Saint Death (9 page)

Jamie couldn't feel her face as she trudged down the side of the hill and back onto the main dirt road that led to town. She knew something was wrong when she came to and saw two scary looking Mexican guys covered in tattoos from head to toe roll Zack up in a blanket and carry him out of the house. She'd managed to crawl to the patio door and slip out, closing it behind her. The canopy of stars overhead looked like a psychedelic version of Van Gogh's Starry Night with the drugs in her system, alive and moving like spiders crawling over each other on a great big ever-rotating platter.

She heard voices arguing in the front yard then saw the tail lights of a car heading away from the house and down the dirt road. She knew she didn't have much time. Soon they'd be back for her but she wouldn't be there. She forced herself to her feet, crawling at first before clumsily standing upright and plodding forward like the rising dead. She'd been drinking hard since she was thirteen and her parents got divorced. Still no matter how bombed she got she was always able to function. The other girls at her sorority house had learned her little secret during pledge week and began playing games with her. Since then they'd come to rely on it to make sure they all got home in one piece on nights they went out binge drinking.

Say what you will about me
, Jamie thought as she worked her way up and over the low wall by the infinity pool.
I may be an alcoholic but at least I'm reliable.

She began working her way downhill like the seasoned drunk she was, comically stumbling along in the near dark. In the distance she could hear the wild dogs howling but she paid them no mind. She would have to take things one step at a time.
Right now,
she told herself,
you've just got to make it back down this hill and find help. Worry about everything else when and if it happens.
It was a creed that had served her well, particularly in difficult situations. It had helped her survive over the years, even kept her from being gang raped at a Frat party over the previous summer. It would work now. It had to. There was no other choice. She was flat out of options.

She reached the bottom of the hill and looked back. The lights were now turned off in the house and a car with headlights pointing in two different directions was racing down the unpaved dirt road in her direction. They were bound to see her if she didn't do something. Panic overtook her at the thought of being captured. Jamie turned to run but tripped over her feet clumsily and, flailing around with her arms making wide circles, came crashing down in a weed riddled patch of dirt by the side of the road. There was a biting pain in her side and she wondered for a moment if she was bleeding, too scared to check or even breath.

What if they see me? What do I do if the car stops and they get out? I'll fight. I'll kick and scratch and bite if I have to, even if they have a gun! I'm not letting anyone wrap me up and put me in the trunk!

She laid there catching her breath, her heart beating so loud she could hear the blood in her ears, as the car sped past. The windows were down and she could hear the girls arguing with each other inside.

They didn't see me
, she realized, relief flooding through her
.

She rolled over and peered through a break in the scrub brush to see the red tail lights of the Toyota speeding away. She felt like crying but instead she let out a little victory laugh. They'd given up and fled the scene of the crime. All she had to do was make it back to her hotel and she could put this all behind her. No one would ever even know how close she'd come to being kidnapped and killed. She could fly back home later in the day, switch her ticket, and be back in her own bed in less than twenty-four hours if all went well, safe and sound.

“All I wanna do is climb under the covers right now and fall asleep,” she said to the evening sky, tilting her head back to take it in once more.

It was the thought of curling up under her fluffy pink comforter with her plush robe on and her black cat George purring in her lap that finally brought tears to her eyes. More than anything she wanted to be able to just go home and forget any of this had ever happened. Then she thought of Zack's slack face as they bundled him up in old blankets and carried him off like a corpse and the whole fantasy of fleeing came crashing down around her like jagged pieces of glass.

No
, she thought, her mind still feeling clouded by the drug she'd been slipped.
It isn't right. I've got to do something. I've got to tell someone what happened. I can't let them get away with this!

Anger surged through her, burning off the sluggishness. She used it to give her the strength she needed to get back on her feet. She stumbled on as fast as her legs would carry her, the fire in her belly giving her new resolve and clarity despite having her head wrapped in a pharmaceutical cloud. She was going to make it right if this was the last thing she did. Off in the distance she could see the lights of the club zone where everything had started, the sound of the night's revelry coming in snippets as the strong onshore ocean breeze blew dust and sand in her face. She stumbled towards it one furious step at a time.

The first rays of the rising sun were already transforming the icy darkness of night to a pale shade of blue as Maria kneeled before the blood splattered statue of Santa Muerte. She humbly bowed her head, lacing her fingers together tightly in supplication as she earnestly whispered her desperate prayer.

“Dearest Mother, great protector, I beseech you in my time of need. Our time is running out and your children need your help. Please, kind Mother, bring to us a worthy sacrifice that will appease our benefactors and bring them victory in battle. Look down on us your humble children with mercy and give us your comfort and aid now when we need it most. You who have conquered death and are beyond all morality alone understand our hearts, our ambitions, our need for blood. ”

Maria made the sign of the cross over herself before plunging into the more traditional prayers.

“Most Holy Death, please grant me your favor. Bless me to overcome all difficulties so that for me nothing is impossible and no obstacles or barriers can stop me. Bless me so that no enemies can defeat me and no man can cause me any harm. Make me victorious in all my dealings and in everything that I do. Watch over us as your children and fill our house with wealth and power for all of our days by virtue of your protection. Amen.”

Maria heard the sound of an approaching car as she began to rise, her eyes locked on the skull face of Saint Death.

“Thank you mother, who works swiftly to help her worshippers,” Maria said before leaning over and kissing the bony face of the deity. She turned and watched as Angel and Hector popped the trunk and wrangled the first unconscious body from it. Both men cursed under their breath as they brought the sleeping victim to Maria and laid him at her feet. She leaned over and stroked the tuft of disheveled brown hair from his face.

“Just the one?” she asked.

Hector and Angel were already jogging back to the car and lugging a second, almost identical looking boy from the car. They deposited him next to his friend.

“
Mida
. Two American boys,” Angel announced, obviously proud of himself. “Just as you requested.”

“And no one saw you with them?” Maria asked sternly.

“No mother,” Angel replied. “I hired a couple of whores to lure them to another location and drug them. They left one of the nightclubs through the back alley and vanished into the night. Once they were knocked out we picked them up and brought them straight here. There is no way to trace it back to us. If anyone starts asking about them, they will run into a dead end chasing after the hookers.”

“When this is over I want you to track down the women you hired and kill both of them,” Maria ordered. “Make it look like an angry customer if you can, but no matter what, make sure they're both dead. I don't want anything loose ends.”

“You worry too much,” Angel scoffed.

“And you don't worry enough,” Maria snapped.

Maria gingerly put her right foot on Dave's face and rocked it back and forth. His mouth opened slightly and drool ran out. His eyes flickered back and forth but he didn't wake.

“How much did those
putas
give them?” she asked.

“I told them to give each one just enough to keep them sedated for the ride,” Angel said. “They should be fully awake again in the next few hours.”

“I hope so for your sake,” Maria said, her face growing dark, the thin lines around her lips sharpening as she frowned. “Our last client will want his victim to be wide awake as he tortures him. If they overdose and die you are taking his place.”

An angry look flashed across Angel's face momentarily, as if he was considering bashing his mother's brains in on the sacrificial alter. Just as quickly as it had come it passed. Angel shook his head and laughed.

“
Vamos
,” he said to Hector, shaking his head in disbelief.

Maria went back to praying in front of the blood stained alter as Angel and Hector dragged Dave and Zack across the yard towards the barn.

Officer Reyes sat fuming behind his desk. Over the years he'd taken a lot of abuse from his superiors, but nothing came close to the ration of shit he'd just gotten from his Commandante when he was called into his office for an early morning meeting.

“I'm sorry about the hour but it's the only time I've got this week,” the Commandante started off.

“It's fine Commandante,” Reyes assured him. “What's on your mind?”

“The reason I wanted to see you in person was to talk about the new recruits, and why we're having so much trouble with them,” the Commandante continued.

Reyes knew what was coming next. In the last few weeks the Commandante had gone on a hiring spree, adding almost a dozen new officers to their roster. Instead of the usual training these men had been assigned to other officers to learn on the job. The results were nothing short of catastrophic, with seasoned officers teaching new guys every trick in the book when it came to extorting both visitors and locals alike. In some cases vendors were being hit up for a small bribe by one pair of cops in the morning then another set in the afternoon or evening. The brilliant plan to arm and set these guys loose on the town had come from the Commandante himself, but now that it was falling apart he was shifting the blame back onto Reyes, as if it had been his idea all along.

Typical
, Reyes thought, smirking to himself as the anger smoldered in his chest.
No wonder he's doing so well in politics. He's an expert at dodging blame and passing the buck.

“I hate to come down on you like this but the fact of the matter is that you just aren't doing enough to train them,” his portly superior insisted, slapping a thick folder down in front of Reyes to add insult to injury. “I've been getting a lot of complaints from residents and angry calls from
los Estados Unidos
. I've got my hands full with the Governor's re-election. I am counting on you to keep things flowing. I hope my trust and faith in you is not misguided.”

“No sir,” Reyes swiftly replied. “I'll take care of it.”

“You better,” the Commandante growled. “Otherwise you're going to be out there looking for a job with the rest of these losers. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes sir,” Reyes barked back, swallowing down his growing anger.

“Did you bring the money with you?” the Commandante asked, expectantly.

Reyes suspected the hand off was the real reason he'd been called in to this secret, pre-dawn rendezvous. He knew the Commandante was set to meet the Governor at a power breakfast with a group of city leaders and land developers in the next hour. He took a fat envelope full of pesos from his pocket and slid it across the desk. The Commandante quickly tucked the envelope into his suit jacket without checking it.

“Don't worry. It's all there,” Reyes said derisively, “just in case you're wondering.”

“Good,” the Commandante replied. “When this is all over we will talk about your promotion, that is if you haven't burned this place to the ground by then. There are going to be a lot of doors opening up after the Governor is reelected, a lot of opportunities to change your stars if you know how to be smart and play ball.”

The Commandante patted him on the shoulder as he left and Reyes, despite hating being touched, did his best not to flinch. When he was sure his boss had left the building Reyes got up and punched the file cabinet as hard as he could several times with both fists, causing slivers of pain to shoot up his arms.

“I would cut his pig throat and take the money back,” Reyes mused darkly, “if I could just figure out how to blame it on someone else.”

“Excuse me,” a voice called from behind him. Reyes turned around surprised to see a young American girl with dishwater hair in a black dress staring at him, her dark pupils the size of saucers.

“Can I help you?” Reyes asked.

“I hope so,” she said, wobbling back and forth like a drunk. “It's my friends. They were abducted.”

“When?” he asked.

“Just a few hours ago,” Jamie said, trying not to vomit.

“You'll have to file a missing person’s report with one of my officers,” Reyes scolded her. “I don't have time for this right now.”

“No you don't understand,” Jamie argued. “They took us to this house on the hill and drugged us. They rolled my friends up in a blanket and carried them off. I barely managed to escape! You've got to do something. I think they're in real trouble.”

“Have you been doing drugs?” Reyes narrowed his eyes and cast a judgmental glare at her.

“No! Please. Listen to me. They put something in our drinks,” Jamie insisted. “Right before the guys showed up and kidnapped my friends. You have to do something!”

“Do you remember what these men looked like?” Reyes asked.

“Just the one with the tattoos,” Jamie admitted. “I never got a good look at the other guy but the one in charge, he had two eyes drawn on the back of his head and the words ALWAYS WATCHING. And the girls who lured us back to the house – Yesenia and Rosa, if those were their real names, I'm not sure – were definitely afraid of him. I could tell that much. That's why you've got to help me find them. I think something awful is going to happen if we don't find them. I've got a really bad feeling about it.”

Reyes stared at her for a moment, as if he were considering the validity of her story. “Can you identify him if you see him again?”

“I believe I can,” Jamie said confidently. She was still green around the gills but could feel her spirits starting to raise a little now that she was finally being taken seriously by someone in a position of authority. She'd spent the better part of the last hour arguing with the man at the front desk before being sent back to see the man in charge. Officer Reyes pulled the top of his file cabinet open pulled out a new folder. He thumbed through several mug shots then pulled one out and held it up in front of Jamie. Angel scowled at her from the glossy black and white photo.

“Is this the man you're talking about?” Reyes asked.

Jamie's eyes immediately lit up when she saw him.

“Yes! That's him!” She pointed wildly at the picture with her finger. “I'd know those eyes anywhere.”

“I have an idea where they might have taken them,” Reyes said with a frown. He grabbed his car keys off the desk and hurried towards the door. “There's a religious compound just outside of town that is rumored to practice black magic on unwilling participants. That man you identified is associated with them. We'll have to move fast if you want to see your friends alive again. Come with me.”

“Wait,” Jamie said, following behind him like a lost puppy. “Where are we going?”

“North,” Officer Reyes replied without looking back. “Let's just hope we can get there in time.”