Chapter 18

The following morning, I was sat in a booth at the back of the diner on Broad Street. Knowing what Eric Dougan looked like from a photo in one of the back editions of the newspaper I looked at the door every time that it opened. Lula was sat by the window supposedly as my lookout and backup but the way that she was focused on the cooked breakfast in front of her I doubted if she'd notice a tornado passing through. I looked up from the muesli and yoghurt in front of me for the umpteenth time and found myself staring at the man who was walking in. It looked like Dougan, well from the photo that I'd seen, and yet at the same time he looked so different.

He looked older than his age, with long grey hair that didn't look as though it had been washed or combed in an age. A matching beard hid his face and went down to the button of the shirt that he was wearing. It wasn't just those things that had me questioning what had happened to him. He walked with a limp with his shoulders hunched over. I continued to watch as he walked to the corner away from me and waited until the waitress had taken his order. That was when I picked up my coffee and walked over to his booth.

Sliding into his booth, opposite him, didn't seem to register with him so I decided to start the conversation.

"Mr Dougan. I assume that's who you are. I wanted to talk to you about an article that you wrote four years ago"

The waitress brought over his coffee before disappearing again, so I waited unsure if Dougan had actually heard me or was just ignoring me.

"Please Mr Dougan, it's really important"

As I said that I placed the money clip on the table in front of him so that he could see the inscription. Oh, that got his attention alright.

"Important. More important than getting beaten up and then harassed for a lifetime. I don't think so"

Him looking up at me had me taking in a breath. Stay still, don't react, even though I wanted to look away from the damaged eye and scar that disappeared beneath his beard.

"Women and babies are worth the risk. Someone is stealing their lives from them, and I want the perpetrators stopped"

At least I had his attention now and was almost embarrassed at how he scrutinized my face. I suppose the bruises were still there to see and I hadn't wanted to cover them over with makeup.

"They're here?"

The look that he gave me conveyed confusion, but I assumed he meant in the States, so I nodded my head as an answer.

"Why were you beaten up so badly Mr Dougan?"

I never got an answer because the waitress arrived with Dougan's breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage and toast. I had to admit that it smelt good, but I had to somehow maintain the weight that I'd dropped to.

"I was from Belarus; well, my parents were. My uncle stayed, he was a lawyer, but as a family we stayed in touch. He would often tell me of the rumors around the area and how the Bratva were controlling the crimes around the city. I was interested as a journalist so soaked up all the information that he could give me. I intended to write a book about dear old Saroka but then the threats began. I never heard from my uncle after he told me that Saroka was dead. I was forced to write that final article under the threat of my family being tortured and killed"

So this man knew the history of Saroka, but if Saroka was dead then who did he think was here in the States?

"Who are you afraid of Mr Dougan if Soroka is dead?"

Or what did he know that was so important?

"Sergey Saroka knew that he was doomed so he sent his children away. Nikita and Alina. Apparently, they were Sergey's consigliere, knew everything and were destined to take over. They were driven by power and money then, so it doesn't surprise me that they're here in the States. Word was that they were in Central America"

Okay, so from what Dougan was saying then Nikita and Alina could be the ones who were masterminding the abductions and then selling off the babies and women. Was I making a giant assumption here based on a money clip?

"That's all I know"

Dougan pushed his empty plate away from him before finishing his coffee. I had to admit that I didn't know what else to ask of him. I watched as he pulled some notes from his pocket before he stood up.

"Be careful lass, those people are ruthless"

Was all he said as he walked away from me and out of the diner. I wasn't sure whether I felt elated or let down. I may know who was running things, but I had no idea where they were, what they looked like or even the names that they were using.

"So, what did you find out? Where we going next?"

Of course, Lula would want to know everything, so I told her what I'd learnt from Dougan. It wasn't as if she could go running off and do anything.

"That's a real bummer. We need to find out where they hang out"

Yeah, easier said than done. The only sure piece of information that I had was that manor house and even then, I wasn't too sure exactly where it was.

Back at Lula's apartment I knew that we had to come up with a plan. Over yet another coffee we sat at the small kitchen table and went through yet again, what I knew.

"We need to do some surveillance on that big house"

My thoughts exactly but that was assuming that Nikita or Alina would even go there. I had my doubts, but it was our only lead at the moment.

"I agree with you, but we have to be subtle with how we do it. No way do I want either one of us ending up inside that place"

"They won't even see me coming, I'm the queen of disguise"

I didn't even want to ask what she meant by that. The one concession that Lula finally agreed to was our mode of transport. The afternoon was spent sourcing out a bike. One that was comfortable for both of us and had paniers to carry what we needed. Turns out that Lula knew just the man who could supply us with what we needed. Go figure. Maybe Lula hadn't changed as much as I had thought. She certainly knew the locals and where to find a bargain. Who cared if it was from the basement of a building or from the back of a truck. By evening we were shopped out, with what we were going to need sat by the front door. It was definitely time to eat.

After looking for an age I'd found the diner where Jethro had dropped me off, where Oscar had found me, and by using Google maps I'd eventually found the ruins that I'd walked through before I ended up at Mrs. Holland's farm inside her barn. The manor was almost hidden beneath the cover of trees on an ariel view, but I knew when I spied it. A shiver had run through me as I thought about what went on inside. Our plan, for what it was worth, was to do some surveillance of the manor, who came and went. And no, we were not going to be camping, we'd managed to find an Airbnb at the village of Tyringham, just north of the manor.

That night I wasn't sure if I felt nervous or excited for what we would be doing. I suppose that I was excited because it felt like I was doing something positive, on the other hand I was actually nervous about taking Lula with me. Images of some of the disasters that we'd caused in the past kept going through my head and I just knew that it wouldn't turn out well if we were caught.

By 8 the next morning we were cruising out of Philadelphia on a Honda Gold Wing. The only bike that we'd seen that had a seat that Lula would even consider sitting in. It did look like an armchair perched on the back but I was a bit nervous as to how it would affect me balancing the bike. I was totally spent up with everything that we'd bought and was relying on Lula to provide us with money for gas. In my own mind I'd already decided that if nothing came of this trip then I would be getting in touch with Jonas. I dreaded to think what he thought of me disappearing or the fact that Oscar was probably missing as well. Would he have an idea of the area that we'd been in? Would he have brought in additional help to find us? I pushed that thought to the back of my mind, I'd deal with it when I had to.

The journey was actually pleasant, and Lula was quite happy sat in her padded seat with her earbuds in. I was just thankful that I didn't have to listen to whatever music she was playing. Her singing along was enough of a distraction as it was. 266 miles took us five hours, with us stopping to refill the tank before our destination. The place that we were staying in was a small cabin that had been built in the back yard of someone's house. Okay, it was a large backyard, and we had our own entrance so at least we'd have privacy with our comings and goings.

If the owners were put off with the two of us turning up on a bike decked out in full leathers they never showed it. So after a brief few minutes where we were handed the keys we were left on our own. The place was small, basically one room with twin beds, a small kitchen area and a small bathroom. Ideal for what we needed and could afford.

"Okay, so we have cameras, binoculars and if we get an opportunity to plant them, some trackers"

Who knew it was so easy to buy trackers that you could pick up through an app on your phone. I certainly didn't. Hell, I could think of the times when I could have used one of those. No wonder Ranger was so glib about putting trackers on me or my car when they were so easy to buy and use.

"That little gun is going in my pocket, and you have the stun gun"

I looked at Lula but refrained from starting another argument with her. Lula couldn't hit a target if it was four feet in front of her, but she wasn't going to be giving up the gun even though I assured her that I'd been practicing.

"When are we going to start watching the place?"

"First light"

I answered, because there was no point in trying to trek to an advantage point in the dark. We'd probably end up getting lost or trip on something and hurt ourselves.

"Remember we need to look like hikers and try to avoid coming across anyone else"

That had Lula scowling. She'd wanted to wear some ridiculous outfit for walking in. In the end she'd managed to find some clothes that would blend in. Okay they were bright green but at least she might be camouflaged by the green of the trees. For a meal we ate up the sandwiches that we'd packed and drank water from the bottles that the owners had left for us.

I was already awake before my alarm went off. To be honest I was already regretting having Lula with me. Why hadn't I remembered how loud she snored. Leaving Lula to sleep I took a quick shower and then dressed in some stretchy jeans, a T-shirt and some boots. I made enough noise to wake Lula who begrudgingly got out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom. She was like me, not a morning person until I'd had my caffeine fix. An hour later we were wearing our leather jackets and helmets and on the bike heading toward Ashintully Gardens where a turn would take us down a narrow track toward the mansion. From that trek we would have a bird's eye view of the mansion. Well, that was the idea anyway. To be honest the idea of doing surveillance was an imposing thought. I hated doing it when I was in the comfort of a car so being on hard ground didn't sound appealing to me.

The roads were very quiet as we drove, probably too early for people to be up and about so we made it to the track in record time. Once parked up we each carried a rucksack and began to make our way through the trees. I was pleased when we found a small gap in the undergrowth and trees that gave us a perfect view of the mansion so undeterred by where we were I knelt down and began to watch the house. I was conscious of Lula beside me and to start with she was surprisingly quiet. Then it began.

"This is creepy. Are there spiders living here. I hate spiders"

"Did you hear that? Are there bears out here?

"What the hell was that, it landed on me"

"I aint cut out for this, I'm a natural city girl"

"I need the bathroom. I aint squatting down anywhere near the ground. There are all sorts of creepy crawlies"

I'd gone past the point of rolling my eyes at Lula and reached the point of wanting to scream at her. At her last complaint I decided that there hadn't been much to see at the manor. Okay we'd seen some men walking the perimeter with dogs but no one that looked important.

"Let's head back. I'll come back for a couple of hours early this evening. Maybe then there'll be more going on"

"Now you're talking my language"

As I packed away the binoculars Lula already had her rucksack over her shoulders and had decided to wear the helmet rather than to carry it. She looked like something from outer space as she suddenly headed away from me, muttering under her breath. That she was heading downhill had me concerned.

"Lula, you're going the wrong way"

I'm not sure if she never heard me or chose to ignore me, but I was soon trying to follow her. She was moving like the devil was after her whacking against tree branches which of course only rebounded to hit her as she moved. The last mumbles that I heard almost had me laughing but I was struggling to keep up with her. She had one hell of a momentum going for her, making me worry that she'd hurt herself if she tripped and fell. The hillside became steeper and the last I saw of her was her bounding down the scree trying to keep her legs underneath her. Who knew that Lula could move so fast, so fast that I was struggling to keep up with her and to keep her in my sights.

Being more cautious I picked my way through the stones and branches as I followed her wave of destruction on the trampled undergrowth and broken branches. Then I heard it, a scream followed by the squeal of brakes. Oh shit, had she run onto the road and been hit by a car. As I made my way down, a little faster than I was comfortable with, I came to a stop and ducked down out of sight. There in front of me, stationary on the road was a big black SUV. The engine was running, and I heard car doors opening before daring to take another look. Please, please don't let me see Lula laid out on the road.

"What the hell was that?"

Came from a male voice that obviously belonged to the man who was walking around to the front of the car.

"I have no idea. It looked like some gigantic bug. Bright green with a huge round head"

"Did you hit it?"

I held my breath waiting for the reply praying that the car hadn't actually hit Lula.

"No. I managed to brake in time. Let's take a look, just in case"

A female voice. A voice that I recognized had the hairs on my arm standing up.

"You see anything?"

I'd guess that Lula had literally blasted across the road before the car made contact with her. Well, I sure as hell hoped so. Delving into the pocket of my rucksack I pulled out one of the trackers, sticking the label onto the back of my hand, and then crept toward the back of the car. The two people were still looking into the undergrowth at the side of the road so weren't aware that I was there. A minute later I slunk back into a hiding spot just as they were making their way back to the car.

"Forget it. I have a busy schedule today. I have to meet up with Alina later and give her the latest news"

Bingo. The sound of that name being mentioned had so many pieces fall into place. I watched as the car drove away, waiting for it to move out of sight, before untangling myself from the bushes and crossing the road. Now to find Lula and hope that she wasn't hurt. I found her about thirty feet into the undergrowth, well heard the wheezing from her breathing. She was sat down, leaning against a large tree trunk, facing away from the direction that she'd come from. Bending down to her side I carefully lifted up the visor of the helmet.

"Lula, are you hurt? Are you okay?"

Her eyes were wide and if it was possible, she looked a deep shade of red underneath her dark skin.

"Alright, alright? I nearly got killed. That black car just appeared from nowhere. It nearly hit me. I couldn't stop until I slammed into this damn tree"

That she was so annoyed had me hoping that she hadn't hurt herself badly, but I needed for her to tell me that.

"Lula, did you hurt yourself. Is there somewhere that's painful?"

"No, I don't think so. Maybe my hands, hell, look at them, they're all scratched"

Holding both hands toward her I was pleased when she took them so that I could hoist her to her feet. The impact with the tree had left two large brown marks where her boobs were so maybe they'd cushioned her collision with the tree. The green leggings had a few rips in them and plenty of twigs and leaves attached. To be honest she looked like an alien bug that had rampaged through the woods.

"Well, look on the bright side. They thought that they had a near miss with an alien bug from outer space"

The look on Lula's face had a laugh erupt from me as I remembered the vision of her careering down that hill. As she removed her helmet I was sure that she was going to hit me with it until she burst out laughing as well.

"I aim to impress"

After we'd managed to stop the laughing I knew I had to tell Lula what I'd seen.

"Lula, it was them. I managed to get a tracker on the car"

"Them. You mean someone from the manor?"

It sure looked like that but while I was so grateful that Lula was okay and that she'd managed to get the car to stop, I was also feeling a little downhearted.

"I recognized the woman. It was Kiera Lula. She's part of this"

It made sense and hadn't I questioned how she was always on the periphery. She was the one looking through those journals so no doubt if there'd been any information to find she would have destroyed it. Then it was her idea to go to that nightclub. I wondered if she'd been as drunk as she'd made out or was just acting. Her calling me for a ride from the train station was probably a way for me to be grabbed.

"Didn't you say that she was some kinda doctor in training?"

"Yeah. She was into obstetrics, gynecology, gynecologic oncology, reproductive endocrinology, and ultrasonography. Anything to do with pregnancy and babies"

Why had I not seen it before? Because I had liked her and hadn't put the pieces together. Hell, she was Jonas's niece, so of course I would never suspect her.

"Take a minute to get yourself settled. Here, put this number into the tracker app on your phone"

Lula plonked herself back onto the ground and pulled her phone out of the rucksack. I just hoped it hadn't got damaged on her flight down.

"You do that while I go back and get the bike. Stay here till I come back"

Once back on the road I decided to follow the road back up to the turnoff that we'd taken. It seemed the sensible thing to do because I didn't want to have to climb up that steep banking and no doubt, I'd end up getting lost. I walked quickly forever listening out for the sound of a car. Fortunately, there were none, so I was soon pulling up to the side of the road. Lula was stood just off the road and stepped out as I approached. Good job because I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't recognize where she was.

"Tracker up and running. She's down at the manor. The skank is probably checking out her pregnant mamas"

That gave us some time to regroup and decide what to do next.

"Okay, let's go back to the cabin and pack up everything. When she moves, we'll be right behind her"

It always amazes me how when you come to repack that things never seem to fit back where they came from. While Lula showered and changed into her leathers, I managed to collect together all of our stuff and even did a quick sweep of the inside of the cabin. The bed was made, the rubbish was in a bag outside, including the clothes that Lula had been wearing. As we were about to get onto the bike Lula started to laugh, which turned into a full blown chortle.

"Did you see me move. Damn, I was a woman on a mission. The look on that man's face when I careered across the road was priceless"

I laughed with her, not at her, because she was right. It was a hell of a descent and for once luck had been on our side. That she could have been hit by that car, well that sobered me up pretty quickly, so I stepped forward and hugged her. Just to make sure that she knew how worried I'd been.

"Lula, you were ace. You managed to find the piece to the puzzle that we needed"

"Damn skippy I'm ace. Now aint you glad that you have this voluptuous woman with you"

"Yeah. Even of you did look like an alien bug from outer space"

Once on the bike we motored down the road closer to the manor. I wasn't sure which direction Kiera would take and was worried that she might use another vehicle. We needed eyes on the tracker to be sure that it was her driving, but be out of sight. I parked the bike on the road underneath some trees and then used some broken branches to cover it over with. Assured that it couldn't be seen we kept to the trees until we were opposite the entrance to the manor. I'd plugged Lula's phone in to charge while we were at the cabin so was now hopeful that even if we had to wait a while her phone wouldn't run out of power.

"We got movement"

Kiera had spent nearly two hours inside the manor, us an hour watching out for her. Sure enough a car drove out of the drive, stopped to watch for traffic and then turned left.

"That her?"

I nodded my head as I got up onto my feet with Lula close behind me. I have to admit that Kiera did exit the drive very cautiously. Maybe she was still a bit shook up from nearly hitting something on the road. Back at the bike after removing its camouflage of branches we were soon following the tracker, well Lula was giving me directions as I drove.

It was a hell of a drive having to stay well behind her and two hours later I was worried that we'd lose her because she seemed to be heading into Boston. I could do that. No one would recognize me with my leathers and helmet on driving a bike.

"She's stopped. Place called Hingham, right on the side of the road by the water"

A few minutes later I drove past where the car was parked. It looked like a parking area for accessing the small beach behind it. Not a good place to get close enough and not be seen. Parking behind one of those motor homes seemed like the best idea and at least we could see what Kiera was up to.

"She aint got out of her car"

That was true but she was parked right next to a white Mercedes. Maybe her meeting was through the open windows though I couldn't catch sight of who she was meeting. Kiera had said that she was meeting Alina, so it made sense that the driver was her. It seemed a strange place to meet but then again maybe Alina wouldn't want anyone to know where she actually lived. A few minutes later Kiera's car reversed out and began to move in the direction that she'd come from. I was in a slight dilemma as to what to do next. Feeling Lula get off the bike confused me. What the hell was she doing?

"You follow that white Merc. I'm gonna find a toilet and then get a cab to see where our skank goes to. Call me and then you can pick me up"

I was left with my mouth open watching Lula walk away from me with her rucksack hanging from her shoulder. My decision was made for me when the Merc's engine revved up. Looked like I was going to be following Alina. I watched and waited as the Merc drove from the parking lot wanting to know if she had a shadow on her. There didn't seem to be one, but the sneaky woman turned left which had her coming back down the road past where she'd been parked. Anyone following her would have been obvious because any normal person would have taken the exit that put her in the direction that she wanted to go. Firing up the bike I waited and sure enough a black SUV pulled out of the second exit and began to follow her.

I made sure that there were at least three cars between me and the black SUV which wasn't always easy. Drivers here weren't as bad as in Trenton, the opposite really. Too many old folk dawdling along. I had no idea where she might be going but was hoping that she'd be heading to where she was living. Ten minutes later I slowed down as the road turned and ran along the waterfront. It was beautiful here. The sun catching on the tops of the water as it rippled from a passing boat. Don't get me wrong I didn't lose sight of my target because I realized that whilst the SUV had continued along the road, the white Merc had pulled off and was driving through tall metal gates. It seemed that I'd found her lair.