by K.J. Rivera
CHAPTER 3
Just like in a cheesy 90's movie there was a guy in a black suit holding up a sign with our names on it. I gave Sebastian a nudge and smiled at him like it was Christmas morning. Like two kids we jumped into the black Lincoln Town Car and touched all the amenities. The flight was short and both of us slept so we both had boundless energy. We couldn't wait to check out Bo's apartment and get started on our quest to find Grace. Sebastian called Bo to tell him we were on our way to his place. After a beautiful 15-minute drive we pull into an apartment complex that looked more like a hotel. It was facing La Jolla Shores beach and I thought of how excited Nelly would be when I told her.
Bo was waiting for us in the lobby. He gave us a tour before heading up to the 8th floor to show us where we would be staying while we worked on finding Grace. It was no surprise to me that his apartment was spotless. Bo's place was the perfect fit for him and similar to what I imagined it would be like. He had a one bedroom, two-bathroom place. His bedroom was large with a bed and a nice desk. Various gadgets were scattered around his room in orderly fashion. Sebastian was mesmerized by a two-foot robot and engaged in robot talk with Bo. The apartment was not pretentious like the compound was. The compound depicted his dad and this apartment depicted Bo. I couldn't get his dad out of my mind. I wondered how many times Bo would like to tell him to, well fudge off like Nelly would say since turning over a new leaf. My parents tried to get me to take piano lessons when I was little and I fought them like I was getting imprisoned for life. If my parents were to force a spouse on me I would do whatever it took to flee.
We sat in the living room and started to discuss why we were there. Bo inquired more about our background. Sebastian told him how we met and went into detail because everyone melts a little when hearing him tell our love story. Sebastian gave more of an overview when he explained to Bo how we stumbled upon our private investigating gig. He told Bo that we had worked a missing persons case, investigated a cheating spouse, a pedophile and a murderer. Bo asked specifically how we started this line of work and I closed my eyes as Sebastian told Bo about the night that started it all. The night Shirley Campbell catcalled me to her Mercedes in the parking lot of The Cheesecake Factory.
I pulled on my earlobe a couple of times but Sebastian did not pick up on our code. I nudged his leg then grabbed my earlobe again. This was code for him to stop talking. Sebastian would talk forever if you didn't interrupt him. I was not sure if he was talking that much or if I just couldn't stand hearing anymore about the Campbell's. Sebastian finally picked up on the signal I was giving him and invited Bo to tell us about himself.
"Well my life is pretty tame compared to your adventures," Bo said. "Let's see here. I'm 22 years old. I am biochemistry major at UC San Diego. I am a senior and will be graduating in December. So I am almost done. I grew up in Vancouver. My family has had our house in San Diego since I was little so growing up we would spend summers and holidays here. I knew I wanted to attend college at UCSD since I was in 5th grade."
"What about your family do you have siblings?" Sebastian asked.
"I am the youngest of five. I have four sisters so when I came along I was the golden child." Bo shyly looked down at the ground a moment. "Having a son is very important in the Chinese culture. I have to carry on the Tang name."
"Where do your sisters live?" I asked.
"They live in Vancouver and work in our family business. We manufacture industrial chemicals. Tang Industries. We have plants in Mexico and China. Very large and successful."
"And was that your mom that we saw the other day at your family's compound?"
"No," Bo said. "That is Mrs. Tang, my dad's wife. My mom died when I was 18 months old."
Sebastian and I both nodded staying silent as Bo paused. I felt for this guy he seemed so sweet but trapped in a life that was not his own.
"The maids and my sisters raised me," he continued. "My dad was always working."
"How old is your dad?" Sebastian asked.
"He's 62."
Sebastian paused and I knew he was trying to choose his words wisely. "Mrs. Tang looks rather young how long have the two been married?"
"Yes she is in her early 40's," Bo answered. "Let's see they have been married for five years now. She was an employee of Tang Industries for a long time before that."
I kept thinking about Bo saying his maids and sisters raised him. It made my heart sink. His dad was too busy building his business to be involved in raising his son. The only contact between the two was probably his dad giving him orders on what to do and what not to do. I was getting the full picture of Bo's childhood and it hurt. He is 22 years old and stuck under his dad's rule.
"So your dad must be pretty important," Sebastian chuckled. "He's got a lot of bodyguards. Are they always with him?"
"Ha yeah. Not sure if they are always necessary but yes he usually has a few men with him. Mr. Ho the man yo-"
Sebastian cut him off. "The guy that sweetly escorted us out the other night?"
"Yes I am sorry about that." Bo looked embarrassed. "Mr. Ho is my father's top man. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the business and of all the houses we own. He is his right hand man."
"Now that we know a little about your family tell us all about Grace," I said.
Bo sat up straight and a smile lit up his face. The weight of his family was so heavy that when his attention turned to Grace he was able to escape it for a brief moment. He started from the beginning telling us he first laid eyes on Grace when she was surfing. Bo had come to shore after taking a nasty spill on his surfboard. He spotted the only girl surfer and couldn't take his eyes off her. He could tell she was an avid surfer and watched as her long dark ponytail bobbed up and down. It wasn't until the third Saturday in a row of seeing her at his surfing spot that he worked up the courage to speak to her. They clicked right away. Bo said he was shy at first but Grace brought him out of his shell by having no reservations. She was like no other girl he had ever met. Surfing since he was 6 years old Bo dreamed of finding a true surfer girl. Bo described her face as a face of an angel. He said what he noticed first were her big caramel soft eyes with dark eyelashes. I loved seeing guys beam about their true love. We let Bo go on and on as he relived the beginning of their relationship.
Bo finally proceeded out of his romantic mode and began to tell us facts about Grace's life. She was a sophomore at San Diego State and was there on a full academic scholarship. Her major was international business with a minor in Spanish. Bo said she was fluent in Spanish and Mandarin. Grace worked part time at a clothing store in the mall. She grew up in Los Angeles in a middle class family. Her parents moved from China to the USA to give their daughter a better life. Bo let us know that Grace's mom once told her that when she lived in China she was worth less than a dog. Women were of little worth in rural China. Hearing him say that made me sad and thankful I lived in this country.
"So Bo is the reason your dad wouldn't approve of Grace is because her family is middle class?" I asked.
Bo shrugged. "No that's not the issue. My dad's wife is middle class. The reason I can't marry who I want is that I am the only son and will be heir of the family company. Like we talked about the other day it's about business. I know that sounds bad but it's true. Our family and the Ming's go back thousands of years. It's hard to explain if you are unfamiliar with Chinese culture." He spoke with a disapproving tone in his voice. "It's the way it is."
"If you knew you were being groomed to marry this Ming girl why did you get involved with Grace?" I said this angrily and I was angry. Did Grace even know about his arranged marriage? Surely she didn't know because if you knew your boyfriend was getting married to another women wouldn't that be a deal breaker?
Bo shook his head and looked to the ground for a second before looking at me directly. "Falling in love with Grace was so natural. It happened so fast. Meeting her gave me hope that something could change. My life has been scripted since I was born and for the first time I st
arted thinking about different possibilities. Something could happen that could change the course of my future. The deal with the Ming's could fall through. Or something could happen to my father and I wouldn't have to answer to him anymore. I could be with Grace."
"Did Grace know about the arranged marriage?" I asked.
"I never got around to telling her," Bo admitted. "I wanted to tell her. Well sometimes I did and other times I just wanted to ignore it so we could be together in peace."
There was silence for a few moments. I wanted to lash out at Bo and ask him what he was thinking. He was to be married in January, which was only a few months away, and he never told his girlfriend this vital piece of information. Before I could speak Sebastian directed the conversation back to finding Grace. I figured getting mad at Bo wouldn't solve anything anyway so I let it go.
I wrote down all the names of people in Grace's inner circle. Bo thought her parents and friends would all be open to talking to us. Bo's best guess of what happened to Grace was that she was kidnapped for sex trade. He said this was not uncommon in border towns and there was a high demand for Asians.
"Okay Bo," Sebastian said. "You have to tell us what was up with your dad the other night. After we got escorted out we didn't expect to hear from you again. Did he come around?"
"Look I am hiring you not my dad. He can't know about this and I want to keep it that way. He does not approve of my desire to find Grace. He thinks I would be putting my family at risk if I were to make waves in Mexico trying to find her. I have to do this alone and I want to hire you two. I have money in a trust account available to me. You two have free room and board plus any retainer you require."
"Why us?" I asked. "Not that we aren't capable of doing this it's just with your funding being limitless why don't you hire a large PI firm that could have a whole team dedicated to this? Or with your wealth offer a large reward? You may get a lot of false reports but you may also find some leads. Your flyer we got was pretty weak."
"With you two it will be off the grid. I can't sign a contract with a large firm I can't have this on record or my father will find out. My flyer is so bland because I could not in any way give the slightest hint that I had money. If they knew I had money they would just try to extort me. My family has factories in Mexico and my father has told me many stories of how people deal with people of wealth down there. You two are the perfect option."
Sebastian and I looked at each other. I thought of our jaunt to Mexico with Gwen and Nelly. I dreaded going back but if it was likely Grace was there I knew an upcoming trip was inevitable.
"So were we the only ones who answered your flyer?" Sebastian asked.
Bo nodded. "I had several calls but you two were the only ones not trying to scam me and the only ones willing to provide ID. After meeting you guys the other night I could sense your desire to help. Hearing you talk about your experiences today I am convinced you will do the best you can finding Grace. Please tell me what rate you charge for your services?"
Sebastian was frank with Bo telling him this was either a missing person case or a murder. We didn't know if Grace was alive or dead, if she was in the United States or in Mexico. Bo's face changed when Sebastian brought up the possibility that Grace was dead. His shoulders dropped down and he tightened his lips. I could tell the thought of Grace being dead was a thought he fought to keep out of his head. Sebastian went on to tell him with no leads at all and with nothing to go on we would like to start with at least $10,000.
"I will get you $10,000 in cash today," Bo said. "I will be staying at my family's place this apartment is yours. You guys can take my car I will use one of my father's cars."
I looked at Sebastian. "That works for us."
"I am desperate to find Grace," Bo sighed. "Everyday that comes and goes without knowing where she is-"
Bo couldn't finish the sentence. Seemingly embarrassed by the emotion he was showing he cleared his throat then got up to walk over to look out the window. It was the most emotion he had shown. From the small amount of time I had spent around Bo and his family I could tell they didn't show emotion or love. That would be seen as a sign of weakness. Seeing the way Mr. Tang talked to his son I could tell he was incapable of showing any kind of affection. I thought about the story Bo told about him and Grace visiting San Francisco on that rainy day. I imagined Bo with Grace was completely different than Bo without Grace. In Grace, Bo found someone he could be his true self with. He fell in love with Grace and in love with how life could be lived when you lead with your heart.
Sebastian put his hand on mine and kissed the side of my head. We both stayed silent on the couch to let Bo have his moment. I rested my head on Sebastian's shoulder and remembered what it was like falling in love with him. It was the most amazing feeling in the world. It was a high that was priceless. It felt like I was not alone anymore. I had someone I could open up to and let in my crazy little world.
Bo slowly stepped away from the window and the beautiful view of the ocean. He sat down and stretched his legs out. He put his hands behind his head. Bo's eyes were red and for the first time I noticed how broken he was over Grace.
"Do you think you guys can find her?"
He was longing for hope. Sebastian and I were much different. I was the optimist, the dreamer; the believer of anything was possible. Sebastian was conservative; he looked at the facts and the obstacles. I nodded and gave Bo a smile of confidence. I let Sebastian do the talking though because I didn't want a lecture from him later saying I should not have given him false hope. Sebastian told him we would give 100% of ourselves and do everything possible to find Grace.
"Look you guys find Grace I will give you $100,000."
Maybe it wasn't normal but money was just a number to me. I did think of how much we could use the money to breath and not have to worry about Sebastian flipping cars but this figure didn't motivate me. Thinking of Grace alive somewhere scared and suffering motivated me. I had always been able to put myself in others shoes. I had compassion for people. I cared about people. Knowing how much Bo was suffering and how painful it would be for him to live life without Grace motivated me. I did want to have a conversation with Bo about his plan for telling Grace about his arraigned nuptials. I couldn't comprehend how he would go through with marrying Xiu Ming with the love of his life having her heart broken. Grace was gone though and until we found her I would try to put this out of my mind.
Sebastian and Bo were talking about Grace's apartment on the walk down to the parking garage. I was spaced out thinking about everything we just learned.
"Alright here is my baby."
Sebastian and I walked around the car inspecting it. Bo owned a black M3 BMW. I knew the make and model. I was well educated since Sebastian talked about cars so much. I saw the smile on Sebastian's face and knew he was geeking out right now.
"I am going to drive this like it's a rental," Sebastian said.
Bo shot him a nervous glance not knowing how to respond.
"I'm joking Bo."
"Oh boy I was hoping you were joking."
Bo drove us over to Grace's apartment by the campus of SDSU. He told us they lived only 12 miles apart and both had a set of keys to each others place. Grace's apartment complex was nothing special. She lived alone in the one-bedroom apartment. While it was not spotless like Bo's place it was tidy and neat. From the first impressions of her place I could tell she was a creative person. She had paintings on the wall that Bo said she painted herself. She also had various homemade items everywhere. There were cute potholders, a colorful clay bowl that held matchbooks, a frame made of bamboo and a lamp made of recycled cans. The place looked like a typical Southern California girl's apartment. I saw no Asian influence as I scoped out the apartment. There were three big Roxy surfing posters on the wall in the living room. A small flat screen TV was in the corner.
"Are her parents cool?" I asked Bo.
"Yeah they are super nice but I'm not sure they approve of me."
"They blame me for her disappearance."
"Really?" Sebastian asked.
"They know I come from a wealthy family. The Tang name is well known in China. I just get the feeling they think my family's wealth got her in trouble."
Sebastian and I looked at each other confused.
"Wait do they think your father was behind this?"
"I don't know."
I frowned. "Do you think your dad had anything to do with this?"
"No," Bo replied. "Her parents were just in shock and I don't really blame them. When there were no leads or evidence they wanted to blame somebody for their daughter being gone and I was the closet person to her. They knew Grace was spending all her free time with me and was getting serious about me. They didn't like that. I tried to call them a couple times but they haven't returned my calls."
Grace's room was cool. She did a lot with a little space. It was colorful and reminded me of a room you would see in Dwell magazine. Two walls were painted neon green and the other two had stencil art with different designs. At the same time none of her items were fancy or expensive. She was a do-it-yourselfer and it showed strongly. I felt sad as I looked through all her stuff. This young college student left a life that was being lived and now it was like there was a painful pause. Everything in this apartment was on hold. Grace had her whole life ahead of her and it made me sick that she might never return to this life.
There were pictures everywhere. Most were cut out using different shapes and sizes. A few had paper frames that Grace made and a few frames were made out of thin wire. There was a large picture of Grace and Bo together. Bo had his hands wrapped around her as he stood behind her with his chin on her head. Grace had a big smile on her face and she was trying to look up at Bo with mischievous eyes. There was a caption written in Chinese.
"Bo," I called. He walked in after a few moments cautiously. He stayed near the door and I sensed it was painful for him to be in her room.
"What does this say?" I pointed to the picture.
He didn't move. "It says my love."
"Oh okay thanks. It's a beautiful picture."
I wanted to ask where it was taken but I didn't want to bother Bo with more memories. It looked like they were at some kind of party. Bo nonchalantly walked back to the living room. I looked through a few of her textbooks and notebooks. I wasn't sure what I was even looking for. I did feel like I was getting a clearer picture of Grace's life.
Sebastian and I switched places, I went into the kitchen and he checked out the bedroom. I had heard the clicking of his cell phone frequently since had arrived. He had been taking a ton of pictures. He liked to have something to look at and would probably be up half the night dissecting them to see if any ideas came to him. And knowing him he would probably come up with a few off the wall theories that could be plausible.
Nothing in the kitchen to report on other than it was time for Grace to go grocery shopping. There were only energy drinks and rice milk in the fridge along with a bulk supply of yogurt. I thought of my fridge when I was a college student. Gwen, Nelly & I lived off Easy Mac, cereal and peanut butter sandwiches.
There was a stack of papers on the counter. I sifted through them feeling like I was violating Grace's privacy. There was a sticky note that said 'thinking of you poo bear I love you, your tigger'. The writing was scratchy which made me think it was a guy's handwriting. It was probably nothing but I snapped a picture of it anyway. I didn't want to ask Bo about the note in case it wasn't from him. He was having a hard enough time being in the apartment. I could tell he was getting impatient and wanted us to hurry up.
"Did Grace, I mean does Grace like Disney stuff?"
I couldn't resist asking him, I needed to know if Bo was Tigger.
"Um I don't know," Bo replied. "I guess she likes some. I mean we went to Disneyland together. Why do you ask?"
"Just curious. Sebastian loves Disney and with Grace growing up near Disneyland I just wondered if she was a big fan."
Bo didn't say anything so I dropped it. He was reading a magazine from Grace's coffee table. He seemed to be growing nervous and uncomfortable. I skimmed the rest of the papers to see if I could find anything else. I noticed there was a small rosary box on the counter. It was empty. I knew it was a rosary box because against my will my grandma dragged me to church every time I stayed with her for the weekend. Witnessing the rosary being performed worked my imagination to come up with some kind of daydream that would export me out of that moment. I shivered a little thinking of those strange mornings held hostage in a church pew. I never understood why the heavens would be pleased hearing a monotone prayer over and over again. I remember how I thought that forever and ever was going to be so painfully boring.
"Hey Bo is Grace Catholic?"
Bo smirked. "No she's Buddhist."
"Hmm, that's odd."
"She isn't a hardcore Buddhist by any means but she believes in it."
"Do you know why she would have a rosary?"
"No idea."
"Did she." I caught myself. I kept talking about Grace in the past tense. "Does Grace go to a lot of garage sales? She's got a ton of random antique looking items."
"She's into vintage," Bo said. "I don't know where she gets it all she just finds it and makes it functional."
"Oh my gosh she is talented," Sebastian yelled. The apartment is tiny so he could hear us talking. "She has the neatest stuff in here. I like all these homemade frames!"
"I know right!" I yelled back.
Sebastian walked out. "Bo when was the last time you talked to Grace before she disappeared?"
Bo grimaced like he was in pain and took a deep breath. "It was a Tuesday morning. She stayed over at my place so we could wake up and surf. It was our thing. Tuesday and Saturday mornings we would get there right at sunrise. After surfing we got breakfast together then she took off so she could go to her 11 am class. I kissed her goodbye at her car that was the last time I saw her. I spoke to her briefly when she was at lunch. The last thing I said was I love you. We exchanged a some texts and that was it."
We knew from the documents on the hard drive Grace was last seen that day at her 1:00 class. Grace never showed up at her job in the mall that started at 5:00 that night. It wasn't like her to miss work without calling in. Her manager for the night wasn't alarmed. He was used to his college employees flaking out once in awhile. Bo was not alarmed at first either. He last spoke to her on the phone over lunch and her plan was to study after class up until she had to be at work. Grace and Bo kept in touch hourly with text messages. They were in the puppy love stage where it hurt to be apart and you communicated constantly. When Grace never replied to his afternoon texts Bo thought maybe her phone ran out of battery or she turned it off to focus on studying for the test she was cramming for.
"I wasn't worried until I couldn't get a hold of her after 10:00 pm when she was done with work," Bo recalled. "We never go to bed without talking to each other. I knew something wasn't right. I called her friend Ki to see if she had talked to her lately. She hadn't so I drove over to her apartment. I was worried her car broke down. When I got over here her car was parked outside but there was no sign of Grace anywhere. I looked all around the complex. I found nothing."
A classmate claimed he saw Grace walking with a few other students after class. That is the only piece of information police received. No suspicious people reported on campus or around the apartment complex that day. No red flags. Grace Yu vanished into thin air.
"Anything else you want to check out Leah?"
I knew Sebastian was getting the same vibe from Bo that I was. It hurt Bo to be in Grace's apartment without her. He tried to put on a strong Tang demeanor but we saw through him.
"Yep I think we're good," I replied.
"Thank you Bo this was a good place to start."
"No problem. Just let me know if you need to get back in here at anytime."
Bo drove in silence to the Tang
compound where he would be staying. We would part ways with Bo while we would get started with our search for finding out what happened to Grace Yu. Bo told us to wait while he went into the compound. He returned a few minutes later.
"Here is $15,000 in cash," Bo said. "I gave you a little extra just in case."
"Thanks," Sebastian said. "You can reach us anytime you need to Bo. We will be in touch."
Bo nodded. "Okay goodnight."
I watched Bo walk towards the dull gigantic compound and knew that his heart was empty.