“You’re going in as a buyer,” I assumed.
He shrugged.“Best way to get access.If they know I’d buy a girl with the intention of breaking her all by my lonesome, then they know I wouldn’t blink an eye at the other shit they do.If I pay well enough, they’d also want me in as a repeat customer.”
I nodded, already picturing the layers of this.The playdates that would involve older victims since Renat was buying an adult.Finding out where the playdates happened and who else was invited.If the auction would be in person rather than online, we’d see who else would be there.
The waitress came by to refill our coffees, giving me a moment to process everything and imagine what other information any of the customers could provide.We needed more than the customers, though.We needed the people organizing this whole thing.Then again, catching one or two associates and a whole bunch of buyers could unravel the entire thing if enough of them talked.
“You’ll be there?”I asked.“When they take her?”
He met my eyes, and for a second the mask slipped.There was something raw underneath—guilt, maybe, or just exhaustion.
“Yes.I’ll pay extra to be there when they grab her.”
Good.Maybe he’d be able to soften it for her.Even if she might not know it at the moment, she’d have one person there on her side.
“And after?”I prompted.
“I take her to a safe house.You bring supplies for the girl if I have to be away, and I check in with you every three days.”
Again, Nadya’s face popped up in my mind’s eye.I had to make sure she was protected while I was working.
Renat pulled a small flip phone out of his jacket and slid it across the table.“This is how you reach me.If you see or hear anything, you call.Nothing else.No texts.No emails.”
He reached into his other pocket, pulled out a business card.The numbers were in pencil, meant to be erased, but the last four digits had already smeared.
“Memorize this and burn it,” he said.Then he was gone, leaving the coffee to cool.
I sat there for five minutes, staring at the woman in the photo.The longer I looked, the more she resembled Nadya.Not in the face—just the raw nerves behind the eyes, the way they both seemed to hold a lifetime of bad news in their sockets.
I left a twenty under the mug, pocketed the flip phone, and stepped out into the parking lot.My bike was exactly where I left it.I kicked it to life, let the engine noise drown out the rest of my thoughts, and took the expressway heading back to Brooklyn.
Fortunately for me, all the traffic was headed in the opposite direction as people left work in the city and returned to suburbia.I made it back in record time, and as I rode through the city, I spotted a small pet store.
You know what?I needed to sprinkle some positivity on my day after the heavy discussion with Renat.
I pulled up and parked the bike, then went into the store that was too damn cheerful with its colorful dog toys, kittens playing in a pan, waiting to be adopted, and an older dog keeping an eye on the rascals.It seemed the local animal shelter had set up shop here.
The staff wore bright blue shirts and looked like they’d never set foot in the city after dark.I ducked my head, made my way to the cat aisle, and grabbed a bag of dry food.Then I added two foldable bowls to my loot and went to the register.
The teen girl at checkout was all smiles and orthodontic hardware, her nails painted to match the shirt.
“You cat has good taste,” the girl commented.
“I hope so.It might be the first time he’d be eating this brand,” I answered.
“Hope he likes it.”
Me too,I thought.Me too.
I had to circle Nadya’s building twice before I found a parking spot, and that was with a compact motorcycle.How did people parkcarsin this place?If I ever decided to move here, I’d have to find a place with dedicated parking.
The building’s side entrance was hidden by overgrown hedges, the kind cats could hide in.I poured a generous scoop of kibble into one of the bowls and filled another with water from my bottle, then sat down to wait.
The sun had dipped behind the roofs, and the only light was the orange glow from the streetlamps, but I stayed put.Finally, I saw a flash of black and white fur dart from under a parked car to the base of the hedge.Took him long enough.If only he had been that slow when stealing food from my bag.
Meatball eyed me, then the bowl, then me again.I kept perfectly still.Cautiously, he circled the bowl, then he sniffed it and attacked the kibble with so much enthusiasm I could hear it from the sidewalk.
“Atta boy,” I murmured.
