Hiding (Part Three)

Wednesday, two days later, I got a message from Lisa.

"Chu visited the kids, she told me a young man from Child Services showed up yesterday. He knocked on the door and spoke Chinese to the 12 year old. Then she called her mother. Chen did not care. He's coming back today at ten AM to ask the girl more questions."

"This is good news!" I wrote back.

"Indeed," wrote Lisa.

A few hours later I texted Lisa, "Any news?"

"Not yet."

"Be brave," I replied. About an hour later Lisa texted again.

"Chu has been checking in on the three children on her way home from the restaurant each night. Today Chen commanded her to stop," Lisa reported.

"Why did Chen do that? Does she suspect something?"

"I don't think she even cares!"

"I think of Chen more as mentally ill," I said. "Can Chu still call them each day?"

"Yes, of course," Lisa said.

"Good, we have to stay focused on the children. The kids will feel the love from Chu and it will give them strength and courage."

"I agree, totally." Lisa said.

I started keeping a close eye on my cellphone. I had a feeling that we'd be going back and forth as events unfolded. Now that Child Services was involved, we were just bystanders. It was hard not to want to be involved, like little detectives.

Thursday 6 AM text from Lisa: "OMFG, Chen's car is parked out front and I can hear the air conditioner running upstairs for the first time in months."

"Perhaps Chen was read the riot act." I wrote back.

"Chu said no, Chen is getting evicted for not paying rent. She has 3 days to be out," Lisa wrote. "Chu is afraid Chen will run off and not tell us where the children are being hidden. She is really scared."

11 AM text from Lisa: "I'm sending Chen's license plate and car description to Child Services, just in case she tries to escape, the police could track her down."

"Don't forget to breathe!" I wrote back. "And keep watching. If you see a moving truck get that license plate too."

8 PM text from Lisa: "Chen is gone again, she left at supper time. The kids are alone, I bet it will be for the night like usual. The littlest one is in the window watching my neighbors having a BBQ. She's sucking on a pacifier, she's maybe 2 years old? I've NEVER seen her in the window before."

"We have to try to be patient. It's the hardest thing. Make sure Chu phones the kids each day. Have you seen Chen moving any boxes?" I asked.

"Not a thing! And Monday is the first, it's coming fast." Lisa replied.

"Maybe Chen finally paid rent! At least if they're staying another month or two, we can keep an eye on them."

Friday 1:30 PM text from Lisa: "I just saw Chen and her kids unloading groceries from Chen's car, including a 20 pound bag of rice. Maybe they're NOT moving!"

"That's better for everybody," I replied. "But who knows where her rent is coming from. Not knowing what's going on is driving me crazy!"


Hiding (Part One)
https://theurbanmermaid.blogspot.com/2019/06/hiding.html

Hiding (Part Two)
https://theurbanmermaid.blogspot.com/2019/06/hiding-part-two.html

Hiding (Part Four)
https://theurbanmermaid.blogspot.com/2019/07/hiding-part-four.html