Currents of Sin

by Arleen Alleman

  “Tina, can you at least tell me why you don’t want to talk about him? I just want to make sure he’s on the up and up with you kids. You know what I mean?”

  Finally, her unusual gold-flecked eyes came up to meet mine. They were wide open with genuine surprise.

  “Oh no, it’s nothing bad. We just don’t talk about the plan.”

  “What plan is that?” I asked.

  Banu shifted in her seat and stared at Tina as if willing her to answer me. It struck me then that these two were not in agreement about Ping and his mission. Tina finally broke another long silence.

  “Tadashi knows that we don’t have to worry about our lives much longer. We’re all leaving soon.”

  Her top teeth came down over her lip. Clearly, she was trying to stop herself from saying anything else. A chill worked its way down my spine. What is she talking about? A word came to mind—cult. Was this guy some sort of apocalyptic fanatic? “The end of the world is upon us” sort of craziness?

  “Banu, will you talk to me about the mission and Mr. Ping?”

  She glanced at Tina, whose slight head shake was barely noticeable. “I not involved. Not religious. Just go for food.” That was all she would say.

  I changed the subject. “Okay, never mind about that. Look, I know we’ve asked you this several times, but are you sure you can’t shed any more light on what happened to Pammie? Tina, are you sure you don’t know the men who took the kids out of the motel?”

  Banu sat up straighter in her chair, then leaned over the table. I met her in the middle, sensing that she’d decided to be more forthcoming. In a barely audible voice, she said, “I also see men.”

  “Really?”

  She nodded. “Hear one. Talk like islands.”

  It took a moment for me to understand her. “Do you mean the Caribbean? He had an accent like that?”

  She nodded. “Black. Other maybe Mexican.”

  “Are you sure they weren’t Asian?” I was confused.

  Tina reached over and tried to pull Banu backward, but the tiny girl shrugged her hand away. “Kids no want to go.”

  “You mean they were taken against their will? Abducted?”

  Her face took on an intensity I’d not seen before. She nodded once and sat back in her chair, ignoring Tina’s glare.

  “Tina, did you see this too?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Why are you so afraid to talk about this? Don’t you want to help Pammie and the others? Are you afraid of Shimmer finding out that you talked to me? Tom and I met him and had a little chat.”

  Tina was clearly shocked. “You did?”

  “Yes, he’s a pimp and a punk. You don’t have to live in fear of him, and you don’t have to work the streets either. You can let someone help you.”

  She gave me a defiant look. “And I don’t mean Tadashi Ping either.” I guess that sounded a little harsh, but this was getting tiresome.

  “Banu, tell me how Shimmer treats you. Is he violent?”

  “Not so bad. Others worse.”

  Tina’s head bobbed up and down. I could tell Banu wanted to say something else.

  “What is it? Nothing you tell me will get you in trouble. But if you can identify those men, you’ll help yourself as well as other kids who might be in danger.”

  “Others gone all times,” she whispered.

  Tina pushed her plate away and stood. “We have to get back now.”

  “Sure, I’ll take you right now.” I reached down to retrieve my purse from the floor. “First, finish what you were saying, Banu.”

  Tina interrupted. “No, don’t say any more. You could be ne—” She stopped abruptly.

  “She could be next? Is that what you almost said?”

  A single heart-wrenching tear slid from under Banu’s thick lashes. I got up and went to her side of the table. Bending down, I put my arm around a scrawny shoulder. My face was next to hers.

  “Tell me what you mean.”

  “Others gone same and different. Never know which kid.” She quickly wiped the tear away.

  “Same and different?”

  “All gone different way.”

  “Oh my god. You’re saying kids are kidnapped in different ways, and it happens regularly?”

  Now that it was out, Tina sighed and leaned down close to us. “Not regularly. They probably ran away.”

  She gave her friend a familiar warning look. Banu cringed and stopped talking.

  Back in the car, they told me that Asian gangs are known by everyone on the street to be involved in human trafficking. That we already knew.

  Oddly, Tina refused to acknowledge that the kids taken out of the motel were part of that. Despite being an intelligent girl, she seemed to be confused, or she had a blind spot when it came to the abductions. Clearly, Banu held a different position but was afraid to speak up. It didn’t make sense, but I was sure the reason traced right back to Ping.

  Asian gang members hung out at the motel all the time, they said, but reiterated that the men who took the kids at night often were not Asian. I didn’t know what that meant, but I was becoming increasingly concerned that Pammie was the victim of a trafficking ring with an international connection.

  After dropping the girls off, I called Tom, then met him at the El Cortez. He’d trailed me from the mission to the restaurant and back again, but I never saw him.

  “Let me summarize this while it’s fresh,” I said over a cup of coffee. “Kids get taken out of the motel at night by men with various nationalities. This time, Banu said the kids did not want to go with the men. She said they were abducted. The funny thing is Tina isn’t very concerned about that. In fact, she doesn’t seem to believe it.”

  “She should be concerned. What’s wrong with her? She’s the one who was worried about Banu being taken by traffickers.”

  “I know, Tom. It makes no sense. She still won’t talk about Ping’s mission, and I think there’s a connection. The other thing I got out of them is that kids go missing in other ways and at other times, but they wouldn’t elaborate. Getting them to talk is like a painfully slow tooth extraction.”

  “I don’t understand why they won’t let themselves be helped. Banu is so little, so fragile. I want to do something for her …”

  His voice cracked as the words trailed off, but the emotion left behind was intense and tender. Obviously, he felt a deep concern and maybe affection for her. It was something I hadn’t realized before.

  “Maybe Banu will come around eventually. I understand how you feel. There are so many girls like them. By the way, Shimmer hasn’t retaliated against them, so he probably doesn’t realize they told us anything of importance.”

  “That’s a relief.”

  “Yes, but now I’m even more convinced we’ll never see Pammie again.”

  I’d never felt as hopeless about her situation as now. She could have been taken out of the country without a trace. Poor Don and Charlie, I couldn’t imagine how to break this to them.

  24

  No sooner had I pulled into the driveway than Sid came running out of the house. She pulled open my door and nearly dragged me out of the car onto the concrete.

  “What’s the matter, Sid? What happened?”

  “Get inside!”

  I grabbed my purse and hurried toward the open front door. Inside, after securing the lock, Sid turned to me. Her freckled face was flushed, and she was breathing in gulps of air.

  “Sid, calm down. You’re going to hyperventilate.” I led her into the living room. After we sat down next to each other on the sofa, I leaned even closer and picked up her hand.

  “Sid, where is Brooks?”

  “I can’t reach him either. He went to a Chamber of Commerce dinner and must have turned his phone off.” Her voice was shrill and edged with panic.

 
“Okay, tell me why you’re so upset.”

  She drew in a deep breath, obviously trying to compose herself. “I tried repeatedly to call your cell. I was so worried.”

  I reached into my bag and pulled out the phone. It was turned off. “I’m so sorry, Sid. I forgot to turn it back on after meeting Tom at the hotel.”

  The thought occurred to me that in a relatively short time, we’ve become so accustomed to instantaneous communication that it is startling when we can’t reach someone immediately. I studied her expression.

  “But not being able to reach us can’t be the reason you seem so scared.”

  “I got another call, and this time, the man mentioned you.”

  “What? Me? In what context?”

  “He said to tell you you’re in way over your head and should go home before you get hurt.”

  I sat back and contemplated the lovely painting on the opposite wall. It was a rural landscape with sheep and rolling hills—a print of a famous classical painting, I assumed. The bucolic scene did not relax me. My thoughts and stomach contents swirled as I tried to make sense of this latest piece of disturbing news. Finally, my gut settled into an uncomfortable, nauseating lump pushing against my diaphragm.

  “I see why you’re so worried. That was a clear threat all right.” I fought against my own rising panic. “Sid, are all the doors locked?”

  She looked around, then back at me. “Yes, of course, and the alarm is set.”

  “Okay, let’s think about this logically. There are two unrelated things going on: threatening calls to you that are probably tied to Paul and my efforts to find Pammie. If the guy on the phone was the same one who called you before, then someone must think I’m somehow a threat. Obviously, they know I’m staying here, which says a lot about the car following me this morning. But why? I hate to say this, Sid. But the only thing that makes sense is they have another plan to do something to you, and they’re trying to scare me off.”

  She cringed. “I know. I thought about it while I was waiting for you. I do think it was the same guy, and I still think it has to do with Paul. So I guess that means the threat has nothing to do with the real reason you’re here. Now I’m scared to death that they are going to make another attempt to get to me, and they believe you’re in the way. If anything else happened to you because of me …”

  She took a deep breath. “Oh my god. Brooks will go nuts when he hears this.”

  “Remember, Sid, it’s no secret Paul harbors resentment toward me and Mick for interfering with his previous plots against you. We were totally instrumental in his capture and prosecution … both times. They could be threatening me completely apart from you.”

  Sid dropped her head so that a wedge of auburn hair fell forward, hiding her face. “That’s what I came up with as well,” she said. “And that leaves no doubt that Paul is orchestrating the calls and is still supported by his old cronies somewhere in town. I hope it isn’t at the Athens Olympia. I took pains to sell the place to a group I believed was aboveboard and wouldn’t be involved in criminal activities.”

  “Right, so I don’t think this has anything to do with Pammie or the gang issues.

  I’m going to call Mick. We need to get the authorities at as high a level as possible involved quickly. We do have contacts here. I don’t think the local police will be able to do anything.”

  “You mean Agent Murray? We should contact him as soon as possible.”

  I debated whether to call then or wait till morning since it was past eleven in DC. Finally, I decided we couldn’t wait. Mick picked up on the second ring.

  “Hey, sweetie, I was just thinking about you. I decided that tomorrow I’ll call Murray and see if he’ll meet with you and Tom. Has anything new happened?”

  Talk about a meeting of the minds. “Ha, that’s why I’m calling.” I filled him in on Brooks’s call to the prosecutor and then explained the latest call and the reference to me.

  “Christ, Darcy, I don’t believe this. There’s no question now that we need to get Murray involved. Is there any point in my suggesting you should come home now?”

  “Yes, there is. I don’t think there’s much more I can do here. But I’d like to think about whether to come directly there or go back to Florida first.

  “But something else happened, Mick, and it pretty much guarantees this is all Paul’s doing. When I went for a run this morning, there was this SUV that passed me several times, going very slowly as if they were checking me out. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be a big deal, but I think they were trying to scare me. It might be related to the calls Sid is getting.”

  I knew how upset he would be, and he didn’t disappoint. “Damn it, Darcy. You’ve been overtly threatened now? You need to get out of there. It’s bad enough that Sid stays there exposing herself to that asshole’s vengeance.”

  Sid was watching me, and I gave her a weak smile. “Okay, Mick, you’re right.” I couldn’t express my disappointment at his insinuation that my safety was more important than Sid’s with her listening. “I’ll wrap things up here and make a decision where to go next.”

  “Sweetie, I’m sorry for getting angry, but I can’t allow you to get injured again. Do you understand? I’ll talk to Tom and Murray. There must be something the authorities can do about Paul.”

  Choosing to disregard his controlling tone because I shared his concern about my well-being, I said, “I love you, Mick. Have a good night, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  25

  Shimmer stepped outside into the parched night air. Despite the oven-like heat, he breathed deeply, enjoying a few moments’ relief from the suffocating rancid atmosphere inside the room. Devoid of his heavy chains and other pimp paraphernalia, he pulled a newly rolled cigarette from his jeans pocket and lit up, pulling the cannabis deep into his lungs. The area surrounding the Green Door was intensely dark with a cloud cover obscuring the moon. In addition, the outside light fixtures held no bulbs.

  He was thinking about a recent meeting with his bosses. He’d been tagged to handle two projects, and he’d already chosen a fourteen-year-old boy for one of them. Now he briefly wondered about the kid’s chances of survival. He didn’t really care—it was just curiosity.

  The job would be tricky in more ways than one. He had to make sure another set of dangerous employers did not find out about these extracurricular activities. He was walking a narrow and treacherous line between them and hoped his luck was not running out.

  Regardless of the risk, he had no choice. Tomorrow, he would figure out a way to set up the second job—the abduction of a very pretty and very young Asian beauty. After he described her childlike looks and complacent attitude, his bosses targeted her to join a stable of special girls. Her childish perfection would perfectly fulfill the desires of a specific and expanding clientele.

  He’d also told his bosses about his chat with the couple who came asking about Pammie Fleetfoot. Now he was having second thoughts, wondering if he should have kept the encounter to himself. He explained how he misdirected the couple’s attention but was still worried that others might not see it the same way.

  A few of Shimmer’s girls were at that moment entertaining customers inside the motel, and others would soon be returning from the streets. Who knew if they all would survive another night of turning tricks in cars and alleys? After collecting their earnings and locking them in for the rest of the night, he planned to meet with other gang members involved in prostitution to settle up the night’s take.

  His thoughts were pleasantly fuzzy, so he flicked his smoke onto the gravel strip next to the sidewalk and leaned back against the wall. The traffic on Maryland Parkway was nearly nonexistent at this time of night. Only one or two cars were parked at the 7-Eleven half a block away. Glancing across the street, he saw that the liquor store and bar looked deserted and noted that the weird little pastor who ran his own mission was n
owhere in sight.

  Deep in thought about the steps he would take to make sure the sensitive abduction was carried out without a hitch, he failed to notice the man emerging stealthily from the alley in back of the motel. From the pimp’s right side, the newcomer slowly approached on the darkened sidewalk next to the building. By the time Shimmer realized he was not alone and turned to greet the man, it was too late.

  Quick as a darting serpent, the visitor thrust a long knife up under Shimmer’s rib cage and twisted it before pulling it out. As blood gushed from the wound, an excruciating pain filled his chest, and he tried to double over in a protective gesture. A second, then a third stabbing pain to his gut ended any chance of mounting a defense. As he slid down the wall into a puddle of warm blood spreading across the pavement, he looked up to identify his attacker.

  It was too dark to make out the features, and it didn’t matter. The knife came down in several more flesh- and organ-ripping jabs. As Shimmer lost consciousness, his thoughts oddly drifted to the lucky little girl who would remain downtown for at least one more day.

  26

  After talking with Darcy, Mick knew he would not get much sleep. He decided to call Tom despite the late hour. The room’s landline rang ten times, and Mick was preparing to leave a message when Tom picked up.

  “Hi, Tom, I thought you were out.”

  “Mick, you called at just the right time.” He sounded breathless. “I just came in, and I thought the call was from Darcy. She doesn’t know anything about what happened yet.”

  “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but I just spoke with her. She told me about Sid getting another threatening call, and this time, they named Darcy specifically. Apparently, it isn’t the first threat she’s received. Is that what you mean?”

  “Oh my god, I didn’t talk to her tonight, and I don’t know anything about that call. But something else has happened. Last night, Darcy and I talked with a pimp who lives in the motel downtown, and he was just murdered.”