Bullseye (12 page)

I do trust him. Heaven help me, but I do
.

Gently, moving slowly, she extricated her hand from his and leaned back. Without speaking, she let him see the trust in her eyes.

He answered with a satisfied nod.

“But,” she said, her voice loud in the tiny kitchen, “you’re
still
not spending the night here.”

A familiar dimple appeared in one cheek. “Wanna bet?”

* * *

Mason pounded the pillow and shoved it between his head and the rental car’s headrest. Stubborn woman. Like he cared what the neighbors thought. Since when had Karina become so…so prudish?

In the quiet that permeated the interior of the car, he admitted to himself that she’d always been conscious of propriety. One time, when they were teenagers, they’d fallen asleep on the porch swing of her father’s house. He had awakened with a start at four in the morning when his body hit the concrete. She’d jerked awake and shoved him out of the swing, practically frantic that the neighbors would think he’d spent the night. And her father and brother were right inside the whole time, slumbering in their beds.

“We have a reputation to maintain,” she used to insist. “We’re Christians. What we do reflects on Jesus.”

Mason squirmed in the seat, trying to find a comfortable position. At the time he had agreed with her. But that was a long time ago. Since then he’d done a lot of things that the Lord he used to worship probably didn’t approve of. Dumping Karina to marry Margie was one of them.

And later when Margie was dead and he lay awake through long, empty nights, he might have found solace in the Lord he had served.

A familiar feeling nudged at the corner of his mind. A sense that seemed to say
I’m still here, my son.

But Mason had grown expert at ignoring that feeling. Why should he pay any attention to the God who had failed to protect Margie? Who had let him be blamed, while the real killer walked free? Still walked free, in fact.

He shifted in the seat again and coughed, not because he needed to, but to interrupt the silence in the car. To drown out the feeling, and the invitation he refused to answer.

Outside, the area surrounding his car grew quiet. Not a soul stirred in the apartment complex, at least not where he could see. In the distance he heard a door slam, and from another direction, the thump of the bass from someone’s stereo, but nothing moved. The window in Karina’s living room went black. She must be heading to bed now.

With a loud sigh Mason settled into the pillow and pulled the thin blanket she’d given him up under his chin. It was going to be a long night.

FIFTEEN

H
er cell phone rang while Karina was finishing up a blow dry for a customer. Normally she never answered her phone while she was working, especially when she had an elderly woman in her chair as she did then, because some had little patience for cell phones and considered it rude for their hairdresser to interrupt their visit. But Alex was only allowed phone calls at limited times, and she didn’t want to miss a call from him.

Mason had come to work with her this morning, of course. He’d taken on the role of self-appointed bodyguard. She had to admit his presence gave her an unexpected sense of security. Sleep had not eluded her last night as it had the night before, and a big part of the reason was the fact that she knew he was keeping watch right outside her front door. She’d felt guilty for sending him out to sleep in the car. No doubt her neighbors wouldn’t even notice, much less care. Though she would never admit it to Mason in a million years, her reason had nothing to do with appearances and everything to do with avoiding temptation. When he’d opened up to her yesterday about his feelings, a hard place inside her had softened. During the long hours of the night after a stressful, frightening day, she was feeling a bit vulnerable. No sense putting either of them in a situation that might lead to something they’d be sorry for. As her pastor was fond of saying, the best way to resist temptation was to avoid it.

At the sound of the ringtone, Mason stopped his pacing and turned toward her.

She flipped off the hair dryer and smiled an apology. “Excuse me, Mrs. Sanders.”

“You go ahead.” The woman lifted a hand beneath the thin nylon apron and waved an approval. “I’m not in any hurry.”

Karina grabbed her phone from the counter and glanced at it. An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen. She caught Mason’s eye, her eyebrows arched in a question, and answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Guerrero? This is Hector Navarro. Could you come down to the juvenile justice center at your earliest convenience?”

“Is everything all right?”

His reply didn’t answer the question. “There’s been a development in Alexander’s case. I spoke with him briefly a few minutes ago, and he became agitated.”

Her grip tightened on the phone. “What’s happened? What did they say?”

A pause. “They’ve decided to request that the judge remand Alexander’s case to criminal court.”

The words seemed to bounce off of her brain without registering. “I’m sorry. Remand to criminal court? What does that mean?”

Hector’s voice softened. “They want to try Alexander for first-degree murder as an adult, and seek the maximum penalty.”

The room around her careened sideways. Karina staggered backward until she was resting against her station, otherwise she might have fallen on the floor. “No. They can’t do that, can they? He’s only fourteen. And he didn’t kill anybody.”

Fear made her voice shrill, and it pierced through the salon. From her station nearby Lana paused with her shears overtop her customer’s head and turned to look at her with arched
eyebrows. Mrs. Sanders’s mouth dropped open. Mason hurried across the room and put a hand beneath her arm for support.

“What’s happened?” he asked.

She couldn’t answer, could only shake her head as she listened to Hector’s voice.

“This is disturbing news, but it’s not completely unexpected. I tried to explain that to Alexander, but he became upset.”

“I don’t blame him. I’m upset, too.” She found that she had shouted into the phone. “You might have expected this, but we sure didn’t.”

“Ms. Guerrero, I understand that you’re upset. I’d like to discuss this with you in person. When can you get here?”

Her brain felt fuzzy, stuffed full of cotton. She couldn’t think, couldn’t grasp this terrible news. Poor Alex must be frantic, and all by himself. Choking back a sob, she said, “I’m leaving now. I’ll be there in half an hour.”

She disconnected the call with fingers gone numb, and the phone slipped from her grasp. It crashed to the floor and the battery skidded across the tile. This nightmare just got worse and worse. How much more could she handle without falling apart?

In the next moment strong arms surrounded her. Mason crushed her to his chest and held her trembling body close.

“I don’t know what’s happened, but whatever it is, you’re not in this alone. I’m here. We’ll deal with it together.”

* * *

Mason stood in a corner, his arms folded across his chest, and glared at the dispassionate public defender. Navarro sat in the same chair he’d occupied the previous day, the same spiral notebook open before him. At least he wasn’t writing everything down word for word today. But neither did he look directly into his client’s face. Or his client’s sister’s.

Karina had scooted her chair as close to Alex’s as it would go, and sat with his arm clutched in both hands. Tears flowed unchecked down her cheeks, and every now and then she gave a little sniff. But at least there was no sign of the uncontrollable sobs that had wracked her body during the drive here. Alex, his expression as wooden as a log, stared at the tabletop in front of him and didn’t say a word.

“The judge might not grant the request,” Navarro said. “It’s just the D.A.’s recommendation at this point.”

“What do you think he’ll do?”

The lawyer considered for a moment, then dipped his head. “I think he’ll agree with the D.A.”

Because Mason was watching Alex’s face, he saw fear flare briefly in the teen’s eyes. A second later it was gone, and his expression became stoic once again.

“But why?” Karina asked. “Why would the D.A. want to try Alex as an adult? He’s never been in any trouble.”

“Youth gang crime has become a huge problem in this country, and Albuquerque is cracking down on gang violence. We’re going to see this happen more and more as the justice system sends a strong message to street gangs.”

Alex did react then. His head jerked sideways and he leveled a glare on the attorney. “I’m not in any gang, and neither was José.”

The man flinched at the force of his words, and even Karina’s eyes widened. Mason had seen this kid lie, and he would swear to anyone anywhere that Alex was telling the truth.

To give Navarro credit, his voice inflection didn’t change a bit. He answered in the same calm, dispassionate tone he’d used before. “You’ve said that, and we will tell that to the judge. But the police report I read says you’ve been seen with acknowledged gang members, and the district attorney is sure to point that out to the judge. Between that and the drugs found in your system—”

The kid exploded out of his chair. “I don’t do drugs, either. Why doesn’t anybody believe me?” He leaned forward and pounded a fist on the table. The sound seemed to bounce off the naked walls of the small room.

Navarro did move then. He reared back in his seat and actually looked up at his client. With a big kid like Alex towering over him, an angry flush turning his face purple, Mason could hardly blame the puny little man for looking afraid.

The door opened and the guard rushed into the room. “What’s going on in here? Counselor, is everything okay?”

Karina stood, grabbed Alex’s arm and pulled him back to his chair.

Navarro clicked his pen closed and shut the cover of the notebook. “Everything’s fine. I’m just about finished here.” He slid the notebook off the table and stored it in his briefcase. “A hearing’s been requested. As soon as I find out when we’re on the court’s docket, I’ll be in touch.”

Briefcase in hand, he stood and headed for the door and the safety of the guard.

“Wait!” Karina turned away from Alex, her hand out toward the lawyer. “When can Alex go home? Will the judge give him bail?”

Navarro’s gaze flicked to where Alex stood, his hands still formed into fists. “I very much doubt it.” With that, he hurried through the doorway.

The guard gestured toward Alex. “Come on, Guerrero. Time to go back.”

They’d arrived only ten minutes ago. Mason took a step into the center of the room. “Could we have a little longer? Just a few more minutes, to calm everybody down.” He sent a stern glance toward Alex.

The guard hesitated, then nodded. “You’ve got twenty left.” He closed the door behind him and returned to his desk.

Mason approached the table and stood opposite Alex. He looked the kid in the face. “Now, suppose you tell us what’s really going on.”

Karina drew herself up. “What do you mean? He’s told us the truth from the beginning.”

Mason answered quietly, without releasing Alex’s gaze. “No, he hasn’t.”

Alex remained silent for a moment. His gaze dropped to the table, and Mason saw his throat move as he swallowed. If he hadn’t been watching closely, he might have missed the single, tiny tear that shone in the corner of the teen’s eye but then was blinked away. Compassion stirred in Mason. Alex looked like a man, because of his size and the seriousness of his situation. But he was, after all, just a kid. And frightened.

Finally, he looked back up and nodded. “Okay. But you can’t tell anyone what I say.” He looked at his sister. “Promise?”

She glanced at Mason. “But if it will help your case—”

“Promise! Otherwise I might as well go back to my room now, because I’m not saying anything.”

Karina looked at Mason. Her face mirrored his questions, only with more emotions. He lifted his shoulders in a faint shrug. What option did they have? Alex was the only person who knew the whole story.

After a few moments she nodded. “We promise.”

The kid’s glance slid from Karina to Mason, and then he nodded. “Okay. You’d better sit down.”

They each took a chair. Mason sat across the table, so he could watch Alex head-on. He placed his hands on the surface before him and entwined his fingers.

“All right, Alex. Tell us what really happened last Friday night.”

SIXTEEN

“I
t started a few months ago,” Alex began, “back at the beginning of the summer. Me and José both had jobs, and we were making some money. Not much, but better than nothing.”

If Mason had been a lousy attorney, like Navarro, he would have taken notes. But he’d never been one to rely on notes. He leaned back against the plastic chair and gave Alex his full attention.

“Then one day Mr. Velesquez comes to me and asks do I want to make some extra money running an errand for him.” He sat quietly in his chair, facing forward, his hands invisible to Mason beneath the tabletop, but the muscles in his forearms moved, as though his fists were clenching and unclenching beneath the cover of the table. He shrugged. “Well, yeah, sure. I’m all about earning money. So he asks me to take this package over to the Casa del Sol
restaurant.”

Karina interrupted. “The one where José worked?”

Alex cast a guilty glance sideways, and then nodded. Mason fixed Karina with a stern gaze and tried to send a private message to her.
Don’t talk or you might intimidate him. Let him do the talking.
She must have gotten the message, because her lips snapped shut.

“It was a big package, kinda heavy. Woulda been a lot easier for him to drive it over in his van, but he said he couldn’t leave the store for a while, and the restaurant needed it. There’s eight blocks between the Superette and the restaurant, and by the time I got there, my arms felt like somebody had set them on fire.” His right hand massaged his left shoulder in an unconscious gesture.

“Did you know what was in the package?” Mason asked.

Alex shook his head. “Mr. Velesquez told me not to look, so I didn’t. I didn’t see what was in it, because it was all wrapped up.” His gaze dropped to the table, embarrassed. “Yeah, I know. It sounds pretty stupid now. And I admit I worried if it might be something illegal, like maybe drugs or something. But it was so heavy I didn’t think so. I figured it must be some sort of grocery thing, you know?”

From the corner of his eye Mason saw Karina sitting on the edge of her chair, her body rigid. He ignored her and nodded at Alex. “Go on.”

“It was about that time that Mr. Sastrias paid José to take a package to Powerhouse.”

At the name of the fitness center, it took all of Mason’s self-control not to leap out of his seat and pace around the room. Alex had only been nine years old when Margie was killed, so he probably didn’t know the significance of the place. And it was obvious from the way he casually named the gym and continued with his story that he did not. But beside him Karina’s eyes went perfectly round. Forcing himself not to look her way, Mason kept his attention on Alex.

“We went on like that for a few months. A couple of packages a week and I got fifty bucks extra, plus my time on the clock. Sometimes Mr. Velesquez had me run a package over to the gym, but mostly I took mine to the restaurant.”

“Were they always the same size?” asked Mason.

Alex shook his head. “Sometimes they were square and small enough to fit inside my backpack. Sometimes long.” He shrugged. “It just depended.”

“And you never looked inside?” Though Alex’s body language told Mason he was being entirely truthful this time, he could hardly believe a fourteen-year-old kid wouldn’t be curious enough to peek, at least once.

But Alex shook his head. “I wanted to, but they were always taped up real tight.” Spots of color appeared on his cheeks, and his eyes darkened. “But José did. Last Friday he unwrapped one of his packages on his way to the gym. He came over to the Superette where I was restocking the back room and showed me. And that’s when we knew we were in real trouble.”

Though Mason had warned Karina not to speak, she piped up with a question, her expression betraying her curiosity. “What was in it?”

Alex remained silent a minute, examining his hands in his lap. When he answered, his voice was soft. “It was pieces of a gun. A big gun, like…” He hesitated. “Like an assault rifle. We know, ’cause we looked it up on the internet in the back office.”

Silence descended on the room. Mason leaned back in his chair and let Alex’s words sink in. Parts of assault rifles being delivered between the Superette, Casa del Sol, and the fitness center where his wife worked when she was murdered.

Somewhere deep inside him a flicker of excitement flared. This was the piece of the puzzle that he’d missed four years ago, when he was trying to prove that Maddox was somehow involved in Margie’s death. He’d suspected drugs—it seemed everyone was involved in drugs these days—but he’d been wrong. It was weapons. Illegal weapons.

Alex leaned forward, his face thrust across the table. “José told me, and we talked about it. We were both scared, real scared. Coupla months ago I saw a report on the television news about this border cop who got killed by a drug cartel from down in Mexico, but the gun had been built right here in Albuquerque. And I thought, What if one of those packages I delivered had part of that gun in it? I might be responsible for killing that guy.” He looked faintly sick at the idea.

“It wouldn’t be your fault.” Karina placed a hand on his arm. “You didn’t know.”

Alex didn’t look at her, but held Mason’s gaze. And Mason knew what he meant. Of course a sister would say that. But a guy knew the truth. Being a pawn and not questioning was as bad as acting with full knowledge. In some ways it was worse, because who wanted to be a dupe?

Mason nodded. “I understand. So after you and José realized what was happening, what did you do?”

Alex leaned back in his chair. “We decided to quit our jobs. Both of us. I decided to tell Mr. Velesquez I was having trouble at school and my sister was making me stop working.” He ducked his head and shifted in the chair so his body was angled away from Karina. “I was afraid to tell him I’d figured out about those packages.”

Mason nodded. “That was a smart move.”

“Yeah.” The teen’s shoulders heaved with a silent laugh. “If José had done the same thing, maybe I wouldn’t be in this mess. But he couldn’t let it lay. Our plan was for him to go ahead and deliver the package to the gym and go back to work. Then both of us were going to quit our jobs when we left work for the night.

“Nothing worked out right, though. Mr. Velesquez had to go to a meeting or something, and he left another guy running the register. So I couldn’t quit. And then José messed everything up. Instead of going to the gym, like we’d decided, he took the package he’d opened back to Mr. Sastrias and told him he wouldn’t deliver any more for him.” Alex slid down in the chair, shaking his head. “Stupid idiot. I wish he hadn’t done that.”

Mason was developing an image of José in his mind.
Stupid idiot
was probably an apt description, but he couldn’t help admiring the kid’s moxy. It took a peculiar brand of guts to confront an illegal arms dealer on his own turf. When he’d been fourteen, he certainly hadn’t possessed it.

And yet that moxy had been terribly misplaced. It had gotten José killed.

Karina had fallen silent. She watched Alex out of the
corner of her eye, but wisely held her tongue. The clock on the wall told him they only had about five more minutes before the guard came to take Alex back to his room.

“What happened Friday night?” he asked.

A miserable expression overtook Alex’s features. “I knew Mr. Velesquez was coming back to the store around midnight to close out the week. I arranged to spend the night with José so he could go with me. We waited until his parents went to bed, then slipped out. José waited while I went into the back office and talked to Mr. Velesquez, and told him my story about my grades slipping. But he didn’t believe me.” He leaned forward and rested his forehead on the edge of the table. “He told me he had already talked to Mr. Sastrias, and he knew what José had said, and he knew we were friends. I couldn’t deny it, because there José was, waiting for me out front in the store. And Mr. Velesquez told me that I shouldn’t quit, because a smart young man like me could make a lot of money working for his bosses.”

He fell silent. Watching him, Mason could see a fierce struggle taking place in the young man’s face. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Karina’s shoulders rise as she drew breath to speak, but he warned her with a quick glance. The kid needed to work out the memory and tell the tale in his own time.

Seconds ticked away, and Mason fought an urge to remind Alex that their visitation time would soon end. Finally the boy straightened in the chair.

“I caved. I told Mr. Velesquez I’d think about what he said.” His hand rose, and fingers raked through his thick, black hair. “I wasn’t going to continue delivering packages for him, really. It’s just that every argument I had, he came up with an answer. I couldn’t think up any more reasons. I’m such a wimp.”

“You’re not a wimp,” Mason assured him. “An older man who had authority over you persuaded you.”

“José didn’t cave,” the boy said, miserably. “When we left the store, I told him what had happened, and he was angry. Said he’d quit his job to do what was right, and I’d let him down. Even though he was right, it made me mad, and we argued. That’s when the guy came up to us.”

He stopped, closing his eyes as though to shut out the memory of that night.

“The guy?” Mason prompted.

He nodded. “We’d seen him around a lot, just coming inside the store or the restaurant, hanging out. And he was—”

Whatever description the kid had been about to give was chopped off when his mouth snapped shut. Mason saw true fear in his eyes.

“Was he someone working for the ‘bosses’ Mr. Velesquez mentioned?”

“I…didn’t think so at the time, but now I know he was.”

Now they were getting somewhere. Mason leaned forward. If Alex had actually talked to Maddox, could pin him with an illegal weapons charge, that would be perfect. “Is he a big guy? Thick head of dark, partially gray hair? Wears a suit most of the time?”

“N…no, not a suit. He wears—” His mouth closed, tightened, and he shook his head. He continued, but Mason made a mental note to come back to the description. “He told José that Mr. Sastrias sent him to talk him into not quitting.
Persuade you to stay,
is how he said it.” Alex shuddered. “We were in this alley, with nobody else around, and José got mouthy with him. José always did have a mouth. The next thing I knew, this guy pulled a gun out of his jacket, and I was so scared I could hardly move. But José wouldn’t shut up. Kept talking back, saying the guy had better leave us alone or he’d turn him in, send him to jail.”

The color had drained from Alex’s face, leaving his skin an unhealthy pasty color.

Karina had gone completely still, as though she were afraid to move lest she break the flow of Alex’s words. Mason waited a moment. Through the window behind Alex’s head he saw the guard glance at his watch, look up toward the door, and start to rise from his chair. Their visiting time had almost ended, and he wanted to get back to a description of the guy.

“What happened then, Alex?” Mason kept his voice low and soft.

The boy’s shoulders trembled with barely suppressed sobs. “He shot José. Right there. Just pulled the trigger, and then José was on the ground, and he couldn’t breathe.” His eyes, fixed on some faraway sight, flooded with horror. “And the next thing I knew he shoved the gun into my hands and told me to keep my mouth shut, no matter what. That his boss—
our
boss—would make sure everything came out okay as long as I did exactly what they told me to do. And if I didn’t—”

The guard opened the door. “It’s time, folks.”

Mason leaned across the table and whispered urgently. He couldn’t let Alex go back until he knew the whole story. “What did he say would happen if you didn’t, Alex?”

With a glance at the guard, Alex rose from his chair and angled his back toward the doorway. Beside him Karina did the same. She looked shell-shocked from the story she’d just heard. A similar expression colored Alex’s features, and the resemblance between the two of them at the moment was remarkable.

But then a determined look stole over his features. He leaned over the table toward Mason and whispered, “He said if I don’t cooperate and do exactly as they say, my sister will end up the same as José
.
And this guy, he can do it. You can’t let that happen.”

With a final, urgent stare, he allowed the guard to escort him from the room.