Chapter 86

The new arrivals accepted an invitation to Rebecca's house for the next morning and showed up in time for breakfast. They all got a good laugh when they saw it was Adam doing the honors – and sure enough Mary got an omelet made to order.

Adam was happy to see his friends so relaxed. Their time away from school had been good for them. He lamented the fact that he had probably worked harder during his break than he normally did during the school year. Then he wondered if what he had done could actually be considered work. He doubted it.

When the dishes were safely stacked in the dishwasher, the group sat in Rebecca's parlor and she explained the house to everyone.

"I thought this was the place," Mike said.

Rachelle's chin dropped to her chest and she turned her laser-like gaze to her father.

"And how do you know about this place?" she asked. Adam couldn't tell if she was playing or serious. He doubted Mike could, either.

"This place is a landmark," Mike said, apparently deciding he didn't care whether Rachelle was angry or not. "When I was in college, we heard about this place. There was a rumor that some girls we knew worked here. My friends and I tried like crazy to find a way to get invited. But we couldn't.

"I guess it's for the best," he continued. "We were too stupid not to make a spectacle of ourselves and all we would have managed to do was to embarrass some really nice young ladies if they did, in fact, work here. When did this place close? It was open for like a hundred years or something."

"About that," Rebecca agreed. "It closed seven years ago. My uncle bought the house to help the madam with legal fees. He gave it to me because otherwise the government would have seized it when they seized the rest of his assets. It's a convoluted story that I'm sure the rest of your friends can fill you in on if you're interested."

"I can't believe I finally made it into 'Durango, '" Mike said. "That is what everyone called it but I don't think it actually had a name."

"It didn't but you're right," Rebecca answered with a laugh. "It was called 'Durango' in 1960s and 1970s. In the 80s and 90s it was referred to as 'Gold Gulch.' Earlier it was 'Smiley's Saloon.' It had a lot of names in the hundred years it was around."

"And you own it?" Mike asked.

"Free and clear," Rebecca said. "My uncle purchased the house five years ago in my name with my parents as trustees. The deed was transferred to me when I turned 18. Sometimes it's as much of a curse as it is a blessing. A few times a month some old man will stop his Coupe de Ville outside and ring the buzzer. It's why the gates are still up. I thought about posting a sign that this is a private residence but I doubt it would work."

She shrugged.

"Well, at least I don't feel like I'm over-achieving anymore," Sean said with a laugh. "When you come down to visit, we'll take you out to our new place – or places, I guess. We thought we were going to be living in the lap of luxury."

"I probably would prefer to live closer to people I know," Rebecca said, "Particularly since I actually know people I would like to spend time with now. But I spent a ton of money turning this place into a place I can use for shoots. No one else could use it so I'm pretty much stuck with it."

"Probably not," Sean said. "It's a valuable property. Regardless of what you've done, there will be someone who is interested. When you see our house, you'll understand better. When are you coming down?"

"Today, actually," Rebecca said. "I don't start back to classes until Tuesday. So I'm going to drive down and spend the next couple of days just hanging out."

"That's great!" Rachelle said. "Sean's sister is coming in later today. We'll have a huge group. We have a spare room at our apartment with two beds if you just want to stay with us."

"I was going to ask to sleep on Leslie's couch," Rebecca said. "But I might just take you up on it. So, do you mind telling me a little more about your web hosting capabilities?"

Mary scoffed.

"As soon as I know I'll be more than happy to fill you in," she said. "Right now I've set aside three computers I've built. One of those will have to be a backup for Dazzle. If what I heard last night is accurate, we'll be hosting their site in a couple of weeks. What do you want to know specifically?"

"How much will you charge?" Rebecca asked. "I have no doubt that you'll be more user friendly than anything I've used before. What I'm really worried about is how much it costs?"

"How much do you pay now?" Sean wondered.

Mary's mouth dropped when Rebecca told them.

"Far less than that," Mary said. "As in less than half, I could charge you a quarter of that and still make a small profit. But since I think I'll have to upgrade my system to accommodate the traffic your site will bring, I would say it will be less than half. Say 40 percent of what you're paying now for unlimited bandwidth."

It was Rebecca's turn to look like a guppy.

"Is that a solid quote?" Rebecca asked.

"It is the same number I quoted Dazzle, so yes," Mary said with a nod.

Mike cleared his throat and looked sheepish.

"I, uh, well, I probably overstepped the bounds of my role in Subarctic this morning," he said. "I mentioned to Adam last night that the bank that handles my credit card billing would probably be willing to handle it for any site that Subarctic hosts. Well, not Dazzle but they have their own billing set up. I called this morning to get the particulars on my deal and my contact there happened to be in. I think Subarctic will be able to put forth a competitive bid to do your billing for you if they are so inclined. It will be through Peoples Bank, not some fly-by-night group. But I think we'll have to set up a third party to confirm subscriptions or hire a couple of people solely for that job."

"Or we could automate it," Mary said with a shrug. "I have a script for that. It's the way a lot of non-adult sites do it now. But do we really want to do this? With the billing, I mean."

"We can discuss it Monday night," Sean said. "I hope we can all get together for a corporate meeting at 6. Does anyone see a problem with that?"

No one appeared to take issue with a meeting on Monday.

"Then I think by the time you come back next weekend, we will have a firm quote on what you can expect from Subarctic if you choose to move your web site," Sean said.

"Uh, before we go too far, I think I should mention that I am interested too and that Adam has a really solid idea along those lines," Leslie said.

"We'll be glad to have you," Mary said. "And we would expect nothing less than firm things from Adam."

The group headed back to Los Angeles in good spirits.

The groups completely shifted for the drive southwest. There were four cars headed that direction – because Rebecca would need a way back to Las Vegas. There was no need to pack six people into the SUV, so Sean elected to drive back with Rachelle and Nora as passengers because they were swinging even farther south to pick up Erin and drop off Nora. Mike took Adam and Leslie with him. Walt and Mary took Shelly and Allie. Rebecca gave a ride to Sarah and Karlie.

There was very little serious conversation. It was mostly a chance to tell stories from the past week to new company. Adam was happy he didn't have to drive. In fact, he waited until the midway point of the desert to announce he had to pee badly – just as Shelly had done on the way up. It drew a harsh look from Mike but Leslie just laughed and related the tale of the trip to Vegas.

"I was going to hand you a soda bottle but then I realized you would need something with a bigger neck," Mike said. "There might be a sports drink bottle somewhere but I wouldn't count on it."

Leslie giggled further. She had been pleasantly surprised by Mike Cunningham and Nora Silverman. Neither appeared to look at any of the group with disdain. She had expected disappointment from Sean's mother but she had expected something far different from Mike Cunningham.

He was obviously well-off and guys like that tend to try to control things. They also tended to believe that women like Leslie (and particularly women who make their living the way Leslie made hers) should be willing to let them sample the goods. Mike had been a complete gentleman the entire time. His glances the night before reminded her of Sean's. Mike let you know he found you to be an attractive woman but he also made sure to let you know he found value in more than your looks.

"Did you hear about Reverend Kimble?" Mike asked. Adam shook his head and Leslie wondered exactly who Rev. Kimble might be.

"He got busted for human trafficking and child sexual abuse," Mike replied with a grim laugh.

"What!" Adam exclaimed.

"Who's Reverend Kimble?" Leslie inquired.

Mike explained about the televised religious program and how he and Adam knew the man.

"I've seen that crap," Leslie said with disdain. "It's big in the South. Good to know stupidity is not a regional malady."

"What do you mean by human trafficking?" Adam asked. "Is that what is sounds like?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Mike answered. "It seems some of his regional church directors have been approaching members with troublesome young daughters. The members are all brain-washed. I'm not sure there is an ounce of common sense among all of his followers. These sheep would ship their daughters to Los Angeles to serve Kimble. He called them 'Brides of the Temple, ' I guess.

"And he liked the young ones, too. None of the four were older than 16. He kept a 13-year-old, a 14-year-old, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old for his personal wives. Once a girl hit 17, she was sold to a brothel, usually in Mexico but sometimes in southern Russia or Southwest Asia."

"Jesus Christ!" Leslie exclaimed.

"Yeah," Mike said sadly. "Usually by that point, the girls were so strung out on drugs they didn't care what became of them. The 'Chronicle' had a big story on it yesterday. I guess one of the guys you met was actually an undercover FBI agent. The last one Kimble shipped out apparently still kept some of her rebelliousness. She ran away from a Mexican brothel and contacted the authorities. The FBI got someone inside but he couldn't locate the girls."

"Because that crazy old woman was hiding them," Adam said. "That's why there were so many different sizes of clothing. Damn, I hope he gets the death penalty."

"He already did," Mike said. "He was arrested Wednesday morning. I guess they found him dead in his cell yesterday. Someone had gutted him like a fish – and the guards say they didn't see a thing."

"His God better be a whole hell of a lot more forgiving than mine would be," Adam said as he stared out the window and wondered if there was no end to the amount of human detritus floating around in Los Angeles.

"On another topic, did you check my house other than that one time?" Mike asked after the group had driven a few more miles in silence.

"I checked on the way out of town," Adam said. "It was still standing. It looked like some squatters had moved in but I don't think we'll have any problem rousting them."

"They'll probably have starved to death if they didn't bring their own food," Mike answered, hoping to bring the conversation back to something less maudlin. "Maybe they killed that damned dog that craps in my yard every evening and survived that way. If they did, I'll probably invite them to stay a week or two."

"Your property isn't fenced?" Leslie wondered. She figured Mike lived pretty well.

"Barely fenced," Mike said. "I really have been meaning to get it replaced. It's the same fence that was there when I moved in last year. It appears to be more for decoration than for actually keeping anything out of the yard."

"Where do you live?" Leslie asked.

"Not far from you actually," Adam answered. "He lives about half a mile west of you on the same road. You drive past the turn for his house from the freeway to your apartment."

Leslie sat back. There were some decent neighborhoods in that area but none she would consider opulent.

"Briarwood," Mike said to be more specific. "Do you live in a complex or just in an apartment?"

"I live in Rosewood Terrace," Leslie said.

"Those were built by the same group who built the subdivision I live in," Mike said. "That's interesting. Well, make sure you beep your horn the next time you drive past. I'll wave when I go past Rosewood. I drive that way when I go visit Rachelle. Of course that is only for a couple of more months, I suppose. Then you'll be close to everyone. Have you seen their new place?"

"Not yet but I'm hoping soon," Leslie said.

"Does Sean have the keys?" Mike wondered.

"I have them," Adam said. "I moved some of the stuff this week for everyone."

"Let's call everyone and stop," Mike suggested. "It will give me an excuse to drop you guys off and head home for a while. I think I'll wait until tomorrow to be formally introduced to Nora's daughter."