Fraud twice felt, p.7
Fraud Twice Felt, page 7
Derwin joined him, and together they turned the couch over and replaced the cushions. Elliot sat down, rubbing his hands over the faded floral fabric, and shrugged. “Nothing.”
“I suppose if you touched where the thugs touched, you’d probably just get more flashes of them destroying the place. Am I right?” Derwin wasn’t sure if that could be useful or not. If they had information, then maybe it could. “What are the chances that they’d be thinking of something like why they’re searching for Mei?”
Elliot grimaced. “I could try it.” He touched the arms of the sofa, and paused briefly, squinting. “Anger. I’m just getting anger. That’s all.” He went to the bookshelf and set that upright as well. This time he paused, his hands on the English book as he bent to retrieve it.
His voice lowered. “She really wanted to learn English. There’s a lot of bad stuff in Mei’s history, where she came from. She wanted someone to fall in love with her and help her stay.” Elliot’s eyes were closed. Derwin shivered again.
“What are you seeing?” He waited a moment but Elliot didn’t respond, most likely lost in the images. For his part, Derwin tried to look at the room with a detective’s eyes. Had the thugs taken anything? He doubted Mei had even owned a computer. Leaving Elliot to his visions for the moment, Derwin began cataloging things, thinking of what a young woman who hadn’t been in the country for very long would have. Clothing, for one, and he only saw a few pieces strewn about the tiny bedroom, so it appeared she had packed. Makeup? He didn’t find any in the bathroom, nor a toothbrush. There was shampoo and soap in the shower.
The one thing that made him worry was a tiny wooden box on the floor, its lid broken, its contents scattered. Faded pictures of an older Chinese woman stared back at Derwin with hollow eyes, along with pictures of two little boys. Mei’s family? Were they still back in China? Were they even alive?
It was unlikely Mei would have left that behind on purpose. Perhaps the thugs had found her after all.
“Derwin?” Elliot’s fearful voice came from the living room. Derwin hurried back.
Elliot was sitting on the couch with his hands clenched in his lap, pale. “There’s a lot of emotion here. I’m afraid to touch anything else. My head is going to explode.”
Even as Elliot said the words, Derwin sensed his pain and couldn’t help drinking it up, recharging like a windup toy. The rush was sickeningly powerful, and he had the sudden urge to take off running somewhere, anywhere. “Yeah. Okay. Don’t then. I’ll take some photos and check the rest of the place. When we leave, we can jam the door closed, then try to come back tomorrow after work.” Would the apartment have anything left by then? Considering the neighborhood, it wasn’t a good bet. Still, this wasn’t worth risking Elliot’s life over. Derwin refused to even consider pushing the man he loved further than was safe.
As Elliot pulled his gloves on and rested on the sofa, Derwin proceeded to take pictures with his phone, trying to get as many as possible so that he could study them later. Part of him wanted to call the police, have them help search for clues, but by now he was pretty sure that Mei wasn’t in the country legally, and had come from a bad situation. He couldn’t in good conscience deliver her to people who would send her back. No police, then.
On a whim, he grabbed a few items and stuffed them into a pillow sack. If thieves did take whatever was left, maybe there’d be a chance that he’d grab something with a memory Elliot could access later. He chose the box with the photos, a few books, and a bottle of aspirin. The aspirin was for Elliot, to help him until they got home.
Returning to the living room, he offered Elliot a hand up. “I don’t think we’re going to find anything more here. Let’s go home. I’ll update Connie, and we can sleep. Tomorrow we’ll continue searching.” Derwin tried to smile. “At least it looks like they may be alive. No signs of blood or trauma.”
Elliot nodded, exhausted. Derwin handed him a couple of aspirin, which he took with water from the tap in the kitchen. On their way out, Derwin did his best to make it appear that the lock worked. He doubted it would convince anyone who was determined to break in.
As they exited the building, Derwin spotted the old woman again, staring down the stairwell at them. The weight of her gaze sent shivers through him. I wonder how much shit we’re getting ourselves into.
The blare of the phone ringing cut through the darkness.
Elliot blearily opened his eyes as Derwin answered, and looked for the clock—it read 4:15 a.m. He groaned. Vaguely, he remembered Derwin handing him some pain pills when they got home, and then he’d passed out, exhausted. He didn’t even remember making it to the bedroom.
Derwin sat up, cradling the phone against his cheek. “I’m sorry—slow down, Connie. You said what?”
Connie sounded frantic on the other end, but Elliot couldn’t make out her words. He rubbed his eyes. His head still hurt, but it was much better than last night. The pain had been so bad he’d been ready to puke.
As Connie went on, Derwin threw back the covers and stood, fumbling for the light switch. “Okay. Did they say who they are? Did they have you speak with Billy?” He looked at Elliot as light flooded the room. Elliot winced, but he was already getting out of bed. Worry was radiating from his partner. “Well if they didn’t, how do you know they have him?”
That can’t be good. Elliot stumbled over to the dresser to grab a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. It still felt weird having his clothing in Derwin’s chest of drawers, but he hadn’t owned an unbroken dresser himself. It was nice.
Connie must have become more agitated, because Derwin started pacing, which, considering that he was buck naked, was interesting to watch. “Hey, they wouldn’t be going after you like this if they’d killed your son. So this is a hopeful sign. Elliot and I will be over there soon. Okay?”
Shit. So the gang had found Billy and Mei? Had his actions yesterday helped lead them to Billy? If it had . . . Elliot didn’t want to think about that. He shuddered, remembering the burn of ropes on his wrists and ankles, that glee in Cole’s eyes as he’d held the knife to Elliot’s skin . . .
Not time to panic right now. I’m safe. They’re not. Get a grip. Elliot took long, slow breaths, fighting back the dizziness. He pulled out some socks and put them on along with his shoes, as Derwin ended the call. “What’s happening?”
Derwin set down his phone to grab underwear. “Connie’s freaking out. Some guy called her a few minutes ago and told her she needed to pay fifty thousand dollars, or they’re going to kill Billy. They didn’t even let her hear his voice.”
“Shit.” Elliot followed Derwin to the bathroom, where they both paused to comb hair and brush teeth. As soon as they were done, Elliot asked, “Do you think they’re bluffing? From what we saw last night, they didn’t have Mei yet.”
Derwin shrugged, pulling on a shirt. “That doesn’t mean they didn’t find Billy. But something tells me you’re right. They should have allowed Connie to hear Billy’s voice to confirm that they have him and that he’s alive. Could be that they’re just trying to get their money. With interest, by the sound of it, unless Billy was lying about the amount that he owed them.”
“Which is possible,” Elliot allowed. They finished getting ready, and then Elliot tried to take notes outlining what they’d discovered last night, before he started forgetting details. He jotted them down as he buckled himself into Derwin’s car, shivering against the predawn chill and the ocean breeze. The sky was purple, and he couldn’t see the stars. The pain in his still healing rib told him that it was going to be a rainy day today.
They drove in silence, and Elliot tallied up the findings of the case so far.
One, Billy loves Mei. Mei seems to be here illegally, which means she probably had help getting here. She might even have been part of the sex trade, and maybe they expect her to earn back what it cost to bring her. Or she was a drug mule. Or a contract wife. Billy either owes someone for Mei, or for himself, or maybe for both of them.
Too many possibilities. Too many questions. For all Elliot knew, the two of them could be running from the police and the gang because they’d stolen illegal merchandise, or information. Elliot set down his notepad and glanced at Derwin. “Did you get a chance to check if either Billy or Mei are wanted by the police? Do the police know who they are?”
Derwin shrugged. “I checked the Missing Persons and the Wanted lists last night before I went to bed. Neither of them were listed. No updates from any morgue or hospital. I figured today we’d try to find Billy’s friends, his teachers, anybody he knows. Maybe they know something. It’s what I’d normally do for a fugitive I was seeking.”
That sounded like a solid plan to Elliot. He smiled at Derwin. “So you won’t be depending on me so much?” He still had a residual headache from yesterday, although he’d taken some painkillers above what he’d been taking for his healing rib. Elliot wished he knew someone with a similar Oddity, to know what limits were normal, and if it was like a muscle, if he’d eventually be able to train himself to have several visions in a day and not be so debilitated by them.
They reached Connie’s place as the predawn light started to spread across the city. Derwin led Elliot up the stairs and knocked on the door, and was immediately pulled inside. Elliot followed, wondering how distraught the woman would be.
“Derwin! They said they were going to kill him!” Connie sobbed and crushed Derwin to her, arms wrapped around him tightly, her face buried against his chest. From what little Elliot could see, Connie wasn’t a tall woman but had a sturdy frame, brown skin, and thick black hair that she’d tied back. She was wearing pajamas, and her place was a wreck. Elliot tugged at his gloves to make sure they were on securely. No need to use his abilities here; he could almost taste her fear and despair.
“Easy there, Connie. We’re going to find Billy. I’m not convinced they have him, or they would have given you proof. Here—I want you to meet my boyfriend. He’s the object reader. Elliot Leed, meet Connie Barton, the receptionist and filer at Bob’s Bail Bonds, and my good friend.” Derwin pried Connie away from him enough so that Elliot could offer his hand. She smiled, tears in her eyes.
“You’re adorable. And you’re younger than I’d expected. Yeah, a lot—” She gave him the once-over, and then threw Derwin a look that sent a wave of uneasiness through Elliot. She’s wondering why the hell someone as young as me is with him, I’ll bet. And she’d known Grady. How do I compare?
Whatever she’d been about to say, she apparently decided to drop it. Letting go of Derwin, she wiped at her eyes instead. “I’m still a wreck. I can’t seem to focus on anything. Do you need coffee? I can brew a pot here . . .” She wandered toward the small kitchen visible from the living room, moving aside dirty dishes and glasses to bring out a rather ancient coffee maker.
Elliot started to protest, but Derwin touched his arm and whispered in his ear, “Let her. Keeping busy is probably the best thing for her right now.”
As Connie bustled about the kitchen, Derwin went to work on the living room, picking up trash, particularly the tissues that seemed to be everywhere. Grimacing, Elliot helped, uncomfortable about touching another person’s stuff. Thanks to his previous role as a rentboy, he’d forgotten how to behave in somebody’s house. If Connie was like a favorite auntie to Derwin, that would make her something like what Theresa had been to him. Would he have cleaned up her place if she needed help? Yes. So that must be normal.
“You guys didn’t need to do that.” Connie poured the coffee, smiling at them across the island separating the rooms. “But thank you anyways. My hands are shaking. Here, Derwin—take yours and your friend’s as well. Let’s sit down so I can try and think this through.”
They all sat down in a somewhat tidier living room, with Elliot next to Derwin on the sofa and Connie in an overstuffed recliner. She took a long drink before speaking. “Is it possible they’re lying? What if they really do have him, and he can’t speak? Or what if . . .” She shuddered, and put the cup down, the china clattering. “I don’t want to consider the other possibility. But what if they already killed him? Would they still try to get money from me?” Two large tears leaked out of her eyes, trailing down her cheeks.
“They’d be stupid to extort you for money if that were true.” Derwin sipped his coffee, while Elliot gulped his gratefully. It was cold in the apartment, and waking up was hard. He also wasn’t sure what to make of Connie’s comment about his age. She’s worried about her boy, that’s all. And I’m nearly the same age as him.
Derwin continued, frowning. “Of course, it would also be stupid of them to try to get money from you if they don’t have anyone to hand over. This is very suspicious.”
Connie hugged herself, rocking in her recliner. “What would happen if I showed up? Would they’d try to take me?”
“Maybe. They could kidnap you and get their money, and then perhaps use you as leverage to get your son. As I mentioned, in Elliot’s vision it seems like the gang wants Mei in particular. We think it’s likely that they smuggled her here from China, and she may still owe them for the passage.” Derwin rubbed his eyes. “I doubt they’re going to be satisfied with just money, though. I believe that for some reason they want Mei herself.”
Elliot recalled his vision from Billy’s apartment. Had Derwin mentioned Billy’s ties to the gang? “Billy was holding a secret too. He was thinking about an etching when they were discussing Mei’s problem, and something about finishing a job that would get him money. No clue what that’s about, though.”
Connie looked at Elliot in confusion. “That doesn’t sound like my boy. I can’t imagine him getting involved in a gang.” She snorted. “For one, I would’ve killed him.”
Which was probably why he would have kept it quiet. Elliot shrugged, insides twisting uncomfortably. What if he broke up the love, the trust between these two? He knew all too well what it felt like to be expelled from a family. “I don’t know. I just got that stray thought from him when I was in the vision. It might be nothing. But I feel like there’s more that we haven’t discovered yet.”
“As a bond agent—and as a private investigator—instinct is important. We have to consider every possibility.” Derwin nodded at Elliot.
The fact that Derwin was backing him up sent a warm glow through Elliot. He smiled. He didn’t say the word thanks, but he tried to convey all his love in the look he sent Derwin.
“They’re threatening my boy, they’re asking for money, and I don’t know what to do.” Connie stared at them, her nose red and swollen, and shadows under her eyes. “What should I do?”
Sighing, Derwin stood and began to pace the room. Elliot stayed still; Derwin liked action, probably needed to spend some of the energy from their play session the other night. Turning, Derwin faced Connie. “I’ll talk to Bob. If we can get the money together, I could go with you to the drop point. They gave you a drop point, right? But we won’t hand over the money. I want to talk to them.”
Connie’s eyes flashed with anger. “Oh no you don’t. You remember what my boy said! Don’t tell anyone. I can’t have them see you.” She rubbed at her arms. “Yeah, they gave me a place and time. I want to see Billy, and I want to bring him home. No chance I’ll give them anything without that.”
“You don’t want to make yourself a target—what if they took you too? At least let me hide somewhere nearby. Only hand them the money if you get Billy in exchange, and if something goes wrong, I can act like I stumbled across everything. Other than having the police involved, that’s about the best scenario I can think of.” Derwin sat back down next to Elliot, his expression dark and clouded.
“Oh I’d love to have you nearby. But don’t let them see you. Can you do that, Derwin? I know it’s dangerous. I don’t care. This is my boy we’re talking about.” Connie sighed, shaking her head. “Believe me, if I thought it would be better to call the police, I would have. I want to know what’s going on.”
“We both do,” Derwin assured her. “But that doesn’t mean you need to be there front and center.”
She crossed her arms, meeting his gaze. “I’m not telling you where and when unless I can do this on my own. You can provide whatever safety net you think we need, but let me be the only one they see.”
“I can do that. There’s no way I’d let anything happen to you, Connie.” Derwin seemed so sure of himself, and yet Elliot wondered if it was real or an act. He’d seen Derwin have a nightmare or two of his own, about not having been able to protect Grady. Or keep Elliot from being kidnapped.
While Elliot was tempted to hold Derwin’s hand again, a thought occurred to him. “And what about me?” Derwin did the dangerous stuff, and that was fine, but Elliot wasn’t going to sit around doing nothing.
Derwin nodded at him. “You’re going to continue our investigation. Go to the university, and speak with Billy’s professors, his friends, and anybody he might have gone to for help. Could be shacked up at a friend’s place. We have to cover that angle.”
That was better than waiting on the sidelines, and yet Elliot couldn’t shake the notion that Derwin was brushing him off. So he was supposed to ignore the danger that Derwin and Connie would face? Even if it was logical, he didn’t like it. Is this what will happen every time things get dicey? How are we supposed to work as partners if that’s the case?
He shuddered, pulling his thoughts back. “Sounds good. But can you call me once you’re safely away? Otherwise I’m going to be distracted.”
Derwin smiled, his eyes warming. “I will. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of myself.” Then he turned serious. “But you also need to stay aware. Don’t forget Roy and his gang. Also, whatever gang Billy was involved with may be skulking nearby, especially if they don’t have Billy yet. Watch your back.” He reached over and gave Elliot’s hand a squeeze.
