Later that day, Maggie answered a knock at the door of the apartment Rock owned. Colby was waiting in the hallway.
“Come on in,” Maggie said, walking toward the cheap sofa.
“How’ve you been?” Colby asked. “The last time we were together, Rock busted through the door accusing you of knowing where some guy named Joey was.”
“Joey is a girl. She’s an eleven-year-old who lives with Rock and his wife, Thelma.”
“Oh, so Joey is Rock’s kid, then?” Colby asked.
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Well, did he ever find her?” Colby pressed.
“Yeah, we found her. She got lost and hid in a shed. She fell asleep and was there too long and ended up getting hypothermia. The doctor said she’s going to be fine, though,” Maggie explained.
Maggie didn’t feel guilty about lying to Colby. Her main objective was to keep herself and the others safe. Colby knew her story didn’t ring true, but he was smart enough to know that he hadn’t gained her trust yet.
“That’s good news, right?” Colby asked.
“Of course.”
Maggie wasn’t inclined to tell Colby about Juju’s ordeal with Rock. Maggie met and held Colby’s eyes for a long moment, blushing. She liked Colby. She’d been attracted to him ever since she’d seen him without his shirt. But now, her eyes smoldered with intensity. She nervously began to touch her hair and smooth her skin-tight dress. As she looked Colby over, her legs began to wobble. Colby was just over six feet tall. He wore his dark-brown, wavy hair almost to his shoulders. He had light-brown eyes, full lips that revealed beautiful teeth, and a smile that made her want to melt into a puddle. There was no doubt that she was attracted to him. If she were truthful with herself, the more time she spent with him, the more she wanted him to like her.
However, the realistic side of Maggie kept gnawing at her. To believe that a normal guy would ever become intimately involved with a prostitute was insane. Maggie believed she was ruined, as a person and as a woman. She had convinced herself that no sane, stable man would ever want her. When she’d allow herself to imagine the future, she pictured spending her life with a fat, sleazy, slovenly man who was either into drugs or sex, but more likely both—the type of guy who went out and left his woman at home raising the children he’d never wanted. Because of this picture of the future she’d painted in her head, she’d decided to be single for the rest of her life. She rejected the idea of being controlled by anyone once she was old enough and could break free from Rock.
An hour later, after Colby left, Maggie walked back to her own apartment, preparing for the questions Juju and Seth would have for her. When Maggie walked into the apartment, Seth and Juju were lying on the mattress.
“Did you figure out how we can help Juju? And what about Joey? Did Rock tell ya anything about her?” Seth asked with urgency.
“Hey, sweetheart, you have a lot of questions,” Maggie said, trying to avoid answering them.
“Well, what happened?” Juju chimed in. “Is Rock coming back to see me tonight? Oh, God, I just can’t lose another finger.”
“OK, you two, calm down. First, I got Rock to give us three days to come up with the money. So he promised to leave Juju alone for now. We need to figure out what we’re going to do, fast.”
“So I am going to lose my fingers. Maybe I can run; just leave Kensington and hide,” Juju offered.
“That’s our plan B, Juju,” Maggie said slyly.
“What’s plan A?” Seth asked.
“I’m going to talk to Colby. He came to visit me at Rock’s apartment this afternoon, and I’ve decided to ask him for the money. He’s the only person I can think of who might be able to help us,” Maggie confided.
“What will you have to promise to get Colby to do that for us?” Juju asked, concerned that Maggie would go too far to help her.
“Well, we know he wants information about the guys who work for Rock. I’m sure that’s what he’ll want,” Maggie said, as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“But what if he works for Rock? What if Rock kills ya, Aggie?” Seth asked, alarmed.
“I don’t think he works for Rock. I don’t know why; I just think he’s the real deal,” Maggie said.
“What about Joey? When you talked to Rock, did he say anything about her?” Seth asked.
“I don’t know anything about Joey yet. I didn’t get a chance to talk to Rock about her, but I promise the next time I see him, I’ll ask,” Maggie reported. Then she continued, “I have a feeling that Joey is doing just fine, so stop worrying so much, OK?”
Seth wouldn’t be able to rest until he knew for sure that Joey was better. An hour later, exhausted from the conversation with Juju and Seth, Maggie walked downstairs and stood on the curb to wait for Armando. She was distraught, wondering if any of them would come out of this alive.