May 12, 1975
Three Days Before the Abduction
Grizz pulled up to the little store on Andrews Avenue. He could tell by the outside décor that it probably specialized in girly, novelty items. At least that was what the owner thought was being sold. But Grizz knew Ginny’s mother was using it as a front to sell her pot. He didn’t really give a shit. That’s not what he was here for.
Seeing Ginny kiss that boy had really unnerved him. He’d been right in thinking she was maturing. She looked even more like a woman in the arms of a man. Or rather, a boy. His jaw muscles tightened just thinking about how difficult it had been that night at Guido’s. If Ginny’s parents hadn’t pulled in when they did, there was no telling what he might’ve done. He fell asleep Saturday night dreaming of pounding the kid’s face into a shapeless sack and he didn’t know why.
He opened the door and had to duck below the tinkling chimes. He immediately was hit with the overpowering scent of incense. It hung in the air like a blanket. He also knew it was burning to mask the smell of weed. So, she was smoking weed on the job. Of course she was. He looked around but didn’t see her, so he headed for the counter at the back of the store.
Delia took one last pull on her joint, holding it in for less time than usual. She exhaled and then picked up her cigarette. She had been in the back of the store unpacking some new merchandise. She would go out and see if this new customer needed any help.
She stopped short when she came out of the back room. Standing behind the sales counter was the biggest, scariest looking man she had ever seen, certainly not the type of person who frequented this kind of store. Lulu’s sold herbal remedies, macramé jewelry and belts, hanging planters, fragrant homemade candles and soaps. She also had her own specific clientele, but they were more of a casual crowd. This guy looked downright ominous. Maybe he was buying something for his wife.
She casually approached him and laid her cigarette in a homemade pottery ashtray on the counter. She had quit smoking cigarettes a while back and just had them on hand for when she got high at work. They masked the smell of pot in the store and on her breath. This one would eventually burn itself out. “Can I help you?” she asked with almost a touch of arrogance.
He didn’t answer. Just stared at her. His eyes were mesmerizing, almost hypnotic. She sized him up without breaking from his gaze. Big and menacing. Criminal? Maybe. She reached below the counter to see if the baseball bat she kept there was within reach. Lulu’s wasn’t in the safest neighborhood. He noticed her movement.
“You’ll leave that where it is,” he calmly stated.
“Leave what?”
“Whatever the fuck it is you’re reaching for.”
She calmly laid both hands on the counter. “Okay, so what can I help you with, Mister—?” She let it hang there, hoping he would offer a name.
He was a little surprised. He knew she was a hippie pothead. But he never expected her to be a brave one. She was stoned. Maybe that made her brave.
“You have a daughter,” he began.
“I don’t know what you’re trying—”
“I’m talking. You will shut up and listen. Got it? Don’t answer. Just nod.”
She nodded.
“You have a daughter. She’s a smart and pretty girl. She doesn’t do drugs or sleep around. She makes perfect grades. She does all your banking. Pays all your bills. Cooks, cleans, does your laundry. Even takes care of the animals that run all over your house. She’s basically in your employ for food and a room.”
This caught Delia off guard.
“You make her sound like a slave,” she said, forgetting the rule that she was supposed to just shut up and listen.
“She is a slave. I’ll make this simple. I want her.”
Delia’s eyes widened.
“Now, I don’t need your permission to take her. I can just take her and I can guarantee you that you will not go to the police. You will tell everyone who asks, including your husband, that she ran away.”
Delia didn’t know what to say to this. Who was this guy and why did he want Gin? She peered at him. “Look. I don’t know who you are and I don’t know why you want my daughter. But she’s not for sale.”
“I didn’t offer to buy her, but I find it interesting that you mentioned it.” He sneered at her.
“I didn’t offer to sell her, so—”
“So, since you mentioned it,” he spoke over her, “here’s the price. I won’t tell the cops about your stash and your little side business. I’ll even let you and Vince live. How’s that for payment?”
She was so shocked by the fact that he knew about her pot business and her husband’s name that she couldn’t answer right away.
“I—I, I love my girl.”
“Yeah, tell that to somebody who’ll actually believe it. You use her. You don’t love anybody.”
“I care about her! And how do I even know you won’t do what you said to me and Vince? I still don’t even know who the hell you are!”
He cocked his head to one side and looked at her seriously. Interesting, he thought. She’s more worried about the threat he made to her and her husband than about her daughter’s well-being. Then he remembered the circumstances that led up to the Johnny Tillman incident. Had he actually let himself believe Delia had started to give a shit about Ginny since then? No. She was still a heartless bitch.
“You don’t know. But you shouldn’t risk it. You shouldn’t cross me.” He then reached into his right pocket and took out a plastic sandwich bag. He plopped it on the counter.
“Or what?” she asked haughtily. “You’ll threaten me with your lunch?”
She squinted at the clear bag now lying on the counter in front of her. It looked like two shriveled and dried up worms.
“Just wanted you to see what happens when someone pisses me off. You remember Johnny Tillman? The fuck that tried to rape her?”
How did this guy know about that? “Yeah, what about him?” she asked, still staring at the sandwich bag. It must have been in the freezer. It looked like there was condensation on the inside of the bag.
Grizz leaned on the counter and got close to her face. “I know what you did that night. And I know why.”
This caught Delia off guard. She took a step back and composed herself. She couldn’t think of what to say to him so she acted like she didn’t hear his last few remarks. “Want me to ask him why I shouldn’t piss you off? I can’t. He took off.”
“You can ask him, but he won’t answer,” he replied as he picked up the baggie and tossed it at her.
She caught it with one hand. “Really, and why is that?”
“Because you’re holding his lips.”
She gasped and dropped the baggie. He turned and walked out of Lulu’s, calling over his shoulder, “If you need more proof, I keep his balls in my freezer.”
Grizz decided to stop by The Red Crab and get something to eat. He had another pressing matter to attend to, but it would be better if he handled that one after dark. He was going to find Matthew Rockman and have a little talk.
**********
Vince met Delia at Smitty’s after work and she seemed exceptionally quiet. He asked if everything was okay and she told him everything was fine.
She was relieved when he got up to shoot some pool. She sipped her beer and thought back to earlier that day, when the scary guy came into her shop. She recalled the specific instructions he gave her, somewhere between telling her he wanted Ginny and tossing that disgusting bag at her. It was a blur, but she remembered most of it.
He wouldn’t tell her a specific day. He wouldn’t tell her when or where, but he was adamant about how it would play out. She recalled his instructions with a shiver.
“One day very soon, she won’t come home. You won’t panic. You’ll act casual about it with your husband. You’ll tell him you had an argument with her and she’s probably mad and at a friend’s.”
“He won’t believe it. She never argues. She’s an easy kid. Never gives us trouble. And she really doesn’t have any friends. Just some acquaintances.”
“Then you make up something he will believe.”
“I just don’t see how—”
“Do it!” He slammed his fist down on the counter, startling her and causing her to shake. “You will do it and you will be convincing. And when Vince isn’t around, you’ll go into her room and pack up just a few things that she might take with her, and you’ll take them down to Miami and toss them in a dumpster. You’ll refuse to call the police for a few days because you are certain she’s just blowing off steam.”
“But it’s not like her! Vince will never believe it.”
He reached over the counter and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her close to his face. “You’ll make him believe it. Maybe it’ll be easier for you to come up with something if your life depends on it.”
He shoved her back just as quickly as he grabbed her and she almost stumbled.
Now, Delia took a sip of her beer and sighed as she remembered what came next. She remembered fighting nausea after she realized the guy knew the reason behind Johnny Tillman’s attack on Ginny more than a year earlier. After he walked out, she ran to the restroom and threw up. She tossed the baggie in a dumpster behind Lulu’s. She didn’t doubt for a second that this guy would make good on his threats.
She was going to have to let him have Ginny.
Downing the rest of her beer, she slapped the bottle back on the bar with more force than she’d intended. Great. This was just great. Not only would she be down a daughter, but she was going to have to start taking care of the house, the cooking, all of it. Dammit.
But Delia did handle it. It wasn’t as hard as she’d initially thought. Vince was too drunk to notice the first night that she didn’t come home. When he asked if Ginny needed a ride to the bus stop the next morning, Delia made something up about her wanting to get to school early.
“Did she get a ride? Did Matthew pick her up?” Vince asked.
She wasn’t sure how to answer. If Matthew was questioned later, she didn’t want to get caught in a lie. She didn’t have to answer.
“Dammit, Delia! One of your effing cats took a piss in my shoe!”
It wasn’t until Sunday night that Vince realized something was off.
“Where is Gin? I haven’t seen her all weekend,” Vince asked in a drunken stupor. He was inebriated, as was his habit, but not too plastered to realize there was a sink full of dirty dishes, the cats were howling to be fed and he had no clean work shirts for the next day.
It was then that Delia put on the performance of her life. Afterwards, Vince said, “Shouldn’t we call the police? Report her as a runaway? Something?”
“What are they going to do?” Delia countered. “She’ll come home when she’s ready. She’s a smart girl. She probably had this planned for a while.”
He didn’t put up any resistance. This is easier than I imagined, Delia told herself. Maybe she is better off with that guy. Good luck, Ginny, wherever you are.
She took a drag on her joint, swallowed the last of the warm beer in the can she was holding and decided that she would take the cats to the pound first thing in the morning. She had no interest in caring for them.