The days immediately following the City Council meeting left Stump awash in mixed feelings. While he was pleased with himself for solving Mr. Kraft’s murder, and proving that Dixon Browne raped Maria’s mama, and identifying a pathway for low-income people to live in safer homes, there was also a new set of issues tormenting him.
Even though Mr. Kraft’s remaining days would have become more and more miserable due to his illness, it saddened Stump to lose one of the most influential men he’d ever met.
Then there was Juanita and Manuel Alvarado. They too were decent people. In a way Manuel was a compassionate man for sparing Mr. Kraft from a gruesome death. But now Manuel was locked up and Juanita had to raise their daughter without him.
All of this left Stump wondering what would happen to Maria and her mama and all the others at Cal-Vista now that the most influential people who worked there were long gone.
In addition Stump was extremely concerned about his schoolwork. He’d cut so many classes that the only way he could expect to pass the tenth grade was to do well on his finals. He’d been studying the best he could and finally took all his tests, but he knew he didn’t do all that well and Myles had already warned him that there would be consequences if his grades didn’t improve.
Now it was all over and all he could do was wait for the results to come in the mail. In the meantime he had no job, so he went home to check on Grandma Pauline and Katherine the caregiver.
Once at his apartment, Stump was surprised to see Myles’s truck in the parking lot. “What are you doing here?” Stump asked when he first saw Myles in the living room. “Is everybody okay?”
“Couldn’t be much better,” Myles said. “The women are in the kitchen putting a puzzle together. I came home a little early because I have a congratulatory gift for you.”
“Really? Rad. What is it?”
“It’s out in the truck, wrapped in white.” Myles tossed Stump his keys. “Go get it.”
“Okay.” As Stump hurried to Myles’s truck, he thought about their history. Sometimes Myles was a hard ass, but overall he was a nice guy. After all, the dude adopted Stump when Stump was at his all-time low. Myles deserved big cred for that. But when it came to gift giving, Myles was a bit of a tightwad.
Underneath the carport, he opened the truck door and glanced around. There was no gift in sight. He looked in the glove box and behind the seat, but nothing. He stepped back outside, checked the truck’s bed. There was no gift of any type, wrapped or otherwise. Bummer. He returned to the apartment. “Somebody must have stolen it. There’s nothing out there.”
“Oh, really,” Myles said. “Sometimes you look right at things, like your dirty underwear on the floor, and just don’t see them. You’d better go look again. It’s definitely out there.”
“I looked pretty good. Where is it exactly?”
Myles sighed. “For crying out loud, Stump. I guess I have to do it myself.” Stump watched from the picture window as Myles hurried out to the truck, stuck his head in the cab and bolted right back. “It’s there, alright. Just like I said. Damn thing was right under your nose.”
“Under my nose? But you said it was under the roof.”
Myles shook his head. “If it’s under one, it’s under the other.” Myles pointed out the window. “In fact, I can see some of the wrapping from here.”
Stump peeked again. Then, “You sure you ain’t been drinking?”
Myles grinned and pointed off to the side of the lot. “Let me make this easier. See that shiny SUV over there? The black one with the luggage rack.”
Stump looked. “Yeah. So?”
“Who would need a vehicle like that?”
“I dunno, maybe a family or somebody whose car wore out.”
“What about a family that got bigger?”
“Sure. A mom has a baby and needs a bigger car. So what. What’s that got to do with what we were talking about?”
“New babies aren’t the only way a family grows,” Myles said before chin-pointing toward Grandma Pauline.
Stump looked at Grandma Pauline, then studied Myles and finally it hit him. “No shit? You bought new wheels. Can I drive it?”
Myles nodded. “Just picked it up a couple hours ago, but that meant I needed to do something with my old truck. What color would you say it is?”
Stump’s eyes shot to the old truck again, then back to Myles, who wore a shit-eating grin. “It’s all yours, and this time you don’t have to pay me back.”
Stunned, Stump’s smile stretched all across his face. “No shit?”
“You boys shouldn’t use words like that,” Grandma Pauline said from the other room.
“I’ve been thinking about it for weeks,” Myles added, “and almost didn’t do it after you did so many sneaky things without telling me or the other detectives. But then I looked in my mirror. Even though I specialize in other types of crimes, I knew if I had been in your shoes I probably would have done the exact same thing. It doesn’t make it right, but at least I understand why you did it. I filled the tank, but you have to buy your own insurance and gas from here on out. That fair?”
“Hell, yes, that’s fair. Thanks a lot, Myles.” Stump reached out for a handshake, but Myles pushed Stump’s hand aside and grabbed him.
“We can hug this time,” he said.
Stump wasn’t accustomed to hugging men, but it felt pretty darn good...for a couple seconds. He pulled away. “I gotta show Maria.”
“Speaking of Maria,” Myles said, “you’ve been seeing an awfully lot of her lately, but you must be ashamed of your grandma and me because you haven’t made any attempt to introduce us. Would it kill you to bring her and her mother around for dinner sometime soon?”
“I can’t eat that much.”
Stump looked at Grandma Pauline and back at Myles. “I’d rather we all go to a restaurant because Grandma Pauline shares her apple pie with me.”
“Okay then,” Myles said while nodding. “Go ahead and see if you can set something up. And on that other matter, just so we understand each other, there’ll be no more messing up, or I’ll make you forfeit your keys. I really mean it. Is that clear?”
“No problem. There won’t be any more troubles. I promise.”
“Okay, then. I’ll see you after my AA meeting tonight.”
Stump’s heart throbbed as he rushed outside and leapt into his very own brand-new, super-cool pick-up truck.
Chapter Eighty-Four
In his new truck, Stump immediately replaced the stupid country music station with one more worthy of high volume and cranked it all the way up. He sat tall and headed for Cal-Vista and Maria.
When he arrived, head bobbing, he found Maria sitting by the pool with tear tracks running down her cheeks. “Hi. What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Everything.”
“Oh, really? I thought you’d be happy, now that the dragon has been slain.”
“Mama lied to me.”
“I know. But now we don’t need the DNA results for the proof.”
Maria shook her head. “That’s not it. She’s never told me anything about me having an aunt.”
“Oh, that. It was a surprise to me too. But she must have had a good reason. Did she explain it to you?”
“No. I just ran away. Now she’s crying. She said something about being poorer than ever.”
Stump recalled how worried his own mom used to get when she said things like that. “I know how she might get some money.”
Maria’s face lit up. “You do? How?”
“That college fund we talked about. After the DNA test proves—”
“You never give up, do you?”
“I checked the website this morning. The results are supposed to come out later today. Then you’ll be one step closer to the money. Maybe she’ll feel better and tell you the truth about everything.”
“I keep telling you that’s not possible; therefore there won’t be any money for me or Mama.”
“But Dixon admitted it in his notebook. Let’s at least go talk to her.”
Maria sighed. “Okay, if it’ll shut you up, but don’t blame me if she throws you out of our apartment.”
Minutes later Stump and Maria entered her apartment where Mrs. Quintana was huddled on the couch, her eyes red, her face blotchy. A trashcan full of crumpled tissues was near her feet.
Stump sat next to her. “Hello, Mrs. Quintana. Maria said you’ve been pretty sad since Dixon was arrested. I’m sorry I made you feel bad.”
She sniffled. “It’s not because of him. I don’t know how we’re going to pay our bills.”
“That’s what we wanted to talk to you about. I know you didn’t want Maria to know that Dixon is her real papa and that he has hidden some money for her that—”
Mrs. Quintana waved Stump off and glared at the floor. “He wasn’t Maria’s daddy.”
“See!” Maria said. “What did I tell you?”
Mrs. Quintana blew her nose, and then looked at Maria. “I guess you deserve to know everything now.”
Maria looked somber.
“Your daddy was exactly who I told you he was. His name was Eduardo. He brought me up here from Mexico when the drug wars reached our town. He stayed with me for a couple weeks and then he went back to get his mama and brother.”
Maria folded her arms across her chest, rolled her head toward Stump. “See.”
Stump wasn’t buying it. Dixon’s notes were more believable. It sounded as if Stump’s only means to convince Maria of the truth was the same as before: wait for the DNA results.
Mrs. Quintana lowered her head. “As soon as Eduardo left, Dixon showed interest in me, but I said no. The next week I got the message that bad men killed your daddy’s family and ours too.”
“Oh, my God.” Maria wedged herself next to her mama.
“A few weeks later I realized I was pregnant. I had no way to support us. I had to think of something.” She looked deep into Maria’s eyes and then hung her head and wept. “I let Dixon have me—several times.” She wiped at her tears. “Then a couple months later I told him he got me pregnant so he’d pay our bills.”
Maria gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. “But Mama, that was dishonest.”
Stump rolled his eyes and was tempted to speak, but thought better of it.
“I know, but I couldn’t go back to Mexico because everybody was dead. Dixon suggested an abortion, but I didn’t want to lose your papa’s baby and I already loved you.”
Tears had formed in Maria’s eyes.
“Dixon was afraid that his first wife and his children would find out what he did, so he didn’t want me to tell anybody. As long as he thought he was your papa and he wanted to keep it quiet, I was willing to go along with everything.” She took a deep breath. “As soon as I started to show, he did that awful thing to Lupe. I couldn’t say anything to you about it because you were just a child. If you slipped up and accidently said something to anger him he might have thrown us out. I’d seen him do that to other people and couldn’t take a chance because I had no other money.”
“Oh, Mama. I’m sorry you had to deal with that animal.” Maria’s tears and tone suggested she believed every word of her mama’s tale.
“I would have moved in with him if I had to, but he liked to be with other women—which was better for us—as long as he kept providing a way to pay our rent.” Tears rolled down Mrs. Quintana face. She almost deserved an Academy Award. “I never loved him, but I’ve always given him what he wants because I had no other choice.”
Stump sighed. Maybe this was one of those times when it was best to leave things alone. Maybe he should just keep the results of the DNA test to himself.
“When you were about seven, my body began to change and from then on, he only used me in that way when he couldn’t find anybody else. But I always did whatever he wanted just to be sure he still supported us.”
Maria threw her arms around her mama’s neck. “Oh, Mama. I love you more than ever.”
“He made me get rid of Señorita too.” She looked at Stump. “I knew that the money we got belonged to Mr. Kraft, but I told myself that he wouldn’t miss it.” She hung her head. “Dixon may not have been a good man but I needed him to help me raise my beautiful Maria.” She wiped her nose. “But now he’s gone, and I don’t know what we’ll do.”
At least that was true. It was difficult for nearly everybody around there to get a job. Stump had an idea. “I’ll be right back,” he said as he reached for the door. He stepped outside hustled next door and rang the bell. A minute later, Mr. Connors answered.
“Hi Stump. I hoped I’d see you before long. Did you come for that job we spoke about?”
“After you and everybody else helped me at the City Council meeting, my dad gave me his truck. I have to pay for gas and insurance so I was thinking maybe I could start sometime next week.”
“Glad to hear that. I’ll hold a spot for you.”
Stump shuffled his feet. “Mr. Connors, I had another favor to ask. I wouldn’t bring it up but—”
“What’s on your mind?”
“Well, Dixon used to give my girlfriend’s mama some work so she could pay their rent. You and Mrs. Connors have said you could use some help around here. Is there any chance you could hire Mrs. Quintana to help you?”
“Strange you should ask that. We were just talking about something along those lines. Why don’t you have Mrs. Quintana drop by and we can talk about it.”
“Really? I can go get her right now.”
“It just might be the push we needed.”
On the way back to Cal-Vista and jubilant, Stump decided to check if the DNA test results had been posted. But now he wasn’t sure if he’d show them to Maria. A couple of clicks into his cell and his pulse quickened. They were in. He clicked the link and instantly saw the answer. Negative? How the hell could that be?
He looked toward Maria’s apartment. There could only be one answer. Maria’s mama was telling the truth. Maria wasn’t related to Dixon after all. The only person who’d ever out-bluffed Dixon Browne was the last person anybody would expect. A humble woman of limited means had been manipulating the great poker player non-stop for sixteen years. This was priceless. Stump sat down on the curb and laughed until it hurt.
Chapter Eighty-Five
Delores spent the last few days tying up loose ends but still had a couple unfinished stops. She pulled her Audi into the Cal-Vista lot and grabbed a padded envelope that she’d brought with her.
As she moved toward building four she thought about the bond she shared with Inez Quintana. Each had lost a sister and endured a lot of pain because of an evil man. As she reached the back corner of the building Maria emerged with a laundry basket full of heavy pots and pans, which she set next to a white pick-up. Just then, Stump backed out of the building holding one end of a sofa. James followed Stump and they loaded the sofa into the truck. “Hello, everybody,” Delores said.
“Stump got Mama a job,” Maria said. “It might be a little harder but at least she won’t have to rely on Dixon.”
“It’s right next door,” Stump said. “With Mr. and Mrs. Connors.”
“That’s wonderful. You guys deserve a fresh start. Is your mama home?”
Inside, Inez Quintana had stuffed a lifetime of items in boxes and bags. “Hi, Inez. I brought you something,” Delores said, holding out the padded envelope. “I thought you might appreciate this.”
Inez smiled and opened the package. “It’s Lupe’s crucifix,” she whispered as she touched it to her cheek.
By that time Maria and Stump and James had wandered in. “They’d usually keep it until after the trial,” Delores said, “but I insisted they have more evidence than they need to convict Dixon.” Delores tapped Inez’s arm. “As you know I had a similar problem. That makes us like sisters.”
Maria sprung to her tiptoes. “Does this mean you’re like an aunt to me?”
Delo
res grinned. “Why not. I’d really, really like that.”
“What do I call you? Aunt Detective or what?”
Stump grimaced.
“I guess you can just call me Aunt Delores,” she said before turning to Stump and James. “But I’m still Detective Sanchez to you gentlemen.”
Maria grabbed her aunt’s hand and stuck her tongue out at Stump as if she’d won a big victory.
“I hope you can find your sister someday,” Inez said.
“After all that’s happened lately I’ve hired some professional people-finders to see if they can do any good. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”
“I’m glad Mama doesn’t have to worry about the police any longer,” Maria said.
“That’s one of the good things that’s come out of all this. There’s something else too. I found out where the county buried Lupe. She’s in a nice cemetery in east L.A. I thought you might want to go there—to be reunited—at least you’ll know where she is and can visit from time to time. I’ve taken the morning off so I can take you there right now if you’d like.”
Inez and Maria traded glances. “Can I go too?”
Inez nodded, then looked at Stump.
“Go ahead. James and I will finish moving the furniture. Then I can come back later and help with the rest of it.”
* * *
That afternoon, after returning from the cemetery, Delores invited Carlton Fayes to go with her to the office of Dr. Moreno. “I’m sorry I didn’t set an appointment, Jeanine,” Delores said as soon as the doctor stepped into the waiting room, “but, I’ve told Carlton so much about you and I just had to drop in and say thank you.”
Jeanine shook Carlton’s hand before turning back to Delores. “I saw you on the news when you made the arrests. That was quite a night.”
“So many things have fallen into place since I met you, Jeanine. I don’t know where to begin.”
“Can I assume you had your cupcake party?”
“We called it an extravaganza,” Carlton said.
Delores grabbed his hand. “He did practically everything. There must have been fifty kids and teachers and parents and even somebody from the superintendent’s office.”
“Impressive.”
“Carlton had everybody give away one cupcake to anybody they wanted, just to be nice.”
Jeanine smiled.
“We worked in some extras,” Carlton said, “so everybody would get at least one extra cupcake.” He gestured toward Delores. “Ms. Selfish here got seven of them.”