Candy and the Outfit

Life is not sweet for eleven-year-old Candy. Her widowed mother married Brad Maneval, who is not what he appeared to be. They live in a dumpy house in a bad neighborhood in Chicago. Candy’s stepfather has goals for each family member. His goal for Candy’s mother was to turn her into a doormat who shows no love for Candy. He met that goal a few months after the marriage. Her stepfather’s goal for his fifteen-year-old son Dirk is to turn him into a sociopath. That task is nearly complete. Candy’s stepfather had multiple goals for her. The first was to put Candy in a fairy tale—the first part of Cinderella. Candy does every bit of housework except cooking. The second goal was to destroy Candy emotionally. He belittles her, insults her, and smacks her head often. He lets Candy visit friends because he believes that seeing the normal lifes of her friends will demoralize her. Her stepfather’s third and most important goal is to starve Candy. For food—she weighs only seventy pounds. For affection—her mother no longer loves her, and he and Dirk certainly don’t. For decent clothes—everything Candy wears was bought at a thrift shop. For entertainment—Candy has no access to books, music, TV, or computers. Candy survives because her stepfather is away from Friday evenings through Monday mornings. Candy believes he loses money gambling and keeps them poor.

Candy eats her scant lunch with three casual friends at school. They offer to bring her food, but she explains that her stepfather cuts her portions if she gains weight. Candy appreciates the concern of her friends. Candy sees her best friend, Amber Healey, every third weekend. Half the visits are pajamas parties with Amber and three other girls. Candy’s joy from being with Amber and their friends greatly outweighs the demoralizing effects and jealousy of seeing their great lives. Candy becomes angry and frightened when she learns that her stepfather has a sinister reason for allowing her to make friends.

On her twelfth birthday, Candy’s life changes disturbingly. Her stepbrother pays more attention to her—all of her. Her stepfather will let Dirk do whatever he wants. Candy fears being raped and tries to get help from school counselors. They are too afraid to help. Candy learns that her stepfather only pretends to be poor. He is the head of enforcement for the Outfit, a powerful organized crime group. Candy turns to Amber for help. Amber has interesting connections. Her physician father was a Navy SEAL and brings in two colleagues. The have cracking and burglary experience but fail to penetrate the Outfit’s computer or headquarters to get information for blackmail. The SEALs devise a plan to whisk Candy out of Chicago. Unfortunately, Dirk assaults Candy before the plan could be initiated. But, the escape part of the plan was ready. The former SEALs take Candy from the ER in a way that greatly embarrass the Outfit. Candy must escape from Chicago while being sought by the Outfit, the police officers in its pay, and the many private investigators the Outfit hires. Candy’s stepfather oversees the search by the Outfit that wants to capture her and learn who engineered her escape. Candy’s stepfather also heads a personal search. He wants Candy killed so the Outfit won’t learn that his son started the embarrassing situation. Now, two girls and three ex-SEALs must elude many searchers, get Candy to a hospital for facial surgeries, get her a new identity, find a safe place for her to live, and leave no evidence of their involvement. Their plans work well until something very small disrupts the last step, and the searchers become hunters.

Book length: approximately 55,000 words