"Thanks for meeting me on such short notice." Keats said, sitting on a stool in the dimly-lit hotel bar. Esteban gave a slight nod and climbed onto the stool beside her.
"I understand. You want to check me out to see if I'm good enough for Sloane. I can respect that." Esteban said in flawless English with only the tiniest trace of an accent.
"Yes, I do. I'm afraid Sloane has entered into this engagement with her eyes closed and I intend to keep her from falling over the edge." Keats topped off her 2nd can of ginger ale and signaled to the bartender, asking for another.
"So here's what I want to know, Esteban. First of all, I'd like you to tell me your intentions with my sister. Secondly, I'd like to know why you're not a registered American citizen. And that's just for starters." Keats surmised his reaction. Esteban kept his cool, however, and gave a confident smile.
"That's because the U.S. Government doesn't know I'm here. To them, I'm just a visitor. A tourist. I'm from Santa Ana, El Salvador, though, not Mexico. Your step-brother is quite the narrow-minded fool." Esteban took a drink from his Corona Light and gritted his teeth.
"You're marrying my sister for a green card? You asshole!" Keats shouted, her mouth full of pretzels. Esteban chuckled and spun around in his stool to face her.
"I don't want permanent citizenship in this God-forsaken country! I plan to take Sloane back to Santa Ana with me." He said, running a palm over his slicked back hair.
"She never told me that!" Keats cried, suddenly missing her sister even though she hadn't even left.
"I'm not surprised. She told me you'd overreact and try to stop her. Sloane is a grown woman. She knows what she wants. No one is going to stop her, Keats, not even you." Esteban drank from his Corona and tossed a few dollars on the table.
"That should cover the cost of your sodas…Now if that is all, Ms. Remington, I should like to go back to my room." The bartender produced a receipt and Esteban took out an interesting pen, scrawling his name down with a flick of the wrist.
"That's a lovely pen, Esteban." Keats mentioned, trying not to let on that she was extremely interested. Esteban frowned and shoved it back in his jacket pocket.
"It's a commemorative pen of the Alamo, depicting the battle in San Antonio led by General Antonio Lopez de-"
"Santa Anna…yes…that's fascinating." Keats interjected. Esteban made a curt nod and strode out of the bar. He is soooo hiding something.
Instead of going back to her apartment, Keats headed straight to the Lab. It was nearly 4 a.m. on a heated Monday morning, and Keats hoped she would be the only one there.
After researching and printing out scaled photos of the particular pen that Esteban had used in the bar, Keats analyzed and compared the pictures with those of the perforations in Lina's chest.
The cap matches the unique welts in Lina's upper torso. Hypothetically, the pen is the exact weapon that the killer uses for each of his victims. Or should I say, the exact weapon that Esteban uses.
Keats hacked away into her laptop, connecting the newfound evidence with precision. She barely noticed a warm hand on her shoulder and jumped out of her chair when the hand tightened its grip.
"Gah…you scared me, you jerk!" Keats said, facing her quasi-boyfriend. Ryan crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her.
"I waited outside your door for two hours, you never showed…Why are you working yourself to death, Keats?" Ryan ran his thumb along the faintly dark skin under her eyes.
"When you're about to break a case wide open, you don't stop for trivial things such as sleep!" Keats murmured. Her eyes began to water and she could feel her body shutting down from exhaustion.
"Anyway, why should you care? You made it pretty clear the other day that you couldn't handle what I told you. All day long yesterday I waited for you to come to me and tell me you were okay, and that I would be okay because you'd be there for me. I needed you to do that so badly…" Keats rubbed her nose to shake off the tickly feeling that accompanied hot tears.
"I didn't know what to do…I'm sorry, but I didn't know what you wanted from me. I was nervous, and…scared, I guess. As much as I hate to admit it, I was really scared. Relationships aren't my forte, and I thought they were pretty small-time stuff. But this…this is a big damn deal. The two of us…we're a big deal."
Keats stayed silent and tried to comprehend what he was saying.
"Keats, I don't get serious about people that much… I thought about us and what it would be like if we had a baby, and honestly, I'm not ready to be a father. But what I feel for you could make me ready…" Ryan gave an uncomfortable sigh.
Out of habit, Keats bit her lip, willing herself not to turn into a little crybaby. Ryan tugged her lower lip from under her teeth with his thumb.
"Cry if you want to, dopey, just don't bite that lip. It makes it really hard to kiss you that way." Ryan said, catching her mouth with his own.
A few moments later, Keats broke away from him and turned her attentions back to Esteban and Sloane.
"Oh God…my sister's in trouble." She whispered.