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Bat woke up thinking about May. Thinking about the kiss. Like nothing he’d experienced, the kiss excited him. It wasn’t even a deep kiss, just a warm, soft, slightly damp kiss. Bat was smitten. He wondered if the rum had made her kiss him. Maybe it was a combination of the rum and how he made her laugh. They say, “Make a girl laugh, and you’re halfway in her pants.”
May’s size wasn’t an issue for Bat. It would be nice if she looked like the escort “MIA”, but she had a cuteness about her. Besides, it wasn’t like Bat was a catch. With his pear-shaped physique, he would never be confused with Chris Hemsworth, AKA Thor. But maybe he was getting ahead of himself. The girl was, at the very least, somewhat inebriated when she kissed him. The past several weeks had been an ordeal for her and he’d shown her some compassion. Maybe she simply wanted to show him some appreciation. She was, after all, half his age.
Sitting at his bank of computers, Bat pushed thoughts of May to the back of his mind, refocused, and dove into the dark web – the part of the internet that isn’t indexed by search engines and is a hotbed of criminal activity. If there were a chance at finding May’s sister, it would be there.
Bat had been searching the deep web for hours when his cell phone vibrated with a text from Alexander.
May was asking if you were coming over for lunch. If not, she wants to know if she should bring your Pina Colada glasses to you. WTF? LOL
IDK
You want to come for lunch?
Sure.
In 5?
See you shortly.
Minutes later, Bat joined Alexander and May in the den of Alexander’s beach house. “Whew,” he said, pausing to catch his breath. “Down my steps and up your steps. It wasn’t as difficult in the cooler weather, with less humidity, but damn, it’s a workout now.”
“Maybe you need to get in better shape,” Alexander said.
“That goes without saying. I used to walk the beach every morning until I got a new project. The walk yesterday was the first time in a while. We took it slow so it wasn’t bad, but I think I need to take it more briskly. Sitting at a computer all day, it doesn’t take long to become devitalized.”
“I will walk with you, Bat,” May said. “I could use some exercise. I like walking along the beach.”
“It’s a deal. How ‘bout we start in the morning?”
“Okay.”
“That’s good to hear you two are going to get into shape. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but aside from the alcohol, we’ve been eating fairly healthy the past week and a half. Today we have grilled chicken breasts and salad. One breast each since we’re counting calories as well.”
“Is that what happened?” May asked. “I liked those frozen pizzas we had the first few nights I was here, then you started serving fish and chicken and vegetables. At first, I was still hungry, but now I’m used to it. All the food was so good, I wanted more but was afraid to ask.”
“With my diet and now a little exercise, we’ll be in great shape before you know it,” Alexander said. “Bat, you’re on your own. You need to start eating better. Cut out the Pina Coladas too.”
“Yeah, the drinks last night probably contained a week’s worth of calories,” Bat said. “It’s lite beer and an occasional Scotch from now on.”
May was quiet during lunch. Alexander and Bat wondered if she maybe thought Alexander’s new health kick was directed at her. Perhaps she felt the men didn’t want an overweight girl hanging around them. Alexander and Bat made small talk about Go Topless Jeep weekend and speculated on how many arrests would be made.
“Bat,” May said. “Have you found anything that will help us find Briana? That escort, did you call her? Was she Cuban? Could she help? I’m sorry I kissed you last night.”
Alexander leaned back in his chair, grinned ear-to-ear, and waited for Bat’s reply.
“Well...Um...” Bat blushed. “Where should I start? How ‘bout the last comment first. We’re among friends. Let me ask you something. Why are you sorry?”
It was May’s turn to blush.
“I don’t know. You kissed me back, but today it is like nothing happened. I...I don’t know. I thought maybe you would mention it. Or maybe kiss me when you saw me today.”
“You don’t mince words, do you? May, I was glad you kissed me. It was a surprise. A pleasant surprise. And, yes, I liked it. That’s why I kissed you back. But honestly, I didn’t know if it was only because you had a few drinks in you. I was going to wait until later, when we were alone, to ask you about it.”
“Later? When we were alone? So you didn’t want Alex to know? Is it because I’m fat?”
“No. God no, May. I do like you. You do realize I’m a few years older than you, don’t you?”
Alexander laughed. “I’m sorry. A few years?”
Bat and May shot ‘Go to hell’ looks at him.
“Don’t mind me. I think you two make an adorable couple. Age difference and all.”
“Thank you for your support,” Bat told him.
“Yes, I know you are older, but I think you are cute. Except for the beard. That is not cute. You make me laugh. I like being with you.”
“Slide over here,” Bat said pulling on May’s chair. When she was close, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. May rested her head on his shoulder and exhaled.
Alexander hadn’t seen that coming. Bat was twice May’s age and looked it. Maybe May was vulnerable and Bat filled a need. He was nice to her, and he did make her laugh – two things she needed desperately – but Alexander couldn’t shake the feeling the relationship would not turn out well. They both appeared happy at the moment, so he wasn’t going to interfere.
“What about my other questions?” May asked, raising her head from Bat’s shoulder.
“Well, not much to say. I dug into the dark web, looking for human traffickers. Sex traffickers. I got close, but that’s a tough nut to crack. The penalty – jail time – for trafficking is a close second to child porn. If the victims are real young, like under sixteen, it’s the same as child porn – or worse. The people who deal in it are highly cautious. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it won’t be easy.
“To take a break from the dark web, I researched the security cams at strip joints and massage parlors. Most were relatively easy to hack. The massage parlors have cameras in the lobby and the rooms. Once I got into one camera, I was in all of them. They were all linked to the same account. The video quality in the rooms wasn’t great. It was dark and grainy. I don’t think it’s good enough to recognize anyone. Most of the girls looked Hispanic or Asian. It was hard to tell the difference.”
“So no luck?”
Bat shook his head.
“We’re hitting dead-ends on every turn. Maybe it’s time I did some old-fashioned police work. Get out and pound the pavement, so to speak.”
“How do you mean?” Bat asked. “I don’t know what you hope to find that I couldn’t find using a computer.”
“Sometimes, to open a few doors, you have to literally open a few doors.”
Bat felt it would be a waste of time but kept it to himself and moved on. “Oh, I also hacked into some cameras around the boardwalk at Kemah. Several have nice views of the water. It’s another long-shot and would be a pain in the ass, but if we could monitor them real-time, twenty-four-seven, we might spot that big Cheoy Lee coming in. Problem is, even if we did spot the boat, I don’t think we could get to the dock before they unloaded. We might catch up to them at the marina.”
“Here’s my problem with that idea,” Alexander said. “I don’t mean monitoring the cameras, that’s not a bad idea, but we’d have to monitor the cameras twenty-four seven and that would be difficult. I think I have a better idea. What time is it?”
Unsure what the time had to do with Alexander’s plan, Bat looked at his watch. “Sixteen-thirty.”
“Close enough to happy hour. Who wants a beer?”
“Why not?” Bat said. “There goes the diet.”
“I would like to try one, please,” May said.
With the beers distributed and the three comfortable in the den – May sitting next to Bat on the couch – Alexander explained his plan.
“The bay is brimming with boaters, especially in the summer. Fishing guides are on the water all day. I know a couple I can contact. They’ll know others. Bat, can you get me a picture of that boat?”
“Sure. The exact boat or a similar model?”
“Whichever is clearest. As long as it looks like the boat we want, it doesn’t matter. We know the name too. Miss Jana. Let’s print some fliers. You know, with a picture and the name of the boat. Add our phone and email address. Hopefully, someone will spot it coming in and contact us. I’ll see if I can tape some up at the bait shops near the Texas City Dike. People buy bait and launch their boat at one of the ramps on the dike. If that big boat comes through, someone will spot it.”
“I must admit, it’s a pretty good idea,” said Bat. “Better than sitting with our eyes glued to a computer monitor. But what if no one calls? Maybe they see it but won’t bother calling.”
“That’s a chance we have to take,” Alexander replied. “We could use a backup plan. We also need a plan for when, and if, we find them. I have a few ideas, none of which I’d call good.”