“Did you say fall in love?”
“Yes, damn it.” She looked at him. “I don’t commit easily, Gar. Guess I’m just a sucker for a man in uniform.”
“I haven’t worn my uniform since I got here. It was part of the deal I made with Tuttle. Easier to blend in right off the bat.”
“Oh, shut up and kiss me.”
Which was precisely what they were doing when the girls came inside.
“Uh-oh,” said Lila. “Boy-girl stuff happening.” She cocked her head to one side. “Pay attention, Ayesha. This just might be the real thing. It can be hard to tell, though.”
Ayesha smiled shyly. “My mom and dad never do that,” she said.
Garrett squeezed Sarah’s hand. “I’m out of here while I’m ahead of the game. You girls can talk all you want about boy-girl stuff after I’m gone.”
* * *
Coast Guardsman Tom Whitman appeared with Lonnie at eight o’clock outside the main gate of the Halifax Public Gardens. Tom had three solo kayaks in the back of his pickup, including one with an open cockpit. With Lonnie sitting in the cab, there was no room for Garrett in the front seat, so he followed them in his own car to Lake Micmac.
They passed the private dock where the men from Madame Liu’s had set out and drove another mile down the road to a public launch site.
The lake was a popular place for small boaters, and while it was a bit unusual for people to head out this late in the evening, there were still a few cars in the lot. By the time they approached the island, it was completely dark, with just a sliver of moon to navigate by.
But light wasn’t going to be their problem. One entire end of the island consisted of an extensive compound that was lit up like Piccadilly Circus on New Year’s Eve.
“I can’t believe this,” said Tom, as they floated side by side fifty yards offshore. “It looks like the Playboy Mansion on steroids. Tennis courts, swimming pool, some sort of gazebo thing over there. That really big structure could be a gymnasium, for God’s sake. There must be fifteen buildings.”
“Keep your voice down,” said Garrett. “It carries over the water.” But he had to admit he was equally impressed with the extent of the grounds. The sheer size of the place was going to make it difficult to investigate thoroughly. And the bright lights were no help either.
They could hear voices and music coming from one of the buildings near shore. As they watched, two men came out a door, followed by several girls. The men were obviously drunk, and they pushed and pawed at the girls as they made their way to a smaller bungalow.
“The honeymoon suite,” said Lonnie, but there was an edge to his voice.
“Come on,” Garrett said. “We’ll go round the back side and land.”
On the dark side of the island, they pulled the boats out of the water and hid them in the brush. Lonnie led the way. In Iraq, he’d always been the best at sneaking up on the enemy, a not inconsiderable feat given his size. He could move through the woods like a Passamaquoddy hunter. They circled the compound, then crawled up behind a long, low bungalow that was dimly lit. Once they were in place, Garrett crouched at a window that had heavy bars on it and peered inside.
“What do you see?” Tom asked.
“It’s empty. But it’s kind of strange. There’s probably thirty beds lined up in there.”
“Maybe it
is
a resort.”
“A high-class place like this is going to have first-class rooms, not dormitory-style sleeping arrangements—with iron bars on the windows to boot.”
“Maybe it’s for the help,” said Lonnie. “Especially if they’re illegals.”
“I might believe that if I hadn’t seen what went on between Madame Liu and the men we followed here.” Garrett peered inside again. “I’m getting an idea about this place. Come on. I want to get a look inside the main building.”
“Are you nuts?” said Tom. “This place is lit up like Yankee Stadium. We can’t get close without being seen.”
“Actually, the compound’s been empty,” said Garrett. “Aside from those two men and the girls, I haven’t seen another soul. Come on.”
Before the others could object, Garrett raced across the central courtyard. With a muttered curse, Tom followed, while Lonnie brought up the rear like an oversize caboose. They ducked behind a row of shrubs beside the building, then cautiously raised their heads until they could see inside.
Garrett stared in amazement. Inside was a large central fireplace, crackling with logs despite the warm evening. Sitting in chairs facing the flames was the man they’d followed from Madame Liu’s and beside him, big as life and actually wearing clothes for a change, was Lloyd.
There was a sudden cracking sound as someone stepped on a branch and Garrett felt the cold barrel of a pistol against his neck. He started to raise his hands, seeing that Tom already had his up. Lonnie was nowhere to be seen.
“Well, what have we got here?” the man said. “Couple of Peeping Toms—or maybe something worse. Step out here in the light.” As Garrett started to comply, he caught a flash of movement in the corner of his eye and almost faster than he could see, Lonnie had disarmed the man and laid him out flat with a single blow to the back of the neck.
“Remind me to ask how you do that sometime,” said Garrett, staring at the man.
“What do we do with him?” said Lonnie.
“Leave him. I’ve seen enough to have a pretty good idea what this place is used for.”
Tom stared at him. “You wouldn’t care to share it with the rest of us, would you?”
“My guess is this is a central clearing house for new girls from out of the country. That’s why the dormitory. They keep them locked in there, while they ‘condition’ them.”
“Condition them?” Lonnie asked. He had a funny look in his eyes.
“It’s why the rest of the place looks like a Playboy club. They bring high-paying clientele in to help with the processing. I bet it’s a pretty popular corporate getaway weekend. Boating, tennis, lounging by the pool and, oh yeah, all the freebies you could ask for.”
Lonnie’s face was still. He had an aversion to perversion. It was unusual for someone in his profession, but he had a moral streak a mile wide, instilled by his grandmother, who had raised him. “I say we take the place down,” he said.
“How the hell do we do that?” asked Tom.
“Burn it to the ground,” Lonnie replied without hesitation.
Garrett was tempted to agree with him. But he had the sense they’d just started to pull at a thread of something that might be whole a lot bigger.
“It’s an idea, all right,” he said. “But let’s find out more before we go off half-cocked. I want to see where all of this leads. We’ve got Lloyd connected, and I’m going to be quite interested to see how he explains his presence here.”
18
B
Y THE TIME GARRETT GOT
back to Misery Bay, it was already morning, a windy, gray Nova Scotia day. He wondered if the remnants of the hurricane Sarah had mentioned might be moving in. The sky was angry and low, which was how he felt after mulling over the professional setup they’d uncovered, designed solely for the purpose of exploiting young girls. He wondered, too, if this whole situation was precisely what Tuttle had in mind as a way of keeping him on the job.
Well, it wasn’t going to work. Straightening things out here, if possible, would be his last official duty. Then he’d be ready for retirement and maybe something else new, with Sarah.
He pulled into Sarah’s just after nine a.m. There was a strange car in the driveway. As he went up to the door, it opened and Sarah emerged with Kitty Wells in tow, holding onto her dress to keep it from blowing up.
“I’ve been having a nice talk with your partner,” said Sarah, smiling sweetly at him.
“My who?”
“Well, Garrett, we are going to be working together.” Kitty came over and put her free hand through his arm and walked him toward her car.
“Look, Miss Wells, we are
not
working together. I said I’d give you any information that I thought could be released. So far there isn’t any.”
“Oh, that’s okay, Garrett,” she oozed, giving him a little squeeze. “I’m just working on background. You might be surprised what I uncover. It could be helpful to you. Anyway, I’m off now to meet the people at Ecum Secum. Find out what’s what over there. See you all later.”
She climbed into the car, letting go of her skirt, which the wind compliantly picked up, exposing a generous portion of thigh. It was an action for the benefit of Sarah, he suspected, as much as himself. He watched her drive off as a way not to look at Sarah for as long as possible.
“What a
charming
girl,” Sarah said. “She’s been telling me all about how closely you two are working. Practically in bed together.”
He grimaced. “Look, I only met her yesterday. She wants to kick-start her national career with the killings here. It was probably a mistake to tell her I’d give her what I could. But sometimes it helps to have someone in the press funnel the right stuff to the media.”
“Well, and isn’t she the perfect choice?”
He detected a need to change the subject. “How did she get on to Ecum Secum, anyway?”
“She saw the sign on her drive down. ‘Troubled Youth’ is apparently code to reporters that stands for ‘News at Eleven.’ She asked me about it and …” She looked sheepish. “I’m afraid I told her what I knew about the place.”
“Well, maybe it will keep her occupied. I can’t really see Lloyd spending too much time explaining his operation to a reporter.”
“Oh, I don’t know. From what you told me, she’s exactly his type. I don’t think there’s much she wouldn’t do to get a story from someone—including you.”
“You’ve got that right. She practically invited herself to move in with me.”
“And you turned her down?” She leaned in, the wind blowing her hair about her face and kissed him on the mouth. “There might be hope for you yet.”
“I didn’t exactly turn her down. It was more like my two-seater of an outhouse that gave her pause.” He looked around. “Where are the girls?”
“They walked into town to buy some ice cream. Thank God. It might have really been a mess if Kitty had got hold of them.” She looked at the sky. “I hope they don’t get rained on.”
“Well, thanks for small favors. How about inviting me in out of the weather?”
“Tea?”
“I was thinking of something a bit stronger.”
“Why Mr. Barkhouse, it’s not even ten in the morning!”
“It was a long night. Give me a drink and I’ll tell you about it.”
Inside, he relaxed on the couch with a glass of Glen Breton and told her about what they’d found on Micmac Island.
Her eyes grew wide. “Can’t you close the place down?”
“It’s a possibility. But it’s not against the law to have a ritzy resort or even a building with bars on the windows. We have to catch them in the act.”
“Sounds like you did just that. Didn’t you say there were men and young girls?”
He sighed. “Yes, but we didn’t really witness anything except them walking in the compound. Besides, I think it might be better to keep an eye on the place for a while, see what turns up.”
“Evidently Lloyd turned up.”
“That was interesting, all right. I hardly think he was there to do research on prostitution, so he could better relate to his own girls.”
She frowned, and he could see the wheels turning behind those freckles. “Do you get the sense you might be onto something bigger than you expected?”
“Crossed my mind a time or two.” He put his glass down. “But this isn’t the first time I thought I might be close to breaking a major prostitution ring that didn’t pan out. You can’t begin to know how good these people are at covering themselves. Part of it is that they can be very well connected politically. Lots of money, top-notch legal assistance, and sexual favors to boot. That can buy a lot of protection.” He stood up. “You know, I think I’m going to tag along after our Miss Wells. I want to confront Lloyd anyway, and it just might be interesting to see his reaction to a reporter snooping around.”
* * *
He was about forty minutes behind Kitty when he turned into Ecum Secum Haven. He parked the car, wondering where she was, since her vehicle wasn’t in the lot. Maybe Lloyd had given her a quick boot. The sky had turned an interesting shade of purple with mackerel clouds blowing high overhead. Still, it hadn’t rained and the wind at ground level was sporadic.
In contrast to his last visit, this time there were kids sitting around on the deck of the main house, relaxing and jamming, with one of the boys playing a guitar. They also appeared to be drinking. It wasn’t clear what was in their glasses, but the mood of levity suggested something stronger than carrot juice. Lloyd was nowhere to be seen.
As he approached the porch, his suspicions were reinforced as several of the kids slid glasses out of sight. This hardly seemed the atmosphere Lloyd said he tried to promote.
The guitar player stopped when Garrett climbed onto the deck.
“Hi guys,” he said, trying not to sound like a cop. “I’m looking for Lloyd. He around?”
The guitar player said, “Lloyd’s not around.” He raised his glass casually in a mock salute. “While the cat’s away …”
“While the asshole’s away,” said a thin girl of perhaps fourteen. Several others laughed.
As a detective of some twenty years’ experience, Garrett perceived a possible opening.
“You mind if I ask you all some questions? I’ll be honest with you. I’m a cop, but I’m not interested in you personally. I’d like to know more about Ecum Secum Haven. What do you think of the program here?”
The guitar player snorted. “I’ve been in reform school,” he said. “Twice. This is worse.”
“How so?” Garrett sat casually on the steps. Just one of the guys. “Seems like a pretty nice place.”
“Lloyd’s a prick,” said the thin girl. “Thinks he owns us. It’s a real power trip for him. He prances around with no clothes on half the time.”
“No clothes at all?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” said the guitar player. “He says he’s a naturist, or something. But he likes us to see his body. He sunbathes naked on the porch while we have to work in the garden in the front yard.”