“Doesn’t have much to be proud of, does he?”
Jade continued to tap the computer, revealing sports and movie celebrities, state and federal government leaders, a few high-profile ladies getting eaten out by my pop’s sex workers.
“This is dynamite,” she commented. “Worth killing over. Any of these people would suffer should these pictures get out.”
“Let’s take a look at the ledgers.”
Again, the cameras captured clear images of the lists of names, dates, amounts spent. After a time, we sorted the accounting into two files – the payments going out, and those coming in. I added a few in my head, and suspected Arnaud made millions on the blackmailing schemes.
“Look here,” I said, pointing to the list of trafficked women. “He made stupid money here. He smuggled in these gals from Mexico for less than ten grand and sold each for five grand.”
“Here’s a section on dope,” Jade added. “Shipments, dates where they came in, payments to the smugglers, amounts dealers paid him. Stupid money isn’t even that half of what he’s making.”
I met her gaze fully. “You know what this means, Jade. Nothing will stop him from killing us. He’s not stupid, he’ll know we looked at his stash of criminal activities. We’ve just made him desperate. And desperate dragons are the most dangerous kind.”
Jade nibbled her lip, studying the screen. “We don’t have any choice now. We have to get out of here.”
I sat back, dragging my hands through my hair. “Where do we go? Who do we take this to? The feds? The newspapers? Investigative journalists can take all this, open the can of worms for everyone to see.”
Nodding slowly, Jade said slowly, “But do these people in these pictures deserve to have their lives ruined? They had sex for Pete’s sake. That shouldn’t be a crime that forces them to lose everything.”
“They’re having sex with trafficked women,” I reminded her.
“Do they know that?” she snapped. “What if they don’t know these women are being forced against their will? What if they were told these people are hookers? Men have sex with prostitutes all the time, it’s as common as dirt.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. But what’s that compared to our lives? You certainly didn’t ask to get involved in this shit. I didn’t either, but my old man involved me in it.”
Jade saved all the files to the laptop and unplugged the camera. “We can’t risk losing these. We have to hide them.”
I took them from her. “There are plenty of places in the basement.”
After taking a plastic bag from the kitchen, I wrapped the cameras in it, then headed down the rickety steps. The place,while depleted of wood, was dark and filled with shadows. In a corner, I pried up a floorboard, and tucked the small package underneath. I replaced it, then examined it for any evidence that I’d tampered with it. For good measure, I stacked wood atop it, making the corner appear as though the previous residents had begun a new firewood pile before stopping.
Upstairs, I found Jade rolling our sleeping bags up. “Why are we taking them?”
“For a just in case,” she answered. “Dump the cat food on the floor. We may not be back for a while.”
I obeyed, and also filled a couple of bowls with water, suspecting they’d freeze after a time. Stroking the cats as they crunched the chow, I hoped they’d be okay until such time as we might come back. “Stay safe, kids,” I murmured.
I returned to the front room in time to see Jade carrying the bags into the garage. The place seemed empty and forlorn without them, despite the cheery fire on the hearth. While not much of a home, it protected us when we desperately needed it.
Collecting some of the food, as well as the medical supplies into a paper sack, I carried that out to the Jeep. Jade had already collected our spare clothes, setting them in a neat pile on the seat. “Ready?”
“I think so,” Jade answered. “The laptop’s in my backpack. Should we take a minute to discuss where we’re going?”
“We can do that in the car. Grab it, we need to go.”
I don’t know where my need to rush came from. In the Jeep, I started the engine, then opened the garage door. Jade tossed her pack into the rear seat and jumped inside. After I backed the car from the garage, I shut the garage door again.
“Let’s boogey.”
Expecting a snide comment about being retro, I glanced at Jade. She nibbled her lip, watching her side mirror intently as I drove down the street. Just as I turned the corner a fewblocks down, I caught sight of black SUVs driving into the neighborhood.
“Oh, shit,” I muttered. “We left just in time.”
“Will they find the cameras?” Jade asked, watching our rear over her shoulder.
“Not likely. They’ll see we’re gone, then start the chase. Let’s hope they were thinking about the house and not the Jeep that just turned the corner.”
