She wasn’t going far, not with Leo about to pop out. She wrote Roger back. Not surprised. The Santiagos have corrupted every other government agency I can think of. I think I’m safe for the moment.
His reply was immediate. We gotta assume Dominique’s lawyers passed on everything they learned about you during the trial to Carlotta. In particular, they knew you were pregnant back in March. They’ll definitely check local OB-GYN offices and maternity wards. There just aren’t that many maternity options along the Front Range for having a baby.
She hadn’t considered that angle, but he was absolutely right. Using a new burn phone, she called her OB-GYN. “I want to be sure you remember what I told you about my privacy. Some very nasty people are looking for me.”
“Oh, absolutely, Carol. We haven’t forgotten, and just last week, I reminded my staff that I alone will deal with any inquiries from outside the office about you.”
That was reassuring. “Fantastic, and please let me know if you get any questions. My parents and friends don’t know about you, so they won’t be calling. What have you told Founders’ Hospital about me?”
“They have your basic personal information like name, address, and insurance info. That’s so you can show up at a moment’s notice and be admitted into the birthing center.”
Convenient, but potentially problematic now that somebody with a high-level security clearance within DOJ was looking for her. “Listen, I need to switch hospitals. I should’ve warned you more specifically about third-party contacts. Where else in Boulder do you have admitting privileges?”
“Every hospital with a birthing center. Jackson Memorial is a great option if Founders’ won’t work. It’s on the south side of town.”
“Let’s do that, and give them as little information as possible.” Becoming a new mom was turning out to be much more thrilling than Athena had expected.
-o-o-o-
Casa Santiago, near Louviers
Viola, Heidi, and Maria headed downstairs for breakfast. They sat with Jean and one of his assistants. As usual, the cooks had made quite a bit of food, but few people seemed to have the time to eat it. Most of Carlotta’s staff were too busy running around.
Heidi and Maria explained what’d happened, and Viola mostly listened. Jean beamed, and the other cooks, who’d kept Viola at a distance before, were much friendlier.
After they had all finished eating, Carlotta showed up. Everyone stood as a sign of respect. She motioned for them to sit.
The jefa poured herself a cup of coffee and stuffed her face in a very unladylike way. “No time for dignity. Three other cartels attacked us. They’d been planning this a while, but they moved the date up after we hit the Rojas warehouse. It’s a miracle that both Arlo and Viola spotted them in the dark. God bless you both.”
“It’s all over?” Heidi asked. “Why is everyone racing around like headless chickens?”
“The fighting is over. We killed fifty-seven of the vermin, but a few are probably still hiding in the thick vegetation along the creek. More importantly, now we have to take control of every property that those cartels operate—before somebody else tries to. This is an incredible opportunity for us to triple the size of our businesses.”
Over fifty dead. It seemed incredible. What a slaughter. Like yesterday, people had died because of her. She hadn’t wanted that to happen, but the dead would remain forever gone. Her body suddenly felt almost too heavy to keep from falling over.
Carlotta leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t look so sad, my child. If you hadn’t warned us, Arlo still would’ve.”
That was some consolation, but the heaviness remained within her.
The jefa continued to eat and avoided answering any questions by saying, “We’ll talk later.”
Each person kept their thoughts to themselves until Carlotta finished.
“One last thing, Viola,” she said. “I told the men how you woke me, and they think it was a miracle given to us by God. They want a chance to thank you for saving their lives. Of course, we must honor their wishes.”
That caught Viola by surprise. “Wait a minute! You know damned well I’m not Santa Muerte. This whole thing has gone too far.”
Carlotta shrugged. “This is certainly not working out as I had planned, but…who are we to say who you are? Maybe you are part of God’s plan? All I know for sure is that those men risked their lives and saved ours. You will accept their praise graciously and bless them.”
Viola couldn’t believe the woman was the least bit interested in God or his holy works. “Hold on, we all know I’m supposed to be a ghost, not a folk saint. Heidi would make a much better saint than me. I’m too introverted.”
Maria and Heidi both frowned. They were about to speak when Carlotta held up a hand to cut them off. “Heidi is more sociable, but she doesn’t have the right aura of mystery. Introverted is better for a saint. No more arguments. Maria will help you to become Santa Muerte, and you will behave as though that’s who you are. Be on the back patio in twenty minutes.”
Carlotta took her coffee and left.
Heidi scowled. “Oh, you’re a sneaky little bitch, ain'tcha? Next time you pull a stunt like that, I’m likely to smack ya.”
Viola hadn’t been trying to push trouble off onto Heidi, but that was what she’d done. “Oh, I’m really sorry. Wasn’t thinking. I just don’t deal with people well.”
Heidi looked at her askance. “Okay, maybe I jumped the gun, but don’t you ever volunteer me for anythin’ without askin’ first.”
Viola nodded several times before Maria dragged her away to Carlotta’s bathroom upstairs for more makeup.
Maria worked fast while scolding Viola for thinking Heidi could possibly be Santa Muerte. She kept saying, “She doesn’t have the heart or soul for holy work.”
Like magic, dark swirling lines appeared on Viola’s face. Her eye sockets and her nose were painted black and outlined with red. Maria then drew vertical black lines on Viola’s red lips to simulate a skull’s bared teeth. Beyond weird.
“If I’m going to keep doing this,” Viola said, “we need to agree on what I’m going to look like.”
Maria smirked. “You will be a big success with the guys, I promise. Santa Muerte turns them on as the giver of life and death. For contrast, you need to wear a black headscarf and a red rose behind one ear. When we have time, I’ll dye your hair black, but this will do for now.”
-o-o-o-
They reached the sliding glass door leading to the back patio. Viola noticed that someone had created a long, waste-high white altar and decorated it with burning candles, several doll-sized figurines, and lots more flowers. In front of the altar, her new congregation had laid out offerings of beer, tequila, cigars, fruit, and money.
At least twenty men that she would never want to meet on the street crowded together ten feet away from the altar. Many of them had taken off their shirts to reveal their tattoos of Niña Blanca. In addition to the men, a dozen women stood to one side. A couple had decorated their faces like Viola’s.
Her tongue tingled. My God! What do they expect from me?
As soon as Viola stepped onto the patio, a cheer rose up. She clapped for them to thank them for risking their lives on her behalf. Then, she stood behind the altar and bowed her head for a moment to collect her thoughts. Maria knelt beside her. The clamor died down to complete silence. They must’ve wanted to hear what she had to say.
A warm glow filled Viola, and her fear vanished. The heat within her was so powerful she looked at her hands to see if they glowed. No, they looked normal but she felt possessed by some spiritual being.
Viola didn’t know many prayers in Spanish, but one of them happened to be the Saint Michael Prayer for warriors. In a strong, deep voice, she began:
Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God
rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God
cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
Most of them spoke along with her, and all of them joined in at the end. That was encouraging.
“For those of you who fought today, we thank you for risking your lives for the family. We are deeply in your debt.”
She sang the only martial Christian songs she knew in Spanish, namely Onward Christian Soldiers then recited the Lord’s Prayer.
Her mind went blank. She’d never been good at speaking in public. She remembered a short blessing she’d heard in Madrid during her time in Spain and continued with that.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
Amen!
May His face shine upon you,
and be gracious to you.
Amen!
May He look upon you with kindness,
and give you His peace.
Amen!
May almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.
Amen!
More words wouldn’t come, so she said, “Thank you again for your bravery and bless you. I will offer an individual blessing to anyone who wishes to come forward.”
Half of them lined up. She spoke to each person for a few minutes, repeating what she’d already said to the group.
When everyone but Maria had left, she said, “You’ve been touched by God. Every one of us is certain.”
It was nice to hear but Viola was far from sure of herself. And with regard to the battle, she still had no idea who was in the right or wrong. But one thing was clear, Carlotta had proven herself to be a ruthless competitor, and she was doing everything she could to consolidate her newfound power.
On the plus side, despite Viola’s doubts, the warm glow she’d experienced during her service continued long after it ended.
-o-o-o-
Mount Evans Motel, Idaho Springs
Beau had returned late the night before when Athena was already asleep.
In the morning, they walked to a nearby diner for a late breakfast. Along the way, she told him about Roger’s last warning.
“I know a place where I can buy a used car for a thousand bucks,” he said, “no questions asked. Then we’ll stop using the vehicles licensed to us.”
“Who’ll hold the title to the new vehicle?” she asked.
“John Smith, and we won’t have any insurance either. We’ll have to drive safely.”
“Anything that keeps us safe works for me. Let’s buy the car right after breakfast.”
They walked in silence for a moment, until Beau said, “By the way, Yang figured out what Laura dragged us into. He says, ‘It’s a problem for the Denver cops and DEA.’ Yang shut her down completely, but technically, I’m on vacation. I can still help on the sly. We’ll just have to keep a very low profile.”
They were already doing that, so Athena put her hands on her hips. “What utter bullshit. This case crosses several local jurisdictions. None of the cops around here are taking it seriously. And Casa Santiago is in Douglas County, not Denver. DEA is involved, but they focus on stopping drugs, not helping kidnapping victims.”
“Bien sûr, mon petit chou. I couldn’t agree more, but Yang’s the guy who approves my pitiful paychecks.”
“Your boss is the type of guy who likes to shirk the actual work but crashes the celebration party. He’d better not show up for any press conference at the end of this case, or I’m likely to scratch his eyes out.”
Chapter 13
Casa Santiago, near Louviers
The attack and its aftermath disrupted everybody’s plans. In particular, Carlotta was forced to put off any more audits indefinitely. She was too busy seizing her business empire. Viola sighed. So much money to grub, and so little time.
Maria did dye Viola’s hair and eyebrows black, but the newly born folk priestess wouldn’t be doing any accounting work until Carlotta gave her new assignments. And although she would’ve loved to find out more about Santa Muerte, she wasn’t allowed to use the Internet. So, she risked annoying Carlotta by texting her for permission to research online. The jefa could simply ignore her if she was too busy.
Fine, Carlotta texted back, but understand that your every keystroke and mouse click will be watched by Jesus or one of the family’s technical staff. The password to unlock your browser is Managua2853.
Viola was amazed at what her first searches revealed. The Santa Muerte folk religion was hundreds of years old. It began with the Aztecs before the conquistadors arrived in the New World. They and the Catholic church persecuted the religion, but it survived and grew in hiding until the end of the twentieth century. As the church’s power to suppress other religions diminished, Santa Muerte became one of the world’s fastest-growing religions.
Somehow over the centuries, the Aztec religion had blended with Catholicism to create the folk religion called in English, Our Lady of the Sacred Death.
Viola was fascinated by the development of Santa Muerte. One of the oddest aspects of the religion was it lacked any written theology. The devotees were so afraid of being killed as heretics that they refused to write anything down that might incriminate them.
That was so different from Catholicism. Viola was used to seeing priests whose walls were covered with religious books, some by authors more than a thousand years old. And the Bible was much older.
Santa Muerte hadn’t benefited from centuries of analysis and interpretation. No Pope or bishops either. In fact, no formal church hierarchy of any kind. The few Santa Muerte priests who preached openly were self-proclaimed authorities. Nor were there any cathedrals or churches for the multitude to visit. Devotees tended to create small, private shrines in their homes or businesses, and until the last few decades, they’d kept their sacred places hidden to keep them safe.
Oddest of all, despite hours of research, Viola had a hard time finding anything definitive that described what the religion stood for. It focused on life and death, but beyond that, she was clueless.
Viola did learn that most of Santa Muerte’s followers were the poorest of the poor or social outcasts, including the Hispanic LGBTQ community. She also discovered that the religion appealed mightily to criminals, like prostitutes and gang members, but she couldn’t figure out why.
That realization took some of her glow away, but not all. Something inside her was changing. She was an outcast herself, with her guilt about her relationship with her roommate, and she was a poor woman in rich surroundings. It’s no wonder I find this faith appealing.
But Viola cringed when she wondered what her mother would think about Santa Muerte or Viola’s latest love interest. But before she could think through the consequences, Heidi entered Viola’s office.
“Carlotta says that since she’s tied up, I get to use you and abuse you.”
Viola noticed that Heidi hadn’t bothered to ask her permission, just her master’s. “Okay, how can I help?”
“I own a jewelry store at Park Meadows Mall. Actually, Carlotta and I own it together, but I run the business.”
In other words, Carlotta was laundering large quantities of cash through the jewelry store, and Heidi had to know.
The woman rattled on. “So, Carlotta provides the working capital, and we split the profits. I run the store during busy times, and my assistant manager Trudy takes the early hours. The thing is, I been wondering about her lately. She’s maybe suckin’ on the tit a little too hard if you know what I mean. Numbers ain’t my thing, so when I checked the books, I got confused. Trudy swears that everything is great. Could you look for me?”
From the outside, Viola appeared to be a folk priestess but inside, she was still an accountant. “Sure, I’ll need your spreadsheets for the last few years.”
/> “We started the business two years ago. All our financial records through the end of last month are here.” She handed over a thumb drive.
Then, she sat in front of Viola’s desk and thumbed through a Vogue magazine she’d brought along.
Viola needed time to think and didn’t appreciate a client who expected answers in ten minutes or less. “I’ll send Maria to find you when I have some answers.”
Heidi didn’t budge. “Aren’t you sweet? Nah, I’ll wait. After hearing what Carlotta and Diego did to those dumb fucks at the pottery warehouse, I sure want to be sure she doesn’t think I’m cheating her. Carlotta has been extra-good to me.”
I wish I could say the same. “Suit yourself, but this could take a while.”
The blonde stayed quiet for a few minutes then showed Viola an ad with a model who wore dazzling, pear-shaped diamond earrings. “Be honest, do you think these would look good on me?”
Viola barely glanced at the photo. “Heidi, you’re distracting me from answering your original question, but I’m sure every diamond God has ever made would look good on you.”
Heidi tore the picture out of the magazine. “Maybe for my birthday. It’s in September. Hint, hint.”
-o-o-o-
Despite what Viola had said about her analysis taking time, it didn’t. At least, not once she asked a key question. “Why are you renting an apartment in Lone Tree for $1,750 a month when you live here?”
“What’re you talkin’ about? I’ve been head over heels with Carlotta for let’s see…goin’ on three years.”
Viola showed her the business’s main credit card account. “I know this company, Latham Consolidated. It owns rental properties all over the metro area. They’re one of my accounting firm’s biggest clients. You should call and find out what this reoccurring bill is for, starting in April.”
Viola rattled off their Denver headquarters number from memory. Heidi got the runaround for a few minutes before she said, “Okay, who exactly is the tenant in apartment 428 in Lone Tree?”
“Jesus H. Christ!” She hung up. “That stone bitch Trudy is chargin’ her rent to the business. Let’s string her up. She’s at the store.”
Anointed (Vanished Book 3) Page 9