A Stolen Woman by Catherine Lea

Author:Catherine Lea [Lea, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780473427566
Amazon: B078WZYPLF
Barnesnoble: B078WZYPLF
Publisher: Brakelight Press
Published: 2018-01-23T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

DAY THREE—1:16 AM—LANEY

Gordana had told Laney that they would have missed her by now.

“I was supposed to meet a client ten minutes ago,” she said, turning in her seat to scan the street behind them. “They send someone after us.”

“Did you tell anyone where you were going?”

“Never. I wouldn’t endanger another woman there. But they’ll be out looking for me.”

So Laney had snaked around the backstreets, up this way and across to the next, to avoid detection. After fifteen minutes and seeing nothing obvious in the rear-view mirror, Gordana visibly relaxed.

“Take the next left,” said Gordana. “We are close.”

They had come to an intersection where a street sign indicated they were entering the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester. As they drove, Laney let out a low whistle at the massive four-story houses on each side of the street, all recently renovated with front yards of clipped hedges and iron-railing fences.

“Njerku owns many properties here. That is how he makes most of his money.”

“In property?”

Gordana nodded. “He makes plenty with the casinos and girls, but in America, he found greater wealth in property development. But when he buys his properties, he has to make an income from them. If you leave a property empty for too long, drug addicts and homeless people move in, ruining it and dragging down the property prices. In a strange way, he is actually benefiting the neighborhoods he buys into.”

“And that’s why the police leave him alone.” Laney snorted at the irony of it. “How do you know all this? About the property development and such?”

Fidgeting with the zip of her jacket, Gordana dropped her head a moment. “You probably do not believe it, but I have a Master’s degree in city planning. I came here believing I would be contributing to the gentrification of districts around Boston.” A grim smile tweaked her lips back. “I suppose that is what I ended up doing. But not in the way that I had expected.”

“Don’t your parents wonder where you are?”

Again, she lent her attention to the clasp on her jacket, clipping it into place then unfastening it. “Each week, we are forced to write a letter to our loved ones, telling them how happy we are, that we have good jobs and are making money. The letters, of course, are all read before they leave the country.”

“That stinks,” Laney spat out. “What happens if the woman’s parents start asking questions? I know I would.”

“One girl called her mother on the telephone. Njerku beat her to death in front of us. I heard he had her family killed.” As if to wipe out the memory, she switched her attention to the side window, watching the passing houses bathed in the yellow glow of the streetlights. “No one tried to call their parents after that.”

“What a bastard,” said Laney, hardening her eyes on the road ahead.

“Slow down. We’re almost here.”

“Where?”

“Turn right down there,” she said, pointing. “It’s that big place down there.”

Sure enough, an enormous four-story house loomed into view.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.