Birds in Paradise

Part 2

"S-She's been-been missing for nearly a week!" Anna Hartfield, a young woman with bleached blond hair and a perky little nose, collapsed into one of my office/living room/hotel bedroom chairs, and started weeping.

I handed her a tissue. "And this has never happened before?" I asked her, using my gentle, new-client voice.

She looked up at me, her eyes wide and somewhat confused. She dabbed her damp nose. "B-before?"

"Has your sister, Tina, ever run off before?" After a long silence I added, "With a man?"

Anna shook her head vigorously. "I told her it was a bad idea, but we weren't making enough money with our waitressing jobs to cover the rent. Everything is so expensive out here on the islands. I told her that we should just go back to Iowa. But she wouldn't listen. And now she's gone."

My stomach twisted. "What was your sister doing?"

"She—" Anna looked up at me suddenly, her eyes filled with terror. "She's not like the others. She was just trying to make things work for us here. It was just until we found something better."

"You need to tell me," I urged her. "What was Tina doing?"

Anna continued to shake her head as pearly tears dripped down her cheeks.

"Was she dealing drugs? Robbery?" I swallowed hard and hoped it wasn't what I feared it might be. "Prostitution?"

"She said she'd just do it a few times," Anna sobbed. "She said she'd be careful and only get involved with rich tourists. I begged her not to go, but she went out anyhow and never came home."

I closed my eyes for a moment. Two young, pretty girls had already gone missing in the past few weeks while peddling their trade. I'd poked around—strictly out of curiosity—after the second girl had disappeared. The next day my mysterious shadow man had entered my life. Hell yeah, I thought it was too much of a coincidence. Tug on the right chains and all sorts of creatures show up. But other than my new shadow, I was coming up empty-handed.

Like the other missing girls, Anna looked to be about eighteen. Her sister was a year older. They were both too young, too innocent to be sliding down that dark path. I know...I could have easily ended up there myself.

Five years ago, picking tourists pockets was barely getting me enough money for food. I was getting close to being desperate enough to agree to trade my body for a dry, safe place to live. Sleeping on the grass in a park loses its luster pretty fast, even in paradise.

My heart ached for the two sisters. I reached out and gave Anna's hand a squeeze. "I'll see what I can do to find her."

"I-I can't pay you," Anna stumbled over her words. "At least, not yet. But I don't know what else to do. The police, they don't seem concerned."

I'm sure the police were concerned, but in a case like this one there wasn't too much they could do other than wait for a body to show up.

I, on the other hand, could devote all my time to focus on this one case. Not getting paid for it would hurt. But there was no way I was going to turn Anna away.

"Have you called your parents yet?" I asked softly. "You should let them know what's going on."

She agreed to call her parents only after I promised to talk with them and assure them that I would do everything possible to find their daughter.

That evening I hit the streets with my butt squeezed into a black spandex skirt that, and I'm not kidding you, I'd bought thinking it was a headband. My generous upper parts were barely covered by an electric blue halter-top, and I'd gobbed on enough makeup that I when I passed Mamma Jo in the hallway on the way out, she introduced herself as if I was a new guest.