“Where have you been? I haven’t heard from you in too long.” She ran her palms over his shoulders and down his arms, patting them. As if just noticing me, she jumped and gasped. “Oh, hello. Who are you?”
“Mom, this is Jayce.”
I smiled charmingly. “Good morning, Mrs. Demchenko. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I’d laid my accent on thick because women always seemed to eat it up.
“Oh.” She chuckled. “You’re British.”
“Yes, ma’am, I am.”
River rolled his eyes. “Is Dad home? We need his help.”
She turned her curious gaze back on him and gestured for us to come inside. “He’s in the shed out back. It’s his day off and he’s working on fixing that swing in the backyard. I told him to do it months ago, but he finally decided to do it now.” She shook her head. “You know how your father gets.”
River snorted, so I assumed that was a yes. She led us through a modest hallway filled with family photos, and I tried to stop at one I thought might have been a school picture of River, but he grabbed my wrist, tugging me along. We went through the kitchen and onward, out the back screen door and into a rich green backyard decorated with more fall flowers. Mrs. Demchenko walked to the metal toolshed in the corner, and River dragged me along until a man who looked like an older version of him stumbled out cursing.
“Ivan! We have a visitor.” Mrs. Demchenko sent me an apologetic glance, and I shook my head to let her know it was fine. I’d heard a lot worse, especially as a cop.
Ivan, as she’d called him, glanced up from where he was trying to unwind some rope, and grunted at River before he turned his blue eyes to me. “Who the hell are you?”
“Ivan!” Mrs. Demchenko glared at him and moved swiftly, slapping him on the arm. “This is Jayce.”
Ivan grunted again. “And who is he?”
“Well, he’s….” She frowned and then looked at me. “Who are you, honey?”
I laughed. “I’m a friend of River’s, ma’am.”
Ivan’s bushy gray eyebrows rose. “British, huh?”
“Yes, Mr. Demchenko, I am.” I stepped forward and held out my hand to him. After a tense few seconds he took it and we shook. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“Cut the crap,” River interjected. “Dad, we need your help.”
His father dropped the rope onto the grass and crossed his arms. He wore a plain gray T-shirt and black shorts, nothing like I’d imagined River’s father wearing, but he had warned me his father was salt of the earth, and here was the proof. I didn’t know how old he was, but he looked good for someone who could have fathered River. “And why do you need help from an old man like me?”
“Because you can speak Russian.” River mimicked his father with the folded arms, and I held back a smile by pressing my lips together tightly. It was like watching two bulls hook horns. “And we need you to translate for us.”
“For what?” He narrowed his eyes on me when I stepped forward.
“I’m a PI, Mr. Demchenko, and we have reason to believe there is a sex trafficking ring in New Gothenburg.”
Mrs. Demchenko gasped. “Oh, that’s awful.”
“River has been helping us investigate,” I continued before River could interrupt. I wasn’t going to out what happened to him, but I knew this needed to happen quick. River didn’t seem to be in a reasoning mood with his father. “We encountered a Russian woman that either doesn’t speak English or wants to make this difficult on us by speaking her native tongue. River told us you could help. We’d be happy to pay if that’s what it takes.”
Ivan’s tensed face relaxed and he nodded. “I can help. God knows, we have criminals galore here in NG, no thanks to my son, who helps set them loose all the time.” He glared at River again, and I stepped between them, feeling the urge to protect him. Father or not, I wouldn’t let anyone treat River poorly while I was there.
“How about you get ready, and we’ll meet you at my truck?”
He huffed and nodded, limping past us and heading toward the house.
Mrs. Demchenko heaved a sigh. “He’s been in a foul mood for the last week. Don’t take it to heart. His company is forcing some men into early retirement, cutting budgets, you know, and he’s afraid he’s next.”
“Mom, I said I could give you money to help,” River murmured almost under his breath.
She shook her head and patted his arm, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Never you mind, honey. We’ll be fine.”
River didn’t look like he believed her.
