Elena tossed a stone to Benito and called, "What do you think we should do now?"
Kara closed her eyes in relief. Bless those little streetwise kids! They were clearly waiting for instructions. Trying to ignore her pounding head, she thought. Finally she turned to a man in a green, sweat-stained T-shirt and said distinctly, "Wherever you take me, my friends will follow. They will find the big man I was with, and he will come and get me."
The men ignored her, as usual, but she noticed that, after a conference with Elena, Miguel and his little brother, Luis, disappeared.
Feeling a bit like the pied piper, Kara, still surrounded by men and followed by children, was hustled out to the parking lot. She was led to an ancient, rickety truck with fully bald tires. At the thought of enduring a ride in the decrepit, probably springless wreck, Kara discovered within herself a wellspring of defiance.
She dug in her heels and said, "No!"
The men stopped in surprise and repeated, "No?"
"No!"
Just as the men looked prepared to lift her bodily and toss her into the cab, Kara heard the sound of a familiar motor. Juanito's truck, with Ruben at the wheel, bore down on them. Ruben, Kara recalled, had an affinity with all things mechanical. He had even managed to teach her to hot wire a car.
Her captors froze in horror as Ruben apparently lost control of the large vehicle. As one man, they shouted "No!"
That was the last word Kara understood for some time. Juanito's runaway truck came to a stop by skidding into the other one and locking bumpers. The men jumped out of the way, pulling Kara with them.
Then they exploded into sound; apparently shouting five varieties of the same thing. It took a long time for them to adequately express their feelings.
Ruben looked contrite and willing to be helpful. He remained behind the wheel, ready to follow orders.
Kara remained with a man in a bright red shirt while Green, Blue, Gold Tooth and Sombrero jumped on the bumper of their truck to lower the front end.
When they were satisfied they shouted vigorous instructions and motioned for Ruben to back up. He nodded, shifted gears with hideous grating sound and bolted forward.
The men flew upward in wildly balletic leaps, then plummeted to the ground. Kara winced at the thuds and the expressive comments that followed. Ruben shrugged apologetically and pointed to the steering column. He was commanded to leave Juanito's truck and mount the bumper of the other one. He was joined by Blue, Gold Tooth and Sombrero, while Green replaced him behind the wheel.
The three men bent, then straightened their knees, shifting their weight. Kara was reminded fleetingly of a folk-dance step, but it soon became apparent that they knew what they were doing. The nose of the truck lowered, then rose, with their shifting weight.
When it dipped low enough Juanito's truck could be put in reverse.
Ruben finally seemed to understand the process, but had a lamentable lack of rhythm. He bobbed up as they bent down, then reversed the procedure. The three men glowered and grumbled, and finally one of them pushed him to the ground.
Kara watched as the children milled around, always moving, looking as if they were involved in a game.
Elena caught Benito's elbow, gesturing to a nearby tree. She boosted him up until he could reach the lowest limb. He disappeared behind the dusty leaves, and all Kara could see was the agitated jiggle of a red balloon. He soon emerged, handed the balloon down to Elena and jumped to the ground.
With a grinding sound from the bumpers, a roar of Juanito's motor and a screech of tires, the trucks were separated. The children shouted and surrounded the vehicles. As a festive note, Elena tied the red balloon to the antenna of the antique truck.
Kara was sandwiched between Sombrero and Red Shirt in the cab. The remaining three vaulted into the bed of the truck. She craned her neck as they pulled out of the parking lot. Ruben was busily deploying the troops. He gestured for Alberto to remain behind and urged Benito, Carmen, Maria, Oscar and Elena into the truck. He jumped behind the wheel and slowly followed the bobbing balloon.
❧
Juanito pocketed his money and turned away from the cashier. It was more than enough. Now all he had to do was collect Kara and leave. If they were lucky, Dane would never know of this particular trip. He moved aside and leaned against a pillar, scanning the crowd. A shaft of light beaming down from a window near the exit caught his eye. It shone on a woman's silvery hair, reminding him of Kara. He remained still, knowing that she would quickly spot him. Far more easily than he could find a small woman with dark hair.
He stood patiently, a smile curving his lips as he remembered the day he had met Kara. Old Serephino had thought he was dealing with a lunatic. She wanted a plant stand but, even consulting a dictionary, had requested a plaster table. Serephino waved his arms and muttered about gringas who came to the wrong shop, wasting a man's precious time. Plaster tables?
Who, he wondered aloud, made such atrocities? And who, in the name of God, would want one?
Later, after Juanito had explained and Kara had smiled, Serephino worried. How, he asked, did the little silver-haired one survive? She could not talk. Ten words, at the most, were all that she could say. And half of them were numbers. What good was it, he asked, to know a number if you could not say anything about it? And, he concluded gloomily, she even confused ten for God, so that left her only eight.
Watch over her, he had ordered. Along with your other little ones, take care of the silver-haired child.
And Juanito had tried. He still tried. But she could wrap him around her little finger. And Carmella just laughed. Trust Kara, she said. She is a special child of God. She will bring us joy as well as good fortune.
And so far she had done exactly that.
The crowd thinned, and he realized that the next race was about to begin. She should have come by now. He gazed around anxiously, belatedly remembering the man in the grandstand. He glanced at an approaching couple and was transfixed by the sight of a wadded bundle of dark hair in the man's hand. The man shook it and made a teasing remark to the woman beside him just as Juanito's hand gripped his shoulder.
"Where did you get that?"
One quick look at Juanito's size and scowl erased the smile from the other man's face. He quickly explained. Juanito was running for the exit before he finished.
He found pandemonium at the bottom of the stairs. Miguel and little Luis were explaining to a uniformed guard why they had been caught sneaking into the building. The guard was just as loudly describing what would happen to them if they tried it again or if they didn't go away immediately!
Juanito swept the boys up, muttered a hasty thanks to the guard and ducked around the corner. "Now, tell me."
"Carina is with many men," Miguel said.
"Bad men," Luis nodded.
"They are taking her away.""
"Far away."
"Which way were they going?" Juanito asked.
"To the parking lot."
"That way." Luis pointed.
"Come on!"
They ran to the parking lot and found Alberto talking earnestly to the driver of a taxi. "See," he said, "I told you they would come." He turned to Juanito. "He will take you to Carina. But he wants much money. You have money?"
Juanito nodded, then caught himself. "I don't need him. I have the truck."
Alberto shook his head. "Ruben has the truck. He's following the men."
"Bad men," Luis said.
"Ruben doesn't drive," Juanito said. "And I have the keys."
"He started it without the key, and he made the crash look like an accident," Alberto said proudly.
"What crash?" Juanito asked with foreboding.
"He hit the other truck with yours and made the bumpers lock."
"Where is he now?" Juanito asked grimly, not sharing Alberto's appreciation.
"He went out that gate," Alberto pointed, "following the old truck with the red balloon."
"I won't ask," Juanito muttere
d, then immediately did. "You mean the men who took Kara were stupid enough to tie a balloon on the truck?"
"Stupid men," Luis said in satisfaction.
"Elena did that so they could see the truck from far away."
Alberto pointed a finger at the entranced cab driver. "He said that he used to drive race cars and that this one is fast. Oh, Ruben said if he turns off of the main road, he will leave Oscar or someone to show you the way."
Juanito bundled Manuel and Luis in the backseat and climbed in beside them. He was still talking to
Alberto. "You stay here. I think Dane will come for Kara. If he does, go with him and tell him what you've told me. If he doesn't come, I'll be back for you."
The driver slid his angular length behind the wheel.
"My name is Jaime," he said, rubbing his hands as if preparing for the Indy 500. "How fast do you want to go?"
"How fast can you go?" Juanito asked.
"I don't know."
"Find out."
With a shrill cry that sounded like the mating call of a coyote, Jaime took off. He spun through the gate and turned to the right, his tires barely touching the road. "The canyons are this way," he remarked conversationally.
"I know."
"How far do we go?"
"Until we see a truck or a child."
"How far are we behind them?"
"I forgot to ask."
Jaime turned to face them as he sped down the road. "Is this your woman we are chasing?"
"No, my friend's."
"He must be some friend."
Juanito nodded. "And she is some woman."
"Who are the men who have taken her?"
"Bad men," Luis said.
Jaime looked ahead and screeched to a halt.
"Why are we stopping?" Juanito asked.
"Over there," Jaime pointed. "A child."
"Not one of mine," Juanito said. "Keep going."
"How many do you have?" Jaime craned his neck to face Juanito.
"Children? Fifteen today. Maybe more tomorrow."
"Do you have the money to pay me?" Jaime asked in sudden suspicion, lifting his foot from the gas pedal.
"I do," Juanito assured him. "Pull over! That's one of mine." He poked his head out of the window.
"Which way, Benito?"
"That way," he shrilled, pointing to a road that angled up into the hills."
"Good boy. Wait in the shade of that tree. If Dane comes, get in his truck and show him the way. If he doesn't, I'll be back for you."
Jaime skidded to a stop at the next crossroad when Elena popped out from behind a bush. She pointed, Juanito repeated his message and they sped on. They passed Carmen, Oscar and Marta. Each pointed the way and received the same message. Finally Jaime took a curve on two wheels and slammed on the brakes. He came to a halt ten inches behind Juanito's truck. "So soon?" he mourned.
Ruben was on his stomach, looking over the side of the road. He wiggled back and put his finger to his lips. "Shhh. They're down there. They took Carina into that old shack."
"Have they hurt her?" Juanito whispered hoarsely.
Ruben shook his head. "I went down there, but they were just talking."
❧
Kara felt as if she had been in the small, hot shack for hours. Red had taken her elbow and prodded her into a single room, bare except for a small table. She had taken one look at the broken windows and cobwebs draped artistically in the corners and turned back to the door. Blue, Green, Gold Tooth and Sombrero stood looking at her. Sombrero had a scar on his cheek and looked meaner, if possible, than the others.
"Does anyone have an aspirin?" she quavered.
In the silence that followed she had more than enough time to remember all the horror stories of white slavery and rape. She jumped as Blue spoke rapidly to the others. Her eyes widened as they all patted their shirt pockets and dug into their jeans.
One by one, they shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads.
"I'm sorry, senorita. No aspirin." Blue held up a mangled cigarette with an inquiring look.
"Oh, no thanks." She cleared her throat. "I don't think it would help my head. I hurt it," she continued nervously, "in the earthquake. Were any of you hurt?"
Blue spoke again, and again the men shook their heads.
"Nice place you have here," she said chattily.
Blue didn't bother translating, and the men just stared at her.
"You know," she finally said, swallowing dryly, "you guys are scaring the hell orit of me. I wish you'd just tell me what you want and get it over with."
Blue broke into a spate of words. When he finished the other four spoke, individually and all together.
The noise made Kara's headache worse.
Blue turned back to her. "We don't want for you to be scared," he said apologetically. "We bring you here only to talk." At her look of incomprehension, he continued. "We have families," he explained. "But we have no work, and they are hungry. We need money."
"You're holding me for ransom?" she asked in amazement. Of all the things she had considered, she had never thought of that.
Red, Green, Gold Tooth and Sombrero crowded closer with questioning looks.
"Ransom?" Blue repeated, puzzled. "Quo es ese? What is that?"
"Money. Dinero."
Blue was stunned. "We don't steal people! We just want your help."
Kara pressed her aching forehead with her fingers.
"I don't have any jobs to offer you," she said in bewilderment.
"You have something better," Blue replied.
"I do?"
"Sometimes we get jobs at the track. We see you there with the big man. And always you win. That is what we want. To know the secret."
Chapter 10
"The secret?" Kara repeated weakly. Good Lord above! Aunt Tillie had warned her that there'd be days like this.
"But first I will explain," Red decided. "I will tell you who we are. I will tell you all about our need. I have brought you to a hot, falling-down house and cannot even give you to drink. No wonder you have fear. "
Kara opened her mouth, realized that she didn't know what to say and closed it again.
Red nodded his head and tapped his chest with a dusty forefinger. "I am Domingo," he said. Starting with Sombrero, he pointed to each of the men, naming them. "Trinidad, Pepe, Gabriel and Sancho."
Kara nodded four times, doubting that she would keep them straight if they changed positions. The men shuffled their feet.
"They have no English," Domingo explained. "I have some, but much is lacking."
"You're doing fine," Kara assured him. It was far better that they work this out with his English than her Spanish, such as it was.
"'We are brothers," he stated, as if that explained everything.
Kara waited, then realized that it was her turn. "My gosh," she murmured, "are there any more of you at home?"
"No more brothers," Domingo answered her literally. "But we have five wives---one to each of us --- and twenty-seven children. "
"Good heavens!"
"The wives have fear because we have no work."
Kara nodded in understanding.
"We have fear because we have no work."
She nodded again.
"The children ..."
"They fear because you have no work?" she hazarded a guess.
"No, they have hunger."
Sudden tears came to Kara's eyes. "Oh, Domingo, I'm sorry."
"Please, not to cry," Domingo pleaded. "My wife, she cries. Trinidad's wife, she cries. Pepe's wife, she cries. And ..."
"...Gabriel's and Sancho's wives ...they cry," Kara finished.
He nodded gloomily. "Tears we have much of, but they do not make bread or bring work."
"How long has it been like this?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Too long. In the past, we worked. Building houses. But now there is no money to pay for work."
Kara nodded. She remembered the low-income housing project
s that the government had subsidized.
"Between us," he said proudly, gesturing to his brothers, "we make fine houses." Pointing to each one in turn, he elaborated. "He is carpintero, I am fontanero, a plumber, he makes the doors and windows, he puts bricks and he puts plaster. We are good workers, but now too many peoples are here to live, and are not much jobs."
Kara nodded again. She was only too familiar with the nightmarish population explosion in Mexico and the resulting astronomical unemployment rate.
"What if you had a house to build?" she asked curiously. "Would you stay away from Caliente and work?" She wondered if two dormitories were the equivalent of one house. After all, she and Juanito had two busted buildings and some money. These five men and their assorted skills might just be the ones to put Humpty-Dumpty together again. It seemed like a fair arrangement.
He nodded vigorously. "Si. But one house would go up very fast. Whoosh!" He gestured widely to demonstrate how a house would appear overnight with the five of them working on it. "Then we would need to find another."
Kara hid her doubts. In this charming land of maitana, where people rarely seemed to consult a calendar, much less a clock, she had never seen anything go whoosh.
"So," Domingo said, as if concluding a successful debate, "that is why we need the secret."
"I started meditating." She ignored the excited buzz of conversation between the brothers. "But I don't think that had anything ..."
"Meditation is a way to speak to God, verdad?" Domingo asked.
"Well, I suppose it is," she admitted reluctantly. "But I just thought of it as clearing my mind, a way of relax ..."
Shrugging, she watched as the men turned to each other. They spoke loudly and at great length.
Domingo faced her. "We would like you to teach us to speak to God about the horses."
"But that's not the way it works," she protested. "I never mentioned horses to Him. Not even once. I don't think you understand."
"Senorita, I implore you. Teach us how you speak to God."
"You do that every time you pray," she reminded him.
"Si, si," he said impatiently. "But we also want to learn your way."
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