“Lewis?”
“Where are you going to put the groceries?”
“Oh, shit,” she said.
Lewis laughed softly and turned to see the van he’d seen earlier roll through the intersection. He watched it until it went out of sight.
“Hey!” Maggie shouted into his ear.
“What?”
“You’ve got to have that hearing checked.”
“You’re going to have to take some stuff back home.” He saw Laura starting to laugh. “What is it?”
“The trunk is empty,” Maggie said.
“Practical jokers, eh?” He grabbed Laura and nibbled at her ear. “Well, how do you like this?” He let her go and held the door while they got into the car. “Pick me up at the post office at three,” he said to Maggie and closed the door. He watched them drive away.
Chapter Thirteen
Lewis found the door to the boot store locked. He looked up and down the street and knocked on the glass. An Indian woman and her little children were carrying blankets into a souvenir shop. Eyes peered at him through parted slats of the blinds and he heard the clicking of the bolt being unfastened. Alvarado closed the door after Lewis and secured it again. Ignacio Nuñez was sitting in the middle of the room, in dungarees and a sweat-stained, blue workshirt. His face was still, solemn.
“Hello, Ignacio,” Lewis said.
Ignacio nodded.
“The sheriff came by here,” Salvador said.
“I didn’t say anything to him,” Lewis said.
“I know,” Salvador said. He looked at the younger man.
“We want to know why you want to see Martin’s body,” Ignacio said.
“You have him?”
“I didn’t say that.” Ignacio leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “Martin was our friend.”
“He was mine, too. I can’t really tell you why I want to see him, but I need to. It’s important.”
Ignacio looked at Salvador and sighed.
“We need to know why,” Salvador said.
“I’m not sure myself.” Lewis was tired of beating around the bush. “For whatever reasons, I was there in the funeral home when you took the body. I saw you, Salvador, and I guess you were there too, Ignacio.” He measured the two men’s responses. They remained still. Salvador licked his lips. “I have no interest in going to the sheriff, but I will.”
“Why didn’t you tell the sheriff?” Ignacio asked.
“I did’t think Manny would let me see Martin. Something’s going on and I don’t know enough about it to make any sense. I do need to see Martin’s body. I don’t mean any disrespect.”
The men sat quietly for a few seconds. Salvador jumped at the sound of a firm knock on the window of the door. Ignacio was up and standing in the doorway to the back room. He waved for Lewis to come too. Salvador peeked through the blinds.
“It’s the delivery man,” he said and opened up.
“Botas, botas, botas, “the skinny man said and wheeled in a stack of boxes of boots. “What are you doing all locked up in here, Salvador?” He smiled at Lewis and Ignacio. “Having a private boot party?” He laughed. He slipped the boxes off the dolly at the counter and handed his clipboard to Salvador. “Sign line fifty-eight. I’ll get the rest.”
Salvador hurriedly put his name on the paper and almost bumped into the delivery man at the door. The second load standing next to the first, the skinny man left, Salvador pushing the door after him. The old man stopped before the door was closed.
“It’s Manny,” he said.
Lewis followed Ignacio into the back and behind a wall of boxes. Lewis listened.
“Manny,” Salvador said, “what brings you back?”
“You about to lock up or something?”
“Me? No, just closing the door. Just got a delivery. See.”
The delivery truck shook the store as it pulled away.
“I thought I saw Lewis Mason come in here.”
“No, no. He was in here earlier, but that was some time ago. You want me to tell him something if I see him.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. You all right, Salvador?”
“Si, bien.”
“You mind if I use your restroom?”
“Uh, no. It’s dirty.”
The sheriff laughed. “Not that dirty.”
“Sure, you can use the restroom,” Salvador said loudly. Ignacio winced. It was hot in the back and the two men’s faces were beaded with perspiration.
“Why’d you do that?” Manny asked.
“What?”
“Talk loud like that.”
Salvador said nothing.
Lewis could hear Manny come through the doorway. He went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Ignacio looked at Lewis’ eyes. Lewis turned a bit and bumped a stack of boxes. He grabbed them but could not balance them, so he pressed down on them to keep them still. Ignacio frowned. The toilet flushed and Manny came out.
“Your bathroom isn’t dirty,” the sheriff said.
“Oh, I guess Gloria must have cleaned it,” Salvador said.
“You should see the one at the station. That’s where I put suspects to make them confess.”
Salvador offered a weak chuckle.
Lewis was sweating profusely now, holding the boxes steady.
“Well, I can see you’ve got a lot of boots to unpack,” Manny said. “Hasta luego, Salvador.” The bell on the door sounded his leaving.
Lewis relaxed and the boxes spilled onto the floor. Salvador came running to the back.
“He’s gone,” the merchant said.
“None too soon.” Lewis bent to collect the boxes.
“Forget those,” Salvador told him. “We have Martin’s body.”
Lewis looked him in the eye.
“It’s our religion,” the old man said.
“It’s secret,” said Ignacio.
Lewis nodded.
“You have to promise you won’t tell anyone,” Salvador said and quickly glanced out front.
“Just one person. Martin’s grandson is in town.”
Salvador and Ignacio exchanged looks.
“He was with me in Fonda’s.”
Ignacio hadn’t liked any of the business and he liked this even less. “Martin never talked about no grandson.”
“He just showed up.”
“Okay,” Salvador agreed. “Tonight, you meet me and Ignacio beind the shop and we’ll take you to see Martin. Some of our people are not going to like it.”
“Listen, all I want to do is examine the body. You won’t even know I’m there.”
“We’ll know,” Ignacio said.
“What time?” Lewis asked.
“Nine. It will be dark, then.” Salvador looked into the front of the store again. “You’d better leave out the back.”
Lewis did.
Lewis was hot, sticky, and breathing heavily in the alley. He leaned against the adobe wall of the shop in a shadow to try to cool off and calm down. He was in there hiding from the sheriff and it just didn’t make sense to him. He wasn’t a criminal. He stood up, straightened, and took deep breaths. He wasn’t getting any cooler or drier. He walked to the end of the alley. At the street, he saw two men pushing a pickup into the Shell station. Thinking he might at any moment come across Manny, Lewis ran to help them. A young woman was behind the wheel and she smiled at him. He pushed and walked away once the vehicle was at the garage door. He went into the ice cream parlor where he knew it would be cool. He sat and nursed a vanilla cone slowly until it was gone. His shirt dry, he left.
Fat Leroi Hireles was behind the desk in the office of the Best Western. Lewis could see him through the window and was glad he didn’t have to go in and talk to him. Leroi talked non-stop and was famous for not bathing. The blue, rental Camaro was parked in the lot.
Lewis knocked.
“Who is it?”