Payback Pt. 05

Maddy and I said goodbye to the young woman as she got up and went out of view.

"Do you need to help her?" I asked Caroline.

"No, she sees to herself to get ready for bed, so we can chat for a few minutes but I always go and tuck her in and say goodnight, so we can have a short break then, if you don't mind."

"No, that's fine by me." I replied.

"Goodnight Mrs. C." said Maddy.

"Goodnight Maddy." Caroline replied, a few seconds later I received a text and opened it, 'Skype at one pm XXX.'

"You seem to have quite an adventurous life Danno, catching fraudsters, inheriting a sister, rescuing people from drug dealers and gangs and now helping us and you have time for work too." Caroline said smiling.

"It must seem like that to you but all this has happened over five years and my work hours are random, I don't normally work weekends but the whole of the last one was spent at a big auction, I can miss days here and there and just check my answer phone and emails so I have plenty of free time when I want it and sometimes when I don't want it too." I explained to her.

"Can we call a break now while I go and check on Alicia?" She asked.

"Of course Caroline." I replied and after she got up I texted Maddy and asked 'What do you think?' I got a reply about a minute later, 'Alicia seems genuine, you can't talk that fast and not make mistakes, she was really excited, I'll introduce her to Carmen tomorrow night.'

Caroline came back and sat down and smiled (a very nice natural smile too).

"Alicia is still so excited, I doubt whether she will go to sleep any time soon." she said and laughed.

"I must admit I was feeling a bit excited and a little bit nervous too." I replied and smiled too.

"I was as well but I didn't expect you to be, with all the things you have done." she continued.

"Those things were because they affected me and my family directly or through my family to friends. You are... were complete strangers with a very powerful and emotional story that has come to my notice by random chance." I explained.

"In my business I have developed many contacts to help me acquire the things my customers want to buy, not all of them are strictly legal, I will buy and sell almost anything but I will not touch drugs, guns or stolen property, my contacts know this and work accordingly."

"I'm glad to hear that, you are actually an entrepreneur with a conscience but as I told you before, I cannot pay you for your help, it must cost you money to pay your contacts for any information they give you." Caroline said.

"It does depend on the information received but as I said before, I believe you and I am not doing this for money that you don't have and it's not just a fun thing to do because I'm bored with all the free time I have. I have researched you and your family because I thought there was a possibility that this could just be a scam to get money out of me." I said, looking for a reaction and only seeing surprise.

"To be crude," I continued, "You have been deliberately shit on from a great height and then shit on twice more, I thought that even though you cannot get the originator of the smell, you might get some sort of compensation from his estate if your case was proved."

"I'm sorry if it looked like that, I suppose that having been scammed in the past, it has made you suspicious of things like this and I was suspicious of a stranger contacting us 'out of the blue' offering to help us after all this time. You might have just been someone who was trying to take advantage of me or more likely, my beautiful but vulnerable daughter." she explained.

"Maybe it's fate if you believe in that but anyway I have some more information for you, which I have already passed to the detective working on the case." I said and told her all the information I had received from my contact including his detour on the way home.

"I believe he paid Lomax to 'clean house' and he did it in that lake or around that area, he didn't have a lot of time to do it from the time stamped traffic photos but I expect the police to either search that area or come to you for a DNA swab from Alicia because they already have her on record as a 'missing' person." Caroline was in tears as I was telling her this.

"How can I ever tell her that Rosie will never be coming back to her" she cried, "Thank you Danno but I need to be on my own now but I will talk to you tomorrow, when I have assimilated this. Goodnight Danno and thank you" and she cut the connection.

The next morning I skipped work and searched the Tampa newspapers on-line from the date of the abduction to see if any bodies of little black girls had been found in that lake or in that area.

It took a couple of hours but I found a report of the body of a girl of mixed race, had been found in the lake at Lake Baywood, six days after the disappearance in New Orleans.

As arranged I skyped Maddy at one pm and when she connected she cried,

"Danno, what the fuck's the matter?" I must have looked pretty upset so I told her of my conversation with Caroline last night and then of my newspaper search and discovery today.

"Oh shit! You will have to tell her tonight before the police come to see her, she has your phone number in case she wants to talk, while we are on holiday," she said, "Stella believes she is genuine and I do too and I know how good you can be in situations like this. We can discuss the next step while we are on holiday next week but I'm pretty sure I know where it's going."

"Ahh, you know me so well Maddy, I'm sure too," I replied, "But we'll leave any decisions until we get home."

"Okay Danno, I'll inform Stella and we'll see you tomorrow, bye." and she signed off.

I knew the girl was dead, it was too many coincidences for it not to be but the confirmation still upset me, but it was going to upset Caroline more. As it had been about a year since the body had been found there would have to be an exhumation and possibly another post mortem, then a transfer and a re-burial in New Orleans which could take weeks.

After that it would be time for her to focus on the future for herself and especially for Alicia and I hoped to have a helping hand in that. At nine I was half way through a large whiskey and when the others came on-line I could see that Caroline had a drink with her too and her eyes were a little red.

"How are you Caroline?" I asked as Maddy shushed Alicia for a moment.

"Managing, I think, actually I have to don't I?" and she looked lovingly at Alicia.

"More news later," I replied cryptically and she nodded. "Okay girls, off you go." I said brightly as they started chatting at high speed, then I spotted Carmen and she was introduced to Alicia and Caroline.

After that we were ignored, I finished my drink and saw her tip hers back and we both got up and fetched another.

When we sat back down I said 'Cheers' and we saluted each other with our drinks and both smiled a little and sat back and waited for the three girls to wind down which took about forty minutes.

"Okay, it's time for all people under twenty six to go to bed, Maddy and Carmen, you still have to study tomorrow, holiday time starts at one pm and not before and I will see you then, goodnight." I announced.

"Aww, Danno... but you're right, see you tomorrow, bye Alicia, bye Caroline." and they were gone.

"Come on Alicia, off you go to bed too, I will come and tuck you in shortly." she said lovingly.

"Okay Mommy, goodbye Danno." and she blew me a kiss and I blew one back.

"You know, she really likes you even though you have hardly spoken yet and she loves Maddy too and soon I guess, Carmen too. They are so bright and friendly and they obviously have a strong bond with each other, Alicia will miss them for the next week." She said smiling, "Now what's the new news and am I going to get upset again?" I raised my glass and took a good swig, "That bad huh?" she added and took a big swig of her own.

"I thought about all the information we have about Rosie's disappearance and decided to check the local newspapers around that time and discovered that the body of a girl that fitted Rosie's description was found in a lake about ten miles from Tampa a few days later, she had been in the lake for six days." I explained sadly. Of course Caroline was in tears but she had better control of herself tonight.

"How sure are you, that it is her, Danno?" she said quietly.

"It was a detailed description and the timing was right and my contact followed the van by traffic cams until it turned towards the lake. Hopefully the police can find a trace of evidence in the van at Tijuana which would confirm it." I said "The police will probably come to you somewhen soon for a DNA swab from Alicia to compare with what they have on file, so you will have to think of an excuse to tell her, when she asks why they want it."

"Yes, good idea, I don't want her upset when there's nothing either of us can do about it until we know the truth." she answered calmly, sipping her drink.

"Here is my phone number, you can call me anytime during the next week if you want to talk, if I don't answer, just leave a message and I'll call back." I said.

"But you are on holiday, you don't want to listen to me blubbering over the phone." she replied.

"Nonsense, think about how I feel with you there with all this sadness and me on the beach having fun, come on Caroline, that is what friends are for, if it wasn't for the holiday I would come and hold your hand." I said firmly.

"Would you really, it's an awfully long way, over six hundred miles I think?" she asked.

"Yes I would. It may take weeks but hopefully you will have Rosie back home and be able to bury her in New Orleans, if this is confirmed, so you will have her funeral to arrange and I would be honoured to help in any way I can." I said.

"Thank you but I will have to do that myself, I am not destitute, yet" she answered firmly "And also I will have to tell Alicia the truth before then."

"Of course you will but Maddy may be able to help you with that." I offered.

"Do you think I can't do that for myself?" Caroline snapped and burst into tears. "Oh shit! Shit! Shit! I'm sorry Danno, I know you're only trying to help and I appreciate it but it's too much information to absorb after so long without any, it's all too much for me right now, I have to think, I'll speak to you next week or when you get back. Goodnight Danno."

"Goodnight Caroline." I said as she cut the connection. I downloaded both nights' conversations onto a bigger flash drive and put it by my car keys and went to bed but sleep was hard to find for an hour or so but eventually I did get off.

I had to go to work in the morning to sort out a few things but was home by lunchtime, I cleared all the perishables out of the refrigerator and packed my bag for the holiday including the special little toy I had bought and Maddy's purple toy. I turned off the hot tub and made sure the cover on it was secure, locked the house and drove to Duncellin, arriving at one pm. Maddy greeted me in the garage and gave me a kiss and a big hug,

"I've set up the recordings on my laptop I just need to put yours into the sequence so we can watch them in order." she said. I was going to say 'Hello' to Conchita and Carmen but Maddy said that Conchita was having her makeover in The Haven and I was not allowed to see her until tomorrow, so I stayed in the house for the film show with Stella, Maddy and Konrad, whose astute comments were always valid.

Stella had tea, Maddy had a diet soda and Konrad had set up beers for us, so we sat around the dining table with the laptop at the end and the curtains drawn and no lights on, to watch the recordings.

We took a break after the first two and Stella said,

"I am pretty sure she is genuine and the girl is an innocent lamb but we will watch the other two now."

We sat and watched mainly to see Caroline's chat with me, afterwards I told them I'd had Ren0 check out their bank accounts and they were quite light in content. Konrad said that he thought that it was all genuine, and Stella confirmed what she had said earlier, Maddy added her opinion in favour too so that settled it for us, the next thing was about the treatment for Alicia.

"I have been thinking about this for quite a while and I've had an idea. If it turns out that the body is Rosie's then she will have to arrange the funeral, I have decided to go to it and take Maddy with me. We would be gone for maybe three days, it is six hundred and forty miles each way so I think flights would be best, should be less than a hundred dollars each return.

Caroline could collect us from the airport in her car." I explained, "We could sleep in a hotel or maybe in Caroline's house as it's got at least four bedrooms and the day after the funeral I could discuss the treatment with her and tell her where the money has come from. I've already taken some for my expenses so far but there's still about two hundred and seventy grand in my safe, more than enough to pay for the treatment and keep them comfortable for some time."

"Sound like a plan." said Konrad.

"Would you be willing to go with him for the funeral, Madeline?" Stella asked her.

"Of course, I can help with Alicia and give Danno time to explain it all to Caroline, it'll be my first flight and my first funeral and the first one at least, should be fun." Maddy said thoughtfully.

"I can see that this is the way to do it and I give it my blessing, you seem to attract waifs and strays Daniel but they've all turned out well so far." she said and smiled at Maddy who smiled too but probably not at what Stella was smiling about.

It was dinner and an early night for Maddy and I as we would be leaving about ten am, I wanted to get in a quick training session before then. I woke at seven and headed for the kitchen for coffee and cereal and then to the gym to work out for an hour and swim for half an hour afterwards and there was no sign of any of the girls so it was peaceful for a change.

I put Maddy's and my suitcases in the trunk and went for the others, I knocked on the door and Conchita opened the door and looked stunning a complex new hairstyle, at least two feet shorter and cut to frame her face, a blouse showing a bit of cleavage and slacks, all showing off the newly flat stomach, sandals that showed of her manicured and painted toenails and with fingernails to match.

"Wow Ms. Velasquez, you are looking good." I said and wolf whistled.

"Thank you Daniel, it's been a long time since anyone whistled at me." she said and laughed as she let me in to get their cases. I put them in the trunk too, closed it and went back into the kitchen where Stella had packed a cold box of food essentials like bread, milk, cheese, a bottle of red and one of white wine and a few cold beers.

"You will probably go out to dinner for the first couple of nights but this will keep you going until you shop." she said. At that point Conchita and Carmen walked in and this time Konrad whistled, Stella looked at him and laughed, "You really do look years younger Conchita, when even an old man like him sits up and takes notice." she said, smiling at Konrad and hugged her. Then it was hugs all round, I packed the cold box and we all got in the car with Maddy up front with me and the other two lying down in the back, in case of prying eyes.

42.

Once we were out of the city on I-4, Conchita and Carmen sat up and Maddy explained about the recordings of our skype chats with Caroline and Alicia and also some of the details about what my contacts had turned up. Suddenly there was a mighty roar and a biker gang rode slowly past, some of them leering at the girls, the two in the back shrank back in their seats in terror until they had gone. I fervently hoped none of the bikers recognised them and were just having fun scaring them.

About twenty miles down the road the bikers were parked on the side of the road and drinking beer and smoking as we drove by, one or two pointed at the car. If the worst came to the worst, I knew that I could outrun any of their Harleys or Indians and we could turn off and hide or find another route west.

Half an hour later the gang cruised by again and scared the two in the back again but kept going, laughing and when we got to Tampa I could just see them in the distance, fortunately they turned north and we carried on west to our great relief. We turned north onto the 60 and crossed the causeway to Clearwater and over the second causeway to Clearwater Beach, turning north past Clearwater Beach Island to our beach villa with the blue roof.

The paperwork gave a combination lock code to get the key to open the personnel gate the other key let us into the villa and a remote control near the door opened the electric gates to drive the car in and park it under a canopy in the shade. I closed the gate and we unloaded the car, well actually Conchita and I unloaded the car while the two girls investigated the villa.

I put my case in the master bedroom and the girls in the double, Conchita put hers in the twin room and the food went in the refrigerator, we unpacked our cases and I called out,

"Who wants to try out the beach" and heard three loud 'MEs' so we got our swimming and beach gear together with the sun screen and some water and I took the key hanging by the door in the patio wall and unlocked the back door and stepped out straight on the beach.

I relocked the door and zipped the key in my shorts pocket and ran to catch up with the girls, we put down towels and ran to the sea which was lovely and warm and splashed our way out and swam and dived after shells and the tiny fish. Conchita had her new bikini on and looked damned good in it too.

After a while we went back to the beach and dried off and we all applied sun screen to each other, Maddy took her top off and Carmen did the same and they giggled while they creamed each other's tits. We toasted ourselves for an hour, turning every so often then had another swim and returned to the villa to shower and get ready to go out to dinner.

We had previously decided that we would take it in turn to pay the bill and keep all the card receipts and when we got home we would add the shopping bills and balance the books so that we all paid the same amount.

We decided to have Chinese tonight and checked a few restaurants before selecting one and had a very nice meal for a good price, we didn't have any alcohol as we had some at the villa so soft drinks sufficed. When we got back Conchita whispered in my ear about when the special toy would appear.

"Not tonight, let's get settled in first." I told her and then asked Maddy if they had planned another rota or was it going to be a free for all foursome.

"A free for all tonight but I get you for the rest of the night, Conchita is itching to exact her revenge on her cheeky daughter so that's for tomorrow night and your choice." She grinned wickedly.

"I brought your toy too by the way, I thought it might get some use so I brought spare batteries" I said and laughed. "I will have a word with her, because I have an idea that might work, I'll tell you the details later."

I found Conchita in her room and said quietly,

"Tomorrow night you get the special toy to use and what I propose to do is this..." and I whispered in her ear the details just in case there were any eavesdroppers outside.

"Ooo Danno, that's devious and I love it, I will watch for the signal and get my revenge." she said, grinning.

We walked back into the lounge and the others had set up the drinks, wine for the girls and beer for me. After a few we adjourned to our own rooms to get ready for bed, the other three had to share a bathroom but I had an ensuite and finished first and lay in the middle of my emperor bed and waited for company. Maddy had pulled rank again and was first in and dived on the bed and then on me for a kiss and a good grope. Carmen followed shortly and then by Conchita, all naked and horny as hell.