The Advocate's Ex Parte (The Advocate Series Book 5) (33 page)

“How did you get here?” JP asked.

“David told me if I didn’t go with him he would kill Jade and he would steal Emma for his project. Then he threw me in with the young kids.”

“You mean these girls?”

“No, the really young ones.”

“How young are they?”

“I think the youngest is four. The oldest is around eight or nine. He brings them to the U.S. and then keeps most of them locked up until they are old enough to work. Some of them he sells to families who want a child or to pervert guys. They live at a house in Linda Vista where the women do all the repairs for the dry cleaners. The little ones help with that. Some of them learn to do some handwork. It’s mostly easy—boring things, though, like winding thread back on spools. Stuff like that.”

“Did you live there when you were little?”

“Yes, I was seven and Bich was four when we came. We lived there together. At first no one knew we were sisters. When David found out, he used the information to make me do things.”

“What kind of things?”

She hung her head in shame for a few moments, then said, “Sexual things…and to keep me from acting out or running away. He always threatened to hurt Bich if I did anything wrong.”

“Where do the children go when they leave that house in Linda Vista?” JP asked.

“The remaining children who haven’t been sold are brought here for a few days to test them. They’re about eight or nine years old and get to pick apples during the day. If they don’t run off, David has them moved to the ‘carnival.’ Someone called it that because they move all the time. They live in a house for a few weeks with a couple of older girls; then they move to another house. There are always different houses. It’s another test to see if they’ll do what he says or if they’ll run. Bich was at the ‘carnival’ when she came to my house, but he found her and made her go back with him.”

“What does he do with them after that test?” JP feared the answer.

“A very few of us get to work at Muffs. The ones who do are usually the ones David thinks are the prettiest.” She blushed when she said that. “But he always threatens us with something so we won’t run or say anything.”

“What kind of threats?”

“For me it was easy, he always threatened to hurt Bich. I’m not sure what he held over the other girls, but they were all afraid of him.”

“And the others, the ones who don’t work at Muffs, what happens to them?”

“They become hookers or seamstresses.”

“You seem to know a lot about David.”

She dropped her head shamefully. “I was his whore,” she whispered. Then a little louder, she said, “It kept Bich safe. He actually seemed to like me. I knew it wouldn’t last too long and he would choose another girl, but I was hoping by then I would have figured out a way to get Bich out of it all. She wasn’t pretty enough for David’s taste to work at Muff’s, which meant she would be prostituting. She was already past the age for working and he had a fake ID for her saying she was eighteen. The only reason he hadn’t put her out there yet was because I begged him not to.”

“How old is she?”

“Thirteen.”

“And that makes you sixteen,” JP said. His faced reddened with anger and frustration. Had David Leland been there, JP was certain his fist would have found Leland’s face in a hurry.

“Yes.”

“And the baby….Is that Leland’s?”

“Yes.” Kim-Ly stood up. “I better check on Bich.”

“One more thing,” JP said. He showed her a photo on his phone. “Do you know this man?”

“Yes, that’s Dan. He’s David’s brother. I’m not supposed to know that, but I hear things.”

“Is he involved in all this?”

She nodded. “Yes, he does whatever David tells him to do.”

Kim-Ly walked to where her sister lay curled up in a corner of the living room. She sat beside her and wrapped her arms around her again.

JP went outside to check on the prisoners. They were still handcuffed securely to a bar in the van, which had probably been placed there to use when transporting the girls. JP closed the door back up and riffled through the compartments in the cab, hoping to find something to kill the pain in his head and foot. There was nothing, but in the console he found his cell phone, his car keys, and his gun.

Back inside, the girls started to relax a little and some of them began to talk. JP walked among them, asking a few questions. JP showed Mae Chu’s photo to the girls, but no one recognized her. He wondered where she could be and if she were still alive.

Chapter 57

Sabre didn’t recognize the phone number for the call on her cell. “Hello.”

“This is Detective Keith Franklin. Shane Klakken asked me to call you about your friend, JP Torn.”

Sabre’s heart stopped for a second. She feared the worst. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine, ma’am. They don’t have cell reception where they are, but everyone is just fine. Shane said to tell you it’s all over.”

“What happened?”

“I can’t really say. The truth is I don’t know much, but I’m sure your friend will call you when he’s back in town.”

“Thank you,” Sabre said. She took a deep breath. JP was okay.

Before she could set her phone down, it rang again. This time it was Clint Buchanon.

“Is everything okay?” Sabre asked.

“Yes, I’m sorry to be calling so late, but I was driving by your office and saw your light on. I don’t want you to think I’m stalking you or anything weird. I was concerned. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, it’s fine. I had a lot of work to do and it’s been a rough day.”

“I’m sitting outside. Would it be okay if I came in for a minute?” Sabre wasn’t sure if she wanted to see him. When she hesitated, he added, “It’s okay. I shouldn’t have called. This is rude.”

“No. Come to the door. I’ll let you in.”

When she opened the door, Clint Buchanon looked at her sheepishly. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. It’s nice to see a friendly face.”

He pecked her lightly on the lips. For a second she wished for more. He followed her into her office.

“How is it exactly that you happened to be in the area?”

He smiled, “You think I’m a stalker, don’t you?”

“No, but I am a little curious.”

“Okay, you caught me. I’m really lousy with directions and I forgot my GPS. Since you couldn’t go out with me, I decided to take in a movie at the theater in the Gaslamp. Because I’ve been here before, I knew how to get to the freeway from here. I was surprised to see your lights on this late.”

“I was just finishing up a few things for court the next few days,” she said, as she sat down behind her desk.

“You look kind of distressed. I hope that’s not because I’m here.”

“No, it’s been an eventful day.”

He walked over behind her and put his hands on her shoulders and began to rub them. “You are tense. What happened today that has you so worried?”

“That feels good.” She sighed. “My PI is working on a tough case and we lost contact for several hours. I was concerned.”

“And you still haven’t heard from him?”

“A Detective Franklin called and said he was okay.”

“Why didn’t he call himself?”

“JP…that’s his name…JP didn’t have cell reception.”

He kneaded his fingers gently, yet firmly across her shoulders and neck, working the knots out of her muscles. His touch relaxed her.

“I wouldn’t think anywhere around here would have problems with reception. We have that problem in the open spaces where I’m from, but this is city.”

“He’s a good hour or more from here. You lose reception about half way there.”

“Would you like me to take you to him so you can see for yourself that he’s alright?”

She smiled. “That’s very kind, but that’s not a good idea. The police are involved now so I’m guessing it’s a crime scene. But the detective said everything was okay.”

“Good.” He stopped massaging her, stepped around, put one hand on each shoulder, and turned her to face him. “I’m going to leave so you can finish your work and get out of here, unless you want me to stay until you’re ready to leave.”

“No, I’ll finish more quickly by myself. I’m almost done. Thanks for stopping by.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow.” He kissed her, lips separated, tongue touching hers for only a second. Then he gave her a light kiss on her still parted lips. “Good night.”

Sabre locked the door behind him as he left. She returned to her desk, spent about fifteen more minutes on the case she was working on, closed up the files, and shut down her computer. Then she stacked the files she needed for court the next day. Her phone beeped with a text. The number was local, but unknown to her. It read:
This is JP. Had to borrow phone. Franklin said he called u, but I need to see u. Come to my house right away. Important.

Chapter 58

As she drove to JP’s house, she wondered what happened to his phone. Maybe he lost it somehow. What was so important that she had to meet him at his house? It was all very curious, but she was sure he had a good reason. She started to worry again that something was wrong with him, but if he had been hurt he would be at a hospital. She tried to shake off her concerns.

She parked in the driveway and walked up the sidewalk toward his front door. It was dark along the walkway and there was no porch light on, but there was a light in the house. She thought she heard someone behind her. She turned and saw only a shadow of a man with a cowboy hat.

“JP?”

“No, it’s Clint.”

“Clint! What are you doing here?” she said irritably.

“Look, I’m sorry. I saw a guy hanging around your office parking lot and it worried me. I waited for you to leave so I could make sure you made it home safely. But then you didn’t go home. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m okay.” She let out a sigh. “But you frightened me.”

He put his arm around her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have followed you, but that man was pretty creepy. I remembered your telling me you had a stalker once, and I got worried. I know I had no right. Where are we anyway?”

“This is where my PI lives. He texted me and asked me to come over.”

“This late at night?”

“It seemed a little strange, but there have been a lot of strange things going on in my cases lately.”

“Are you sure the text was from him?”

“It wasn’t his phone, but he used the phone of the detective who called me earlier.” She looked up at Clint. “Now you’re scaring me again.”

“I didn’t mean to do that. Just let me walk you to the door. We’ll make sure everything is okay, and then I’ll leave.”

“Fair enough.”

Sabre rang the doorbell. Clint stood back away from the door in the shadows. When no one answered the door right away, Sabre called out, “JP, it’s me....Sabre.”

Still nothing. She knocked again. No response.

“Do you think there’s something wrong?” Clint asked.

“Maybe he’s just not home yet.”

“Then why would he tell you to come right away?”

Sabre hesitated, then swallowed. She tried not to look him in the eye. “I don’t know,” she said, trying to keep calm. She knew she hadn’t said anything about coming ‘right away.’ How would he know that? Why was he really here? And why did he show up at her office? Suddenly she felt very uncomfortable.

“Try again,” Clint said.

She rang the bell, but now she was pretty certain JP wasn’t home. Then she heard a noise from inside.

“Tell him who you are,” he said sternly. “I’m sorry. You’re here. Let’s just do this.”

“I think we should go. He obviously doesn’t need to see me after all.” Sabre moved away from the door just as it cracked open, the chain only allowing a few inches.

“Sabre?” a woman said.

All Sabre could see was the outline of her face and bare legs. “This was a bad idea. I was just leaving,” Sabre said, realizing this must be JP’s ex-wife or a new girlfriend. Either way she didn’t want to be there, especially not with this psycho man.

Before the woman could close the door, Clint grabbed Sabre by the arm and simultaneously slammed his foot against the door. It flew open, knocking the woman down. Clint yanked Sabre through the door and flung her on the floor. She slammed into the other woman, hitting her head against the brown leather sofa. With his foot behind him Clint kicked the door closed. The chain clanged as it hit the closing door. A chunk of wood dangled from it.

Sabre tried to jump up, but Clint kicked her down. This time she fell right on top of the woman who covered her face and cowered. Sabre started up again, but this time the woman grabbed her arm. “Don’t. He’ll hurt you.”

“That’s smart advice, Robin,” Clint said.

“Who
are
you?” Sabre asked indignantly, looking up at Clint.

“I’m sorry,” Clint said. “We haven’t been properly introduced, have we? My name is Tyson Doyle Cooper. And this here’s my wife, Robin Cooper.”

“And you sent me the text so you could follow me here?”

“You’re rather smart for such a pretty lady. If I weren’t a happily married man, I might just be taken with you.”

“Tyson, please,” Robin begged. “Just let her go.”

“No can do, wifey dear.”

“I’ll go with you. We’ll go home.” Robin moved her legs and started to stand up.

Sabre saw the scars on her leg. “Did he do that?” Sabre asked.

“No. No. I was in an accident.” She moved slowly, watching to make sure Tyson wasn’t going to knock her down again. “Come on, honey. Let’s just go home.”

He swung at her with the back of his hand, hitting her squarely across the face. She stumbled and fell backwards, hitting the sofa and then the floor. Blood ran down her chin.

“You coward,” Sabre spat.

“Just let her go,” Robin pleaded again.

“No, I need her in order to teach your boyfriend a lesson.”

“He’s not my boyfriend. I just needed a place to stay for a little while where I could think, but I missed you so much. I want to go home. Please, Ty, let’s just go home.”

“Not until I take care of some unfinished business.”

Chapter 59

Six police cars were lined up in front of the house on the Leland property. More were filling up the driveway and sirens could be heard even farther down the road. The EMTs were already there and had determined that Tim, the lookout, was dead. The coroner was on her way.