day that it had gotten pushed to the back of her mind and she hadn’t consciously thought about it for a while. Which was a really, really nice thing.
Before they went on camera, Rafael put their proposal to Carmen about doing a series on human trafficking, and contacting the directors of Angel’s Retreat to see if they would be willing to allow her in there to film and to interview the rescued women. Carmen thought it was a splendid idea and wished she’d thought of it first.
“I would be willing to contact Angel’s Retreat and put in a good word for you, if you want me to,” Rafael offered. “After we see how this session goes, that is.”
“That would be very kind of you,” Carmen said. “It would no doubt pave the way for me to get in there. How about this: as soon as I get this interview edited and ready to air, I’ll email you a copy of it and you can watch it before it goes on the air, and approve, or disapprove, of it.”
“Sounds fair,” Rafael said.
Carmen began her interview with Rafael and asked him just how it came about that he and Victoria suspected that something was going on that wasn’t what it appeared to be. He told the story, blow by blow, with Victoria interjecting a comment now and again, until they came to the part where she had been kidnapped.
Carmen Blakely had a knack for putting people whom she was interviewing at ease, and Victoria was no exception. Before she knew it, Victoria was completely relaxed, answering Carmen’s questions, and relating the harrowing tale of her kidnapping and rape.
Carmen was genuinely sympathetic and outraged at the treatment that Victoria had received at the hands of those three thugs. The questions she asked were heartfelt, tactful, and sensitive. Victoria’s answers were raw honesty regarding how she was treated, how she felt, and how unbelievably frightened she had been.
“I really didn’t think I would get out of there alive,” she told Carmen. “They kept hitting me and hitting me and raping me over and over again.
Tears threatened to spill as she recounted those horrifying hours. Carmen had to tell the cameraman to stop filming a couple of times while Victoria found a tissue to wipe her nose with.
“They also chopped my hair one clump at a time whenever I gave an answer that they didn’t like,” she continued. “My hair used to hang just past my shoulders, but they cut it all off. I had to have a hairdresser even it up and do what she could with it. But it wasn’t more than an inch long all over my ear when those creeps got done with it. It is beginning to grow out a little, but it’s still extremely short.”
The interview went very well. It lasted about an hour, but Carmen told them that it would be edited down to a fifteen-minute segment that would be aired on a local program called Life in Los Angeles.
“I hope that when you doing the editing, you don’t cut out parts of what we have said, so that it sounds like we are saying one thing when we really said something else,” Rafael said. “I’ve seen too many interviews that were edited to make the interviewee say something he really didn’t say at all.”
“I know what you’re saying,” Carmen told me. “But I’ll do my best to preserve the essence of your story and still fit it into a fifteen-minute time slot. I’ll let you preview it, and then you can tell me what you think.”
“That sounds fair,” Victoria said.
They shook hands all along and Carmen and the cameraman left. Rafael and Victoria stayed in the office for a little while.
“It seems like forever since I was in here,” Victoria said.
“I haven’t been here much, either,” Rafael said. “Since we moved, I’ve only been here a few times. Glad to see the place is holding together.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Victoria said.
Chapter Eleven
Friday was pretty much a repeat of the rest of the week. Rafael and Victoria went over to the park to open it, but then after they knew things were rolling smoothly, they left. They drove over to Angel’s Retreat to fulfill their offer to Carmen Blakely. Upon their arrival, they were ushered into the director’s office.
“Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Rivera,” director Gene Hillman said, rising to greet them.
“Good morning, Mr. Hillman,” they both replied.
“Please have a seat,” he offered. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”
“We have a favor to ask of you,” Rafael began.
“Yes? Go on.”
“I don’t know whether or not you are aware of it, but we just opened the Thornton Memorial Pioneer Farm and Botanical Gardens over near Westlake Village.”
“No, I wasn’t aware of that, but please go on,” Mr. Hillman said.
“We opened last Sunday, and there were a few reporters who came out to do a story on it. One of the reporters figured out that we were the ones who alerted the police to the women being smuggled in, and that Victoria was the one kidnapped, and so on. Anyway, she wanted to do an interview with us.
We agreed only to make the public aware of the horrible crime of human trafficking right here in our own area. Then we thought it would be interesting if she did a segment on Angel’s Retreat an
d the good work you are doing here for the rescued women. Maybe even interview some of the women. So we wondered if you would consent to having her come in with a cameraman and do a story on this place?”
Mr. Hillman made a tent of his fingers as he leaned back in his chair and pondered Rafael’s request.
“That might be a good idea,” he said, leaning forward again. “If enough awareness was raised about this crime against humanity, maybe others would be on the alert to watch for signs of criminal activity, and do the honorable thing and report it just as you folks did. The women’s safety and security would be my only concern.”
“Maybe they would blur the women’s faces that show in the film,” Victoria suggested.
“That would be good, I think,” Mr. Hillman said. “Although if even one woman was brave enough to show her face on television, it would give the public a face to identify with and to sympathize with. Yes, the more I think about this, the better it sounds.”
He got up and paced the room, thinking. Then he called for his assistant to come into the room.
“Mr. and Mrs. Rivera, this is Judy Holt, my assistant director,” Mr. Hillman said when the woman entered his office.
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Rafael said, rising to shake hands.
Victoria followed suit.
“I’m happy to meet you, too, Mr. Rivera, Mrs. Rivera,” Mrs. Holt replied.
When they were all seated again, Mr. Hillman explained to Mrs. Holt what the Riveras suggestion was. She, too, thought it was an excellent idea.
“Who is this reporter that wants to do this interview?” Mrs. Holt asked.
“Her name is Carmen Blakely, and she hosts a program called Live in Los Angeles,” Rafael told her.
“I’ve seen that program a lot,” Mrs. Holt said. “I think it’s really good. If it’s her that will do the interviewing, I’m all for it.”
“Here is her card,” Rafael said, holding out a business card to Mrs. Holt. “You may call her yourself and make the arrangements.”
“Thank you. I’ll do that right away. With your permission, of course, Gene,” Mrs. Holt said.
“Certainly!” he said. “Go for it. Be sure to schedule it for when I’m here, too.”
“Oh, of course.”
“Well, we’ll be going then,” Rafael said as he and Victoria stood to their feet. “That was what we came for.”
Victoria nudged him and he looked questioningly at her.
“The park,” she said.
“Oh, yeah. One more thing, Mr. Hillman,” Rafael said. “This park that I mentioned earlier. We would like to extend an invitation to you to bring your women out to the park for the day sometime, at your convenience. It’s open seven days a week, ten to six-thirty. Of course, the admission to your group would be free.”
“What all do you have there?” Mr. Hillman asked.
“We have a small replica pioneer farm, with a farmhouse and barn, and animals that the visitors can pet. We have old-time skills demonstrations such as spinning, milking the cow, blacksmithing, butter churning, candlemaking, and so on.
“We have a nice gift shop, and a miniature train that runs throughout the park. We have a lovely botanical garden, and there are paths that meander throughout the park property that is left in a more natural state. There are signs posted by many of the trees and plants that identify them.
“It’s fairly simple place, taking people back to a simpler, slower way of life. You are welcome to come check it out first to see if it’s someplace you’d like to bring your girls.”
“It sounds really nice,” Mr. Hillman said. “Security is my only concern. If there happened to be one or two unscrupulous men in the crowd, it would only take seconds for them to grab one or more of our girls.”
“I understand. What if you only bring a few at a time, say five or six of them, with enough adults to pair up with them?” Rafael suggested.
“That might work. Although I know the girls would have fun all going together,” Mr. Hillman said.
“How many do you have here?” Victoria asked.
“Right now we have 136 women, including the fifty from the raid you folks were instrumental in.”
“That is a lot to keep track of in public,” Victoria agreed. “Maybe it would be better to divide the group up.”
“Well, we’ll think about it and see what we can do,” Mr. Hillman said. “I really appreciate your kind offer, and as soon as we can figure out how to bring them over safely, we’ll do it.”
“That’s great,” Rafael said. “I think they would enjoy it. Oh, and by the way, here’s a little something for the kitty.”
Rafael pulled a check out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Mr. Hillman.
“Thank you, sir,” Mr. Hillman said fervently. “Thank you both very much.”
The amount on the check was $50,000.
Since they were out anyway, Rafael and Victoria decided to fool around for a while rather than going straight back home. They stopped for lunch at an interesting looking place, and afterward Rafael indulged Victoria’s yen to cruise a nearby shopping mall. They didn’t head for home until nearly suppertime.
Right after supper, they rode the quad over to the park. It was just at closing time and Rafael wanted to pick up the day’s receipts to put in the bank the next morning. He met up with Mickey who assured him that the day had gone well.
Victoria went into the gift shop to take a quick inventory and see what they were getting low on, so she could place some orders over the weekend. One thing she wanted to be diligent about was making certain that the gift shop was well stocked and they never ran out of things.
The old-fashioned toys had been a smash hit with both adults and kids alike. Parents and grandparents bought the toys for their young’uns, and kids bought them with their own spending money. Of course, the soda fountain was a bit hit, too. So far, everything they were doing was working really well. All the employees told them that the visitors were just enthralled with the place, and were full of compliments.
Rafael and Victoria rode back home full of joy that their dream was so successful so far, and that so many people were enjoying the park. Their employees all seemed happy, too, so far. They paid generously, and gave the employees all a twenty-five percent discount in the gift shop, and free admission to the park for every member of each employee’s immediate family. Happy employees are loyal employees is what Rafael believed, and Victoria agreed with him.
Sunday Rafael and Victoria flew back to Des Moines, Iowa, to inspect the last property on their list. They arrived in the early afternoon, rented a car, and found a place to eat first off. Then they located the building that they owned there. But because it was Sunday, the building was closed up, so they amused themselves by driving around town, exploring, before locating a hotel for the night.
Monday morning they did their inspection on the building, and found most everything to be in order. There were a few minor repairs that needed attention, but when they told the building superintendent about them, he was already aware, but said that there wasn’t enough money left in his budget for that month to do them. He had had some other repairs that were more urgent that depleted the maintenance account rather quickly.
So Rafael authorized him to spend another couple thousand to fix these other things, and send the bills to headquarters. The super was so grateful for Rafael’s dedication to keeping up the building in good repair, and for authorizing the extra needs. After the inspection was complete, they went to lunch. Then, on the recommendation of their building super, they went to check out the state capitol building.
They were not disappointed. The Iowa capitol building is a beautiful edifice. Its 23-karat gold leaf dome gleamed in the sunlight, and inside, many interesting things captured their attention. A one-quarter scale model of the USS Iowa, was eighteen feet seven inches long. Rafael was quite taken by it and studied it from all angles.
Victoria was liked it, too, but was more interested in the array
of dolls that represent Iowa’s forty-one First Ladies in their inaugural gowns. They were both interested in the huge mural painting titled Westward that covers the full length of the east wall, painted by Edwin H. Blashfield. It’s a stylized representation of the pioneers who came and settled Iowa.
After a quick look around, they discovered that they could take a guided tour that was starting in just a few minutes. All of it was very interesting, but Rafael’s favorite part was the climb to the Whispering Gallery. After climbing ninety steps arranged in a very tight spiral staircase, the tour guide went to the opposite side of the dome to demonstrate the fabulous acoustics. Speaking in a normal tone of voice, her words were heard across the dome as if she were standing right in the midst of the group.
“This is really amazing,” Rafael whispered to Victoria.
“No kidding,” she whispered back.
After the tour was completed, Victoria had to visit the gift shop to pick up a souvenir of their experience. Then they took off to go to the airport in time to grab a bite to eat before their flight left at 7:55 that evening. They got home rather late that night, and went straight to bed.
With the completion of the inspection tour, they made out a tentative schedule to repeat the inspections beginning again in January. This time, they decided to schedule the more distant locations for spring and summer, and do the California locations during January and February. It was better than thinking they needed to travel during the winter months, or postponing the inspections as they had done the previous winter.
A couple of days after returning from Des Moines, Rafael received an email from Carmen Blakely with the video interview attached. He called Victoria into the office to watch it with him. They were both pleased with how well the interview had been edited. The full story was there, only it was concise and to the point. The horrific crime of human smuggling was emphasized, while Victoria’s kidnapping and rape were downplayed.
Not that the kidnapping was presented as unimportant. On the contrary. It was presented as the awful reality of what these evil men were capable of. But it took a back seat to the focus on human trafficking and its horrors.
The Perfect Revenge: The Couplete Series Page 52