Vigilante by Kristi Belcamino

Author:Kristi Belcamino
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kristi Belcamino

22

Luisa Sanchez lived in a doublewide trailer hung with lace curtains way up Pine Springs Road from Maggie’s small rental. It was a part of the county called The Pines that was even thicker with woods, houses every two miles down long hidden driveways.

Luisa Sanchez looked confused when she opened the screen door and saw Maggie in her blue flannel shirt and jeans, hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. One benefit to desk duty was Maggie worked nine to five and had been able to go home and change out of her uniform before coming to visit Mrs. Sanchez.

“Ed doesn’t live here anymore.” The woman was about to close the door.

“Mrs. Sanchez? I’d like a few minutes of your time if you don’t mind.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed. She was petite with neat gray hair in a bun and crinkling eyes. She had on a faded apron and had probably been in the middle of making dinner.

“Who are you?” she said, squinting up at Maggie.

“Maggie Bychowski. I’m a cop in Sanctuary City. I’m new to the department. Checking on some stuff that happened before I got here. I’m here to talk to you about Johnny.”

Luisa Sanchez opened the door wider. A flicker of something both sad and triumphant passed across her face. “It’s about time,” she said and held the door for Maggie.

After she settled Maggie into a seat with a fresh cup of coffee, Luisa Sanchez undid her apron and dumped a basket of clean laundry onto her couch. She folded clothes and towels as she spoke.

“Me and Ed was with the boy the entire day. We were all out doing our annual fixer up on my Ma’s place. That was before she passed. Every year, me and my brother’s families, about September, we all would go to my Ma’s house on a Saturday and winterize her home. I’d usually be in charge of the inside stuff with my sisters-in-law. We’d do all her laundry, trade her cotton linens for the flannel ones, and get out all the old quilts from storage. Those sorts of things.”

Luisa Sanchez shook out and snapped worn white towels, folding them into compact rectangles before stacking them on the back of the couch. The house began to fill with the smell of something good. She excused herself once or twice and checked on something in the kitchen before she continued her story.

“My brother, Paco, he’d be in charge of the yard, you know, getting the bushes cut back and her yard raked. Ed was around then and he’d put all the storm windows back on that we’d taken off for the summer. We’d all do things like clean the gutters and mow the lawn and all those sorts of things. Every year. At the end of the day, we’d all have some of the chili my Ma made and then usually sit around a bonfire, joking and telling stories, burning the wood that the boys had gathered in cleaning up the yard.” A distant smile spread across Luisa Sanchez’s face as she got caught up in the memory.

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