Breeders (14 page)

He watched the girl put the headband on her head.
Merde
, but she had almost ruined it all,
l'enfant
. If he hadn’t spotted her running around in the forest when he did, he might never have gotten the opportunity that he had now. She was worth a pretty penny to Wattana, he guessed.

The child swapped thumbs, staring at him in a stupor. He felt sorry for her, felt sorry for all of them, but he needed to do what he needed to do.
 

The girl looked up at him then gestured with her hand to her mouth. She was hungry. At last, he would feed her a spoonful for every piece of information he could get. He didn’t even know her name. He turned around and went to pick up the bowl of chicken soup when the kid made a dart for it, jumping up and bounding toward the door. Laiveaux jumped after her, dropping the bowl and messing up his neatly creased pants. He grabbed her around the waist as she struggled to unlock the door then lifted her off the ground. To his surprise she didn’t struggle, she simply went limp in his arms, admitting defeat. He carried her to the closet, shoved her inside, then locked the door firmly.

“
Merde
, do all kids have brain damage?” he thought as he tried to clean his pants with a towel. “They only develop an inkling of intelligence at thirty, I’m sure,” he muttered in French.

The girl slammed against the door, wailing and sobbing, making an awful racket. He knocked on the door. “Shush, be quiet.”

Putain
, this wasn’t any good. He would have to quiet the little runt down before anyone heard. He fished the phone from his pocket and punched in a number. It was answered after one ring.
 

“Good day?”

“Hello, Dr. Wattana? My name is General Alain Laiveaux from Interpol.”

There was a brief silence before the doctor responded. “Yes, General. How may I help you today?”

“I think I have something that belongs to you.”

The doctor chuckled. “And what might that be?”

“The tattoo on her back says she’s number eight one three.”

Wattana was silent. Laiveaux could hear him breathing.

“Doctor?”

“Um, yes, I’m here.”

“I want one million dollars, cash.”

“You want me to pay you for her?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Laiveaux laughed. “Money makes the world go round, my good doctor. If you don’t pay, I take her to Interpol. I’m sure that won’t do your research any good. Besides, I know a lot of people who are on your payroll already; why should I miss out?”

“OK. When can we meet?”

“As soon as you book my plane ticket.”

“Can I get hold of you on this number?”

“Yes, it’s my private phone.”

“Give me five minutes. I’ll get back to you.”
 

“Very well,” Laiveaux said and disconnected the call.

He wondered if the good doctor would set him up. He was almost certain he would try. He chuckled. The good doctor had another thing coming.

Mitsu de Vos sat on the edge of the couch, her hands folded in her lap and her eyes to the ground, her long hair forming a veil to the side of her face. The living room was decorated with sailing paraphernalia; an intricate model of a sailing vessel stood on a showcase filled with books. An old-fashioned television stood in the corner, turned to mute. The place lacked something, that female touch.

Neil leaned forward. “Thank you for seeing us on such short notice.”

She cast him a quick glance then studied her hands again. “That’s OK. You’re doing your job, I suppose.”
 

She looked fragile, like a porcelain doll. She must have been twenty years younger than Eben. She was quite a catch. She wore no make-up except for bright red lipstick. He noticed that her upper lip was puffed up.
 

She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “Sorry, I’m still very emotional.”

Neil nodded. “I understand, Mrs. de Vos.”

“Please call me Mitsu.”

“OK, Mitsu.” He looked at Alexa uncertainly and lifted his hands. She had wanted to see the woman, she should be asking the questions.

Alexa shrugged. “Mrs. de Vos, did you know your daughter was using drugs?”

Mitsu’s eyes darted up. “Alida? Drugs?”
 

Typical Alexa, getting straight to the point.

Alexa nodded. “Yes, Mrs. de Vos. Jake Petzer found drugs in her satchel and we questioned Henry Theron, the innkeeper. He supplied her.”

“Call me Mitsu,” she spat, then closed her eyes and breathed deeply. “Sorry.” She clutched the cushion to her chest. “I guess I suspected it. She was acting strange lately.” She blinked and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

“What happened to your lip?” Neil asked.

She gently touched her lip. “I walked into something.”

“Mitsu, does your husband beat you?” Alexa asked.

She straightened her back, the same defiant reaction. “That’s none of your business.”

“What happened to your lip, Mitsu?” Alexa asked again.

Mitsu held her hands to her face. Her shoulders jerked as she sobbed silently. She calmed down and dabbed her eyes with the tissue, then she took a deep breath and turned to Alexa. “I guess I need to be honest?”

“That would be appreciated, Mitsu.” Alexa said.

She hesitated. “Look, I’m no angel, Inspector Guerra. Neither is my husband.”

Alexa waited.

“I have certain . . .” she closed her eyes, then pursed her lips resolutely, “. . . certain character flaws.”

“Such as?”

“I’m bipolar. I suffer from bouts of extreme depression and elation. When I’m down, I hurt myself.” She pulled up her sweater and showed them her arm. It was marked with small, straight incisions, the ones closest to her wrist having healed, the ones on her forearm still scabbed. “I hurt myself. I hit myself because when I’m like this, I hate myself. I hate myself for doing this,” she said, rubbing her arm.

Alexa stood up and sat next to Mitsu, holding her hand. “I’m so sorry, Mitsu. Why don’t you get help?”

“And let the entire town know that the mayor’s wife is crazy?” she sobbed.

There was a soft knock on the door and a young black kid appeared in the doorway. “Everything OK, Mom?”

Mitsu nodded. “Yes, yes. I’m fine.” She smiled uncertainly. “Run along now, go do your homework.”

The kid nodded. “OK, but call me if you need any help,” he said, glowering at Alexa and Neil. He closed the door.

“Is that the boy from the township that Eben brought home?”

Mitsu nodded. “Yes, his name is Edward. He is very protective.”

Alexa smiled. “Bipolar is a sickness that can be treated, Mitsu.”

She shook her head. “No, no. You don’t know this place. I’ll be banished.”

“Does Eben know?”

“Of course. We live together.”

“So he doesn’t beat you?”

She laughed. “No, he’ll never. He’s the gentlest person you’ll ever meet.” She stared at the wall, a smile on her face, then she became serious again. “Don’t get me wrong, we have our arguments. In fact, lately we’re arguing all of the time. But no, he’ll never lay a finger on me.”

Alexa squeezed her hand. “Be honest, Mitsu. We ran blood tests on Alida. She was clean. If Alida wasn’t using the drugs, who were they for?”

Mitsu’s eyes darted up. “It’s a long story, Inspector,” she said softly.

“We need to get to the bottom of this.”

“I know.”

“So?”

Mitsu took a deep breath. “Alida gave the drugs to the security guards at PEP.”

“Why on earth would she do that?”

“Because they’re blackmailing me.”

Alexa stared at Mitsu in confusion. “Why?”

“Because I had an affair with one of them.”

Alexa glanced at Neil. “What?”

Mitsu closed her eyes. “I know. I was stupid. I was alone; Eben is always out and about on his official duties. I met Andy Peterson at the pub one day while having lunch. I was tipsy and he was sweet, in a rugged kind of way. He met me here and we made love. I was stupid. I told him never to come back again, that it was over between us. He didn’t take it very well.”

“But why don’t you just tell Eben about it? Clear the air.”

Mitsu laughed. “Oh, you don’t know Eben. He’s very loyal to me, but I don’t think he’ll ever have it in his heart to forgive me. He’ll leave me, I know he will.”

“How did Alida pay for the drugs?” Neil asked.

“I gave her the money, whatever I could get my hands on. We got it for cheap from Theron. Alida also tended the bar to help pay for them.”

Alexa and Neil exchanged brief glances. “OK, now that Alida is gone, why hasn’t Peterson gone through with his threats?”

Mitsu sniffed then dabbed her nose with the tissue. “Oh, he will. He’s phoned me probably a dozen times threatening to write a letter to Eben.”

“Why don’t you tell Eben he’s lying? It’s not like he has video footage or anything?”

“Oh, he’s got something way better than that.”

“What?” Neil asked.

Mitsu look embarrassed. “Do you mind if we excuse ourselves for a minute, Mr. Allen?”

Neil looked confused. “Sure, I guess.”

Mitsu stood up and led Alexa out of the room. “I need to show you something.”
 

A minute later they returned.
 

“What’s up?” he asked Alexa.

“She has a tattoo,” Alexa said. “In a very private place. She says only two men know about it.”

Neil nodded in understanding then smiled at Mitsu.

She averted her eyes, self-consciously picking at the thread on the hem of her dress. “I was quite adventurous during my youth.”

Neil chuckled. “OK, then. Moving right along. Do you want me to have a little talk with Peterson, show him the error of his ways?”

Mitsu blinked then sat up straight. “I guess you could. I bet you he would simply deny everything.”

Neil shrugged then stood up. “No harm in trying. I’m sure I could make him change his mind.”

Alexa took her hand again. “Mitsu, honestly, who do you think killed your daughter?”

“I…I don’t know, probably some cult up in the mountains.”

“Do you think Peterson had anything to do with this?”

“No. I don’t think he’s a killer.” She turned to face Alexa then looked her straight in the eye. “The letter I received is the best clue we have. You need to follow that up.”

Alexa stood up. “OK then, we’ll go talk to Peterson. If you have anything else that could help us, anything at all, please give me a call,” Alexa said and handed Mitsu her card.

Mitsu led them to the door then gave them a feeble smile. “I will, Inspector. Good-bye. And please don’t mention any of this to Eben.”

Neil tried in vain to contact Andy Peterson. According to his supervisor, he hadn’t been at work for a couple of days; the man thought he probably absconded because he knew he was going to be fired after attacking the Interpol agents. He said that it happened regularly. Dr. Petzer never hesitated to take action when someone didn’t follow orders. He said he would find out from the doctor and get back to Neil.
 

They were seated in their booth at the Howling Moon. It had become their regular meeting place. Alexa had another reason for meeting there: she wanted to confirm that Theron was sticking to his promise. As soon as they appeared in the doorway, the man came over and greet them nervously then disappeared back into his office. His hand was heavily bandaged.

Neil sighed in frustration. It felt like they had hit a dead end. Alexa looked up from a book that she had borrowed from the library. “What?”

“Where to from here?”

“I think I found something.” She pushed the book toward Neil then placed the sheet of paper with Alida’s poem next to the book. “Notice any difference?”

The book was a collection of poems by Ingrid Jonker. It was falling apart and the pages were yellow and worn. It was open at the poem Alida had copied. He quickly scanned the poem and noticed that Alida’s had an extra line in hers.

“She added the line, ‘Scavenges in the forests and plains, evermore the hunger pains,’” he said.

“Why would she put that in there?”

Neil shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe she’s referring to someone who’s scavenging in the forest and plains somewhere.”

“The only forest and plain around here is up at Mueller’s.”

“So the poem talks about young kids scavenging the forests and plains because they’re hungry?”

“Among other things, yes,” Alexa nodded.

“But this line is pertinent because we found footprints up there that belong to a young kid?”

“Exactly.”

Neil grabbed his jacket. “I guess we probably need to check the place out again. Our answer to this whole damn affair is somewhere up in those mountains.”