A Fly in the Garden: Chapter 6
DISCLAIMER: None of these characters are mine, but they are memorable. Thank you, Mr. Marlowe.
Saturday, February 20, 2012 – 10:31 a.m. – At the Castles Complex in Sausalito, California
"Pamela, this is Mayor Sandra Clooney," Castle begins, taking in the woman's somewhat haggard appearance. Sure, this makes sense. She's been through the ringer in the past few days. Dealing with an abducted child, no leads from the police, a pristine marriage turned violent, now uprooted from her home . . . yeah, haggard is allowed for Pamela Hamilton right now.
"Pamela," Mayor Clooney states amiably with an extended hand, which Pamela tentatively accepts. "I was going to say I am sorry for your loss . . . but my goal," she continues as she now glances at Castle, "our goal is to bring your daughter back home safely to you."
That gets her, as a spark of life, a hint of hope appears behind the eyes of the newest resident of the Castles. It's been weeks since her daughter was taken, and the police have had no clues – zip, nada, none. She and Thomas have come to the horrific conclusion that their daughter is dead, gone forever. Each has blamed the other. But now this woman – a woman she recognizes from television – this mayor, is telling her that perhaps Grayson is not dead. Perhaps there is a chance to get her back. Pamela glances over at her host, the builder of these facilities. In his eyes, she sees confirmation of what she has just heard. And something else.
She sees a determination in those eyes that matches the frustration and hopelessness that she has been feeling. For a moment, hope indeed rises within her spirit. The moment, however, is fleeting at best, and Castle actually sees the split second in her eyes when hope subsides, giving way to the constant despair that has set in.
Fortunately, Dr. Samantha Peraza also sees the instant when the door of hope slams shut on the face of her latest patient.
"No Pamela!" she almost shouts at the woman, startling her. "Don't shut it down. Allow yourself to hope."
Dr. Peraza has been chatting with Pamela this morning for the past half hour. As Castle and the mayor of the city across the bridge entered the room, recognition flared on the faces of both women of both the man and woman who walked through the door. She knows the grief that is consuming Pamela Hamilton right now. She also knows well enough, however, that Richard Castle would not allow even a modicum of hope to re-enter the picture if he didn't believe that there was a substantial chance that Grayson Hamilton was alive.
"Are you sure?" she mouths silently toward her old friend. A nod of his head is all the assurance she needs.
"Mrs. Hamilton," Mayor Clooney continues, "I believe that your daughter is still alive. I believe that all of our young women who have been abducted are still alive. And I mean to use all of the resources at my disposal in order to find all of them. To find your daughter."
Hot tears mingle with a wave of sobs that now overtake the distraught mother and estranged wife. Dr. Peraza quickly takes her into her own arms, holding tight.
"That's it, Pamela," she tells her. "Let it go. Let it all go, except for hope. Hope, we cling to. Hope, we hold on tightly to."
"Why?" Pamela finally manages, glancing quickly between Clooney and Castle for answers. "How?"
For a brief instant, the mayor and the author-philanthropist exchange glances, unsure of exactly how much information to share with the young woman. Finally deciding the honesty is going to be the best approach here, Castle begins to speak before he is interrupted by the mayor.
"Pamela," Castle says softly, "we believe –"
"That women are being abducted as a part of a large human trafficking operation," the mayor finishes, taking the conversation. She's here, she's the mayor – this is why she agreed to meet with this woman, at Castle's behalf. She's not going to stay in the background as a prop.
"We have not let this information out – at least not yet – for obvious reasons, not the least of which is that we do not want to tip our hand to the perpetrators that we are on to their operation," the mayor continues.
"For that same reason," Castle says, inserting himself back into the conversation, "we are not at liberty to disclose to you everything that we know or suspect. Just be confident that the media reports that there are no clues, no leads, nothing to go on – be confident that this information is false. We do know things. We just are not saying anything at this time."
"I don't understand," Pamela replies, beginning to at least try to compose herself. "I mean, I appreciate you doing what you can Mr. Castle, but . . . but, you are . . . I mean, you aren't –"
"He's not a police officer, Mrs. Hamilton," the mayor interjects, "but believe me – Mr. Castle here is one of your best options of seeing your daughter again. If he weren't, he and I would not be standing together in front of you right now."
Saturday, February 20, 2012 – 10:45 a.m. – At the Residence of Jimmy and Mara Blankenship
"Well, this is just great," a frustrated Jimmy Blankenship screams at his wife, Mara, who sitting smirking on the oversized sofa next to the bay window overlooking the city streets. Mara is well-prepared for this argument. She knew her husband would be furious when he discovered what she had done with Lisa Ward last night.
Mara Blankenship works down at Pier 39 for an adventure/tour group, which gives her ample opportunity to scope out gorgeous young women who meet Donovan's particular tastes. Taking Lisa Ward was too soon, too close to the previous abduction. She knows this, as one of the basic principles she and Jimmy have operated under – for years now – is the notion of not getting greedy. Anything that brings undue scrutiny is bad for business, and what she did last night is potentially bad for business. Too many disappearances in too short a period of time brings more scrutiny, more press, more visibility. All of those elements add up to an unnecessary chance of being caught.
Mara, however, had seen an opportunity, as she is trying to explain to her husband.
"You saw her picture on the television, Jimmy," she begins her defense argument. "Is there any girl we have taken that matches his preferences, that matches what we know he pays top dollar for than that girl?" she asks, but she isn't really asking. She is telling him. And from his reaction, she knows that he reluctantly has to agree with her logic.
"Mara, it doesn't matter," he argues. "We agreed –"
"We agreed, Jimmy," she interrupts, "to do whatever necessary to maximize our profits. You know we can't do this forever. You know this isn't a life-long business. We won't last. At some point, Donovan is going to search for other sellers. You know this! And when he does, you and I just became expendable."
"All the more reason not to draw undue attention to ourselves," he hisses at her, lowering his voice so that neighbors don't hear the argument raging.
"James," she tells him, formalizing the conversation as she often does when she is running out of patience, "I saw an opportunity, and I took it. At $75,000 a girl, I'm not going to turn the other way simply because you are too damn cautious. We didn't bank three quarters of a million dollars in the past six months by being cautious!"
Jimmy grudgingly has to agree with his wife on that one. They have been doing this for the past couple of years now. They had started out with younger children, shipping them overseas. They didn't make a lot of money, compared to what they are experiencing now, but they learned the trade, so to speak. Somehow, their operation came to the attention of Donovan, who prefers his girls more around the college age, and has been willing to pay heavily for them.
That they unknowingly came under the scrutiny of Donovan has always been a concern, a sticking point for Jimmy. While Mara looks at it as fate giving them a huge opportunity, Jimmy has looked at the idea that someone found out what they were doing as the first nail in their coffin, so to speak. If Donovan found out, who is to say others can't as well. Hence, Jimmy is cautious – much to the chagrin of his avarice-driven wife.
"I take it the Ward girl is already on the boat," he asks, finally giving in, as Mara knew he would.
"Early this morning," she replies sweetly, her mood changing immediately upon winning this particular round. "She will be in Playas de Rosarito in the next day or so, and we will have our money by mid-week."
"Well, thank heavens for small favors," Jimmy mumbles to himself.
"Heaven had nothing to do with this," she smiles, and for just a second, Jimmy Blankenship is reminded of exactly how sinister his chosen mate can be. No matter – a few months from now, they will be over a cool million dollars. Then he will talk with her about shutting this operation down. And if that conversation doesn't go well . . . well, there are other fish in the sea for him to swim with. Especially with a healthy bank account to help him disappear.