Page 10 of The Perfect Escape
“Prepare for what, Helga?”
“To leave for the arrangement Mr. Salko has made. Mr. Salko wanted to make sure you looked your best. That is why I am here. I am to help you.”
“Where is he going to take me, Helga?”
“Mr. Salko never tells us where. He only tells us when arrangements have been made.”
If I hadn’t already spilled everything from my stomach, I would have thrown up. No wonder Rui hadn’t touched me. There was only one reason the previous women he brought to the mansion never returned from his so-called arrangement. They were merchandise. I was his merchandise and that was the reason he abstained from touching me. It was clear. The way Helga looked when I opened the door confirmed his intention. Just like the other women, she was a prisoner with nowhere to go. She probably felt like there was no other choice but to live with the torture Rui had put her through.
I was an excellent judge of people’s expressions and could tell whether they were lying or telling the truth. Taking Helga by the hand, I focused on her face. I asked the one question I hoped I wouldn’t later regret. “If you had the chance to leave the mansion and be free of Mr. Salko, would you try to escape?”
There was no hesitation as her lips trembled with fear. “Yes.”
I wasn’t ready to tell Helga of my plan or the fact that I had contacted Kenzi. I couldn’t risk her telling Rui that I had a phone. Although her actions seemed sincere, I needed to wait a little longer to tell her of my plan. I had to be sure that she wouldn’t run to Rui with the information I shared with her. “I can only tell you, don’t give up hope.”
Smiling, she squeezed my hand and walked away from me to the bedroom. “We better get you ready.”
I watched Helga walk inside the closet. Whatever she chose for me wouldn’t make a rat’s ass bit of difference. Soon Davian would rescue me from this place, and also Helga. Hell would have to freeze over before I would ever agree to Rui’s business exchange.
I stood just outside the closet doorway while Helga slid the hangers over one by one until she found the perfect outfit. Facing me, she held it up for me to inspect. “I think this will look quite nice on you.”
I walked over to her and took the dress and placed it back on the rack. “What I am wearing is fine. There is no way I am going to allow Rui to sell me.”
“Please, Reyna, you must do as he asked.”
That was the first time Helga had ever addressed me by using my first name. “What difference does it make how I look? I will not allow Rui to use me as merchandise.”
“Because if you don’t, he will make my life here unbearable.”
Helga reached for the floral dress and handed it to me with shaky hands. She was afraid and falling victim to Rui’s discipline. I feared she would receive the worst of it if I didn’t do as she asked. Hesitantly, I took the dress from her hand. With one last-ditch effort, I asked, “What would it take for me to stay here instead of leaving the mansion?”
~7~
Davian
Heading out to Suches Loop ended up being a dead end. Too many years had passed, and whatever remained of Louise’s so-called accident was long gone. Still, I had to wonder what Curtis meant by the letter being a fake. Musing while pulling my email up from my phone, I knew I missed something, and the letter was the key to everything. It was possibly the only way to find out where Salko had taken Reyna.
Hitting the attachment that Patton sent me in the email, I opened it up and waited for it to load. When the letter appeared, I reread it. One sentence stuck out.“Never look back, only forward. Your pot of gold will be waiting for you to take.”If the letter was a fake, as Curtis confessed, then why include this phrase?
Another visit with Curtis was in order. Patton’s eyes were on the road, but I could tell that he was wondering what was going through my head. Glancing my way, he asked, “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“I think Curtis is a fucking liar. There is no way this letter can be fake. I was going to let it slide, but I think it’s time he tells us the truth.”
Patton was an open book. The way he shook his head exhibited his annoyance. “Care to elaborate?”
“It’s just a hunch, but I think Curtis did more than take Louise from Rui. I think he took something more valuable than his precious wife.”
“And you got all of that from the letter?”
Maybe I was reaching, but there was only one way to find out. “We’ll soon find out.”
Patton parked in front of the house, and we both got out. The blue truck parked across the street in front of Reyna’s childhood home was gone. We hadn’t heard from Axe on the plate either. There was no way of knowing whether or not the truck belonged to Curtis. When we reached the front door, I knew something was off. Even though it was a quiet subdivision in a small town, and most residents kept to themselves with their only worry being to keep their lawns groomed and their flowers watered, leaving a door wide open didn’t sit well with me.
Since I was unarmed, Patton took the lead. Pulling his gun from his holster, he entered the house first. The inside wasn’t the same as when we previously arrived. Whoever paid them a visit sliced the furniture with a knife and pulled the stuffing out. It appeared they were looking for something and didn’t care what they destroyed to find it. As we headed upstairs, it was the same scene. All the rooms were taken apart—the mattresses sliced just like the furniture in the living room. Looking at the empty drawers that were still hanging open, it appeared that Louise and Curtis left in a hurry. There were no clothes inside or scattered around.
Digging my phone out of my pocket, I searched my contacts for Curtis’s number. I had added it from Margaret’s phone. After the fourth ring, the call went to voice mail. Instead of trying again, I sent him a quick text.Where the fuck are you?
Only one other person would know where Curtis would go, and that was Margaret. She proved to be a resourceful woman, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she figured out a way to get in touch with him even without her cell phone. Margaret Curtis was worth visiting before we headed back to the warehouse.
