by Pinky Dior
“Oh my God!” Maria cried. “How could someone do such a thing?”
“I know Mrs. Carter, I’m terribly sorry.” The doctor sincerely replied. “He’s undergoing surgery as of right now.”
“Thank you Doc.” Maria said. The doctor smiled and turned to walk away. He stopped in his tracks and said, “Is Roy Carter related to you in any way?”
“Yes he is.” Maria said, “That’s my brother-in-law.”
“He was also shot several times including the head. He’s currently in a coma.”
“Oh Lord!” Mercedes cried out. She couldn’t believe it. It seemed as if everyone in her family was going through something and she had no way to help.
Mercedes saw her mother slowly losing control. Her leg trembled as she cried and rocked back and forth. She intently prayed for Don and Roy. Forty-five minutes passed and the doctor came back with an update.
“Is my husband going to be alright?” Maria asked, while still hoping for the best.
“I’m sorry; Mr. Carter didn’t make it.” The doctor’s eyes said it all. Maria wailed and collapsed to the ground in sorrow. She had just lost the love of her life.
“Mercedes stood still in utter disbelief. It felt as if someone just sucked all of air out of her. She cried and fell to her knees. She looked at the ceiling and asked God why. She cried until her tears abandoned her. Maria tried to comfort her daughter, even in her own time of sorrow. She knew Mercedes loved her father dearly. After several minutes passed, they finally calmed down and dried their eyes enough for them to see where they were walking. They noticed the doctor approaching them to talk.
“You know, we usually don’t do this…but do you want to see him?” He asked.
“Yes please.” Maria said in a hushed tone. They followed the doctor and entered the room where Don’s body lie. She stopped in her tracks and began sobbing once more. Seeing her husband in that condition was surreal. Mercedes tightly grabbed her mother’s hand. They both stared as they touched his lifeless body, praying that it was all a dream.
“I love you Daddy.” Mercedes turned and ran from the room. She couldn’t believe her father was gone. She kept wishing it was a dream and when she woke up things would be normal. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a dream-it was reality.
“Don, Babe I will always love you. Why did you have to leave me so soon? I promise to look after our daughter and keep her safe. We’ll find out who did this and they will pay. Goodbye my love, see you on the other side.”
Maria slowly walked out of the room while wiping her tears away. They checked on Roy once again and he was still in a coma. They decided to go home and check on him tomorrow.
They drove in silence back to the home that Maria and Don once shared. When they arrived, they noticed the lights were on. Mercedes thought she switched them off before they left. Maria wondered the same and she grew tense. She knew Claudia wasn’t back from Puerto Rico yet. She went to care for her sick mother.
“Keep driving Mercedes.” Maria told her while looking out the window.
“Why Ma?” She was puzzled by her mother’s request.
“Just drive Mercedes! Please!” Maria raised her voice and turned toward her.
Mercedes did as she was told and kept going. She was concerned to see her mother scared. She didn’t know what to make of Maria’s actions.
“I didn’t mean to yell Sweetie, but please just let me spend the night with you.” Mercedes kept driving and without asking any further questions. She noticed her mother turned and suspiciously looked as she passed their house. She wondered what could be happening.
Mercedes pulled up in front of her condo and parked. They held hands and entered the house together. They went directly upstairs into Mercedes’ bedroom. She grabbed a set of pajamas for her mother to sleep in and got some night clothes for herself. They turned off the light and climbed into bed lying next to each other.
“I love you Mercedes.”
“I love you too Ma.”
“Mercedes?” Maria called out her name barely above a whisper causing her voice to crack.
“Yes Ma?”
“Can you hold me?” Maria sniffled.
Mercedes moved in closer to her mother and held her as they cried themselves to sleep in each other’s arms.
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Claudia sat in the yellow taxi clutching her purse. She pressed it against her abdomen. She was due back from Puerto Rico early this morning and already had confirmed with Maria that she would be home. She stared from the window as the taxi drove up the path to the Carter’s mansion. Claudia opened her purse and pulled out a fifty dollar bill and handed it to the driver to pay the fare. The trunk was popped and Claudia got out and grabbed her Louis Vuitton luggage from the trunk. She closed it and walked up to the door. She looked at her watch and noticed the time was eleven-thirty. She saw that the lights were on, so someone was awake. She didn’t like having to disturb them. Claudia proceeded up the stairs with her bags and rang the doorbell. The door opened and she picked up her bag to carry it inside when she was grabbed at the neck and pulled in. She didn’t know who it was but they were strong and her breath was slowly leaving her body.
“Let her go.” Vicente said as he calmly sat.
Emilio released his hand from around her neck. Claudia dropped to the ground. She coughed loudly and put her hand over her chest. She was desperately trying to catch her breath.
“Who is she?” Vicente asked. He was eager to know who this woman was.
“Claudia.” Emilio said, as if Vicente knew who she was supposed to be. “She’s the maid.”
“They have a fucking maid?” Vicente’s eyebrows arched as he looked around, “You got to be fucking kidding me!” Vicente slapped his knee as he laughed and everyone in the room laughed as well. They laughed at whatever Vicente laughed at. If they didn’t, he would take offense. He had that much power over his cronies.
“Really, he has a fucking maid? This man sure was living it up-but not anymore.” A devilish smirk appeared across his face. One of his workers came down the stairs and Vicente looked over his shoulder.
“Did you find anything?” He asked.
“No, no money or drugs sir.” The worker informed him, “He must have it somewhere else.”
Vicente knew Don was a smart man and wouldn’t keep any of his drugs and money in the house. The burning question was-where did he hide everything? Vicente walked over to Claudia who had a look of sheer terror. “Where’s my daughter?” Vicente bluntly asked.
“Who’s your daughter?” Claudia pretended to be unaware of the situation; she was trying to save her life. She knew that Vicente was Maria’s father, but didn’t want to be involved. She already knew too much. Maria and Claudia grew close over the years. They were friends, even though Claudia worked for Don and Maria. Vicente didn’t like the answer and backhanded her. Blood began to trickle from the side of her mouth.
“You think I’m fucking stupid?” Vicente asked, “Huh?” Claudia still held onto her face as she looked up and stared into Vicente’s eyes.
“I don’t know,” Claudia sarcastically said while shrugging her shoulders. When she spoke, her thick Spanish accent came out. Vicente thought she felt like she had the upper hand.
“I’m going to ask you one more time.” Vicente growled. He was getting mad. “Where is Maria?”
“I don’t know where she is.”
Vicente grabbed her hair with a firm grip and balled it up in his fist. He yanked her head back. He stared into her eyes and didn’t blink.
“I know you know where the fuck my daughter is!” He let go of her hair and backed up like he was going to leave her alone. He then balled up his fist and rocked her jaw several times. Claudia’s head moved back and forth, not once falling to the ground. She may have seemed like a sweet woman, but she came from a poor family. Her father always told her to never bow down to no one and to never let anyone disrespect her. Claudia remembered those words; she kept them in mind as Vicente kept
punching her in the face.
“Where is she?” Vicente’s voice cracked. “I just want her back.” He softly said.
He stopped hitting her long enough to get those words out. Finally, he sounded like a father instead of a gangster. Claudia grabbed her sore jaw and moved it side to side. She was trying to regain feeling in it. Thick gobs of blood poured from her mouth and oozed down the side of her lip.
“Why would I tell you, even if I knew?” Claudia barked. “You’re going to kill me anyway!”
“Emilio, kill that bitch!”
“Your daughter hates you! She hates your fucking guts and she will never be with you!” Claudia barked. These statements made Vicente enraged.
“Oh yeah, we’ll see about that.” Vicente bent down and sat eye level with Claudia. “No one takes my daughter and gets away with it. As for you…you were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Vicente spit on Claudia and got up, “Puta!”
He turned to Emilio and gave the signal as he walked towards the front door with his crew.
“Kill this bitch.”
“You will pay!” Claudia said as she starred at the barrel of Emilio’s gun. “You’re fucking with the Carters! You will pay!” Claudia closed her eyes and said a quick prayer. They were her last words as Emilio cocked back the gun and smiled.
“It’s too late to pray to God.”
He pulled the trigger and put a bullet in the middle of her forehead. He watched as she slumped over. He stepped over her lifeless body to join the others.
Just to Get By
Mercedes hated that she had to wake up so early. Her eyes were red from crying through the night. She looked at her mother’s eyes and they were identical- swollen and bloodshot.
After getting dressed for her father’s funeral, she slipped on her oversized Chanel shades to hide her face. She felt and looked like a hot mess. Mercedes checked herself out in the mirror and her mother watched her.
“Girl, no one is going to see you.” Maria let out a chuckle, “You look fine.”
“Please Ma, you woke me up at seven.” Mercedes rolled her eyes, “I look like shit and feel like shit.”
“I know Baby, we just have to remain strong.” Maria cracked a smile and rubbed Mercedes shoulder. Mercedes drove up the path to the place that she once called home. She parked in front of the house. They both exited the car and walked to the front door. It was suspiciously ajar. Maria looked back at Mercedes, “Someone was here.”
Their suspicions were confirmed when they walked in and saw Claudia dead on the floor. She was surrounded by blood and remnants of her brain.
“Oh my God! What’s going on Ma?” Mercedes screamed and fought the urge to release the contents of her stomach. She was losing everyone close to her and it was heartbreaking. She had never seen anything like this before and it made her stomach turn. Mercedes turned around and she was standing next to Claudia. She looked down at her with tears in her eyes.
“She was such a nice woman.” Maria recalled. “She didn’t deserve to die like this. Call the ambulance please.”
“She’s like family Ma.”
“No, she was family.” First Chino, then her dad, and now Claudia. For some odd reason, she felt like she was going to be next.
The ambulance arrived within minutes, with the police shortly thereafter. Maria watched as they brought Claudia out on a stretcher. Her body was covered in a plastic bag. She was soon approached by detectives. They wanted to know more about Claudia’s death.
“Hi, I’m Detective Morris and this is my partner Detective Hanks…”
“I know who you are.” Maria shot back, cutting him off. Detective Hanks blew cigarette the smoke in the air.
“Are you Mrs. Carter?”
“You know damn well who I am.” Maria cynically said. She rolled her eyes at the detectives. She knew the two of them very well. They were often arresting Don, but couldn’t keep him because the charges never stuck. They had to release him every time. Maria was sure they were like giddy bitches when they found out he was dead. They were also probably elated when they got the call for a murder at his mansion.
“Can we come in Mrs. Carter?” Detective Hanks politely asked. Although Maria hated the cops, she knew Hanks was a nicer detective than Morris.
“Come on in, but you can’t smoke that cigarette in my house.” Maria said with a demanding tone. Detective Morris smiled and took a long last drag on his cigarette before tossing it to the ground. They sat down and waited for someone to speak.
“So, do you know who may have killed your maid?” He flipped his note pad and glanced at the paper, “Claudia Hernandez.”
“No, I don’t know.” Maria nonchalantly, “I have no clue.”
“So you’re telling me you have no clue who killed your maid?” Detective Morris asked with a questionable brow. Maria shook her head from side to side.
“You’re full of shit.” Detective Morris chuckled and placed the tiny notepad in his shirt pocket. “Your husband was killed and his brother Roy is in critical condition. Now your maid ends up dead and you have no clue who’s behind this?”
“It’s not like you give a fuck about my husband!” Maria barked. Mercedes walked in and sat beside her mother; she was furious.
“You’re right! I don’t give two shits about your fucking drug dealer husband! You got that right!” But something isn’t clicking; you probably know who it is. Maybe someone is after you and you don’t want to admit it. You put your family in jeopardy; I’m willing to bet this isn’t the last time I’ll see a body in a bag in your presence.” The detective said before getting up and walking out of the house.
Maria began to cry. She wondered if her father killed her husband and maid. He was the only one who had a vendetta. He couldn’t be so heartless and ruthless, could he?
“Here’s my card, if you have any questions or concerns.” Detective Hanks said while handing Maria a card. She gently took it from his hand. “I’m so sorry for your loss.” He walked toward the door. Maria looked down at his card and crumbled it into her hand.
“Ma, what was that all about?” Mercedes inquired.
“Nothing Baby,” Maria lied as she got up. “I’ll be back, I’m going upstairs real quick to get some clothes. I’ll be staying at your house for a couple of days. After that, I’m going to contact your father’s sister Brenda to see if I can stay there.”
“You can stay with me Ma.”
“No, I refuse to put you in jeopardy. No one must know you exist.” Mercedes was astonished by her mother’s last comment. “What do you mean? People know who I am.”
“No new people Mercedes,” Maria said. “Trust me, we’ll talk later.”
Mercedes took her mother’s word for it and decided to let the conversation end there.
“Mami, does this mean whoever killed Daddy and Claudia will come after us too?” Mercedes was suddenly putting the pieces together and facing her fears head on.
“I don’t know Baby.” Maria said with a shrug of her shoulders. “We’ll be fine though.”
Mercedes sat on the couch with her hand to her chin and pondered their next move. She knew her mother knew something, but obviously she didn’t want her to know. She could only trust her mother’s word that all would be well.
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Later that afternoon, the funeral home was filled with dozens of roses and other flowers, as well as hundreds of people. Maria made sure that they prepared the best service for her husband. They had an exquisite, one of a kind, marble casket. It had diamonds embedded on the sides of it. Maria knew her husband wanted to go out in style; he left orders for burial in case of his demise. Don was dressed in a black Giorgio Armani suit. His make-up was done, so it looked more like him. He was almost unrecognizable when they saw him last.
Mercedes sat in the front row. She was decked out in her best gear-just as her father would have wanted her to be. He only wanted the best for his Baby Girl. She represented the Carter name well
. Her hands were clasped with her mother’s for support and encouragement as they walked up to the casket. Seeing her father in such a catatonic state caused her to break down and weep.
Maria stood next to her. She had to be helped up as she fell to her knees, overcome with grief.
“Why did they have to take my husband? Why Lord, why?” Maria cried out. She placed her hands on the side of the casket. Mercedes continued to cry and saw Emilio through her tears. He was walking down the aisle toward her. She shot him an icy glare and he stopped in his tracks. He walked up to Maria and rubbed her back as he whispered something in her ear.
“Thank you Emilio.” Maria turned around and hugged him. She cried into his arms as he rubbed her back. He stared into Mercedes’ eyes. Emilio escorted her mother back to the seat and sat down next to Mercedes.
“If I find out that you had anything to do with my father’s death, you will pay.” Mercedes whispered in his ear with a soft voice.
Emilio swallowed hard. Mercedes knew something was wrong. Where was he when her father was murdered? Why didn’t he contact us to let us know that her father was killed? Those questions floated around in her mind and she gave him one last look before she got up and walked over to her father’s casket. At that moment a flood of emotion overtook her and she couldn’t take it anymore. She sobbed for Chino, for Claudia, and most of all for her father. She bent over the casket and kissed Don gently on the forehead. She said goodbye for the final time.
“I love you Daddy, and the Carters will never die.” Mercedes cried. “I will make sure of that. The Carter family soul will always live on.” Mercedes gave her father one last look before she walked away and said, “See you later.”
After the funeral service, Mercedes noticed her girlfriends sitting in the back of the funeral home. They were always there for her when she needed them.
“We’re so sorry about your father Cedes.” Candy said as she hugged her.
