by Gerald Lopez
“And even that’s not soon enough for you, is it brother?”
Everyone turned and looked at the three new guests to the viewing. Roberto Reyes was standing between his son and the elderly, skinny bishop, who had a long white beard and thinning white hair. Gabriel and his father were both dressed in black suits with blue shirts and black ties.
“I see you didn’t bring out the uniform for this visit,” Marcus said.
“No need for that sort of formality, besides I’ll be leaving very soon,” Roberto said.
Julia nudged Simon and Bart, then nodded toward the front row of seats. They heeded her direction, and went to sit. The Judge and his wife glanced at Gabriel, then sat in the row of seats behind Julia, Bart, and Simon. Bart looked at Gabriel and smiled. Then he took a good look at Roberto Reyes. The man was tall with a barrel chest, which he proudly puffed out. His shoulders were wide like his sons, but he was not nearly as handsome. Even though his face had the glow of a healthy tan, he had deep wrinkles… and his brown eyes were dull and devoid of life.
“The coffins look nice enough,” Roberto said, walking toward them with Gabriel and the bishop who was dressed in the black shirt, pants, and white collar of a regular priest.
“Nice of you to dress for the occasion, Bishop Piombo,” Marcus said, from where he stood off to the side next to his wife.
“Rachel looks beautiful, but she doesn’t compare in any way to her mother,” Roberto said. “The fact that she’s dead, actually helps you maintain that image you love so much, little brother. I would’ve had to deal with her soon enough, anyway. Nobody goes behind my back to get things out of my country, even if it’s just chupa they’re taking and reselling. The farmer and his family, who were supplying the chupa were killed on my orders. I’ve made sure there are no members of the Ignacio family left to continue their tradition of betrayal.” He turned and angrily glared at his brother. “If I thought you had anything to do with this whole chupa incident, I’d kill you myself, brother.”
“Roberto, if I’d sunk so low as to deal chupa, I would’ve welcomed whatever punishment you had for me,” Marcus said. “And for the record, Rachel was never anything but an embarrassment to me.”
Simon and Bart looked at one another. They’d just gotten the revelation they were hoping for—and so early in the day.
Gabriel looked into Mr. Orion’s coffin, then moved and sat next to Bart.
Roberto and the bishop were next to view Mr. Orion. “He looks the same, and yet different,” Roberto said. “There’s a peace about him now that he never had before.”
“That pig doesn’t deserve any peace,” the bishop said with a thick Italian accent. “He was an old pervert.” He then spit in Mr. Orion’s face.
The music changed to Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater as the living room door opened, and everyone looked toward it. All eyes were on Magdalena, as she cooly sashayed into the room, dressed in a snug knee-length black dress with a short bolero jacket. She wore elbow-length black gloves, and had a black boa made of iridescent feathers hung over one shoulder. Her large hat, covered with the same type of iridescent black feathers as the boa, featured a black lace veil, which managed to effectively conceal her face.
“Now, she’s brought the drama,” Bart said in a low voice to Simon and Julia. “The feathers look amazing.”
“That’s a Coque-Schlappen boa made from rooster feathers,” Julia said. “The feathers in the hat must be the same. Oh my… it’s rather daring of her to wear fishnet stockings.”
Magdalena walked up to Mr. Orion’s coffin, looked inside, noticed the spit on his face, then turned to face the bishop.
“The spit on his face was your doing, no doubt.” Magdalena said with a slight French accent. She opened her big purse and removed a long, lace trimmed white handkerchief, which she used to wipe the spit from Mr. Orion’s face.”
“That man was a pervert,” the bishop said. “He deserves to rot in Hell for all eternity.”
“Well, you would know perverts, wouldn’t you, Bishop Piombo? I remember how you personally broke in the young girls in my husband’s country, before introducing them to the local whorehouses.”
“I never did boys like the man in the coffin did… never,” Bishop Piombo said. “And I pray that God may have mercy on your soul for speaking to me with such disrespect, Magdalena Reyes.”
“I remember you praying something like that as you took my virginity when I was nine,” Magdalena said. “I also remember praying that God would show you no mercy whatsoever, and just damn you straight to Hell!”
“Magdalena, that’s enough of the melodrama,” Roberto said. “We’re here to show our respects, remember?”
“Of course, Roberto,” Magdalena said. “Forgive me, Bishop Piombo. Let me help you to a comfortable chair.”
She took the bishop’s arm, walked him over to a thick, upholstered chair in the corner, and straightened out his shirt for him.
While saying hello to Gabriel, Bart thought he heard something strange that sounded like a muffled pop. He turned to look at Magdalena and the bishop. Magdalena was cleaning drool off the bishop’s mouth and wiping the front of his shirt with her handkerchief. She then removed her feather boa, laid it around the bishop’s shoulder, and on his chest.
“Hold this for me a minute, too, please,” Magdalena said to the bishop, then removed her hat and shook out her long, wavy black hair. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a sheer black scarf and walked up to the coffins.
Julia and Mrs. Haymond both gasped when they saw Magdalena’s face. Half of it was still beautiful, but the other half was covered in old, ugly scars.
“The face is my ex-husband’s handiwork… but I must take the blame for that. I was so desperate to have another child that I caused my one and only true love to have a temporary breakdown, by giving him bad medicine. But, I’ve never stopped loving him, despite what occurred that night. Not for a second did I ever stop loving him.”
“Magdalena, that’s enough,” Roberto said. “I won’t have you acting this way in front of those people,” He pointed to the Judge and Mrs. Haymond..
“Acting is what I’ve been doing since I married you, Roberto,” Magdalena said. “You thought keeping these scars on my face would humiliate me and keep me in line, but you couldn’t have been more wrong.” She pointed to her face, then looked at Marcus. “These scars were my salvation… my saving grace. They reminded me of who I really was… Olivia Reyes, the wife of your younger brother. He marked me as his for life. Anytime anyone ever looked at me, they saw Marcus first. Not you, Roberto. They knew I was his woman. And that gave me strength to go on. Every time I looked in the mirror, I knew I was his and not yours. He loved me, and I loved him. Never you.”
Roberto tried to reach for her arm, but Magdalena pushed him back so hard he fell on the floor and twisted his leg.
“These scars gave me the strength to wait until a day like today, when I could finally tell the truth. And now that time has come. It’s time for me to tell your ‘little brother’ about how you had your way with me a month and a half before our wedding, and how I was already pregnant with your child, Roberto. Oh. that’s right. The bishop didn’t tell you I was pregnant before I married. He knew I was carrying your child, but had it hushed up, for some reason or another. But the time is here, Roberto.” She looked down at her husband, who was still lying on the floor in shock. “It’s time for you to get up close and personal with your daughter.” She walked behind Rachel’s coffin, summoned all her strength, and pushed it over toward Roberto, causing Rachel’s body to fall out on top of him.
Again, Bart heard a popping sound, but had no time to dwell on it, because Julia had suddenly jumped up from her chair and screamed loudly. He looked where she was pointing-to the bishop’s body, which was slumped on the floor surrounded by a growing dark stain.
“The bishop’s dead,” Magdalena said. “So is Roberto,” She pushed Rachel’s body off Roberto using her foot. The white dress which had
looked so angelic in the coffin was now covered with blood—Roberto’s blood. After wiping her stiletto heel on the rug, Magdalena looked at Marcus. “Come with me, I have a boat waiting by your dock to take us somewhere safe.”
Marcus turned to look at his current wife.
“It’s your chance to finally be truly happy with the woman you love, Marcus, don’t be a fool. Just go. I’ll get our emergency money from the safe in the library and meet you at the dock.” She ran toward the door, bumping into the butler. “Don’t do anything, Chandler, I’ll call the police in a few minutes.”
Marcus was stunned, and looking at the body of his dead brother, when Gabriel and the judge walked up to him.
“Uncle Marcus, don’t think about this anymore. You need to do this. For your own sake.”
Marcus turned to Magdalena and grabbed her hand tightly. “You’re so brave, my love.”
The judge shook Marcus’s hand. “The best of luck to the two of you.”
Julia ran up to Marcus, kissed his cheek, and smiled.
Marcus and his first wife, Magdalena, ran out the door.
“Gabriel! I need to see if Magdalena knows anything else about the chupa,” Bart said. He and Gabriel ran after Marcus and Magdalena. Lisa came up behind them as they got outside onto the back walkway leading to the dock, where a speedboat was waiting.
When Marcus saw the others he made Magdalena stop, so he could address them. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Magdalena,” Bart said. “Please, for the sake of someone I love, and lots of others, do you know who the people in charge of the chupa operation in Maynard Shores are?”
“Roberto never found that out,” Magdalena said. “But they were not from his country, and they were amateurs. I heard him say that much. The connection in the old country is broken. No one will deal with the people here again. I can assure you of that.”
“The connections in Maynard Shores must be broken for you to have peace, Jeremy,” Marcus said.
Lisa handed her husband a metal briefcase, and he took it. “It’s all there, Marcus. It’ll help you start a new life. And Magdalena, there’s enough there to help with your face if you’d like. Marcus knows the names of some good plastic surgeons.”
“I’ve already arranged to have the scars dealt with… they’re no longer needed to remind me of who I was anymore,” Magdalena said, taking Lisa’s hand. “Thank you for your kindness. And I’m sorry about the living room rug.”
Lisa laughed. “I never liked it much anyway.”
Marcus kissed his wife’s cheek. “Be happy, Lisa.”
“I will be,” Lisa said.
“Call our friends in the police department and have them deal with things here as soon as the boat has left,” Marcus said. “Say we dragged you and Gabriel out as hostages, and instructed the others to make no sudden moves until the boat was gone. That’ll explain the delay in calling the police.”
“Two bodies will show up in a day or so,” Magdalena said. “They were two of my husband’s last victims, who—thanks to a surgeon friend of mine, will bear an uncanny resemblance to Marcus and me. All the police will need is for you and Gabriel to confirm their identities.”
“Understood,” Lisa said. “And consider it done.”
Marcus took one more look at Gabriel then kissed his cheek and hugged him. “Don’t look back on the things your father did to you. Only look forward, and be happy with James on your island. Give him all of your love, and allow yourself to be loved.”
“I will, Uncle.” He embraced his uncle, then held Bart’s hand as he watched his uncle board the speedboat with a smile on his face and the love of his life by his side.
Lisa made a quick call on her cell phone, then wrapped her arms around Bart and Gabriel. “They’ll be fine starting a new life together with a million dollars in hand to make sure it’s fairly comfortable.”
“If I know my uncle, he’s got more money hidden around, which he’ll be able to access.”
“Oh, for sure, Gabriel,” Lisa said. “But he won’t have to take any risks trying to get it for a while. They’ll, at least, have time for a honeymoon. I, for one, am glad to have friends in high places that I can call on at times like these.” She patted her cell phone, and they walked back inside.
Chapter 64
Telling Tales
“DID MARCUS and Magdalena make it out alright?” Judge Haymond said to Gabriel.
“Yes, Sir,” Gabriel said, walking toward his father’s body.
Lisa turned to Chandler and spoke. “I’ve called our friendly policemen. They’ll be here any minute.”
The judge stood behind Gabriel while he looked down at the body. When Gabriel reached out to touch his father, the judge held his arm back.
“We can’t touch anything until the police get here, Gabe,” Judge Haymond said, as Gabriel put his arm around him and rested his head on his shoulder. “I’ve missed you and Mrs. Haymond… and my mom.”
“What are we going to say happened?” Mrs. Haymond said, when she heard sirens approaching.
“Leave that to me,” Julia said. “I’ve done local theater here, remember?”
“That’s right,” Mrs. Haymond said.
There was a knock on the door, and Lisa leaned in close to Chandler as she spoke to him. “See how many of our friends have arrived, and prepare an envelope for each with the usual amount, plus extra. Use your judgment about what amount is appropriate in this case.” She slowly went to open the front door, while Chandler left to prepare the envelopes.
Julia undid her bun, messed her hair up with her hands, then started breathing heavily on purpose. Lisa returned to the room with a tall, gray-haired detective and two policemen.
“Oh my God!” Julia said. “Thank God, you’re here!” She did a staggered walk toward the detective. “It was so horrible! The way that woman-man fooled us all and… and….”
“What’s a woman-man?” the detective said.
“We… we all thought it was Rachel’s mother, but you couldn’t tell. The veil and the boa covering everything.” She quickly made up a lie to help Marcus and Magdalena. “It was really a man with a gun. Roberto Reyes saw him and screamed ‘assassin!’ The guy with the gun accused the bishop of being a pervert and raping him as a boy before he shot him. Then he pushed Rachel’s coffin over on top of Mr. Reyes and shot him while he was down. And Rachel looked so pretty before she fell out of the coffin. Her hair had never looked better.”
“Are you high, Julia?” the detective said.
“It happened exactly as she said,” Mrs. Haymond said. “And we’ll all verify everything.”
“The assassin took Marcus Kristoff and his wife hostage, and ordered the rest of us not to call the police until he’d left,” Bart said. “And he took Marcus with him when he left.”
“I was lucky they didn’t take me,” Lisa said.
The detective turned to Julia and spoke. “Julia, this performance of yours is as good as when you played the lead in our local theater production of Thoroughly Modern Millie,” the detective said. “I co-starred with you in that, remember? So I know when you’re acting, but I’ve never been one to argue. And your story about what took place makes sense… in a strange way.” He turned to face Lisa before continuing. “Will Mr. Kristoff be showing up again, Mrs. Kristoff?”
“I wouldn’t do an exhaustive search for him, but I have a feeling he and his ex wife will show up, one way or another, in the near future. Of course I’ll make sure whatever effort you feel like wasting on this case will be rewarded more than usual. Just make sure to see Chandler on your way out.”
“That’s all my men and I needed to hear,” the detective said. “Did this all go down, because of the crazy drug cocktail that’s hit our streets?”
“No,” Gabriel said. “But expect more envelopes of appreciation after my people deal with the makers of those drug cocktails.”
“I’m glad to hear someone’s gonna deal with them. We weren’t sure they were
your people, or working on their own. That’s why we didn’t take action, but things are bad. What do you want us to do… if anything?”
“Keep to the same course you’re already on,” Gabriel said. “Do nothing. We’ll take care of the people behind the drug.”
“Good,” the detective said, before turning to one of his men. “Call the rest of the team out, we’re gonna stand behind Julia’s story.”
“Thanks, Todd,” Julia said, kissing his cheek. “Did you really like me as Millie?”
The policemen walked out to the hall and Bart gave Gabriel a hug. “What now?”
“I need to stay here and see my father off, then I… I really want to be with James at the resort.”
“We’ll make sure he gets there,” Judge Haymond said. “Go get ready to finish this thing, Jeremy.”
“Call me when you get to the resort, Gabriel… after you’ve had some time with James,” Bart said. “I need a few minutes with the two of you.”
“I’ll do that,” Gabriel said, before addressing everyone in the room. “And I owe everyone here a favor for helping my uncle out. I sincerely mean that.”
Bart hugged Gabriel again, then left him with the judge and Mrs. Haymond. When he looked back before leaving, the Haymonds had Gabriel in a warm embrace.
“OH, GOD, what a day!” Simon said, when he was back behind the wheel of his car.
“Just get us home, so I can shower and change,” Julia said. “This chupa thing is not over yet.”
“I thought your cover story was fantastic, Julia,” Bart said.
“Well, it’s not like it was really needed,” Julia said, sounding disappointed.
“Todd liked it,” Simon said. “He said that was going to be the official account of what occurred. That Magdalena was awesome, making sure to wear those long gloves, so she didn’t get fingerprints on things. Then using her big boa, and later her scarf to hide the gun. Oh my God, I just realized she dumped Rachel on top of Mr. Reyes on purpose. It was to distract us while she shot him. Messed up face or not, she is one wild and crazy woman!”
