CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
MOSES RAMSEY
Victória marched unannounced into my office and closed the door. “Good morning.”
She looked different today. She had done her hair and put on makeup; it was the first time her wound wasn’t noticeable to me.
“Good morning, you look nice.”
She blushed and appeared to have forgotten her reasons for busting into my office. “Uh, thanks.” She placed some papers on my desk and pushed them toward me.
“You’ve been very busy.” I was so excited I could hardly stay in my chair. All the pieces were starting to come together.
“This is becoming so frightfully easy it’s scary,” Victória said. She was pacing back and forth in front of my desk. She appeared to be deep in thought.
“What?” I asked, suddenly annoyed.
“I don’t know. Tilo has been such a precision player all this time. Why is she so sloppy all of a sudden? What if it’s a trap?”
I said, “Trap? That’s a bunch of bullshit and you know it. I think the bitch is cracking up if you ask me.”
She looked surprised, but that’s the way I honestly felt. She was making mistakes. The best criminal minds did it all the time or else they’d never get caught.
“Is she? Or is this part of a plan to lure us in so she can finish the job?”
Frustrated, I sat back in my chair and sighed. Victória and her sister had a way of sucking the joy right out of a room.
“Y’all must practice this shit,” I mumbled.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing. So what am I missing, since you seem to have this all figured out?” I demanded.
Victória sat down across from me all smug, as if she had all the answers and I was just digging around in my ass looking for shit to play with. “I still don’t understand the credit card. Why would she use it?”
“I explained this before. She probably didn’t think to apply for credit in her own name to match her ID.”
“But she has money. That negates the use of credit,” she replied.
“Not really, not when you’re trying to sneak around and not draw attention to yourself. Credit cards can be rather impersonal, and it is possible to use one without showing identification. Cash, on the other hand, slows people down because they have to count it, enter it into the system, and possibly give change. Giving change often lends to touching, which makes the encounter more personalized.”
She frowned. “Touching? I don’t understand.”
“If you gave someone cash, and they laid your change out on the counter, how would that make you feel?” I sat back in my chair, satisfied with my analogy.
“Gotcha. It would definitely piss me off.”
I grabbed her credit card statement off the desk and headed for the door. “You coming?” I asked, holding the door open.
“Where are you going?”
“To the airport to see if your friend pissed some folks off.”
She leaped from the chair as if it were on fire. “Oh yeah, you can bet your ass she did.”
“Have you been to see your father?” I asked while we drove to the airport. I couldn’t keep my eyes off Victória. She didn’t look like the typical dike to me and it was throwing me off.
“Yeah, he’s going to be okay. He’s strong. The doctors say he has to take it easy, but he should make a full recovery.”
I said, “That’s good. It hurts Verónica’s heart that she can’t spend the kind of time she wants to at the hospital because of LM.”
“Padre knows this. She can’t afford to take some hospital germs home to my nephew. He’s so cute, you must be proud.”
I couldn’t help the smile that took over my face. Out of all this madness, my son was the best thing to come out of it. “I am. He has stolen both of our hearts and now that he’s sleeping through the night, I think we’re going to keep him.”
We both busted out laughing as I dipped through the light noon-hour traffic.
“When this is over, what are you going to do with yourself?” It was not what I really wanted to ask her. She was such a beautiful woman. I wanted to know, even if it wasn’t any of my business, if she would seek out another woman or give a man a chance. Not for myself, I was completely in love with her sister, but she needed someone to love too.
“This has consumed me, and I need closure before I can even think about moving on.” She spread her arms wide as if she was referring to the all-encompassing world.
I understood so I didn’t press the issue. “We’ve never gotten to know each other, and I’m sorry about that, especially since we’re now related. I want you to know I loved your brother and I adore your sister.”
“Thanks, you didn’t have to say it because I could tell, but I appreciate it just the same. My sister and I had a discussion about you a few days ago. I kinda explained to her why it was important that we continue to search for Tilo; and more important, why you should be the one to help us.”
She caught me off guard and I temporarily lost control of the car.
“Hold on now, don’t kill us,” Victória said.
“Dag, how did I get to be the topic of conversation?” I was a little uneasy as to how this conversation was going. I hadn’t yet figured Victória out, so it could honestly go in any direction.
“Don’t let your butt cheeks clinch up. It was a good conversation. I was telling her about Padre and ... Oh shit, stop the car!”
“What? What’s wrong?” I said as the car shook from side to side. We were traveling in the fast lane of I-285 and she wanted me to stop the fucking car? I eased the car onto the shoulder.
“Get over when you get the chance. I need to think and I can’t do it at eighty miles an hour.” Victória was clearly agitated but, then again, so was I.
I was also nervous about any connections she could have going through her brain. “You got some kind of death wish or something?”
“No, you said you think you know who Rome is, right? What if he’s the same dude who came to my apartment looking for Tilo?”
I pulled the car back into traffic.
“What? You don’t think it’s plausible?” Victória asked.
“At this point anything is plausible. I think our greatest concern right now is finding Tilo. Once we do, the rest of the puzzle will come together. I’m working on another piece, too, that might prove to be interesting.”
“Really, what?”
“Your father mentioned someone named Rome in his phone conversation with Tilo. I’m almost positive he is talking about a guy who went through the academy with Tilo but did not make the bureau. He’s working for the Atlanta Police Department, and he was the first officer on the scene the night Tilo shot you.”
“Are you serious? How did you find out this information?”
“Dag, sis, did you forget it’s what I do?” I said, laughing.
“My bad. My bad.”
“When we get back, I’m waiting for a picture of him. When I get it, I want to see if this is the same guy who paid you a visit.”
“Hmm, I wouldn’t be surprised. We’ll see.”
I was a little disturbed by her non-reaction to my news. If someone had busted up on me, demanding information and threatening me, it would worry the fuck out of me. I would want to know who he was, what he wanted. I felt like she was trying to hold back on me and this made me a little nervous, but I parked those thoughts with the car at the airport.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
VERÓNICA RAMSEY
“Padre, how are you feeling?” I’d been sitting by his bedside for several hours and was happy that he finally woke up. He gave me a big smile that raised goose bumps on my arms because, even though the doctors told me he was doing fine, I was afraid that he wasn’t going to wake up.
“I’m fine. I was just taking a little nap.” He fumbled with the buttons on the side of his hospital bed and I took the remote from his hands.
“Nap, hell, you’ve been out for hours. What are you trying to do?”
“It’s the drugs they give me, makes me tired. I would like to sit up please.” My heart ached as I watched him wince in pain.
“Do you need for me to call the nurse?” I didn’t know what else to say.
“No, the sooner I lick these drugs, the sooner I can get out of this place and go home.”
“Good, that’s what I like to hear.” I felt relieved that he felt strong enough to resist the temptation to drug himself out so he could get out of the hospital.
“Is your husband home with the baby?” Instantly my guard was up. I still didn’t know exactly how my father felt about Moses. I didn’t want to fight with my father, especially since he was recovering from heart surgery.
“No, his mother came down for a few days so LM’s with her.”
“Ah, more people I have to add to my list to meet,” he replied. I definitely caught his attitude and I could tell things were about to take a turn for the ugly.
“Padre, if you have something to say, please say it. I don’t want to argue with you about this, but if you feel you have to get it off your chest ...”
“Why are you getting so defensive? I do need to meet his parents, don’t I?”
“You’re not throwing me shade?” I was confused.
“Huh? I didn’t throw anything.”
“Shade, it’s slang, Padre. I was asking if you were trying to be sarcastic or something?”
“Oh, okay. No, I wasn’t. I was just stating a fact.”
There was an awkward silence in the room. I moved closer to the bed and adjusted Padre’s blankets.
“Are you cold? I could ask them for another blanket.”
“I’m fine, stop fussing over me,” he barked at me.
I jumped back, confused. If he wasn’t angry with me, why was he fussing? “You are mad. Look, I’m going to go.” I turned around and grabbed my jacket and purse as I fought back tears. I didn’t know why I was crying because technically my father hadn’t been in my life for so long. Why did it feel like I was losing him all over again?
“Verónica, wait. I’m sorry. I hate hospitals and the timing sucks. I’ve missed so much and there is so much to do.”
“There is still so much I don’t understand. Are you considered to be a good guy or a bad one?”
“I suppose that would depend on who was telling the story.”
His words shocked me. I wasn’t sure what type of answer I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this one. “What’s that supposed to mean?” My heart was beating very fast as my imagination ran away with me.
“I’m not going to lie to you. Not everything I did was good, but to my knowledge, I was never directly involved in anyone getting killed, but I’m sure I could inadvertently be connected to some very bad things.”
“What kind of bad things?”
“Honestly, I don’t know the wide-spread implications, but I’m sure I could be considered guilty by association with a variety of crimes.”
“So what are you telling me? Am I going to wake up one day and see your face splattered all over the news?”
“Verónica, calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down. You just came back in my life and now you’re telling me there is a good chance you might be leaving by default!” I was foot-stomping mad and I didn’t care who knew it. I was tired of other people, places, and things controlling my life. I just wanted to lead the normal life I used to live before all this shit started happening.
“I said keep your voice down.” Padre gripped his chest, and I was reminded of why we were in the hospital in the first place.
“I’m sorry.” I sat back down and tried to get a hold on my raging emotions.
He said, “I’m doing my part to make things right, but it’s going to take some time.”
If he was trying to make me feel better, it wasn’t working. If fact, he was making me even more nervous.
“What does that mean? I feel like you are talking in code or something,” I said, exasperated.
“Sweetheart, I will tell you as much as I can, but some things I will keep from you for your protection. Did you see on the news where they arrested this guy at the airport for smuggling guns and money?”
“Yeah, didn’t he work at the airport?”
“He not only worked at the airport, he was responsible for exporting guns and drugs south of the border. He was also one of the point people for human smuggling for the cartel.”
“How could you possibly know that?” I demanded.
“Unfortunately, it went with the territory. It was part of my job to know these things but I didn’t connect Tilo with any of it until a few days ago. It appears that she was also working with Monte.”
“Here we go! Can I have at least one conversation with someone that does not involve Tilo? To hear everyone tell it, she’s like some omnipresent being who can do all things! I’m sick of hearing this hussy’s name.” I really didn’t mean to cuss to my father, but I was fed up with hearing about Tilo.
The nurse came in the room. I was happy to see her because I was done with this conversation. I had two names on my list of people I hated and he had mentioned both of them in the same sentence.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I need to check Mr. Mendoza’s vitals.” She brushed past me and began checking his fluids and taking his temperature. “Are you in any pain, Mr. Mendoza?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m ready to go home.”
She said, “I know that’s right. I suspect if you keep on doing the way you are doing, you might be going home soon.”
“What’s soon?” Padre asked.
“Mr. Mendoza, you know I can’t answer that. I’m sure if you ask your doctor, he’ll know better than me.”
“So he’s doing good?” I asked as I packed up my things.
“He’s doing fine, and he’s the sweetest patient on the ward.” She smiled at both of us as she finished up her duties.
I was ready to go and this was the perfect diversion I needed to get out of the room. “Padre, I need to be going anyway. I’ll be back to check on you later, and make sure you have the doctor call me.” I could tell Padre wanted to say more to me but I didn’t give him the chance. I kissed him on the forehead and rushed out of the room. I felt like I was being forced into a corner and I didn’t like the feeling one bit!
Everyone in my life was consumed with one thing: finding Tilo. I was going to have to find a way to deal with their obsessions or it would certainly drive me insane.