Eventually, Charlie-Carlos stepped off the bus. He didn’t turn and wave at friends like all the other kids. Instead, he ran across the road and up toward an old white farmhouse that had seen better days. It was in need of paint, but the yard was trimmed and well-tended.
The door opened. A woman stepped out and waved at the bus driver.
As the bus drove off, Angelina wondered what to do. Should she follow the bus? Or take a chance? She turned into the drive.
Charlie ran to the woman who leaned down and hugged him. He hugged her back.
They both focused on Angelina as she stepped out of the car. Now that she was here, she wasn’t sure what to say or do. “Hi.”
“Go in the house, Charlie.” The woman’s face twitched.
“Miss Angelina.” He turned to his mother. “This is the nice lady from school who reads to me. Remember I—”
“Go in the house, Charlie.”
“But Mama—”
“Now, Charlie.”
He did as he was told.
She looked at Angelina. “Can I help you?” Her tone wasn’t friendly, but it wasn’t rude either. Just cautious.
“Ah, yeah, I guess you can. I work at the school. Well, actually I don’t work, I volunteer. Anyway, I was behind the bus and saw Charlie get off. Just thought I’d stop in and meet you. Charlie’s one of my favorites. He’s such a sweet boy.”
“He is a good boy.” The woman turned and motioned for Charlie to come back out. He was peeking out the door. “Charlie, do you know her?”
He nodded. “She reads books to us. And she let me help her carry the books out. She’s nice.”
When she turned back toward Angelina some of the tension had seeped out. “I wish I had time to help out at Charlie’s school, but paying the bills comes first.”
“Of course.” She held out her hand. “I’m Angelina Matthews.”
“Bonnie Wright, Charlie’s mom.” Bonnie Wright? That wasn’t the name on the report. It was Bonita Perez, but it was close enough. Wright could be her maiden name.
The two women stared at each other. So now what should she say? Oh, by the way, why are you calling yourself and your son by different names? Instead, she said, “I’m sorry I know I shouldn’t have just popped in like this. I don’t even know what I was thinking.”
“It was nice of you.”
Angelina pointed at her car. “I guess I’d better go.”
“Would you like to come in for a minute?”
Perfect. The woman was probably only asking out of politeness, but she might be able to find out more information if they had a conversation. “I’d love that. How long have you lived here? It’s a darling house.”
“Since last year. We moved around some before that, but once it was time for Charlie to start school, I decided we needed to find a place to stay put.”
“You made a good choice.” That didn’t sound like a bad mother. “Mt. Pleasant is a nice place to raise children. Do you have any other children?”
Bonnie Wright shook her head. “No, just me and Charlie.”
“Well, you seem to be doing a great job with him. He’s a good boy.”
Bonnie held the door open as Angelina walked in. She had to find a way to…to what? She was way out of her league here. She wasn’t even sure what she wanted to accomplish. She blurted out, “Does his father live around here, too?”
Bonnie’s eyes turned hard, and then she shook her head. “Charlie’s father died. A car accident when he was not quite a year old.” She patted Charlie’s head. “But he loved Charlie so much, didn’t he?”
Charlie nodded. “I gotta picture of him. Want to see it?”
“Sure.”
Charlie ran out of the room.
Was Bonnie telling the truth or was that just a story she’d told Charlie? Or was he the person who’d reported them missing? Was Charlie’s father out there searching for him? “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“It’s been tough. That’s really the reason we traveled around so much. I needed some time and space to mourn. Sometimes, it’s hard to do that around family. They can expect so…so much from you.” There was a ring of truth in her voice.
Angelina believed her. “That’s true, but sometimes it’s good to have family around too.” She couldn’t have survived her ordeal without Keren and Peter.
“I guess it depends on the family.”
“That’s for sure.” Angelina looked around the room. Clean and tidy. “Where do you work?”
“I work at two different jobs. I work at The Parlor for the day shift and then I clean Simpson’s Law offices in the evening. After we eat supper, we go back in town. Charlie does his homework while I clean.”
Shame flooded Angelina. She’d never worked a day in her life, and here this woman was working two jobs so she could provide a home for her son. “I…uh, I don’t know what to say. That’s so admirable.”
“Admirable?” Bonnie laughed. “I don’t know about that. It’s just what I do to pay the bills.”
Charlie ran back in with picture in hand. “Here’s my daddy.”
She took the picture from him. A Hispanic young man with wavy black hair was holding a tiny boy. The expression on his face showed how much he loved the little baby in his arms. “Oh, he’s very handsome. Just like you.”
She flipped the picture over. In a scribbled handwriting, it said Carlos II and III.
Charlie giggled. “That’s me he’s holding.”
“Very nice.” She needed to talk with Nate. If he hadn’t already called, she needed to convince him not to. Angelina might not know the whole story, but this woman loved her son. She had the right to decide where she wanted to live. Angelina stood. “It was so nice to meet you, Mrs. Wright. Now, I see why Charlie is such a good kid. He has a good mother.”
The woman’s face flushed with pleasure. “Thank you. That is so nice of you to say. Please come back again.”
~*~
“It’s too late.” Nate stared at Angelina.
“What do you mean it’s too late? I’m telling you this woman didn’t commit a crime. She loves her son, and he loves her. She works hard to make sure he has a nice place to live. If she doesn’t want to live near her family, doesn’t she have that right?”
“Of course she has that right, but I already contacted the sheriff’s department in California. The police department will verify she’s safe and not missing, and then report that back to whoever filed the report in the first place. While I’d love to pursue this, we have to be careful of jurisdiction.”
Nate was probably right. It didn’t sound like a big deal, but something still felt wrong. “Can you check out her story about her husband dying?”
“Probably, what was his name again?”
“Carlos Perez II.”
Nate’s fingers clicked on the keyboard. “Yep. A Carlos Perez was killed in a car accident about four years ago in that area of California, so it sounds as though she was telling the truth. The obituary lists his wife as Bonnie, and a son, Carlos III.”
“So she did tell me the truth. I bet she went back to using her maiden name. But why is Charlie using it as well?”
“And why he’s going by Charles and not Carlos.” Nate added.
“Is that against the law? To change your name like that?”
He shrugged. “I’m sure it happens. As long as she’s using the correct social security number, it’s not a problem. I guess if she wants to Anglicize his name from Carlos to Charles, that’s her prerogative.”
“So she probably hasn’t done anything wrong, right?”
“Right. But I do need to talk with her and verify she is that Bonita Wright Perez and have her contact the sheriff in that county.”
“I thought you already did that.”
“I did, but they asked me to verify the info so they can take her off the missing persons list.”
“So who put her on the list anyway?”
“The deputy I talked with didn’t actually tel
l me.”
“It would be interesting to find out.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. What if she doesn’t want to be found? It seems to me she’s made some effort to make it more difficult. She’s changed their names somewhat, and apparently, she’s not in contact with them.”
“True. But what if it’s all a big misunderstanding? Things can get quite emotional after the death of a loved one and things can be said and done that everyone regrets. Maybe the person who reported them missing just wants to reconnect with them.”
“I suppose.”
20
What if? What if? Angelina’s mind had come up with scenario after scenario about why Bonnie left her home without telling anyone, and why she didn’t want to be found. And most of them weren’t happy scenarios. Her own curiosity could have put into motion events that could hurt Charlie.
She should have never gotten involved.
They were doing just fine until she put her nose where it didn’t belong in their business. Angelina sat in her car. She picked up the phone and pressed the phone icon. “Keren, I’m…uh, sorry. Something came up so I can’t go to dinner tonight after all.”
“What’s wrong? Are you OK?”
Angelina shook her head. Keren acted more and more like her mother every day. “I’m fine. I just have something I need to do. Something important. I’ll tell you all about it later.”
“What?”
“Nothing to concern yourself with.”
“Oh…sorry I didn’t mean to interfere.” Angelina could hear the hurt in Keren’s voice. “Not a problem. I guess we can eat pancakes and sausage for dinner.”
Angelina ignored her tone. “That sounds yummy. And don’t forget to tell Peter we’ll have a talk tomorrow about becoming the groundskeeper for the estate.”
“That really isn’t—”
“I’m not having that argument again. See you tomorrow.” She clicked her phone off as she headed out of town. Angelina drove down the rural road once again. She’d tell Bonnie the truth so that she’d at least not be in complete shock when Nate talked with her the next day.
A black SUV sat in the driveway.
Bonnie’s car had been an old green hatchback that had seen better days. Oh well, maybe a friend was watching Charlie while Bonnie worked.
She pulled in behind the car. Before she could step out, both doors on the SUV opened.
The man on the driver’s side walked to her car while the other simply stood and glared at her.
Angelina’s pulse spiked.
They didn’t seem like nice people. The expression on their faces was anything but friendly. Angelina couldn’t help but notice the size of the man walking toward her. She clicked the locks on all her doors.
He rapped on the window as he leaned toward her. “I need to talk to you.”
Her palms moistened. “About what?”
“About the people who live in this house.”
“What about them?”
“Open the door. I can’t hear you.”
Yeah, right. That wasn’t likely. Instead she rolled the window down—a few inches. “Can you hear me now?”
“Who are you?” The man asked as he leaned down to get a better look.
“Why?”
“Excuse me?”
“I said why do you want to know who I am?”
“I’m with the FBI.”
Angelina stared. He didn’t seem like FBI to her. “And we’re looking for the people who live here. That’s why. And if you know where they are, we need to know.”
“Let’s see your badge.”
He smiled, more like a grimace. “It’s in the car, but I can assure you I’m FBI.”
Probably not. “Why does the FBI want them?”
“It’s a private matter. So where are they?”
“How would I know? I…I just pulled in the drive to turn around.”
“So you don’t know them?”
“Not really.”
“That sounds like you do know them.” His dark brown eyes glared.
“Like I said, not really. I’ve met her once. I was just turning around in their drive.”
“So you said, but—”
“Gotta go. Bye.” Angelina forced a smile and waved her fingers at him as she put her car into reverse.
The man stared after her as she pulled out.
If those men were the FBI, she was the pope. But who were they, and why were they looking for Bonnie and Charlie?
Her phone alerted to an incoming text message. Unusual, these days. Only a few people even had her new number. She picked it up off the passenger seat. A text message from Nate. She pulled off the side of the road. She retrieved the text.
911! MEET ME AT YOUR HOUSE.
That sounded serious. If Nate needed her, she’d do whatever she could to help him. She owed him that and more. He’d been there for her time and time again.
Day was becoming night when she pulled into her drive ten minutes later. Nate’s car sat in front of the garage. He was leaning against his car as he waited for her. She pulled up beside him. After shutting off her car, she stepped out of it. “What’s wrong? Why did you 911 me? Are you all right?”
“I think I made a mistake. A big mistake.” He shook his head.
“What do you mean? What are you talking about?”
“I called the sheriff’s department again. I talked to another deputy who knew more about Bonita and Carlos Perez.” He stopped talking as if gathering his thoughts.
“And…”
“And he explained the whole situation to me.”
“That doesn’t sound—”
“Is there a problem?” Keren yelled as she half-ran, half-walked across the lawn toward them.
Angelina jumped at the sound of her voice. “Stop sneaking up on me, Keren. You know I hate that. Especially in the dark.”
“I wasn’t sneaking, and it isn’t dark yet. I simply opened the door and walked out. You were just too busy to notice.” She glanced at Nate. “What’s going on? Are you arresting her?”
Nate smiled. “Just having a conversation with Angelina.”
“It looked pretty intense.” Keren’s voice was doubtful. “I saw you when you pulled up but you didn’t come up to the house. So I assumed you were waiting for Angelina. Where were you anyway, Angelina? I was—”
“Worried.” Angelina finished her cousin’s sentence. “Keren, I love you more than you can imagine, but it’s not your job to worry about me every moment I’m away from you. And nothing is wrong.” That might not be exactly true. “At least nothing you need to worry about.”
Peter walked across the lawn. “Hey, what’s going on?”
Nate looked at Angelina.
Peter looped an arm around Keren’s shoulder, his concern very real. “What’s going on?”
Angelina smiled. “Nate and I are talking. We had a situation come up at the school, and we decided to discuss in private the best way to handle it. See you later.”
“But—”
“No buts. It’s between us. Nothing more. I promise a rain check on dinner.” She grabbed Nate by the arm and propelled him toward the garage.
“I wasn’t trying to barge in. I was only worried about you.” Keren called after her, her tone sounding hurt.
Angelina turned back. “And I love you for that, Keren, but Nate and I need to talk about this. Alone. See you tomorrow.” Once they were inside the garage, she turned to Nate. “What’s the problem?”
They sat down on the steps leading up to her apartment.
“The deputy…let me just start at the beginning. Apparently, Carlos II’s family is very rich. There’s some speculation they might be involved in the drug trade in Mexico, but no one knows that for sure. Anyway, little Charlie’s father’s family wanted little Carlos to live with them after the death of their son. I guess Bonnie got tired of them interfering and left.”
“That’s awful. I should have just stayed out of
it.” She put her hands in her head. “Now they’ll find out she lives here and will start bothering her again. This is all my fault. I never—”
“Don’t say that because it’s not true. You only had Charlie’s best interests in mind when you started asking a few questions. In fact, you’re the one who told me to slow down. I should have talked with her first.” His hand rubbed her back.
“I’m the one who got you involved. It’s my fault.”
He moved his hand away as he stood. “Well, it’s done now. I need to tell her what’s going on so she won’t be completely shocked if her deceased husband’s family comes visiting soon. And my guess would be very soon after what I heard.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too, so I went to her house.” The men in the black SUV. Charlie’s family already? “Oh, no.”
“Oh, no, what?”
“When I went there, there were two men in a car there waiting for her. He said he was FBI, but when I asked for his ID, he said it was in the car. And they were sort of scary. But it couldn’t be the father’s family. How would they have gotten here that quick?”
“Rich people have their ways. You should know that. Maybe I should call her.”
“I don’t think she’s home. The lights were off. She told me she cleans some offices in the evening for extra money and that Charlie−Carlos goes with her.”
“Which one?”
She searched her mind. “I can’t remember. Sorry.”
“Maybe we can find her before she goes back home so she knows what’s going on. That way she won’t be shocked if the men in the SUV are still there.”
Angelina looked at Nate. “You said the family might be involved with drugs. You don’t think they’d hurt Bonnie to get Charlie?”
Nate met her gaze. “Anything’s possible.”
21
Angelina fought the urge to bite a fingernail as they drove from office building to office building searching for Bonnie Wright-Perez. Why couldn’t she remember the name of the building? She was sure Bonnie had said it.
Nate turned down an alley. “There’s another office down here. I don’t know what else we can do except go to her house and wait for her. Which might be a good idea, anyway. I think I’d like to talk to the men in the SUV.” Nate’s phone rang. When he looked at the screen, he told her, “The station.” He slowed the car to a stop then clicked the answer icon. “Nate Goodman.” He put it on speaker.
Trapped Page 15
