November
A week after the accident McCall started work again much to Hunter's dismay.
"Stop being so overprotective," she told him when he said she should stay home a while longer.
"I feel okay, It's only half days and I'll be behind a desk."
He took a step back, away from her, "I'm doing it again aren't I."
"Yes, you are."
"I'm sorry."
"I'll be fine okay, apology accepted." she said taking a sip from her coffee while packing her purse.
"I'm gonna see Kitty when I get off. Charlie promised me a replacement car."
"Isn't she gonna hear when she can leave today?"
"Yeah."
"That means catching up on paperwork this afternoon since my temp partner wants to be there too," Hunter pouted.
"Aahh you poor thing," McCall said teasingly.
"Well we'd better leave so you can make an early start."
"Thanks for your support dear,' he answered sarcastically.
"Oh before I forget, we are going out for dinner tonight," McCall said on her way to the precinct.
"Eating out on a weeknight? What's the catch."
"You'll see," she smiled mysteriously.
At around ten McCall had to go down to sort out some paperwork for her replacement car. When the elevator doors opened she stepped into what seemed an ant farm, people everywhere. She managed to get to the desk sergeant.
"What's going on?" she yelled in his ear.
"Operation High Heels," he yelled back.
"Another one of those plans from upstairs?"
"How did you guess."
"What is it this time, getting into the guiness book of world records for arresting so many prostitutes in so many hours?"
"Something like that. The president is coming for a visit, so we have to remove as many 'bad elements' as possible."
"Great,"
Just as she wanted to leave an officer passed with a young woman. McCall recognized her as the woman she saw at the hospital a little over a week ago. Her face wasn't as swollen but still black and blue. She watched them go down the stairs to the holding cells.
'She looks like she's 18 but she can't be much older then 15 or 16,' McCall thought.
"Probably got beat up by her pimp," the desk sergeant said.
"They get younger every time," she replied.
"Yeah, they do."
"Have you got an arrest form on her?"
"Here you are," he handed it to her.
"Just as I thought," she said to herself as she saw the age mentioned, 18.
"How long are you keeping them here?"
"At least until the president is gone."
"Okay, thanks," she handed him the form.
"Send me a copy will ya."
"Sure."
After sorting out her new car she went back up.
"Have you heard about the president coming?" Hunter asked her as she sat down.
"Yeah, it's crawling with 'bad elements' down stairs."
"You're kidding."
"Nope," she opened the folder in front of her finding all the documents she had asked for.
"Besides, I'm out of here in 10 minutes."
"Great, what car did they give you?" he wanted to know.
"One with four wheels that's gonna take me from A to B," she said with a grin.
"Funny McCall."
"Don't forget about tonight huh."
"I won't. You give my love to Kitty."
"I will, see you later," she gave him a quick kiss and left.
Hunter watched her until the elevator doors closed. He was still feeling worried about her, she looked pale and tired. Knowing her he didn't dare say anything about it to avoid a fight.
When McCall entered Kitty's room Brad was already there. He pulled up a chair for her so she could sit down.
"I'm gonna get some coffee, do you want some too?" he asked.
"I'd rather have some tea, the coffee I had this morning didn't agree with me," McCall replied.
"Okay, back in a sec," he said and left.
"No news yet," Kitty started.
"The doctor hasn't been to see me yet."
"How are you feeling then?"
"Still sore but moving is getting easier every day. I'll have to take things easy for a while though. How is being back at work?"
"Busy. The president is coming so they decided to pick up as much prostitutes as possible."
Kitty rolled her eyes, "Typical."
"Well some of them will be happy to be off the street and out of the hands of their pimp for a day or so." McCall said.
"Yeah, I guess you are right about that," Kitty agreed.
Brad walked in with three steaming cups followed by Doctor Bond and a whole bunch of medical students.
"Mr. Phelps you can present this case," he said to one of them while Brad put down the cups.
"Miss O'Hearn was brought in after a car accident with multiple fractures on the right side of her body and a concussion. The last test look good."
"Should you say she was ready to go home?" Doctor Bond asked him.
"I think so, she has to get some help though."
"Okay, I agree," he turned to Kitty.
"You can go home tomorrow on the condition that you have someone to help you around the house."
Kitty looked at Brad, "Yes, I do have help."
"Good, I'll see you tomorrow," Doctor Bond left followed by his students.
Kitty looked at McCall, "Miss? Should I take that as a compliment?"
"At your age, yes," McCall joked.
"Thanks a lot."
"I understand I'll have to be your servant for a week or so?" Brad asked.
"At least a week,"Kitty grinned.
"Charlie won't be happy,"
"Neither will Hunter," McCall pitched in.
"I guess I'll have to ask him," Brad continued.
Time flew by, McCall noticed as she checked her watch,
"I have to go, I'm meeting Rick for dinner and have to get ready first."
"Have a good time," Kitty gave her a wink.
"We will. I'll drop in on you when you are back at home. Bye Brad."
"Bye, have fun."
McCall drove home for a quick shower and a change of clothes. Hunter walked through the door just as she left the shower.
"Hi, I'm done in there."
"Great, I could do with a little freshening up after a day behind the desk. How's Kitty?"
"She's fine, coming home tomorrow."
"Good for her," he gave her a quick kiss and slipped into the bathroom.
It wasn't very busy at the restaurant being a weeknight, the intimate atmosphere was just what McCall needed for her proposal to Hunter. She took a sip from her wine and started the conversation.
"I was thinking about how we met the other day."
Hunter looked at her, "That was a while ago."
"Can you still remember the date?"
"Yes, March 10th 1984 at your house. Two months later you became my partner."
"Good memory."
"Thank you. Why do you ask?"
"I've been thinking about your proposal a lot lately."
Hunter's eyes began to lite up and he watched her expectantly.
"I want the date to be March 10th." she said.
"You are talking about our wedding date?" he asked no quite believing what had just been said to him.
"Yes, I am."
"Whoehoe!" Hunter jumped up from his seat and did a quick dance.
The few guests in the restaurant all looked up to see where the noise was coming from.
McCall put her hands over her eyes, shaking her head in embarrassment,
"Rick stop, please," she pleaded.
"Oh no, the whole world can see me like this. Rick Hunter, a happy man."
He finally sat down, "When did you decide?"
"A while ago. I was talking about it with Kitty the day we had the accident. That made me even more determined, life's too short as it is and it's better spend with someone you love."
"I couldn't have said it better myself," he replied as he reached for her hand.
Enjoying their main course Hunter broke the silence, "Why are you so interested in Candy?"
"How did you know?"
"Cause Sgt. Harper asked me if you wanted to talk to her before she's being released. I told him I'd ask."
'Damn,' McCall thought before answering him.
"I saw her at the hospital when I went to get a Doctor for Kitty. She was wheeled past me, all black and blue. Her face was swollen but there was something familiar about her. So when she was brought in today I asked for her arrest form. She says she's 18 but I don't believe that. I know i've seen her before but I can't put my finger on it."
"And you are gonna find out, right?"
"Yes, I am. It will be one less kid on the street."
"If I can help in any way just let me know," he offered knowing that if you can't beat them you better join them.
"Thanks," she said hesitantly expecting him to have a go at her for getting too involved.
They finished their meal in silence and Hunter ordered desert.
"You'll never believe who I ran into the other day," he said.
"Who?"
"My cousin Paulie and his girlfriend."
"He's out of prison?"
"Yeah, they had to let him go on a technicality."
"Does he still have the same girlfriend?" McCall's facial expression became dirty.
"He does."
"Ugh, she ought to be arrested for impersonating a woman."
Hunter almost chocked on his desert when she made the comment, "What!"
"It's true," she defended herself.
"Yeah, It's true but I never looked at it that way," he replied.
After a perfect night out they walked home on the beach. Hunter had his arm around her shoulders, McCall had hers around his waist and both were enjoying the breeze and the smell of the ocean.
"What are your plans with Candy?" Hunter wanted to know.
"I think she's getting beat up by her pimp, I wanna put a stop to that and get her off the street. Like I said before, I know that girl I'm sure of it."
The next morning McCall headed for the holding cells to interview Candy but she wasn't there.
"Frank where did all the prostitutes go?" she asked one of the officers.
"The president isn't coming so we let them go earlier this morning."
"Great!" McCall said and headed back upstairs.
"That was quick," Hunter looked at her as she sat down at her desk.
"The president isn't coming so they let them walk this morning,"she replied.
"Ooh," McCall sat up in her chair placing her hand on her stomach.
"What's wrong?" Hunter asked worried.
"My stomach is doing cartwheels. That stuff they call coffee around here finally got the better of me."
"Not something you ate last night?"
"Don't think so, it started after I had some coffee. I'll stick to tea for now I think."
At that moment the phone rang, "McCall, homicide. Hey Frank, yeah that's great thanks." she hung up and turned to Hunter, "Candy's been spotted at Hollywood Boulevard."
"What's the plan, bring her in?"
"No," she answered slowly.
"I want to take care of this from the inside."
"Charlie will never approve," Hunter remarked.
"Charlie doesn't have to know, we can say it's for another case."
Hunter rolled his eyes and shook his head, "I don't know where you get these ideas from."
"You taught me well," she replied with a grin.
Charlie's permission for her undercover job was easy to obtain for McCall,
"He just couldn't resist me," she told Hunter later. "We can start tomorrow."
"What about your half days," he wanted to know.
"I can manage."
Before he could start a discussion she picked up the phone to call Kitty.
Later that evening at home Hunter tried to discus the undercover job again. McCall told him the same she had told Charlie earlier that day,
"I feel strong and well enough to do this and as soon as I don't feel well enough I'll quit the surveillance. Trust me on this one," she looked him straight in the eye.
"Okay, I trust you but that doesn't mean I have to like it," was Hunter's response.
"I went to Hollywood Boulevard to see if she was there," she continued.
"And?"
"She was, she looked pretty scared to me. I bet her pimp beats her up and demands more every time. As I was watching her the last piece of the puzzle fell into place, I know where I've seen her before. She used to live next to me with her mom about four years ago."
"I can remember your neighbor and her daughter, pretty girl then."
"She must have been 11 or 12 at the time. I wonder what happened, I moved and when I drove through the street some time later their house was empty too."
"Could be a wrong boyfriend," Hunter said.
"Could be."
"I could try and find her mother when you are out there."
"That would be great, thanks."
"How was Kitty settling in?" he changed the subject.
"Pretty good. She's got Brad busy waiting on her hand and foot. He will be tied up there for a while."
"Poor guy," Hunter grinned.
The next day Hunter dropped McCall off and went on his own quest. Driving through the street where McCall used to live he was trying to remember the girl's real name, 'Joan? No. Joanna? No. Hannah, that's it. Hannah Hudson.'
He pulled over in front of the house, it looked a bit run down, in need of a lick of paint and a good gardener. He got out, walked to the front door and rang the bell.
An elderly lady opened the door,
"Hello, who are you?"
"Good morning, I'm Sgt. Hunter LAPD. I'm looking for the Hudson family."
"The Hudson family? They don't live here anymore."
"Oh, do you happen to know where they went to?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Well it's for my partner, she used to live next door to them and would love to see them again."
"Ah, well all I know is that Mrs. Hudson lost her job and they had to sell this place. I don't know where they went to. Maybe the other neighbor, Mrs. Jeffreys, knows. She's lived here a long time."
"Thank you, I'll go see her."
Hunter said goodbye, walked to the house next door and knocked.
"Good morning Mrs. Jeffreys?" he asked when another elderly lady opened the door.
"Yes?" she answered hesitantly.
"I'm Sgt. Hunter, LAPD. I'm trying to locate Mrs. Hudson, she used to live next door to you."
"Is she in some kind of trouble?"
"No, I'm trying to find her cause my partner used to live in the house on the other side of her and she would love to see her again."
"Who's your partner?"
"DeeDee McCall."
"Oh, I remember her. Nice lady, beautiful too, I liked her a lot. I can't help you when it comes to Mrs. Hudson, she moved quite sudden. She lost her job you know and had to sell up quickly cause she couldn't afford it anymore. I felt sorry for the little girl."
"And she never left a forwarding address?"
"No, she didn't."
"Well thank you for your time and help."
"No thanks and say hello to Ms. McCall for me."
"I will."
Meanwhile McCall had found a spot where she could observe Candy and kinda stay out of sight. Candy was looking nervous, pacing up and down the sidewalk, her facial expression blank almost angry.
A car stopped, the driver called out at her and she got in. After a short talk she got out again, this time looking scared.
'Must be her pimp,' McCall thought.
The sound of high heeled footsteps made her turn around finding herself looking at two ladies.
They looked at McCall from top to bottom,
"You look flashy girl, either you are new to this game or you're a cop," said one of them.
"New? The only thing new is this city," she replied.
"I was tired of the cold winters so I hitched up here."
"Cold winters? Where are you from?"
"Boston."
"Boston, I think I have a cousin there or was it Chicago," the other one said.
"Don't mind her. I'm Michelle and the airhead is Lulu," the first one said.
"I'm DeeDee," McCall introduced herself.
"The girl you saw coming out of that car is Candy," Michelle explained.
"Was that her pimp?" McCall wanted to know.
"Yeah it was."
"Mean looking guy."
"He is, they don't call him Snake for nothing. I'm glad he's not my pimp."
"He looks like the kind of guy who takes advantage of weak young girls."
"Right again. Most of his girls are runaways, he picks them up at bus stations or on the street. Then he gives them food and a place to stay, they have to do this in return."
"Can't you do anything about it?'
"One girl tried, she disappeared and was found in a park, strangled. The police couldn't tie him to the murder, he has people and none of the girls said anything."
A car pulled up.
"Customer," Lulu said and walked towards the car.
"Looking for a good time?" she asked as she leaned against the door.
"Yeah, but I prefer the brunette over there," the man said pointing at McCall.
"Dee honey, he wants you," Lulu said as she turned around.
"See you later girls," McCall said and got into the car with Hunter.
"Your old neighbor says hi," he told her.
"Mrs. Jeffreys? She still lives there? She must be about 86 by now," McCall said admiring.
"Tough old lady."
"She sure is. What else did you find out?"
"Not much, the Hudson's moved and no one knows where they went to. How about you?"
"The two ladies I was talking to told me Candy's pimp Snake is a mean guy who picks his girls up from the street and makes them depend on him. He supplies the food and shelter and they have to pay him back this way. One girl tried to stop him but he had her killed."
Hunter sighed, "Now I dislike the idea of you out there even more."
"I'll be fine. What's your next move."
"I'm gonna run their names through the computer, you'll never know what might come up and if that doesn't get a result I'll try city hall."
"I'm gonna try to get a bit closer to Candy. I think Michelle and Lulu will give me a hand."
Hunter dropped her off at the corner of the street, "Be careful," he told her.
"You know I will and would you check on Kitty for me?"
"Sure."
She got out,
"I'll be here honey," she said loud enough and closed the door.
By the end of the day McCall had had several 'costumers', all colleagues helping out and 'earned' a nice amount of money.
"Not bad for a first day here," Michelle remarked.
A couple of days later Hunter drove her to her spot, he was worried cause she had been feeling sick again this morning but wouldn't stay home.
"That will ruin my work so far," she had told him.
She had been observing Candy, who stayed out of the other womens way, and tried to talk to her a few times but Candy would just walk away from her.
The first 'customer' of the day had just dropped her off and McCall was walking back to her spot when a man blocked her way, it was Snake.
"I've been watching you," he said.
"You seem to have a steady flow of costumers but no one to take care of your earnings."
"So?"
"I could do that for you."
"What's in it for you?"
"A percentage of what you earn on a day."
"Hmm, I gotta think about it," she told him and wanted to walk on.
"I've also seen you hang around one of my girls."
"Just being friendly."
"Well don't, she's difficult and has to know her place."
"Okay, I won't do it again." she said and he let her go.
"What did he want?" Michelle asked McCall.
"He wants to be my pimp," she replied.
"You told him no, right?"
"I told him I'd think about it."
"Girl, you are mad!"
"I've been called worse,"
"You must be out of your mind," Hunter's reaction was as she expected when she told him about Candy's pimp and that she wanted to take his offer.
"It could mean a chance to get closer to her. Everything else I tried failed and you are not making much progress either."
"I don't understand, it looks like they just vanished."
"Or, for some reason, are using a different name."
"That possibility crossed my mind and would make the search a lot harder."
"Let me do this, I can get closer to Candy this way, I know it," McCall told him with begging eyes.
"Looks like there's no other choice but one wrong move from him and you are out of there."
"Fair enough."
"Brad called me today. Kitty is driving him up the wall."
"Already?" McCall said surprised.
"He almost begged me to trade places with him," the grin on Hunter's face became bigger and bigger. He could picture the scene in his head.
"I bet. What did you tell him?"
"No."
The next day Snake was waiting for McCall,
"Thought about it?" he asked as she was walking passed the wall he was sitting on.
"I have and you got a deal," she said to him.
"Good, at the end of the day I'll come by, you give me what you earned, I'll take my cut and you'll get the rest."
"What's your cut?"
"25"
McCall went to her spot to wait for her first 'costumer'.
"You are not doing business with him are you?" Michelle wanted to know.
"Yes I am."
"Why? I warned you about him."
"Michelle trust me, I can't tell you right now."
"You are not gonna try and safe that girl. I told you what happened to the other one."
"You did but like I said I can't tell you anything more," McCall looked Michelle in eye when she told her this.
"Okay," she replied softly.
Lulu joined them and changed the subject. They chatted some more until the first costumers showed up.
Halfway through the day McCall walked back to her spot after being dropped off when she ran into Snake,
"Busy day?" he wanted to know.
"Could be worse." she answered.
"Hand over the cash," he ordered.
"What, now but I thought..."
"Now!"
She handed him the money, he counted it, pulled one out and gave it to her.
"This should take care of your lunch."
"One dollar!"
"The other girls can, so I don't see why you should be treated any different." having said that Snake turned around and walked off but he stopped and turned around again.
"By the way, do you have anywhere to stay?"
"Yeah, I have."
At around six Snake's girls gathered quietly in an alley, McCall joined them and waited. After about 5 minutes he showed up and started to call the girls to him one by one. They handed over their money and got one dollar in return before going back out there again.
'This guy's got a huge hold over these girls, they depend on him to give them what they need,' she thought.
'I'd better go along and not make any trouble.'
She watched Candy hand over her money, Snake said something to her what looked like a compliment cause she managed a faint smile before walking away.
When it was her turn McCall handed over the money,
"You're a little goldmine," Snake said to her with a dirty grin on his face and handed her a one dollar bill.
"I thought your cut was 25," she reminded him of what he had said earlier.
"I said that?"
"Yes."
"I lied, now get out there and earn me some more," he pushed her in the direction of the street.
'Pig' she thought as she walked to her spot where Hunter picked her up a few minutes later.
"Where do you wanna go for dinner?" he wanted to know.
"I think it's gonna be a quick take away this time. I gotta stay out tonight."
"What!"
"Snake is watching me like a hawk, I'm his goldmine."
"I don't like where this is going DeeDee,"
"Me neither, I haven't been able to get closer to Candy."
"That's not what I mean and you know it."
"Rick, I'll be fine. Get that through that thick skull of yours."
The rest of the ride went in silence. After ordering and getting their take away Hunter broke the silence, he had some news.
"One of the shelters where I left a description of Mrs. Hudson called this morning. A woman matching the description had some breakfast there. They usually come back for dinner so the lady was willing to give me a call if she does."
"I hope it's her so we can wrap this up. Was she alone?"
"Yes she was, I asked."
"That's no big surprise, Candy lives in Snake's house."
McCall checked her watch, "We gotta go, he's keeping an eye on me."
"I'll send some of the night shift guys by to pick you up," Hunter said on the way over.
"That's fine. Peters, McCoy, Rios, Baxter and Thomas right?"
"Right. I'll let you know when I hear anything from the shelter."
Hunter dropped her off at the usual place and she walked back to her spot.
As she turned the corner she saw Michelle and Candy together. McCall could tell they were arguing by their movements but she wasn't close enough to hear what was said.
Michelle was the first one spotting her coming down the street, Candy noticed and turned around.
"I know you," she said when McCall was a few feet away.
Candy's words took her by surprise,
"You do?"
"Yeah, you used to live next door to me and my mom a long time ago. And you're a cop."
"A cop?" Michelle repeated in disbelief.
"When did you know it was me?" McCall asked calmly.
"When I got arrested I thought I knew you from somewhere and when you turned up here I knew for sure. Why are you here?"
"That's something I should be asking you."
"Shit happens, what's your excuse."
"Getting you out of this shit, Hannah."
"The only person who calls me that is my mom."
"Speaking of her, where is she?"
"Don't know. Since I'm with Snake I lost track of her. He doesn't let us have any outside contacts."
"He doesn't let you have any contacts." Michelle interrupted.
"If he sees you talking like this you are in big trouble. All he cares about is money."
"So does your pimp." Candy reacted.
"But at least he treats me right."
A car pulling up stopped the conversation.
"This one's mine," Michelle said.
"You better sort this out before Snake does," she said before getting in.
"She's right you know," Candy admitted.
"You don't know what he's really like."
"Michelle told me a little."
"Also about the girl that was murdered?"
"Yes, were you there when it happened?"
"I'm not gonna testify if that's what you mean."
"No, how can I be so stupid. You'd rather work for him until he doesn't need you anymore and puts you out with the rest of the trash."
"Hey, you two! Stop the tea party and go earn me some money!" a voice that seemed to be coming out of nowhere yelled.
Candy froze, "Thanks, now we have to earn double tonight," she hissed and walked off.
After a couple of 'clients' McCall was picked up by Hunter,
"Hannah knows who I am," she told him as soon as she got in.
"Great, is she gonna blow your cover?"
"I don't think so."
"Well this will be over soon anyway, I found her mother." he said as he drove off.
"Where?"
"The shelter I told you about, they called to tell me she was there. I went over and had a long talk with her. She remembered you and was very happy to hear that you are looking out for Hannah."
"Did she tell you what happened to them?"
"Like the other neighbor said she lost her job and had to move out. They lived on the street for a while until someone from the shelter helped her get a cheap place to live. She still lives there and even got a job but it pays just enough for the rent and electricity so she has to eat at the shelter. Hannah dropped out of school when some classmates found out how they were living and started to give her a hard time about it. She was ashamed and started to hang out with the wrong people. Before Ann could do anything about it Hannah was out of her house and into Snake's, she still doesn't know how it all happened. She tried to find Hannah but Snake kept moving her around so she lost track."
"That's some story," McCall said, obviously impressed by it all.
"I think we can help them get their life back together again," Hunter said.
"I think Hannah knows more about the murder then she lets on" McCall replied.
"What's the next step gonna be?"
"Pick her up, make sure she's safe and let her tell her story."
"Works for me. I'll drop you off at the precinct and get some guys together to give me a hand. We'll do a routine sweep."
When Hunter and the others arrived at Candy's spot she wasn't there so they decided to wait until she showed.
When she did they sprung into action, arresting everyone there at that moment including Snake who was on his way to talk to Candy.
At the precinct the girl's were put in a cell separate from Snake, only steel barrs keeping them apart. McCall was already there.
"How did you get here?" Snake wanted to know.
"My client turned out to be a cop," she answered him.
"Rats, every once in a while they arrest a whole bunch of us, leave us in a cell for a few hours and let us go. Just to piss us off," Snake hissed.
He was wrong this time, they had to spend the night.