Fragrance of Revenge (9 page)

Chapter
18

I
realized how desperate Stephen was to get this guy out of the picture. I think
we both realized that this was going to continue until he was physically
stopped. I’ve got my one chance to find out who the guy is, and couldn’t blow
it.

Stephen
also made a good point. Since he was being blackmailed about his twin
daughter—the man must have some knowledge about her. He suggested that the man
might be connected to the care facility. Based on the man’s description,
Stephen ruled out that it was the doctor who he is paying behind the scenes.

I now
had the address of the care facility, which I considered progress. The thought
of someone at the care facility blackmailing Stephen has considerable merit.
Chances are the person is not making a large income, and these recent amounts
would add a considerable increase to his annual income.

I headed
back to my apartment to give some thought to how to tackle this investigation
and specifically what to do Sunday night. I also needed to get some rest
knowing that I was going to be up late tomorrow night.

*.*.*

I picked
up the papers Mrs. Abbott left on my stairs. It was almost 9 am, but it felt
more like midnight.

I
glanced at the front page of one of the newspapers and read the introduction to
the story about the body of one of the missing women being found in Venezuela. Yup, that’s where my Mercedes is off to. Reading about the possibility of a
slave-trade gave me immediate concern for Mercedes’ safety.

Then I
thought about her not being alone, and being closely guarded by Ralph. Maybe by
now, he was guarding her much too closely. I saw how her apartment was left,
and it was obvious they had gone to bed together, and showered. However,
Mercedes would have realized if she didn’t clean up her apartment, I would have
noticed what they had done. Her attitude on the phone didn’t sound like she had
left me a message.

I
decided to head back to bed, but wanted to shower first. This time I was going
to take a warm shower and get relaxed to get a good few hours sleep.

I didn’t
remember much about getting in the shower. I was doing things automatically.
The warm water turned cool and I tried to warm it up. However, the ice cold
water reminded me of the nightmare of being held captive by Melanie.

Although
in her own way she said she had fallen in love with me, it was not really love,
but a means to satisfy her appetite for sex. Having kept several men captive at
the same time helped diffuse her craving, but she was still quite adept at
getting my attention.

I felt
the scar on my abdomen. I can remember her cutting me and the look in her eyes
as I thought she was going to do something far more disastrous. Melanie knew
she had my attention, and she got off on the control she had over me. Even
though I tried to will my body not to react to her insistence, she was much too
adept at getting the response she wanted. However, I’m alive and that’s water
under the bridge.

Mercedes
has found a love of my scar, and tries to make light of it. However, she can’t
imagine what it was like to be defenseless, literally to be in the hands of a
madwoman with a knife.

Now to
think there’s a ‘new’ potential Melanie waiting out there, I wanted not to put
myself anywhere close to Alexis. I tried to reason that Alexis had a totally
different childhood and early adult life and couldn’t possibly be the monster
her twin was. I felt a chill across my body and it wasn’t caused by the cold
water.

Alexis
couldn’t possibly be the monster her twin sister was…could she?

Chapter
19

“Paddy,
its Mike. I’m at the office going over some of our investigations. I had a
question to ask you about the Nielsen investigation.”

“Good
morning Mike. You’re in on a holiday weekend…not that I’m surprised, but I
thought you and your family were headed out to the Cape.”

“We
were, but our kids came down with what’s going around. We thought it better to
stick around. I thought I would take the opportunity to clear some things off
my desk. Do you have any plans for the balance of the holiday weekend?”

“No, not
really. We have company coming tonight for dinner and some cards. What did you
want to ask me about the Nielsen investigation?”

“Never
mind…I just found what I was looking for. I’m sorry. I should have just opened
my eyes more.”

“Did you
hear the news about the body found in Venezuela?”

“Yes, I
heard it. It doesn’t look good for the other missing women, does it?”

“You
know Mike, I had my doubts about whether we would ever find those people, but I
think the women are indeed being held as part of the slave-trade. Now that one
was found murdered, I wonder if the others will turn up the same way, or was
this being sent as a warning to the others.”

“I
should call Scott to see if Mercedes is involved.”

“Have
you heard from Scott?”

“Yes, as
a matter of fact, we had some drinks yesterday morning at the pub. He is…never
mind.”

“What
were you going to add?”

“I can’t
say.”

“Is, is
a powerful word. Is he doing something he’s not supposed to be doing?”

“Interesting
you should ask it that way. Okay, without telling you the details, Scott is
about to get himself into another investigation.”

“I
thought we had an understanding that we do the investigations, and he takes
care of the business process side of our business.”

“Yes.”
Mike thought about his response. “He’s caught between respecting a request to
help, and Mercedes strongly requesting he never get involved in any more
investigations.”

“So,
does this involve Stephen Strong?”

“Why did
you mention him?”

“Scott
doesn’t have too many other people that might make a request of him like that.
So, it does involve Stephen?”

“I
didn’t say that.”

“Yes,
but you didn’t need to confirm it. Can we take this over for him?”

“I wish
we could, but I don’t think he will consent to it. I’m going to give it another
shot, but I’m not too confident that he will take our offer to help. We almost
lost Scott twice already. I would hate to see him get in over his head again.”

“Mike,
Scott’s doing some good things for the office, and we owe it to him to keep him
away from things he shouldn’t be involved in. Can we do anything behind the
scenes, if he doesn’t allow us to help?”

Chapter
20

Maybe it
was because she was missing Scott so much, but she was enjoying the police
captain’s obvious interest in her assets. Ralph went off with one of the
central police officers to view some related files on human trafficking.

The
captain confirmed, “Ms. Strong you have come to the right place to learn about
what might have happened to your citizen. Please sit down.” He pointed to a
seat across from his desk in his large office.

She sat
down, but the overhead fan was not doing much to combat the humidity within the
police station or his office. She watched Captain Chavez wipe the sweat on his
brow. “Captain, now that it was confirmed that the body is that of Paula Scott,
we know that she was brought to Venezuela. We’re concerned for the safety of
her sister and that of Ms. Quinlan, along with Mr. Damelio. I would like to
know your thoughts on what happened to her.” She was talking to his eyes, but
they were riveted on her chest.

“I’m
sorry Ms. Strong that our office is so oppressive. The humidity here is hard to
deal with. Can I get you something to drink?”

“No,
that’s not necessary.” She was surprised that he spoke English so well. She
wondered what his background was.

“I
suppose you’re wondering why I speak English so well?”

“Yes, I
was surprised.” She wasn’t surprised that he moved slightly to get a better
view of her legs. She felt it in her best interest to allow him the benefit of
her short skirt.

“I was
educated in the states, and moved back here with my parents who were Venezuelan
citizens. That was about twenty years ago.” He moved even closer to his desk.
He wiped his forehead again, but he was not hiding his interest in her body.

“That’s
very interesting. Where did you live in the states?” She could feel the
perspiration on her chest, and put her thumb in between her two top buttons to
wipe the moisture.

“We
lived in Texas…Houston area to be more exact.”

Mercedes
watched him studying the outline of her black bra. “Very interesting. I need to
ask you for your opinion of what you think is happening with our missing
citizens.” She undid the top button on her yellow shirt, which was starting to
soak up some moisture.

“Well,
you read the report on Ms. Scott. She was found nude and tied up, and she had
been tortured. She was a very pretty woman, just like you.” He let the words
linger, and then added, “The other two women are also young and very
attractive. Maybe we could examine the file together…let’s say this evening at
your hotel?”

“Thank
you Captain Chavez for your offer. However, my boss is here and we have limited
time for our investigation. If I can’t learn anything from talking to you, I’m
sure Mr. Gordon will be talking with other officials. Maybe we need to make
some progress while I’m here.” She crossed and uncrossed her legs on purpose,
hoping to entice him to spend more time now with her.

He
smiled and didn’t immediately reply, but his eyes did. “Yes, why don’t we spend
a few more minutes?” He got up and came around to her side of the desk and
seated himself closer to her.

It was
so obvious that it caused her to smile. “Thank you Captain.”

He
resumed talking, but she knew he was obviously enjoying a closer look at her
body, or what he could imagine she looked like under her slightly wet clothes.

“Although
there is no actual evidence that Ms. Scott was connected to what is happening
here in Venezuela, my thoughts are this.”

She
watched him take a deep breath and she was glad she had put on additional
perfume before they left the hotel. The scent of Gardenia works many wonders.
She thought of Scott and how she would like to be with him at this moment.

“Young
women are being kidnapped and held as part of the slave trade here in our
country. Young attractive white females are very much in demand. Countries such
as Saudi Arabia and Yemen pay a large sum of money for such women. Pirates
operate in the Caribbean area and when they find a vessel alone on the sea,
they commandeer it, usually kill off any men aboard and rape the women
continually until they’re brought ashore.”

She
acknowledged, “Yes, the ‘Import-ant’ was last seen in Bermuda with Mr. Damelio
and the three women. They would have been in the Caribbean, and could have
encountered pirate activity.”

“I think
it would be certain that they did. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the
pirates have eyes in Bermuda and ports in the Bahamas and other places, making
note of interesting targets leaving port. I don’t see a ring on your finger,
are you not engaged?”

“No, I’m
not.”

“American
men must be so behind the times, that they allow someone of your beauty to
remain
free.”

She
noticed how he mouthed the word while licking his lips. “Thank you again,
Captain. I noticed how interested you are in my…presence.”

“Perhaps
I can show you some of the possible places where these women might be held
against their will.”

She felt
her skin crawl, and knew he was just looking for an opportunity to get his
hands on her body. “Perhaps those locations were overlooked in your original
investigations?” She noticed his expression change. “I would like to see where
you are considering, but I would like my partner to accompany me.”

“I see.”
He sat back and altered his view slightly. “What we think happens when the
women are brought into the country, is that they are forced to sign some false
paperwork showing they owe a large debt. Maybe for their rescue.” He smiled.
“The debt is so large that in order to pay for it, they are forced into being a
‘domestic servant’ and as such are paid for their sexual services to their new
owner, and possibly a much larger circle of friends. It’s not a pretty picture,
but when they tire of them, they are sold to those foreign countries, which
could care less about how they were treated.”

“That
does sound like a solid scenario.”

“The ones
who manage to avoid the local forced labor, shall we say, command an even
higher price. I’m sure you can appreciate unspoiled goods, versus abused ones.
I’m not sure why Ms. Scott was tortured, but maybe that is how the owner made
his money, or got his kicks…or both.”

She
noticed how he was perspiring, and wanted to wipe the moisture forming again on
her neck, but resisted the temptation.

“Ms.
Strong, I must admit that you yourself are quite the beauty, and we don’t see
many redheads around these parts. You really should utilize our services while
you are in this country, as there are many men who would pay a hefty amount for
you.”

“Thank
you Captain Chavez for the compliment.” However, he was insinuating she whore
herself.

There
was a knock on the door. The captain got up to open it, and looked like he had
a pistol in his pants pocket. He didn’t try to conceal the affect she had on
him. When he opened the office door, Ralph was standing there with another
officer.

“Are you
ready Agent Strong?” Ralph asked.

“Yes.”
She got up and let the skirt slip to a more proper place. She held out her hand
to the captain. “Thank you for your insight, and we will be talking further.”
He shook her hand and then held it with his other.

“Once
more Agent Strong, I urge you to consider our services, and protection, while
you are doing your investigation. I’m sure your group is on someone’s radar at
the moment. Please let me know if I can be of any service to you. Regardless,
be very careful where you go, and don’t go anywhere alone.”