Chapter Twenty-Two – Empty Spaces
Peter settled Sandra into a nearby seat and stood back. Sandra's friend's fussed over her until her eyes flickered open and she looked around in surprise.
"What happened?"
"You fainted."
"Oh. But it's true isn't it? Rose is dead?"
Peter nodded slightly and Sandra started to cry. Trigger looked at Peter and Olivia.
"I have to make a phone call. I'll give you guys a few minutes alone."
Terrence and the other large man followed Trigger out the door. Olivia glanced at Peter who nodded towards Sandra. Olivia moved closer, kneeling before the young girl.
"Sandra, how long did you know Rose?"
Sandra sniffed, dabbing at the corner of her eyes with her fingers.
"A couple of years. She took me under her wing when I first started, introducing me to Trigger. She was younger than me but had been in the business since she was fifteen."
"When did you last see her?"
"A couple of weeks ago. I didn't think anything of it. She was safe at Rotation."
"Did you know anyone who wanted to hurt her?"
Sandra shook her head slightly
"No, everyone loved her."
"How did Trigger take it when she left?"
Sandra frowned, one that matched the ones that the other women were wearing.
"Trigger is a good man. Most pimps beat their girls, rape them and let them be used. Trigger is one of the few that encourages regular checks and we get to pick the men we sleep with. When Rose left, he was fine with it."
"Why did Rose leave?"
Sandra sighed, pushing her hair out of her face.
"She was raped by a John. She told Trigger and he lost his shit. Turned out that the rapist was a gang member. Trigger extracted his revenge but it wasn't enough for Rose. It was the end of the road for her. Then she got that job at Rotation and she seemed happy."
"And the other girls? How do you know them?"
One of the women chuckled.
"Sweetie, we all know each other. It's the pimps who don't get on, not us girls. Without any law around these parts, we need to."
"So Plush, Leonard and Nixon are bad news?"
Sandra shrugged.
"Not Plush, he kind of helped get Trigger into the game. But Nixon and Leonard are bad news. With them, you take whoever can pay. And if not, you get a beating or much worse."
"Do you know their real names?"
All five of the women shook their heads and Olivia wasn't surprised by their response. She highly doubted if anyone in this world actually used their real names. Olivia glanced at Peter.
"Could you call Heather and ask her to find out more about those men?"
"Sure."
Peter moved away with his phone already to his ear and Olivia turned her attention back to Sandra.
"Did any of you see Rose at the strip club?"
Sandra nodded.
"I went a couple of times. She seemed happy. She got good wages and she wasn't forced into anything that she didn't want to do."
"And she didn't say anything about anyone wanting to hurt her?"
"No."
"And the girls that are all missing, blondes?"
The women exchanged confused looks before Sandra answered.
"Yes. Why does that matter?"
"Because the guy we are after targets blondes. Thank you for your help."
Olivia stepped away, allowing the other four women to crowd over Sandra again. Trigger came back into the room a few minutes later.
"Plush is heading over now. He should be here in a few minutes."
Trigger turned to the women.
"Can you guys take Sandra to bed She needs some rest. Sandra, take the night off ok?"
Sandra nodded as several arms wrapped around her to help her stand.
"Thanks Trigger."
"Thanks for your help. Spread it around the other girls, if anyone knows anything come to me immediately."
They all nodded and slipped out of the room. Olivia watched them leave before turning back to Trigger.
"How many girls do you have?"
"Close to fifty. Most of the other girls are sleeping or working. Don't worry, between those five, the word will get around. "
"Thanks. They were saying that Nixon and Leonard are some of the worst to work for."
Trigger sighed as he settled himself in his seat behind his desk.
"I've heard and seen what those two do to their girls. It's bad business."
"How so?"
"Who is going to find a girl with a black eye attractive? How will you make money if you've beaten a girl so bad the night before she can't get out of bed? How is it going to help if she gets pregnant? If you want to make money in this business, you need to treat them well."
"Sandra said that you got in the business because of Plush?"
"Yeah I did. I started in a gang and he got me out, showed me how to run this world properly. Now, I'm one of the most respected people in the business."
"Trigger, what's up?"
Plush wasn't what Olivia expected. He looked more like a business man in his suit and neatly cut hair and closely shaven face. They exchanged a quick hug before Plush turned to them, offering his hand to both Peter and Olivia.
"Plush, nice to meet you."
"This is Agent Dunham and Peter Bishop."
Plush nodded.
"Yeah, I heard while you were here. So, do you think my missing girls are victims?"
"Possibly. We don't have much I.D to go on. How many are missing?"
"Three in the last four months."
"Who are they?"
"Lolita, Jasmine and Veronica. I just thought that they left without telling me. But I got suspicious when none of my other girls knew what happened."
"You didn't report it to the police?"
"Not if we want to keep things the way they are. I look after my girls which is why it surprised me when those three disappeared."
Trigger frowned.
"Sandra said that Chantal went missing too. Everyone thought that Leonard might have finished her off."
"It wouldn't be the first time."
Olivia had a sudden urge to talk to this Leonard guy. Perhaps he was the one that they were after.
With no word from Heather and the sky darkening at an alarming rate, Peter and Olivia both decided it was time to call it a night. Peter and Olivia had both decided when Etta was born that one of them would always be there for her bedtime. And so far, one of them always had been home. They tried to keep Etta on a routine, as much as their jobs allowed them too anyway. When they were close to home, Olivia frowned at the car in their driveway. It took her a second to realize who that car belonged to. Her heart started hammering hard in her chest.
"Peter, that's Mike Cullen's car."
She saw Peter's hands tighten on the steering wheel before he drifted past their house. Olivia turned in her seat and she could hear the panic in her voice.
"Peter, what are you doing?"
"Sorting this once and for all."
Peter stopped half a block from their home and slid from the truck, loading his gun as he went. Olivia grabbed her gun and followed suit. Images of Mike hurting Etta or Rachel pushed her anger forward. If he had touched her daughter or her sister, there would be no force in the world that would stop her from killing him. She felt slightly calmer when she saw the outline of a person sitting in the driver's seat of the car. Peter levelled his gun at the driver's window, pulling open the door and yanking the driver from the seat. He allowed Mike Cullen to stand back up again, the gun still pointing at his face. Olivia was doing the same, resisting the urge to pull the trigger.
"What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to check out the home of the bitch that got me a criminal record."
"So you trespassed?"
Mike shrugged.
"I didn't go in."
Peter's face twitched and he turned to Olivia, handing her his gun. He wordlessly took off his jacket and clenched his fists.
"You hit my wife and came to my home. I'm going to show you precisely what happens when you cross the wrong person."
Mike grinned smugly.
"What are you going to do?"
Peter smiled back.
"You are on my property. I'm defending my home."
"Peter-"
"I'm sick of this Liv. He didn't get the message last time. Let's see if a wife basher can actually hit a man."
Olivia flinched at Peter's words and the cold, harsh tone he used. There was no talking him out of this. He was too far gone to be persuaded any different. Mike didn't take too kindly to Peter's words either. With a grunt, his swung his fist, trying to catch Peter off guard. But Peter moved quicker, punching Mike in the stomach, causing him to crumble.
"You got the message yet?"
Mike grunted and pulled himself off the ground. He swung again, making contact with Peter's face, the same glance that he had given Olivia earlier. Peter pushed him back with a hard shove.
"Liv! What the hell?"
Rachel stood in the doorway, Etta in her arms. Peter kept his eyes on Mike, his voice raised only slightly.
"Rach, go back inside with Etta."
Rachel paused before turning on her heel and heading back into the house. Olivia took out her phone and called backup , ending the call quickly, her gun never wavering from Mike's chest. By the time help arrived, Peter had made sure Mike had gotten the message. Mike groaned as the officers pulled him from the ground. Peter leaned forward, his eyes flashing in the darkness.
"You come near my home or my family again and I will kill you."
Peter took his coat off the ground and turned to the front door, his head low. Olivia muttered a quick explanation to the officers before following Peter inside. He had come off better than Mike but the bastard still got some shots in. And it wasn't until they got inside that Olivia could see the split lip and bloody nose. She pulled on Peter's arm.
"Go into our room and get the first aid kit. I'll be up in a second."
Peter nodded once and did as he was told. When he disappeared from sight, Olivia headed into the living room where Rachel was rocking Etta gently. Etta, for all the drama that had gone down in the hospital, was bright and alert, extending her arms to Olivia.
"Hi!"
Olivia gave her a smile, taking her from Rachel's arms and pulling her close, breathing in the sweet scent of her daughter's hair.
"Liv, what the hell was that?"
"Mike Cullen. He assaulted me and I guess he didn't like the charges we had pressed against him."
Rachel nodded towards the stairs.
"Is Peter ok?"
"Yeah, he's fine. Let me go and sort Peter out and then I'll come and put this little one to bed."
"Ok. I made dinner for you."
Olivia smiled.
"Wow, you have an odd way of dealing with boredom."
"Hey, you benefit, so stop complaining. Now give me back my niece and go and sort out your husband."
Olivia pressed a quick kiss to Rachel's cheek before handing Etta over and heading upstairs. Peter was sitting on the end of their bed, the first aid kit still in his hands. Olivia sat on the bed beside him, shrugging off her coat and taking the first aid kit from Peter's grasp.
"You're an idiot. You know that right?"
Peter angled his head towards her as she started to clean off the blood with an antiseptic wipe.
"I'm sorry."
Olivia frowned at the unexpected apology.
"What for?"
"For losing my temper. It was just too much. "
"It's ok."
"Not really. I bet up a man on our front lawn."
Olivia smiled slightly as she continued to work on his face.
"It was rather impressive actually."
Peter sighed and fell into silence as she finished cleaning off the blood. It was nowhere near as bad as she thought it was now that the blood was gone. She put the bloody wipes into the bin and took her place back beside Peter on the bed. She stroked his face before leaning forward and gently kissing him. She leaned back and gave him a smile.
"You should put Etta to bed. I'll heat dinner. We have a long day tomorrow."
"It's always a long day."
Olivia stood and took Peter's hand, pulling him to his feet. They headed back downstairs, hand in hand, trying to pretend that this was a normal night, in a normal world and a normal family.