Bound by the Red Thread

“Kristen, this is Nicole Swafford. She’s a client,” Colleen said by way of introduction.

Kristen held out her hand for Nicole to shake. “Thank you, I’m glad you enjoy them.”

As they were standing there, Devon came up behind Kristen and slid one arm around her waist, pulling her to him.

“There’s my girl,” he said in a deep rumbling voice. He turned to Nicole. “I see you’ve met my wife.”

“I was just telling her how much I like her books,” Nicole said. “I didn’t realize you’d married. Congratulations.”

“We’re just on our way out. Nicole went to high school with Nick,” Devon explained to Kristen as they moved toward the door.

“We were also. Ms. Swafford?” Paul asked.

“Yeah. Yes. That would be fine, I guess.” They all moved out of the building and stood in the morning sun.

Nicole glanced up at the man as they walked. His hand on the small of her back guiding her. She could feel the heat of his skin through her thin shirt. He was big, not as tall as Darrall, but close to a foot over her five feet five inches.

There were laugh lines at the corners of his eyes, and when he smiled at her, her heart skipped a beat.

He seemed/appeared to be a mix of Asian descent and something else, but his complexion was more of a swarthy, dark tan, whereas Jin’s had been pale and sallow.

“Would you like to ride with me or…” he asked, striding over to a large truck. “I’ll bring you back to your car anytime you want.”

Nicole thought a minute, then nodded. She was trusting these men to get her son back, so she should be able to trust them for anything.

He opened the truck door and Nicole eyed the huge step up. How the hell did people get into these things?

“May I?” Paul asked. When she nodded he placed one hand on either side of her waist and lifted her up to the sideboard. She could climb in from there.

“Thank you,” she said, settling herself in the seat and fastening her seat belt.

Paul got into the truck and guided it to the compound’s exit. At the gate, he rolled down the passenger window and waved the guard over. “Ms. Swafford will be leaving her car here for a couple of hours. Write down my cell number and the tags on my truck. If she isn’t back before dark, please call the police.” The security guard nodded after he wrote down the information Paul provided.

“Thank you. I’m sure that wasn’t necessary,” Nicole said smiling.

“I want you relaxed, not worried I’m going to drag you off somewhere.” Paul laughed and drove out of the complex.

“If you don’t mind, I saw a nice Asian Bistro not far from here. I’ve heard the food is good and authentic,” Paul said as he steered the truck onto the highway.

He guided the conversation to lighter topics until they were sitting in the restaurant and had both placed their orders.

The menu had a huge variety of traditional dishes and Dim Sum, and Paul had ordered from both menus. When the food started arriving, it smelled amazingly

good.

They were about halfway through the meal when Paul prompted, “Tell about Jin Peng. Anything you think might be useful. Every detail I get will help me get into the man’s head.”

Nicole started telling him how they’d met and what little she knew about Jin’s family.

A few moments into her story, Paul’s phone rang, and, with a nod to her, he answered, “Go for Brain, whatcha need? Hang on...” He turned to Nicole. “I’m going to step outside to take this, I’ll be right back.”

Nicole nodded and continued to nibble on the enormous amount of food he’d ordered.

Paul was back in a few minutes. “Sorry about that.”

“No worries,” Nicole said with a smile.

“Now, about Jin Peng. Would you mind telling me more about how you met him?”