by Chris Angus
A thin, mousy-faced girl unlocked lips with a heavyset boy long enough to say, “Don’t know where he went, but he had company and he looked like he was planning on a good time.”
“He had a woman with him?”
The girl nodded. “Real pretty too, but tiny, like a doll almost. You had to feel sorry for her. I thought she might be a hooker, the way Lloyd was holding her arm. Possessive-like.”
“Who else but a hooker would go with Lloyd?” said the guitar player.
“Was she being held against her will?” Sarah asked.
“Didn’t seem like it,” the girl said. “But I only saw them together for a minute.” She turned away and locked lips again with the heavyset boy who was becoming impatient. Pound for pound, Garrett thought, these young teens must be some of the most sexually experienced kids in the province. He glanced at Sarah and shrugged.
“Have a good night, kids,” he said, turning away. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
There was a sprinkling of laughter and one voice in the darkness cried, “I bet you two do it all the time.”
“I wish,” Sarah whispered, as they worked their way back down the path, now almost invisible in the dark. When they were out of sight, Garrett stopped suddenly and pulled her close to him. He kissed her hard.
When they came up for air, Sarah murmured, “Trying to set an example for the kids?”
He stroked her hair. “For troubled youth, they looked to be having a whole lot more fun than we are.”
31
KITTY STARED OUT THE WINDOW of Lloyd’s car. They were in an upscale part of Halifax, near Bedford Basin. Lloyd had volunteered to introduce her to some people who might agree to an interview about the world of child prostitution. He cloaked it all in the guise of research, saying he’d been around long enough to have built up a certain level of trust with these people.
She couldn’t quite believe anyone breaking the law would want to talk about it openly, but as a reporter she’d used the promise of confidentiality to score big interviews in the past. People liked to talk about what they did. Even scumbags. It had been a revelation to her when she started out in the business. She was already working on the story in her mind. An exclusive look at how young girls were ensnared in the world of prostitution. Maybe she’d make the national news.
But she was beginning to have second thoughts. Lloyd oozed charm like snake oil. As he drove, he emphasized his points by touching a hand to her thigh, just long enough to send a message.
“Who are we going to see exactly?” Kitty asked.
“Woman named Madame Liu. She runs a service called Madame Liu’s Lulus. I called ahead while you were in the bathroom, told her we were coming.”
“And she wants to talk about this?”
“Long as no names are involved. I told her all about you. She said she’s seen you on TV. I guess she liked what she saw.”
Kitty wasn’t sure how to take that. She leaned against the door, trying to get as far from Lloyd as possible. She knew she was taking a risk. But that’s what reporters did, and she felt a certain safety in her fame. What fool in the prostitution business was going to hurt a well-known figure? It would be suicidal. On the other hand, she couldn’t really imagine why they’d be willing to talk to her either. So she was on edge as they turned into the entrance to a large Victorian house with manicured lawns.
Lloyd bounced out of the car, went around, and opened her door, taking her arm proprietarily. “Nice place,” he said. “You’ll like it. Very upscale.”
The door was opened by a bear of a man who seemed incapable of speech. He just grunted and waved them through a foyer filled with Asian statues. Lloyd obviously knew where he was going as he directed Kitty into a luxurious room with leather furniture and a roaring fire.
Standing in front of the fire was an attractive Chinese woman. She looked Kitty up and down, then said to Lloyd, “You’ve got an eye all right, Lloyd.”
Kitty noticed that the huge man who had let them in had entered behind them and now stood to one side, cracking his knuckles, or so it seemed. She tried to assert herself.
“Madame Liu? I want to thank you for seeing me. I can assure you anything you say to me will be held in complete confidence.” She held out her hand.
The woman stared at her hand. Then, without preamble, she said to Lloyd, “Let’s see the goods.”
Lloyd smiled and turned to Kitty. “Take your clothes off,” he said.
Kitty blinked. “What?”
“You heard me. I told you we might be able to land you a job, but we got to see the merchandise first.”
Her eyes went wide. “I’m here for an interview.”
“It’s a kind of interview,” he replied.
“I haven’t got all day,” Madame Liu said.
Kitty looked at the woman, then at the giant standing behind her. Her heart felt like a piece of lead. She swung her head around to look at Lloyd.
“You don’t want to do this,” she said. “You can’t believe the trouble I can get you into.”
“Oh, I don’t think you’ll be much trouble at all,” said Lloyd, and the way he said it sent a chill right down to Kitty’s tiny little toes. “You think you’re pretty hot stuff, don’t you? Well, let’s see how special you really are.”
Madame Liu nodded at the giant. “Strip now,” she said, “or he’ll do it for you.”
But Kitty was frozen. For all her worldliness and experience, she’d never been humiliated in such a manner before. She opened her mouth to say that Garrett knew where she was but something stopped her. These were not nice people. If they thought the cops had any idea who she was with, they might decide to just kill her and be done with it.
Lloyd said, “I kind of prefer it when we have to take their clothes off. But any way you want it, Miss Wells, it’s going to happen.”
A sheen broke out on Kitty’s upper lip. She believed him. She was completely helpless here. She could see it in Lloyd’s eyes. There was no way she wasn’t going to be standing naked in front of these people. Slowly, she lowered her purse to the floor, then stepped out of her shoes. Her hands moved like an automaton as she unbuttoned her blouse. The big guy leaned forward in anticipation. Lloyd settled back to watch with a confident smile, as he saw her resistance collapse.
Kitty dropped the blouse on the floor and began to undo her pants. She could feel her face redden under Lloyd’s stare. Then the pants were gone too. Her legs were perfectly proportioned, slim and tanned. She stood uncertainly, as if hoping for divine intervention.
“Come on,” Lloyd said. “You should have taken my invitation to do a little gardening with me when you had the chance. Might have been more fun. Now I got to share you.”
Madame Liu clapped her hands once, loudly. The sudden noise shocked Kitty. “Everything off!” the woman ordered. “Now.” She nodded impatiently to the big man, who started forward eagerly.
Kitty raised one hand, palm out, to forestall him. Then she reached behind her back and unhooked her bra. Her breasts were the least favorite part of her body. She’d always thought they were too small, like those of a young girl, but they were pert and nicely shaped. She saw Lloyd stare at them and take in his breath.
Then she removed her panties and stood with her arms folded across her chest.
“Arms over your head,” Madame Liu said, “and turn around.”
Kitty complied, feeling like she was in a dream, some sort of exotic sexual nightmare. Except she realized she was excited. More excited than she’d ever been. An incredible warmth came over her, and her entire body flushed red.
Madame Liu nodded approvingly. “You were right, Lloyd. She’s pretty special. Some men like that petite little body. It’s like one of our thirteen-year-old girls, except with more awareness in the eyes. And the body flush … exquisite. I can market that at the highest level.”
Kitty had her back to them now and could feel Lloyd’s eyes looking down at her narrow waist, her perfect, tiny little b
ottom. Goose bumps rose on her buttocks. She felt Lloyd’s hand on the small of her back and almost leaped out of her skin as he ran his hand lower, caressing the goose bumps. He gave her butt a playful squeeze.
‘Not bad,” he said. “Not bad at all. I bet you’re a real tiger in the sack.”
“All right,” said Madame Liu. “That’s enough.”
Kitty moved as if in a dream. She was completely humiliated that Lloyd had exposed her so utterly. He was the last man on earth she would ever have chosen to be naked in front of. Yet she was stunned at how incredibly hot and aroused she felt, on the edge of having an orgasm. She’d never realized before how erotic it was to feel totally helpless. Kind of like all those men she’d teased and tortured over the years with her body and looks and moves. She’d enjoyed that feeling of power and control she’d had over them. Now she had an idea how they felt.
Madame Liu opened a drawer in her desk, took out a fat wad of bills, and handed them to Lloyd. “Let me know if you come across any more like her,” she said. “No one knows you brought her here, right?”
Lloyd nodded, stuffing the bills in his pocket. “I’d be glad to start the conditioning if you like,” he said.
Madame Liu shook her head, “I’m sure you would. But this one will require some very careful handling. I don’t want to waste her … use her up … before I sell her. I’ll get a fortune for her. I have to decide how much work she’ll need.”
Kitty listened in disbelief. They were talking about selling her body. “You … you can’t do this,” she said. “You know who I am?”
“That’s what will make the price so high,” said Madam Liu. “Relax, from what you’ve just showed us, you might enjoy the experience. That body flush wasn’t embarrassment. It was excitement, wasn’t it?”
The woman nodded to the giant. He put one hand on Kitty’s arm and began to pull her toward a door opposite the fireplace.
“What about my clothes?” she said.
“You won’t need them,” said Madame Liu. “We’ll provide clothes when it’s time.”
“Sorry I couldn’t give you a workout, Kitty,” said Lloyd, real disappointment in his voice. “But I certainly enjoyed the show. Too bad we couldn’t tape it. Now there would be some ‘news at eleven’ that might have really jump-started your career.”
He was still laughing at his own joke as Kitty and the monster left the room. He led her down a corridor and up a set of steps to a bedroom. He groped her buttocks and then pushed her through the door and locked it behind her.
She stood, breath short, still working on controlling the adrenalin that was racing through her veins. The room was spare compared to the rest of the house. There was a bed with a sheet, pillow, and single blanket. A large stuffed chair sat in one corner opposite a plain brown dresser with a vase on top. It held some sort of dried weeds. That was the sum total of the furnishings. No pictures on the walls. There were no windows, no other doors. Not even a closet. She wondered how many other women had been here in the same situation she was in.
She went over and listened at the door. She could hear the heavy footsteps of the man going away and then nothing. She tried the handle. Locked tight. She leaned her weight against it, but since she weighed only ninety-eight pounds soaking wet, it didn’t even creak.
There was nothing else to do. Up until the moment she was locked in this room, it might have been questionable whether what had just happened to her was even illegal. She’d investigated rape cases before and knew there were gray areas in the law. She’d accompanied Lloyd here of her own free will. No force had been used. Lloyd had simply asked her to take off her clothes and she had complied. That there was coercion was a given, but she knew coercion was a hard thing to prove.
And the truth was she had been aroused by what happened. It was humiliating and frightening, but also the most stimulating and sexually exciting few minutes of her life. She could just imagine how some hotshot solicitor would make that point in court. She had obviously engaged in a consensual sexual experience. Maybe she liked bondage. “Do you enjoy being told what to do, Miss Wells?” the solicitor would say, titillating the court.
Out loud she muttered, “Get a grip!”
None of that mattered now. Once the bedroom door was closed and locked, the crime became kidnapping and she had real fears for her life. They intended to make money off her, and that meant they would never be able to let her go. They would use her to the fullest extent possible and then kill her … if the work didn’t do it for them. No one would ever hear of Kitty Wells again. Her dreams of national fame as a correspondent would be nothing but a sad footnote about an attractive young reporter who had simply disappeared. It happened to women every day.
She sat in the chair, drew her legs up, and wrapped her arms around them. The room was warm enough, but she realized how strange it was not to be able to get dressed when she wanted to. And right now she wanted to more than anything. How long would it be before anyone missed her? Thank God she’d left a message for Garrett. But he’d have no idea where she was. Then she began to wonder how long it would be before someone came for her conditioning.
32
LONNIE SAT ON A BENCH in the Halifax Public Gardens. He nearly filled the entire thing just by himself. He held a bag of popcorn and tossed kernels to the ducks and geese that paraded around him.
He was something of a familiar sight to regulars in the gardens. He often came here after carrying out some particularly unpleasant job on the docks. It relaxed him. For all of his frightening demeanor, he was not a violent man. He didn’t like hurting people, but somehow his size had connived to make that his profession. Even in Iraq, he’d felt distaste for the things he had to do. He was an anomaly. A man of gentle nature forced to do violent things upon occasion.
It was a living.
Fortunately, those occasions were rare. His appearance and, after a time, reputation made the use of his hands a relatively rare occurrence. Nearly everyone he encountered bent over backward to do whatever he required of them.
His true nature was a vestige of his upbringing. His grandmother had believed in him, and her gentle remonstrances had stayed with him long after she was gone.
He’d just come from Big Margaret’s. Though she was a tough and bitter woman, she nevertheless was one of those who blanched at the very sight of the leviathan at her door. She operated in the same underground milieu that Lonnie did and was well aware of his reputation. When he asked her a question, she answered truthfully and fully, hoping only that he would leave as soon as possible.
But in this case, Big Margaret really knew nothing about Kitty Wells. Didn’t even know she was a television personality. Knew nothing about Lloyd’s little seduction. Still, she offered up Lloyd’s name as one possible avenue of interest and, hopefully, as a way to get Lonnie to move on. But she had no idea where Lloyd was and Lonnie believed her. Then she’d given him another lead, one that required some thought, which was why he was here in the park.
He fed the ducks and watched the couples that always seemed to abound in the beautiful gardens. Tourists and young lovers were everywhere.
It made him feel normal to be here among the flowers and birds and honeymooners. He’d yearned for intimacy and normalcy in his own life from the time he was a teenager. His grandmother’s admonitions kept him from going to professionals for his sexual needs. He refused to think of himself as some sort of pervert. As a result, he’d had very few sexual experiences in his life. Garrett had tried to set him up with blind dates a few times, but it never worked, and he grew tired of the frightened looks the women invariably exhibited when they saw him.
He watched a young couple as they walked around the dirt pathways holding hands and sighed. That would never be a part of his life. The bleakness of that reality had to be pushed constantly to the back of his mind. He had refocused his life, in odd ways, toward helping people. Working with Garrett gave him an outlet for that part of his nature. It counterbalanced the unpleasant t
hings he had to do. But sometimes it was a struggle not to get angry at the cruel joke life had played on him.
He wanted to help Kitty Wells. It sounded like she might be in real trouble from what Garrett had suggested. But he was stymied about how to find her. Still, he would keep on the trail, and Lloyd’s too. About the best feeling he’d had in a while had been when he’d managed to rescue Lila and Ayesha from Big Margaret, and it had been followed by one of the worst, when he’d had to turn Ayesha over to her father. His service in the Gulf had given him insight into the Muslim world and its exploitation of women. And he had hated it, how many of them could only appear in public in full black burqas, faces invisible.
Indeed, their entire lives were invisible. Hidden away from men, not allowed to work, go to school, drive a car, or go out in public, sold by their families to men not of their choosing, only to have daughters they would have to raise in the same manner.
He felt deep sympathy for them, for their constricted lives, not unlike how his own life was constricted. He took out a large handful of corn and threw it in an arc so at least twenty birds came scooting in from all directions.
He watched them and thought about what else Big Margaret had told him.
33
“LET’S GO BACK TO MY place,” Sarah whispered to Garrett after their long kiss.
He was in no mood to argue. Though still worried about Kitty, he had no idea how to find her. Sarah was clearly in heat. He felt the same way. Watching those young kids making out had reawakened some of their own youthful passion. They made it back to her house in record time.
As soon as they were in the kitchen door, they began to grapple and peel clothes off. Then Sarah saw the note on the table. She stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Garrett asked, nearly panting with longing for her.
“There’s something on the table,” she said.
He let go of her and picked up the note. It was from Lila. They read it together.