by A. C. Henley
Vivian smiled, "Not so comfortable huh? But let's do change the subject. The lieutenant is going to want to know why we aren't filing kidnap charges against Peterson. He's going to want to know against whom we are going to file, and I like to at least give him some kind of idea, seeing as we have no one at all to pin this on."
"Did McKee have a clue?" Tom asked sitting back in his chair.
Vivian sighed, "No."
"No name? No direction to head in?"
The blonde pointed a finger at her partner, "No name, but she did have a direction, and is still working on it. She said she would let me know if anything came up, in the mean time I want to take a look at Justin Downs again."
Tom sneered, "I don't like that guy. Something's up with him."
Vivian nodded, "I know, so let's dig deeper. Maybe we missed something. We also need to schedule an interview with Peterson. Maybe he can shed a bit of light on it for us."
"There's certainly more light shining between his legs these days anyway." Tom smirked as he leafed through the file once again, this time making notes while looking for any connection to their current investigation.
A full week passed before Quin emerged from her house again. Quang Ngo was missing and she needed him. He was a native of OrangeCounty, the great suburb south of Los Angeles. Quin hated the place with its neatly arranged neighborhoods and cookie cutter people. Quin couldn't find one redeeming grace for the place, except for maybe the prolific punk music that seemed to stream from behind the Orange Curtain as a protest to the conformity that was imposed on its youth.
She drove her white Chevelle across the invisible line separating Los Angeles from the overly cheery Disneyesque, OrangeCounty. Her destination was just a few more exits down the 405 freeway. Little Saigon was located in Garden GroveCalifornia. It was heralded as the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam itself. Quin had little doubt of that as she made her exit onto Brookhurst St. headed north. A few more miles brought her to her destination.
Quin made her way into the import shop ran by Quang's father. Business appeared to be brisk on this sunny Friday afternoon. She stopped to look at a set of teacups when her name was called from the back of the shop.
"Ms. McKee, what a wonderful surprise, I wish we would have known you were coming; we would have made preparations for a feast." Quang's father was a rail thin man with dark eye's and jet-black hair. He spoke with a soft accent and his voice carried a great deal of emotion. Quin liked the man the moment he had come to her with his problem son. An elderly woman took Quin's arm from behind and pulled her down. Quin knew very little Vietnamese, but was able to pick out just enough to smile and nod. She spoke a reverent thank you, and kissed the small woman on the cheek, causing a small giggle and a swat to her shoulder.
"You enchant my mother as always Ms. McKee." Tran Ngo said as he walked Quin back to his office, "How may I help you this fine day? I hope my son is not the cause of your visit." The thin man sat in a leather chair indicating that Quin should take the one opposite him.
"Actually I was sort of hoping I would find Quang here. I need his help, but am unable to locate him."
"He came last Sunday. He was here until Tuesday afternoon. A woman came to the shop and he left with her in a bit of a rush." The man looked down as he spoke, and then glanced up nervously at McKee, "I hope he is not in trouble."
"I'm sure it's nothing he can't handle, but it is perplexing why he hasn't called or is not answering his pages. It's not like him." Quin thought for a moment, "Did you recognize this woman?"
"I'm not certain, but I think she was a friend of his from high school, a close friend of one of the girls Quang dated. I haven't heard from any of those kids since Quang was arrested; he became a non-person to that world."
Quin nodded her understanding. It was one of the reasons Quang had asked to join her in Chicago. He found his friends in crime would not tolerate his law abiding behavior and turned their backs on him. It was hard to leave that behind and move forward, but Quang had managed. "I think I remember where they hung out. I'll start there." She said as she stood and offered her hand to the man. "Don't worry. I'm sure he's fine, and if he isn't I'll kick his ass." She grinned.
Tran smiled at the woman he credited with saving his son's life and his honor. "I shall be happy to hold the boy for you." He joked back as he bid the dark woman farewell.
The industrial buildings that lay empty were often taken up by small gangs of youths. This is where McKee knew she would find the people for whom she was looking. Most people would be frightened to enter such areas at the late hour it was, but she wanted to talk to the right people, and to do that you had to risk a little injury. On the other hand, those who didn't want to answer her questions risked an equal amount of injury by her hand.
She cruised by a large concrete building. Large fifty gallon barrels lit the interior as they burned what ever was handy — gang members constantly feeding the flames for warmth against the chilly fall night. It never really got cold in southern California, especially along the coast. But the damp air did tend to settle in ones bones, so to ward off the chill the gang members huddled around the barrels telling tales of their day and exaggerating heroic deeds in the name of the gang.
She parked the old Chevelle along a brick wall and walked into the open building. Her memory called up names she had stored away for no particular occasion. She almost immediately found the girl Quang's father had described standing with three boys. A large bottle of beer was being passed among the four. One of the boys noticed her approached and took up an offensive stand. Quin raised her hands, "I'm looking for Quang. If you tell me where I can find him then you can go right back to what you were doing."
The girl took a step forward and placed her hand on the boys shoulder, "S'okay, she's not a cop. She's Quang's sponsor." The boy immediately relaxed, "Quang's not here; his old lady got busted, and he's looking after the kids."
"Kids?" Quin gaped at the plural.
"They're not all his, but one of em' is." The girl clarified.
"Where can I find him?"
The girl was more than helpful in providing an address and gave fairly precise directions to the small apartment at which door she now found herself knocking. The hollow wood was hardly a barrier between the hall and what lay beyond. It always amazed Quin what people considered suitable housing. The door opened a crack, and her gray eyes had to look down the space to find the person who had opened it. Two big blue eyes blinked at her. "It's kind of late for you to be up isn't it?" She questioned the child peeking out at her.
The child shrugged, "Baby brother is sick and the man needed help." Was the simple explanation given through the crack.
"Okay." Quin drew the word out, "Do you think you could tell the man that McKee is here?"
There was a slow nod and the door shut tight. She could hear small bare feet slap against a tiled floor. A few minutes later heavier footsteps approach the door. It jerked open wide and a flustered Quang Ngo stood on the other side covered in something Quin was unable to identify. A relieved smile crossed his lips.
"McKee, man are you a sight for sore eyes." He stepped back so the woman could enter. "Sorry about the mess and all… I've been kind of preoccupied, the baby is sick," he pointed to a baby lying on a ragged couch. To Quang's credit he had made a soft bed of clean sheets and blankets for the infant. The boy who had answered the door was sitting beside the couch with one hand on the baby's back.
"How long has it been sick?" Quin asked as she placed her hand on the child's head feeling for fever.
"Couple of hours, I was just trying to figure out how to get the mess of ‘em with me to the ER if he didn't start to get better…"
"How many kids are there here, and why didn't you call me? Better yet, why haven't you been answering your phone or pager?" Quin picked up the baby, the older boy looked at her with a mix of mistrust and a glint of protectiveness for his baby brother. Quin smiled at him, "What's your brother's name?"
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"Mark. I'm Christopher." He pointed at his chest with a finger. The boy was of obvious mixed racial heritage with his kinky black hair and olive complexion. Bright blue eyes dominated his round face. Quin estimated his age to be about eight.
"I'm McKee, and I'm here to help Quang. Can you get me a bottle of water for your brother?" She asked and smiled as the boy nodded and ran to do her bidding. She looked back at her protégé, "Answers Mr. Ngo."
"Umm, there are five kids, one is mine, but I couldn't see just taking one and leaving the rest for CPS, so I stayed. I don't know what happened to my phone or pager, they're here someplace," he flailed his arms indicating the apartment, "and I wanted to call you, but there is no phone here, and I haven't talked with an adult since Tuesday." He finished. His shoulders slumped and he idly brushed at the sticky stain on his shirt.
Quin looked at the young man who was as close to tears as she had ever seen him. "Quang," she said softly to gain his attention, "you've done a good job, okay. I'm here now. What do you need?"
"I need to get out of here, get them out of here. The place is infested with almost every critter imaginable, and the food is about gone. I need to get the baby to a doctor, and I could really use a shower and about eight hours of sleep, consecutively if possible…"
Quin smiled at the young man, "Okay. Wake em' up; forget about clothes and such; we will get them new. We'll go to my place. I'll call ahead and have someone meet us there to look at the little guy. I'll spot you while you get cleaned up, and sleep. Fair enough?"
Quang looked at his mentor with a bit of surprise. She had come in with a kick ass attitude and ended with being an understanding friend. He was certain that he would never figure the woman out as long as he lived. He nodded his assent to the plan and moved to the back of the apartment to wake the children and get them ready to travel.
Quin settled in a vinyl chair cradling the fussing baby in her arms. She pulled the infant against her and cooed softly to him. The older boy returned with the requested bottle. Quin placed it to the baby's lips where it was eagerly suckled.
"Are you taking us away?" Christopher asked, his eyes showing just a bit of trepidation.
"You'll be coming to stay at my house for a while, until we can find out about your mom. It's a big house, plenty of room for everyone." Quin tried to ease the boy's discomfort with the arrangement. "It isn't perfect, but it will be better. Okay?" The boy nodded and ran off to join his siblings as they began to rise. She watched as Quang organized the group. There were four boys including the baby, and one little girl. It took some doing and some convincing on the two adults part that they were not going to be separated or discarded.
The trip to Los Angeles was mostly quiet. An occasional murmuring from the back seat as the children pointed out the window at the passing city skyline. Quin had made a phone call to a friend to see about the baby's condition. Quang had passed out almost as soon as the car hit the interstate. The PI tried to remember if there was ever a time in her life that things weren't complicated. When memories of quiet Sundays spent with Grace came to mind she smiled to herself. Life had given her some precious moments after all.
PART 4
THE SOUND OF the phone ringing woke Tom Ross first. He reached for the offending appliance blindly, knocking over a picture frame as he finally grasped the receiver. "Hello." He rasped. He listen to the voice for a moment, his eyes still shut. His eyes opened at the mention of Quinlan McKee. He rolled to his back and sighed. He looked at his sleeping wife and bit his lower lip. "Okay, I'll ask her. But no guarantees. Hold on." He pressed the phone to his chest and nudged his wife. "Ruth?"
"Hmmm."
"Ruth, Stephanie Miller is on the phone, she wants to know if you'd do her a favor."
The red head turned toward her husband, "What kind of favor?"
"She needs to you to make a house call. She's in the middle of some kind of emergency and can't go herself. She said she would make it up to you ten times." Tom held his breath.
"Fine, get the address, I'm getting up."
Tom picked up the phone again and told the young doctor on the other end that his wife had accepted the job. He hung up the phone and climbed out of bed.
"What are you doing?" Ruth questioned a she returned to the room buttoning a large white shirt. She went to her dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants.
"I'm going to wake up Peter; then I'm going with you. I'll drive."
"Okay, you can keep me awake." Ruth replied she was glad to have the company. The pregnancy made her tired, and with just two hours of sleep under her belt, she wasn't sure she could make the drive to wherever she was going safely anyway.
Tom woke his oldest son. The sixteen year old was trust worthy and capable, and took his father's position in his parents king size bed next to the only phone that rang at night in the house. Convinced that all was well, Tom and Ruth headed out.
With in moments Tom pulled the large passenger van that was his family car in front of McKee's house. Ruth turned angry amber eyes on her husband. "This is a joke right? You don't expect me to go in there do you?"
"Stephanie said there was a baby that needed care here. I don't know the circumstances, but for Quin to use up a favor like this it must be important. I'm coming in with you." Tom stepped out of the van and walked around the vehicle. He opened his wife's door and waited.
Quin sat in a low back leather chair holding the now sleeping baby. All the other children had been escorted to various rooms and nestled into beds. Quang was passed out on the couch in what looked to be a very uncomfortable position for which Quin was sure he would pay in the morning. The doorbell rang causing Quin to jerk and the baby to startle awake. She eased up out of the chair and made her way to the door, comforting the child as she went.
Tom stood behind his wife holding her black bag. He reached around her and rang the bell again, almost simultaneously the door opened. McKee stood on the other side talking to an infant in her arms. She waved them in without even looking up.
Ruth had a million things to say to Quinlan McKee, but they all rushed from her mind as she watched the dark woman console the whimpering child in her arms. There was something about the scene that seemed, so natural, so right. Like McKee was meant to hold a child like that. It was a picture that Ruth had never conjured, and she analyzed that for a second. Grace had seemed more the mothering type. McKee had always come off harsh and uncaring for such things. Ruth recalled the brunette treating her own children more like adults instead of the kids they were. Yet here she was, obviously in distress over this unknown baby's condition, to the point she used a very expensive favor. Ruth shut the door and cleared her throat.
Quin looked up, she was sure she looked surprised, even a little shock at the two people standing in her foyer. "I… I thought…."
Tom extended the black bag in front of him, dangling it over his wife's shoulder, "Stephanie got held up at the hospital. Ruth agreed to come in her stead."
Ruth took the bag from her husband, "He neglected to say that I wasn't completely informed of where I was going," she said a bit harshly in her husband's direction.
Quin tilted her head at the red head who was now glaring at her, "If you'd prefer I can just run him to the ER. I'll wake up Quang…"
Ruth knew she was acting the ass, but it was hard being on the same planet with Quinlan McKee, let alone in the same room. "I'm here now, no sense in taking the baby out in the cold." She gestured to the dining room door on the right of the hall. "In here is fine."
Tom pushed back the large pocket door revealing the formal dining room. The furniture was still covered in protective drop clothes. The room was probably being open for the first time since McKee had returned. He pulled back the large drape off the table making room for McKee to ease the child down on the polished cherry wood surface. She then stepped back to let Ruth work.
The doctor found nothing serious wrong with the child. He was simply teething. That caused fussing, and extra acid
in the baby's stomach caused the vomiting. She looked over at the woman leaning against the wall, "He's cutting teeth and a little dehydrated."
"I picked up some juice and pedolite on the way here…"
"Pedolite is better than the juice. If need be, cut the juice with water."
Quin nodded her understanding.
"Do you have a crib?"
"Upstairs, across from our room." Quin said then corrected herself, "I mean my room. Quang got it ready."
Ruth picked up the baby and made her way up the stairs without replying to the brunette. She just wanted to get the baby settled and then get on her own way. She knew the inside of the big house as well as she did her own and had little trouble finding the correct room. She was surprised to find a complete nursery set up with every convenience a new baby could ever need. The Doctor was always amazed at Quin McKee's ability to have exactly what's needed when its needed most. She nestled the child down into the crib and waited until she was sure he was asleep. She heard someone enter the room and instinctually knew it was her husband.
"Everything okay?" Tom asked as he stopped beside his wife looking at the now sleeping baby.
"He's fine." She brushed straight brown hair from the child's face letting her fingers luxuriate in the softness of the baby's skin. "Did you talk to her?"
"She went out to the porch. I um… talked to Quang for a bit. It's kind of complicated."
Ruth nodded her head and frowned, "It usually is with McKee involved."
The couple left the room silently. Tom glanced at the master bedroom as he walked down the hall. It was in much the same state as the dinning room. Its furniture covered in heavy drop clothes to protect it from settling dust. He continued down the stairs with his wife.
Quang stood at the bottom of the stairs and gave a small smile at Ruth and Tom as they descended. "Hey Doc, is he…."
"Just fine Quang, but you look like hell."
Quang shrugged. "Been a busy couple of days, but it's better now."