Trafficked: a novel

by Sophia Rey

  “What instrument does he play?” Mason again.

  “The drums.” Brunette looked very flattered by the attention. She gave a coy look to Mason. “Do you play any instruments?”

  “No, but I’ve always wanted to learn to play one,” he answered. It was odd for me to watch Mason trying to pick up somebody else on a video. “I adore live music and I just love girls who love live music.

  Brunette beamed like Mason had told her he’d been waiting for her all his life.

  “You like live music?” Grant has turned his attention to Blondie.

  “I love it, love it, love it!” Blondie smiled. To me, she sounded like one of those overly happy girls who could barely think for herself. Maybe she’s already had too many margaritas, I thought.

  When she started talking again, I knew I was right. “I like movies better than live music.” She took a sip of her newly delivered drink. “Have you seen that movie called The Ride Home? I’ve heard that Justin Francis – he plays Joey – has a great sex life…and he’s forty years–old. There’s nothing more important than a good sex life, don’t you think?”

  “He’s forty?” Brunette this time. “He looks about 25!”

  “Yeah, 40, and you know what? People magazine says he has a great sex life.” She’d obviously forgotten that she’d already talked about this important fact.

  Definitely too many margaritas, I thought. I rolled my eyes at Detective Isaaks.

  He shook his head as if to say, “I know.”

  Brunette shot her friend a warning look, then took control of the conversation. “What movies do you guys like?”

  “I like everything except horror movies,” Mason answered.

  “I only like horror movies.” Grant spoke as if on script. “I love it when I can take a girl to a horror movie and she gets scared and wants to climb right up in my lap.” He smiled and winked at Brunette.

  “You know what else I love?” asked Blondie. “At my high sch—”

  Brunette stepped on her foot. “At our COLLEGE,” she continued where her friend had stopped, “We have classes all day. I need to go somewhere and burn off some of these calories.”

  “Let’s go to Jackie’s,” Mason suggested. They have live bands every night and a huge dance floor. I think it’s Ladies Night tonight, so you girls can get in free.”

  “I’ll pay if it’s not. Always nice to have a hot girl on your arm.”

  Grant is quite the charmer, I thought, sarcastically.

  They all agreed to call for a Lyft ride to Jackie’s.

  At this point the camera went off.

  “I didn’t know either of those girls. Sorry.” I looked at Detective Isaaks. “That one girl is obviously in high school. She let that slip out.”

  “I caught that. We have footage of them at Jackie’s. It’s too noisy to hear them, but we used voice enhancement to block out some of the band and pick up their voices.”

  It was clear that on the way to Jackie’s Mason had decided to hook up with Brunette and Grant was with Blondie.

  “You are so funny!” Jamie was patting her hand on Mason’s chest.

  “And you are so hot!” Mason put his fingers through her hair. “You must have a ton of guys after you at ASU. That’s where you said you go, right?”

  “Uh…oh, yeah.” It was clear that she didn’t remember what school she supposedly attended.

  “So what are you studying?”

  “English,” she said, loudly through the noise of the club. “I wanna be an English teacher at a high school.”

  “You’re way too cute to have your hair up in a bun teaching high school,” he complimented her.

  She blushed a deep crimson.

  I saw him take a mental note.

  “You’re truly the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.” I was surprised at how loud he had to be as he spoke. “Are you sure you shouldn’t go into modeling or acting instead of teaching? I hear teachers don’t make a lot of money.”

  “Neither do most models.” She was good at this.

  “Yeah, most don’t, but you would. Not many girls have such big blue eyes and perfect smile. When you smile I can hardly keep my eyes off you. It’s mesmerizing!”

  “What a load of crap,” Detective Isaaks muttered.

  I was in shock. All of the things Mason was saying – how she should become a model or an actress, how mesmerizing her smile was – were the same things he’d told me. I was so embarrassed. I couldn’t believe he was saying those same things, word for word, to another girl. I felt very, very stupid.

  Tears started to well up, but I blinked them away. Detective Isaaks was there could tell I was upset. “Did he say the same things to you?” he asked gently.

  At first I wanted to lie and say no. It was so humiliating. But then I saw how angry he was, and I realized that he was actually concerned. “Yes,” I said in a small voice. “I can’t believe I believed him.”

  I could see now just how manipulative Mason was. He’d probably said those exact things to tons of girls. Thankfully, there was only a few minutes of the footage left.

  We watched the rest of the scene at Jackie’s and then our meeting was over. “I guess that’s that,” Detective Isaaks said. “Did you recognize any of the other kids in the club?”

  I told him the names of two of the kids from school that I recognized. Then something else came to my memory. “Detective? I’m not sure how old this footage is, but there is one more thing you need to know about Mason. Yesterday, I hardly recognized him; he’s grown his hair out to his shoulders and has a full beard.”

  “Thanks, Emily. That’s good to know. One more thing before you go.”

  I was hoping he’d ask me out, but what he asked was even better, in a way.

  “The Mesquite Police Department, along with several other government agencies, is trying to start up a number of suicide prevention groups at the four high schools. We need some students to help start the clubs and to act as student liaisons between the high schools and the police department. They wouldn’t be called suicide prevention groups. They’d be called Student Support groups or Black Iris or something like that. There are already groups in some of the Tempe high schools. One is called Let’s Talk and another one is called Together.

  “If the idea appeals to you, you and I and the student liaison that already works for McClintock High could meet together so you can see what they do over there. And you can see if this is something you might pursue.”

  I thought for a second. “I’d love to, but I’m a senior, and only in high school another couple months. Am I too old?”

  Much to my relief, he responded, “Don’t worry about that. We need student liaisons at the community colleges, too. It doesn’t pay anything, but I knew you might be a good candidate for this position since you already volunteer at the food bank and obviously care about people in need.”

  I was so happy. I knew I would enjoy being the student liaison for CGCC and I knew that stuff like this was just what scholarship committees liked to see on student’s applications. I felt like squealing for joy. I put on my mature voice again and told him, “I look forward to seeing you at the McClintock High meeting.” Then I shook his hand and fairly floated out of the police station.

  CHAPTER 41

  WE WENT TO THE hospital the next day to see Dad, since it was Easter. When Mom took the others down to grab a bite to eat, I stayed behind to have a private conversation with him. I told him about the suicide intervention clubs and my opportunity to be a liaison between the Mesquite Police Department and CGCC.

  “It’s high time they had groups like that!” Dad was passionate about this topic. “There were so many kids who purposely cut themselves at Gardens. So many kids think there’s nobody like them. They’re lonely or think that people won’t like them for who they are. That’s one of the few things I liked about Gardens. Kids get together and find out that there are other people like themselves. You can’t completely hide when you have a roommate, and
all of the kids have a roommate for at least part of the time they’re there.”

  “Dad!” I told him. “You’re speech is so much better today!”

  “Yeah, those speech therapists can work wonders,” he joked. It still wasn’t perfect, and would probably not be for a long time, but I could understand much more of what he said today without pausing to interpret in my head. Oh, I need to tell you, I’m gonna get another MRI in a few days and if everything looks good it looks like I’ll be able to get outta here in time for graduation.”

  “That’s great, Dad!” I said. I hadn’t really thought about graduation until this moment, but now I knew that having Dad there would make it perfect.

  Dad grabbed my hand and indicated he had something serious to talk with me about. “I want to talk to you about Maurine and Carol,” he began.

  “Is there a problem with them?” I asked. I thought maybe their mother wanted them back or something, but he surprised me.

  “Your Aunt Tarin and Uncle Tim want to adopt Maurine,” he said. “They wanted to adopt Carol, too, but she said no. She’s almost eighteen and doesn’t like to follow rules, and she probably thought she’d have to follow rules similar to Mom’s if she lived with Aunt Tarin. You know – get in at a certain hour, get your home work done, limits with social media.”

  I knew he was right. I was used to Mom’s ways, but for Carol it had been a challenge.

  “How come no one told me about this before?”

  “You’ve had a lot on your mind. We’ve been waiting for the right time. What do you think?”

  “I think they’d be a perfect fit. And we’d still see Maurine. She’d be my cousin.” I smiled. “What about Carol?”

  “Carol wants to be an emancipated minor. That means she’d be legally responsible for all her own decisions. Says she doesn’t want to have any adults ‘running her life’. Her mom didn’t do such a great job of it, so I can hardly blame her. But I think she’s going to have a hard time of it. It’s a lot harder to live completely on your own than kids realize, and she’s already learned how hard that is, but she says she’s up for it. Over the next three months Mom and I are going to have her pay us rent, so she’s more used to earning and paying rent, and we’ll have her buy some of her food. She’s already on state welfare, which will help. She might be alright.”

  “And if she isn’t?”

  “If she can’t make a go of it, Aunt Tarin says she can try living with her, but she’s been warned that she’ll have to follow the same rules that you kids have had. Actually,” he continued, “Aunt Tarin and Uncle Tim have looked into Carol’s background and she’s told Carol that not only would she have the same rules that you have, but that she and uncle Tim would also have to meet anyone she goes out with; and that she wouldn’t be able to do anything that they considered risky behavior while she lives with them.”

  “Carol’s never going to go for that. She likes her freedom.” It was one thing I knew about Carol.

  “Yeah, but look where it’s gotten her.” Dad shook his head.

  I had to agree with that. Carol had done what she wanted, though she didn’t have much choice sometimes, like when she had to get away from The Toad. And it hadn’t worked out very well for her.

  Dad continued, “I think that Aunt Tarin hopes she’ll get a taste of freedom and find it’s not so sweet. Then she might come back and try living by the rules. They’ve already dangled a carrot in front of her. They’ve offered to pay for her to go to Mesa Community College where she can get an associate degree in psychology. Did you know they have 21 credits worth of psychology there?”

  “No. I didn’t even know she was interested in psychology.”

  “I didn’t, either. But I think a young girl who’s gone through what she has can be a great help to others if she has the right training and direction.”

  “Does she know you feel that way?”

  “Yes, and I think there’s a good chance she’ll consider her choices. I hope she doesn’t fail, if living on her own is what she really wants, but if it doesn’t work out she’ll have a good place to land. Aunt Tarin doesn’t expect Carol to be a saint. She’s been living with a rough crowd a long time. No one chooses their parents, and she didn’t get the luck of the draw.”

  “What did Carol and Maurine’s mom say about this? I mean, I know Maurine’s mom doesn’t seem to care, but did she just sign away her rights? That seems so cold.”

  “Mom did say she had a few emotional moments. ‘My babies!’ she told Mom. ‘I wish I could have done a better job. I really wish I could have.’ But Mom said that while she was talking she really looked like she wanted a fix. I’ve seen that look on the faces of the boys at Gardens. They want to live a sober life. Sometimes, when they’re clean for a while, it’s even more difficult for them emotionally because they can see clearly how they’ve messed up. They just have to hang in there and make right decisions until things really do improve. That’s why a lock–down facility is the only thing that works for some people. They can’t get their drug of choice, and after they’re away from it for a long time, its hold on them diminishes. It can take a really long time, though. Do you know how many times most addicts go in and out of rehab?”

  “No, how many?”

  “Seven to 10 times, depending on the drug. That’s a lot of times to try and fix a problem.

  Mom told me that their mother even asked if we wanted her new baby. Said her husband didn’t want it once he saw it was another girl. ‘Girls are only good for one thing,’ he said. Mom said she’d look into Tarin and Tim taking custody of the baby to help out. It’s sad, but I can see how she’s really doing the best thing for her baby.”

  “Wow. I had no idea, Dad. Thanks for letting me know.”

  The door opened and everyone piled back into the room with their food. Mom had bought an egg sandwich for me, telling me that I had to eat eggs because it was Easter. That was good logic, so I sat down to eat while I listened to everyone else chat. Two new cousins. That would be pretty cool. Maybe there was some good coming out of this whole awful mess after all.

  CHAPTER 42

  ON MONDAY AFTERNOON I went to see Detective Isaaks again. He showed me some more footage and I was actually able to identify a girl I knew was a freshman at Mesquite High School.

  “Alright!” He rubbed his hands together. “Pay dirt! Now we can charge these guys with Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor and Pimping. The more charges we have when we arrest them the better.”

  I identified two more girls while we watched the footage, but after about an hour or so I got tired of watching Mason and his exploits. I started yawning.

  “Bored?” asked Detective Isaaks.

  “Yeah. I’m bored and disgusted with watching Mason and Grant use the same lines over and over. They just say the same stupid things to them or else parrot back some details they’ve heard these girls talk about earlier.”

  “And the lies they use! I’ve never heard such sob stories. ‘My mom abandoned me. I grew up with no food in my house. I was beaten to a pulp every day!’ They’d be sad stories if they were true, but I know they’re not. Such liars!”

  “We can quit for the day if you want. I’ve accomplished my goals.”

  “Goals? You had more than one?”

  “Yes. I actually had two.”

  “I knew you wanted to identify underage girls. What was the other goal?”

  “Hmmmm. How do I put this? I hope this doesn’t upset you, but it bothered me that you were so upset seeing Mason with those other girls before. He’s a jerk, Em. I was glad to hear you use the word ‘disgusting’ today. I want you to be thoroughly disgusted because these two creeps ARE disgusting and they ARE liars.”

  “You seem to really have a passion for this, Detective.”

  “I do. Mason and Grant and the rest of their kind are marketing to younger and younger girls, and I want them off the streets.”

  “They get them to send nude photographs of themselves and th
en they threaten to show them to people.”

  “Do you know that the biggest cause of death among kids 11 to 14 years old is suicide? With the increased use of social media, academic pressure, sexual tensions, and the increase of drug use it’s an epidemic. A girl who had her nude picture on some web site is bound to get rid of her pain some way,” he added. It’s particularly hard for kids in junior high because they’re already struggling to find their identities. They’re sometimes embarrassed to have people gawking at them, so to have pictures shared online can be devastating.”

  “Mason and Grant were also ‘volunteering’ to sign up as soccer coaches and baseball coaches in order to get to know more kids, but we put a stop to that. We faxed their picture to all of the parks and rec departments in the Southwest.”

  “I have the perfect ad for them,” I interjected. “Want to hire someone who lies and has sushi for brains? Then hire Grant and Mason. They will make sure to take advantage of your kids and have you pay for it.”

  “Did you just make that up?” asked Detective Isaaks.

  “Yes.”

  “You have quite a way with words,” he complimented me.

  “Thank you,” I smiled at him.

  “And I have some news for you. In early June, when we’ve hopefully wrapped up this case, I want you to go to the Regional Meeting for Suicide Prevention in Prescott. You’ll have graduated by then, and be an excellent representative for CGCC.”

  CHAPTER 43

  THREE WEEKS LATER, AFTER another MRI and some other tests, Dad was discharged from the hospital. As the weeks and months went by, Dad got better and better. He went to both speech therapy and physical therapy four times a week, relearning everything from walking and talking to harder things like brushing his teeth and using a vacuum. By the end of May, Dad was walking slowly with a help of a walker.

  To keep Dad from going stir–crazy, we invited one of Dad’s former colleagues from The Gardens to dinner. He wanted to thank them for visiting him in the hospital every week since he’d been hurt. And helping to cook the dinner was good for Dad’s motor skill practice. Looking forward to a dinner party was also good for his spirits. Marta and her husband, Ediberto, came with a plate of cookies to share and smiles on their faces.