A Breed Apart
By Mitchell Joyce
Published by Mitchell Joyce at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 Tanner Publishing
Cover by: Robyn Samuels
Cover Art by: D. R
Edited by: Joyce Hayman
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The story, A Breed Apart, is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Prologue
April 14th Sarah Miller had stopped crying when she was pushed into the room and found other girls her age. They looked at her with eyes she had never seen before. At eight, she was too young to know that the vacant stare was from the shock and trauma of being taken from a safe and secure world. Soon she would understand that look. Sarah heard the door close and lock behind her all the girls started to cry again. They had hoped with the door opening that their parents had come to their rescue. They wanted their mommy and daddy, they wanted to go back to a world that was safe and made sense.
Chapter One
Bobby was at the end of his rope. His Darleen had been taken on her way to school. It was not noticed until late in the day that she was missing. It was that gap between going to school and coming home, that children were most vulnerable and someone had exploited it. He could not go to the police so he went to a better source. Winston Walker was the boss of bosses for New York. If anyone was doing anything in the city or the tri-state area for that matter had to get Winston's permission; he would know who was taking children and once it was known that they had taken a child of a 'made-man’ the child would be returned, with an apology and some cash to smooth things over.
Bobby was a Capo regime, or captain in the organization. Sort of like an executive vice-president of a company and anyone that was stupid enough to kidnap a captain’s kid was not long for this world. That was the way it worked, had always worked; when someone had done something in the mob’s territory that conflicted with the mob, people made amends or died, sometimes both depending on the offense. Word had been spread across the tri-state area in less than an hour, people knew who to look for and if anyone spotted the little girl would be rewarded with cash and favors. No one had heard from the kidnappers. Winston Walker, the boss of bosses for the New York tri-state area, had not been told that anyone new was operating on his patch, and because of that, word went out that someone had made a huge mistake, fix it, there was no ‘Or else’.
After a day nothing was reported. No one knew anything. After two full days of nothing new, Bobby was forced to call the police who then pointed him to the FBI. Special agent in charge Danforth explained to Bobby and his wife that there had been a sudden rash of kidnappings in the city all on the same day. Seemingly at random, children were snatched off the streets on their way to school. Bobby’s Darleen was the tenth child reported missing in that one day. Special agent Danforth pulled Bobby aside and explained the rules.
“Listen to me Bobby. I know who you are and who you work for.” Bobby felt his stomach churn with acid. He was going to the bottom of the priority list because he was mobbed up, this was going to be payback for the crimes they suspected he did. “I am not OC I don’t care right now what you did all I care about is finding your little girl and getting her home safely. Just try to keep your shit out of my sight. Organized Crime is another department my thing is kidnapping and hostage rescue; when I ask a question it is because I need to know in order to get Darlene back not to trick you into jail.” You hide information from me you risk never seeing her again. Based on what I know so far it is not a rival gang, and has nothing to do with your…‘business’; too many kids are missing to be any kind of mob thing. Play straight with me and I will do my best to get her back and put the bastards that took her in jail.”
“Jail is too good for these fuckers.” Bobby said with venom in his voice.
“Well we have to catch em before you can think like that and if you do anything to them my people will go after you. Just let us do our job.”
Reluctantly, Bobby allowed the FBI to set up in his house. It was strange watching them at work, knowing that they would like to bust him on racketeering charges just as much as they wanted to get his daughter back. Bobby had to admit that the feds did their best to stay out of his business but to be on the safe side Bobby had his chief lieutenant run the business until this mess was over. Bobby was the capo of the enforcement arm of the organization. If the feds knew he was the one responsible for half the missing informants in three states they might not want to help find his daughter.
The same day that Darlene was taken, Steven Miller was doing his best to console his wife, Andrea. Sarah had not come home from school on time, Andrea had dismissed it as children at play and had lost track of time. By dinner time Andrea was in a panic, no one had seen her little girl. Andrea called him she was distraught and incoherent. Steven called the hospitals from work, by the time he got home the police were called; they did a check of all the clinics and hospitals in the area on the chance that little Sarah had had an accident. At the same time a quick background check was done on all the parents. It was police procedure to eliminate the family and rule out a case of one or both parents hurting the child and claiming the child was kidnapped.
Finally an Amber alert was sent out for all the missing children; the call came an hour after the Amber alert. A woman’s voice, most likely a woman disguised by an electronic device. “Mr. Miller? I have your daughter; she gave me your number as proof that I have her. If you want to see her again we want two hundred fifty thousand dollars. Do not call the FBI. We will call tomorrow with a location. We will only give you this one chance and then you won’t hear from us again.”
“What are we going to do Steve? Can we get that kind of money by tomorrow?” Andria asked in a panic. Steven looked to the police lieutenant with the wild eyes of a trapped animal.
“Well, Mister Miller, the FBI has jurisdiction over all kidnapping cases.” The lieutenant said being careful of his wording. He was not going to make a decision that could get the little girl killed. He could not take the look in their eyes if something went wrong because of what he said or how he said it.
Steven Miller thought for almost two full seconds before he reached for the phone. “No! They said not to call the FBI!” Andria shouted. “We can get more money but we can’t get another Sarah.” She pled.
Steven Miller was not stupid. His company had kidnap insurance for the principle members of his company but it did not extend to family. An oversight his accountant had talked him into he would correct this in the morning. He knew from the briefings that in most cases if you paid the criminals, you stood a fifty-fifty chance of seeing your loved one again. Not paying would doom their little girl. “The FBI were the experts, they would know the best way to handle this.” He said trying to reason with his wife.
Steven called the FBI; he knew that if he wanted to see his child again, they were the people to find her. Andrea wanted to just pay the money but trusted her husband. She would sell her soul to have her little Sarah back home safe. To help calm his wife, he said he would do both; he called his business partner who agreed to loan him the money from company funds. By morning they had the cash and special agent in charge Ben Danforth of the FBI was on the scene. So far there were nine children missing and four were being hit up for ransom. He ordered a trace on all their phones. If a ransom call was made they were ready to run a trap and trace on every type of phone except satellite phones.
Special agent in charge Danforth agreed with Mister Miller and recommended paying but adding a tracking device with the money in order to catch the criminals. Steven agreed to this without telling Andrea what the plan was. Steven trusted the FBI while Andrea was only concerned with the return of her child. When she found out what they were planning she saw it as a risk to her daughter and demanded they not trick the kidnappers. Everyone ignored her and continued with the plan.
Sarah and her new friend Darleen huddled together afraid, when the woman came in. She ordered them to undress and bathe then they were fed McDonalds Happy Meals. Sarah didn’t like McNuggets, so Darleen traded Sarah for her hamburger. This had made them friends for life; they would watch over each other as best they could under circumstances. Once they were fed, they were led out with the other girls to a van and driven in the darkness to a house. Sleepy, they were ushered into the house, none of them thought to scream for help and once inside they learned a new horror.
Andrea saw her chance; she walked by the pile of money and took the transmitter out, hiding it in the house. She was not going to risk her child more than she had to. They promised to give her back if they got the money and she was determined to ensure her baby’s return.
The call came and instructions were given. Steven was told to deliver the money at 42nd Street train station. He arrived a little early looking around. He knew the FBI was there but he didn’t see anyone that looked like a cop or a criminal. The suitcase with the money was heavy; he had no idea that money could feel so heavy. According to the instructions Steven was supposed to wear a suit with a white shirt and a red tie and board the next train. It arrived five minutes later. He rode the train to the end of the line. At 241st street Steven exited the train and waited for instructions. It didn’t take long to figure out who the FBI agents were. Ten of them exited the train and stood around, looking nervous and exposed. Steven felt his jacket pocket vibrate. He reached inside to find a cell phone. “Hello?”
“We told you not to call the FBI.”Steven Miller’s stomach churned with acid. There was nothing for him to say, he was caught and his daughter was now in jeopardy. “Do as I say and we will see if you will get your daughter back.”Steven boarded the same train along with most of the agents for the return to downtown. The trip was long and filled with dread. Rush hour was going to start soon and once he reached 42nd Street Steven received a text message. He boarded the number 2 train heading back to 241st station. This one was packed with commuters heading home for the day. Somewhere between 42nd street and 180th street when the train emptied, the suitcase was gone. Not even Steven was sure when it vanished. His next text message told him to go home. For security reasons, the tracking device was not activated until the FBI was sure it was in the hands of the kidnappers. When it came on they were astonished to see that the Miller condo was its location.
The
agents looked at Steven. “Hey not me, I did everything you told me
to.
He said. “I never touched the tracker.” Steven handed
over the cell phone and the FBI tried to track its owner. It was
stolen that day from a police officer when he was on his lunch. The
last message sent was a heart breaker.
“You broke your word.” Andrea lost all control and could not be consoled. It didn’t take an FBI agent to figure out who took the tracker out of the bag. Steven led his wife to their bedroom telling her it was not her fault; he didn’t have the guts to tell her that in calling the FBI, against Amanda’s objection, he was responsible for the loss of their daughter. Maybe in the morning but not now, he just couldn’t face her with that kind of news; he was too upset and needed to clear his head before he could face the deserved hate from his beloved wife. Steven spent the rest of the night being interrogated by the FBI agents and when he finally got to bed, he found his wife had taken more than enough sleeping pills to ensure an eternal peace she would never have had, knowing she had been the reason her little Sarah would never return.
Chapter Two
May 15th Steven Miller sat in the plush office of Jamal Packard, chief investigator for Master Detective Agency. After hearing Mr. Miller’s story, Jamal looked at the man, assessing him. Mr. Miller was a broken man. The dark circles under his eyes told Jamal that the man was on the verge of losing his grip with sanity. Andy, Jamal’s best detective traded looks with Jamal. Both knew that the odds of finding the Miller girl alive were low at best. It had been a month since the ransom demand had failed and there had been no contact with the kidnappers since then. If he had come to them right after they might have had a fighting chance; but with a month of lead time, the girl would be dead and the bad guys would be long gone. If what the Bureau said was true, the people doing this would be making their money using the children in porn movies, and when they were no longer useful they would be killed. The bodies were rarely recovered.
If they were lucky enough to find the girl alive, the damage would take years to mend if at all. On top of that, his wife had committed suicide; meaning if they found the child, Mr. Miller would be a grieving single parent.
“Mister Miller, we will do our honest to God best to find your little girl but you have to know that it will not be easy. In fact you may be wasting your time and money hiring us. I don’t mean to discourage you sir, but I don’t want to build up your hopes. From what you have told me the Bureau did everything right, what you need to understand is that no matter what you and your wife did you were not going to see little Sarah. Six of the missing children’s families got calls just like you. Some didn’t call the bureau and paid, some called the FBI the result was the same. The bastards found some reason not to let the children go. I know that is no solace at this time; but these people are professional rats, dirt bags that feed on the misery of others. The Bureau will never stop looking for the children but when a new case comes along this one will not be their highest priority. Whereas we will have people on this for as long as it takes, as I said before we will do everything in our power to get her back alive but we are not hopeful.”
“Thank you for your honesty, believe it or not it is a comfort that you are so… clear. I do understand Mister Packard. I am a business man, I know that the odds are slim, but I also know that if I don’t do everything in my power to find her, dead or alive; if she was never found, I could never look at myself again. Here is a cheque for the first six months. You people have a reputation for being the best private detectives in the state. Find her, if you can.”
Jamal took the cheque with a nod of his head. Miller already knew his daughter was dead or worse. The cheque was to help him sleep at night but he already knew it was a wasted effort. In a way it was better that the man was resigned to the worse case rather than hoping against hope that by some miracle his daughter would be found alive and well. Usually if you didn’t get the child back in forty-eight hours you were never going to find the child at all. It had been over a month Jamal’s best hope was finding enough body parts to identify the girl and close the case.
“Andy will be the lead detective on this. He will be giving me daily updates, but I will be giving you weekly updates. I am not going to bother you with negative results every week. When we find something we will tell you immediately. Andy used to be a special agent with the FBI; he still has contacts with the local office, and will work closely with them. If we find little Sarah we will work with the bureau to get her back and the people who did this will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. That is all I can promise, I'm sorry if it is not enough.” Steven Miller was fighting to control himself and just nodded his head.
When Steven Miller was gone Jamal spoke candidly with his detective. “Andy, this is not going to go quickly or well.”
“No shit Jay. You know she’s either dead or wishes she were dead after a month with those animals. I’ll see what I can dig up but you know with a month’s head start we’re not going to find much.”
“I know, but we took the money and we will give him our best. I hate these people, find them. Use the house in Yonkers for your cover, dig deep and do what you do best.”
“You got it boss.” Andy said knowing he had little chance of accomplishing his mission but like his boss, he was going to give it his all. With luck he might assist in capturing these mutts and making them pay for what they did.
“Take Cynthia with you.” Jamal said as an afterthought.
“Shit, you know she can’t handle the pressure. She’s going to get all weepy and feel for the kid and get her heart broken again.” This was not their first kidnapping case, so far they were at fifty percent closure rate. That was high even for the police but that meant that half were not found and that half is what haunted each and every person connected to the cases.
“Administratively she is the best assistant we have, deal with it.”
June 17th Carla sat in tears of shame. The call from Mary, her friend was helpful and cruel. Mary had spotted Frank going into a hotel with some blond bimbo. Carla didn’t want to believe it, so she called Frank’s cell. He answered and told her that he was working late and was just getting something to eat. The giggle she heard in the background was enough to chill her soul. It explained why for the past year he had not been interested in her. He was getting his pleasure somewhere else. Carla was not good enough to hold on to her man. Sure she could be bratty at times and maybe spend over her budget but he still had no right to sleep around.
What was there for her to do? She couldn’t leave him, she had no place to go without bringing shame on her family; she couldn’t be the only one in her family or friends she knew who didn’t make her marriage work. If her parents were still alive they would not approve of that. After eight years of marriage the church would not grant an annulment and a divorce was out of the question; what would people say? Sure, divorce was accepted in the real world but in the church community she would be seen as a quitter, someone who didn’t take the faith or her marriage seriously. What had she done to cause her husband to run to the arms of another woman?
Carla had to do an honest assessment. They had been married for eight years and seven of them were the happiest of her life. They met in college and dated the from their freshman year. They had sex on a regular basis starting at the honeymoon because they both believed that they should wait until they were married and both agreed to get married after they graduated. Carla had never known another man and was more than happy with her husband. Sometimes when he wasn’t in a hurry he would tease her until she was ready for release then ram his hard throbbing monster into her for the last twenty or sometimes thirty seconds, other times, well, it was her duty to be there for her husband even if she was left wanting. But the thought of him deep inside of her as they released together was enough to make her excited despite the devastating news. So sex was fine, other than the few times he had asked her to put him in her mouth and of course she refused. No decent woman would do such a dirty and perverted thing. Sex wasn’t perfect for either of them, but she never told him no when he wanted sex; what more could a wife do?
Okay she had gained a little weight over the years, but not that much. Her sadness that she had not produced a baby wore on her, but it was up to God to decide, not them, when she would get pregnant, and now it looked as if she would never have a child. They planned on five children when they were dating. After a few years of trying, she had suggested adoption but Frank was against it, saying that their children should come from her out of love and not some strange woman. That must be it. He was having an affair to make up for the fact that she had not gotten pregnant. He was no longer interested in a woman that was barren. She was soon going to be thirty and no child. What real man would be happy or excited with a woman that could not give him a family? Carla went to her bed and cried herself to sleep. She didn’t even hear her husband come home and was glad because of her shame.
In the morning she rose at her usual time, made breakfast and sent her husband off to work, too ashamed to look him in the eye. Carla felt like a failure as a woman and as a wife as she went about cleaning the house tears still streaming down her face. Just before lunch the doorbell rang. Carla answered it. “Mary, what brings you here?” Carla could not look her friend in the eye. Mary knew her shame, knew she was an unfit wife.
“I came to see how you were doing, I didn’t want to give you such bad news and not come over to be with you when you need a friend.” Carla smiled she could always count on Mary for support. More than that, she gave good advice. While Frank and Carla had gone to a Catholic school, Mary was a free spirit; having gone to secular college she seemed to know things that Carla did not. Carla had always been awkward when it came to social situations outside the church and Mary was always there to help.
Mary smiled at her friend, trying to reassure her that life was not over. Carla was unsophisticated in her lifestyle; she wanted to live in the 1950’s, at least at home, and had a remarkable way of looking at the world. Mary figured she would be devastated to learn that her husband was screwing around but knowing was better than not knowing. She was surprised that Carla was taking it so well.
“Coffee?” Carla offered. It was the right thing to do.
“Sure. How are you feeling?”Mary asked knowing the flood gates would open up soon and surprised Carla had not started crying hours ago. Mary had been in the same spot only a year earlier and knew the hurt of having a broken heart.
“Okay I guess. I have to enroll in a gym so I can lose some weight.” Carla said as she poured the coffee.
“A gym, honey your man is screwing around and you want to lose weight?” Mary asked incredulously.
“It’s all my fault. If I had not gained weight then he would not have to look for another to excite him.” Mary, did all she could not to let the coffee spill from her mouth when her jaw dropped open. Mary composed herself, she had to remember that this woman was living in a dream world where men were always right and should be obeyed without question.
“Carla, listen to me please. When a man cheats on a woman it is his fault not the woman’s. I have a friend, a counselor of sorts that you need to talk to. In fact let’s go now.”Mary urged without success.
“Where am I going?” Carla asked still dazed but the forcefulness of Mary’s voice had her moving.
“To the counselor’s office.” Mary said, exasperated.
“But I have to call Frank and let him know I’m leaving the house.”
“No, Carla you don’t need to tell Frank anything.” Mary said grabbing Carla by the arm and dragging her to the door.
“Yes, I have to tell him where I am because he worries about me. Once I was gone for three hours and he was very angry with me.”
‘He was probably worried you saw him with his bimbo’ Mary thought to herself.
“Okay, tell him you are going window shopping in the city with me.” Carla made the call and to Mary’s surprise she heard her friend ask permission to go. Carla hung up the phone and smiled. “He said I don’t have to rush home he is going to be working late again and not to wait up.”
“Oh good.” Mary said her voice dripping with sarcasm that she knew Carla would miss. ‘He was going to get some after work and say he was working late. That’s new.’ She wished she could tell her friend how much a shit heel he was.
The drive into the city was not too bad for lunch hour traffic. Mary pulled into the garage and parked. With Carla in tow, she took her across the street to the ‘counselor’s’ office.
“I really think this can wait, Mary. If I just lose the weight he will stop seeing her and everything will be fine.”
“Right, well just humor me and speak to one of these people.”
“Oh, that’s a beautiful cameo.” Carla said to the receptionist, the woman sitting behind the desk smiled and brought her hand up to it. She smile hid her secret.
“Thank you it was a gift.” She said with a respectful nod to Mary.
“So few women wear them now days and I think they look so beautiful.” Carla said wistfully. Mary gave the receptionist a look.
“How can I help you?” The receptionist asked getting back to business. She had phones to answer and work to do.
Mary took over. “She needs the full S.A.M.U.E.L. Corporation treatment.” Mary handed over her credit card.
“Fine, come with me.” The receptionist said as she stood. Carla followed them down the hall and entered a small almost empty room. “Have a seat. I need you to answer these questions so the counselor will know how best to help you.” She said, flipping on the computer screen. Carla sat and looked at the screen.
“We will be outside if you need anything” Mary said.
“Please answer all the questions honestly.” The receptionist added as she closed the door.
The first page of questions was easy. Her name: Carla Hanson. Age 29, height: 5’2”, hair color: red. Eye color: green. Weight: 125, bust size: 32 cup size: B. marital status: married. Husband’s name: Frank Hanson. Social security number: she gave hers and then her husband’s, their address and phone numbers. No children. The following pages asked a number of personal questions that if she had to give the answers to a person would have her blushing. Each page seemed to spark more questions about her and her home and sex life. Each question was multiple choice, but after a while she noticed that the questions were reworded causing Carla to give a different answer. Question one thousand was a strange one. Have you or your spouse ever had an affair? With deep embarrassment Carla answered yes. The screen went blank. Even the computer seemed to know how worthless she was.
Mary came in and led her to the bathroom. “How did you know?” Carla asked.
“It was the same for me when I took the initial test. After five thousand questions you need to pee.” She said with a smile.
“I only had a thousand.” Carla said, wondering why she had fewer questions to answer.
“You have a smaller problem.”Mary said as she sat on the chair waiting for Carla to come out of the stall.
“But why so many questions?”
“It is a computerized test, as you answer a question it takes your answer and asks you another until it pinpoints all of your problem areas. Then your counselor will know what you need and works with you in obtaining your goals. It worked great for me. Trust me this is better than doing it your way. Joanne is setting you up with a counselor as we speak.”
“Joanne?” Carla was confused by the entire process.
“The receptionist.” Mary said. Carla washed up and fixed her make-up. They walked back out to see Joanne smiling at them.
“But they never asked me anything about my problem, how will they know what I need?”
“Trust me dear they will know.”
“I got you in with Cassandra.”
Mary smiled at that news. “That’s great, she handled my issues. She is the best here.” They were led down another hall to the door marked Cassandra Williams advisor. Joanne knocked once and pushed the door open. Cassandra was an older lady that seemed to smile constantly.
“Mary, good to see you! How are things?”
“Great Cassy thanks to you.” Carla caught the smile of gratitude and was encouraged. ‘Maybe they can help me’. She thought.
“I am so glad things worked out for you. I see you brought a friend.” Cassandra said with a genuine smile. Carla shyly nodded her head.
“Okay, everyone out I need to have a discussion with Mrs. Hanson.” The two women left and Cassandra offered Carla a seat. ”Let me start off if you don’t mind” Cassandra said taking control at once. “Your husband is cheating on you, you don’t want a divorce because it is against your religion, and you think that losing weight will make him want you again. You desperately want a child, well more than one because you love children and feel empty without at least one, and you want Frank to stop sleeping around. The cost to fix this minor problem is ten thousand dollars.”
“Ten thousand dollars? It the problem is so small why is the price so high? That’s more money than I have. I don’t even think my husband has that much money.”
“I know, that is why Mary paid for your test. We will work it out. I don’t see a problem right now”. Cassandra said then seeing the doubt in Carla's eyes.”I have a friend that works in the city, his name is Nate Devereaux he works at Master Detective Agency, and he might be able to find you a job to pay your way”. She punched in the number on her phone. “Nate Devereaux please. Nate? Cassy, fine and you? Good, I need a favor; I have a friend that could use your help. What? You’re not working in the city anymore? Okay, I will tell her. Carla, Carla Hanson, she will be there. Thanks Nate I owe you one.“ Cassandra turned to Carla. “Tomorrow you will go to Yonkers; you live not too far from there and apply for a part time job at Masters Detective Agency. You will be working nights and some weekends. Frank won’t mind. You will use the money to pay us to solve your problems. They will take out so much from your check and send it to S.A.M.U.E.L. Corporation until you are paid in full. When Frank asks why you want to go to work tell him you are going to save up money for a real vacation. This will make him happy. Do not tell him you will be working for a detective agency; tell him you will be a legal secretary.” Carla nodded agreement. “According to your scores this will be the best option that he will agree to. Once you have enough money for the vacation you can quit your job.”
“How do you know so much about me?” Carla asked her head dizzy from all the information she had to absorb.
“The questions you answered told me what I need to know about you.” Cassandra said with a smile. She didn’t tell her that the questions were designed by five of the best psychologists in the state. The test was subtle at getting answers that most people would hate to reveal if asked directly. The first two hundred and fifty questions set the baseline the rest slowly got to the heart of any problem.
“But it never asked me about my husband cheating on me. Or that I need to lose weight.”
“It also did not ask you the last time you had sex. Eight months ago on your birthday, you had to ask for it.” Carla put her hand to her mouth, her face so red her freckles almost glowed.
“How did you know…?”
“Carla that is just a snapshot of the raw data, it takes about a week to refine everything down and then I will know everything about you and your husband. Give us time and I can tell you what color eyes your baby will have.”
“Baby?” Carla asked sitting closer to the edge of her seat.
“Your profile says you want a child. I’ll show you all the things we are going to fix for you. Your husband will never have sex with another woman ever again, you will have at least three children, and you will have sex more than once a week on average. That is what we will guarantee or your money back, no questions asked. Why, did you want more than three children?”Cassandra asked with a smile.
“Well we were hoping for five but I’m getting too old.”
“Nonsense, you’re only twenty-nine and in four months you will be thirty. Five children will only bring you to thirty-five plus eighteen years means your youngest child will be eighteen when you are fifty-three and you will still be young enough to enjoy your grandchildren.”
“Grandchildren? Carla said with a dazed smile. “And you can guarantee this?”
“Not the grandchildren, well we know you will have some but not how many.”
“And all I have to do is bring you ten thousand dollars?”
“Yes, just work at the agency to earn the money and then we will start.”
“I will ask my husband I’m sure he will give you the money.”
Cassandra shook her head sadly. “No. We work in a specific way. Everything is mapped out exactly. If you tell your husband, he will act differently. Every part of our plan requires both you and your husband to follow the plan honestly, and candidly. Only you will know what is really going on, telling anyone about what we are doing for you will void the guarantee all bets are off. This is between S.A.M.U.E.L. Corporation and you, not even Mary will know exactly what is happening. Once we set things in motion they cannot be stopped because we promise your money back, we have to do it our way. Our way works and has never failed, that is why we charge what we charge. Unless you void the contract you will be pregnant before you turn thirty-one.
“This brings us to the final point.” Cassandra slid a sheaf of papers. “I need you to sign each page on the dotted line. Once that is done you can go home, and starting tomorrow we will start finalizing your personal plan.” Carla didn’t even bother to read past the first two pages. She signed and Cassandra notarized each page once she was done.
“Good, now we are authorized to work on making your dreams come true.” Cassandra said with a smile. Carla shook Cassandra’s hand as she stood. Mary was in the waiting room and they headed to the car.
“You used these people before?”
“Yup.” Mary said with a smile.
“And they did everything they promised?”
“Oh yeah!” Mary said with a mile wide grin.
“What did it cost you?”
“Two hundred grand; if they charged five times that it would still be worth it. In fact it would be a bargain.”
“Really, what did they do for you?”
“Everything I needed to make my life challenging and complete.”
“Like what?” Carla inquired. She wanted to know what to expect and Mary was being unusually vague.
“I can’t tell you Carla. Not because it’s a secret, but because each person has different needs. If I tell you what they did for me, you would be expecting the same thing and that is not what they are going to do for you. The plan is designed specifically for you and your family. How they go about it is different for each person. There were times I was scared, and there were times I wanted to quit but I stuck it through and I am the happiest woman on the planet.”
“What about Jack?” Carla asked worried that her husband might not be as happy.
“Jack is the perfect husband. He bathes me and does my nails and hair just to pamper me. He earns a good living and provides for me.”
“But you don’t have children.”
“I can’t have children Carla. If I could I would have, but I had an accident in high school; a kid hopped up on drugs went crazy with a knife. I got in the way and well by the time they got him off of me my baby making days were over.”
“Oh, I'm so sorry.”Carla said. “And Jack is okay with you being childless?” ‘Jack must be a gem to love Mary and overlook her handicap.’
“Honey he is okay with a lot of things now. Not at first. I mean I told him what happened and that I would never be able to have children before we married. We were going to adopt but he had a drug conviction when he was eighteen and that killed that idea. You know how that goes. The first time he tried something and that was the time everything went wrong. But now we are one very happy family. You will be too if you trust them to do the plan for you. Just don’t tell Frank. The rules are very clear on that; if he knows what you are doing you lose the money and they fold everything up and walk away.”
“Does Jack cheat on you?”
“No way, well he did but the S.A.M.U.E.L. Corporation fixed that quick fast and in a hurry.” She said with a smile. Carla was surprised to hear that Jack had cheated. She had known Mary for years and never did she get even a hint that Jack was messing around. Then she chided herself. ‘I didn’t know that Frank was messing around either.’
“Just follow the plan.” Mary said as she pulled up to Carla's house.
“But what is the plan?” Carla asked exasperated.
“The plan is that you act normally and they will do the rest.” Mary said with a knowing smile as she drove away.
Chapter Three
Carla waited up for Frank to come home. She had rehearsed her speech over and over in her mind while she waited. Frank staggered into the house smelling of strong drink.
“Frank?” He spun around, startled to hear his name in the dark.
“Wha who? Oh it’s you.” He said still unsteady on his feet.
“Honey, we need to take a vacation.”
“We can’t afford one babe; I'm working my ass off just to afford this place.” He waved his arms around gesturing to their home.
“I know, you work very hard, I was talking to Mary today and she suggested I get a part time job to pay for it. Is it okay if I get a job?”
“Doin’ what?”
“Secretary in a law firm.” Carla said hoping she wouldn’t have to say more.
Frank tried to focus his eyes and think at the same time but that was not going to happen tonight; he had used up all his will power getting home without a ticket. “Yeah sure.” He said, staggering up the stairs to his bed.
Carla showered and made sure she was dressed for business, or as close to it as her wardrobe allowed. She hopped in her car and drove to the address. She parked at the mall just across the street and walked to the office building from there. The seventh floor was entirely rented by the agency. She saw busy people moving around doing actual work. It was impressive to see, unlike at her husband’s firm where they seemed to sit and drink coffee and tell jokes as part of their job description. Carla walked up to the reception desk. The woman held up her hand stopping Carla. “Masters Detective Agency, Nancy speaking, how may I exceed your expectations?”That blew Carla away. These people were serious. “No! You will not speak to me that way. If you wish to speak to me you need to be more respectful.”The receptionist said firmly. “Much better, thank you please hold sir. Masters Detective Agency, Nancy speaking, how may I exceed your expectations? Yes, sir, he is expecting your call, please hold. Master Zane on line four, Master.” Nancy said then pressed a button and looked up at her. “How may I help you?” Nancy asked pleasantly.
“I was looking for a job.”
Nancy nodded her head. “Leave your resume here and we will get back to you.” She said with a smile. “Masters Detective Agency, Nancy speaking, how may I exceed your expectations?”
“Resume? Oh, I, I don’t have one. I was told to see Nate.”She had never held a job before. Well, not since college. She had forgotten the need for a resume. Nancy looked at her carefully as she connected the call to the right office, and then smiled.
“Nate Devereaux?” Carla nodded nervously. Nancy smiled. “Have a seat, someone will be with you in seven minutes.” She said and went back to her phone. “Masters Detective Agency, Nancy speaking, how may I exceed your expectations?”
Carla took a seat and looked at her watch. She took a magazine and started to read, a few minutes later she noticed a shadow over her. “Mrs. Hanson?”
“Yes.” She looked up. The man was tall and young and really good looking for a black man.
“My name is Jamal Packard, I am the chief of investigations, come with me please.”He didn’t offer his hand but seemed very polite, if not formal. Carla stood and followed at a brisk pace trying to keep up with him; it seemed that everyone moved with purpose here. She noticed his butt and even through his pants she could see he had a taut, firm butt that stirred feelings in her she would never even admit to in confession. He ushered her into his office but left the door open. “Please have a seat, Mrs. Hanson. I know why you are here. Nate tells me you need a temporary job. You need to understand that we don’t have busy work here. We are a fully licensed detective agency and the work we do here is important. You will come in contact with case files of our clients; they pay for discretion and privacy. You can not repeat what you see here or do here outside this office. I don’t have any office work right now but I do have an ongoing case that needs some administrative help. If you are willing to do the work we will pay you a little extra. We will send whatever portion you want to S.A.M.U.E.L. Corporation. Five thousand dollars a month; your take home will be about sixteen hundred every two weeks after taxes.
Carla did the math. “A thousand dollars a payday will be fine. I can live off the rest.”
“I don’t handle that, I handle cases. Payroll handles that stuff. I take it you are on board?” Jamal knew this would not be a cake walk and having this rookie might hamper things but she seemed eager and willing to work.
“Yes sir.” She said, happy to have gotten the job.
“Good… no, wait. I can’t offer you that job. The one we are working on is a little too deep for someone that has never worked before. You may have to wait a few months before something easier opens up. I’m sorry.” He said with sadness in his voice.
“I can handle it!” Carla said firmly while trying to suppress her panic. She needed this job and she needed it now if she wanted to have her baby.
“Look, Mrs. Hanson, I appreciate your enthusiasm, and I understand that whatever it is that the S.A.M.U.E.L. Corporation is doing is important to you, but this is a dangerous case. Let me explain it to you before you jump at it. Andy, one of my investigators, is working a child sex ring. A very wealthy client is missing his eight year old daughter, and hired us to not just find her, but to get her back. We have traced her to this sex ring and we are currently trying to find out in which safe house they are keeping her. They take the children and do terrible things to them and video tape it. Then they sell the movies to other sick people. When they are done with the kids they kill them. We are not chasing down some jerk cheating on his wife; we are after some very dangerous people that have no problem killing children, or anyone else that gets in their way. Even though you will be doing strictly administrative work, it will still hold some danger for you. In all good conscious, I hesitate offering you the job.”Jamal would much rather have her do something else but he needed someone to help Andy.
“I will take it.” Carla said without hesitation. “You need someone to help stop these people and I need a job. Whatever it takes, I will do it to get them.” Carla said forcefully. The abuse of children sickened her and the thought that if she might help in some small way save a child it could be enough to make her forget her current domestic issues.
“Well you won’t be doing more than filing papers and typing up reports. With this case, the hours are long. Some days you may end up working sixteen hours, and some weekends. I’m not sure you are the right person for the job, but I do like your attitude. Be here tomorrow at nine I will introduce you to Andy. Tell Nancy to send you to inhuman resources you fill out some forms and you can go home.”
Nancy led Carla to ‘inhuman’ resources. “Dita?” Nancy called. A very tall man entered the office behind them.”Dita’s busy with something Nancy I will handle this one for her.” Carla was surprised to see a tall good looking man in an expensive suit. Nancy nodded her head and left.”Hello Ms. Hanson, my name is Nate Devereaux, Cassy asked me to help you get a job, Dita is out and I am filling in for her.”
“Filling in must pay very well.”Carla said impressed with his fine clothes. Nate smiled. “No, I am a special investigator, Dita is my sister. She is having one of those bad hair days or something and well you have to help family when you can.” Nate said with some regret in his voice.” Shall we get started?” Carla had no idea how many pieces of paper it took just to get a job. By the time she left payroll her hand hurt from all the forms she had to sign. She drove home happy and content knowing that once she earned enough money she would have her life back on track. Carla cleaned and made dinner but her no good husband was ‘working late’ again. If it were not for this great plan she was working toward, she would have a serious discussion with him. But as it was, she had to stay quiet or risk wrecking everything.
The next morning, after getting Frank off to work, she drove back to the office. Carla finally met Dita; she was as tall as her brother but with much softer features and long blond hair. Dita could have been a model for any fashion magazine or even a playboy center fold. Her proportions were perfect even for her extreme height. Carla posed for her picture ID card stating that she was an employee of Master Detective Agency. She was now officially an employed person; her first job outside the home in eight years. No more soap operas or listening to Rush Limbaugh; now she had something to do and it was an important something. Not just a job but an adventure that would lead to all her dreams coming true and at the same time hopefully save a child.
“Ready?” Jamal asked as she came out of payroll.
“Yes.” She said nervously, as excited as she was to be working and moving forward towards her goal, but she was still nervous being around her black boss. Yes, he was good looking and if she went for black men he would be somewhere at the top of the list but she would have rather work under the twins Nate or Dita. Still she was happy to have a job and the chance to fix her marriage.
“First, let me welcome you to the agency.” He said with a warm friendly smile. Carla felt not just welcomed but wanted and special; everyone seemed to have a purpose and from what she could see, they worked well together and she wanted to be a part of it all. “We have a dress code here. We would prefer that you wore skirts and blouses. The length of the skirt is not important, but we are against pants suits entirely. Today will be fine because you’re new to us but if you could, wear skirts from now on.”
“Sorry sir. I will fix it tomorrow.” Carla said realizing that every woman saw wore skirts even Dita as tall as she was, wore a skirt and high heels.
“Good, come with me.” Carla noticed that all the women were wearing skirts and blouses except her. He led her to the elevator; again she watched his butt and had those lewd feelings. He was built like an upside down Christmas tree, very broad in the shoulders and narrow in the hips. The kind of man she fantasized about once she knew they existed, which was after she married Frank. They headed down to the first floor. “The boss likes to have clear lines to better spot his people. Female investigators wear pant suits, and administrative females wear skirts. One time he grabbed Dita in payroll and had her as a decoy, almost blew the case. She had worn pants that day. The boss is sort of old fashioned that way. From that day on, only investigators wear pants. Male investigators wear jackets and ties. The good part was Nate got hired on that same week.”
“I noticed that most women wear some form of neck jewelry, is that mandatory as well?” Carla asked.
Jamal shook his head. “My car is over there, get yours and follow me.”
Carla noticed his reaction to most of the women wearing chokers; Nancy had a nice one with a cameo. It seemed that there was a fad going through the office. Carla nodded her head and did as she was told. Not much different than obeying her husband. Obedience came naturally to Carla. She was never more at peace than when she had a strong leading man in her life. That man was Frank, sure he strayed a bit but that would change soon enough, she thought with a smile. She was glad she didn’t have to ride with Jamal, she would have been very nervous sitting next to a black man, wondering if his hand might stray from the steering wheel. She followed Jamal’s car a few miles to a private house. He signaled for her to part in the driveway then parked behind her.
“This is our off-site office for undercover work. This way if you are followed, you are seen going into a home not an office building.” Jamal said as they walked inside, Carla worried if this was true or was he going to rape her. The living room was setup like a standard office, with desks and filing cabinets, Carla calmed down after seeing the setup. “There are two bathrooms and three bedrooms, food in the kitchen and a coffee maker. It’s a two car garage and Andy usually parks in there when he’s around. Have him find you a clicker so you can park inside as well. Spend the day going over the background information and reading his case file so that when he talks to you, you know what the hell he is talking about.”
They heard the toilet flush and water running. Andy came around the corner. He was not the typical TV private eye. He was short; well, a little taller than Carla but not by much. He was overweight and balding, with tufts of gray hair on the sides. He had a stern look on his face.
“Jay, who’s she?” Andy asked with suspicion.
“Your assistant you have been begging for, for almost a month, since Cynthia quit.”
“Good.” He said with a sigh of relief. “I thought you were replacing me.”
“Naw, don’t let the pants fool you. Carla, this is Andy. You will be working directly under him. He works for me. If there is a problem see Andy, if he can’t fix it call me. My number is on the computer.” Carla nodded her head. “I have to go, is there anything I need to know?” Jamal asked Andy.
“No Jay, it’s still in the handshake stage. If I turn up anything, you will be the first to know it.”
“Good luck Andy.” Jamal said with a nod as he headed out the door.
Carla watched Andy closely. She felt a lot safer with him there. Carla had issues with colored people, being alone with them was a little dangerous because you never knew what they would do. Carla had known of a friend being raped by a black man in college. She wasn’t bigoted enough to believe that all blacks were racist rapists but she was never one to put herself in a position to find out which ones were. She figured she was safe with Jamal but felt a lot better when he was gone, though she missed his sexy ass.