Apache Summer
Chapter 19
XIX
"How much is the tab," Sheriff Jim Valenti asked, taking the four bags from the girl's hand. He nodded to Deputy Dave Cotter. Cotter nodded back and took the four bags then left, heading for the stairs.
"I think it was $17.98."
Jim smiled at the young lady from the CrashDown and reached into his pocket.
"Oh! Don't worry about it, Sheriff. Mr. Parker said it was on the house."
Jim slowly retracted his hand from his pocket. "Are you sure?"
"That's what he said, sir. It's on the house. He said to tell you it's the least he could do… and… that he owed you."
Jim Valenti nodded. "Well, tell Jeff I'm grateful to him, Sherrie. And… tell him we're working on things here… I hope I'll be able to… well… um… Just tell him thanks."
The girl smiled. "I'll tell him for you, Sheriff."
Jim held out a five-dollar bill.
"What's that for?"
"For your trouble. You had to bring this all the way over here."
"Oh! Don't worry, Sheriff. If I wasn't here I'd just be waitin' on customers at the CrashDown right now. Which reminds me… I'd better get back. Lisa's waiting the place all alone at the moment."
Jim tucked the five-dollar bill into the little pocket in the girl's alien motif apron. "No argument, ya here? I'm the sheriff, and that's an order."
The girl smiled then turned to leave. "Yes, sir! Thank you, Sheriff."
"Don't mention it."
Amy, who had just arrived, held the door for her.
"Thank you, Mrs. V."
"Mrs. V?"
"Oh, I'm sorry! I mean, Mrs. Valenti. I didn't mean to be disrespectful. It's just what some of the girls call you… no disrespect intended."
"None taken," Amy said. "I guess it's better than 'Mrs. Sheriff.' I've heard that one, too."
The girl laughed. Amy closed the door behind her and walked over to Jim then sat down on his lap.
"You still putting money in girls' waistbands, Jim?" she asked, mussing Jim's hair a bit and giving him a stern look.
"Yeah… but these days they're all dressed in waitress uniforms."
Amy grinned. "Kinky! But that's okay. I can iron the little kinks out," she said teasingly, giving Jim a kiss before getting back up.
Amy motioned toward the door that the waitress had gone out. "Was that for…?"
Jim nodded.
"Good."
"What you got on your mind, Amy?"
Amy opened her mouth for a moment as though to protest. "Why would you think I had something on my mind, Jim?"
"Because I know you. I can see the little gears turning in your head."
"You can? I'll have to get that hole plugged up."
"Don't bother. I think it's… endearing."
"And besides… I can't hide my intentions from you, right?" Amy said with a chuckle. "Well, you're right, Jim. I guess I do have something on my mind."
"Maria?"
Amy looked at Jim for a moment. "Is the hole that big?"
Jim shrugged. "I know what you need in life, Amy… and where your heart is. You've been worrying about others for a while. It's natural that you'd start thinking about Maria again now."
Amy nodded. "I want to get back on the base, Jim. I know in my heart that they know something about what happened to Maria… and maybe… she might even be…"
"Alive," Jim said for her. "I know. I don't want you getting your hopes up, Amy, then getting hurt again… but I really can't help but agree that there's reason enough to… well… check things out. The army certainly hasn't been very forthcoming and honest with us about things."
"No, they haven't. When can we go, Jim?"
Jim sucked some air through his teeth. "Let me make some plans, Amy. Soon. I promise you."
"I'll have to get used to this planning thing, Jim. My usual practice has just been to barge ahead and impale anyone standing in my way on my horns…"
"I noticed," Jim said, smiling.
"Don't knock it, Jim. There's a lot of shredded red capes out there."
"I know. And former would-be toreadors, too," Jim said, nodding appreciatively.
**********
Deputy Dave Cotter knocked softly on the door of the third floor gym. Then he counted to ten and knocked again… two raps… then four… then three. A moment later, the door opened.
"Delivery service," Cotter said with a smile.
Alex took the bags from the deputy's hands. "Come in, Deputy."
Dave Cotter walked into the gym, and Alex closed and locked the door behind him.
"The sheriff thought you might be hungry."
Alex nodded, pulling the food from the bags. "Hungry doesn't begin to describe it! I'm starved!" Alex handed a large cheeseburger and fries to Liz and set another one on his leg for himself. Then he opened another bag.
"Strawberry shakes! Strawberry!"
"You like strawberry," Deputy Cotter asked.
"I love it! And it's red! Everything's so wonderfully… colorful!"
"Sorry about that," Deputy Cotter said. "That wasn't my idea, you know… the all-white food and everything."
Alex nodded, already chewing a bite of his cheeseburger. "I know. You had to bring us that stuff. We understand. You couldn't blow your cover."
"What's in the other bags," Alex asked, opening one of the other two bags.
"Salads!" Liz exclaimed, as Alex removed two containers of lettuce, tomatoes, grated cheese, radishes, and other salad makings. Liz took the containers and began making two salads, taking care to place a liberal amount of little red tomatoes, radishes, and yellow cheese on the top of Alex's.
Alex opened the fourth bag and removed two bottles of Snapples.
"The sheriff thought of everything, didn't he? Tell him thanks."
"I'll tell him," Deputy Cotter said.
"He ordered this from the CrashDown, didn't he," Liz said. "I know my Dad's cheeseburgers. He made these. I wish he could know how much I'm enjoying this meal." Tears welled up in Liz's eyes. "God, if Dad knew that Jim was buying food from the CrashDown… to feed me…"
"Well, your Dad said it was on the house this time," Deputy Cotter said.
Liz wiped her eyes with a paper napkin. "I owe Jim so much already… I don't think I can ever pay him back…"
Deputy Cotter smiled. "I think he feels that it's worth it."
**********
Outside the sheriff's office, another person watched as the girl in the CrashDown outfit came out and walked back toward the restaurant. On the face of it, it seemed innocent enough. Jim Valenti was known to like a CrashDown coffee every now and then… probably to wash the taste of his own coffee down with. But he usually went to get it himself. Maybe he was tied up today and just ordered in. But Judge Lewis' suspicion meter was clanging loudly in his head. He decided to follow the girl back to the CrashDown.
Lisa turned to look as the other waitress walked in. "Sherrie! I'm glad you're back! The place is getting kinda busy. Grab a pad, okay?"
"I'm on it." Sherrie picked up her order pad and walked over to her usual station to take an order. Judge Lewis walked in behind her.
"Would you like a seat, sir?" Lisa asked.
"Huh? No… well, uh… yeah, I guess I would."
"Okay." Lisa looked around. "How about right over there. We're starting to fill up. You got here just in time."
Judge Lewis frowned, ignoring Lisa's good-natured pleasantries. He made his way to the booth that Lisa had shown him and sat down. A couple of minutes later, Lisa returned with her order pad.
"Sorry you had to wait. What can I get you?"
"Well… I don't usually come in here. What do you have?"
"Oh, didn't I give you a menu?"
"No. Never mind. I'm not hungry. Just bring me a large coffee… and three donuts… the kind with the jelly… You have those, don't you?"
Lisa nodded.
"Make it four donuts… no, five. Make it five."
"Five donuts… and a large coffee. Cream and sugar in your coffee or do you prefer to sweeten it yourself?"
"Just black. I'm on a diet."
Lisa smiled. "Black it is. I'll be right back."
A couple of minutes passed again and Lisa returned with a large coffee and five jelly donuts on a platter.
"Will that be all, sir? Can I get you anything else?"
"Not right now. Check back with me in a few minutes."
"Yes, sir."
As Lisa started to walk away, Judge Lewis stopped her. "Oh, by the way…"
"Yes?"
"I noticed the other waitress over there coming back from somewhere. Do you make deliveries?"
"Well, not officially… but yeah. If someone requests it, we sometimes do."
"Can I ask you who she was delivering to?"
"The sheriff. He called in an order about an hour ago. Sherrie took it to him."
"Is that normal? Doesn't the sheriff usually come in to get his own coffee?"
"Yeah. I guess he wanted to eat in his office today."
"Eat? He got something besides coffee?"
"Yeah." Lisa laughed. "Sheriffs eat too, I guess."
Judge Lewis smiled condescendingly. "What did he want?"
"Nothing special… just a couple of cheeseburgers, a couple of large fries, a couple of strawberry shakes, some salad items, and some drinks, I think… Snapples, yeah, that's it."
"That's a lot for one man to eat isn't it?"
Lisa glanced at the five large jelly donuts on Judge Lewis' platter and his ample belly and suppressed a smile. "Well, his wife was there. I guess she had to eat, too."
Judge Lewis rubbed his chin with his left hand, as he stuffed another jelly donut into his mouth with his right hand and took a large bite. "Yeah. That could be it, I guess. She eats pretty hearty, doesn't she… for a little thing like that, don't you think?"
"I don't know. I've seen some girls who can eat more. Besides, I know Amy. She's a mover. She never stops going. I guess she burns it all off. She needs the energy just to keep going."
Judge Lewis nodded. "Yeah… yeah… maybe. Okay, thanks. I was just wondering."
Lisa turned and walked back to the kitchen.
"What was he asking about," Sherrie asked.
"Nothing. He just wanted to know if you were making a delivery and who it was for. Then he asked what they ordered. Did you see his plate, Sherrie? Five! Count 'em, FIVE large Jelly Martians! But he wanted his coffee black… 'cause he's on a diet."
Sherrie snorted. "That's Judge Lewis, you know."
Lisa glanced out the door of the kitchen. "Oh, that's the Judge? I've heard about him."
Sherrie nodded. "The rumor is he's taking kickbacks from the coyotes."
"Well, he does seem to have a lot of cash and stuff… you know, bling-bling," Lisa said. "What's a coyote?"
Sherrie snorted again. "You throw around terms like 'bling-bling,' and you don't know what a 'coyote' is?
"Yeah, well, I know it's an animal… like a wolf."
"Oh, Lisa! How long have you lived in New Mexico? Coyotes are smugglers who smuggle illegal aliens in from Mexico." Sherrie lowered her voice. "The rumor is the judge takes kickbacks to look the other way and sometimes even fixes the coyotes up with transportation and a hiding place for their… special cargo. My Dad said Judge Lewis was being investigated by the Feds last year but then someone really high up squashed the investigation."
"Your Dad was a detective… with the state police, wasn't he?"
"Yeah. He's retired now, but he still has friends there… and connections. He says the Judge must be into the mob or something now, because he's got a lot of power behind him… enough to squash a federal investigation."
"Wow. That's pretty scary. You think he had some reason for asking all those questions about the sheriff?"
Sherrie thought for a moment. "Probably not… Probably just being nosy… People like that make it their business to know everybody else's business. The less we tell him the better, I think… even if it seems innocent."
Lisa nodded. "Yeah, I'm glad you told me all this. I didn't know. I probably shouldn't have even told him who I was delivering to."
Sherrie shrugged. "I can't see how it can hurt. But don't tell him anything else. Make up something if you have to. I don't like him. He's not a nice person. The less he knows the better."
Lisa nodded her agreement.
One hour, two more coffees, and four more jelly donuts later, Judge Lewis was still sitting in his booth, occasionally tapping his fingers noisily on the table, obviously heavily absorbed in thought… or perhaps scheming, Lisa thought. Given what she now knew about the judge, she felt more and more bothered about the questions he had asked her earlier as each minute went by.
"Sherrie, can you watch my station for me for a little while? I think the worst of the rush is over now."
"Yeah, I guess so, why?"
Lisa took off her apron and headed for the back door. "I'm going to make sure I didn't make a big mistake earlier. I'll be back shortly."
Sherrie nodded.
Jim Valenti looked up from his desk, as someone walked in the front door, causing the little bell to ding.
"Lisa! What can I do for you?"
"I'm not sure, Sheriff. Maybe I'm just worrying too much, but Judge Lewis came into the CrashDown about an hour ago."
Jim smiled. "Well, I can understand your concern, Lisa, but there's not really anything I can do. He's got as much right as anyone else to go to a public place to eat."
Lisa smiled, too, understanding Jim's intentional pun.
"It's not just because he's in the CrashDown, Sheriff. He was asking a lot of questions… about you."
Jim leaned forward in his chair, and his voice took on a more serious tone.
"What did he want to know?"
"What Sherrie brought to you and why you wanted so much food. I told him maybe it was for your wife, too."
"Good," Jim said, nodding. "You're right. Amy was here. So was Deputy Cotter."
"Well, at first I didn't think so much of it, but then Sherrie told me who the judge was and a lot of things about him, and I got to thinking maybe I had made a mistake telling him anything. I thought you should know about it."
Jim nodded. "I really appreciate that, Lisa. You don't know how much! Believe me! But don't worry yourself any more about it, okay? You didn't do anything wrong. Probably the judge was just being nosy. He has a reputation for that. I imagine it was nothing. I really, really appreciate your letting me know, though."
Lisa smiled. "I just wanted to be sure… you know… that if I shouldn't have told him something you'd be warned about it… I guess it's silly."
Jim shook his head. "It's not silly, Lisa. With Judge Lewis… it's just precaution. I'm grateful! Really! Now go on back to work and don't worry any more. Put it all out of your mind. You did your duty. I'll keep my eyes open. Maybe you even gave me a heads up on something I wouldn't have known about."
Lisa smiled and left for the CrashDown. As soon as she was gone, Jim picked up his hat and headed for the third floor gym. He started to knock but then just yelled…
"Alex, let me in. It's the sheriff."
"What's the code, Sheriff?"
"Come on, Alex. There's no time for that now. We've got to move a little faster than I had planned to get you guys out of here."
Alex opened the door. "Did someone find out we're here?"
Jim shook his head. "Not yet. But Judge Lewis is in the CrashDown right now trying to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together. He's a no-good polecat, but he's a smart one… smart at figuring things out. It won't take him forever to put two and two together, and then he'll be over here with a search warrant before we know what hit us."
Alex swallowed and looked at Liz. Then he nodded. "Let's go, then, Sheriff. Get Liz out of here. We're not going to be sent back to that place again."
"Or worse," Jim said under his breath. "Come on."
Jim pushed Liz's wheelchair into the hall and into the elevator and pressed the down button.
"Where are we going, Sheriff?" Alex asked.
"Can't tell you yet," Jim said. "It's for your own safety. Trust me."
Alex nodded. "I've trusted you so far, Sheriff. I'll trust you all the way, I guess. Lead on."
Jim stopped Deputy Cotter in the first floor hallway and filled him in quickly.
"Check outside the door for me, Dave. Make sure it's clear."
Cotter looked outside casually then closed the door back. "It's clear, Sheriff."
"Okay." Jim took a deep breath then he reached down and picked Liz up out of her chair.
"Close the chair up, Dave. I'll put Liz in the SUV. You put the chair in the back. Alex, you just get yourself in… as quickly as possible without being seen."
Alex nodded without saying anything. Jim opened the door and walked quickly to the SUV carrying Liz. He laid her gently on the middle seat right behind the front seats, and Alex hopped in beside her. Dave Cotter threw the chair in the back then jumped into the front seat beside Jim.
"Who's going to watch the station," Cotter asked.
"Hansen just came on duty. He already knows."
Jim pulled away from the station and passed the CrashDown just as Judge Lewis was coming out. Judge Lewis watched the SUV go by but only saw Jim and Dave in the front seats. Alex was staying down, as he had been told to do, and Liz was lying on the seat. Judge Lewis scowled and looked at the street then back at the SUV.
"What ya runnin' from, Jim? I know a decoy when I see one. You want me to think you're up to something so I'll chase after you and… and what? What are you hiding, Jim? Something in that sheriff's building, isn't it? Something that eats cheeseburgers and drinks strawberry milkshakes and Snapples, I'd bet." Judge Lewis stopped suddenly and looked as though a light had suddenly come on in his head.
"You son of a…! I knew it! Those body bags… the cheeseburgers… They're still alive! You've been hiding those kids in the station. Now I know what's been bothering me so much. You! You should have been over there at my office days ago trying to blame me for their deaths. You should have been pounding on my desk… telling me how it should have been me that was shot… but you weren't. No… you looked grieved alright. You even cried tears. But you screwed up, Jim. You didn't come after me. That was your one mistake."
Judge Lewis ran –as fast as his bloated body could run with 9 large jelly donuts and 3 large coffees sloshing around inside him- to his car. But he didn't chase after Jim. He was convinced that Jim was trying to decoy him away from the sheriff's office. Within the hour, Judge Lewis had his search warrant, and ten minutes later, he walked in the front door and ceremoniously plopped it down on the desk in front of Hansen, with a dozen state police behind him.
"What's this, Judge?" Hansen asked.
"This, Mr. Hansen, is what's going to free me of Sheriff Jim Valenti forever. It's a search warrant, and I'm searching this building."
"You could have just asked, Hansen said. I'd have arranged a tour. We have a special rate for a dozen or more. You just qualify."
Judge Lewis' mouth dropped open.
"I think he meant with us, your honor," the state trooper beside him said.
"Of course he meant with you! What else would he mean?" Judge Lewis glared at the trooper.
"Joke all you want, Hansen, but joking won't save Jim's sorry ass now. This place is locked down. A rat couldn't get out of here right now without me knowing it! What Jim is hiding in here will soon be known to the world, and his involvement in the sordid kidnapping of those poor children will put him in prison for the rest of his sorry life!"
**********
Jim pulled through the gate and drove down the small dirt road past the orchards and small canals, finally stopping in front of a simple-looking, inconspicuous house. He had arrived at his destination. Turning the vehicle off, he looked back at his passengers.
"Stay down for a few more minutes. Then it should be alright to get up."
Jim got out of the SUV, and an old man with long white hair walked out of the house to meet him.
Jim nodded to the old man. "Thank you for agreeing to do this for me."
The old man nodded back. "It is only for you that I would do this, Jim. You saved my life once. I owe you for that. But now we are even."
"Now we are even," Jim agreed.
"I will keep my shades down… and they must always stay out of sight… until they are safe again and can leave. Those who live here take very seriously the curse of the ancestors, Sheriff."
"I know, River Dog. I know they do. And for that reason I am all the more grateful for your help."
"Mmm… as well you should be… and I am grateful for yours… so they may stay. I have purified the air with peyote and other herbs of my people. It will prevent the ancestors from looking inside my house… for a while. But the other Mesaliko apachii who live on this reservation would not be pleased with my decision, so the boy and the girl must always stay out of sight while they are here."
"I'll make sure that they know," Jim said.
"Then it is agreed," River Dog said, reaching out his hand and taking Jim's in a firm handshake that took in his entire hand up to his wrist.
"It is agreed," Jim replied.
Deputy Cotter took the wheelchair out of the SUV and carried it into the house, and Jim carried Liz inside and set her in the chair.
"You'll be safe here, Liz. River Dog will take good care of you. He's a stern man, and he can be intimidating, but he's fair and honest and good… and he will keep his word. I'll check back on you from time to time to see if you need anything."
"Thank you, Sheriff."
"Yeah! That goes for me, too," Alex said. "I don't know what to say."
"Well, don't say anything, Alex. Just take good care of Liz for me."
Alex smiled. "I'll do that. I promise."
"I know you will," Jim nodded. He shut the door behind him and walked quickly back to the SUV. Deputy Cotter was already in his seat. Jim started the vehicle, took one last look at the house, and drove away.
**********
"Call ahead next time, Judge," Hansen yelled after Judge Lewis, as Judge Lewis left the sheriff's station in frustration with the twelve state troopers behind him. "I'll arrange a better tour next time. We can have some donuts on hand… and Jim's famous coffee."
"If I wanted to get poisoned, I'd just drink arsenic," Judge Lewis yelled back with a tone of arrogance that belied his frustration.
"Judge, you're going to have to write a report on this search," the highest-ranking trooper, standing next to him, said.
"I'm not writing any report; you're writing a report," Judge Lewis corrected. "And be sure I look good in it. We found evidence that those children had been there."
"What evidence? Wrappings off of some cheeseburgers and a couple of soda bottles? Like the deputy said, probably just the Sheriff and his wife were up there eating after he exercised in the gym. That's not evidence."
Judge Lewis winced. "Jim may think he's beat me… but you mark my word… he's only begun to see what I'm capable of."
**********
As the night fell and the crickets began to chirp outside, Liz rolled her wheelchair over beside the window.
"You can't open the shades, Liz," Alex reminded her. "The taboo, you know."
"I know." Liz sighed, then she lifted the bottom of the shade just a bit and looked out at the stars. They were twinkling so brightly in the sky. Liz sniffed and her eyes teared up.
"What's the matter, Liz," Alex asked.
Liz shook her head. "Nothing. I was just thinking… the stars are so beautiful tonight. I wonder if Max can see them wherever he is."
Alex put his arm around Liz and kissed her on the forehead. "He could be watching those same stars as we speak, Liz. We'll find him some day. We will. You just have to have faith."
Liz nodded and smiled.
Three houses and about a stone's throw away, another figure sat looking under the shades at the stars from his bedroom in another house.
"You looking for your planet, Max?"
Max smiled and turned around. "No, Angie Lee… I'm just looking at the stars. They're bright tonight."
"That's a good omen," Angie Lee said. "It means you're close to the one you love."
Max looked down, and a tear dropped onto his hand. "In my heart… I've never stopped being. I guess that's why the stars are shining so brightly, huh? You think Liz could be watching these same stars tonight… wherever she is?"
Angie Lee nodded. "I'd bet on it… and probably wondering if you're watching them, too. The myths of our people –these people- say that if you reach up and take one of the stars from the sky to give to your love, you will be with her soon."
Max smiled. "Then I'll surely have to find a way to get one, won't I?"
Angie Lee nodded and smiled. "Good night, Max. Good night, Rahn." Then she closed the door and went to check on Maria and Isabel, leaving Max alone with his thoughts.
tbc
Coming Up: Judge Lewis' claims that Alex and Liz are still alive cause a stir, with two sides having different feelings about the matter… and very different ideas about what to do about it.