The Famous and the Dead ch-6

by T. Jefferson Parker

  Clint Wampler was charged with five murders, including that of Federal Agent Reginald Cepeda. Clint’s use of an explosive device in the bombing of the ATF field office, and the resulting death of Oscar Reitin, could qualify him for the death penalty. There was a news clip of Wampler also, limping into a room at the San Diego Superior Court, shackled at his wrists and ankles and held fast by two burly marshals. He looked as skinny and feral as Hood remembered him and he was ejected from his own arraignment for contempt.

  • • •

  Through summer Hood and Beth’s time together trailed off. She admitted considering a job offer in San Diego, and to spending more time with friends and coworkers. She refused to set foot in Hood’s home, telling him she’d either have to let Mike go free or call the cops so they could do it. She told Hood he would have to answer for Mike someday, then stopped mentioning him altogether. She spent two back-to-back, three-day weekends in San Diego, apartment hunting and bike riding in Balboa Park. She had such a blast. She implied that Hood should visit her often in San Diego, but the implication was faint and a direct invitation did not follow. She cried often and unexpectedly.

  Beth left for her new position at Scripps Medical Center in San Diego late in July. It was a solid promotion and a vote of confidence and a nice hike in pay and benefits. A package arrived for Hood the day she left, a small rectangular box that contained a tissue-wrapped red apple and a note that said, “I love you.”

  Hood saw himself as freakish and alone. He remained proud and encouraging of her, though what he felt most of all was flattened. He imagined letting Mike go free, then hustling off to San Diego, maybe apply at some car dealers for a sales position. The fantasy would linger for a few minutes or hours, then be dashed the next time Hood looked through one of the grates at the little man reading, watching TV, listening to music, reading, reading, reading, writing, writing, writing.

  I can do this a lot longer than you can, Mike liked to say. He often wore a wry smile and even from the Hood-to-Mike distance his eyes were blue and clear and merry. He’d grown a beard and mustache and favored plaid flannel shirts with the sleeves rolled up, which gave him a woodsy, lumberjack kind of look.

  • • •

  Over the summer Hood traded phone calls with Mary Kate Boyle once a week. Today it was her turn to call and she told him opening night was just a week away and she’d have two tickets for him at will call. She gave him the address of the Lowell and the box office phone number, just in case he needed it. She was happy to have been promoted to front-of-shop supervisor at KFC, which was worth seventy cents more an hour, and she’d bought a used car, the first car she’d ever owned. They talked about the car, then there was a long silence. “Charlie? Just so’s you know? I’m not going to be badgering you or waiting around on you anymore.”

  “Please don’t.”

  “Not that I’ve minded it. But I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking I’m too young and dumb for you.”

  “You are younger and smarter than I am.”

  “I’m nineteen years old. Quick figurin’ says I’m twenty-five and ready for babies when you’re forty. And I’d be forty years old and still hot as a tamale when you’re fifty-five. And so forth. The difference is the same year to year, but the relativity of it gets smaller. God, I sound like Clint.”

  “It’s not that, Mary Kate.”

  “That I sound like Clint? I’m funnin’ with you, Mr. Former FAT agent. I know what you mean. You mean it’s not my age. So okay, then, what exactly is it?”

  Hood slid the end table out of the way and unlatched the grate lid with his toe. He knelt and slid it open and looked in. “Move her right in, Charlie,” said Mike. “Party central.”

  “Who’s that?” asked Mary Kate.

  Hood slammed the grate closed and set the latch and walked outside. “I want the best for you, Mary Kate. I want you to live and love and act and let your heart run free in the world. I want you to get your dreams. I’m sorry to sound so corny but I can’t say it better than that.”

  “Dreams aren’t corny! And what if you’re one of my dreams?”

  “Get a bigger one, Mary Kate.”

  “It is me, then.”

  They said nothing for a long while. Hood sat on the rock wall and looked out at the Devil’s Claws and the downy white clouds in the west.

  “Okay, Charlie. I’ll put in for a dream upgrade but I’m still holding two tickets for you at will call. You bring whatever guest you want, and it can be a woman or a man.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “I don’t want an upgrade, Hood.”

  • • •

  Hood applied for jobs online so as not to be drawn away from his duties, but the rough economy and his questionable terminations didn’t help. He did have a few thousand dollars left in the bank and wasn’t particularly worried. There were security positions listed often, as well as janitorial work and a veterinary hospital night-attendant job that ran in the Buenavista Beacon classifieds every week. He figured that the job was noisy and stinky and sleep-robbing and difficult to fill.

  Accepting Owens’s offer to stand guard in his absence, Hood started leaving the house for an hour a day. He worked his way up to four and sometimes five-hour breaks. He’d go for a run or to the library and sometimes even a movie. He had the diamonds in his tooth removed and had his biannual periodontal cleaning. These excursions went without a hitch back home. His design of the vault, and the workmanship of the builders, had apparently been more than adequate. When he came home from hours away, Mike would sometimes glance up at him in irritation at the intrusion and continue his conversation with Owens, and sometimes ignore Hood altogether. The three had occasional conversations and drank some wine, Hood lowering the recorked bottle and a foam cup into the dungeon with a kite string. Of course Hood never entertained or invited anyone into his home, and at first he worried when the mailman came trundling up the road in his delivery Jeep. But the vault soundproofing was excellent and he would always leave the living room stereo on at some volume when he was gone. No calamities so far, though he truly missed Beth. Life was livable.

  • • •

  Mid-September Hood got a call from Erin with a dinner invite for the coming Saturday. The occasion was the nearly completed rebuilding of the barn. It would be her and Thomas, Owens, Reyes, Beatrice, the Little Chiefs from next door, and the contractor who’d done the barn, whom she said she hoped Hood would like. Hood’s antenna vibrated at this.

  He drove out through the Imperial County heat and arrived at Valley Center well before sunset. The memories ganged up on Hood as always when he was here-and now he had the flamboyant shedding of Bradley’s past, his unsolved murder, and Beth’s departure to add to the canon. For a while they all sat in a circle on the thick grass in the shade of the big oak tree and let Thomas crawl from one pair of outstretched arms to another. He laughed and slobbered and the light in his eyes flared with young life.

  Hood sipped a margarita and let Thomas climb on his crossed legs. The infant’s hands seemed remarkably small and well formed. Hood could hear the contractor, Jason, spitting away with a nail gun inside the barn, still “putting on the frosting,” as Erin put it. She said Jason had quoted six weeks for a complete rebuild, shown up with a three-man crew and brought the job in, under budget, in four weeks. Well, almost brought it in. She said he had some good ideas how to improve it, such as turning Bradley’s old bunker into a wine cellar. Hood saw him come through the barn door, a man with square shoulders and big safety goggles and thick blond hair held back in a bandana. Hood handed his margarita off to Owens and stood Thomas up in front of him and let the boy stand upright, clutching Hood’s thumbs for balance. Hood saw that Thomas had Erin’s lithe frame and Bradley’s head. Murrieta’s head. Don’t start, thought Hood. Don’t remember. William had it only half right. Sometimes the past is dead and should be.

  They ate on the big porch. Hood sat next to Owens and they talked about everything but Mike. She
was working again, doing a series of commercials for Hyundai, where she appeared to be piloting a two-hundred-and-fifty-horsepower sports coupe through the curves of California 1 near Big Sur. She never actually drove it, just got in and out. Tonight she wore a retro dress of big black polka dots on a white background, and shiny black bracelets that didn’t hide her scarred wrists. In the yellow glow of the bug lights her black hair looked touched by gold and Hood silently noted her beauty. He liked it that she wore her scars as trophies, not shames, because, as she had explained-she had finally chosen life.

  Erin was more relaxed and happy than Hood had seen her since her kidnapping nearly a year ago. She’d gained a little weight. Reyes waited on her hand and foot, a hangover from the old days in Hood’s Buenavista home. Beatrice ate with some semblance of self-control. She’d gained seventy-five pounds since her release from the mine and had slowed down her intake accordingly. Fully nourished, her body had regained its natural proportions and she was a tall, strong, and handsome woman.

  Jason the contractor joined them late at dinner and left the table early. He was followed to and from by the dogs. Hood figured he was middle twenties at most and he was well muscled and had an unusually deep, clear voice. He sat at the opposite end of the table from Erin, ignoring everyone except Betty Little Chief on one side of him and Beatrice on the other. He appeared more interested in his food than in the conversation and he only looked at Hood once. For Hood it was enough. Soon Jason was gone and Hood heard the nail gun firing away across the barnyard and he looked out at the light from inside the barn forming a trapezoid on the grass.

  Hood filled his wineglass, then walked under the oak tree to the pond, then over to the barn. Inside Jason was nailing pegboard to the drywall where the quads were kept. Hood stepped in and looked around. The inside of the barn was almost completely restored and the workmanship looked very good. Jason stood with his back to Hood, not twenty feet from where Bradley had died. The dogs whirled and dashed over to Hood and panted and yapped but kept their distance as Bradley had trained them to do. Jason turned and pushed the safety goggles up onto his forehead. Call ran his big head under Jason’s hand.

  “Nice work on the barn here,” said Hood.

  Jason nodded and petted the dog. “Glad you like it.”

  “Funny you called the vault a wine cellar. I used the same line when I built mine.”

  Jason smiled. His jaw was a little wider and his eyes had a soulful suggestion of innocence that was new. Fuller lips, by just a little. Subtle differences, Hood saw, but noticeable if you were looking.

  “How long did it take you?” Jason asked.

  “A few minutes,” said Hood. “Who played you?”

  “One of Herredia’s victims. Plenty to choose from, any given week. The basic age and body type was easy enough. We didn’t go out and take someone.”

  “What about DNA and fingerprints?”

  “That cost me a pint of blood and a lot of money. Old acquaintance in the coroner’s office. In the end it’s just what the autopsy report and death certificate say. Then it was off to Tijuana for eyes, chin, ears, lips, and nose. Then Texas Voice Center for phonoplastic surgery. How did you know? What’s the tell? It took Erin a while to believe it, even though I told her in a letter months ago. The new voice had her freaked out, being a singer.”

  “The circumstances gave you away, Bradley. Your last phone call seemed wrong. After I talked to the San Diego investigators I realized someone had fired your pistol at the bad guy after your head was allegedly blown off. But it was mainly just tonight-you hanging around Erin and the barn job taking a bit longer than you said. How the dogs behave. The way you looked at me across the grass when I was holding Thomas. Are you and Erin good now?”

  “I told her I wanted to start at the bottom and work my way up. She’s just starting to trust me again. Barely.”

  “Are you living here?”

  “Tonight’s my first official night. Erin wanted you to know the truth. I wasn’t so sure, but I trust her judgment more than I trust my own. Thomas knows who I am, Hood-he calls me Daddy. Imagine that.”

  “I take it you skimmed off a little before you burned the bales of cash that night.”

  “Some.”

  “How much?”

  “None of your business. I’d say just arrest me but you’re not a lawman any more than I am. You wouldn’t rat me out, would you?”

  Hood considered but not for long. “No. That’s my gift to your wife and son. I think you’ve actually got a chance of pulling this off.”

  “It’s my only chance, so I’m going to work like hell at it. How’s the little man?”

  “It’s impossible to tell.”

  “I think we ought to shoot him full of tranquilizers and package him up and throw him down Beatrice’s mine. Just you, me, and Reyes. That way, he’s trapped forever and you’re a free man. Who’s the prisoner now, Hood? I mean, what is there really to say to that sonofabitch day in and day out? He’s going to wear you down or find someone and talk them into something, just like the serpent he is. Or he’ll dig out or climb out or something. I feel like I owe you, Charlie, for helping get you fired.”

  “They didn’t fire me. I quit.”

  Bradley smiled. The surgeon had changed that, too, but it was still a good one. “I’ll still help you chuck him down the shaft.”

  “I like that idea.”

  “Beth still gone?”

  “More and more so.”

  “You’re about to hear from someone extraordinary.”

  “I don’t know if I can handle any more extraordinary.”

  “You can handle this, my friend. I guarantee it.” Bradley shrugged and went to one knee and rubbed Call’s throat. He looked at Hood. “They got Joaquin’s head but all they got off me was some of my face. It’s evolution, Charlie. Mom would be proud. And guess what? I finally forgive you for falling in love with her. Given your situation, I would have done the same.”

  • • •

  Later Hood walked down to the pond. The night was warm and a breeze scented with orange blossoms came out of the west. The moon was nearly full. He heard voices and laughter from the patio and he turned to see Owens and Beatrice exchange a hug. Owens then lifted two wineglasses off the railing and came down the steps and across the grass toward him.

  “Feeling lonely, cowboy?”

  “Depends what you and Beatrice are plotting.”

  She handed him a glass, then touched it with hers. “Splendid things. She’s so good at reading my heart. She seems to know it better than I do.” She drank, then looked up at the moon. “Remember years ago when I put my number in your cell phone and said I wanted you to call me?”

  “And the way you turned my face left then right and studied it, and I felt like a dog being examined. And you said I’d have a reason.”

  “I think that time is now. We don’t need the phone. Let’s go up to the dock and take out the rowboat. I’ve never been on a boat in the moonlight and I want to be on it with you.”

  They followed the waterline north. The frogs went silent ahead of them, then splashed into the water as they passed. When they came to the dock, Owens stopped and Hood stepped into the rowboat and offered his hand. She climbed aboard lightly and smoothed her dress and sat in the middle of the fore bench facing back. Hood handed her his glass and untied the ropes, then took up the oars and pushed off. The boat made a sipping sound and the oars splashed softly. The moon lined up over Owens’s shoulder and cast a widening silver ribbon on the water behind her and she was looking at him.

  55

  Hood sat in the October shade of his courtyard and saw Reyes’s car coming up the road. Owens looked up from her book and lifted the floppy brim of her hat. “Are you expecting him?”

  “No,” said Hood.

  “I’ll batten down the hatches in case he’s not alone.”

  Owens started with the grate under the carport roof. Hood heard the metal clang of the lid sliding and the squeal o
f the latch closing and Owens strode across the courtyard and into the house. Music came on inside and from new outdoor speakers disguised as rocks. The car ground up the rise and came level near the carport and Reyes pulled in and parked directly over the grate, next to Hood’s new/used Camaro.

  Gabriel climbed out and looked at Hood, then the passenger door opened and out stepped a stout woman with straight, short orange hair. She wore a denim pantsuit and sky blue cowboy boots. She took off her sunglasses and gazed around with a formal air. Then they came across the gravel and through the courtyard gate, where Hood and Owens stood and welcomed them.

  Reyes introduced her as Camille Gomez, city manager of Buenavista. Hood had seen her in the paper and on TV. She was short and heavily hung with turquoise, the centerpiece being a squash-blossom necklace that was half as wide as her torso and reached clear to her beltline. Plus turquoise earrings, bracelets, rings, and buttons on the denim jacket. Her eyes were green and surrounded by laugh lines defeated by her dour expression.

  Reyes and she sat on a bench on one side of the courtyard picnic table and Hood sat across from them. Hood heard the music get just a little louder. Reyes asked after Beatrice, whom Hood had not seen or heard from since September. Reyes seemed hurt that she’d vanished without a word, but Hood figured she’d been doing it for centuries. Owens came back with four glasses of tea and joined Hood on his side of the table.