Beverly Hills P.I., Sammy Jo White, is gorgeous, smart, and as fit as Olympic athlete. But, it's her incredible tenacity and perseverance, and sometimes lack of using common sense, that ultimately help her to get the job done. Hired by the owner of a well-known talent agency, to find proof that her husband is cheating on her, among other things, Sammy soon finds out something far more sinister is going on. When her college roommate is murdered, and the man she's supposed to be investigating turns up dead, making her a suspect, Sammy thinks the two cases are related. With the help of her ex-boyfriend, Detective John Barone of the Beverly Hills Police Department, and coincidentally, the same man who broke her heart, they set out to find the missing link, stepping into a world of sex, drugs, and high-class call girls...
EXCERPT Prologue It was nearing the end of February in Bucharest, Romania. Blankets of snow covered the ground, and the air was thick with sleet and cold, as eleven-year old Oksana braved the storm in search of food to feed her family. She scoured trash containers, begged for scraps from the local restaurants, and on occasion stood helplessly with her hand out, hoping the locals would have pity. Each day she woke, her mission was the same.
For two days, a man had been lurking in the background, with Oksana in his sights. He watched, and followed her from afar, until he was familiar with her daily routine. After several days, he approached her, and found out what he needed to know. She had a mother at home who had been ill for quite some time, and a baby brother that needed food and clothing. The father had long since gone, leaving Oksana the responsibility of providing for the family, a commonality in Romania.
Over the next few days the man formulated a plan. It would have been easy to just snatch her up, like the other girls, but then he d have to wait for the paperwork, to get her on a plane to the United States. He had a better idea. In an effort to establish a connection, and earn Oksana s trust, he offered her food and lei, and promised to help her family. He knew she d accept she was desperate. All the street children in Romania were desperate.
Oksana, unaware of any untoward ideas, accepted help from the man, and together they went to a local market to purchase food and necessities for her family. Once Oksana s family was fed and grateful to the angel who stepped into their lives the man took the mother aside, and unveiled his plan. The following morning, Oksana was told she was going with her new savior, to start a new life in America.
As Oksana boarded the plane, she dreamt of a life she thought she d never have. With signed papers from Oksana s mother, airport security had no reason to question the man. Of course they wouldn t question him anyway. He learned from his earlier trips to Romania, that the local police were happy to cut down on the number of children roaming the streets of Romania. The street-children, as they were known, had been an epidemic for quite some time. There wouldn t be anyone out looking for Oksana soon she d be long forgotten. ONE MONTH LATER
An eleven-year-old girl, Carolyn, was awakened in the middle of the night by her mother s boyfriend. The smell of alcohol was overwhelming as he attempted to fondle and have his way with the girl. She screamed but no one was listening her mother was passed out in the next room. Carolyn was angry with herself for not leaving before now. She knew she was the only one who could get herself out of the disgusting situation. She kicked, and punched, and tried to fend of his advances, but he was much too big for her. She didn t stand a chance. In the end, her only alternative to get out of the disgusting life she had been living, was to let him do what he wanted, and wait for him to pass out. She knew he would it had happened before. After this time though she d escape. Even if it meant ending up on the streets, she had to leave. Anything would be better than this.
When he finally passed out, Carolyn made her move. She grabbed the gym-bag under the bed reached for the money she d been hiding and walked out of her mother s home.
Again the man was out hunting for another victim. This time he chose closer to home. He had been scouring the streets of Hollywood, in search of the runaways that wouldn t be missed. He noticed Carolyn on her first night out on the streets, and continued to watch her following her. She was the one he wanted. Right now she was grungy, but when she cleaned up she would be a beauty. She was new on the streets, so she was still feisty but that too would change.
After three days of watching her, he was familiar with the routine she mapped out. Where she hid her stash of money which alleys and doorways she chose to sleep. On her third night out, when she had fallen asleep, he paid a vagrant to steal her money. Soon, she wouldn t have any food, or money to buy more. Soon, she wouldn t be able to sleep for fear of what might happen when she did. Soon she would be desperate. He could take her now but she still had a fire in her. He d wait till desperation set in. Desperation made them hunger for anything other than the streets.
After three weeks passed he knew it was time. She had been without money and food, eating left-over scraps when she could, sleeping only during daylight hours. A few more days, and she d be lying in the gutter.
When it was dusk, he made a move. She had been walking aimlessly about, looking in the doorways of the shops along the street, for a place to feel safe if only to close her eyes for a moment. The man grabbed the handkerchief from his front pocket, with an acrid-smelling substance on it, and when there wasn t anyone around to care, he approached her from behind, and put the rag over her mouth.
Shocked, but not beaten, Carolyn used her bag to try and hit the man, to fend off the attack. It only made him laugh. Carolyn kicked and tried to get away but to no avail. He knew she would fight for as long as she could. When she was as limp as a rag doll, the man picked her up and carried her off, to the white Rolls Royce, with a driver patiently waiting nearby. To the many vagrants, and runaways out on the street, who might have noticed the fancy white car it was just another parent, coming by to pick up their runaway child.
