Chapter 35
SASHA TERNS SAT on the steps of the Asian Art Museum on Larkin Street, not far from the Tenderloin neighborhood.
Banners above the doors of the museum advertised a special exhibit opening tomorrow.
She’d been sitting there since the sun set.
Few other people were around, but she’d glimpsed movement inside the place, probably a security guard.
She ate a day-old Taco Bell burrito as she looked out over the patches of open green in Civic Center Plaza and took a sip from the bottle of water she’d been given earlier by some nice lady in a minivan.
The food and water did nothing for her terrible mood.
Things had not been going well for the seventeen-year-old.
A few months ago, she’d left her home in Denver to follow a boy to San Francisco.
He’d told her she could be a model, with her kinky, dark hair and creamy brown complexion, courtesy of her Venezuelan mother and Black father.
Sasha had always felt ignored in Denver, and he’d just seemed so convincing.
About three weeks after they moved, the boy got tired of living in cheap motels and crashing on couches. He left abruptly, saying he was going to Alaska to find work on a fishing boat. Sasha had decided to stay. She didn’t think she’d fit in with the people of Alaska.
Now she was trying to figure a way back to Denver, where she was pretty sure she could find a job in the surging cannabis industry. Unless she got some money to clean up and some decent clothes—not to mention a portfolio with good headshots—her dream of becoming a model was all but over.
Sasha took another bite of her Taco Bell burrito, then tried to wash the taste out of her mouth with a gulp of water.
She wasn’t terribly successful. Looking straight out from the steps of the museum, she noticed a white SUV drive by slowly.
Had it already driven past once before? Something told her to keep an eye on the car.
A few minutes later, Sasha watched the same SUV turn onto the block again. It pulled into a handicap parking spot directly in front of the museum steps. Maybe the SUV had a handicap placard somewhere, but she couldn’t see it.
Sasha watched as a man and a woman slipped out of the SUV and came directly toward her. They approached at a businesslike pace. She groaned, thinking they were some kind of social workers. She didn’t feel like explaining her situation to anyone.
As the couple came closer, she noticed the woman was attractive, with straight, dark hair. The man was tall and very good-looking. They started climbing the museum stairs toward where Sasha was sitting but stopped about a dozen feet away.
The woman smiled and said, “Hi. You doin’ okay?”
Sasha said, “Neither of you look handicapped.”
The man glanced over his shoulder at the SUV. He said, “I think it’s more of a suggestion.”
Sasha shot back, “No, it’s not. The whole program was set up for people who have trouble walking. I know because my mom’s disabled.”
The man said, “Is she as pretty as you?”
“Not anymore.” She held the man’s gaze. She knew these two had nothing to do with social work.
The man said, “How’d you like it if we took you somewhere nice to eat instead of swallowing that garbage.” He pointed at her burrito.
“No, thanks. I’m fine.”
“You look like you could use a good meal. Maybe a nice makeover as well.”
“Why would you care?” She paused and tossed her burrito into the bushes at the side of the stairs.
“Come with us for about ten minutes and I’ll show you.”
“Is that how long it takes to stab someone and bury them in a shallow grave?”
The woman laughed. “Clever and pretty. You should really come with us.”
“Why?”
“We can show you a way to make a fortune and have fun doing it.”
Now Sasha took a moment to really evaluate the couple standing in front of her.
The woman was dressed casually in nice jeans and a designer top.
The man looked sharp too. She didn’t know designers that well, but everything he wore looked expensive.
She could tell his loafers weren’t cheap.
They looked fancy. It made her consider their offer.
“How would I make this money?”
The man said, “Just be yourself. Clever, beautiful, and charming.”
Nothing was that easy. Sasha knew from experience. But she was intrigued. She couldn’t believe she was seriously considering their offer.
Then the man started to pressure her a little bit. He took a couple of steps closer to her, leaned down, and offered his hand for her to stand up.
When Sasha didn’t move to take his hand, the man reached closer and grasped her wrist. Without thinking, Sasha squeezed her water bottle so it blasted the man in the face. He took a step back and stumbled. The woman kept him from falling down the stairs.
That’s when Sasha decided not to press her luck.
She thought about running past them into the street but didn’t know how fast they were.
Plus, they had a car and could search for her.
Instead, she turned and sprinted up the stairs and slammed into the front doors of the museum, banging on them with her hands, wondering if whoever was inside would consider helping her. She didn’t bother looking behind her.
A security guard was suddenly on the other side of the glass, giving her a dirty look. But then maybe he saw something in her expression and quickly unlocked the door.
Sasha stumbled inside and gave him her best lost-puppy look. “I swear I’m not trying to cause problems. A man just grabbed my arm outside and I didn’t know where to run.”
The older security guard, who looked like a guy who enjoyed his own Taco Bell, peered out the window of the door. Then he turned back to Sasha and said, “Was he in a car?”
She nodded and said, “A white SUV.”
The guard relocked the door and said, “I just saw it pulling out of the handicap spot in front. Want me to call the cops?”
Sasha shook her head.
The guard said, “Then wait here for a few minutes to make sure he doesn’t double back.”
That simple comment made Sasha smile. There were still good people in the world.