| |
Over the course of the next few days, Em negotiated with Linda Billings. She played her role well, first claiming she was unsure about the whole thing, then abruptly changing tactics to argue the price, insisting she should get a break since she was taking an obvious problem off the slavers’ hands. The fact that she managed to whittle it down to five thousand indicated the girls were more of a problem than Billings admitted. “She’s had trouble with them,” Em commented. “There’s two things in life one can never be prepared for: twins.”
As the deal firmed, Billings gave Em advice about how she should deal with her “employees.” Some buyers used physical intimidation to keep them in line, she reported. Others chose gifts and rewards for good behavior and still others, fear tactics. “Our children believe the American police will lock them up if they catch them,” she explained. “They tend to be very quiet whenever anyone else is around, which is good.”
Once the details were agreed upon, Billings said the girls would be brought to the parking lot of a box store outside Tampa. There Em would pay the entire fee in cash and take ownership.
“Isn’t that an odd place to pick up slaves?” Em asked.
“Involuntary household staff,” Billings corrected. “And no one pays attention to what happens in those places.”
“Should I bring someone to help keep them under control?”
“We give them a little something to calm them down. It will last long enough for you to get them home and secured.”
“I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut,” Em told her friends. “It’s like she’s peddling Roombas.”
“We’re going to do what we can,” Robin promised.
“If we stop Linda, that’s something,” Em agreed. “That is one cold-hearted woman.”
***
Robin stood in the box store parking lot, pretending to be on the phone as she watched Em, who waited in a rental car for the delivery of two slaves. How had they gotten to this point? Robin felt like she’d descended the ladder of depravity, from a low-level shyster to bigger crooks to perhaps the worst type of all, those who sold their fellow human beings without a shred of guilt or pity. She’d been ashamed of her father all her life, but this was worse, a ring of people who profited from the suffering of others. How did a person become involved in something so evil?
The plan for tonight was simple, which Robin hoped meant it was workable. Em would pick up the girls she’d arranged to buy. Once she had them safely away, Cam and Robin would make a decision, based on who the delivery person turned out to be. If Billings herself showed, they’d take her hostage and demand a ransom. If she sent a flunky or came with an escort, they’d follow them back to their base of operations and wait for a chance to get Billings alone. Em had pressed as hard as she dared for the woman to make the delivery herself, claiming she preferred someone she had seen before.
Billings was driving the car that pulled up next to the rented Mercedes. Getting out, she came to the window and peered in to assure herself that Em was alone.
“Have you got it?”
Em handed over a mailing envelope. Billings reached inside, flipped through the stacks of cash, and nodded satisfaction. “I’ll get them.”
Going back to her car, she opened a back door. At her gruff command, two girls connected by a zip tie around their wrists exited the vehicle. Clumsily they followed Billings to Em’s car and climbed into the back seat. Though their hair was neatly braided and their clothing was clean, there was a hollowness in their cheeks that indicated poor nutrition.
“Thank you, Mrs. Billings,” Em said, putting her car into gear. “I hope this works out for me.”
“I’m sure you’ll do very well together,” Billings replied. “Just don’t be afraid to assert your authority.”
As the Mercedes left the parking lot and turned onto the street, Billings returned to her car. Before she could start the engine, Robin rose from the back seat and touched a piece of pipe to her neck. “Give me your phone,” she ordered in her metallic voice. After a moment Billings obeyed, glaring at the reflection in her rearview mirror. Robin wore a transparent Halloween mask that blurred her features, and she held the pipe in her left hand, out of view. Billings’ cold eyes made Robin’s heart thump in her chest, and the audacity of what she was doing settled over her like a cloak of doom. This woman was part of a heartless organization responsible for the suffering, even deaths, of many innocent victims. If she screwed up, they would descend on her and her friends with the full weight of their evil. For a few seconds terror took hold of her, and she wanted nothing more than to bolt from the car, escaping Linda Billings’ gaze and the threats it implied.
“When I get the man to set his package down, you reach in and take the jewelry-store box, Babe.”
“I don’t want to, Daddy. I’m scared.”
“Scared doesn’t mean you don’t do something,” Mark said, pinching her arm until she winced. “Now do what I told you to do or I’ll give you something to really be scared of.”
Saved from panic by the urging of a man she despised, Robin pocketed Billings’ phone. “Drive.”
***
As she left the parking lot, Em assessed the condition of the girls she’d just rescued from slavery. It was obvious which was which, since Mai showed clear signs of Downs Syndrome. Jai had intelligent eyes, high cheekbones, and the look of someone who’d been brave almost longer than she could bear. Despite the drug they’d been given, she met Em’s gaze with angry defiance.
Trying to put them at ease she said, “We’re going somewhere safe. Do you understand?”
After a moment Jai said in perfect English. “Of course I understand. That doesn’t mean I believe you.”
The house Hua had rented for them stood on stilts over the gulf shore. Parking on the slab beneath, Em said, “Would you like to come inside?”
Jai considered for a moment before giving a tight nod, and Mai readily followed her sister’s lead. Leading the way up the stairs and into the house, Em gestured at the zip tie that bound the girls together. “Let’s get rid of that first.” Rummaging noisily in the silverware drawer, she came up with a knife. When Mai’s eyes widened in fear, Em turned the handle toward Jai. “You cut it.”
When it was done, Jai didn’t return the knife but held it to her side. Em shrugged. “Keep it if it makes you feel better. Would you like some tea?”
“No.”
“Suit yourself. I’m having some.” Filling a pitcher with water, she set it in the microwave to heat. As it hummed and counted down the time, Em took an unopened package of cookies from the cupboard. “Hungry?”
Mai’s eyes said she was. Jai’s revealed nothing.
“I suppose they kept you half-starved so you’d be easier to handle, but you’re finished with that now. You can eat anytime you want to.” She opened the refrigerator, which Robin had stocked with food, and stood aside so they could see. “Take what you like, now or later.”
Jai regarded Em with distrust. “What do you want with us?”
“Nothing, Jai. We want nothing from you.”
“We? I see one old woman. How will you stop us from leaving here?”
Em grinned. “I have no intention of stopping you, but you might consider what’s best before you go running off into the dark. Best for you, and best for Mai.”
Jai seemed ready to cry for a moment, but she regained control. “We must go home.”
“If that’s what you want, we’ll help you do it.” The microwave dinged its signal, and Em removed the hot water. “In the meantime, wouldn’t you like some cookies and tea?”
***
Robin had steeled herself for this part of the abduction, expecting chillingly specific threats from her captive and even a possible escape attempt. Though Billings blustered like a school-yard bully, she made no attempt to swerve off the road or grab Robin’s “weapon.” She made vague, almost childish statements about how her captor would be sorry he’d “messed with” her, and he was going to “get it.” Robin found her muttered defiance easy to ignore, as long as Billings drove where she told her to and did what she demanded.
When they pulled up at the unit, Cam came out from the shadows to open the door, the hood of his jacket pulled close around his face. “Drive inside,” Robin ordered. Billings obeyed, and Cam closed the door, shutting out much of the light. When he turned on the trouble lights, Robin ordered, “Get out of the car and take a seat in the chair.”
Billings moved slowly, as if she were frozen with fear. Switching on the recorder she’d set up earlier Robin began, “Mrs. Billings, we’re aware of how you make your money.”
Billings seemed to make an effort to pull herself together. “You mean my employment agency.”
“You traffic in human beings.”
Billings remained calm, though her face was flushed. “We match workers with employers who need them.” Fingering the collar of her shirt she added, “We recommend a weekly salary and humane living conditions.”
“The ‘workers’ are brought here against their will and held as prisoners.”
Billings shook her head. “We give them a life they could never have imagined.”
“One where they can be beaten, starved, even killed by their masters.”
“Things like that seldom happen.”
Robin tried to steady her voice. “Seldom is good enough for you?”
Billings rubbed a hand across her forehead. “Can we skip the moralizing? Why am I here?”
Turning slightly, Robin booted the laptop she’d set on a small stepladder. After some fiddling, Hua’s face appeared on the screen. Though he remained calm, his jaw shifted slightly when he saw Linda Billings.
“Would you tell us what you know about this woman?” Robin asked.
He swallowed before answering. “When the men who took me from my home brought me to this country, she trained me to serve as a houseboy. Then she sold me to Senator Buckram.”
As Hua spoke, Billings began rubbing her chest. “You got any water?”
“Um, yeah.” Digging in her backpack, Robin located the water bottle she’d brought along. “Here.”
She took a long drink, at the same time kneading her chest as if something inside it wanted out. Suddenly her face contorted, and she slumped forward. “Don’t—feel—good.” The bottle clattered to the floor, and a moment later, Billings toppled after it.
Though her first reaction was concern, Robin had taught herself caution. “Watch her, Cam. It might be a trick.” He nodded, and Robin stepped forward, calling the woman’s name.
Billings lay prone, her face to the floor and one hand under her. The other hand was limp at her side. Neither had been used to break her fall. Robin felt her neck. No pulse. Linda Billings was dead.
