An Unacceptable Death - Barbara Seranella (25 page)

The phone rang six times before Chicken answered.

"
Where have you been,
esse
?
I came by the motel last night, but you were gone."

"
Change of plan." Humberto found a coffee
cup in the cabinet above the sink. "What did you want?"

"
Those guys you met the other day. They're
putting a thing together."

"
Good."

"
Oh, yeah, and that Christina broad wanted to
get with you. She said you should call her as soon as you could. She
said it was life and death. She's staying at some hotel in Santa
Monica. Wait a minute, I'll get the number for you."

Humberto heard papers rustling, dogs barking and a
string of curses. Christina. Of course. She would be the one. She had
been to the Delaguerra ranch with Enrique. He'd kill the bitch with
his own bare hands.

Chicken came back on the line with Christina's room
and phone number. Humberto was repeating it back to him when Chicken
interrupted. "Never mind, she just pulled up to the house. I've
got to put the dogs out back, then I'll get her on the line."

Humberto listened to a string of more curses in
Spanish and English and wondered what good those dogs did Chicken if
he couldn't get them to obey his commands. Someday they'd turn on him
and leave nothing but his bones.

Christina's voice cut into his thoughts. "Humberto?"

"
What do you want?"

"
You should be happy to hear from me."

"
Oh, yeah?"

"
I'm your new best friend."

"
How's that?" he asked, not liking the
confidence in her tone.

"
I've just come from a very interesting meeting
with a mutual friend. He was very concerned about some things he
thought were his showing up where he didn't expect them."

"
And what did you tell him?"

"
It's what I didn't tell him that you should be
interested in. The Americans have an expression I've always liked.
They say: ‘Possession is nine tenths of the law.' "

"
What did the
señor
think of this expression?" Humberto asked.

She laughed. "Oh, I don't think that would have
pleased him. I don't like telling people things they don't want to
hear. That can be dangerous in our business."

"
How are you going to please me?"

"
In many ways. First, I'm going to make your
life easier by buying the rest of your stock. Of course, you will
give me a very good price since I am buying in bulk. Second, you will
be pleased to know that you can go back home. Señor has some urgent
work for you. He has been told the sad truth about Rico. Stealing
from him and all. He wants to take stock, both here and back in
Mexico."

"
If you're lying to me—"

"
How would I profit from that?"

Humberto had to concede that she made a good point.
He wondered how good a deal he would have to give her. Then he looked
toward the bedroom door of his sleeping cousin. If Abel Delaguerra
was taken out, then Humberto wouldn't have to cut anyone a deal.

"
Where is the señor now?"

"
In my hotel room. Do you have the number?"

"
Chicken gave it to me."

"
Call there in an hour, after you've given this
some thought."

Humberto poured himself a cup of coffee. He would
indeed give the whole situation some serious thought.

Ten minutes later, he made a second call. Ellen
answered, sounding wide awake.

"
The flowers were beautiful," she said.
"Thank you."

"
It was nothing. I'm glad you liked them. I
tried to call your friend Munch, but when I called the number I had
for her, I just got all these strange beeps and whirs."

"
Sounds like you got a fax machine." Ellen
recited the number again.

"
That's not the number I had," Humberto
said. "The last two numbers were switched. Do you think she's
home now?"

"
I don't know. Probably. Why?"

"
Something has come up. Can I come over and tell
you about it?"

"
Sure thing, darlin'. I've been missing you
since you left."

Humberto smiled, happy to know his feelings were
reciprocated.

"
I'll be there as soon as I can. Call Munch and
tell her to meet us there. She might not be safe at home."

"Safe from who?"

"
Just tell her to be careful."

Humberto hung up just as Felix stumbled into the
kitchen. "Who was that?"

"
A woman I know. I'll probably stay with her
tonight."

He told his cousin about his previous conversation
with Christina. Felix listened intently. "Delaguerra is at this
hotel now? Give me one of your guns."

"
He won't be alone or unguarded. He wants to
meet with me, probably to tell me to deal with Rico's family, as I
was supposed to deal with you."

Felix shook his head. "He's a monster."

Humberto shrugged. Felix had lived in the States too
long. He'd forgotten how the world worked back home. "He has
gotten carried away."

"
And soon they'll be carrying him away."

"
I'm good with that,
believe me, but let's find a way that doesn't get us killed."

* * *

Roger had not been pleased with Munch's change of
heart. He promised to go back to his commander and see what he could
do to sweeten the pot.

"
This isn't about money," she told him.

"
Did I say it was?" he replied.

He called her back twenty minutes later with an
irresistible offer. Munch agreed to the new terms and then called St.
John back. "I told Roger I'd changed my mind and he came back
with this: He said they'd make a formal announcement clearing Rico's
name as soon as they make a buy from Humberto." She was proud of
the deal, the way she'd prove all the doubters wrong.

"Before the case is fully adjudicated? St. John
asked, not sounding as thrilled as she would have liked.

"
That's what he said."

"
Something doesn't add up."

"
I already said I would do it." She felt
annoyed and let it show in her tone. Why couldn't he just be happy
for her? Hadn't she had enough rain on her parade already?

"
Just be very, very careful."

She had assured him she would. Then she had left for
some much-needed one-on-one time with her daughter.

Consequently, she was not home to receive Ellen's
worried call. She had taken Asia and Jasper to Mandeville Canyon.
There were trails there too narrow for horses where Munch could let
Jasper off his leash to explore. She brought water and a bowl so
Jasper would have plenty of ammunition.

Asia made a game of counting how many times he lifted
his leg to leave his mark.

"
I'm going back to work tomorrow," she told
Asia. "We need to get back into our routine."

Asia scratched her arm, but didn't say anything.
Munch didn't know what she had expected and wondered if she put too
much of a burden on the young girl's shoulders. Caroline St. John
told her not to worry about that, that kids had a way of letting
things they
weren't ready to hear go over
their heads. Munch hoped she was right about that.

Jasper trotted on ahead and Asia chased after him
calling his name. It was a game they played. Asia pretended that
Jasper was trained, Jasper pretended he was deaf.

She watched them romp in the dappled sunlight and
tried to summon some pleasure from the scene. It was almost
impossible to believe that a week ago her life had been completely
different. How were either of them ever supposed to feel secure
again? What was the point of making plans when so little of life was
predictable? Maybe that wasn't fair; a great deal of life was
predictable. It was that ten percent of unexpected shit that could
make or break you. But hadn't things that seemed terrible at the time
turned out for the best? Going to jail, getting beaten up, raped, and
robbed had all led to her eventual sobriety. Asia had come to her
because her father was killed. jobs, friends, apartments, even lovers
had been ripped from her hands, only to be replaced by better ones.

One day, she would be able to get through an hour
without crying.

One of these nights, she would sleep all the way
through until morning.

The pain would lessen.

She was banking on it.

Munch took stock of her small brood. Asia's shoes
were untied. A pigtail had come unbraided, and her pants were muddy.
Jasper had managed to get a six-inch twig of sagebrush entangled in
one of his ears and was dragging it along. They were both bright-eyed
and panting. Was there a future reflected in those bright eyes, or
was now the only time that was important?

"
Okay, guys," she said, "let's turn
back."

"
Awwh," Asia said, "but we just got
here."

"
We'll come back next week if you want, but I
have things I need to do."

Asia looked as if she wanted to argue the point, but
then gave in. "Jasper," she shouted, "heel."

Jasper dropped to the ground and worked at something
in his paw. "C'mon, honey," Munch said to her daughter,
"we'll head this way and he'll get the idea. We'll stop by
Fernando's house and pick up your dress shoes." After the
funeral, Asia had changed into more comfortable clothes. They didn't
discover until they arrived home last night that she had left her
shiny black patent leather shoes behind.

"
At Grandpa's, you mean," Asia said.

"
What?"

"
He said I should
call him Grandpa?

* * *

When they pulled up to the house in Lawndale,
Fernando was nowhere in sight. The garage door was open and the radio
was playing. There were two coffee mugs on the table, but the coffee
had grown cold.

Munch picked up the cups and headed for the door
leading to the kitchen. The night before, when she had picked up
Asia, the house had been bustling with people. Rico's many brothers
and cousins had been standing around the fire pit telling stories and
laughing. Someone had given Cruz a beer and he was flushed and
grinning. Fernando sat at the kitchen table, arguing with his wife's
sister about something that had happened thirty-five years ago. The
rest of the women bustled about, picking up plates and wrapping
leftovers. Munch had found Asia in the middle of a group of kids her
age, impatient for her turn on the rope swing, and telling them all
in a voice that sounded eerily like Munch's own: "C'mon already.
What are you waiting for? Christmas?"

So where was everybody now?

"
Hello?" Munch called out.

"
Grandpa," Asia echoed, "it's us."

Jasper ran ahead, sniffing the ground importantly.

Munch dumped out the cold coffee in the sink. A
frying pan was on the stove, full of congealed scrambled eggs. Toast,
already browned, peeked out from the top of the toaster. Munch opened
the slider to the back.

All she found were footprints in the dirt and the
silence of a graveyard.

"
Maybe they're walking the dog," Munch
said. She tried to sound unconcerned, but too many things about the
condition of the house felt wrong.

She grabbed Asia's hand and began a systematic check
of the other rooms. The bedrooms, bathrooms, even the closets.
Everyone was gone.

"
Uncle Cruz?" Asia yelled.

"
Maybe he wandered off," Munch said. "And
Fernan—your grandpa, took the dog to go look for him." She
spotted Asia's shoes by the front door. As she picked them up, she
noticed the front door was unlocked and unbolted. The doors to
outside were always kept locked to prevent Cruz from leaving the
house unattended. In all the activity yesterday, this had probably
been overlooked. That didn't explain the two mugs of coffee in the
garage. Or why the garage door had been left open. And wouldn't it
have made more sense for Fernando to go looking for his son in his
pickup truck? The pickup truck was still parked at the curb.

Munch took Asia with her into the kitchen. Sylvia's
number was in the book by the phone; Munch dialed it. There was no
answer, the machine didn't even pick up. Munch tried not to read too
much into that. Maybe they had unplugged the phone or forgotten to
turn the machine on.

Maybe there were too many maybes.

"
Asia, did anyone say anything yesterday about
all of them going to church today?"

Asia thought a moment. "No. Where is everybody?"

"
I don't know, honey, but I'm sure there's a
good explanation?

She didn't say they would like that explanation. She
had a terrible feeling she wouldn't.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

ST. JOHN WAS ON HOSE PATROL. CAROLINE HAD ASKED him
to wash down the patio, and while he was at it, he shot everything in
sight. The shrubs by the back door were dusty. The eaves of the small
Craftsman-style house (a stone's throw from one of the Venice canals)
hosted a colony of spiders. He noticed a bird's nest in the corner
where the ceiling beams crisscrossed, but left it alone. He placed
unshelled peanuts on the top of the block wall surrounding his yard
for the blue jays and refilled the feeder with seed for the smaller
birds. Next he pulled an old comforter from the dryer in the garage
and spread it on the concrete patio. Samantha, his elderly black Lab,
stretched her arthritic limbs and lowered herself cautiously on the
blanket.