Fatal Intent (Desert Heat Book 3) (2 page)

Sofia, a Native girl who’d moved in with him with her own son for a little while to be nanny to the boys, had moved out shortly afterward. All too soon, the distance from her home in Sells had proved to be too great for her, and she’d gone home, leaving a gap that Dylan had a hard time filling without Alex, and Alex’s feelings were mixed.

At times, she resented the boys for complicating her relationship with Dylan. Not only did they take a lot of Dylan’s time, but their very existence made Alex wonder if she wasn’t just a convenience for him. Someone easy to be with who could also be an on-call babysitter. At the same time, she loved them for the sweet boys they were and her heart went out to them, since they were all but motherless. Completely motherless now, she reminded herself.

“I don’t know, Dad. I guess he’ll have to expand his network of friends. We’ve talked about it. He knows I have to do this, and he’s told me he’s willing to wait for me. I’m going, and there’s nothing you or he can do about it.”

With the words out, Alex didn’t feel any better. Her excitement was dampened by the knowledge that she might be running out on Dylan at the worst possible time.

THREE

Dylan hadn’t been inside the church since he was a young boy, but he sent his brothers with Ange on Sundays while he sat with his mom. He felt strange, following their lead as the congregation rose, sat, knelt and rose again during the funeral mass. Alex sat in the same pew, the boys between them, and did her best to follow as well. He was aware there were other people there, not many. It was surreal, hearing the intonations of the priest and knowing they were for his mother, and yet, so far, her name hadn’t even been spoken.

He risked a look at the casket, the best he could afford, sitting in the front of the chapel. A handful of fellow rangers had accompanied it in as pallbearers, and he was truly grateful he’d made some good friends in the short time he’d been back. He didn’t know who else he could have called on for this favor. Nevertheless, at the moment, he couldn’t even remember their names, except for Rick Anson, with whom he was often partnered on the job.

Davi fidgeting in his seat distracted him, and then Alex put a hand on Davi’s leg to quiet him. What would he do without Alex? His heart swelled with love for her, as he once again turned his attention to the priest. Now he was reading the obituary.

“Our sister Maria Chaves entered this life in an unnamed village of the Tohono O’odham Nation, forty-five years ago on January 15, 1970. In 1988, she married Jaime Lopez in Nevada, and then returned to her village to wait for him to return from war. Alas, that was not to be, as he fell to a terrorist bomb in Beirut, Lebanon. Maria is survived by her sons Dylan Chaves and Juan and David Mendez.  Maria’s life was cut short by cancer, and she went home to Our Lord on Thursday, March 26, 2015.”

What a pitiful account of a life.

Dylan knew there was far more to it. His mom’s alcoholism, which prompted her to leave the reservation and settle in Dodge, illegally as it turned out. Rufio’s abandonment of her when his sons were toddlers and the extended months of near-vegetative state after the cancer invaded her brain. He hadn’t put any of that into the obituary, because he was the only one who cared. No one else needed to glimpse inside that sad life, if they didn’t already know of it.

At last, the Mass was over and the mourners followed the hearse to the city cemetery, where Maria would be interred. After a short graveside service, only a handful went back to the church for a luncheon provided by the never-tiring ladies who did such things. Alex excused herself to get to work, since she’d missed school on Thursday and couldn’t afford to miss again tomorrow. Dylan understood. He and the boys were just going to go home and rest anyway, after the long weekend of planning the services.

“Can I see you tonight? Will you come over?” he asked her.

“Yeah, I, uh, I have something to tell you. Didn’t want to bother you with it before.” She seemed nervous. Dylan wondered if it was bad news, but didn’t focus on it. He’d find out soon enough.

After Alex left, he had his hands full with Davi, who couldn’t grasp the solemn nature of the day. He was running around the room, which also doubled as a gymnasium, pretending to shoot baskets and in general making a nuisance of himself.

At least he kept his clothes on
.

Dylan’s subconscious brought up a mental picture of his brother being brought home in disgrace only a few weeks before, his Sunday best trousers bunched oddly and his tie off. Ange informed him then that if he couldn’t convince Davi to stop stripping in public, she wouldn’t be able to take him anymore. He chuckled, earning an odd look from Ange now. He’d tell her later. Now wasn’t the time.

Hours later, Alex arrived as he was feeding the boys the last of the food that well-wishers from the church had brought over. His mood lightened when Davi jumped from the table and ran to her. It was lucky his brothers weren’t older, or they’d be trying to beat his time with her.

“Hi, babe,” he said. “Want some dinner?”

“Nah, thanks. I just ate. Had to feed Dad. Can I help you clean up in the kitchen?” Alex corralled Davi and made him sit down to finish his dinner, and then took a chair herself, seeing they weren’t finished.

“How are you doing? And them?” she said, indicating the boys with a nod of her head.

“Hanging in. Just want this day to be over, frankly,” he said.

“Well, I got some good news, for me at least. Want to hear it?” Her smile was too bright. Something was up, and that qualifier gave him a little pang. Was she about to deliver news that wasn’t good for him?

“Sure, babe. Davi, if you’re finished, scrape your plate into the trash and put it in the sink. Juan, you may be excused.” His brothers taken care of for the moment, Dylan turned back to Alex.

“So, what’s this good news?” He had another qualm as a shadow of uncertainty passed over her features, but then she smiled again. Maybe it would be okay.

“You know I entered my story about my kidnapping in the NSPA Pacemaker Award competition, right?” She wiggled in obvious anticipation of his answer.

“Yeah.” He could feel what was coming, but he didn’t want to steal her thunder. “And?”

“I won!” she cried, clapping her hands like a little girl. “I won first place, Dylan! Isn’t that cool?”

He felt his face split into a broad grin. “Babe, really! That’s very cool! Also rad and dope,” he added, with a goofy leer.

She took a swipe at him. “You goof. The award ceremony is this Saturday. Are you off? Can you go with me? The boys, too. We’ll make it a fun day and take them to the zoo or something afterward.”

Dylan stopped and mentally reviewed his schedule. As far as he knew, he was off on Saturday. Unless the personal leave he’d taken last week and this for the funeral had changed it. He was going back to work tomorrow, so he’d find out then.

“As far as I know, I’m off. Can I confirm tomorrow?”

“I’ll be gone all day. Tuesday, remember? You can text me.”

“Okay, I will. Alex, I get the feeling there’s something else. Something you’re reluctant to tell me. What is it?”

“Oh, um. Well, the award comes with a cash prize. I’m going to move to Casa Grande for the rest of the semester.” Alex twisted her hands together. This wasn’t the way she’d have chosen to tell him, or the time. When confronted head on with his question, she had no choice. Now she could see that it would have been better to tell him a white lie, that there was nothing else right now. His face had crumpled.

“Oh, honey, it’s not the end of the world! We’ve talked about this! I’ll be nearby. Please tell me you’re okay with it.”

“I guess I have to be,” he choked. Then he grabbed her and hung on for dear life.

~~~

Dylan arrived at work at the usual time the next morning, to discover there’d been a shake-up over the few days he was gone. His former supervisor had taken a sudden leave of absence among rumors of a serious illness, and a new senior ranger was in his place. A woman, around fifty years of age if he had to guess. He liked her immediately when she took his hand as he introduced himself and expressed her condolences. She’d done her homework, it seemed.

“Call me Helen,” she said, after the introductions were complete. “And do you go by Dylan, or Dyl?” Only Ange ever called him Dyl, and he often thought she meant it as a play on words, like dill like a pickle. Or dull, maybe.

“I answer to either,” he said. “But if you call me Dyl, I reserve the right to call you Hel.” His grin came easily. If Helen were thirty years younger, she might be able to give Alex a run for her money.

“Dylan it is,” Helen said, just as quickly and with a big grin of her own. “Now, tell me, do you have anything to handle in the next few days or weeks? Your mother’s estate?” she’d sobered enough to be correct when she asked that.

“I don’t think so. She didn’t have much. I guess I’m going to have to go through her trailer, clear it out and figure out what to do with it. It isn’t big enough for my boys and me.” He assumed she knew about his brothers, since she knew about his mother. But it appeared he was wrong. Her eyebrows rose as her mouth parted.

“Your boys? I understood you were single. Not that it matters,” she hastened to add.

“I am. The boys are mine by adoption. My little brothers. We knew Mom wouldn’t live to raise them.” His words, a mixture of pride in his family and sadness over his mom’s passing, seemed to soften Helen’s expression.

“Well, so you’re a single father. I’ll remember that. We’ll work things out so you can be there for them when they need you. Any special requests for your schedule? I’ll be reorganizing it to accommodate everyone’s needs as much as possible,” she said. Dylan shook his head in amazement. Not six months before, he’d stood in this same office and been told that any more unexpected absences would result in his dismissal. He said as much.

Helen’s expression became guarded. “Well, that’s as may be. I have a different philosophy.”

All Dylan could do was say thank you. After settling that he was indeed off on Saturday and accepting Helen’s congratulations to Alex in her behalf, he went out to the bullpen and found Rick Anson waiting for him.

“Ready for a run out to the Springs?” Rick asked. Dylan nodded. That was a crazy drive, but the destination, Quitobaquito Springs in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, was a bit of heaven in the midst of what could often be hell. It was an oasis in a desert as deadly as any on the planet if you weren’t prepared for it. The run would take the rest of the workday.

Dylan sent Alex a text when he arrived home that afternoon. They were on for Saturday. He went to pick up the boys at their after-school care program and then got dinner started while they did their homework. He didn’t remember having homework in the first grade, but Davi seemed to have plenty to keep him busy. While it was relatively quiet, he went to the mailbox and returned with a handful of mail. As he stood at the kitchen trash receptacle, he sorted. Junk, junk, junk, something from Medicaid. Maybe he’d finally get a chance to settle his mom’s bills. He sat down with the letter and opened it, not without some misgivings.

He’d learned in November of the previous year that his mother was an illegal alien, having been born on the Mexican side of the border on the Tohono O’odham reservation. It explained why the pharmacy kept refusing her Medicaid card for her medications, but he wasn’t certain what would happen with her medical bills. If he had to pay them, it would bankrupt him. Nevertheless, as an upstanding citizen and government employee, he couldn’t let it go unreported. He’d made a call and received a bunch of unintelligible gibberish in the mail a week later, which he turned over to Rick Englebright to straighten out.

As he opened the envelope, he wondered whether he should have Rick here to interpret the government-speak for him. He could barely get through the nonsense his own agency spewed. The letter read, “Dear Mr. Chaves, We are in receipt of your report that your mother, Maria Chaves, has been using a fraudulent Social Security number to obtain medical care. This is a very serious matter, and we will investigate immediately. In the meanwhile, please use your influence to discourage her from further use of the card. We will be in touch when our investigation is complete.”

That was the government for you, he reflected. A day late and a dollar short. Well, his mom wouldn’t be using the card any further. He tossed the letter with the rest of the junk. Rick had assured him that he had a strong defense if anything blew back on him because of his mom’s illegal status. He had a birth certificate that made him a US citizen, and Wanda Lopez could vouch for the fact he’d known nothing of her fraud before November, when he’d reported it.

There was very little likelihood he would be responsible for paying the state back. However, there was an equally low chance that he’d be reimbursed for the money he’d shelled out for medications after the pharmacy stopped taking the card. It was water under the bridge. He made enough to support himself and the boys, and even Alex if she ever consented to be his wife. They wouldn’t be rich, but they’d get by.

Thinking of Alex made him remember to check for a return text. He opened his phone to find a happy face in response to his message. The boys were going to love going to the zoo with her.

FOUR

A few days after the award ceremony, Alex hugged and kissed Juan and Davi goodbye and then lingered in Dylan’s arms for a longer farewell late on Wednesday afternoon. She hadn’t wasted any time in posting her request for a shared apartment or house, furnished, for the rest of April and May, with a possible extension over the summer.

By June, she hoped to know whether the scholarship for Arizona State had come through for the fall semester, and if so she’d return home for the summer and finally give herself a break from classes. She was in luck. She’d snagged a room in a shared three-bedroom house, with shared kitchen privileges.

With both her dad and Dylan looking like they’d lost their best friends, she waved goodbye and drove her over-burdened Sentra, full of clothes, books, her desktop, and a few other necessities, away from her dad’s house. She refused to think about Dylan’s arms not being around her at least two or three times a week, or the stricken face of little Davi when he asked if she would ever come back. All she could do was show him. For that matter, all she could do was show Dylan that her feelings for him were deep and wouldn’t be affected by the distance between them. She shook her head as she remembered last night’s conversation.