More than a Maid

by Reeni Austin

  She wanted to be rational. She didn't want to act like a witch but she couldn't help it. She even argued with herself, trying to understand why the idea of Jocelyn and Ramon bothered her so much but she came up empty. It was a simple case of jealousy. She wanted to scratch Jocelyn's eyes out. Wanted her the hell away from Ramon.

  After the last picture was taken, Marcy stalked back to the house, intent on finding a corner in which to hide. Or perhaps a ranch hand to flirt with. Yeah… that'd make him jealous… that'd make him sorry he slept with half of Texas…

  Her thoughts were interrupted by footsteps behind her in the foyer, and a small hand on her leg.

  "Mah-cy?" Isaac said, blinking up at her.

  "What is it, sweetie?"

  "I wanna wide my wace caw. Will you watch me?"

  "Oh, Isaac." Marcy sighed, bending down to him. "Your Mommy just got married. We're about to have dinner. It's not time to play."

  "But I want it!"

  Marcy knew there was no use arguing with him. He probably knew he shouldn't be playing, but he didn't care. He just needed something to distract from the stress and confusion of the day.

  She glanced around the room and saw Cara through a window outside, arm in arm with Victor, speaking to Ramon and a man she didn't recognize. The house was starting to fill with people who were there for appetizers, awaiting the reception to take place under a big tent in the yard.

  Isaac tugged on her hand, pulling her toward the front door. "Pwease!" He begged with a pout.

  Marcy rolled her eyes. "We'll go outside but you're not riding that car. You'll get dirty and ruin Mommy's nice day."

  With a sly grin he said, "No I won't."

  Marcy tightened her grip on his hand and followed him outside, determined to keep him close by.

  As soon as the door opened, Ramon spotted her and rushed up to the porch past some of the guests.

  "Hey," Ramon said, breathless. He glanced down at Isaac for a moment, quieting his voice. "Let's go somewhere and talk."

  Marcy ignored him and let Isaac lead her down the steps.

  Ramon followed them. "Come on. Don't do this."

  Isaac grunted and shook away from Marcy, tearing off to the field opposite most of the guests.

  "Isaac, come back here!" Marcy shouted, stumbling through the yard in her heels.

  Suddenly, another boy about Isaac's age—his friend, Jordan—rushed past her and she heard a woman's voice call, "Jordan! Jordan, you stay where I can see you!"

  Ramon turned around and said to the woman, "It's all right. We'll keep an eye on 'em."

  CHAPTER 27

  When Ramon and Marcy started talking again, Jordan said to Isaac, "Where is it?"

  Isaac lit up, then turned his face away from the adults who were supposed to be watching him. He pointed at the bush beside the house where he hid his race car before the wedding. So far, the best thing about Mommy and Victor getting married today was the fact that everyone seemed too distracted to keep an eye on him.

  Jordan smiled. "I wanna see the race car!"

  Isaac brought his finger to his lips and said, "Shh!" and waited a moment until Marcy and Ramon were talking louder and their backs were turned. He rushed softly to the car with his friend following.

  Jordan's eyes grew saucer-wide when he saw the little red vehicle, which he hadn't seen since Isaac's birthday party. "Wow!"

  With a stern expression, Isaac again said, "Shh!"

  Jordan shoved past the bush's branches and took a seat. "I want one!"

  Frustrated, Isaac's face puckered and he grabbed Jordan's arm with both hands, pulling him and loudly whispering, "Be quiet!"

  Ramon suddenly appeared. "Hey! What's goin' on?" He grimaced at the car. "That's not supposed to be here." His eyes went to Isaac. "That needs to go back to the garage. You're gonna get in trouble."

  Isaac nodded. "Can I dwive it there?"

  Jordan also nodded. "Can I ride with him?"

  Ramon sighed, his eyes studying the two boys. He turned around and looked at Marcy, who was staring off in the distance with a frown. Then he looked around to see if anyone else was watching. "All right. But drive slow and don't get your clothes dirty."

  Jordan slid over as Isaac took his seat behind the wheel.

  Soon they were cruising through the field, on their way to the garage with Ramon watching them.

  Jordan whispered, "How fast does it go?"

  Isaac whispered, "I show you," as he looked over his shoulder at Ramon, who was talking to Marcy. They both seemed pretty angry. Isaac knew he only had to wait for the right moment when they both stopped paying attention. Then he could take a detour past the garage and show Jordan just how fast his car could go now, after being adjusted earlier that morning.

  After a few moments, when Ramon's back was completely turned and Marcy's voice was louder than before, Isaac hit the gas pedal as hard as he could and veered off in a new direction. He was sure he could get away with it. Except for Ramon and Marcy, the adults were all busy on the other side of the house. He and Jordan would be back in plenty of time for dinner.

  Isaac stood up in his car, feeling the wind in his hair, Jordan giggling beside him. He made sure not to glance back at Ramon, whom he now heard calling his name.

  "Hey! Slow down!" Ramon ran after them.

  For once, Isaac was free. No one could stop him. And he just knew he could make the car go even faster. He'd seen it on television.

  He pushed the gas pedal as hard as he could.

  And the car went even faster. He could feel it.

  "I'm the fastest!" Isaac yelled, a big smile on his face. "I'm the fastest!"

  Jordan laughed.

  Ramon's screams got louder, but Isaac had gotten a good head start. And now he was unstoppable.

  He turned the wheel and headed to a new destination: that yucky old mud pond.

  Jumping over it with his race car would be Isaac's greatest feat yet.

  As his heart filled with excitement, he felt something land inside his mouth.

  A bug.

  Isaac simply spit it out, away from Jordan, and kept on going, this time with his mouth closed. Because that's what a real man would do. Don't stop for anything, not even a bug in the mouth. Just keep going.

  As he neared his destination, he giggled with anticipation.

  I'm the fastest! Isaac thought. I'm the best.

  No. The bestest!

  I'm gonna fly right over that pond!

  But he kept it to himself. He wanted to surprise Jordan. And if Ramon and Marcy were watching, he wanted to surprise them, too. He expected Ramon to be especially impressed, considering he had once tried to jump over a ditch in a truck… but failed.

  Isaac wouldn't fail. He imagined the car lifting into the air… its wheels gently touching down on the other side in a moment of glory.

  And soon Isaac was there at the pond. Ready for take off.

  "Oh no!" Jordan yelled. "What are you doing?"

  Isaac stayed quiet. He stuck his tongue out, waiting to fly.

  And for a moment, they flew.

  But their landing was hard. And muddy.

  Isaac heard his wheels spinning but he lay there in the thick mud, confused. Why didn't it work?

  He'd need a faster car next time.

  * * *

  Ramon gritted his teeth to keep himself from cursing as he bounded into the dry section of mud where Isaac lay still. Jordan had already scurried out of the vehicle to the grass, his clothes caked with dirt.

  Marcy called out, "Are you all right?" as she stumbled on her heels toward the pond, still a good distance away.

  "Isaac!" Ramon screamed as he knelt down beside him. "Say something! Are you all right?"

  Isaac opened his eyes and let out a tiny giggle.

  Ramon let out an enormous sigh of relief. "Oh my God. You scared me half to death." He placed a tender hand on Isaac's cheek. "Can you move? Move your legs and show me."

  Isaac groaned and squirmed toward him
, dirtying his suit even more. In a weak voice, he said, "Did you see me? I was fwying!"

  "Yeah, yeah. Do you hurt anywhere?"

  "No."

  "Well, I hope it was worth it. You're in big trouble." Ramon stood and scooped Isaac up in his arms as his dress shoes sunk down into a squishy portion of mud. "You're gonna lose your new car. You might even have to go to the hospital."

  Isaac gasped and lifted his head to face him. "No! Don't tell Mommy and Bictow! I don't wanna go to the hospitow…"

  "I have to," Ramon said. "You might be hurt and not even know it." He smirked at the boy. "Did you really think you could get away with this after you got your nice suit all muddy? Like Mommy wasn't gonna notice that? I hope you got somethin' else to wear." He looked at the car, wedged on its side in the mud. "Geez. What were you thinking?"

  "I wanted to jump ovow the pond…"

  "Great." Ramon sighed heavily, knowing he would probably get blamed for putting that idea in Isaac's head. "Can't turn my back on you for a second, can I?"

  "Don't tell Mommy! I thought you was my fwend."

  "I am your friend. That's why I gotta tell Mommy."

  Ramon moved his feet to loosen them from the dense mud, but they sunk a little deeper. "Dang it," he whispered as he shuffled Isaac in his arms. Inwardly, he cursed himself for taking so long to get the old pond filled in with dirt. He resolved to make a phone call first thing in the morning.

  As Ramon tried to lift his foot again, it slid against the bottom of the pond. He almost slipped and dropped Isaac but quickly regained his footing.

  Then he slid the other foot. There was definitely a hard, flat surface at the base of that soft mud.

  A chill shot up Ramon's spine. Something wasn't right about this.

  Ramon swallowed, hard, took a deep breath, then yanked his feet from the mud and walked up to the dry grass with Isaac on his hip.

  Marcy finally made it to the pond, barefooted, holding her shoes in her hands. "Is everything okay…. Isaac!" Her mouth fell open. "Are you okay?"

  Ramon answered for him. "He seems to be." He nodded down at Jordan, who was near tears, biting his nails. "Take him back to his mom. I'll take care of Isaac."

  * * *

  Ramon managed to sneak through the back door and get himself and Isaac upstairs without drawing much attention.

  After hearing about Isaac's little adventure from Marcy, Cara and Victor rushed to his room to find him dirty, crying, and apologizing. They immediately revoked his "driving privileges" until further notice, prompting Isaac to yell that he hated them both.

  "Welcome to fatherhood," Cara said, flashing her new husband a knowing smile.

  Victor sighed heavily and said, "I'll go downstairs and find a doctor," remembering there were a few among the guests.

  "Okay," she said. "I'll get Mom to help me clean him up."

  Victor gave her a peck on the lips then hurried out of the room. He almost bumped into Ramon, who was in the hall holding his cell phone to his ear, a worried look on his face.

  Victor stopped. "What is it? You're not calling an ambulance, are you? I really think Isaac's okay but I'm on my way to find a doctor."

  Ramon lowered the phone, made a face at it, then hit a button and pulled it to his ear again. "It's not that. I'm trying to reach Henry."

  "Why?"

  With a hesitant sigh, Ramon looked at Victor, wondering if he should add more stress to his brother's day.

  Victor's eyebrows drew together. "Come on, tell me. What's up?"

  Ramon puffed his lips out with a loud exhale, widening his eyes at Victor. "There's something weird in the bottom of the pond."

  "What are you talking about?"

  Ramon shrugged, then rolled his eyes as the call went to voicemail. "Something hard and flat. Like a concrete slab."

  "Might be a drain or a pump or something. How big is it?"

  "Don't know how big it is. Gonna find out." Ramon's eyes widened. "And there's not supposed to be a drain or a pump in that pond. Makes me wonder if I found the reason why Henry's so insistent about that damned thing."

  "Shit," Victor muttered, shaking his head. "Well, I gotta go find someone to help Isaac. Let me know if you reach him."

  Ramon nodded and hit the button again. The familiar message played. "The person you have called has a voice mail box that has not been activated. Please try—"

  "Shit!" Ramon hit his thigh with his fist, then hung up, opting for a text message instead. Henry didn't usually respond to those, but Ramon had a feeling he would after he read the message he was about to send.

  * * *

  Early the next morning, Ramon headed out to the pond with Armando and Tom, each of them carrying shovels. Victor and Cara left for their honeymoon the previous evening with strict orders for Ramon to call them with any new information.

  Tom and Patty were set to head back to New Jersey in two days, with Isaac, keeping him there until the honeymoon was over.

  Ramon hadn't spoken to Marcy since their argument after the wedding. But the previous night he waited until she fell asleep, then crawled into bed beside her. No way he could sleep without her after the day he'd had. He sneaked out of her bed and gave her a kiss on the cheek before she awoke

  Armando was strangely quiet when Ramon told him about the pond. He simply told Ramon not to get the ranch hands involved, that he would help with the digging himself first thing in the morning.

  As Ramon suspected, Henry responded to his text message within minutes with a mere: "Be there tomorrow."

  After about forty-five minutes of digging, the three men uncovered the top of a large rectangular cement box. Around the box was an elaborate network of rocks with pavement poured in between, binding them.

  They spent a few minutes jabbing at the pavement with their shovels. Aside from a few chunks cracking loose, their efforts were in vain.

  Ramon swiped his wrist across his sweaty brow and asked, "Whatta you think's in there?"

  Armando shot Ramon a look that made his blood run cold.

  Tom winced, took a slow breath, then straightened his glasses. "Appears to be a vault of some kind. Someone obviously went to great lengths to keep it hidden." He peered down at the muddy cement. "Looks like a grave site, to me."

  Armando closed his eyes, uttering a quick prayer under his breath.

  Ramon's stomach flipped; it was the very thought he didn't want to say out loud, and he imagined Armando was thinking it too. "Yeah." He swallowed to keep bile from coming up his throat. "But why here? In a pond?"

  Tom said, "Well, was it ever deep enough to swim?"

  "Not as far as I know," Ramon answered. "It was always just decoration."

  Nodding, Tom said, "Right. So, if you never let it dry up, you think you would've found it?"

  "No." Ramon pressed his lips together and shared a look with Armando, who had just opened his eyes. He now realized what Tom was trying to say—the pond was a smart hiding place. "And I guess if it was buried somewhere else, in dirt, it might've gotten found if we had needed to dig and build a new structure. But this way, it's hidden forever as long as it doesn't run dry."

  Armando leaned against his shovel. His voice was weak. "Henry probably built the pond just to hide this."

  Tom picked up his shovel, skimming it across the ground and scattering some of the chunks containing pavement. "Looks like this was the top layer. Water must've gotten to it. Cracked just enough to loosen up. It was built to look like part of the ground."

  Ramon shook his head, and in a somber tone, said, "Holy shit. I can't believe Henry did all this."

  Tom gently cleared his throat. "I hate to ask this… it's the investigator in me." He paused, glancing between the brothers' faces. "If that really is a body, you got any idea who it is?"

  "Yeah, unfortunately." Ramon gulped, his stomach clenching, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

  Armando said it for him, his tone sad. "I think it's Papa."

  CHAPTER 28

 
Henry and Elsa arrived at the ranch at eleven-thirty, a half hour earlier than Henry intended. He pulled his vehicle up in the driveway and took a deep, weary breath as he examined all the cars parked there. They were all waiting to talk to him. Shit, even Dwayne McCormack was there.

  Henry turned off the ignition, squeezed Elsa's hand, and gave her the biggest grin he could muster. One that, hopefully, wouldn't give away his angst.

  Now, more than ever, Henry was thankful to have Elsa around. Although he had an affinity for her, it was nothing like the love he would always feel for Valeria Barboza.

  Elsa had no idea why Henry had asked her to skip town with him months earlier, but he was glad she said yes. She was a sweet, wholesome woman, with simple ways that masked her intelligence. She was perceptive enough not to pry about Henry's reasons for their abrupt departure, and he was thankful. There was no way in hell he wanted to get her caught up in this mess. The day he left he simply swept her into his arms and said, "Ven conmigo," or "Come with me." Elsa stared silently into his eyes, searching them for answers, then a wry grin crept across her lips and she whispered, "Si, Señor."

  The very next day, Henry and Elsa and a few packed bags took off down the road to start their adventure.

  It was the vacation Henry always wanted. Driving out on the open road, bound for nowhere. Seeing sights he'd always been too busy to see. The Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert. A Comanche museum in Oklahoma. At night, they parked at campgrounds. Sometimes they slept in a tent under the stars. And he had a soft, hearty woman there to keep him warm. The past nine months would've been the best months of his life if not for that dark cloud of dread stalking him all over creation.

  Damn it, he had a feeling Ramon was lying to him about that pond all along. Not only that, but the boy must have convinced the ranch hands to lie to Henry as well. Every fuckin' one of 'em gave him the same load of bullshit when he called: the pond is full of water.

  Henry's bottom lip quivered as he thought about it. Logically, he knew he had no right to be angry with the ranch hands for their loyalty to Ramon. They were just doing what their boss told them to do. But shit. He hated being lied to. Dreaded the hornet's nest he was about to walk into inside that house. He planned to tell everyone the truth when he returned anyway. He'd carried that secret with him for nearly three decades now, and it was time to put it to rest, no matter the consequences.