Heroine: California Dreamin' (13 page)

To my surprise the fat guy would now pull an armchair close to me and took place right opposite of me. Then he took off his glasses. His eyes appeared to be dull and had an undefinable color.

“Roberto showed us the movie with you. So we do know that you cheat on your husband with him and other men. You’ve been making those little dirty movies” – he grimaced in disgust – “and you live in sin. But that is your business. But you also have contracts with us and we insist that you deliver.” I didn’t understand a thing and my facial expression seemed to make the fat dude in front of me nervous.

“Look, Julie. You are his girlfriend. Aren’t you?” he insisted. His tone of voice had suddenly become soft and he talked to me like talking to a small child. I nodded.

“Then you
do
know where he is. I am sure that he has told you about me?” I nodded again though I had not the faintest idea what he was talking about.

“Then you do also know what’s gonna happen to people who try to con us?” He was completely calm. I had some feeling of security and safety before that talk but now it was this patronizing tone that send icy shivers down my spine. I couldn’t think of anything better then to take a gamble. After all my life was at stake. If they really didn’t know of Roberto’s fate I could at least win some time.

“He’s in Florida”, I lied in a soft voice while I looked down.

“What on earth is the guy doing in Florida? We are waiting for his delivery and then he disappears? We need the goods next week the latest!” He shouted at me and I cringed in terror.

“It’s alright, I didn’t mean to frighten you”, he continued in a calmer tone. “But now tell me finally what kind of game you guys are playing!”

“But I have nothing to do with it, nothing at all”, I whimpered and the first tears rolled down my cheeks. I looked at him with sad puppy eyes, like a little girl.

“Roberto had to flee because this Jefferson had blown the whistle on him.”

The boss remained silent for a while but I saw from his eyes that he had become restless. He slowly turned around to the two kidnappers. The older one sat stark and stiff on his chair and his eyes had widened as if fear would overcome him.

“Soto, Andrew. What’s the story on Jefferson?” he questioned the two men in a completely calm manner. So the name of the older assailant was Soto as I read from the fat guy’s chin movements. I was aware that this calmness signaled danger since both of my guards had turned pale simultaneously.

“We have not heard from him for several weeks now”. Soto had to clear his throat first before he could utter anything.

“We flew in only Monday before last Monday to contact him – but he couldn’t be found. He didn’t react to our message to meet with us. Therefore we set Rosanna onto Diego’s tracks because we thought he might lead us to him.”

There was a light coming on in my head. The gray van. The same car in which I was kidnapped. The older married couple I had followed. In the parking lot in front of the storage hall in Daly City. They were there all the time tracking Diego. And in this way they picked up my scent. But why didn’t they know of Roberto’s fate? And how did they know about Daniel being in New York?

I could not suppress a yawn because I was tired and totally exhausted. Since my abduction many hours had passed by where I didn’t have anything to eat or to drink and I hardly had any sleep. My back hurt and my eyes burned from the intensive light.

“Shit”, the fat guy cursed. “If she tells the truth and Jefferson had blown the whistle on this Rodriguez then that means that our man has caved in. Or the FBI has caught him and he has squealed.” He thought for a moment then he continued.

“Did somebody follow you?” The two kidnappers became restless.

“We didn’t notice anything because the car was tight. Only Cody could know that because he was the driver.” The boss pondered once more.

“That becomes too risky. If this continues in this way our whole mission is in danger. We need to get out of here. Take her with you. We drive home. If we want to get on Roberto’s tail we can do so only with her.”

“But if she blows the whistle on us? Like Jefferson she could defect to the FBI”, Andrew inserted. I thought hearing a tone of desperation in his voice.

“Defect? For that the two are far too involved in the whole thing. Now, since we lost our man there she would get at least a hundred years in Frontera. And with her looks she probably finds some great welcome there.” The fat guy grinned suggestively.

“We would also feed the ladies there with some nice little details about your business. They might just have some fun with it.” He saw my blank stare and pursued.

“You don’t seem to be exceptionally smart. May be Frontera does ring a bell with you?” I shook my head. It was good that he considered me to be stupid. May be I could build on that. But in fact I really didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Frontera is a women’s prison in Chino in San Bernardino County. The prosecutors there would love to get their hands on you. And the third floor in Chino enjoys special attraction. Secured solitary cells. Only the very ‘good’ girls may join the shower room there.” His suggestive grin grew wider.

“So you know where your home is.” I understood slowly what he was talking about. But then
I
knew that he was completely wrong. I would blow the whistle on him indeed.

But then another light came on in my head. I assumed that they probably had a copy of the porno movie in which I had participated in Roberto’s and Paolo’s storage hall. And via this movie they saw a connection to the dead Roberto Gutierrez. Only the thin membrane of these people’s ignorance separated me from the dangers I faced only a few weeks ago.

The only thing that protected me from crashing again was the fact that this gang of criminals did not know the connection between Roberto Rodriguez and Robert Gutierrez. Not yet. It didn’t matter who was learning what – the justice department or these felons: the risk for me was equally high. If the prosecutors learned about my involvement in Roberto’s death and his related criminal acts they would unearth the files once more. The photographs in Roberto’s dossier that I had taken! Didn’t they deal with trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and girls? If law enforcement got its hands on that video and they reconstructed the connection between me and Roberto – then they would track his criminal activities subsequently and I would be found to be his accomplice. That fat dude here would take care of that. On the other hand if the fat guy would learn that Roberto was dead … I ousted those images about what would happen to me then from my head. The imaginations started to go haywire. I saw the only alternative to survive in the choice between the Valley State Prison and the cells in Frontera. And again I found myself trapped and felt cramps in my belly. Then panic slowly crept up my spine. Just before it could manifest itself in my neck I heard Jan’s voice in my head:
“that is only trained helplessness…”

I pulled myself together. I had coped all alone with all the difficulties during the last few weeks so I would be able to deal with that situation as well – that is what I decided. Without hesitating any further I sent the panic attack to hell and substituted it with rage. My parents however had always warned me to give in to rage because they considered it one of the deadly sins; but Jan showed me that it is more helpful to fight than to succumb to the role of a victim.

My thoughts had taken up a few moments. In the eyes of the gigantic man before me I could read that he knew that he could rely on me. I would play along and keep my mouth shut. As Roberto Rodriguez’s gangster bride. The fat guy turned around and ordered us to follow him.

We went through the steel door which was locked diligently behind us by the older kidnapper; the same was done to the front door. Outside daylight was already approaching. The sun had not risen yet but dawn had already set in. A big black limousine was parked outside. A short but brawny fellow with short-cut hair and small slanting eyes got out of the car immediately when we stepped out through the door. He opened the door to the rear. Diego sat in the car. He looked all worn out; obviously he had slept in the rear of the limousine. He had dark rings under his eyes and didn’t look well at all. Beside that he was in handcuffs. The fat guy directed him with his index finger to get out of the car. I was quite terrified when he stood before us. His left cheek was hurt, a cut above his eye showed that he had been beaten brutally. His eyes were bloodshot and the shades below the eyes probably originated also from punches.

“Oh God, what have they done to you?” I asked concerned while clasping my mouth with my hands.

“He wanted to escape”, snarled the driver in a softly rolling accent. His ancestors were apparently Chinese.

“Oh well, now we don’t need him any longer”, mumbled the leader with a cold tone of voice as if he was talking about his breakfast.

“Andrew, Soto: get rid of that guy when I’m gone. Then you follow us by car”, he ordered the two guards behind me. I didn’t understand what was going down but I felt some sharp pain in my chest. This was the prelude to something really horrible.

I felt a smack on my behind and Soto grumbled into my ear:

“Be happy sweetheart, now we’re going home.”

“Keep your fingers of her, you fool”, the fat guy screamed as he just wanted to get into the limousine. “That is Robert’s girlfriend and you better treat her well”. I turned around in surprise. Did he really want to protect me from these guys? Andrew was right.

“You don’t treat American women like that even when they are pros!” the boss insisted. That hit me like a low blow. He had called me a ho! That asked for payback time even though it was helping me right now keeping his troops away from me.

“You’ll bring her safe and sound home to the temple. Tonight I want to see you guys at the service. If necessary you stop at one of the motels on your way and give her a chance to freshen up.” With that he turned around and finally disappeared in the black vehicle. His driver closed the back door and with a soft humming the car backed up and disappeared.

My two kidnappers and I sat in front of the house on a wooden bench. Soto carried his gun in his hand and pointed it to Diego. The poor bastard had to sit on the ground before us. I feared for him but didn’t dare to ask what was going down. They had to take me home at the order of the fat guy whose name was never mentioned. Perhaps they would release Diego subsequently at the hardware store. I hoped that they wouldn’t beat him up once more.

We waited again. It was quiet and only the remote sounds of the ocean could be heard. At one time I heard the humming of a propeller plane that made a turn for south. I couldn’t see its lights for the morning fog had swallowed them. Shortly thereafter Soto got up and lit a hand-rolled cigarette. It didn’t smell of tobacco. It was weed. Andrew had shook his head when Soto asked him if he wanted one too. The young man looked pale and I felt somehow sorry for him. He didn’t look like a ‘proper’ criminal.

When Soto finished his smoke he pulled out his cell phone from his jacket and called somebody. Some minutes later the gray vehicle that had brought me here rumbled up the dusty ramp to the courtyard. A muscle packed thug wearing black clothes peeled himself out from the driver’s seat. The door to the interior opened automatically. Soto gave me a cold stare and ordered me to get into the car. I felt that something terrible was pending. With wobbly knees I just made it to the back seats without any further encouragement. I expected that Diego would also get into the car but the gray-haired fellow ordered Cody, as he addressed the driver, to wait with me together and to watch me. Then he lifted his gun and pointed it to Diego.

“Let’s get a move on. Over there in the back.” He waved his gun into the direction of the stables. The poor hardware store clerk turned white as a sheet. I saw that he wanted to say something but he couldn’t utter a sound. Then he shuffled slowly with hanging shoulders and his head bent way down into the given direction occasionally being pushed by the two kidnappers. My heart tensed up awfully when I saw Diego leaving and suddenly I understood what was going down.

I started to scream to let him go and I tried to jump out of the car. But Cody held me tight and though I kicked and struggled and bit his hand that he had pressed on my mouth he succeeded easily to get me back on the rear seats again. Trembling with rage and fear I sat there when Andrew and Soto returned after what was to me like an eternity. Without Diego. It became clear to me that they had killed him.

Meanwhile the sun had risen above the mountains in the east and far away I saw the long shadow that was casted by the silo onto the remote beach way below us. The light - still somewhat dampened by patches of fog - allowed for all structures of the surroundings to appear already. Lateral of the silo I recognized again the strangely formed cross on a light-blue background; its center seemed to be surrounded by a circle made of twelve nails. When the patches of fog had somewhat disappeared it revealed, below the cross, the view of some large writing in blood-red letters:

‘Church Of The Revelation Of Gileah’.

Fog still covered the rest. It was several times now during the last few months that I thought that I am going nuts. But now it seemed apparent to me that I finally had lost it. I looked again. The writing below the cross remained the same. The farm seemed to host a kind of temple - as it is quite common in the south of the United States. Diego had just been killed in a church.