4. Exodus “Yin” Tan
EXODUS “YIN” TAN
Hefting the axe above my head, I let it fall, splitting the rounded block of wood in two.
“I told you.” Mama Tan spoke in Mandarin. “We can order wood for the winter. You and your brothers don’t have to do this.”
I set up another block of wood and dropped the axe.
“It helps me think.” I replied. “I need this.”
“Are you thinking of that Alisha girl?”
Chop.
“Are you thinking this is more of a Tha’lab job?” She asked. “No one will think any less of you if you handed this over to the police.”
“Maybe. But Alisha trusts me.”
Mama Tan sighed dramatically.
“Sometimes I think I raised you boys too differently.”
“Do we disappoint you, Māmā?”
“No, baby.” She smiled. “But sometimes I wonder if it doesn’t handicap you, put you in needless dangerous spots.”
I smiled.
Picking another block of wood, I paused to look at her then chopped.
“When you’re done come in for something to eat.” Mama Tan waved at me. “And something cool to drink.”
“Shì de, Māmā.” I replied, my mouth already watering.
She left me alone and I went back to work.
My mind boomeranged back to Alisha and her predicament, finding everything about it strange.
Nothing that we’d found out pointed to her being the kind of person that would have people going after her. She didn’t live a wild lifestyle and for the most part she worked and went home.
Bambam found nothing.
Tha’lab found nothing.
I was stuck.
There had to be something we were all overlooking, or a bit of information hidden so well, none of us had been able to find it.
Where would a teacher come across this kind of danger—or the potential of finding this kind of danger?
I piled the wood into the build the sunroom at my mother’s place then dragged my exhausted body into the house. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed for the longest nap, but instead I showered and reported for mom’s loving.
My mother’s face lit up as she noticed I was standing at the doorway. She’d been listening to a podcast about meditation, and I was taken in by her.
“What are you standing there for?” She wanted to know. “Grinning like a goof—come, come.”
Smiling wider, I entered and stopped at the brand-new island we had put in for her.
Ever since I was a child, she’d loved trying her hand at baking. When we were old enough, my brothers and I figured more space would be best for her.
It was less work on her body especially with the new counters with cupboard spaces she could access easily and a sink that was almost as deep as her love for her boys.
When I sat, she placed a plate with two giant fish on it in the center of the table. Afterward, she carried a bowl of rice, another with vegetables then my chopsticks.
Kissing the air toward her, I accepted the chopsticks and looked over at the perfectly grilled fish.
“Xiè xie, mā.”
Mama Tan patted my head.
“Did you ever tell me when your next fight was?” She wanted to know, pouring me a drink.
“Next year.” I answered. “I don’t start training until closer to the end of the year. That means, for now, I get to eat all your cooking.”
Mama laughed.
While she stared into a cupboard, I marvelled at the power in that petit body.
Mentally, she was a wall, strong and towering—she raised her three boys alone after Papa passed. Not one day did she wither like a frail tree in a storm.
We all thought his death would bring her down.
But while mama bent—she didn’t break.
She mourned the love of her life—the man she’d loved from the age of fifteen—and then she moved on to being a tower for her boys.
She’d buckled down and while we knew she must have had her moments alone, we never saw her cry.
Mom had always been superwoman to us because I knew it wasn’t easy raising three boys.
“Māmā?” I called as she wandered toward the door.
“Mm?”
“Wǒ ài nǐ.”
“Wǒ zhīdào.” She turned fully to look at me, worry filling her gaze. “Yin, what’s the matter? Are you okay?”
I nodded.
If I’d said anything, my voice would have cracked.
Swallowing, I nodded again.
“I’m okay. I just—I feel like I have to keep telling you, you know?” I asked. “I don’t want you to think I don’t love you or for you to ever forget.”
Hurrying over, she hugged me, kissed my nose then framed my cheeks.
“Never, Silly Boy.” She promised only to hug me again. “How can I ever forget?”
When she released me, I picked up my chopsticks again.
“Wait!” Mom who’d been leaving the room gasped and turned again. “Here’s an idea! What about her parents?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t huh me boy.” Mama wagged a finger at me. “If everything else doesn’t make sense—usually, with things like this. If she doesn’t live an at-risk lifestyle, it has to be someone she knows, right? Someone they think she’s important to.”
Nodding, I shifted on my stool.
“But her mother died.” I pointed out, jutting my chopsticks in her direction. “She doesn’t have siblings.”
“Is her father dead too? Because, you know?”
“That’s the thing—if he’s dead then someone must have hidden his body in concrete in a backyard somewhere. There is no evidence of that.”
“Well, think about it.”
She blew me a kiss leaving me with more thoughts I couldn’t control.
I spent a few more hours with my mother before leaving Bobcaygeon. It was always so hard to leave her—it was as if walking away from the warmest feeling ever into a cold void.
The next morning, I almost swallowed my tongue as Alisha exited the bedroom in a dress that hugged every damn curve she had. I held my breath to keep from choking on a piece of toast.
“Coffee?” She asked.
I nodded and pointed.
“Thank you, kind sir.” She joked, filling her travel mug.
She allowed herself a few sips then refilled the mug.
I used that time to drink the entire cup of orange juice I’d poured.
“Hey, no double dipping.” I teased.
“Screw you, Mister.” She drank from her mug only to top it off again. “People get hurt if I’m not caffeinated.”
I chuckled.
That was the only breakfast she had, along with a piece of peameal bacon she stole from my plate and headed for the door.
“Come along, Exodus.” She threw happily over a shoulder. “We can’t be late. We have young minds to mold.”
I followed, not even pretending not to be staring at her ass, willing to follow it anywhere.
I slowed and walked behind her.
If she knew what was happening to me, Alisha said nothing and I was thankful for her pity.
After dropping her off, I frowned as now I had to focus, be an adult.
Tha’lab was outside speaking with a coworker when I pulled into the lot. She had her arms folded across her chest, keeping eye contact, comfortably.
I honked and they turned.
She waved then said something to the person she’d been talking to before jogging over to me.
“Ey!” She greeted me through the window before opening the door and climbing in.
We’d just decided on a nearby diner when I noticed a familiar car from the morning. I remembered three of the letters in the license plate.
Frowning, I glanced in my mirrors before changing lanes twice and confirmed the car was following.
“We have a tail.” I reported to my friend. “Picked it up this morning at a cookie place close to Kitty’s school.”
“They didn’t try anything at the school?”
“Nah—grabbing someone at a school is a lot more problematic—logistically—than you’d think.”
“These idiots. They are very loyal to this person who hired them.” Tha’lab looked in her mirror while fixing a side of her purple hijab. “What I don’t understand is, why? Do they think this person would do the same for them?”
“Probably.”
She muttered under her breath.
“Think they’re trying to see if you’ll lead them to Kitty?”
“Probably. I don’t think I have to tell you that can’t happen.” I glanced back again before focusing on the road and traffic ahead of me.
Tha’lab rested her elbow on the window and relaxed in her seat.
“Pretend they aren’t there for now.” She recommended. “Maybe they’ll screw up and we can get a lead from that.”
“I’m not good at waiting.”
“I’m aware of that, Yin.” She rolled her head to level her eyes on me. “But police work is always the waiting game. Besides, patience is a virtue.”
“Who came up with that, and can I punch them in the dick?”
Tha’lab laughed softly.
“Calm down, Ragnar Lothbrok. We’ll figure this out.”
I scoffed.
“So, did you guys go get cookies together?” Tha’lab asked coyly.
“It was only to get cookies—she didn’t have much of the breakfast I made.” My cheeks flushed. “She saw the store and?—”
“Hey, you don’t have to explain it to me.” She giggled. “But do you understand that buying a woman cookie is one of the sweetest things you can do…”
“That’s new to me.” I confessed.
“All I’m saying is it’s not just about the cookies.”
Her thoughts dwelled in my head.
When I brought Tha’lab back, we were followed. Though I didn’t want to leave her, I knew she wouldn’t be in any danger.
One, she was in a building full of cops.
Two, the danger was more interested in me.
Instead of going home, I called Sam and explained things.
“Are you okay? Do you need backup?” He asked, lowering his voice.
“I’ll be fine.” I told him. “I just don’t want to lead them to her. Stay with her tonight.”
“And what do I tell her when she asks where you are?”
I rubbed my eyes at a stop sign before making a right turn.
“Tell her I’m at my place but I’ll be there for chauffeuring duties in the morning.” I replied. “There’s no need to worry her yet about this.”
“Hm.”
Long after that talk, I didn’t go home right away. I spent some time running errands, doing a little shopping and going to the gym. I sparred with a few boxers and when I’d tired myself out, I paused to buy a smoothie at my favourite place then finally decided to go home.
My tail followed.
At about nine that night, Bambam called me over the messenger service she’d created on my laptop. I was picking from a bowl of trail mix.
“So, still nothing on the father.” I moaned.
“I won’t give up.” Bambam promised. “He isn’t dead. I have a software searching databases across the globe but so far—blank.”
The next morning, the car was still here.