Exit Strategy Read online

  “It can’t wait?”

  “It will take just a few minutes,” Joanna assured her. “I’ll be right back.”

  * * * *

  The woman in 217 didn’t look surprised to see her.

  “I was wondering when you’d come,” she said. Joanna detected the same faint accent she had heard in Mrs. Farrell’s voice.

  “Why did you think I’d come?”

  “You think something bad is going on behind that other door? I think you’re right. Come on in.”

  Joanna saw that she’d made a rum and coke from the small bottles in the mini bar.

  “You’d like one?”

  “No, thanks.”

  “I tried to talk to her, but she won’t let me.”

  “Do you think Mrs. Farrell is in immediate danger?”

  The answer wasn’t as conclusive as Joanna had hoped.

  “She might be. She sure as hell isn’t safe.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I’m Tamara,” the woman said. “She’s Alexandra. We paid the same lousy people for a promise.”

  It didn’t take Joanna long to make possible connections, reminding her that expecting the worst of people wasn’t always exaggerated.

  “Let me guess, when you arrived here, you didn’t get the jobs you were promised.”

  Tamara nodded before she took a sip of her drink. “You sure you don’t want anything? I don’t tell the story that often, but if I had to listen to it, I’d want to drink too.”

  “I was a cop once,” Joanna said. “I understand wanting to drink.”

  “I’m sure you do. Anyway, I don’t know what happened to Alex, but I heard she tried to get away, and they roughed her up badly. I don’t know if I’m paranoid, or if this is a coincidence, her being here with that man.”

  “Do you know him?”

  Tamara shook her head. “I’ve never met him in person, but he must be one of the final clients. That’s what they called it sometimes. A permanent placement.”

  “So what you’re saying is, he…” Joanna’s stomach churned at the thought. “Bought her?” Of course she knew better than most that monsters blended in, some of them soft-spoken polite men in suits. Decker had been the quiet friendly neighbor next door. Edward Short regularly visited his mother. Both of them had displayed a rabid hate for women in their crimes.

  “If you want to call it that. Money sure exchanged hands. Lots of it.”

  Joanna didn’t want to hear any more, but she knew she couldn’t stop. Denise would have to contact the authorities. She only had a brief thought about what that would mean for her and Rue.

  “What about you?”

  “There were people that helped me get out, people who hate these men just as much. This is why I’m here in the first place. Before that…I guess I was lucky, in comparison. They put me with a family who needed a nanny. They hid my passport and only withheld food every once in a while when they thought I needed to be taught a lesson.”

  “My God.” Joanna was curious as to the mysterious saviors, but most of all she could feel a familiar emotion taking over: Red hot anger. She shook herself. This wasn’t about her, or the victims she’d tried to get justice for.

  “I think God had little to do with it, but I see the irony in them coming here for whatever it is. Someone might be watching them. Or me.” She finished her glass in one gulp. “Few of us escape, but when that happens, they try to bring us back. Not because of the money they lost, but mostly to teach us a lesson.” Tamara was right. Joanna did want to drink, to erase what she’d heard, to erase what she already know.

  “The people who helped you, do you have a way to contact them?”

  “No. That was part of the deal, supposedly safer for them and me. It was very quick, middle of the night. They made sure I had papers and a place to stay.”

  That sounded a lot like the work of Vanessa’s friend who had gotten Joanna, and later, Rue to the island. By-the-book Joanna had been naïve in ways she now had a hard time believing…until the day she realized the full weight of the law would never been enough, for her, or the families and friends of Decker’s victims. The day she decided she was going to act on her own rules.

  Joanna wasn’t the only one, and she wistfully admitted that the work of those other people was a lot more helpful in the long term.

  “Okay. I’ll talk to my boss, and we’ll get Alexandra some help. The police might have some questions for you.”

  Tamara sat up straighter.

  “I don’t know if I can do it. What if they want to know about the people who helped me?”

  “I’m sure they’ll be more concerned about a case of human trafficking. If they ask, you tell them the same thing you told me. They got you out of a desperate situation. You don’t know how to find them. We need to act before they leave.”

  “I’m aware. Could you just let me talk to her first?”

  “You said she won’t let you.”

  “I’ll try harder. Please.”

  “It’s too dangerous. He’s with her now. The police will know what steps to take.” Joanna wasn’t sure about the size of the police force in the island, but given the magnitude of the alleged crime, they’d sure call in the FBI. They’d start by questioning the Farrells. Joanna hoped that would give Alexandra time enough to get away from him.

  “They might deport her. Or me. I don’t want to ever go back. I’d rather go back to that family.”

  “Okay, give me until tomorrow. We’ll figure something out. I swear.” Joanna was afraid she was going to lose her if she insisted, even though she was fairly certain there was no way around contacting the police. “I appreciate you talking to me. I know it can’t be easy.”

  Tamara studied her with curiosity. “How come you aren’t a cop any longer?”

  After a moment of hesitation, Joanna chose the truth.

  “I killed two men who had murdered women.” When Tamara waited in silence, her expression impassive, she elaborated, “It wasn’t self-defense. Or at least, some people didn’t see it as such.”

  “I trust you. I’ll talk to Alex again.”

  “Thank you.”

  Tamara followed her to the door, and Joanna waited, sensing that she had more to say.

  “Like I said, things weren’t so bad for me once they sold me off. Before that…let’s say, at times, dreaming of killing them was the thing that kept me sane.”

  “I know,” Joanna said.

  “Yes. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  Chapter Four

  When she knocked on the door to Denise’s office and entered after Denise told her to, Joanna was barely surprised to see Rue sitting in one of the chairs.

  “This is going to be a long night, I’m afraid,” Denise said. “Joanna?”

  “These two women were trafficked, one into domestic labor, the alleged Mrs. Farrell likely sold into sexual slavery.”

  Both Denise and Rue flinched.

  “Tamara doesn’t want to talk to the police, but I think we need to call them, get the ball rolling. This is bigger than the island.”

  “You know that this will mean exposure for you as well…possibly Rue?”

  Joanna caught Rue’s gaze on her. She didn’t seem mad or afraid—just tired.

  “I can’t speak for Rue, but for me, I’m willing to risk it. This woman needs help now.” In addition to Alexandra’s urgent situation, Tamara had raised the idea that the two of them meeting in this place might not be a coincidence. The men that trafficked her could be trying to get her back, to “teach her a lesson” as she’d called it.

  They needed the help of law enforcement. Joanna looked at Rue again. “Nothing will happen to you, I swear.”

  But how would the authorities, the ones back in the city, deal with her abrupt departure if they found out where she was? Would they still go after Vanessa—or Theo? But Theo had never known the whole truth, and if anyone wanted to go after Vanessa, they would have by now. Someone with a high profile career
like hers, they would have found something on the Internet.

  “It’s okay. I’m in,” Rue said.

  “All right.” Denise took a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”

  * * * *

  Most of the guests were inside when the police arrived to take in Mr. Farrell for questioning. Some were watching from their windows. None of them were allowed to go near the operation, but when the cops led Farrell away in handcuffs, he spotted Joanna.

  “You are making a big mistake,” he sneered.

  Not as big as the one you made, she thought, but didn’t say it out loud. She saw another policeman talking to Alexandra who was shaking her head and crying. Joanna could only imagine what Farrell might have told her, or what he had over her. She turned away in disgust for people like him.

  No longer her business. Maybe now was the time to rest.

  “Miss?” one of the policemen called to her. Not yet. Sighing to no one, she went to join him.

  * * * *

  Tamara and Alexandra sat at a table in the breakfast room the next morning. Tamara seemed excited, while Alexandra was wearing the same unhappy expression as before. It was probably hard for her to believe that the nightmare could come to an end.

  “You did everything you could,” Rue told her. “It’s still, you know, vacation? You remember?”

  “Of course I do. Denise even said something about an extra day though I’m not sure she was serious about it.”

  “I love you,” Rue said with surprising passion. “And sometimes you frustrate the hell out of me.”

  “Oh. I sense a backhanded compliment.”

  “Maybe that’s something I need to discuss with Dr. Shepherd. Me, being selfish. Sometimes I just want you all to myself, but you can’t do that, can you? You have to take on everybody’s pain, even here and now. But what do I know? You had a suspicion and you were right.” She shook her head. “I annoy myself. It’s not that I’m not glad for her.”

  “I know that you are. The timing wasn’t the best.”

  “No, it wasn’t, but then again the timing will never be great. We can never pretend these things don’t exist. At some point in my life…I could. Sometimes I want to go back to being that naïve and ignorant.”

  “I understand. I’ve felt this way.”

  Rue waited until the waitress had filled their cups with coffee. She drank from hers and sighed.

  “Not a conversation I should start, ever, before caffeine. I just get so afraid I could lose you all over again.”

  Joanna knew about being afraid. The time from when she knew for sure that the slasher had taken Rue, to the moment she was safe, had been the worst in her life. She reasoned it might not be a good idea to share these thoughts.

  “I’ll do better. We go back to what we know, you discuss these things with Dr. Shepherd, and kick ass in the ring. I’ll…get back to my mediocre piano skills. None of it will happen before caffeine.”

  Despite herself, Rue had to laugh. “How do you put up with this? Me?”

  “You’re really good in bed,” Joanna said matter-of-factly, almost making her choke on her coffee. She saw that Tamara and Alexandra had left the table. If there was anything to follow up on, Denise would let them know, otherwise the case was blessedly out of their hands.

  * * * *

  She had not meant to reduce their relationship to one single aspect, but when they returned home, it turned out that the mood was just right. Joanna fell asleep with the soft sound of the fan’s blades whirring overhead. Selfish, who could say? She loved being the sole center of Rue’s attention, and giving her the same focus in return. They had done their share once again. She wanted them to spend the following days indulging themselves, sleep, sex, food and drinks. Wasn’t that the logical thing to do in paradise?

  The monsters might return from time to time, but they wouldn’t win.

  Chapter Five

  Joanna was sleeping so peacefully, Rue didn’t want to wake her up just to tell her she was about to go out of her skin. She couldn’t understand how Joanna could go from being all involved in the mystery of room 213 back to vacation. Maybe that was a skill she had learned during her time as a cop.

  It was a skill that eluded Rue, no matter how hard she tried. She had needed all the time from the incident to the present moment to even think about slowing down and enjoy a vacation, like normal people did.

  Everything she’d told Joanna about feeling selfish, and feeling bad about it, had been the truth. She was aware, but she couldn’t stop it either. Next time, Dr. Shepherd likely wouldn’t end the session ten minutes early. Rue had a lot to learn. She sighed, carefully slipped out of bed and went into the small office where she powered up the computer. They were safe here, or so Joanna kept insisting. The people who had made their new life possible knew what they were doing, had provided the same service for other women in need. Only that wasn’t exactly what Rue and Joanna were, was it? It didn’t matter now. They used the Internet sparsely, because search histories and other online activities could be traced…If someone bothered tracing them.

  But now Joanna had spoken to the police, and that changed everything. They didn’t need fingerprints or DNA—a few key strokes, and they’d easily find her story.

  Rue identified the emotion that was making her light-headed and restless, as anger. Truth be told, she’d felt it more or less since Vanessa had told her what she’d done. Rue had never been sure if she’d made Joanna’s situation better or worse, but coming here to this peaceful place placated her. Now, it was Joanna who had potentially made a decision that affected the two of them.

  To help a woman in need.

  Rue clicked the button and waited for the ring tone. After a couple of times, she saw the smiling face of her mother on the screen.

  “Rue, hi! How are you?”

  Bought and sold. How bad a person was she to envy Alexandra Farrell for Joanna’s attention and concern?

  “We’re fine. On vacation actually.”

  “That’s why you’re in your PJs at noon?”

  Rue blushed at the implications, all of which were true.

  “We slept in,” she said, blushing even more. “I just wanted to check in, see how you all are.”

  “Good. The weather’s nice, probably not as nice as where you are, but we have the barbecue out.”

  All of their conversations were fairly superficial, but neither Rue nor her parents cared. They were part of a small niche she had carved out for herself, and she wasn’t going to give it up. It was part of Rue’s new normalcy.

  “That sounds great.”

  “We had some friends over too. Oh, that’s the doorbell. I’m sorry I have to go, this might be Dad’s birthday present. Say hello to Joanna for us.”

  “I’m here. Hi, Mrs. Carmichael.”

  “Joanna, it’s great to see you! I’m afraid I’ve got to go! I’ll see you next time?”

  “Probably,” Joanna said after the screen had already gone dark. She still stood in the same space, leaning against the doorway.

  Rue wanted to give her a reasonable explanation, but she couldn’t find anything that wouldn’t sound angry or defensive.

  “How long have you been doing this?” Joanna’s tone was neutral, if anything, tinged with surprise. Because she hadn’t found out earlier, or because Rue had kept something from her? Another scene sprang to mind, and all of a sudden she wanted to cry. Why hadn’t she seen the similarities before? Would Joanna? Why wouldn’t she?

  “Since my first week here. After everything that happened, I couldn’t let them think I just vanished.”

  “I thought Vanessa had taken care of that.”

  “Yes, but I wasn’t sure they’d believe her. I found it hard to believe when she kept insisting that you were okay.”

  That brought something akin to a smile to Joanna’s face. Rue realized that she’d suggested Vanessa wasn’t trustworthy enough.

  “I had to do it. Not very often, and not for long, just to make sure everything
’s all right.”

  “Okay. We can’t turn back the time on that, but you know these things can be traced, right?”

  “And why would I care?” Joanna flinched at Rue raising her voice. She had startled herself. There was no turning back now. “Sure, I did that only for me, so it’s not the same as you talking to the police. You don’t think they ran your name and have realized by now that somewhere far away, the authorities would like to talk to you? How long do you think it will take them to come here for more questions? And you honestly worry about me talking to my parents?”

  “I’m sorry you feel that way, but it’s not the same. Here on the island, we can keep it contained. Denise knows someone…They’re not going to tell on us. They just wanted my statement regarding Mrs. Farrell.”

  “You think that’s it? I can’t believe how naïve you are sometimes!”

  In an instant, the room had become claustrophobic to Rue, something she’d experienced often after her abduction, but never before on the island, not even after the night terrors. She couldn’t stand herself, but Joanna was the only one she could run away from, temporarily, to make a dubious point.

  “Rue, wait! Let’s talk about this!”

  She couldn’t imagine words that would help at this moment. Rue fled from the house and all but ran all the way to the inn, and the gym. Zach was in the ring with another student, but she changed into workout clothes anyway. He’d make time for her.

  * * * *

  Rue had cried in the shower, and she wasn’t sure she was done yet, but at least the fog in her head was starting to clear. That didn’t make her feel much better, just embarrassed, for the way she had reacted.

  “You want to tell me what the emergency was?” Zach asked when she returned from the locker room.

  She shook her head.

  “Not really.”

  They had talked, in the beginning, about her choices and goals…

  “I want to make sure that what happened to me will never happen again,” she had told him that day, aware that her statement was open to many interpretations.