“I can see that. However, I will need something for it. You know I live in Chile. I travel a lot. But we could work something out. I will send you money, enough to live without working outside the home. However, I will want Mateo for the summers. Only three months when he’s out of school on vacation. He must learn the Spanish language of my family and he can do that immersed in the culture of Chile at my home on the vineyard.”
She cut him off, holding up her hand. Her face was flushed. She spit out her words.
“That will never happen. My son stays here. I will not leave my son alone with you in a foreign country. I want him to grow up here. I have another son and Carl would never allow me to take him out of the country. I will not let Mateo out of my sight. I will fight you on that.”
“And yet you left Mateo in a motel, alone, at night, in a town like this? Your argument is inconsistent. Those are my terms. It’s a fair and generous offer.”
“You bastard.” Her heart pounded in her ears. Then her hand flew up and slapped his face, hard. She opened the car door, jumped out and ran for the bushes. A car was approaching, and Javier pulled out and headed back to town. He passed another car heading into the darkness, he assumed a couple looking for a quiet place to park for a while on a Friday night.
Susan couldn’t see anything in the darkness. She started up a narrow coral road, but the stiff bushes tore at her bare arms as she stumbled into them. Damn, where am I? Oh no…my purse… In the distance she could hear the roll of thunder. Turning around in a circle she looked up and could see only darkness and the glow of the town over the tops of the shrub-like trees, but she thought she couldn’t walk directly towards them without slogging through the salt marshes. She didn’t think there were alligators here, but it was southern Florida, and she wasn’t going to risk it. So, she headed back down the road where she thought she had come from and found the clearing where he had left her. The sound of a car coming up Government Road and pulling into the coral clearing made her drop to her hands and knees behind a bush. The car stopped and she heard a door close and footsteps on the coral rock road. She froze for a second then crawled out of the bushes.
“Javier…I’m so…”
A bright light hit her face and blinded her. Then out of nowhere a violent blow hit her and she fell forward onto the coarse gravel and the darkness closed in around her.
If there had been anyone else around, the only sound they would have heard was the footsteps on the coral road, a car door slamming, the crunch of tires disappearing into the darkness, and then the silence of the salt marshes.
* * *
Javier drove back into town, found a parking place at the agreed upon meeting spot. Maria walked over to his car. He rolled down the window.
“You have it?”
Javier pulled out a key card for the room from the small purse. “Here.”
She took the card, turned, and disappeared without another word.
Javier pulled out his phone and punched in a phone number.
“Yes?” came a voice.
“I did my part. Do it. The plan as we agreed on.”
“Consider it done. Give me an hour or so, then come to the house.”
“All right.”
Javier drove down the street to a crowded bar and ordered a drink.
* * *
Across town a woman slipped the key card into the door lock and quietly opened the door. The child on the bed stirred and turned over.
“Mama?”
“Go back to sleep,” she whispered.
The child rolled over and went back to sleep. She waited and when she was sure he was asleep again she carried him out to the car. She returned for the baby, then pulled silently out of the parking lot.
It was a short trip to the house. She tapped on the door and another woman opened it. The woman took the child and they skillfully moved the children into a room equipped with a bed and crib. The baby woke up and the woman of the house picked him up.
“My, aren’t you a beautiful baby?” She gave him a bottle and he snuggled against her.
The other child continued to sleep a peaceful sleep.
She smiled at Maria, “This will be good. No one will know what happened.”
Maria left and disappeared into the night.
* * *
Javier drove to a small bar further up the road. As he sipped his drink he felt his heart sink. He called Vasquez.
“It’s done,” he was told and before he could speak the call went dead.
I can’t believe I left her there in the dark. I’ll get her and bring her back into town. The child is safe with Maria.
He finished his drink and headed back out to Government Road. He drove down the dark road and stopped at the clearing where he had left her and looked around. All he found there was there was darkness and quiet. Where is she? He pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight app. Moving it around the area he saw her lying on the ground. He walked over and said, “Come, Susan. I’ll take you back to town.”
He bent down and touched her cheek. It was cold. He saw there was a small amount of blood. Tears filled his eyes. …this was not supposed to happen…My Lord, what have I done?
Javier drove
