Chapter 36 A Lucky Break #2
Now as a man of means I've done some pretty crazy shit in my day, but purchasing a home in the wee hours of the morning in another country is not one of them. "And how'd you do that?"
She laughs loudly. "Money."
I blank at her several times before muttering, "That's fair."
And she's not wrong. The root of true evil is money.
“Won’t it look suspicious that a home was purchased directly before a home was broken into in the same neighborhood?"
She rolls her eyes at me. "As if I'm that stupid."
"What do you mean?"
She sighs and shakes her head. "This was a pre-buy, a purchase made before construction began, so it’s dated like two years ago.”
Unaccustomed to this level of illegal dealings I ask, "Are you some evil mastermind or something?"
Again, she laughs, shakes her head. "I wouldn't go that far. And most people just call me an evil pain in the ass."
I can't help but chuckle at her response, but then she's pulling into a driveway and directly into an open garage door.
As if by some kind of magic, the door closes behind us and the lights come on, revealing a second vehicle to our right.
She exits the vehicle and I do the same.
I then follow her up the short flight of stairs through the doorway that leads into a hallway.
The house is only finished in the sense that it has completed initial construction. The floors are plywood, sheet rock walls are bare. And it’s cold indicating there is no heat.
We enter a large room, empty of furnishings but for a table and some chairs in the middle. A few men are sitting off to the side, resting against a wall, while a few others are standing around the table, deep in conversation.
“What’s up, boys?” Lilith crows, causing a few to jump. Mickey looks over his shoulder, a smile on his face as we get closer. He straightens, walks toward me with his hand extended. “Conrad, great to see you.”
“Likewise,” I respond, gripping his hand briefly before releasing him. Following him back to the table, I add, “Maybe someday we’ll meet under better circumstances.”
“You know,” he replies, turning slightly toward me. “Once we get your little girl back, I bet we can make that happen.”
“Oh Mickey,” Lilith murmurs, moving to stand beside Mickey and putting her arm on his shoulder. “Always so sentimental.”
He glares at her, but I can tell from his demeanor that he’s not angry about her comment. Then he pokes her in the side. “Just working harder to make up for your distinct lack of warm and fuzzies.”
Lilith smiles at Mickey, her fondness for the man obvious from the warmth in her eyes, but then, she blinks, and it’s gone. “Someone tell me where we’re at.”
Once again I’m thrown off by how quickly she shifts from jokes to business. How easily her bright smile darkens, the sparkle in her eyes deadening in an instant.
“Sal grabbed the last two guys who came out of there, but didn’t get much out of them.”
Lilith turns to a blonde guy who’s now seated at the table. “Have they seen the girl?”
Sal shakes his head. “Didn’t seem to have any knowledge of a child on the premises at all.”
“And why were they there?”
“They called themselves boyfriends,” Sal responds with a shrug. “Which I take to mean they’re johns.”
I wince, my anxiety increasing for the safety of a child living in that house. My ex was never the motherly type, and I can’t believe she’s any different now.
As if she can sense my distress, Lilith turns to me and says, “If they’re johns and they don’t know there’s a child there, then that’s a good thing. That means if nothing else, they’ve had nothing to do with her, and that’s exactly the news you want.”
A tiny bit of relief ebbs in, and I cling to it like a lifeline. I have no doubt that whatever life the girl has lived so far has been traumatic.
Mickey beckons me closer to the table, so I join him, looking down at the map placed there. It’s a map of the neighborhood. “Where are we?”
Mickey points to a house in the middle of the development then points to the house directly behind it and says, “And this is where they are.”
I give Lilith a look, muttering, “And coincidentally this house just happened to be on the market.”
It’s a rhetorical statement, so she doesn’t bother saying anything, but the smile on her face is on the smug side. Turning back to the table, I ask, “So how are we going to get in without causing a huge scene or risk something happening to the girl?”
Lilith shrugs. “Don’t look at me. I’m a knock down the door and take what needs saving kinda girl.”
“I have an idea,” Mickey states, his eyes on Lilith.
Lilith’s eyes immediately narrow. “Why you lookin’ at me like that?”
“How neighborly are you feeling, Lils,” Mickey asks with a grin.
She sighs heavily, rolls her eyes. “About as much as ever, but you know me.”
“I sure do,” the older man retorts. “Fake it ’til you make it.”
“Someone get me some baked goods,” Lilith barks, and immediately a few guys scurry out of the room. “I’ll go over early enough to catch them off guard but not so early to be obnoxious.”
“And what do I do?” I ask.
Lilith smiles. “You stay out of the way.”
I scowl, annoyed I’m expected to just sit back and wait for it to be over. “Surely, I can help in some way.”
“Can you bake?”
I level Lilith with my best unimpressed look, but she just laughs, so I shake my head, knowing there’s nothing I can do to change her mind. Especially given the fact she’s not wrong. I may dabble in the morally questionable, but when push comes to shove, I’m better on the sidelines.
Resigned to my safe fate, I sigh, waving off Lilith’s silly joke. “You’re a regular comedian.”
She chuckles again, then sobers as she says, “I’ll get her back.”
“I know you will,” I respond. “I just hope she’ll be okay…someday.”
Lilith’s expression softens, her eyes becoming slightly unfocused as she says, “She will, Conrad. With enough time and enough love, she’ll be okay.”
She gives my hand a squeeze, her smile reassuring yet still haunted. Then she blinks, and it’s gone, that lethal veil falling over her as she turns away, shouting, “Someone get me a fucking basket.”