"What do you mean?"
She sighs and shakes her head. "This was a pre-buy, a purchase made before construction began, so it’s dated like two years ago.”
Unaccustomed to this level of illegal dealings I ask, "Are you some evil mastermind or something?"
Again, she laughs, shakes her head. "I wouldn't go that far. And most people just call me an evil pain in the ass."
I can't help but chuckle at her response, but then she's pulling into a driveway and directly into an open garage door. As if by some kind of magic, the door closes behind us and the lights come on, revealing a second vehicle to our right. She exits the vehicle and I do the same. I then follow her up the short flight of stairs through the doorway that leads into a hallway.
The house is only finished in the sense that it has completed initial construction. The floors are plywood, sheet rock walls are bare. And it’s cold indicating there is no heat.
We enter a large room, empty of furnishings but for a table and some chairs in the middle. A few men are sitting off tothe side, resting against a wall, while a few others are standing around the table, deep in conversation.
“What’s up, boys?” Lilith crows, causing a few to jump. Mickey looks over his shoulder, a smile on his face as we get closer. He straightens, walks toward me with his hand extended. “Conrad, great to see you.”
“Likewise,” I respond, gripping his hand briefly before releasing him. Following him back to the table, I add, “Maybe someday we’ll meet under better circumstances.”
“You know,” he replies, turning slightly toward me. “Once we get your little girl back, I bet we can make that happen.”
“Oh Mickey,” Lilith murmurs, moving to stand beside Mickey and putting her arm on his shoulder. “Always so sentimental.”
He glares at her, but I can tell from his demeanor that he’s not angry about her comment. Then he pokes her in the side. “Just working harder to make up for your distinct lack of warm and fuzzies.”
Lilith smiles at Mickey, her fondness for the man obvious from the warmth in her eyes, but then, she blinks, and it’s gone. “Someone tell me where we’re at.”
Once again I’m thrown off by how quickly she shifts from jokes to business. How easily her bright smile darkens, the sparkle in her eyes deadening in an instant.
“Sal grabbed the last two guys who came out of there, but didn’t get much out of them.”
Lilith turns to a blonde guy who’s now seated at the table. “Have they seen the girl?”
Sal shakes his head. “Didn’t seem to have any knowledge of a child on the premises at all.”
“And why were they there?”
“They called themselves boyfriends,” Sal responds with a shrug. “Which I take to mean they’re johns.”
I wince, my anxiety increasing for the safety of a child living in that house. My ex was never the motherly type, and I can’t believe she’s any different now.
As if she can sense my distress, Lilith turns to me and says, “If they’re johns and they don’t know there’s a child there, then that’s a good thing. That means if nothing else, they’ve had nothing to do with her, and that’s exactly the news you want.”
A tiny bit of relief ebbs in, and I cling to it like a lifeline. I have no doubt that whatever life the girl has lived so far has been traumatic.
Mickey beckons me closer to the table, so I join him, looking down at the map placed there. It’s a map of the neighborhood. “Where are we?”
Mickey points to a house in the middle of the development then points to the house directly behind it and says, “And this is where they are.”
I give Lilith a look, muttering, “And coincidentally this house just happened to be on the market.”
It’s a rhetorical statement, so she doesn’t bother saying anything, but the smile on her face is on the smug side. Turning back to the table, I ask, “So how are we going to get in without causing a huge scene or risk something happening to the girl?”
Lilith shrugs. “Don’t look at me. I’m a knock down the door and take what needs saving kinda girl.”
“I have an idea,” Mickey states, his eyes on Lilith.
Lilith’s eyes immediately narrow. “Why you lookin’ at me like that?”
“How neighborly are you feeling, Lils,” Mickey asks with a grin.
