by Sue Hardesty
Loni stood at the second floor jail window and assessed the damage. The twister had jumped and bounced its way through town. The Catholic rectory next to the church had no roof, but the stores on either side hadn't been touched. The vacant shed beside the train station was flattened. Across the tracks, several houses still stood, but a barn was a goner. The wind wasn’t headed toward her grandparents' place or the hangar, so Loni went out to see if anyone in town needed help.
The people milling around the church seemed okay. The priest was in his no longer white gown thanking God he had been spared. Hoping a homeless person hadn't been asleep in the flattened shed, Loni walked around it calling out, but no one answered. Next door to the shed was the Whistle Stop Café. It had been there as long as Loni could remember, so long, in fact, that the letters were worn and flaked away. Only "Whistle" was legible. The café once served railroad passengers, but trains hadn't stopped for years. Its customers had switched to locals. Anyone looking for a rancher or farmer friend stopped in the Whistle Stop early in the morning. They gossiped worse than women and knew where everybody's machine, cow, horse, pig, and wife were within a hundred miles. Lucky it hadn't been damaged.
Smoke poured out of a house across the street, but before she could reach it, shattering glass popped and flames shot out the front window openings. The fire station siren was blaring, but the truck had already headed for the barn. The volunteer firefighters wouldn't be back in time to save the house.
Loni ran around to the back of the house, broke out the window in the door, and reached in to unlock it. The inside of the house was engulfed in flames. She felt someone behind her, and they went in together. Heading down the hall, she opened a door to a black Scotty dog barking between jerks as he pulled at a little girl's pajamas, trying to drag her out of bed. "It's okay, little fellow." Loni grabbed the girl. "Come on."
She met the other person with an older boy in tow. "Anyone else in here?" she asked him, making sure the dog was with them when they got outside. The little girl was sobbing and reaching her hands towards the burning house.
"No." The boy held onto the girl. Whoever had saved him had moved on.
"What's she saying?"
"She's just calling her old ratty cat."
The little girl started crying more, screaming, "Dotho, Dotho, Dotho."
"Where is it?"
"Probably in her bed under the covers."
Pushing back her fear of fire, Loni ran toward the flames shooting down the hall and forced herself to go back into the room. By the time she found the cat, it was too late to go back the way she came. Pulling out her shirttail, Loni stuffed the clawing bundle of fur up her shirt. Just as the fire burst into the room behind her, she raised the window and dived out. The frightened cat clawed its way down Loni's stomach, leaving red welts and dripping blood as she carefully removed it and handed the cat to the little girl, getting a big smile in return.
Loni moved on, checking with Bobby for any other problems. "Only a cow in a tree," he said, "bawling her head off. They think she's okay. But they don't know how they're going to get her down."
* * *
Loni got back to the station, hoping the task force meeting was cancelled. It was.
"Are you all right?" Lola asked.
"Aside from the cat scratches on my belly and being filthy dirty from diving out a window from a burning house, I guess I am. I might have lost a bit of hair." Loni pulled her braid around, fingering the singed ends. "Why? Were you worried?"
"You went into a burning building after a cat?" The disgust in Lola's voice was thick as her green eyes flashed.
"You should have seen the little girl. She was heartbroken!"
Lola sighed and grabbed Loni's arm, pulling her around to the back of the counter. She pulled a first aid kit from a shelf and began tugging Loni's shirt out of her pants.
"Hey," Loni objected, laughing. "I'd rather be in a more private place if we're gonna undress."
"In your dreams," Lola shot back, shaking her can of disinfectant. "Hold your shirt out of the way."
"Is this going to hurt?" Loni backed up a step.
"I hope so," Lola followed her, spraying the cat scratches on her belly.
"Damn," Loni complained. "That stings!"
"Good."
"Kiss it and make it better." Loni begged, fanning he stomach with her shirt.
Lola plopped down in her chair. She was dragging Loni closer when Chui walked out of Chief's office. He bellied up to Loni so close she could smell his sour breath as he opened his mouth to yell at her.
Lola jumped up and squeezed between them, facing Chui. "Back off. This is none of your business." She pushed on Chui's chest, forcing him back. "Last time a man told me what to do I damn near killed him. You understand me?"
"Fuck you." Chui jerked and flung an arm up, nearly hitting Lola.
Loni started for her gun, but Chui ignored her and stalked out the front door.
Lola was quiet as she walked around Loni and opened her drawer. She handed Loni a small sack. "Here's the poisoned meth you wanted. Carl wants to know if you can check out the school for drugs now."
"Sure. Tell him as soon as I clean up."
"Can you do me a favor?"
"After the hard time you gave me?"
"Please?"
"What?" Loni gave Lola a suspicious look.
"Do you know Helen Hunt?"
"I assume you mean our town librarian and not the movie actress."
"Of course I mean our librarian."
"Yeah, I do. She was great to me. Gave me a safe place to be. Good to know she's still around." Loni remembered the tall, stately woman’s kind eyes.
"I'm not so sure of that. It's her fault I'm in this mess."
"She's too nice to hurt anyone," Loni said defensively. "What'd she do, anyway?"
"I've got the new art teacher from the high school mad at me."
"What's that got to do with Mrs. Hunt?"
"The teacher came in wanting to see the "Arizona Revised Statutes," and I told her to go to Helen Hunt for it. She flew out of here swearing at me."
Loni tried to keep a straight face, but she started laughing so hard she had to wipe tears off her face.
"I'm screwed, huh?"
"Just about."
"Would you find her and explain? Please!"
"What's wrong with you going?" Loni teased.
"I'm afraid she'll throw something at me before I open my mouth."
"What's her name?"
"Agnes Hartford."
* * *
Standing in front of the school, Loni watched Coco make a quick trip to a patch of Indian wheat and felt bombarded by memories. The school was three long, flat wooden buildings, German POW barracks that had been moved in after the war. They were surrounded by chain link fences and painted a putrid pink that could be seen for miles. Evaporative coolers jutted out from windows like sick, green growths. A red-bricked administration building stood outside the fence like a guard house. In its far past, it had been the only school, replacing the first one, a wood shack flattened by a bad dust storm.
With a deep sigh, Loni hurried Coco up the fiery cement walkway into the main building before her paws burned. She walked into the principal's office, thinking the only difference between a school and a jail was that kids could go home at night.
The girl on the other side of the counter seemed all of twelve. Staring out from under long brown hair, her little lost face had a deer caught in the headlights expression. She wasn't dressed like a twelve-year old, however. Her brief tanktop and short skirt were more like a bathing suit than a school outfit. Watching her texting on her phone, Loni wondered if the school had any problems with sexting.
"I'd like to see the principal, please," Loni said.
The girl turned her head toward a closed door behind her. "Mr. Swicart! Somebody's here to see you!"
Loni struggled to keep from laughing at the loud, barking voice that came out of her mouth. "Wow!" she
complimented the girl.
Loni flashed onto the principal's name. Shit, he had been her health teacher, another one of those who belonged to the "passing the trash" club. Like the Catholic church, the school never fired the molesters. They just moved them somewhere else, usually giving them more power.
The door opened, and a middle-aged man walked out, wearing a lightweight, white short-sleeved shirt with no tie. A black belt held up the light-colored pants that rode above his round belly. His hair was thinner than she remembered and he'd gained considerable weight, but she recognized him as the same sick sonofabitch. His eyes skimmed over Loni. "Who?"
"Her." She nodded in Loni's direction.
Loni watched the arrogance leach off his shiny face. She could see he remembered their last confrontation.
She had opened a closet door where he had trapped a scared freshman boy with his pants halfway down. The boy hurried out of the room as Swicart pulled his pants up, daring Loni to say anything. "Who's going to believe a breed, anyway," he had snarled. She could smell the garlic oozing out with the sweat.
"Yes?"
"I'm here to search for drugs." His face closed up as he shook his head.
"Can't." From his back pocket, he pulled out an already damp blue kerchief and wiped his face and his balding head. "We got privacy rules."
Surprise, surprise, he'd learned something. "Really?" She remembered her own locker searches. "When did that happen?"
His pale blue eyes darted around the room. "Who sent you?"
"Chief."
"Aren't you State?" He stared at her uniform and badge.
"Yes." She drew the word out for a few seconds.
"You said Chief?"
"Yes." She drew it out again, watching him make a decision.
"I'm not unlocking any lockers."
"I'm not telling you to. Yet." Loni fought her need to shove his flat face up his ass. "I intend to wander and let the dog take me where she wants to go."
Swicart leaned against the counter. "That a sniffer?"
"Yes."
"Just drugs?"
"No."
"No?" Swicart pushed closer to her.
"No."
"What else?"
"Fear."
Swicart stared at her a minute and finally shrugged. "Go ahead." He waddled back to his office.
Loni turned back to the gum-chewing girl who was busy texting. "Hey, over here."
The girl didn't look up.
"Where can I find Ms. Hartford?"
Still staring at the phone, the girl walked over to the schedule board and briefly looked up. "Room 29. Middle building."
"Thanks." Loni turned away. "I know where it is."
She opened the gate into the yard of dry dirt around the middle school. "Well, Coco, might as well start here while we find the teacher." Lockers lined the wide hall. She pulled out the sample of the ricin-laced meth for Coco. She gave a short staccato bark whenever she found the same smell. Loni followed as Coco moved from locker to locker. It was kind of fun to be on the chase again, although she'd rather it wasn't a school. Sometimes Coco hesitated and pawed the locker but didn't bark. Loni moved on, noting the drug finds, grateful they weren't the poison.
The door to Room 29 was open. Walking in ahead of her, Coco danced toward the hands reaching out to pet her. Rubbing her side to calm her, Loni glanced around for the teacher. Suddenly a bulky, colorful body blocked her path.
"Can I help you?"
"Are you Agnes Hartford?"
"Yes?"
It was the wild, colorful watermelons that jarred Loni. Scattered across a green background all over her blouse and skirt, they matched her shoes. Even the large round glasses propped on her wild green hair had teeny, tiny watermelons. Good god, Loni thought, ducking her head and pinching her nose hard to keep from bursting out into laughter. She would get Lola for this, she thought.
"Yes?" The woman's high voice twanged Loni into a response.
"I'm Loni Wagner. Can we talk somewhere private?"
"What about?"
"Private, please?"
Agnes turned, and Loni followed her into a small room with a glass window that opened onto the classroom. The room was so stuffed with supplies that Loni told Coco to wait by the door. She closed the door behind her and stood. There was no place to sit. She was silent, not knowing how to begin.
"Well?"
Loni took a deep breath and jumped in. "I need to explain a problem."
"You a parent?"
"No," Loni felt herself shrinking, ready to run. Teachers did that to her. "A friend said something to you that came out very wrong and asked me to explain and apologize."
"Well?"
"Did you know we have a town librarian named Helen Hunt?" Loni watched the expression on Agnes's face slowly change from suspicion to horror.
"Oh my god." She turned almost as red as the watermelon on her blouse. "Please tell her I'm so sorry." The woman pawed at Loni with her long, watermelon red talons, apologizing over and over. "I'm so sorry!"
* * *
An hour later, Loni had finished searching all the lockers. Five with drugs from middle school, thirteen from high school, and two from elementary. The last made her really sick. But nothing, thank god, from the ricin batch. She worried when Coco hesitated, cocking her head at Loni for confirmation. It was time to start training again. Unwilling to put up with Swicart one more time, Loni skipped the principal's office and left the school behind as she drove toward the ranch.
By the time Loni turned off Old Highway 85, it was too late for a nap, especially when she found a truck blocking her way. Loni hoped Shiichoo wouldn't be too upset. The Thursday truck had come, bringing the electric stove and refrigeration unit.
Everyone sat around the kitchen table staring at Bill Henry as he connected the stove. Bill gave Shiichoo a short lesson on how it worked while everyone except Loni's grandma stared intently. She grimly stood in front of it, turning it off and on, watching the burners immediately turn red and immediately fade.
Loni went over to stand beside her. "See the red light there? When that's lit, the stove is still too hot to touch."
"How much electricity does that waste?"
Loni shook her head as she slammed the screen door behind her. It was going to be all right.
In the loft again, Loni heated up the food Shiichoo had handed her when she left. With a full stomach, she took a long, cold shower and climbed buck naked into bed and wrote to Sandi.
FROM: Loni Wagner
TO: [email protected]
DATE: July 8
SUBJECT: Still not looking
I think we had a real tornado go through town this morning. It only damaged four buildings, thank god. Took out the Catholic church bell tower and rectory, a shed, and a barn. Left a cow in a tree. Had to pull a child and her cat out of a burning building. I hope my old nightmares of burning to death don't come back.
I saw this flyer that said more than 800 Mexicans died in the desert this year trying to get into the United States. Think about it! An imaginary line keeping Mexicans out of their own country. I spent my shift looking behind everything, worrying someone was out there needing help. I can't even imagine the suffering. And then I picked up a pickup load of illegals and had to put them all in jail. It made me sick to know that no matter how much I wanted to help, I couldn't do it. But I know Maria would have found a way, and that makes me feel even worse.
On a better note, Shiichoo's electric stove and air conditioning unit came. She tried to look mad, but I know she's pleased. And thanks for asking about her. She seems better now.
Take good care of you and yours.
Loni
CHAPTER 9
July 9, 2:54 a.m.
LONI COULDN'T STAY awake. She pinched her nose and rubbed her cheeks until her face was rubbed so red somebody might think she had been drinking. Kneading her neck, she leaned against Coco, who was leaning against her. Loni pulled off the road and stopped at a pull out bef
ore she fell asleep at the wheel.
Reaching under her seat for the "Disney Fairy" lunch box she had discovered in a long-packed moving box, Loni took out a cold tamale. She peeled off the corn husk and gave half to Coco, who swallowed it in one gulp and looked wistfully at her. Shaking her head, Loni pulled the tamale apart again, one piece for Coco and one piece for Loni until it was gone. She sipped her coffee for awhile, counting stars until she gave up in boredom, and snapped the lunch box closed, flashing on Maria making fun of her femme "fairy" lunchbox.
