by Kira Saito
The spacious room was empty. “Are you in here?” I asked opening the bathroom door. I scanned the room and saw that he had left his laptop open and the desk was covered in stacks of notes. Curious as to what his spin on the story was and if there were parts that I could copy, I opened his laptop which wasn’t password protected. “Such an amateur mistake for a so-called reporter,” I said as I began to read the names of various documents and files that were saved on the computer. This was the part of being a reporter that I absolutely loved, the research part. Of course, others would see it as snooping, but I saw it as merely covering all of my bases.
I clicked on a file called vacation. What did this Chris guy do in his spare time? Who was he to tell me that I was crazy? I flipped through the pictures that were mostly shots of him and people who I assumed were his family members. I felt guilty as the pictures were rather cute shots of him hugging a woman who I assumed was his mom, him playing football with his nieces and nephews, and lots of group shots of him and his family having Christmas dinner.
My hand froze as I focused in on one of the faces at the table. I composed myself enough to zoom in on the face. “What the hell.” It was my bearded stalker eating at the same table as Chris. Thinking that I may have been mistaken, I flipped through the rest of the pictures until I came across a shot of them rising beer glasses into the air. I zoomed in on the bearded man’s face. There was no mistaking that it was the same man who had been following me around town. He had the same squinty brown eyes and same toothy grin. “You bastard!”
It became clear that Chris had been gaslighting me, making me think that I had been crazy when I told him about the bearded man in the Quarter. The two of them had been working together this whole time. But why? What reason did they have to do this to me? Chris and I were supposed to be on the same team, why would he want to keep an eye on me? There had to be a reason he claimed he hadn’t seen anything suspicious at the Dubois mansion and was so hell-bent on making me think that I hadn’t seen Charlene when I knew that I had. My phone buzzed. It was Richard. I read the text.
Don’t forget our brunch date.
I glanced at my watch. I didn’t have much time before I had to meet him, so I needed to find out what Chris’ game was and fast. I opened and closed various files with no luck. They were all boring political stories. I clicked on a file labeled Time for Fun. Vomit built at the back of my throat as I flipped through the pictures that contained images of naked underage children in suggestive poses. My heart nearly stopped as I continued to flip and came across pictures of Zoe. Naked pictures of Zoe. The same pictures that had been found on Jay Simmons’ laptop. “You bastard, I’m going to kill you.” My entire body was shaking at this point, my dress was drenched in sweat as I continued to flip, I came across pictures of Charlene Dubois. Naked and in poses that matched those of Zoe.
I wanted to stop, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t look away. There was another file labeled Prices for Fun. I opened the file and saw charts and charts of names, ages, genders, and prices for specific services. There were pages and pages. Another file was labeled Easy Targets. I opened it. My heart stopped as I saw pictures of myself and Zoe together in spots that we often frequented such as Zen’s Pot. We weren’t the only ones, there were hundreds of pictures of other kids with their parents, in playgrounds, restaurants, libraries, schools, places where you thought were completely safe.
Another file was labeled Fallout Boys. I opened it and found pictures of men mostly young and poor. “Hell no.” The file contained pictures of Jay Simmons in his everyday life taking his mother to the hospital, working at the supermarket, checking out books from the library, having coffee with Zoe over a pile of books.
My mind raced as it became clearer and clearer that Jay Simmons had been set up, he had been nothing but a fallout boy and I may or may have not hired a hit man to kill him. I had to copy these files. I had to tell the police, but why would they believe me? Detective Ryan already suspected that I had pimped out Zoe going to him with this evidence would seem as if I were trying to cover my own tracks.
I clicked on another file labeled Hit List Problem Causers Parents who Just Won’t Give Up. I found pictures of myself from three years ago right after Zoe had disappeared until up to yesterday. There were shots of me speaking to various detectives, going to fortune tellers, drug dealers as well as stalking Jay Simmons. No wonder Chris seemed to know what songs I liked, he had been following me for the past three years. Him and that bearded man weren’t simple YouTubers, they were professional pimps. I was causing him problems with my snooping and the fact that I was covering the Dubois story, he wanted me out of the way and I had fallen for his act. I had allowed myself to open up to him.
The thought of Zoe being sold to some pervert on the deep web made me lose it. “I’m going to murder you, bastard.” There had been a reason why he wanted me to believe that Charlene Dubois was dead, he had probably sold her to who knows who in some far-off country.
Pimping had come a long way from the good old days. A while back the paper had published a piece on this trade and had claimed that sex trafficking was the new version of American slavery. It had gone in depth as to how sophisticated these new pimps were. These guys had organized networks that extended all across the globe and used social media as their own private candy shop. Atlanta, which was home to the world’s busiest airport saw an influx of $290 million a year from this illegal trade, I wondered what the rest of the states brought in and struggled to do the math. How many innocent people were involved in this vile practice that seemed so primitive?
I heard heavy foot step make their way down the hall “Shit. Oh shit!” There was no way I would be able to down load all of the files. I quickly took out my phone and snapped shots of the photos of Zoe and Charlene and put my phone back in my purse. I then closed all of the open windows, deleted the computer’s recent history and got up from the chair. I had promised myself that I wouldn’t pop a single pill today, but this was way more than I could handle. I popped two and then thought about two more but decided against that. I couldn’t repeat last night, it would only give this monster more power. Maybe that’s what all the health professionals failed to see, pill popping, body numbing wasn’t only a physical disease, it was a spiritual one. How were we supposed to handle this messed up world sober when the very core of any sane person’s being couldn’t understand the madness?
“Sugar.” The door opened and Chris stood on the other side.
My heart beat a mile a minute as I reflected on all of the sick, vile trash that was stored on his computer. My first instinct was to confront him to tell him that I knew; however, my thoughts drifted back to last night and my mystery attacker. Vague recollections flashed before me as did a pair of blue eyes. Blue eyes that were the same shade as Chris’, or had they been? “Goddamn it, Kate, why can’t you get anything right?” I muttered frustrated with myself. Where had he been all day? My hands fingered my neck and I knew that I had to be smarter than I usually was. An outright confrontation was not the way to go.
“Chris, hi, I was looking for you. You weren’t in the session.” I was light, bright, and cheery.
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that I had some business to take care of in the Quarter.”
My heart stopped at his words and all type of scenarios raced through my head as to what type of business he was referring to. “That sounds rather cryptic. Do you want to share?” I stretched my mouth into a wide fake smile that was as fake as his career.
“Naw, no point in boring you.” He gave me a toothy grin. He placed his arms around me shoulders. “Hey, I’m sorry about last night…”
There was something odd about the way he said those words. I looked into his eyes and then took in the length of his body. It was him. It was definitely him. He had been my mystery attacker. “What happened last night?” I asked playing dumb.
“Oh come on, Kate, you remember.”
“No, I don’t. I fell fast asleep and can’t rec
all a single thing that happened yesterday.”
He let out a low whistle. “Well, if you remember anything, I’d like to hear about it. How’d the session go today? What did you tell Mrs. Dubois?”
I shrugged. “Nothing. I told her that I didn’t see anything. Of course she was disappointed, but I couldn’t just make something up, could I? It would make us sound like amateurs.”
“Smart move, sugar. We wouldn’t want her to think that we won’t be able to solve this mystery, would we?”
“Not at all,” I said stepping away from him. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you later.” I placed my hand on the doorknob. He stepped closer. The room began to shrink, he began to grow, I could hear his heart pounding as he glanced at the computer and then back at me.
“What’s the rush? I thought maybe we could grab brunch and try to help you remember what happened last night.”
“I’ve got an upset stomach which is the reason I really need to go. I mean literally, I need to go.” I motioned towards my stomach.
“That’s why you’re acting all weird.”
“Weird, I’m not acting weird.” I was such a terrible actress. Hiding my feelings had never been my strongest point. I placed my hand over my stomach. “Coffee on an empty stomach is never a good idea.”
“Right. Well, I’ll see you later.”
“Later.” I left the room and calmly walked down the hall looking over my shoulder to make sure that I wasn’t being followed.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kate
I ran down the street to Commander’s Palace, which thankfully was practically next door to the inn. Trembling with nerves and fear, I took deep breath and popped another pill before stepping into the extravagant restaurant.
“Kate, over here.” Richard was already seated and carefully examining the menu.
“Richard, it’s good to see you.” I gave him a warm smile genuinely happy to see his familiar face. At this moment, he was the only person I could trust with the information I had found.
“You look … Good …” Richard eyed my dress, combed hair and face full of make-up and his eyes widened in appreciation. How long had it been since he had seen me this way? Three years at least. “Healthier … I hope …”
Only if he had a clue. Sitting in that beautiful restaurant with Richard across from me brought back memories of all the summer vacations we had taken as a family. The three of us had made it our goal to explore a different country every year. Now, along with Zoe, all of those promises of adventure, hope, and life had been destroyed by a pervert. I could no longer control my feelings and tears of anger spilled down my face.
“For Christ’ sake, can we please have a decent meal without all of the drama?”
“Richard, you don’t understand, I know what happened to Zoe and it isn’t good at all…”
He studied me silently for a few seconds. “Let me guess, now that Jay Simmons has turned up dead, you’ve set your focus on another possible target. Who is it? Don’t tell me it’s that kid who helped her with her math homework from time to time.”
“Look.” I took out my phone and showed him the naked pictures of Zoe, Charlene and several other young boys and girls.
The color drained from his face. “Where did you find these pictures? Why are you carrying them around on your phone? Do you know how much trouble you can get in if anyone catches you with those?” His voice was low and disgusted as he glanced from table to table making sure that no one else had seen the pictures. “Is that Charlene Dubois?” His curiosity got the best of him, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of the screen, his mouth hung open in confusion and horror. “We have to tell the cops. We have to tell Mr. Dubois, goddamn it, you can’t keep those on your phone, they can arrest you.”
“Richard, I know I’ve given you every reason in the world not to believe a word I say; however, this time, I need you to listen. I need you to listen not because you’re my soon to be ex-husband but because you’re Zoe’s father and you have every right to know the truth. I found these pictures on the laptop of the guy who is covering the Dubois case. He’s one of those YouTube reporters or claims he is, but I found files and files of evidence that indicates that he’s actually a pimp, part of a well-organized network of sex traffickers. His job as a so-called reporter is just a front he and his men use to stalk prey. He knows that I have connections to the reporting world and that I’m never going to give up on finding Zoe. I think that he tried to kill me last night to silence me.”
“Kate, what are you saying?” Richard’s face held the same hopeless expression that it wore the first twenty-four hours Zoe had disappeared. “Don’t tell me you think that our baby has been trafficked?”
“If you ever loved me, you have to give me the benefit of the doubt even if I have given you no reason to do so for the past three years.”
Richard rarely cried and when he did, it was only when he was truly upset. I hated seeing him cry, with every drop he shed, a piece of my soul bled.
There, we sat, in a luxurious restaurant crying, the both of us bound together by the past, by our one true love, Zoe. We were two warriors, tired of sparing against one another, finally admitting defeat, admitting that we still needed one another. “Hush, my darling, don’t cry, we have to have hope that our baby is still alive.”
Richard covered his face with his hands shielding his blotchy face from curious onlookers. “Don’t do that, Kate, don’t you dare do that.”
“Do what?” I asked through my own tears.
“Be kind to me when I haven’t been there for you. I’m sorry for abandoning you. After Zoe disappeared, I felt as if I lost you too. I stayed away from you because it was too painful to lose her and then you.”
“You haven’t lost me, Richard. I’m right here. I want to get better. I want to get help, but before I can do that I need to know what happened to our baby. Maybe you and I can never go back to the way things were, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try to be civil. Who knows we may even end up being friends.”
He stopped crying and wiped his face with the cloth napkin. “We have to call the cops, let them take care of this guy. The weasel will eventually confess to all of the sordid details.”
“No, the police have been useless. Detective Ryan is under the impression that I pimped out Zoe; he doesn’t believe a word that comes out of my mouth. The only way we can convince him is to get access to those files, all of them. I didn’t have enough time, but they were very detailed with enough evidence to put him and whoever else is helping him away for the rest of their lives.”
“I’ve got the best lawyers that money can buy, the cops won’t have any evidence on you once they have their way.”
“We can’t let him know that we’re on to him, if we get the police involved, he’ll destroy the evidence.”
“Well, we can’t just sit here. What do you suggest that we do?”
The old Kate came rushing back. “The place that I’m staying at is down the street. I can invite him out to dinner. I’ll tell him that I don’t want to face you and Anita alone, that you want those divorce papers signed and I’m not ready. You and Anita can distract him while I sneak back to the inn and download all the files and hide the laptop in my room.”
“Kate, I don’t know … It sounds pretty risky … Maybe we should just let the cops handle it.”
“We can do this, Richard. We have to do this for Zoe and for Charlene.”
“I don’t know.”
“Trust me,” I pleaded. “Let me prove to you that I’m not crazy.”
Richard examined me quietly for a few seconds. “I’ll let Anita know that dinner is at eight.”
“Thank you, Richard,” I said finally finding purpose to life again. I would destroy Chris.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Kate
I stared in the mirror admiring at how well I had managed to clean up in a little black dress. Tonight, I was going to play the biggest role of my life and there was no chance that
I would mess it up. I hadn’t popped a single pill in hours. I wanted to be fresh and lucid. Getting Chris to agree to have dinner with Richard and Anita had been easy. A little too easy. He was curious to have dinner with one of America’s most powerful couples and had agreed to help me avoid potential humiliation.
I headed to the lobby and did my best to erase the images and files I had seen on the laptop. “Looking real nice, sugar.” Chris gave me a large grin. I felt ashamed at how much I had allowed myself to be charmed by him and his easy compliments. Had Zoe been charmed in the same manner? Had she taken one look at his bright blue eyes and decided that he could be her older Mr. Darcy. What had he done to her before trafficking her? Where was she now? I wanted to ask him all of these questions, to put him on the spot and to demand that he take me to her, but I resisted the urge and focused on being rational for once.
“Thanks.” Smiling at him was one of the hardest things I had ever done. “You don’t look too bad yourself. I never knew you were a seersucker type of fellow.”
He extended his arm and I reluctantly held on to it. “This soon to be ex-husband of yours is going to be eating his hat after he sees you tonight.”
I smiled. “Thanks for doing this again. I wouldn’t be able to face them on my own. I want to get those stupid divorce papers signed so we can focus on the Dubois case again. Madame Queenie said that we have a session tomorrow.” I spoke a mile a minute to cover up my nerves. Luckily, Chris assumed that I was acting stranger than usual because I was about to meet Richard and Anita. Perhaps yesterday, I would have been a ball of nerves at the thought of meeting them for dinner, but now, everything had changed.