by Jon Mills
“One drink but that’s it. And no funny business.”
She turned back and he followed after like a stray dog.
“Funny business?”
He slammed the door on his small blue VW car. Jack Winchester was slumped over the back seat. The thought of blood soaking into the material pissed him off to no end. John looked up to the heavens. Why did you send him? His jaw clenched as he got in the driver’s side and peeled away from the mission. He had a good mind to just drop him off at the hospital or police station. Cruisers sped by as he navigated the slick streets of L.A. heading for his home.
He thought about what Deon had said and second-guessed himself. Was he out of his mind to help a stranger? Sure, he knew Eddie but this was going beyond offering a street person a bed for the night, a warm meal, and a few comforting words. He was breaking the law.
John cast a glance over his shoulder. Jack was out cold. The nick on his neck wasn’t critical but he was bleeding pretty badly. As he pulled into his driveway, he hit the button on the garage door and tapped the steering wheel as it lifted. The VW crawled into the tight space and the engine died.
He just needed time to think. Perhaps hear Jack’s side of the story. He wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. The number of times he’d screwed up were too many to count. He sniffed hard and wiped the rainwater from his head as he got out, opened the door, and dragged Jack out.
“You think you can wake up? You weigh a ton.”
Jack mumbled but was still out. Great!
He carried, dragged, and pulled at his body, feeling a twinge in his back as he made it into his home. He collapsed on the floor, kicking the door to his home shut.
“John? What is going on?”
His wife, Karen, came rushing out from the living room into the hallway. Blonde, green-eyed and wearing jeans and a white T-shirt.
“Just give me a hand.”
“Who is this man?”
“A friend,” he said it, and then pondered what it meant — friendship, that is. The word was thrown around like a can of Coke nowadays, when in reality there were strangers, acquaintances, and then friends. His wife helped carry Jack into the basement where he laid him down on an old sofa. Karen went off to get some bandages, warm water, and towels.
“When I said you could bring your work home with you, I didn’t mean literally.”
Karen had been nagging at him for the past few months that he’d been spending too much time down at the mission. She was right, of course. He always went far and above the amount of hours he was meant to do. He’d never seen his job as a job. There was a sense of satisfaction in seeing the light come on in someone’s eyes, a smile dance across their lips for the first time or watching them slip into clean clothes.
“Do you remember me telling you about Eddie?”
She glanced up at him while she tended to Jack’s wounds.
“The guy that helped your mother?”
John nodded.
“This man knew him. It was his son.”
She wrapped a sterile bandage around his neck and used a pair of scissors to trim the end before sealing it in place with some medical tape.
“But what happened here? Are you hurt?” she said, realizing that she hadn’t even asked him.
“No. No, I’m fine,” he replied. “I don’t know what happened. I just know that he needs our help.”
“John Dalton, you’re a sweet man but some days I have to wonder if you have lost your mind.” She shook her head.
“Me too,” he replied.
Chapter 28
The Palm Tree Massage Parlor was a front.
Behind the scenes Evie and Lifen joined ten other girls giving massages and fulfilling sexual requests. One of the girls who had been taken from the restaurant a few days earlier was there. The older woman told them that if they couldn’t serve food without screwing up then they would work here until she was satisfied that they could return to the restaurant.
“I don’t think I can take much more of this,” Evie muttered to Lifen between clients. For the past four hours she had massaged three men that could have been old enough to be her grandfather. Butt naked, fully exposed. She tried to cover up their privates but they would just remove the towel. At one point two of the customers complained that she was barely touching them. Because of that she was pulled aside and beaten with a rubber tube.
So far none of the clients had requested anything more than a full body massage. Lifen hadn’t been so fortunate. Evie watched as she came out of a room and went into the bathroom to throw up.
There had to be a law against this. How could they get away with doing this? Lifen returned wiping her lips. Her eyes were swollen from crying or from vomiting, perhaps both.
They were given a fifteen-minute break. Lifen sat there with her head down, a look of embarrassment, self-loathing, and hate masked her face.
“We are going to get out of this.”
“Don’t be stupid, Evie.”
“Do you want to keep doing this?”
“Of course not.”
“Then let’s go. Let’s just slip out now while they aren’t watching.”
“They are always watching,” Lifen tilted her head up towards the small dome camera in the corner of the room.
“I can’t do this, Lifen. I would rather die.”
Evie spotted on the counter a knife that one of the women had used to slice her sandwiches in two. Her mind toiled over the weight of what she was thinking. A girl called Li Weng came into the room with a red mark around her neck. It almost looked like she’d attempted to hang herself.
“What happened to you?”
Tears were rolling down her cheeks. “He became brutal and forced me to…”
She couldn’t even find the words to say what he had done. There was no way Evie was going to go through that. She knew it was only a matter of time before she would be requested to give a hand job, blow job, or something else.
In that moment she forgot about her brother. All sense of logic went out the window. The only thought pushing through her mind was to escape. If that meant finding peace in death, then so be it.
She returned her lunch plate to the counter and reached for the knife. Pausing with it a few inches away from her wrist, her hand began to shake. The thought of pain. The thought of nothingness was now her world.
The knife came down upon her wrist. Her face reflected back in the silver. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t see Lifen slide up beside her. In that moment, Lifen tried to snatch the knife from her hand.
“What are you doing?”
She pulled at the knife trying to pry it free from her grasp. “Let it go. I won’t do this.”
Lifen finally managed to get it as Evie burst into tears.
“Listen to me. We are going to get out of this. This is not going to be our life.”
Lifen looked over Evie’s shoulder cautiously as if checking to see if anyone was coming.
“In the morning before we begin, we will leave.”
“You promise?”
She nodded. “You have my word.”
“Where will we go?”
“I don’t know.”
While their backs were turned Li, who had entered the room only a few minutes ago in tears, had come behind them to wash a cup in the sink. Just as Lifen moved out of the way to return to her seat, Evie caught sight of Li with the knife. In one smooth motion she brought the blade to her throat and slashed twice. Blood spurted from her jugular like a fountain, some of it hit Evie covering her face in red mist. Li collapsed on the ground.
Evie screamed.
The owner of the massage parlor raced into the room. A look of horror spread across her face. By now a large pool of thick blood was spreading out on the tiled floor. Evie just stood there. Her skin went pale as she went into shock.
“You stupid girls. Why do I have to put up with this? Get me some towels, quick!”
Out the corner of her eyes she could see a c
lient come into the room but he was quickly pushed back out by one of the men. They didn’t want anyone seeing this. This would shut them down for sure if this got out. But no one would know. Her body would be disposed of in a place that no one would find her. There was no record of her being in the country.
Illegal. Forgotten. She was a nobody.
No one would attend her funeral or speak of the good things she’d done
She herself would never see the future that she longed for. In one fell swoop it was all swept away; all her dreams, hopes, and aspirations. Gone.
That’s what made this so easy for them. All the girls were just a number. In a matter of days, she would be replaced by another girl and business would continue as usual. And this horrifying, senseless death would become a distant memory.
All around her the owner and a few men hurried around trying to soak up the ever-increasing mess. All the while they shouted in Chinese for Evie and Lifen to help.
In that moment, as her hand trembled, the world around her began to spin. Darkness rolled in at the corners of her eyes, pushing out light. Lifen was saying something but she couldn’t hear anything beyond a few garbled words.
Then, it all went black.
Chapter 29
Jack Winchester’s eyelids snapped open, he bolted upright and gazed around at the unfamiliar room. The glaring light stung as his surroundings came into view. He looked down and saw that he was bare-chested. Slowly but instinctively he slid a hand up to his neck. There was a bandage. He wasn’t in any hospital, where was he?
He was tucked inside a single bed beneath a thick white duvet. On the wall were photos of some exotic trip. A few scuba divers giving the thumbs-up beside a spectacular coral reef. Beside him on the side table was a glass of water with some fresh flowers. In a wastebasket on the floor, a few bloodied tissues. There was a closet that was closed and a set of wooden drawers with a small flat-screen TV on the top. It smelled fresh, homelike, and the kind of place that had a female touch.
Pulling back the covers he slung his legs out onto the cool hardwood floor. Everything about the room seemed comfortable. The curtains were drawn letting in a thin band of light at the edges. With his throat dry, he reached over to the glass of liquid. He sniffed it, inserted a finger, and tasted his fingertip. Water it was. He chugged it back and rolled his head around to work out the aches. He was still sore.
A flood of memories came rushing back in from the previous night.
Malese.
He hung his head low and braced himself on the edge of the bed. Why didn’t you just leave when I told you? He ran his tongue around the inside of his mouth. Though the water had diluted the metallic flavor of blood in his teeth, he could still taste it. Like a recorder on repeat he reversed back to that evening and played back the events — all the fighting and killing.
There was no escaping it.
Death had come knocking.
The door creaked open and a beautiful-looking woman came in.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were awake.”
“It’s okay.”
“I see you drank the water, I’ll get you some more.”
“Where am I?”
She cocked her head. “In my home. My husband brought you in. John Dalton.”
He nodded, remembering that he’d shown up at the mission. After which it was all a blur.
“Did you…?” Jack pointed to the bandages.
“Yeah. How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been pulled through a meat grinder.”
A faint smile danced on her face before disappearing.
“Are you hungry?”
“I could use a cup of coffee.”
“Right.” She paused a second, studying him before exiting. From beyond the door he heard her stop. “Oh, there are some clean clothes on the chair. Some of John’s things, hopefully they fit.”
Jack slowly put some weight on his feet, a dull pain coursed through his body. He reached for a white T-shirt and slipped it on. It fit snug, slightly tight. He and John were around the same height but Jack was more muscular. He hobbled a little as he struggled to get into the pants. Those were a little too tight. He decided to toss them to one side and wrap a towel around his waist until he could find his.
As he exited the room and found himself on the landing he noticed a bedroom off to his right; to the left was another bedroom in which there was an empty crib. He peered inside. It smelled like talcum powder and the fresh smell of baby. The walls were decorated in pink and white patterns, along with crown molding.
Pressing on into the bathroom he hovered over the toilet and took a piss. His eyes roamed the counters, towels, toiletries and out beyond the window. It was a residence in the suburbs. Below, a large garden with a swing, and a bird feeder that wasn’t being used.
When he came downstairs he noticed the woman puttering around in the kitchen. A small child sat in a high chair playing with some mushy food. The kid looked at him, its face covered in green gunk. He smirked.
“Do you know where my pants are?”
She whirled around, not hearing him come into the kitchen.
“I had them in the wash. They should be dry now. I’ll go grab them for you.” She paused. “They were… covered in blood.”
He slid onto a chair at a large oak table and stared at the kid in front of him. He assumed it was a girl based on the color of the room. But nowadays you could never tell. Parents dressed up their kids in all manner of weird clothing and colors. The kid jammed what looked like a cookie into her mouth and gummed it. A small tuft of blonde hair protruded from the top of her head. A black and silver hair tie pulled it all together.
“Cute kid.”
“Thank you. This is Gemma, she’s one, aren’t you, honey?”
The girl gurgled a little.
“Where’s John?”
“Oh, he stepped out, he shouldn’t be long. He went to get some milk.”
Jack nodded casting his gaze over the modern kitchen. It had stainless steel appliances and funky lighting on the ceiling. The walls were a light shade of brown with white trim. She returned with his pants. He disappeared into the bathroom and slipped into them.
“Do you take milk in your coffee?” she asked as he reappeared.
“No just black, thank you.”
She slid a large cup in front of him. The aroma reached his nostrils and they flared as he inhaled the sweetness. It was like heaven. He gulped a mouthful down.
“By the way, my name’s Karen.”
“Jack.”
She nursed her cup as steam swirled around her face. There was an uncomfortable amount of time that passed as she took a few minutes to feed her kid. It was always the same with strangers. No doubt she was wondering what he was doing there. He felt like he was imposing.
A gust of wind blew in as John returned, coming in the back door.
“Ah, you are up, Jack. Good to see.” He stopped at his wife and gave her a kiss. In one hand he had milk, in the other a collection of pink roses. No doubt that was his way of attempting to smooth out whatever heated conversation they’d had the previous night. Jack’s arrival couldn’t have been easily accepted.
John leaned down to Gemma and kissed her on the forehead the way a father should lovingly treat his child. “Hello my sweet girl. And how are you this morning?”
Gemma gurgled with a big smile on her face, while smashing the cookie against the hard plastic serving tray.
Karen came over with a bowl of freshly cut melon and a plate of toast.
“There’s cereal, condiments, and fresh juice.”
“Thank you.”
“You want to give us a moment, hon?” John said to Karen.
“Sure.” She scooped up Gemma. “Time for bath.”
“You have a nice family,” Jack said.
John stirred his coffee and reached for some toast.
“Thanks, how do you feel today?”
“Yeah, about that. Thank you. I know
you didn’t have to do this.”
“That’s right.” Jack sensed an edge to his voice. “You know, whatever trouble you have got yourself in. Look, I want to help you but I have a family and I can’t afford to have their safety put at risk.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?” he shot back before beginning to dab some butter on his toast and spread it thinly. It crunched as he took a bite and then washed it down with coffee.
“What happened?”
Jack peered down into his coffee and then brought him up to speed on everything that had occurred from the day he talked to Zhang to last night. He didn’t expect John to understand what he was trying to do. Neither was he going to stay at his home long. After seeing Malese killed, the risk of them being punished for helping Jack was at the forefront of his mind.
John swept a hand over his face and chin that was showing stubble.
“I want to help them but this is far beyond what we do at the mission, Jack. I see all kinds roll in through those doors every day and some of them we can help but there will always be the ones that fall through the cracks. Zhang for instance.” He paused saying his name. The reality of it hung heavy between them. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not looking for you to get involved and I understand the risk you have taken covering up for me. I will be out of your hair today.”
“Deon is looking for you. The officer.”
“He’s going to think that I was responsible for that girl’s death. But it wasn’t me, John. I tried, but…” Jack trailed off feeling a wave of guilt crash down on him.
“You aren’t going to stop, are you?”
Jack met his gaze. “No. Not until I know that kid is safe. Him and his sister.”
“Leave it to the police, Jack. Tell them what you know.”
“I don’t expect you to understand this but some men can’t be dealt with by the justice system. They already have the justice system in their pocket. They won’t listen to reason. Some men only understand one thing. Violence.”
“There are other ways.”
“Tell me, because I’m all ears?”