La Cuarta Parte (Sierra de la Espuma)

This is the fourth part of the story Sierra de la Espuma. To read the first through third parts please search in the archives on the right of this page. Thanks for reading! 

From our camp outside of town we could hear the preparations for the end of summer celebration taking place. The shouts of people giving directions and the clanking of metal stakes being driven into the ground traveled through the breeze. The timing of the celebration could not have been better; we had noticed a definite change in the weather. The heat that had been so oppressive when we arrived in town was giving way, and the evenings and early mornings were beginning to cool off. It was a welcome change for everyone.

The end of summer celebration was set to kick off that night just after dusk.  The albino and I had made plans to leave during the celebration; we would make a short appearance and then slip out the back when everyone was preoccupied by the festivities. If we were lucky we could be miles from Tortilla Flats before anybody noticed we were gone.  In the late afternoon we readied our packs and loaded them onto the horses and Dutch. On the east side of town there was a small hill that rose slowly towards the east and then descended sharply into the desert. At the eastern base of the hill was a small wash with a rugged batch of juniper trees. Before we left for the celebration we hid the horses in the small batch of junipers where they would be safe from the eyes of the townspeople. This would become the starting point of our voyage into the high desert landscape of the Superstition Mountains.

I couldn’t believe the number of people that filled the town that night. It was hard to imagine that many people living in this entire territory. There were large tents erected for shows and performances, and vendors set up stands all down the center of town. The main event that night was going to be a large bonfire accompanied by music and dancing. The albino and I were not too keen on dancing and hoped to be able to leave just as the bonfire started.  

As we approached the tents, where others had gathered, the sweet smell of barbecued beef and pork drifted through the air. There was a small group of men playing country-western songs and all around us we heard laughter of people both young and old. On the porch in front of the trading post we found Abuelo and Ruby. Ruby smiled as we approached and Abuelo put out his hand to shake ours. The albino surprised us all by removing his hat and bowing politely to Ruby.  Despite his reserved nature I knew that he too was somewhat excited for the events tonight, and this gesture was evidence to support my suspicions. With Ruby by our side the albino and I walked slowly from tent to tent and observed the different products the vendors had to offer. We saw works of art whose medium ranged from canvas to clay and from steel to stone. We tasted the varieties of food that included barbecue, Mexican dishes, and some native Apache dishes. We found it all to be very delicious.

As the sun began to set the people started to congregate towards a small field on the west side of town. To one side a large pit had been dug and filled with an enormous pile of wood for the bonfire. On the other side a small stage had been erected, and in front of the stage a wooden floor for dancing had been prepared. The group of men who had been playing music all evening moved to the stage and again begun playing. Someone on horseback rode into the field carrying a torch and headed directly for the large fire pit. It was a very interesting festival. There seemed to be nobody in charge. No director with an agenda that had to be followed. People just moved along with the events as though everyone knew the next step in the celebration. The fire roared from one side of the field and the dance floor was soon filled with people. The albino and I began to move towards the edge of the field where the shadows from the fire and the large mass of people bounced back and forth across the desert rocks and shrubbery. We looked at each other and nodded as though this would be an opportune time to sneak away. We turned quickly to slip into the darkness, but as I took my first step I felt a hand reach through the darkness and grab mine.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I heard Ruby say playfully. I stopped in my tracks, unsure how to react. In the darkness I could see that the albino had also stopped. His eyes glowed from the light of the fire, but I could see no other features in the darkness.

“We we’re thinking about calling it a night. This isn’t really our party.” I answered sheepishly.

“Not so fast.” Ruby said with a smile “Come dance with me.”

She pulled me onto the dance floor, and we turned to stand face to face. Ruby took my right hand and placed it on her hip. She then grabbed my left hand in her right and took one step closer to me. It was very nice to be this close to her, and to have her hand in mine.

“Do you need me to lead?” She asked almost laughing. I realized then that I had been in some kind of a trance and needed to snap out of it.

“No, I can lead.” I responded. We danced slowly to the sound of a song I had never heard before. It spoke of a cowboy and a young pilgrim girl he had met. He had wanted to marry her but she wasn’t interested in marrying a gunslinger, so he had rode off in the sunset and regretted it ever since. It was sad but somewhat sweet at the same time.

Ruby moved her lips close to my ear and spoke, “I’m glad you came to town. I’m even glad your albino friend cam with you. I think he is cute. A little hard at first, but I’m sure he can be very cuddly.”

I laughed out loud, “If he has ever been cuddly, I’ve never seen it.”

She smiled and then rested her head on my shoulder. “When are you leaving on your surveying expedition?”

“Well, I think we already left. I mean we’ve been away from home for some time now.”

“But when are you leaving us? And me?” She spoke the last part of her question with a twinge of pain in her voice. I could see then that she had grown just as affectionate of me as I had of her.

I hesitated for a moment and then answered.“We leave tonight. That’s where we were going when you grabbed my hand.”

“Tonight?” Ruby said with surprise and a hint of anger in her voice. “You weren’t going to say goodbye?”

“We thought it would be best to slip away quietly and not make a big deal of it. I will be able to see you again when we return.”

“Well, good luck then. I hope to see you when you get back.” She leaned in and gave me a firm hug. We held each other in this embrace for a short second and then she released. I could see a tear in her eye as she stepped back and turned away. Before I could say goodbye she had faded into the darkness of the night. I turned to hurry back to the albino when I heard a group of people shouting. A number of people were running to the spot I had left the albino and I could see a scuffle was taking place. I hurried to the crowd of people and saw the albino in a wrestling match with someone. The crowd wasn’t interfering so I jumped in and pulled the two apart.

“This vermin has done made his last mistake!” The man shouted. He pointed to me but in the darkness I couldn’t make out his face. He said, “You two better watch your necks” turning to the albino he continued, “And watch your hides while you’re at it.”

“What happened?” I shouted at the man. He took a step forward and I could see that he was one of the men we had seen at the Acampo Lodge. My heart sank as I realized that we had just made some very unruly enemies.

“Your friend here decided to sink his claws into my leg.”

“That’s not true” someone shouted from the crowd. “You stepped on his tail first.”

“Well, I was just playing a joke on the little feller.” The man growled.

I stepped towards the man, our eyes locked in defiant opposition. “You didn’t need to do that. Now apologize and we’ll be on our way.”

“You’ll hear no such apologize from me. And just wait until my brothers hear about this little incident. They don’t take kindly to outsiders invading our territory. Watch your backs; it’s a scary place out here in the desert. People are bound to go missing.”

With that he stepped back into the darkness and disappeared. I grabbed the albino by the paw and hurried into the darkness in the opposite direction. Needless to say the albino was fired up and wanted to go find the man who had intentionally stepped on his tail. I made my best attempt to calm him down as we approached the horses, but I knew the best thing now was to get as far away from town as we could. Away from the bonfire, the moon shone bright enough to make our way through the night. The horses also seemed anxious to be leaving, so we untied them and began to head in a mostly eastern course away from the town. We had just left the patch of junipers when the sound of a fourth horse caught us by surprise.

We turned to see a small, mare coming towards us with a rider on her back. The petite figure on the horse was much too small to be the brothers that we had managed to make enemies with earlier in the night. As the horse approached I saw that the rider was Ruby and I thought that she must have been coming to wish us well and good luck. As she approached I saw that she was not slowing her pace; while still a short distance off she began shouting to us.

“They are coming this way. We need to go!”

“Who is coming?” I shouted back.

“The Baskin brothers. They’re coming after you. Hurry we need to go!” The albino and I looked to each other and I began to object.

“There’s not time for this,” Ruby shouted. “We have to go now.”

I didn’t like the idea of Ruby accompanying us as we set out on our expedition and neither did the albino, but given the circumstance we didn’t have much choice. We turned and began to hurry the horses as Ruby had directed. She fell in behind us, and we made our way into the dark night of the desert.

……         ……         ……

The events of the previous night had fired us up and worried us enough to keep us going throughout the night. We had cautiously made our way into the desert where the hills begin to ascend into the Superstitions. As the sun rose we made our way in and out of small canyons and over ever growing hills. Eventually our pace began to slow and as the sun rose above us we began to feel the need to rest. The albino led us into a sandy wash and under a small cliff overhang. We tied the horses off in a shady patch of mesquite trees and retreated back under the overhang. We drank from our canteens in silence and prepared for a quick nap. Despite our agitation and the frustration of having Ruby follow us into the desert our fatigue had overcome us. The three of us lay back against the sandy embankment and closed our eyes, and then we heard the sound of hooves moving in our direction.

To be continued…

Tercera Parte (Sierra de la Espuma)

This is the third part of the story Sierra de la Espuma. To read the first and second parts please search in the archives on the right of this page. Thanks for reading! 

The night air was hot and oppressive; and trying to sleep under a blanket would only have intensified the misery brought on by the heat. I lay on my side praying for a cool breeze to suddenly appear from nothing; it was a hopeless wish. The sun had not yet begun to peek over the horizon, so I was unsure of the time. I did my best to sleep but merely drifted in and out of a state of unconsciousness. I could hear an occasional grunt reverberate from the darkness where the horses were tethered. They too seemed to be impatient with the pace at which the night crept along.

I had finally slipped into a restful state when I felt a sharp poke in my back. I rolled over slowly, knowing full well who my poker would be. The moon shone brightly over our campsite, and I could see the albino smiling at me as he indicated the time by pointing to his wrist. It was uncanny the way his internal clock worked. No matter the time of day or night the albino always seemed cognizant of the position of the earth, moon, and sun. He was also a great asset to have at night, thanks to his ability to see through the darkness.

The blacksmith was waiting for us, so we gathered our things quickly and led the horses into town. Sure enough the blacksmith was ready for our arrival and was preparing his shop for the work we had requested. The furnace was roaring with a bright orange flame and he used a large billow to increase the heat. We led our horses around back and into a holding pen. The blacksmith lifted the mask he wore over his face and smiled at us. Even with the mask covering his face he continued to smoke a cigar, and as he smiled he exhaled smoke through his teeth.

“You can leave the two horses right there. Did you get the burro you were looking for?” He asked.

“No, we haven’t had chance to return to the stables.” I responded.

“Go on over there and ask for Donaldo. He’ll be up. Get the burro and bring it back here and I’ll shoe him as well.”

“Thank you.” I said, as we exited the building.

From a distance we could see Donaldo sitting in a rocking chair on the porch. He was up and seemed very excited to see us this early in the morning. He was a wiry, old man who appeared to drink coffee by the bucket. His long thin beard was ratty and frizzled and on his head he wore a worn out, black hat.

“Good morning, gentleman.” He exclaimed while rising from his chair, “I’m Donaldo.”

We stopped just before the steps to the porch and introduced ourselves as the surveyors who were in town, but Donaldo seemed well aware of who we were. Through the open door I could see the young boy who had helped us the previous day, sleeping on a mattress against the wall.

“That’s my grandson; name’s Skip. Not much of a morning person” Donaldo said as he gestured to the sleeping boy. “What can I do for you?” 

“We were told by the blacksmith that you could provide us with a pack mule for our surveying expedition.”

“I see. Well, follow me around back and I’ll show you what I’ve got.”

The coral that held the donkeys and mules was a shocking display of old and feeble looking creatures obviously not fit for high adventure expeditions. I looked to the albino, whose jaw hung open in disbelief. He turned to me with an expression of frustration, but I guided his gaze toward the end of the coral where a large and very fit looking mule grazed in a dry patch of grass.

“How much for that one over there?” I asked Donlado as I pointed to the mule.

“Hmm…” he said as he scratched his bearded chin. “That one mule there is quite the prize. Strongest beast I’ve ever encountered; although, he doesn’t have much competition here at the ranch.” He laughed to himself as he raised his eyebrows and nodded to the other animals in the pen. “I suppose I could part with him for $30 or so.”

“We’ll do it.” I responded.  The albino reached into his pack and pulled out the money. He handed it to Donaldo, who began to make his way through the gate and to the end of the coral. The mule was very casual around Donaldo, and allowed him to slip a small rope around its neck and guide it back to the gate where we stood. The mule was tall at the shoulders and appeared very broad. His coat was a dark brown that shined in the rising sun. He didn’t hesitate or shudder when we approached him; instead he dipped his head to allow us to rub his brow and scratch his mane.

“The name of this one is, Holandés. It means, Dutch.” Donaldo explained, smiling with the smile that never seemed to fade. “He came to us as a colt. A group of Europeans came through town on their way to the West Coast. He was born during their trip and they felt he would slow them down, so they sold him and his mother, who has since passed, to us.”

“He’s perfect” I exclaimed.

 I was honestly taken with the confidence and stature that Dutch displayed. We thanked Donaldo multiple times for assisting us as we made our way back to the road. Dutch walked slowly beside us and looked as though he was just as anxious as us for our adventure to begin. As we neared the point where the stable’s yard met the road we heard a loud scream come from the building behind us. We turned quickly to see Donaldo wrestling Skip to the porch floor as Skip struggled desperately to escape.

“Holandés!” the young boy shouted. He fought viscously to rip his arms free of his grandfather.

Donaldo looked at us and shouted, “Go! Go! Go!” He waived us on with one hand as he sat on Skip’s back and pinned him to the floor.

I looked to the albino with regret in my eyes. He knew I wanted to take the mule back, but I knew that there was no way he was going to let that happen. He turned quickly and led Dutch to the road. I stood at the end of the yard helplessly looking from the porch to the road and back again. I felt unable to make a decision to move in either direction, but the insistence from Donaldo that I go mixed with the increasing distance between the albino, Dutch, and myself eventually prodded me to follow them down the road.

……         ……         ……

I felt genuinely sorry for the young boy, Skip. It seemed that he must have been very fond of Dutch, but the albino continued to remind me that we were on an important mission that required focus. In addition, Dutch was proving to be a very capable pack animal that was both intelligent and willing to work.  We often spent time with him exploring some of the rocky terrain on the outskirts of town.

Over the next week and a half we spent the mornings exploring the landscape east of town and practicing with the surveying equipment, and the afternoons studying maps and trying to stay out of the sun. In the evenings we would go into town and meet with some of the citizens that we had made acquaintance with. There was Abuelo who was in town quite often, the elderly lady from the restaurant whose name turned out to be Francis, Donaldo from the stables (although we didn’t see a lot of Skip), and of course I would stop by the trading post and see Ruby any chance I got. She was usually busy until late into the afternoon and then would hurry home before the sun set. If I caught her at slow times during the day she seemed to enjoy chatting with me. The albino discouraged our interactions and would spend most of his time with the horses outside of town.

There was one particular visit I made to Ruby’s when I was able to spend a significant amount of time with her. A large package had arrived at the trading post, and she asked me to help her get it back to her house. It was a wooden crate about four feet long and three feet wide. The package was heavy and though I inquired as to its contents Ruby didn’t want to open it until we reached her home.

She explained, “I’ll open it as soon as we get back to the house, but I don’t want my grandfather to see so we need to hurry.”

I grabbed one side of the crate and she grabbed the other. We made our way down a small, rocky trail that led from the back of the trading post and over a short hill. As we reached the summit of the hill I could see that the trail led down into a small grouping of houses. There were about eight small, adobe homes built with no apparent order, at the base of the hill. Ruby guided us to the home farthest from the hill and pushed the door open with the heel of her boots.

The home was very small and had few possessions. The door opened directly into the dining area that was an extension of a small kitchen. In the center of the room sat a wooden table that was worn with years of use. Ruby instructed me to place the package on the table as she closed the door behind us. The setting sun shone through the dusty windows.

“How do we open it?” I asked as we didn’t seem to have any tools worthy of the task.

Ruby raised her finger to me and said, “Wait one second.” She ran out the door and returned quickly with a large crowbar in her hands. She motioned for me to stand back and began prying the wooden package open. One by one the boards came off the top of the crate, but all I could see was the straw packaging used to protect the contents. Ruby pulled the straw from the package and I leaned in to peer inside. Sitting inside the crate I could see a leather saddle with a dark brown color that shined in the fading sun light.

“A saddle?” I asked.

“Yes, but see its no ordinary saddle.” She pointed to the sides of the saddle, and I could see that she was right. “It has all of these large pockets to hold supplies. It has a rifle holster on each side and a spot to tie on a bed roll.”

“It looks a lot like the saddle the albino and I have, but that’s the kind of saddle you buy to travel long distance. It’s good for an expedition or something like that.”

“Exactly” she said.

“Is it a gift for your grandfather?” I asked. “Is that why you didn’t want him to see it?”

“No” she said with the hint of a smile forming on her lips. “It’s for me. I’m going to use it when I go looking for my brother. I only have a few more supplies to gather and I’ll be able to go.”

“Whoa!” I shouted. “You’re doing what? Who would you go with?”

“Just me; my granddad would never let me go, even with someone else, so I have to go alone in secret.”

“No, no, no. Come on! You can’t do that! You know how dangerous it is!”

“That’s why I said I need a few more supplies. I saved up my salary from the trading post for this saddle, and I’m going to save up a little more to buy a Smith & Wesson .30-06. Then I’ll be ready to go.”

I grabbed her by both hands and looked directly into her eyes, “Ruby, promise me you won’t go out there by yourself. You have to promise me.”

“I can’t do that. I need to find my brother. I know he’s still alive out there, and I know I can find him.”

“You can’t find him. It’s too dangerous, and you’ll just end up getting yourself killed.” I looked to the floor and took a deep sigh. I thought for a second about what I needed to say then looked again at Ruby’s face. Her eyes were becoming moist, and they screamed desperation. “I know you think you have prepared well and you could find your brother, but you are greatly miscalculating the danger your putting yourself in. Promise me this; just promise me you’ll let me look for him first. If I don’t find him, I’ll help you organize a search party to look for him again, ok?”

Tears streamed down Ruby’s face. She leaned into me and we embraced. I held her close to me and felt her shake as she began to sob.

“Thank you” was all she said.

……         ……         ……

Needless to say, the albino was not pleased with the idea of searching for Ruby’s brother; neither was he pleased with my growing affection for Ruby. He scolded me for wasting so much time becoming attached to the small town and reminded me that the plan was to find the lost gold mine and get out of town before any trouble came up. We wanted to be conspicuous and quick about our work, and draw as little attention to ourselves as possible. The albino worried that a congregation would form when we left town, just to wish us well. Again he reminded me that a crowd of people was the last thing we wanted. I assured him that we wouldn’t be leaving to a crowd of people, but the only way I could truly appease him was to agree to leave early in the morning before the townsfolk awoke.

To be continued…

La Segunda Parte (Sierra de la Espuma)

This post is the second part of the story Sierra de la Espuma. To read the first part of the story follow this link http://shortstoriesfromsaturday.blogspot.com/2013/06/sierra-de-la-espuma.html or you can find it in the Blog Archive on the right side of this page. Thanks for reading!

Ruby was able to provide us with the supplies on our list, so we headed down the street to speak with the blacksmith. Before we started our expedition into this rocky terrain we wanted to schedule a time to have the horses re-shoed. The blacksmith’s shop was the only building in town not constructed out of wood. Instead it was made of stucco; a logical material considering the heat that was generated in the building. The shop was quiet and we could see from the dust that had collected that the blacksmith was not able to remain employed fulltime. We knocked on the door that hung wide open and a voice from the back room told us to enter.

The blacksmith was a small man with thick black hair on his head, and on his face. He sat on the floor and leaned against the wall. A short, thick cigar smoldered between his lips. The smoke from the cigar filled the room and clouded our vision.

He removed the cigar from his mouth and smiled. “You are the surveyors, no?” The albino and I looked at each other and exchanged flustered expressions. Word traveled fast in such a small town.

“We are the surveyors.” I said, “We wanted to ask you about shoeing our horses.”

“I can do that, but I don’t work after 6:00.”

 “6:00 pm?” I asked.

 "No, 6:00 am” He replied. “It gets much too hot after that.”

 “That’s not a problem. We can be here as early as you’d like.”

 “Come back tomorrow at 4:00 am. I’ll take care of it then. You have only the two horses?”

 “For now, yes, but we may have a third tomorrow. A pack mule if we can find one.”

 “Go to the stables and ask for Donaldo. He will get you a burro.”

 “Thank you” I replied. “We will do that.”

 We turned to leave, and almost made it to the door, when we heard the blacksmith call to us again.

 “Are you sure you are not going looking for something else in these mountains, amigos?”

 Again the albino and I exchanged worried expressions. “What else would we be looking for?” I tried to sound as casual as possible as my heart picked up its pace.

 “Gold,” he said in a deep and gutteral voice.

 My response was calculated and planned. “We are geographers, as you know, and to us these hills don’t appear to be the proper place for gold.”

 “Oh, there’s gold to be had. But it’s not the gold you need worry about. There will be plenty to worry about in those hills, even if gold is not your intent.”

 I shuddered at the slow and intimidating manner in which he spoke. “What is there to worry about then?” I asked.

 “Natives for one; the Apaches are a proud people and to them those hills are sacred. You take them lightly and you’ll lose your head, literally. Then there’s the other folks who come up from the valley, crazy enough to go into those hills looking for gold.  Those men contract a fever, the fiebre de oro. They grow thirsty enough for gold that they’d kill for it. Then there’s Mother Nature herself. If the cougars or bears don’t kill you the ants will. But before they do the heat will crush you and the canyons and crevices will gouge your innards out. Then the buzzards will finish you off and nobody will ever see you again.”

 We shuddered at the expressive descriptions he used. It was hard not visualize the dangers we would face. He sucked on his cigar and then exhaled a long plume of smoke.

 “Oh, don’t worry, you’ll live forever in legend; it’s just that nobody will remember your names. You’ll just be those two surveyors who went up into the hills and never came back.”

 I swallowed hard and tried to gain some composure. The description of the Superstitions the blacksmith gave was frightening, but I was confident in our abilities. I pulled back the leather vest that hung from my shoulders and gave him a direct look at my colt 45.

 “We’ll be well prepared for anything we might encounter” I said.

 “Hope you’ve got a couple more of those” he laughed. “And maybe a .30-06 and a 12 gauge as well.” He baulked as he let out a big roar of laughter.

We turned and walked out the door. The albino gritted his sharp teeth and growled. The hair on the back of his neck stood as tall as I had ever seen it stand before. We had faced detractors before and shrugged them off, but this was by far the biggest challenge we had faced together. We would need to gather a lot of courage and focus to come out victorious.

 From the blacksmith’s shop we hear him yell one last time, “Rattlesnakes too. Don’t forget the snakes!”

……         ……         ……

Our next stop was the Acampo Lodge. The exterior of the building was dusty and uninviting, but inside we found a clean and soothing atmosphere. The interior was not large; there were a few small tables near the entrance and a small row of booths lined the right side of the room and wrapped around to the back wall. To the left of the entrance was a set of stairs that climbed to the second floor.  I assume that was where the hotel portion of the building was located. Under the stairs was a door that led into the kitchen.

The room was practically empty with only one table occupied by a few elderly women. We made our way to booth in the back of the room; trying to distance ourselves as much as possible from anybody else who may join us in the restaurant. One of the elderly women at the table rose and went into the kitchen. She returned and brought us two glasses of ice water; her hands were rugged and tight like leather. I’m not sure how they managed to have ice available, but I was extremely grateful for the refreshment it provided. We ordered chicken sandwiches and settled into the booth.

The albino reached into a small bag he had been carrying on his back and removed the map that we had purchased from Ruby. We spread it across the table and each of us leaned in from opposite sides. The map was fairly generic. It showed the entire range of the Superstition Mountains; the city of Globe to the east, Superior to the south, and the Salt River Valley to the west.  This map would be useful, but not until we had some time to tweak it.

 Before we ever began our expedition to the desert we were given a gift that would make the entire journey worth our efforts. An old prospector, who claimed to have stopped in the Superstitions on his way to the California gold rush, had told us about the legends of the Superstition’s riches. He also claimed that he had received valuable information as to the whereabouts of the lost golden ore deposits that many men had lost their lives looking for. This information came as a set of clues delivered to him by a cavalry sergeant who had led a search and rescue expedition into the Superstitions ten years prior. On his death bed the cavalry sergeant had passed the clues he discovered during his expedition to the old prospector. He claimed that he had always wanted to return to dig up the gold deposit but was not relieved of his military duty or able to go before he fell sick.

 The old prospector had intended to go to the Superstitions and retrieve the gold himself, but admitted to us that the dangers he had heard of had scared him clear of these mountains. With the clues we received from the old prospector, the map we purchased from Rudy, and some top of the line surveying equipment we were confident that we would find the gold deposits and become very wealthy.

 The albino studied the map intently while I kept an eye out for any locals who may want to speak with the two visitors to their small town. One of the clues we had received was related to certain landmarks that could only be seen simultaneously when standing on the entrance to the canyon that held the gold ore deposit. With a small red pencil in one paw and a magnifying glass in the other, the albino marked out on the map where he thought he could judge the landmarks to be. These would be the first places we would visit over the next few weeks.  As we sought these locations we would continue to plan more in depth our eventual journey into the mountains.

 As we mulled over the map the front door creaked slowly open and a beam of light shown across the room. From the entrance of the restaurant three men entered and sat at the booth farthest from us. They were perhaps the most unfriendly looking group of men I had ever seen.  I was not able to tell what their occupation was, but based on their grizzled appearance and dusty clothes I was certain they spent a lot of time outdoors. They didn’t say much, but the way they gazed around the room made me uncomfortable. I hoped deep down that our path would never cross with such a menacing looking group.

 Soon after the men entered the room the elderly woman returned to our table. The albino ignored her as he studied the map, but I looked up to see her smiling at me.

 “You’re the men from out of state, right?” she asked and I nodded in response. “Well, certainly hope you don’t go running off too soon. We’ve got our big end of summer celebration coming up.”

 “Is that so?” I asked.

 “Oh, yes. I’ve been here 40 years and I’ve never missed the celebration. Its one week from this Friday. I’ll be baking pies and cakes, and all of the people from the surrounding towns and ranches will come.

There will even be a number of people come up from the valley to sell their goods. The last night there will be a big party with music and dancing.  All the pretty girls from the area will be there.”

 “Is that so?” I asked again. The albino looked up from his map visibly annoyed by the woman’s presence and my interest in the celebration. “That just happens to be the day before we leave, so we might just get to attend.”

 She smiled, apparently satisfied with the results of the conversation. The albino leaned back against the bench and crossed his white, furry arms. He glared at me from across the table and I smiled back at him.

To be continued…

Sierra de la Espuma

I picked up a pen and put it to a piece of paper, unsure of where it would take me.  I grabbed my holster and six gun, because you never know when it might come in handy. The albino smiled at me behind his whiskers.  He knew it would be an adventure.

Base camp was approximately 15 miles south-east of Tortilla Flats, which sat along the Apache Trail. We had planned well for the expedition; arriving in late summer and waiting out the heat. We spent a few weeks in town gaining information with the locals and purchasing supplies. We were subject to numerous methods of persuasion from those who claimed we were in over our heads and should call off the voyage before it began. The albino and I were not deterred. This was not our first encounter with uncertainty or danger.

It’s not that we were ignorant of the dangers we faced, but we managed our risks with a strict code of conduct.  Our code included three simple rules and they were doctrine to us; (1) stay focused, (2) don’t get distracted, and (3) be prepared for anything.

I broke all three rules on our first day in town. My breaking of the rules was not intentional by any means, but I knew I had upset the albino. He chastised me more than once, but I was blind to the danger I was placing us in.

We came into town at dusk on the back of a dusty, old wagon driven by a kind man we had met along the trail. His name was Ricardo, but he said we could call him Abuelo. Our horses walked slowly behind the creaking wagon, their reigns in our hands. The wagon had bounced back and forth repeatedly during the long, slow ascension into the dusty and dry mountains. When we entered the small town Abuelo stopped the wagon in front of a wooden building. The boards that made up the walls had dried and warped in the unforgiving sun.  Across the street a young boy called to Abuelo, who climbed from the wagon and crossed the street.

We jumped down from the back of the wagon and led our horses to a trough filled with water so warm it would have made a better bath than a drink. The horses sipped slowly from the trough as we observed what we could see of the small, desert town. A few people had gathered in front of a nearby stucco building to talk with Abuelo. From what I had gathered in speaking to him he came to town once a week to sell supplies and take gold back down to the Pinal valley. We crossed the street to join the crowd of people and fell in behind Abuelo. I tipped my wide brimmed hot low over my eyes to avoid the rays of the setting sun. When I looked up again I saw something that took my breath away.

She stood in the doorway of the stucco building, the light shining through her long, blond hair. She wore a white dress that reached to her ankles and fitted snuggly around her waist. A small, gold necklace hung around her neck. I stood spellbound and motionless. In all of our adventures together I had never encountered anything like her before. I looked to my feet and saw rules one, two, and three lay as casualties on a bloody battlefield. 

Someone was calling my name and I felt a strong nudge in my ribs. I looked to my right and saw Abuelo and the albino staring at me. Abuelo motioned to the girl in the door and said, “Anything you need Ruby can help you get.” He smiled knowingly. The albino glared at me though his almond shaped eyes.

The rest of the evening went by in a flash of dust and hot air.  The albino and I set up camp just outside of town. We thought it was best to have a place where we wouldn’t be disturbed by the local population. They knew we planned on hiking through the Superstitions, but we felt it was imperative to hide our true motives. As a cover we explained to those who asked that we were geographic surveyors on commission from the Federal Government. Being out of town gave us a little more freedom to plan our expedition without interference from nosey locals.  We were headed in search of the mountainous province once owned by the Peralta family of Mexico; a site that according to legend was rich in lost gold.

……         ……         ……

Dawn came early the next morning and with it a quickly rising external temperature. The albino and I agreed we would need to purchase a few more canteens before we headed into the hills. The heat was something we had anticipated, but we had underestimated the intensity with which it would beat down upon us. As we wrapped up our sleeping rolls in the morning I mentioned to the albino that we may need to stay nearby the town for a few extra weeks to let the heat subside before our trip. He looked at me with a frustrated glare. He was anxious to get started as it was, and he knew that I may have had another motive for staying in town longer. He shook his head in disagreement.

A short walk brought us back to town and we sought out a place where the horses could have food and water for the day, as well as some much needed shade. A young boy at the stables told us that we could keep our horses there for a small fee each day. We agreed with the boy and let him know we would return in the evening. The albino expressed a concern that the horses may not receive all of the attention they would need. I did my best to emphasize to the young boy that they needed to have available food and water throughout the day. He seemed disinterested in the conversation until he caught the albino’s penetrating glare, at which point he shook his head in understanding.

The town was very small. There was the old, wooden building that Abuelo had parked the wagon in front of, which turned out to be the local courthouse. It housed a small courtroom with an adjoining jail. Other than the courthouse there were only eight or nine buildings scattered throughout the quiet town. They too were built of wood but seemed to be considerably newer. There was a small trading post across the street from the courthouse. This was where I had seen Ruby the night before. Next to the trading post was a two-floor building with a sign that read, Acampo Lodge. This appeared to be the local restaurant and hotel. Had it been raining the night before, we may have stayed in the lodge. Down the street were a few other buildings that included the local bank and gold exchange, a small doctor’s office, and a black smith. There was no train station in town, so the only way in or out was on foot or horseback.

The albino and I had made an inventory of our belongings and had decided that we required a few more supplies; these included several more canteens, a few lengths of strong rope, a compass, a current map of the area, and enough food rations to last at least two months. As we entered the trading post I saw Ruby from the corner of my eye. She was sitting behind the counter with a small book in her hands.

Without looking out from behind the book she asked, “Looking for anything special?”

The albino and I approached the counter. I held the list of supplies in my hand, but was unable to speak. We hadn’t ever made eye contact and my nerves had overcome me. I stood in silence trying to find the words to describe what we had come in search of. The albino looked in my direction and became visibly annoyed. He quickly grabbed the list from my hands and slammed it down on the counter with his strong paw. The loud smack of the albino hitting the table snapped me out of my trance, and Ruby shot forward and set the book down on the counter with its cover facing up.

Ruby took the list from the counter. Her hands were small and appeared soft; her nails were painted turquoise green. The skin on her face was fair but she had a number of small freckles on her cheeks and nose. I smiled as I watched Ruby read the list, but the albino motioned towards the book she had been reading. The cover of the book read, Montana Tesoro.

She smiled at the albino and said, “I think I can help you.”

Before I realized what I was saying I had asked, “What’s that book you’re reading?”

She grabbed the book and slipped it below the counter. “It’s just a story book my grandfather gave me.”

“What kind of stories?” I asked.

“Local stories; these mountains are full of legends about lost mines, buried Spanish treasures, and even cities built out of pure gold.”

“Are any of them true?” I asked. The albino was on the edge of his seat not knowing how far I would be willing to carry the conversation.

“Some people say they are. Some people even come out of the mountains with gold to trade, but most people who go looking never come back.”

“What happens to them? Do they die?”

“It’s hard to say unless you find their body. Very few bodies are ever found.” A tear formed in the corner of Ruby’s eye and she wiped it away quickly, hoping we hadn’t noticed.

“I’m sorry.” I said softly, “We don’t have to talk about it.”

“It’s alright. It’s just that I lost someone dear to me to the mountains.” She reached below the counter and grabbed the book again. From within its pages she removed a small faded picture. She set it on the counter, and the albino and I leaned in to see what it was. The picture was of a young man in his mid-twenties. He had a tuff of blond hair that protruded from under a large, brimmed hat. He leaned against a pick axe.

“His name was Pedro but we called him Pete.” She said sadly, “He hasn’t been seen in over a year.”

“Was he your husband?” I asked quietly; hoping for a negative response. A small laugh escaped from her throat and she shook her head.

“No, no. He is my brother.” She said. “I miss him very much. I would go looking for him myself, but it is far too dangerous; besides my grandfather needs me to stay here at the trading post. My grandmother is gone, and there is nobody here to watch the place when my grandfather goes to the valley.”

“Your grandfather? Abuelo, he’s your grandfather?” I asked.

“Of course”, she said as she smiled. “That is what abuelo means. His real name is Ricardo.”

“We met him yesterday on our way to town.”

“I know.” She smiled again, “He told me all about you. You’ve come to survey these mountains and then return east with whatever information you can gather. How long will you be in the hills?”

I hesitated, not sure of the answer myself. “About two months I think.”

Ruby leaned forward and looked directly into my eyes. For a second my heart forgot how to beat.

“Will you do me a favor?” she asked.

“Anything” I said.

“Will you keep an eye open for my brother?”

I nodded my head and smiled. “I promise.”

To be continued...

Dreams

There are no hills or forested areas near my home, so I’m not sure how all of this came about.

 

The scene is vivid in my mind although I’m not sure the location actually exists. I was standing next to my good friend Austin, both of us in disbelief at what we were seeing. The sun was setting behind us and the scene grew increasingly darker. In the distance we could see the small group of hills that we had often spent time on. A series of trails ran over the hills and led back into the forested area of the park. It was one of my favorite locations to visit, because it was possible to escape the hustle of the city without actually having to leave it.

 We were about 150 feet back from the circle of police officers and detectives that stood on the nearest hill. The officers moved in and out of the trees and small shrubbery. They wore blue police uniforms with brimmed hats and carried flashlights. The detectives wore long trench coats, and stood with clip boards and cameras in their hands. They marked spots on the ground with little, yellow tags. It was impossible to hear what they were saying due to the distance between us. The only sound was the quiet murmur from the crowd that had gathered.

 Between us and the small group of investigators was a line of parked, police cars with flashing lights, a barrier made of police tape and cones, and a few young officers asking everyone to please take a step back. We pushed our way to the front of the crowd and strained to see what might be happening on the hill. We could see a number of police dogs that were being guided to the area where the group of men were standing.

 "What’s going on?” shouted an elderly woman who was bent at the back and walked with a cane, “What are those men doing?”

 “You’ll have to wait for answers. We are not authorized to share information” one of the officers responded.

 A row of news vans filed in behind the crowd. Large antennas began to rise from the tops of the vans, and film crews stormed into the crowd of people. Immediately they began to interview bystanders and shout questions at the officers. People began to share insights and opinions as to what was happening.  

A dark haired man in his early thirties spoke directly to one of the cameras, “I heard a man was walking on the trail not far from where the men are standing. He saw something that was suspicious and called the police. It looked like something had been buried. That is all I know.”

 Austin tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention. I turned from the man speaking to the camera and saw the police direct a large, black van through the barrier and past the parked police cars. On the side of the van was an emblem that read, “Homicide Unit”. When the van parked two men emerged and walked around to the rear doors. They swung the doors open and pulled out a gurney that they wheeled towards the small group of investigators.

 Once on the hill the men with the gurney began to dig with small hand shovels and brushes. The investigators continued to take pictures as the men dug. Flashes of light from the cameras reflected off the trees and lit up the small space around the investigators. In the flashing I saw the two men set their tools on the ground and stoop once more to the spot they had been digging. They slowly slid what looked to be a plastic sheet into the hole they had made. Their progress was painstakingly slow.

Once the sheet was in position they lifted it into the air. I saw the center of the sheet sag down as it was lifted towards the gurney. It was only about 4 feet long. I couldn’t see anything in detail, but the shape the plastic sheet hung in was that of a person in the fetal position. My heart sank as the reality of the situation set it.

 It was an odd location to bury someone. The body was found close to the entry of the park and the location was quite visible from many angles. The park was not huge, but it did have some much more secluded areas. It didn’t make sense that the killer wouldn’t go deeper into the woods and find a densely forested area to bury the body.

 There was no way for me to know how long ago the murder had taken place or how long the body had actually been there. I had gone running numerous times in the park within the last few weeks. I ran down the trail adjacent to the burial location almost every time I went into the park. The thought of this crime occurring in a place that has been so peaceful and enjoyable for me was unsettling. I had spent a lot of my leisure time in the park, never suspecting that something this horrific could ever occur there. I wasn’t sure at that moment if I would ever go back to the park. It would never again have the same feelings of peace and tranquility. It would always be a place where I looked over my shoulder and feared the worst around the next turn.

 The crowd had grown increasingly quiet when the homicide van had arrived. Cameras continued to flash, both on the hill and from the throngs of media personnel that had arrived but I couldn’t hear a sound. I stood outside myself. It felt as though time had stopped. On the hill I saw a one of the investigators walk to the hole where the body had lain. His hands pushed back the trench coat he was wearing and went deep into the pockets in his pants. His body was faced directly towards me. He looked at the hole in the ground and then at the other investigators who stood in a semicircle.

 “There’s been a murder” he said. “Someone killed this poor soul and buried them right here in the ground. It’s a tough case to crack; tougher still because there is no solid evidence. But I believe I can point out the killer with unshakeable certainty.”

 The men standing around the lead investigator nodded their heads in understanding. I was in a trance with my eyes fixed on the scene that was developing. The statement made by the lead investigator did not make sense. How could there be no evidence and yet the identity of the killer is known without a doubt? I turned my head to gauge the reaction of the crowd around me. To my right I saw the crowd had moved a distance from me, and everyone standing there was staring in my direction. I turned quickly to my left and saw the same distance between me and the crowd. The faces on the people in the crowd showed both terror and disgust.

 I looked again towards the hill and the investigators. They had also turned and were looking in my direction. The lead investigator who stood in the center raised his finger and pointed it directly at me.

 “You” he shouted in a slow and demeaning tone. “You!”

 I didn’t understand what was happening. Why was I being accused of this crime? My heart raced as I turned to look for Austin. I needed to see a familiar face. I needed reassurance. I found Austin standing in the crowd with a distorted scowl on his face. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes and pointed his finger directly at my chest.

 “You” was all he said.

 The strangest feeling came over me. It was no longer the feeling of “how long can I get away with this?” It was a new feeling, something I had only experienced in a slight degree before. It was guilt. I now thought to myself, “How could you have done this?” Anguish filled my soul as I bent to the ground.

 One by one the lights from the cameras stopped flashing until the world grew dark and calm. I could feel myself moving, but nobody was touching me. I screamed out loud, “I don’t even live near a hill!”

College Jobs Concluded

This is the final posting in the story “College Jobs”. To read the beginning of the story please click on the link on the right side of this page. Thanks for reading!

My heart sank when I heard Efrain’s voice. It had been a long and trying day, and I just wanted to be done for the night. Efrain didn’t have much to say. He wanted to know what I had seen, where she had gone, and who she had been with. I didn’t have the names of the coworkers the woman had gone out to eat with; how could I? Efrain seemed pleased with my efforts. Of course I neglected to mention the incident on the porch.

He didn’t seem to be concerned with the woman spending time with coworkers. It sounded like there was someone else he was waiting for. I had no way of knowing who this person was, but Efrain had asked me to contact him as soon as I saw a new face. I saved the number Efrain had called on into the prepaid phone and put into the bag with my other equipment.

That night I got online and did a quick search of the address where the woman lived. I was dying to know her name and who she was. The address came up on a number of real estate sites, but there was no name attached. One site offered to find the name of the owner for a modest fee of $150. Despite an intense desire to know her name, I wasn’t willing to spend 10 percent of my earnings for that one bit of information. I figured I could do some of my own detective work and figure it out.

The next morning was a Tuesday. I went through the same routine on Tuesday that I had on Monday. Once again nothing particularly exciting happened. The woman and her coworker mixed it up and went to a salad and soup restaurant, but other than where they ate there was no significant variation from the previous day. I sweated it out in the shade of the trees once again then followed the woman home. This job was extremely easy, but the boredom was making me think that it wasn’t worth the money.

Once again there was no mail in the box, so I still didn’t know her name. I wrote down the license plate number on her Malibu and thought that maybe I could somehow use that information to solve my little mystery. Of course, other than typing it into Google and seeing what comes up I had no idea what to do with a license plate number.

Efrain called that night for a brief chat, but there wasn’t much to report. His voice revealed a little more impatience than the first night. It was as if he was expecting something to happen soon and he needed to be ready for it. I assured him that I would let him know as soon as something happened.

“Don’t wait for me to call tomorrow night.” He said. “If you see something, call right away. This is important that you call me. Understand?”

I nodded my head up and down as though he could see me. It wasn’t too much to imagine that he probably could see me. He had probably been in my apartment while I was gone. He probably knew who all of my friends and family were. There was something about Efrain that was making me more and more concerned. He came across as uneducated and a little slow, but he made moves that were indicative of someone who understood organized crime. I began to wonder what Efrain would do when I let him know something “important” was happening.

Wednesday brought a change of schedule for the woman. She had left work an hour early and hurried home, only to reappear in a new outfit a short while later. She had obviously showered and made herself up. She wore a light colored skirt and a dark purple top. Once again she looked dynamite, but the thing that stood out to me was the hand bag in she carried. It was an oversized, brown leather bag that looked almost out of place. It was bulky and looked as though she was carrying something large inside of it. She hurried to her car and took off down the road.

I followed closely behind her car. She left her neighborhood and made her way to the freeway. We traveled north for 20 minutes and she exited the freeway. As soon as the off ramp light turned green she made a quick left and reentered the freeway in the direction we had just come. This was the first time I realized that she might be aware of my presence, and now she was trying to lose me.

My tires screamed as I also made the turn as quickly as possible and followed her back down the freeway. She exited near a large shopping center. We were in a part of town that was obviously built with the intent of attracting people with money. The street was made of small bricks laid in a fashion that created an intricate pattern. By this time the sun had began to set. The street lights were antiquated and cast a dim light over the shoppers who walked from window to window.

The woman parked and walked toward a restaurant on the north-east corner of a small intersection. I was lucky to find a parking spot directly across the street; it wasn’t as crowded as it would have been on a weekend. I watched the woman as she approached the restaurant. She looked around as though she was trying to find someone, or maybe she was trying to make sure nobody was following her. Under her arm she carried the leather hand bag with its bulging content.

From my car I could see the woman approach a table near the window. A man sat at the table and he stood as she approached. They embraced shortly and he kissed her on the cheek. I noticed that on the chair next to the man sat a large, black brief case. To anyone else in the restaurant it would have appeared as though a young couple was just sitting down to a nice dinner date, but all I saw was the brown, leather bag and the large, black briefcase.

I fumbled in my jacket pocket for the prepaid phone that Efrain had given me. I knew that this was the moment he had been paying me to observe, and I knew he would want to know every detail of what was happening. I pushed the send button and waited as the phone rang. Efrain answered and I quickly updated him on the situation. He wanted to know my exact location, so I gave him directions to the restaurant and told him where my car was parked. He cursed me for not calling him sooner, told me not to lose them, and hung up the phone.

I sat in my car and observed the man and woman as they ordered drinks and food. My stomach growled as I watched them receive their salad and bread sticks and proceed to eat. They talked back and forth and occasionally laughed. It would be impossible for me to determine the content of their conversation, but I was dying to know.

I had been watching the two eat dinner for half an hour when I heard a knock on my passenger window. My heart sank as I pictured a police officer asking me why I had been watching the couple for the last 30 minutes. I looked to my right and saw Efrain scowling at me through the window. He motioned to the door and I unlocked it. Efrain slid in beside me and asked what he had missed.

“Nothing” I said. “They are just eating and talking, but I can’t tell what they are saying.”

“Ok, you have done well, Wal-Mart man” Efrain replied. That was the first time anyone had ever called me Wal-Mart man.

“Look at those bags they have. I think they are carrying something. They might even be exchanging something” I said, as I pointed to the bags. Efrain looked at me out of the corner of his eye as though I was some kind of idiot. Maybe he was just trying to say, “Slow down, rookie.”

Efrain had a large black bag and began to filter through it. He pulled a large cone shaped object from the bag that had a pair of head phones attached. Efrain slipped the head phones on and pointed the cone at the man and woman.

“What is that?” I yelled.

“It’s a listening device, so I can hear their conversation.”

“What are they saying?”

“Shut up! Just shut up”

I sat quietly as Efrain listened to the conversation. The more of the conversation he heard the more visibly upset he became. Efrain had listened for only five minutes or so, when he took the head phones off. He turned to me and said, “I’m going in there. I need you to come with me.”

“No, I’m not going in there” I argued.

“I need back up. I need some muscle.”

“I’m not back up, and I’m not muscle. I don’t know what’s going on, and I’m not going in there.”

“Look, I need you in there, in case things get crazy.”

“If things get crazy that’s the last place I want to be.”

“Fine! Screw you! Stay out here and wait for me. Don’t do you dare leave.”

The intensity that Efrain spoke with scared me. It gave me a sense that I was in actual danger if I didn’t do as he said. I nodded my head affirmatively, and Efrain put the listening devise on the floor of the car. He got out of the car and began to walk across the street. As he entered the restaurant I could see him reach behind his back and fumble with something in his belt. I thought to myself, “There is no way he is carrying a gun, right?”

From inside the restaurant I could see Efrain approaching the table where the man and woman were sitting.  I quickly grabbed the listening device and pointed it towards the table. The first person I heard speak was Efrain.

“So, who is this then? You think Efrain has no feelings? This is how you treat your man, Efrain?” He was speaking to the woman but gesturing to the man.

“Efrain, what are you doing here? You aren’t allowed to be here!” the woman screamed.

“Love allows me to go anywhere I choose!” Efrain shouted.  

“Efrain I have a restraining order against you. You can’t be within 150 yards of me at anytime ever!”

My heart sank as the woman spoke. At that moment I realized that the entire time I had been aiding a man who was infatuated with this woman, and who had been told by a court of law that he could not be in her presence. Their relationship was romantic, at least from Efrain’s point of view.

“The man stood up and pointed at Efrain. “You need to get out of here, man” he said. “I have no problem removing you from the premises.”

Efrain reached into the belt behind his back, and I feared the worst. I could not believe what was happening, and I could not believe my involvement in it. From behind his back Efrain pulled a small necklace box and slammed it down on the table.

“I came here to give you this, to prove my love is deeper than this morons.” Again Efrain spoke to the woman and gestured to the man.

“That’s it, Efrain. It’s time for you to go” the man said.

“Don’t touch me!” Efrain screamed. “You wouldn’t want me to get my homeboys in here. They are waiting outside in the car, just for the chance to mess you up. They are as pissed as I am that you would come in here trying to take my girl. They are right out there.”

As Efrain spoke he pointed out the restaurant window and directly at me. I quickly ducked behind the dashboard so the couple wouldn’t see me.

“I’ll go outside, but I’m coming back with them” Efrain said.

“That’s it Efrain, I’m calling the police” the woman exclaimed.

That was my cue to get going. I started the car and headed for the freeway. Before I got home I pulled behind a grocery store and dropped Efrain’s listening device and bag into a large dumpster. I threw out the prepaid cell phone and my private investigator kit. I drove home not knowing what was next. Would the police come knocking on my door? Would Efrain ever show back up? Would the woman end up pressing charges against me?

I slid the key into my door and went inside. I sat on the couch and tried to control my breathing. I couldn’t believe I had been stupid enough to get involved in something so crazy. I decided that since I had the rest of the week off of work I would just get out of town for a few days. I packed some things up as quickly as I could and took off for some higher elevation.

I spent the rest of the week and the weekend camping in the mountains and trying to forget what I had experienced that week. On Monday I went back to work at Wal-Mart. I lived in fear for a long time. I looked over my shoulder constantly, but eventually the fear faded and I stopped worrying. I never saw Efrain or the woman again.

College Jobs Part III

This posting is the third part of the story College Jobs. To read the first and second parts of the story please click on the links on the right side of this blog. Thanks for reading!

I parked my Ford Taurus on the opposite side of the street from the house. I double checked the address that I had received with the one displayed on the curb. It hadn't been hard to find, and it wasn't too far from my apartment either. The house was attractive from the exterior; red brick with a small front yard that looked well maintained. It was not a large house, probably only two bedrooms from what I could tell. The sun had not yet risen. I checked the time on my cell phone - 6:01 am.

I put a baseball cap on and pulled it low over my eyes. The previous night I had prepared my “Private Investigator Pack”. It consisted of some snacks and drinks to hold me over for the day, a change of clothes in case I needed to change my appearance, a pair of aviator sunglasses, and a couple copies of Slam Magazine.

It was cold outside, but I turned the car off as soon as I parked. I did not want to draw any undue attention to myself, and I figured it was best if the car was quiet. Efrain’s note had instructed me that she would leave at 7:00 am, which meant I had an hour to wait. I was tired, but sleep was out of the question. The adrenal that I was feeling, mostly from being scared out of my mind, kept me wide awake.

A lot of deep introspection creeps into your mind when you are sitting in the dark and waiting for a woman to come out of her house. Was I breaking the law? Was I participating in organized crime? Would I end up owing my soul to the Mafia? I still had no clear indication of who this woman was. She was somehow connected to Efrain. The possibilities as to what type of relationship they possessed seemed pretty limited. They were either involved romantically or financially. No matter the relationship they had, I was stuck right in the middle of it, and that made me more than a little uncomfortable.

The sun began to rise around 6:30 and the street became illuminated with light. I sat quietly brooding in my thoughts until just before seven, when I saw the entry light come on and the door open. Efrain’s description matched the woman I saw come out of the house. She was in her mid to late twenties with blonde hair that was above her shoulders and had highlights that made her even more blonde. She wore a skirt and blouse that indicated a business casual dress code. Overall she looked fit and was surprisingly attractive. Immediately I knew that Efrain’s relationship with her must be financial.

She got into her car, a golden Chevy Malibu, and started off down the road. I waited for her to pass then turned the key and pulled into the road. The distance to her work was not far. She pulled into a parking lot adjacent to a small corporate office. It was the kind of place that housed numerous small offices, filled with business that provided services that ranged from dentists to accountants.

I drove to the end of the parking lot and positioned my car so that I still had decent view of her car. The next four hours were quite possibly the most boring of my life. I had anticipated the possibility of a security guard coming to chase me away, but that never happened. I sat in near complete silence the entire morning, waiting for any sign of the woman. I briefly considered the possibility of squeezing in a nap, but I didn't want to risk the chance of missing her if she was to leave. So I sat and waited, hoping that she had not brought a lunch to work that day. I wasn't sure I could last in my car until 5:00 pm.

Around 11:30 I was saved from the monotony of waiting, when a number of people began to file out of the building for lunch. I tried to appear as though I wasn't watching them coming out of the building, but this was surprisingly difficult, considering I was actively observing them. In the second wave of people that exited the building I saw the woman I was following. She exited with a man and a woman who I assumed were her coworkers. They walked to a black Ford Excursion that was parked near the Malibu and began to climb inside.  I was actually glad to see they were climbing into a large vehicle, as I figured it would be much easier to follow; thank you American-made cars.

The small lunch party drove to a nearby restaurant that served Mexican food, parked their car and made their way inside. From the parking lot I could see the table where they were seated inside the restaurant. Lunch was mind numbing and uneventful. I made a quick note on a piece of paper that the woman had gone to lunch with two people who appeared to be coworkers; one male and one female. It didn't seem as though they were in a hurry, so I jumped out of the car and ran to the Wendy’s next door. I sat in the car and ate a dollar menu heart attack until the three returned to work.

The afternoon mirrored the morning hours with one exception; the heat was relentless. Finding shade to park in was futile, so I rolled my windows down and tried to make the best of my situation. The cap I wore protected my eyes from the sun, but offered no relief for the heat. Sweat ran down my face and stung my eyes. I knew it was probably unwise to get out of the car, but I began to fear that staying in the car would ruin my sanity. There were a few trees next to the building the woman had entered, and I made way to the patch of grass that sat between them. From my position between the trees I could see the entrance to the building and the woman’s Chevy Malibu. The temperature must have dropped 10 degrees in the shade, because I immediately felt a sense of relief. My sanity began to return.

I waited patiently in the shade and sipped lukewarm, grape PowerAde for the next few hours. My favorite flavor has always been grape, but many vending machines only carry Berry Blast or Fruit Punch flavors. Luckily I had planned ahead. At 4:30 the woman exited the building and walked in the direction of her car. I jumped to my feet and walked briskly to my car, all the while attempting to look normal.

She pulled out of the parking lot in a direction opposite of her home, and I followed close behind, assuming that she was going to make a stop somewhere. My day of following this woman had caused numerous questions to arise in my mind. I had ample time to sit and dwell on who she could possibly be and why Efrain would be willing to pay someone to follow her. What did he expect me to find? Where did her expect her to go? Who did he expect her to meet?

The turn signal on the Malibu flashed red as she prepared to pull off the road. The brake lights came on as the car slowed and made its way into a gravel parking lot. I didn't want to bring any attention to myself so I passed quickly and made a U-turn. I parked opposite the street of the gravel lot and looked to see where she had gone. From my car window I could see the woman browsing at a fruit stand. From what I could tell she had purchased a watermelon and a few ears of corn. Was all of this really that important to Efrain?

It didn’t take long to arrive back at the woman’s house. I parked about five houses down the road and figured that I would sit outside until she had turned in for the night, which I realized could take about four or five more hours. The unknowns in this scenario were becoming unbearable. I didn't think I could follow her around for the rest of the week without even knowing her name. I settled it in my mind that I would do some research on the property and its owner when I got home that night.

I had just opened a package of beef jerky for dinner when the front door to the house opened again. The woman came back outside began stretching on the grass in the front yard. Her hair was pulled back, and she wore a college t-shirt and a pair of spandex that nearly floored me. Her appearance confirmed what I had already discovered; she was very attractive.

I tried to conceal the fact that I was watching her from the car parked down the street, by leaning the seat of my car back. She stretched for a few minutes that seemed to last an eternity. The feeling of hiding and watching an attractive woman stretch on her lawn was very uncomfortable. I couldn't wait for her to run off down the road, but then I began to worry about how I was supposed to follow her. I quickly decided that there was no way I could follow her without alerting her, but I did want to take advantage of her being away from the house.

I watched her run until she disappeared around the corner. I quickly exited the car and ran to her front porch. Fastened to the wall next to the door was a mail box. I lifted the lid and peeked inside, hoping for an envelope or even a post card that would reveal her name. The box was empty. I contemplated trying to go inside of her house, but it didn't take long to convince myself that was a stupid idea. I began to turn back towards my car when I heard a voice down the street; she was back! I could see she was talking to someone on her cell phone, and hadn't looked up at her house yet. I ducked low and quickly scrambled to the front of her car. As she approached I slid behind the car trying to conceal myself as much as possible. I thought to myself, “It’s over. There’s no way she didn't see me.” As she approached the door I heard her speak into the phone, “Ok, mom.” She entered the door and a few seconds later I heard the click of the deadbolt locking.

My heart was pounding, my lungs gasped for air, and I could feel sweat beads forming on my forehead.  I walked to my car and drove home; that was enough fun for one day.

The drive home was a blur. My mind was somewhere else and I did not have the power to find it. One thing was certain; I wasn’t going to tell Efrain about my close call today. He wouldn't need that many details. I would give him a rundown of the day’s events, which to me included nothing important, and let him decide whether or not it was a success.

When I reached my house I found a small package at my door. I picked up the package and carried it inside. Before I had time to open the package it began to ring. I ripped open the seam on one side and slid out a prepaid phone that was still ringing. I pushed the send button and heard a familiar voice say, “Hello, this is Efrain.” Apparently he knew where I lived.

To be continued…