* * *
After four pairs of jeans, three CD's, three paperbacks, a new pair of tennis shoes, some new socks, a couple of Cinnabons, a personalized keychain, and some Cold Stone ice cream, they headed to the car.
Back in the parking lot of Great America, they found a parking space about thirty rows away from the rigged Suzuki, right on the end. Mark wiggled into his new jeans and said, "Now this is what I call a front row seat."
"Yeah, if I had binoculars."
"Which I just happen to have." Mark pulled a pair of bird watching binoculars out of a bag and settled back. He said to Tom, "Quit whining and read a book. We still might have a long time to wait."
Tom slurped his ice cream and belched. "Shoulda let me buy that portable DVD player. I could be watching
Shrek
by now
.
"
Mark ignored him and slipped a CD in the player. "The Beach Boys, man I love surfer music."
Tom mumbled, "All that talk about water just makes me want to pee."
"I heard that. Just suck it in; you just went at the mall."
"Oh, yeah, I remember."
Tom looked out the windshield. He suddenly hit Mark with the back of his hand. "Hey, Mark, look at that! Aren't those our guys? What's with the duck hat? And those balloons. He chuckled. "Do they look like the demented tourists from hell or what?"
"They are tourists." Mark came close to a smile as he took in the sight before him. Luis and Alfredo looked like an advertisement for souvenir sales. One could barely see them under the funky sunglasses, glow necklaces, T-shirts, funny hats, sippy cups, a giant stuffed Scooby-Doo, and Mylar balloons. They weaved like a couple of drunks trying to balance their booty. "No wonder they're leaving early. They'd need a trailer to get anything else back."
Tom brightened. "Think we could steal their Twickets before we blow them up? They won't need them to get back in free tomorrow, they'll be dead."
Mark rolled his eyes and Tom looked away across the parking lot. He spotted a man in a sweatshirt looking like he was holding something in his sleeve. He looked around and dodged behind a car. "Hey, Mark? Look over there."
"Never mind the damn Twicket," Mark said through gritted teeth. "Just keep an eye on those guys."
The man in the sweatshirt skirted the parked cars quickly, looking in windows as he passed each vehicle. Tom watched as he weaved quickly through the aisles. "Mark, look over there. There's a guy–"
"Shut up, Tom. They're coming."
The man in the sweatshirt was now three rows away from the Suzuki, still ducking and weaving. Tom knew a carjacker when he saw one. "Mark, that guy! He's headed for the Suzuki. I think he's going to break in!"
"What?"
"Oh, my God! Tom threw open his door and tried to bolt. Mark caught his T-shirt and dragged him back in the car. "Where the hell are you going? The brothers are headed toward the car now."
Tom scrambled to sit up. "The guy, the guy in the sweatshirt. That guy over there is going to steal the damn car. We gotta stop him or he'll get blown to bits! We gotta tell him–
Ohhh, Shit."
A fireball blew skyward as the would-be carjacker popped open the driver's door of the Suzuki. Luis and Alfredo were close enough to be thrown back from the blast and land in a heap in the parking lot. The barely latched roof of the Cooper flew off and landed on the hood of an SUV behind it. Windows shattered on surrounding cars, and alarms went off by the dozens. Bits of engine, rubber, and car-jacker rained down on the parking lot as Mark and Tom slowly stood on the seats of the roofless Cooper, watching open-mouthed as the scene in front of them played out in slow motion. Tom jerked open an umbrella and held it over their heads as they stood staring at the ball of fire across the parking lot. Bits and pieces of
whatever
plinked softly off the umbrella and fell to the ground. Mark held out his hand to catch some debris, and a pinkie finger plopped into his palm. They both stared at it.
"Shhhit." Mark dropped the finger.
"Oops," Tom said.
They looked at each other and slowly lowered themselves down into the car. They sat in stunned silence as chaos reigned (or rained) around them. The scream of fire trucks and squad cars shook them out of their stupor and as one, they exited the car.
As if by unspoken agreement, Tom and Mark calmly walked back to the SUV and retrieved the roof of the Cooper. After some hand pounding and Tom jumping on one corner, they got the roof fastened down. They leaned against their car and crossed their arms.
Tom broke the silence first. "What now?"
Mark shook his head. "Don't know. Plan B I guess."
"And what exactly is 'Plan B'?"
"We'll think of something." He stiffened. "Oh, no, that's all we need. Here they come. They've spotted us!"
Mark spazzed and spun to face the Cooper. He said out of the corner of his mouth, "Act casual. Look surprised. Pretend like we followed the fire trucks or heard the blast, but
we just got here
."
"Casual, right." Tom leaned against the Cooper and plastered a smile on his face.
Mark faced forward again and tried to look calm. He arranged his face in what he thought looked relaxed, and Tom thought he looked rather constipated. Not knowing what to do with his hands, Mark raised a hand to lean on the Cooper. Forgetting the window was down, he hit open space instead and fell through. Mark let out a high-pitched screech as he landed head first on the passenger side floor with his feet dangling out the window.
Tom grabbed his feet and yanked him out. "You idiot. He mimicked Mark in a girlie voice. "'Look casual,' he says. You look like a constipated moron. Now shut up, here they are."
They both feigned surprise when Luis and Alfredo came stumbling over, wearing blackened T-shirts and dragging a one-legged Scooby-Doo.
Luis waved with a sippy cup. "
Hola
. Hey, you broken car guys. Hallo. Disaster has struck our vacation, and Scooby saved our lives. They both collapsed against the Cooper, dropping their packages and breathing hard.
Tom blurted, "Uh, we'd just gotten here when we heard the blast and then the fire trucks. So someone tried to steal your car, eh?" Mark elbowed him hard. Tom flinched.
Alfredo and Luis stared wide-eyed at Tom and Mark. Alfredo said, "How did you know? The fireman just told us this."
Tom opened his mouth and Mark stomped on his foot. As Tom inhaled, Mark stepped forward and put an arm around Alfredo. "We heard people talking as they passed by us. Is it true a man tried to break in and got blown up?"
Tom rubbed his sore foot on the back of his other leg. "Heck of a security system they have on those rentals these days."
Luis and Alfredo blinked.
Mark threw an arm around Tom's neck and squeezed. Hard. "My brother, he is always joking. Even in the time of a crisis. Ha ha. Well, we have been shopping as you can see." He indicated the shopping bags in the back seat. "But we are finished now. If you would like a lift back to White Bass Lake, we would be pleased to help you out."
The brothers both smiled. Luis wiped a tear from his eye. "Oh, thank you,
Senór
. We would like that very much. We would normally not impose, but we are in dire need. We only need to tell the police and call Evo, our friend."
"Police?"
"Yes, they were going to contact our friends in White Bass Lake to come and pick us up, but if you are going that way, it would be most convenient."
Mark wiped at the sweat that had popped out on his brow. "Oh, sure. Go ahead. We'll load your stuff so we can leave right away."
"Thank you both. We will return in a moment."
Tom held up the one legged Scooby-Doo. "Do you want to keep the casualty of war here?"
Luis hit Mark on the shoulder. "
Hah-ha
. Casualty of war. You guys kill me." He and Alfredo walked to the squad car.
Mark stared after them and said under his breath, "You have no idea,
amigo
." they stuffed the dog in the car, and minutes later, bundled Luis and Alfredo in after, and sped off toward Wisconsin.
15
I walked into Fred's kitchen the next morning to find Evo staring at a cup of coffee. I leaned against the sink and folded my arms across my chest. "Wishing it was brandy?"
His head snapped up. "Huh? I'm sorry, you said brandy? At nine o'clock in the morning? I think not, thank you very much. Do you drink this early in the morning up here?"
"Don't put it past a cheesehead, Evo. Some folks put beer in their cornflakes up here." At his horrified expression I relented. "I'm just kidding about the brandy, you look very preoccupied."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "I did notice wherever we go someone is drinking brandy in something else. Is that normal up here too?"
"We are known as The Dairy State, but we could be called The Brandy State, The Beer State, or just The State of Inebriation. Some folks just drink a lot."
"So I gathered. I was thinking of Luis and Alfredo. I dragged them up here and they almost got blown up yesterday. I'm not much for coincidence, but I see no motive to hurt them. What's your take?"
"The police are investigating. I do find it interesting that their two new friends just happened to be there when the Suzuki blew up."
"Yes. It seems curious to me that the car would explode for any reason."
"Sounds more like a car bomb than a curious coincidence to me, Evo."
"Luis explained that they invited them, but the new friends had business to attend to in the morning hours, and went down later in the day. I'm more troubled about my hasty decision to bring Luis and Alfredo to Wisconsin."
"If they're in any kind of danger, they're much safer here with us, than alone in Lima, don't you think?"
"Yes, I know you're right. Another thought I just had was that they are on a vacation of sorts and I never thought about money. I even told them they were on vacation, so they don't expect to be paid. Their pride will keep them from accepting money from me."
"Then tell them it is a working vacation. If you want, we can have them do some running or odd jobs, and you can pay them."
"Great idea, but I don't have a local bank account."
I told Evo it was just as easy for him to give me the money and I would write a check that the Gallegos brothers could cash at the local bank. Evo was thrilled and we worked out the details.
Later, Evo handed Luis and Alfredo each a check and told them they were still on the payroll, even in America. The brothers could not believe what luck had befallen them. They clutched their checks in both hands. After many thanks they scuttled out the door and piled into their newly rented car. This time they'd rented a Jeep. They zoomed out onto the street and headed for downtown.
I watched as an unfamiliar car followed them down the street and a funny feeling tickled the back of my neck. I caught Evo by the arm, pointed to the dented red Cooper and asked, "Hey, do you recognize those guys?"
Evo squinted after the small red car. "No, why do you ask?"
"They don't look familiar, but that Cooper does," and almost to myself, "Where have I seen that car before?"
Fred looked up from the couch. "Car? What car?"
Sam walked into the room brushing her hair. She stopped next to Evo and I. "Are we looking for a car? Do you mean that little red one?"
We answered as one, "Yes."
We stood for a moment watching the vehicles as they turned left at the end of the block and disappeared.
Evo shook his head. "I don't recognize the car or the men."
"Hmm," I said. "It'll make me crazy until I think of it. It might be my imagination, but it looked like they pulled out behind the Gallegos brothers."
Evo scanned the street. "From where?"
"I don't know from where. I didn't actually
see
it pull out, it's just a feeling I had when they drove past."
Fred looked up from her book. "Oh, oh. Don't discount those 'feelings' Buzz gets. I did once and was almost run over by a train and consumed by fire ants." She picked up her book and thumbed through to her bookmark.
Silence. Everyone stared at her.
She looked up again and sounding ominous held up a hand. "Don't ask. Just trust Buzz's instincts, or it'll be fire ant city for you." She went back to reading.
Tony shook his head in wonder, leaned forward, and said softly, "She sure is cute, but definitely a little odd."
Pow
. A pillow hit him in the back of the head.
"
Ow
. Hey, I've got stitches here!"
Fred smiled her Mona Lisa smile. "Oops, must have slipped out of my hand."
"And catapulted across the room by itself? Don't you find
that
a little odd?" Tony poked at the bald area on the back of his head.
Round innocent eyes blinked at him. She stood and said over her shoulder, "Odd, like me, perhaps?" She laughed as she sashayed out of the room.
Tony stared after her. "Wow, behind that innocent façade, she is lee-thal!"