165 THE PLOT

The women all had similar stories. They had made friends with a local woman, got really comfortable, and shared their problems. It could be financial, marital, or sheer bad luck, but somehow, they'd meet a priest who would claim to have a solution to their problem in the next few days. The priest would lure them to a riverside or abandoned church, where he would pretend to pray for them. He would bring out "holy water" and spray it on them; they'd fall unconscious immediately and find themselves tied up in the darkroom—victims of textbook trafficking. "It's amazing how life problems can blind someone, even the most intelligent of people. Look at us all tied up like animals; we're all educated." A ginger-haired woman, who had been quiet since they got there, finally broke her silence. "It's crazy. I'm here because I thought someone could help solve my suicidal thoughts. I'm an indigent, and I should have been smarter." The lady beside her said Isabella didn't know how whining about s