Throwaway People

Helping Kitty

Green Acres, Camp: 5:05 PM

Kitty went along with the old whore. She didn't believe that Patty could help her. Kitty was sore because the guy had been so rough. Kitty went with Patty because she was hurting. It wasn't just a physical pain. Sure, she had bruises. It wouldn't be the first time. Kitty was emotionally spent too. She couldn't really think straight. She just wanted to shut down, let someone---help her.

Kitty went down the path, up to the apartment in a sort of haze. Like she had smoked a lot of pot. Kitty had smoked a little. Rolled a joint before she went to work. She was allowed to buy pot at the Casa Sombrio after she gave most of her earnings to Jose. Kitty was allowed to keep twenty or so for expenses that she needed. Pot took up most of that money.

Kitty was being undressed. She didn't need help. Kitty knew what came next. No, not that. This was a bathroom. Kitty stepped into the shower. Washing the smell of pot, the man, the Sombrio Casa, off of her. Cleaning her body. It woke Kitty up, she used the body wash that was on the edge of the tub. Kitty stepped out of the shower smelling like flowers.

Despite the shower, Kitty still felt out of it. What was wrong with her? She went across the hall to a bedroom. Now, Kitty thought, she'd have to show her appreciation. Patty helped Kitty into the bed. Pulled the cover over her naked body, leaving Kitty to fall asleep.

Kitty dreamed of Terri. Terri knelt beside the bed, holding Kitty's hand. "I'm here." She said.

"I'm here." The young figure that had followed the path to the house earlier that morning said again. "I've come back for you."

Palm Springs, Fresco: 5:45 PM

Jim met Patty at the back of the Fresco parking lot. "I was thinking, we really don't have to wait for each other here anymore. We could meet at the camp."

"I found Kitty. She's at the camp." Patty sounded angry.

Jim wondered if Patty was on the defensive about taking Kitty to the camp. Her body language was very tense. Her arms were crossed. Her movements concise, stiff. Something was wrong. Jim didn't know how it could relate to him. He did know to tread carefully.

"Look, I've been asking around about this Kitty." Jim started. Thinking that it was possible Patty heard about his asking questions. Possibly his encounter with Little C.

"She was raped." Patty was so angry that she could barely contain herself. "If that wasn't bad enough someone else robbed her."

"I'm sorry." It was all that Jim could think to say.

"I didn't want to leave her alone, but I knew we were supposed to meet here." Patty turned and started down Cresthaven.

Jim followed Patty, letting her walk a little ahead of him. He didn't know how to make this situation right. Didn't know what to say to Patty that would help her. All he could do was follow behind Patty until she was ready to talk.

"I'm not letting her go out there to be raped again. She isn't going to disappear, get cut up, or killed." Patty kicked at a discarded plastic cup. Sending it flying down the sidewalk.

"What are you going to do?" Jim moved up beside Patty.

"Let her stay at the camp for now." Patty said. "I know, I can't keep her locked up there."

"Will she bother to stay?"

"She's in shock. I don't think Kitty's going anywhere tonight. I don't know what to do. All I can think of is getting Department of Children and Families involved, but I'm afraid Kitty will bolt if I contact Dcf."

"What's Kitty's full name? Her real name?" Jim wanted to keep Patty talking.

"I don't know." Patty and Jim crossed the street. "I don't even think she knows."

"Kitty may have been abducted from her family six years ago, by a man that the crew that works for Jose call Perro Loco." Jim explained. "If she knows her full name we might be able to locate her parents."

Jim related to Patty the information that he gleaned from Bobbi and Little C. He skipped the part where he baited Little C and put a knife to his throat.

"You think she was taken from her family?" Patty asked.

Jim liked to look out at the water in the canals that were everywhere in Florida. It helped him clear his mind. Helped him think. Patty seemed impatient to get back. Jim wondered if she thought Kitty might not be there. He thought about telling Patty to go on back to the camp. He needed to think about this.

"They may be still looking for her, after all this time. Bet they have a aged enhanced photo." Jim told Patty as he started walking with her back to camp. "If she remembers her name we could see if she is listed in The Center for Missing and Exploited Children website. We could see if we could spot her photo on the website."

Patty put an arm around Jim's waist. "Sounds like a good idea." Jim suddenly felt better.

Green Acres, Camp: 6:05 PM

Patty went upstairs to check on Kitty. Jim stayed downstairs in the office. If Kitty was awake, Jim didn't want to scare her. Right now, Kitty might not appreciate a strange man showing up. He took out the bourbon in the desk. He set two shot glasses on the desk. Remarkably clean after what might have been thirty years in the desk.

"How is she?" Jim asked as Patty came down the stairs.

"Sound asleep." Patty leaned on the desk.

"Thirty year old bourbon." Jim said, breaking the paper seal. "At least I think it's thirty years old. Everything else around this place is."

"This place is strange. It doesn't look like it's sat empty for the last thirty years." Patty picked up a shot glass. "These glasses look like they were just washed. That bottle may be old, but it doesn't look dusty. There should be a layer of dust over this whole place."

Jim poured bourbon into the shot glass Patty held. More in his own. He saluted Patty and downed the bourbon. "Smooth." Jim said.

Patty downed hers. Her eyes widened. "Wow."