Dark Vengeance by Kristi Belcamino (electric book reader .txt) 📕

I scrunched my face. “How long?”

She laughed. “With women, much longer than with men.”

“Of course,” I said.

 “But we can do shorter than that,” she said and shrugged.

I was about to answer when she moved in front of me and pressed her body and lips against mine. I drew back.

“Hey, I told you I’m here for information.”

She smiled. “I know. We have time to kill so maybe?”

“I’m flattered, but I’m not interested.”

“Okay,” she said and moved away.

“I have another question for you,” I said, searching her face in the shadows to see how she’d react. “The man who made her that way. They call him X. Do you know him?”

For a second, she acted like she hadn’t heard me, then very slowly she nodded her head. “She is not the first girl he has brought here and thrown away like trash.”

I chewed on the inside of my lip. This guy needed to be stopped.

“Where does he stay when he’s here on Padang?”

The woman shrugged. I held out more money but she waved her hand away.

“I don’t know.”

Then she moved for the door. She opened it wide so I could steer my bike out into the alley. The creepy guy was still standing in the shadows. She followed me out, adjusting her skirt. For good measure, I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek before I hopped on my bike. She smelled like cinnamon.

“Thanks,” I whispered and then started the bike. I winked at the man as I rode past.

The blue house with the brown door was at the end of the street, at the very end, about two miles away.

That part of town was eerily deserted and ramshackle. Not only was trash piled on the street corners, but it also filled the gutters. Most of the street lights were burned out. I knew the sound of my bike was attracting attention, but that’s how it would have to be.

I pulled up onto the sidewalk in front of the house and parked.

As soon as I hopped off the bike, I headed for the back alley. A door and windows were boarded up. I tugged on each board until one easily came off and revealed a door handle. I twisted the handle and the door swung open with all the boards still nailed to it but not the walls of the house. Clever.

The interior of the house was dark so before I stepped inside, I turned on the flashlight on my phone. The entryway was strewn with dirt and trash. I left the door open behind me and began searching the rooms. Most were deserted except for the trash on the floor—food containers mostly and a few shriveled-up clothing items.

The house was only two stories. I headed for the stairs. The first bedroom I came to was filled with bodies. There were probably eight people spread across the floor in different positions, all lying down among a few blankets and clothing items. All strung out. A few groaned, lifting their hands to their eyes to block the light, as I shined my phone’s flashlight on them.

All men. Except one woman who looked old enough to be my grandmother. Or maybe it was just the drugs.

I moved to the next room. This one had four people in it. Three girls and a guy. The guy was cuddled up with a woman who also looked much older. They both reared back from the light, swearing.

There was a girl in the corner and a girl near the door. I moved toward the one in the corner.

“Sorry,” I said to the couple as I walked past. “I’m looking for Joan.”

The guy’s eyes slid to the girl in the corner.

She was sitting up. Crouched. Her huge eyes, emaciated frame and sparse, scraggly hair reminded me of Gollum. Not the pretty girl I’d seen in the photo.

I crouched before her. She was rocking back and forth on her heels.

“Joan?”

She blinked. “Who are you?”

“A friend.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t have friends.”

“Sure, you do.”

“Hey, man,” the guy behind me said. “I don’t know what your game is, but if you think you’re going to pull any funny business, you’re outnumbered here.”

That’s when I realized the other three had stood up and were standing right behind me.

I didn’t turn when I answered.

“I’m here to help. I’m looking for the man who did this to her so I can make sure he never does it to anyone else again.”

Someone behind me laughed.

“You?”

I stood and turned. “He took my daughter. I’m going to find her and make him pay for what he’s done to Joan.”

I met the older girl’s eyes. She nodded.

“You get him,” she said firmly. “And hurt him. Like he’s hurt Joan.”

I smiled. “Don’t worry. He’s going to get his.”

The girl smiled back, a determined, cruel smile. “Good.”

Joan had shrunk even further into the corner. The older girl, who said her name was Zahra, was now beside her, stroking her back. “It’s okay, honey. This woman is here to help.”

“I’m looking for X,” I said. “Where does he stay when he is in Padang?”

As soon as I said his name, Joan began to wail and yank at her hair. Now I knew why she was balding. She pulled out her own hair.

“Go away. Go away. Go away,” she chanted frantically.

I met Zahra’s eyes. She shrugged. “Any mention of him or what happened to her is very upsetting.”

I nodded. “Do you think she knows where he is?”

Zahra frowned. “Maybe. Or maybe I do. One time we went into town to get some food and ended up walking past the Palace Hotel. She was doing fine until we were in front of it and then she looked over and screamed and began to run. I looked over to see what had upset her and the lobby was empty. I think it was the hotel itself.”

“Thank you,” I said, standing. I turned to leave, but couldn’t walk out without trying to do something else. I crouched back down. “Joan? I’d like to