The Chupacabra (5 page)

What on earth had brought all that on?

Armado was sitting cross-legged and silent in front of her but at a slight distance now. He looked shocked and puzzled. Or was it more like suspicious?

“Lightheaded. Not enough lunch perhaps?” Vanessa offered up weakly.

Armado didn't even bother to reply. She knew he was waiting for a real explanation. Should she make up some story about having epilepsy or something? But if she did that, Frida would be onto her father like a shot, and she would be sent home before she could work out what was going on.

“Sorry. I'm really not sure what happened there.” Better to be honest—well, honest-ish—Vanessa decided. “I just felt sort of funny, and then I think I passed out. Probably scary for you, though.”

Armado didn't reply to that, but he offered his hand to help her to her feet.

“Do you feel well enough to go?” he asked. “The rain is less now. We must not be late for dinner,” he added, almost to himself.

“But we just got here. It can't be anywhere near dinner time yet.”

“Vanessa, it's eight o'clock already, and we still have a long ride back.”

“How long have we been here?”

“Well, I have been here about forty minutes, Vanessa, but I am not sure about you.”

Vanessa opened her mouth to try and protest but suddenly found it difficult to speak. How was she going to manage the ride home?

“I think we should tell Mama about this. You probably should see a doctor.”

“No!” Vanessa gasped. “Please, no, Armado. You know they will all worry and fuss, and I may even get sent home if they think I'm sick. Please?” she pleaded.

She smiled the best smile she could as proof of her health and sanity while not at all sure of it herself. She could see the uncertainty in his face.

“Sometimes I just get these visions, it's to do with the place rather than me.”

Vanessa was certain she had made it worse, been too honest. They would be calling in a doctor all right—a shrink! But to her surprise it had the opposite effect on Armado, and he nodded his head slowly as if it made everything clearer.

“
Si, alucinación
. I know some people get them,
especially shamans.” He stopped and pressed his lips together.

“Shamans?”

“Holy men, like priests,” Armado said shortly.

“Oh, yes,” said Vanessa. “They do magic, don't they?”

“OK, Vanessa, I will say nothing. Mama and Papa are worried enough at the moment. About the ranch, I mean. This rain is good, but we do not know if it will continue.”

Vanessa didn't reply. She was too busy enjoying the remarkable feeling of Armado's hand wrapped firmly around her own as he led her out of the house.

In spite of its fondness for killing goats, the Chupacabra has also been accused of killing birds, chickens, pigs, horses, and cows.

The storm raged all day and all night, bringing down many large trees on the property. However, the great start to the rainy season turned out to be a false one, as the next morning the sun came out in a cloudless sky and not one more drop of rain fell during the girls' stay on the ranch.

There were no more riding lessons that week, and
Vanessa saw very little of Armado or Joseph over the next few days, not even at meal times. She felt that the tension in the house was greater than usual.

“Something's up, don't you think?” Vanessa said to Nikki as they sat on the terrace outside their bedrooms one afternoon. Neither of the girls could get used to the siesta thing. Xolo was sitting at Vanessa's feet.

“How do you mean?” said Nikki.

“Well, can't you feel it? Like everyone is walking around on eggshells,” Vanessa said, stroking Xolo's head.

“It's probably because of the cow that died yesterday. One of the ranch hands found it after they went out to check storm damage. Everyone was very upset about it.”

“Well, that's not exactly a disaster, is it? I think they have another two thousand four hundred and ninety-nine left. So what's the big deal?”

“I don't know, Vanessa. I suppose it is their livelihood,” Nikki said shortly.

“Maybe it has something to do with the curse thing again. You remember Carmen said that the locals call it Devil Ranch? And that the animals die in a strange way?”

“I remember Carmen didn't want to talk about it, all right.”

Nikki sounded irritated, and Vanessa felt a sudden pang of jealousy. Vanessa was a good friend, but Carmen was family, after all. The cousins were becoming very close these days.

“I have to go.” Nikki stood up. “Embroidery at three o'clock. On the dot.” Nikki smiled. “You're much happier in the kitchen with Izel, aren't you?” she added.

“Absolutely. Izel is wonderful. Maybe I'll ask her about the cow and how it died.”

“Oh, for God's sake, Vanessa, you are like a dog with a bone,” Nikki said.

A bone? Xolo looked up quickly and put his tongue out. The girls laughed together.

“That's one clever dog,” Vanessa said, standing up. Xolo stood up to follow her. “No, Xolo. You can't come to the kitchen. Remember last time?”

Xolo sat down again.

“My God, he really does understand you!” Nikki said in amazement. “What happened in the kitchen last time?”

Vanessa hadn't told Nikki about the face at the
window and the fright she got. “I'll tell you later,” she promised.

Izel was cracking eggs into a huge bowl when Vanessa arrived in the kitchen.

“What are we making today?” Vanessa asked.

“A cake.” Izel pointed to the bowl. “Ten cups of butter, one of goose fat, fifteen of brown sugar, a cup of honey, almonds and cherries soaked for two days in brandy, twenty cups of flour and thirteen eggs.”

“Thirteen eggs! Mum used to use three in hers.” Izel shrugged her fat shoulders. “You're in Mexico now. We like everything big here.”

“My mum died two years ago,” Vanessa said quietly. She wanted Izel to know.

“Yes,
chica
, Frida told me. She told me before you arrive.”

Frida? Who had told
her
? Not Vanessa's father, surely?

“Was she pretty, like you?” asked Izel.

Vanessa was overwhelmed for a moment by a flood of affection, and she put her arms halfway around the small woman's large waist and hugged her hard.

“I'm not pretty, Izel. But she was. Clever too.” Izel started to sieve the flour into the mixture.

“People are always scared to talk to me about my mother. As if they don't want to remind me. But I want to remember now. I think about her every day. At first it was hard, too painful, but Nessie—sorry …” She coughed to allow herself some time to think. “But someone helped me through the roughest part. It's easier for me now.”

She needn't have worried about Izel peppering her with questions or staring at her the way Frida did.

“She will always be close to you. Especially if you are in difficulty,” Izel said, still busy with the cake.

Incredible. Here was a stranger from the other side of the world who understood exactly how she felt.

“You know, my headmistress called me into her office after Mum died and told me that ‘time will heal.'”

Izel stopped what she was doing and thought for a moment. “It is true that if your knee is hurt time will heal it, but what has it got to do with your mama dying?”

Vanessa grinned. “Exactly! Time doesn't make those feelings go away; it just changes them a little. The wound is still there.”

As she said it, the word “wound” triggered another thought for Vanessa.

“Izel, what happened to the animal that died in the storm yesterday?”

Izel didn't reply immediately. “There was more than one. They were attacked, their lifeblood drained from them.
Es el diablo
.”

The devil again.

“It sounds more like the Chupacabra to me,” said Vanessa lightly.

Izel's head shot up. “It is the same thing,” she said, her voice lower and harder than usual. She looked frightened to Vanessa. She put her finger to her lips. A silent warning.

Vanessa was rooted to the spot. What was Izel trying to tell her? Did she believe in the Chupacabra? Had she seen it? Before Vanessa could ask her any questions, the kitchen door opened and Armado's face appeared around it.

“Is it safe to come in?” he asked.

Vanessa wondered if he had heard them talking about the Chupacabra or if it was some long-standing joke that he shared with Izel.

Izel wiped her hands on the front of her apron and opened her arms wide for him to hug her. Adoration was the only word for it.

“Mado, Mado,
ven acqui
.”

Armado allowed himself to be pressed to her chest, her wrestler's arms enveloping him although he towered over her. He grinned at Vanessa over the top of Izel's head.

“I make your favorite—cherry brandy fool cake,” Izel cooed.

“You eat too much cake, you get drunk, and you behave like a fool,” Armado explained to Vanessa with a grin. “Well, that is what her husband did when she made it, so that's its name. But you won't find it in any recipe book, I promise you. It's an Izel special.”

Vanessa smiled, but the word “fool” had brought back a flood of memories of their ride and her funny turn in the house, and Vanessa felt her tongue tie itself in knots.

Armado dipped his finger in the cake mix and licked it clean, drawing a torrent of Spanish from Izel. Vanessa recognized the words
caballos
and
sucio
: horses and dirty. She smiled. That pretty much summed Armado up; he was always covered in a layer of ranch dust. Vanessa was pleased that she understood Izel. Even after a week her Spanish was definitely improving.

“I just came in to see if you and Nikki wanted to come to Guanajuato tomorrow morning to get some supplies.”

Vanessa was relieved. He wouldn't have asked if he really thought that she was a mental case or that she might go all faint on him again, would he?

“That would be fantastic; we'd love to.”

“Papa said to tell you to be ready about ten-thirty tomorrow.”

Papa. Of course, it was Joseph who was really asking them, not Armado. Vanessa had a fleeting moment of disappointment, but she nodded her agreement to the arrangement and smiled.

“Don't eat too much fool cake before I see you again,” Armado said over his shoulder as he walked out of the kitchen.

Vanessa stared after him, her brain a scramble of emotions. What was that supposed to mean? She seemed to waver between liking Armado a lot one minute and wanting to punch him the next.

On Saturday 29 April 2000, Joseph Ismael Pino, a farm worker, saw the Chupacabra. He is reported to have said that “it hardly moved. It just stood there looking at me. It stood upright, five feet tall, with long clawed arms, enormous fangs protruding from its mouth.”

“I don't know what's wrong with Xolo,” Carmen said. “I've never seen him like this. He's moping around you all the time. What have you done to him, Vanessa?”

The three girls, who were sitting on Carmen's bed, looked down at the dog lying on the floor, his head on his front paws. As if on cue, he raised his head and fixed his eyes directly on Vanessa.

“He's in love!” Nikki threw a pillow at Vanessa. Vanessa threw it back hard, throwing herself after it so that they fell off the bed and almost flattened the dog. There was a knock on the door.

“Carmen,
que es
? What is all that noise?” Frida's sharp voice made them all jump.

“
Lo siento
, Mama, sorry. My book fell off the bed onto the floor.”

Vanessa and Nikki shoved their faces into their pillows to mute their giggles, amazed by Carmen's quick lie.

“It is already ten o'clock, Carmen; it is time you slept.”

Vanessa prayed that Frida would not open the door and see them on the floor in such a state. It would be just too embarrassing.

“Good night, Mama,” Carmen called.

“
Buenos noches, Carmencita, te quiero
. Love you …” Vanessa was surprised at the loving way Frida had spoken. It was enough to make her stop giggling.

They waited until Frida's footsteps died away and then got back up on the bed. They had calmed down now and neither Nikki nor Vanessa knew what to say.

Carmen did not notice that they were feeling uncomfortable. “You're lucky to be such close friends,” she said. She brushed the hair off her forehead and looked wistful.

Vanessa felt sorry for her. How lonely it must be for Carmen on the ranch. Frida was not exactly fun, and Armado and Joseph were not around much. It struck her that Carmen never talked about school or visiting friends.

Vanessa yawned. It was getting late and they had an early start in the morning.

“How far away is Guanajuato, Carmen?” Vanessa asked.

“About twelve miles, but the roads are small and twisty so it takes time. Mado and Papa usually ride, but I suppose he wants to show off the town to you two, so we will go by car.”

“Good. I don't think my riding skills would be up to that yet,” said Vanessa.

“Mado says you are a wonderful rider,” Carmen replied.

Nikki arched her eyebrows quizzically. As a distraction, Vanessa quickly launched into the story about the storm and how they had had to take shelter in the derelict house.

“You didn't go inside, did you?” Carmen sounded alarmed.

“Yes. Into the room that's always dry.”

Vanessa was beginning to wish she hadn't started. Clearly Armado hadn't mentioned going there or told Carmen about her funny turn.

Nikki looked puzzled. “A room that is always dry. Well, why wouldn't it be if it's in a house?”

“Yes, but it's a wet house.” Vanessa was using a silly sort of voice to make fun of it. “This one room is always dry, although there is almost no roof and the rest of the house leaks like a sieve.”