Page 71 of Tony

“You don’t have any family here?” Betina asked. The two others must have indicated they did not, because Betina continued. “I was like you too. Came into town not knowing anyone and was on the streets in no time. Costs a ton of money to rent an apartment. And food? Totally outrageous.”

“So how’d you make it,” another girl’s voice asked.

“Finally met a great guy who runs a grocery. He likes to hire teens because it helps them and keeps his costs down too. Plus, I get some food every day and he’ll help find you roommates to share an apartment with.”

“How lucky you are,” came another female voice. “You think he’s looking for more help?”

“He’s always looking,” Betina answered. “I hear he’s opening a club and he’ll need help there as well. How old are you?”

“I’m eighteen and she’s sixteen,” was the answer.

“That’s perfect. He’ll train you as a cocktail waitress and you can make a ton of money in tips.”

“What about me?” the younger voice asked.

Sherrie heard a hesitation in Betina’s response. Leaning closer to the end of the row of lockers, she strained to hear.

“He’ll…take care of you too. He’s got…um…different jobs he can give for… um…different stuff.”

“Well, we just got off the bus with nowhere to go. How do we get in touch with him?”

“I’ve got a card with the grocery’s address on it. You can stop by there anytime and if he’s not there, just ask for the assistant manager, Juan.”

“What about now? Can you show us?”

Sherrie heard the soft sigh coming from Betina.What is she doing? It’s like she’s recruiting them for jobs. There’s no way Hernando can take all of these kids to work. And club? What club?Her mind racing with thoughts, she almost missed the fact that they had walked over to one of the buses. Peeking around the lockers, she saw Betina buy the tickets before handing them to the other two girls. Getting a good look at them now, she could see that the older one had auburn hair pulled into a ponytail with a top-heavy figure showcased in a tight t-shirt. The younger girl had stringy blonde hair and was very slim.

What kind of club is she talking about?Having worked as a cocktail waitress before, Sherrie knew that if it was a slimy place like she had been in, the expectation was that the waitresses would perform any service just like the strippers on stage. Sherrie had resisted, but she was in her early twenties at the time and capable of making her own decisions. These girls? They looked tired, hungry and willing to take what was given.

She quickly got back into her car, now that she knew they were heading to the grocery. Getting there before the city transit, she parked close enough to see what was going on without being intrusive.

She saw when the three girls alighted from the bus and walked to the store. Juan was outside placing new sales signs on the windows when they approached.Damn, I wish I could hear what they are saying.She rolled her window down and strained to hear anything from the conversation.

* * *

Tony’s phone rang and as he glanced at the identification, he saw it came from his surveillance room. “Yeah?”

“Got a visual of Sherrie sitting in her car outside the grocery. That girl she works with is standing outside also with two other girls and a man, not Hernando. She’s not in trouble, but just thought I’d let you know. She’s obviously trying to see what’s going on.” Chuck, the newest hire for Alvarez Security, laughed. “Yeah, she has her window down and is half hanging out of the car trying to listen. I’m not sure her surveillance skills are quite up to your standards, boss.”

“Shit,” Tony said, rubbing his hand over his face. “Keep watching and let me know when she leaves.”

“Got it,” came the affirmative.

Tony sat back in his chair, thoughts of Sherrie filling his mind. Lily walked in to hand him some information on a case and noticed his pensiveness.

“You okay, Tony?” she asked.

Starting to just agree, he hesitated.

“It is work or Sherrie?” she prodded, then smiled. “I know business is good, it must be Sherrie.”

Chuckling, he nodded. “It seems…harder. Or different. I…” He knew he was not making sense, but had difficulty putting into words the emotions swirling around.

Lily sat in the chair across from him and asked, “Tony, were you around much with your first wife?”

“Truthfully? No. I was usually away on duty.”

“So, even though you loved your wife and she must have not minded being alone while you served overseas, you were removed from a lot of the day to day annoyances. You know, like who squeezes the toothpaste from the bottom, kind of stuff.”

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