Chapter 17

I had to change buses at San Antonio, Dallas, Nashville and Richmond before arriving at the Philadelphia Bus Station at 4.40pm. On each bus I made sure to be sat on my own and avoided any small talk with the other passengers. I kept my hat on so dressed as I was I felt sufficiently incognito to relax. I had plenty of time sat on my own thinking, which was what I wanted to do. To be honest I wasn't sure where to begin. The beginning I suppose, so that was what I did. I ran through in my head and then made notes in the pad that I'd bought, including every detail from when Jonas had told us what our job was going to be to the present time. I won't bore you with a resume of it because you already know all of the details. It certainly took a long time, a lot longer than I imagined it would.

When I was at a station waiting for the next bus then I made sure to stretch my muscles and walk around. The initial pain that I'd received from the collapse of the building had eased up and even the graze to my arm from a bullet was slowly beginning to heal. It was only my shoulder that continued to twinge when I moved it quickly or awkwardly. I even managed to find a cheap clothes shop and buy a change of clothes for when I arrived at my final destination. It helped to clear my mind and prepare me for my next marathon. Don't get me wrong, I slept, for short periods of time, but in the back of my mind I was very conscious of who was getting on and off the bus.

It was after Nashville that I got around to reading what I'd written down and it was then that the questions reared their ugly heads. Elijah Banning was a conundrum for me. I knew that he wasn't innocent, well probably not, because in his interviews with the psychiatrist he knew too many details, at least his different personalities did. Then there was the disagreement between Lisa and Paige. It was as if they were describing two different men. Were they? Now the man with the scar, I was certain that had been him at the night club. How I wished that I'd gotten a better look at his face.

Yeah, that nightclub was definitely involved. A way to target the women before finding their weakness. As far as I could see all of the women were lured away under false pretenses, except me of course. That had me circling Kiera's name. I didn't want to, but she'd cropped up three times in my notes. The first time was when Jonas suggested that she could look through the journals. She never had come back to me with anything, not even that she hadn't found anything of interest. It was Kiera's idea that we went to that nightclub, why would she chose to take me there? Finally, I'd been going to the train station to pick her up after a call from her and that was when I was grabbed. Had I told Jex where I was going? I think that I did. The dilemma that I had was who I could trust. If I contacted Jonas would that include Kiera and Jex being privy to where I was? Would Jonas believe what I told him? Damn it, I had tried so hard to curb ny instincts of going it alone but it looked like I didn't have a choice now. I wanted to stay off anyone's radar until I was very sure of my facts and had a better idea of who was involved.

The one part of my whole experience was Oscar finding me at that damn diner and then him getting shot. That event had so many questions rattling around in my head. Had Mrs. Holland betrayed me, told her bosses where I would be? That didn't feel right to me. I was in her barn all night so there was plenty of time for me to be captured. Her friend, Jethro, was a possibility. I never had the chance to actually talk to him, but he could have given the guard with him the heads up. Had the guard realized that I was in that van and then called in for a team to be there waiting for me? Maybe. So how had Oscar found me? That was really bugging me. The fact that Oscar was there and then those men had turned up was too much of a coincidence, but I couldn't fathom out who I should be annoyed with.

That left the predicament that I was in now. Obviously, no one had found me after the fire and explosion, but did that mean that they assumed that I was dead or that I'd managed to get out and escape? I could only hope that the other women were safe somewhere and hadn't been rounded up only to be sold or worse.

After Richmond I packed everything away and then just looked out of the window. What was I going to do now? I just wasn't the type of person to slink into the background and start a new life. I groaned as the next thought came into my head. What would Ranger do? Pfft, how the hell should I know or even care. Only I did and that was a really morbid thought. I knew that I couldn't ignore what had happened to those women or even other women that I knew nothing about. It may be a drop in the ocean as far as trafficking women and babies went, but if I got to save someone else then I'd feel vindicated for being sat on this bus when I had no idea where my friends were.

Getting off that last bus brought feelings of relief and trepidation at the same time. It had been like being in a time warp travelling on the buses. In my mind I was clearer in understanding the facts and had even begun to hypothesize how the operation of kidnapping women was working. Focus, I said to myself. I was supposed to be looking for Lula because I was sure that she wouldn't recognize me. Yeah, I was still wearing the same clothes that Gaynor had given to me, and my hair was hidden underneath the cap. Yes, I had changed my underwear with some new items that I'd bought, and I had made sure to use the washrooms at any stops, where time allowed. Would she even be here? I'd sent a text message but turned the phone off to conserve power, just in case something that I hadn't accounted for reared its ugly head. Yeah, I was still worried that someone might know where I was.

"I'd recognize that skinny white arse anywhere. It's the rest that don't look anywhere near right"

Turning I was seeing Lula stood about 6 feet away from me with her hands on her hips. Well, I was pretty sure that it was her. Gone were the sequined leggings and the ridiculously tight boob tubes. In fact, the only way that I knew for sure that it was her were the mile high shoes that she was wearing.

"You need talk. Look at you. All smart in a business suit"

I think that we were both laughing as we both stepped forward into a hug. It felt good to have Lula with me, like old times.

"I missed you Lula"

Which I really meant as we pulled apart.

"Oh yeah. You missed me so much that you didn't even bother to call me"

Okay, she was right, and I did feel guilty about that, but I hadn't had a minute to spare when I'd started my new job and then things had spiraled out of control.

"It's complicated Lula"

"Ah shit, you only ever say that when you're in some sort of trouble"

Linking my arm through hers I turned her and headed toward the exit.

"Not here. I need a shower and then a pitcher of margarita to explain everything"

Did Lula just harumph at me? God, it felt so good to have Lula with me. She might have been crap at helping to take in FTAs, but she'd always had my back, been willing to listen to me and go along with my ideas. Well, unless the police turned up.

Lula remained unusually quiet as we walked toward her car. That wasn't like Lula, and I was beginning to worry about coming to see her. She'd moved on so probably didn't need me turning up with all of my troubles.

"Lula. Maybe I should just find a motel to stay at"

It was the sensible thing to do. I watched Lula as she frowned at me and then as she opened the car. Yeah, she was still driving the red Firebird.

"What you saying? Hell, I didn't come all the way here just to dump you. Girl, I was just trying to decide where to go for the margaritas that was quiet, is all. You're my friend. If you're in trouble, then Lula here is the woman to help sort it out"

That made me feel a whole lot better so was soon getting into the passenger seat. What hadn't changed about Lula was how she drove and there were several times when I had to close my eyes. A screeching of brakes resulted in us pulling into a parking space at the back entrance to some shops. I was going to wait until Lula explained to me where she actually lived, before I made any assumptions. The second floor by stairs wasn't what I expected, and neither was the fact that Lula didn't look out of breath.

"Don't look at me like that. I do this new diet and exercise thingy"

I almost laughed at the words that Lula used. When wasn't she following some weird diet. Following her through the door I was surprised with what I was seeing. A small hallway with a wooden floor and walls painted in a beige color. Five doors led off from the hallway which had me curious as to the layout of the place. Curious I watched as Lula bent down and removed her shoes but then again, her heels wouldn't do the wood any good and would probably be noisy.

"It's a bit more expensive than my old place but I like it. I work with a girl whose mama lives downstairs and owns the place. I do some jobs for her which was why it was a good price"

Lula opened each door one at a time for me to look inside. The first room was pretty small and from what I could see was full of boxes that I presumed contained the cosmetics that she sold. A second door opened up into a bedroom which was cluttered with clothing just as I remembered from her old apartment.

"That there's the bathroom and here is the living area"

I was seeing an enormous couch with a TV set against a wall and a large window with beige drapes. Wooden floors and the same colored paint, so maybe she wasn't allowed to redecorate which was probably a good thing considering her preference for vivid colors. From the living area I could see the kitchen with the usual fridge, stove and electrical items but was surprised that it was large enough for a table and two chairs set against the wall.

"Them doors close so you'll have the couch all to yourself"

Okay, I could see what she meant as I looked to the side and saw the folding doors.

"Go get showered while I change out of this suit"

I was in heaven as I showered, washing away the grime from travelling so long. As I soaped my skin, I took note of the damage to me. Bruises were turning yellow now and the cuts and grazes were scabbing over. My arm where the bullet had grazed me was doing okay, though I was sure it would leave a scar. The only part of me that really hurt was the shoulder but I'd resigned myself to that and was already in the habit of protecting it and not using it. Once clean I used one of the towels hanging up to dry myself. As bathrooms went it was bigger than the one that I'd had to live with in my old apartment in Trenton and at least it was a pale beige color. What was with that color? Did whoever had renovated the place bought everything in the same color at discount rates?

Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt made me feel more my normal self so once I'd pulled my hair back into a ponytail I wandered through to the kitchen.

"I put some sheets and pillows on the couch. It's real comfy. I often fall asleep on it while watching a film"

And there was the Lula that I knew, wearing shiny gold leggings and a tight tank top that glittered with purple sequins. Even her hair looked different. Gone was the straight black jaw length hair, replaced by braids with beads at the end. Now which one was the wig?

"I ordered pizza and the store across the street sells liquor, so we're all set"

Which meant that Lula had decided that staying in was probably the best place to be with our margaritas. From my jeans pocket I pulled out a $100 dollar bill and gave it to her.

"My contribution"

While Lula disappeared to go buy the booze I wandered around her new apartment. I recognized some of the things from her old place, videos, books and various knickknacks that were scattered over the shelves. Maybe like me she'd decided that it just wasn't worth trying to salvage any of the furniture. All of my stuff had ended up in the skip or being sent to a charity shop. I'd been so thankful of the help from Joe to get that done. Whereas most folk my age might expect help from their parents I think they decided that me moving wasn't going to be happening, so they never offered to help. Grandma had wanted to move into the building, so I'd given Dillon her details for them to work it out between them. Of course, that hadn't pleased my mother, why I wasn't sure. Perhaps she thought that if she didn't help me then I wouldn't move. My dad, of course, was delighted at the prospect of having his bathroom to himself.

I was still remembering the scenes with my mother when Lula walked back in carrying a heavy bag in one hand and balancing pizza boxes in the other. As we'd eaten our pizza, which was almost as good as Pinos, and then started on the margaritas I'd begun to tell Lula everything that had happened to me. Okay, so I was vague about Jonas and the guys and exactly where we were located, and I'd changed some of the names of the people involved. I wasn't sure why I did that, habit probably. It wasn't that I was hiding exactly, it was more the idea of moving on to somewhere that was totally unrelated to anyone from Trenton.

I was definitely feeling relaxed so lay down on the couch to get more comfortable. I groaned as something dug into my hip thinking that maybe it wasn't as healed as I'd thought, so gently rubbed it. That was when I remembered that I'd put the money in my pocket after I'd handed some over to Lula. Pulling it out relieved the pressure on my hip so I tossed the money onto the coffee table.

"That the money that you er, found?"

I'm sure that I sighed because whilst the money had been extremely useful, I hated the idea of stealing it from a dead man.

"Wow. He was carrying a lot of cash"

Lula picked up the notes and straightened them out as though she was about to count out how much was there.

"This here is one fancy clip. Looks silver to me"

I hadn't taken much notice of the clip, instead I'd only ever pulled notes out when I needed them. Looking over to Lula she was now totally focused on looking at the clip.

"Keep it if you like it. I feel bad enough taking the money"

"Hey, cut that out. He was, in your words, a scumbag. He didn't care what was going to be happening to you or the other girls. Besides he has no use for it now"

I suppose she had a point, and that cash would come in handy seeing as I had absolutely nothing. Finishing the drink in my glass I started to think of things that I might need.

"How much Lula?"

Seeing as that might limit my spending.

"3 large ones plus a few hundred"

Mmm, more than I thought. So now what?

"You know what's a real bummer in all of this?"

Everything, went through my mind. How could Lula think that there was just one part of my life that was a bummer. Hell, I'd thought that I'd managed to salvage something and then everything had seemed to fall apart. A new job, new friends, new location and new challenges. All of which were in pieces now.

"I can't believe that Batman went and dumped you. That man was hot for you"

Trust Lula to bring up the subject of Ranger. She'd known that he'd been distant, not really visible around town, but the first thing that she'd said to me when I'd gone through my whole sordid story was that I needed to talk to Ranger. He'd know what to do. He probably would, but I wouldn't be asking him. Of course that meant that I'd had to describe in detail my reason, which entailed seeing him with that bimbo at the airport. Lula went quiet after that and I was lost in thought, remembering the many interactions that I'd had with Ranger.

A second drink turned into, maybe four or five, and my mood became more depressed. I had honestly thought that Ranger and I were good friends, well more when you consider how often he would try to seduce me. I'd trusted him, hell, even put myself in danger for him. Yeah, that whole Scrogg incident coming to mind. He'd walked into my apartment unarmed ready to die to save Julie and me. Was I so blind that I'd convinced myself that he was there to save me as well or was I just deluding myself? No, I honestly believed that Ranger was serious about keeping me safe. The trackers in my cars and bag indicated that he felt very protective of me. Hell, whenever my car was involved in an incident then he'd call me or turn up to make sure that I was okay. He'd been so supportive when I had to find that coin in order to get Connie back. So what had happened?

I sighed as I realized there was no point in trying to rationalize what couldn't be changed. He'd moved on as well.

Was I awake or in a living hell? My head felt like it had minions jumping around inside. Thumping might be a better description. Moving didn't seem like a good idea but I knew that I needed the bathroom. Squinting my eyes open I recognized that I was in Lula's living area but at least the drapes were closed so it wasn't bright enough to inflict pain on my eyes. Okay, maybe I wasn't as bad as I thought, as I slowly pushed myself up into a sitting position. At least my stomach didn't feel as if it was going to revolt. Getting to my feet did have me feeling very unsteady as though I was drunk. Pfft, I was still drunk so why was I so surprised. I'd drunk far more margaritas than I should have. I couldn't face the idea of showering because staying upright felt like that it could be hard work. Instead, I splashed cold water onto my face before using the toilet. A second dunking had me feeling slightly better before I dried my face and headed back into the living area. Something had changed. The drapes were open letting in more light and the doors that led to the kitchen were open.

"You look like shit. Here"

I took the coffee and tablets from Lula's outstretched hand and then sat down. Geez, why was Lula up so early?

"You sure slept for long enough. I was debating whether to wake you up"

Looking over the brim of my mug I looked at the clock on the wall totally surprised that it was telling me that it was gone midday. Lula sat down in the chair with her own coffee, and only then did I realize that she was dressed in her business attire.

"Sorry"

For having slept so long and probably interfering with Lula's job.

"It gave me time to get ready for my sales party this afternoon. I also did a bit of asking around on that money clip"

Money clip? Why would Lula ask around about that?

"I took it to Faris down the street. He has the pawn shop on the corner. Old critter weren't too pleased to be seeing that clip. Said that he wouldn't touch it even though I'd never asked to pawn it"

Okay, that had me frowning. What was wrong with the clip, why was Faris afraid of it?

"Go on, Lula. Did he say why?"

Yeah, maybe it was the coffee that had finally been absorbed into my blood and delivered to my brain or maybe I was just too curious, but what Lula had said perked me up.

"Faris, well he told me the clip was bad news. The inscription on the inside, it says that it was a token of gratitude"

Okay, I had no idea what Lula was talking about or why the inscription was so important.

"White Girl, it was in a foreign language. Udziačnasć, means gratitude and it's Belarusian. He says the crest is from an old family and not a nice family. Sakoka"

I tried to make sense of what Lula was saying. Had scumbag been given that money clip by his boss? Did that mean that I had a lead on who I might be dealing with?

"Lula did he say what this family were about?"

I mean saying that the family weren't nice covered a multitude of possibilities.

"Nope. Just said to throw it in the trash and forget about it. He seemed awfully nervous if you ask me. As though someone would be real pissed off if they knew we had it"

Which meant that it could really be important to find out more about that name. The question was how I could do that. It didn't sound good to be asking people even if I knew who to ask. In my head I was going through how else I could find out more about that name and family.

"Lula. Does this pawn shop sell descent laptops?"

I saw the look that she gave me and then watched as she huffed before getting to her feet and leaving the room. I was a bit flummoxed that what I'd asked would have that reaction from her. Then she was back in the room, placing a laptop down on the coffee table in front of me.

"It came as a perk of the job, so don't go messing it up. I have to use it to order my stock in"

Wow, Lula had changed since I'd last seen her. It seemed that it wasn't just me who had grown up. In a way it was sad not to have the old Lula, the woman who was larger than life and had an attitude. She seemed to have adjusted to being normal. Whatever that meant. I knew that I couldn't impose on her for much longer because I didn't want to draw her into the shit that I seemed to have landed myself in.

Lula left not long after with instructions for what was available in the fridge and the promise of a meal for dinner. It looked like I'd be handing over some more cash to her, not that she'd asked for anymore. After making myself a cheese sandwich and refilling my coffee I sat down with the laptop open deciding what to input into Google. How I wished that I had access to some of the search engines at Rangeman or even had the nerve to call and ask if anyone knew of the name I was looking at.

I trawled through various searches that came up. Sure that the Saroka who was an executive director at the port of Los Angeles wasn't who I was interested in. Neither did I think that Saroka was a musician. It was on the second page that a synopsis caught my attention, so I clicked into that. It was a headline from a newspaper article that dated back four years detailing the death of a man named Sergey Saroka who had lived in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. According to what I was reading there had been a home invasion on the mansion that Saroka owned and lived in that resulted in the death of a few of his guards and him. What caught my attention was statement that the people responsible for the attack had been from a rival family.

Now when I heard mention of family in that context my mind immediately went to a phrase used to describe mafia families. That was the name used to describe men like Grizoli, Bertani and Ramos in Trenton, who traded in illegal and threatening activities. The last sentence that was written was interesting though, because according to the journalist Saroka's children were not in the country. I needed to find out more but any name that I input into the laptop came up blank. There was only one way to delve deeper that I could think of. I needed to talk to the journalist who had written the article.

I used my burn phone to call the newspaper hoping to be able to talk to Eric Dougan.

"Good after, Philadelphia Daily News, how may I help you?"

Now to see if the polite male voice on the other end of the phone could put me through to Eric Dougan.

"Hi. I'd like to talk to Eric Dougan please"

"I'm sorry but Mr Dougan no longer works here"

That was not the response that I expected but knowing I needed to locate the man I continued with the questions.

"Do you know who he works for now?"

"I'm sure I don't. He hasn't worked here for nearly four years now. I think that he retired"

Was it a coincidence that Dougan had retired not long after he'd written that article, probably not. Dougan would be responsible for a lot of headlines in the paper. Think of something, and quick, I told myself.

"Oh, I didn't realize that. It is a personal call and I really needed to speak to him. Any chance that you can give me his number or even an address"

I wasn't hopeful after asking that because I knew how important it was to keep information like that confidential.

"Sorry, no can do. Maybe he still hangs around the diner on Broad Street. I know he always said that it was his favorite place for breakfast before he came into work"

The phone went dead before I could even thank the guy but at least I had somewhere to start looking. I knew that I didn't want to involve Lula any more than I already had so I had to work out what I would need to buy in order to be self sufficient. At the top of my list was transport, though not having a driving license could cause a problem. A car might be difficult to buy, and I needed something that was reliable. A motorbike came to mind. They were fast and maneuverable and with cycle clothes and a helmet I wouldn't be recognizable. Would Lula know where I could buy one from?

"A motorbike, you want to buy a motorbike?"

Seemed that Lula wasn't too impressed with what I'd asked her. I nodded my head as I forked out another mouthful of noodles from the box.

"I hate motorbikes. Those helmets don't do nothing for my hair, and I always feel off balance"

I'd had Lula ride pillion a few times before, but she hadn't complained like this. Okay, maybe about having to wear a helmet and what it would do her hair. The thing was that I didn't want Lula coming with me anywhere but neither did I want her to be annoyed with me.

"Lula, maybe it's better if I go on my own. That way you won't have to worry about missing doing something for work"

"No, no. You aint doing that to me. Look at me"

Okay, I was looking at her. She was looking as she had done when she'd picked me up from the station. Hair straight and flat, dressed in a business suit.

"Lula, you look so sophisticated, so grown up"

"You what? I hate this. Look at me. This aint who I am. I hate being all grown up. I hate schmoozing up to a load of uptight woman who don't know the first thing about how to look good. I miss us and what we did"

Tears were flowing down her cheeks as she finished talking making me feel crap. Instead of saying anything more she was out of the door, and I heard her bedroom door slam shut. I had no idea what I should do. Go comfort her or leave her to calm down. In my own head I'd always thought that the places that my friends had moved on to were what they wanted, what they enjoyed. Had I been so wrapped up in myself that I hadn't bothered to take a good at them? Was Mary Lou happy in Pittsburg or Connie working for her family? I knew that Joe was happy with his life but then he hadn't had to change anything.

I was brought out of my thinking by Lula walking back into the room. Seeing her now had a big smile cross my face. She had on bright pink leggings that were so tight I could see the lines from her briefs. To compliment the leggings was a lycra off the shoulder top that was so tight that her boobs looked in danger of popping out of the top. To match her bright, blue top her head was covered in a frizz of black hair that had blue highlights running through it.

"Do I look badass enough now?"

I didn't know what to say. Yes I did. She had a job that paid the bills. How was being with me going to achieve that?

"I swapped some of my parties around and told my bosses that I was taking some vacation time. You have me helping you for two weeks, White Girl"

I had to concede that I'd lost the battle to Lula. Looking at her face I was seeing the Lula that I used to know, that used to partner me whatever trouble I got myself into. All I can say is that Lula has skills that I would never have so maybe together we could complement each other and try to keep ourselves out of trouble.