Renting Ginny

“You do realize just how dangerous it is to be doing what you’re doing?” my Mom asked me as I sat between her and my father at the kitchen table the next morning. “Yes, Mom, I do. That’s why I’m ready to move on.” “Ginny,” said my Dad, “you know we’ve always tried to let you kids have a mind of your own. We let you do your own thing and be who you are. But when you put yourself at risk, we find it hard to just step back and keep our thoughts to ourselves.” “I understand, Dad, I really do.” “What you’ve been doing may be legal, but when you think about it – really think about it – it still equals prostitution. Just because you’re not picked up on the streets at random and just because the woman running the escort service tries to screen its clients, doesn’t make it any safer. You could’ve been killed. How can you be sure that the women whose homes you go to won’t have a group of guys waiting to rape you and then strangle you to death?” “Dad, I could be walking down the street and end up snatched up into some truck or van with a bunch of guys eager to do just that to me, but I get what you’re saying. The risks are certainly higher with this type of work. What happened with Anina, or whatever her name really is, was a definite wake-up call for me.” “So, where do you propose to go from here, dear?” asked my mother. “I don’t know yet. I only know that right now I want to go get the few things I have in my room at the escort service and get out of there.” “Are you going to tell the woman there why you’re leaving?” “I sure am. She needs to know about this woman. I probably should have warned her about her as soon as I escaped. I worry she’s got a new girl with her, and I don’t have to remind you that if she does, she’s taken her to a condo we can’t find and that doesn’t seem to have ever existed.” “What are you guys talking about?” I turned toward the kitchen doorway where the voice had come from, unaware that my sister was even home. She stood there eying us with curiosity, golden blond hair the same shade as mine in a disheveled heap around her shoulders. She’d obviously just gotten up. “Hey, sis, what are you doing here?” “I broke up with my boyfriend late last night. I wish I could trade problems with you, whatever yours is. I’m sure you could deal with the heartache a lot easier than I can,” said Alexa. “That’s okay,” I told her. “If you can’t handle heartaches, there’s no way you could handle being kidnapped, beaten, and tied up until a couple of burglars come to your rescue.” “What!” Alexa said, stunned. “Is this a joke?” “Do I look like I’m joking? You don’t hear me, Mom or Dad laughing, do you?” “Oh, my God!” she said, face becoming empathetic, “I’m so sorry. When did this happen?” “A few days ago.” “Were they arrested?” “No, not yet, I’m afraid. She gave a bogus name to the escort service.” “You gonna go back there?” “Only to get my crap, tell the owner about it, and then leave for good.” “Come work with me at the fast food place,” said Alexa. “That’s just what I need to do,” I said, “get myself the most boring, crappy paying, and non-glamorous job on earth.” “Would you rather be out there getting killed?” asked Dad. “No, of course not. I just don’t want to have to drop to the bottom of the barrel either.” “But you have to start somewhere,” my Mom pointed out, “and from there you can figure out where to go next.” “Then I guess I’ll be flipping burgers with Alexa soon.” My sister rolled her eyes. “You wouldn’t flip them, you’d sell them. Also, before you consider me at the bottom of the barrel, consider all the people you might meet that pass through there that are actually sane.” “I want my DVD back I lent you a couple of weeks ago,” I called after her as she left the room with coffee and an apple. Although it was with a gentle smile and loving heart, my Mom began to grate on my nerves. “You need to push a little harder in life, sweetie.” “Mom, I know your intentions are good, but what do you want me to do? Start saving lives? Write a bestseller? Become a movie star?” Dad pushed back from the table. “Let’s start by talking to the lady at the escort service.” “I was just going to ride my bike over there myself. I can’t hide out with others close by forever, can I?” “No,” he said, “but I want to talk to the owner too, and see if she’ll tell me what address she has on file.” “She’ll never give it to you. Emmy’s pretty strict about keeping her client’s info confidential.” “We’ll see about that,” Dad said with an air of confidence. “Your Dad’s a pretty persuasive man,” my Mom said. “While you two are doing your detective work, I’m going to do something about my hair today.” “What’s wrong with it?” I asked. “It looks fine.” Mom snorted. “Just hanging?” I stood up from the table. “That’s what hair is supposed to do, Mom. It wasn’t meant to float.” Kissing her on the cheek, I headed out with my Dad. “Oh, no,” I was muttering a few minutes later as Dad and I pulled into the escort parking lot. “Oh, no.” “What?” Dad asked anxiously. “See that black Mercedes over there?” “Yeah.” “Well, she drove a black Mercedes.” “Remember the plate?” “Nope.” We stepped out of the van, and I gazed around me, almost fearing she was hiding behind a vehicle or a tree, waiting to jump out and pounce. At the same time, I noticed that the parking lot was emptier than it usually was. “She can’t hurt you now,” my Dad assured me as we made our way into the large house, which was a mansion of sorts. The foyer was empty. “Wait here a sec,” I told Dad. I headed into the living room and saw that there were only two girls in it. They were sitting by a window talking. I didn’t recognize either of them, and they didn’t even seem to notice me. I re-entered the foyer. “Emmy’s office is this way.” My Dad followed me in the opposite direction from the living room. We went down a narrow hallway and to a closed door. I knocked on it. “Yes?” we heard from inside. I pushed the door open. “Ginny!” Emmy said with what seemed like genuine surprise. “There you are. Where have you been?” “Where’s that crazy woman? Better yet, who is she?” I demanded. Emmy frowned with confusion. “What?” “That woman who rented my services. The one who claimed to be Anina Hahn.” “Wait a minute,” said Emmy, still appearing to be confused. “Who is this man, Ginny?” “He’s my father. Now, what about the woman going by the alias of Anina Hahn? The one who drove a black Mercedes, much like the one out in the parking lot?” Emmy frowned again, rose from her seat behind her desk, and walked over to the front window. She parted the slats in the blinds and peered out. “What Mercedes?” I stepped over to the window and had a look for myself. No Mercedes. “The woman I was rented out to last week turned out to be a real sicko.” I filled her in on what she’d done to me and even the guys who had broken me out. “But I didn’t rent you out to anyone,” Emmy insisted. “I thought you quit.” I looked at her, horrified. This wasn’t happening! “What’s this, some sort of sick conspiracy?” my father asked. Emmy simply shrugged, again insisting she knew nothing of any such woman. “I don’t know what the hell’s going on here,” I said, “but I’m definitely quitting right now. You can count on that much. I’m going up to my room to get the few possessions I’ve got sitting in it, and then I’m out of here.” I left my Dad standing in her office as I raced back down the hall and up the stairs to my room. Why was the house so dead? I wondered as I passed by one empty room after another. The house had ten rooms, and each could keep two workers at a time in them. Yet every single room I passed seemed empty. Even when business was booming, at least a half a dozen girls were usually at the house. I stepped into the room I had shared with Daisy and found that Daisy’s side of the room was empty. Her armoire was empty, its door standing open and its padlock removed. I glanced at the neatly made bed and the empty vanity table. “She isn’t rented,” I muttered to myself. “She’s gone just like me.” I pulled the key to the armoire I had been using from my purse and was just about to insert the key into the lock when I sensed a presence behind me. I spun around. Anina! “Going somewhere?” she asked.