“No problem,” Sadie said, holding her purse with both hands in front of her.
Margo lifted a corner of the plastic wrap and snuck part of one of the bars, popping it into her mouth and then nodding in approval before wiping her sticky hand on her sweatpants. One pant leg was pulled up to her knee.
“So did you get called back, then?” Margo asked as she came back into the living room.
Sadie pivoted to follow her across the room. “Called back?”
“Yeah, to the site? Thursday?” Margo sat on the couch, waving Sadie into the recliner.
“I didn’t get a call,” Sadie said, sitting down on the very edge of the chair. It was gray velour, but it had several stains that Sadie wasn’t going to take chances with. A 1980s style green-and-pink nylon jacket was thrown over the back. Had she missed the callback from D&E, or had they just not called her?
“Oh, well, Bill said it would be a light crew called in to finish it up. You probably didn’t get called back ’cause you’re so new.”
“It probably didn’t help that I told Bill to leave the graves alone.” Sadie knew that hadn’t been one of her best career moves.
Margo shrugged in agreement. “That whole thing was a disaster,” she said, her voice somber. “He should have listened to you. We all should have. If the graves weren’t all opened up, I think we could have convinced the police to bring the bodies up more delicately—maybe even keep some of us on to help.” She leaned forward and picked up a package of cigarettes lying on the coffee table, tapping one out of the cellophane package before seeming to remember she wasn’t alone.
“Do you mind?” she asked, lifting the cigarette slightly in one hand and fingering her lighter in the other.
Sadie did mind, sort of, but it was Margo’s house and Sadie wanted to get to know her better so she shook her head. “But you’re okay?” she asked, reflecting back on Margo’s reaction at the dig. “You seemed pretty upset at the site.”
Margo put the cigarette between her lips and waved away Sadie’s question. “I’m a purist,” she said, the cigarette bobbing up and down as she talked. “To me, the fact that these bodies are a thousand years old makes no difference. Anyone would be horrified if someone took a crowbar to their grandma’s casket in hopes of finding a wedding ring on her corpse, but somehow these people are just bones.” She shook her head and flicked her lighter, going almost cross-eyed as she lined up the flame and the cigarette. She inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly, and Sadie watched her shoulders relax.
“I’ve never met anyone who takes it as seriously as you do,” Sadie said, wondering why that was so. Though she didn’t think Margo was hiding anything, her attitude still seemed extreme.
“Sometimes it feels like I’m the only one,” Margo said after exhaling and leaning back against the couch. “Me against the world of ‘archeology for profit.’ At what point do the people not matter anymore? How long do they have to be in the ground before no one cares?”
All kinds of religious answers came to Sadie’s mind, about what happens when people die and what the purpose of life was, but she’d no sooner considered taking the conversation in that direction when Margo sighed and looked up with a change-the-subject smile. “It sure is weird, though, isn’t it? Fresh bodies buried in an ancient site.”
Sadie nodded. “Really weird.” She had to keep her hands together in her lap so as not to start straightening the cluttered coffee table. Margo leaned forward to tap off her ash in a coffee mug. Sadie had to repress a shudder; every time she saw someone do that, she imagined accidentally drinking cigarette ash.
“Did you ever see the other body?” Margo asked.
“Just what you and I saw together at the very start. The paper speculated that they were illegals,” Sadie said. “If that’s the case, the families couldn’t report their deaths for fear of deportment, right?”
Margo frowned. “Yeah, maybe.”
The smoke in the room was getting thick, and Sadie felt the urge to cough but cleared her throat instead.
“It’s too bad you’re not going back on Thursday.”
Sadie was embarrassed all over again. “Yeah. Do you know anyone else who was called back to the crew?”
Margo shook her head. “I’m not tight with anyone on the crew,” she said, then straightened. “Although I have Langley’s number. I guess I could ask him.” She riffled through a bunch of junk on the coffee table before excusing herself to her bedroom—which was also a mess from what Sadie could see through the doorway—and returning a minute later with her phone.
“Isn’t Langley the guy who dug into that grave? The one you almost beat with a shovel?” She knew he was, but she didn’t want to seem too familiar with the crew and risk blowing her cover. Mostly, she was surprised that Margo was friends with him. They certainly weren’t on good terms at the dig last Thursday.
Margo nodded, scrolling through her phone. “My Cruiser broke down a couple of weeks ago. Langley towed it to a repair shop—he’s got a sweet truck—and he drove me to work for the next couple of days while they were fixing the starter. Ah, there he is.” She started typing on her phone, then pushed a button and set the phone aside.
“Are you still mad at him?” Sadie asked, wondering what Margo’s text message had said.
Margo narrowed her eyes. “Furious,” she said, quick and sharp. “But if he’s on the crew too, I want to know.” She glanced at her phone. “Assuming he’ll even reply to my text.”
“There’s something else that’s been bothering me,” Sadie said, deciding this was as good an opportunity as any to ease into the other purpose for her visit.
“Yeah?” Margo asked, lifting her eyebrows expectantly.
“Shel—the guy who found the second body—he was digging after Bill told everyone to stop.”
Margo looked to the side and pondered that for a few moments. “That’s right, Bill had told everyone to stop, hadn’t he? Even us. He didn’t want us to keep digging up that first body.”
Sadie nodded. “Shel’s only been working with D&E for a month. He said they paid better than the last company he was with and—”
Margo’s phone chirped and she picked it up, reading something before looking up at Sadie. “Langley got called back to the dig too.”
“Oh,” Sadie said, feeling like chopped liver.
“Anyway,” Margo said, putting her phone down again, “even though he’s new with D&E, Shel’s been working digs for years, right? He knows better than to keep digging.”
“Right, and everyone else had stopped. Plus the first van had left already so there could be no doubt he knew that the dig was closed for the day.”
“Yeah,” Margo said, “that’s weird.” She paused for a moment, then picked up her phone again. “Want me to find out what he has to say about it?”
“You have Shel’s number too?”
“No, but Langley might. They hung out a fair amount on the site. I bet he could put us in touch with Shel.”
Sadie leaned forward, all tingly with anticipation. “What would we say to him?”
“Ask him why he kept digging,” Margo said matter-of-factly.
It was hard to argue with her logic, so Sadie didn’t bother. Margo pushed a few buttons on her phone, then held it to her ear.
“He better answer,” Margo said. “He owes me.” A second later she straightened. “Langley? Yeah, I’m good. . . . Yeah, I’m on the crew starting on Thursday too. . . . Hey, I’m looking to get in touch with Shel, and you guys seem to be buddies, so . . . I just need to talk to him about something. . . . No big deal. . . . Seriously, no big deal.” She rolled her eyes at Sadie and Sadie smiled at her encouragingly. “Yeah . . . I’d prefer in person.”
Sadie startled slightly—a face-to-face meeting? Of course those were always more effective, but they could be intimidating all the same. Then again, maybe only Margo would go. Sadie wasn’t sure if that thought was a relief or a disappointment.
Margo paused for a few more secon
ds. “Langley,” she said in a flat, even tone. She was too calm—and a little scary. She leaned forward, completely focused on the call. “You owe me for what you did to that little girl. If you know where he’s going to be, then tell me and we’re square.” Then she was quiet again, listening.
Sadie swallowed, really glad she wasn’t in Langley’s shoes right now.
“I know where that is. North end, right?” Margo said after several seconds passed. “What time should I run into you guys? . . . Perfect, I’ll look for you.”
She hung up and tossed her phone back on the coffee table. “Looks like we’ve got a double date tonight,” she said, getting to her feet with a triumphant smile. “They’ll be at The Conquistador. I wouldn’t call it classy, but for a bar, it’s not a total dive.”
“Oh,” Sadie said with more surprise than she’d have liked Margo to hear. Suddenly everything was moving really fast. “A bar. Right. I can go to a bar.”
Margo cocked her head to the side. “Have you ever been to a bar?”
“Sure,” Sadie said, thinking of the time she and Gayle ended up at a bar in Fort Collins; they were getting a flat tire repaired at the auto shop next door and needed some place to eat. It had been dark and smoky inside the flat square building, but it had played good music and the soup of the day, Chicken Tortilla, had been surprisingly good. It even had avocados in it. Maybe this bar would have some really good food too.
Margo picked up her phone again. “Give me your number and address, and I’ll pick you up at nine tonight.”
“That late?”
Margo smiled slightly. “You’ve never been to a bar in your life.”
“I have,” Sadie declared, nodding her head to further convince Margo that she was familiar with the bar scene. “Nine o’clock is great. But what if they stand us up? Langley didn’t seem . . . happy about this.”
“If they stand us up, then we’ll know one of them is hiding something,” Margo said with confidence.
“Oh. Good point.”
“Trust me,” Margo said. “This will be perfect.” She lifted one arm and took a sniff of her armpit, making Sadie wince and look away. “I better take a shower though.”
Sadie let herself out of Margo’s after they exchanged phone numbers.
After stopping at the library and then at the Mexican market for the tortillas, Sadie told herself it was silly to be so worried about going to a bar. Margo wasn’t worried. But Margo and Sadie were very different women. But with the same goal, she reminded herself. She’d been fine at that bar in Fort Collins, and she’d be fine here too. Besides, she’d seen Cocktail and Coyote Ugly—she knew what she was getting into.
Tostadas Compuestas
Chili con carne
2 pounds course ground pork or beef (pork tastes better)
4 tablespoons red chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon oregano
4 cups hot water
Tomato juice, as needed
In a large mixing bowl, combine meat, chili powder, garlic, and flour. In a large, heavy skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until tender. Add meat and cook until brown. Add salt, cumin, and oregano. Add water and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour. Add tomato juice as needed if chili becomes too dry. Add additional amounts of salt, cumin, and oregano as needed to get the flavor you prefer. Keep mixture warm on stove until the tortillas are done being fried.
Note: For a slow cooker version, brown meat according to recipe, then transfer to a slow cooker. Add seasonings, three cups of water, and one cup of tomato juice. Cook on low for up to 8 hours, or on high for 2 to 3 hours.
Tostadas
2 quarts oil, for frying
Corn tortillas (3 to 4 per person)
Cheese, grated
Lettuce, shredded
Sour cream
Pinto beans, warm
Tomatoes, diced
Guacamole (optional)
In a deep, heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium to medium-high heat. (You know the oil is at the right temperature when you can drop a small piece of tortilla into the oil and it floats to the top and starts to sizzle. If it sinks to the bottom, the oil is not hot enough. No bueno.)
Stack the tortillas three at a time and make 4 slits, about an inch out from the middle on each side, forming a rough square pattern in the center of the tortilla. Set a cooling rack over a sheet pan to drain and cool the shells. Drop the tortillas one at a time into the hot oil. When the tortilla floats back up to the surface, press a soup ladle into the middle of the tortilla so that the edges fold up and around the ladle. This will form the shape of the tortilla bowl.
Hold the ladle in place for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the ladle and flip the tortilla over to check brownness. You want the tortilla to just barely have some color. If it looks too golden, then it will taste overcooked. Place the tortilla bowl upside down on the rack to drain and cool.
Once all the tortillas have been fried, layer the additional ingredients according to your preference. Enjoy!
Note: If using canned pinto beans, drain and rinse them. Add them to a small saucepan with a small amount of fresh water, and heat up before serving.
Note: Caro always puts the cheese into the tortilla shell first, so that the chili makes it all gooey and melty. Mmmm.
Note: Caro is offended that I put “Optional” after guacamole.
Chapter 6
The room Sadie stayed in at Rex and Caro’s house was referred to as “the apartment,” but was really just a large bedroom, complete with a small table and sitting area, its own fireplace, and full bathroom. They had designed it for Rex’s mother who had lived with them up until four years ago when she’d passed away. Their daughters had shared it after that, certainly enjoying the independence it afforded them.
It did not, however, have its own outside entrance, which meant Sadie had to come and go through the front door of Rex and Caro’s home. She didn’t mind, of course, but couldn’t help thinking that the resell value would have been much improved if they had added an exterior door.
It reminded Sadie of her friend, Fiona, an avid gardener who’d ripped out her only full bath in favor of a greenhouse area she felt sure would work well with the existing skylight. After the remodel, the house was left with one bathroom complete with a shower, which was fine with Fiona since she had issues with the unsanitary nature of bathwater.
The greenhouse never quite worked as well as she’d hoped it would—there wasn’t enough light, and it looked downright strange to have a greenhouse inside your home. Five years later, Fiona decided to move and had to put the full bath back in because the market had gone soft and she couldn’t compete with all the other two-bath homes on the market. It cost her nearly $12,000. Point being: resell mattered, even if you weren’t planning to move soon.
At five minutes to nine, Sadie was putting the final touches on her hair when she heard the sound of an engine in the driveway. She peeked out her window that overlooked the front lawn and saw Margo’s faded green Land Cruiser come to a stop. Having had hours to think about what the night might become, Sadie was a bundle of nerves. A real-life bar! At night!
She grabbed her purse and turned off the light in the apartment before sneaking past the living room where Rex was watching a sport fishing show. Caro was organizing her photo box—twenty-five years’ worth—and pouting a little at not having been invited to go to the bar too.
Sadie had anticipated her reaction and so had waited to tell her until after they’d made the Tostadas Compuestas—little taco salads in corn tortilla bowls—one of Caro’s favorite family recipes. Caro might have been more inclined to argue about it if she hadn’t already promised Rex she’d spend the evening with him. Watching a show about marlins while sorting photos didn’t seem quite date-worthy, in Sad
ie’s opinion, but then she hadn’t been married for thirty years either. She and her late husband, Neil, had celebrated their eleventh anniversary a few months before he died of a massive heart attack, leaving her a widow and a single mother of their two adopted children. She’d always envied those people who had long, comfortable marriages, but she understood that there were trials to be had there too.
Sadie shut the front door quietly behind her and headed toward the Land Cruiser. Margo met her on the front walk, bringing Sadie up short as they appraised each other. Margo was wearing quite a bit of makeup, including some bright red lipstick that looked like wet paint. Sadie tsked in her mind over the tight pink tank top that left too little to the imagination. Margo was trim and athletic, but she was close to forty; and regardless of age and fitness level, modesty was a good rule of thumb for any woman.
After a few seconds, Margo shook her head and smiled sympathetically. “You can’t go to a bar looking like that.”
Sadie looked down at her khaki capris, cute brown sandals with just a hint of a heel, and flowing patterned blouse with a little ruffle at the neck. Caro had helped her reinvent her wardrobe with regular shopping trips to the fabulous boutiques in Old Town. Sadie was better dressed than she’d been in years.
“I thought I looked nice,” she said, frowning. She eyed Margo’s top again and hoped she wasn’t supposed to dress like that.
“Exactly,” Margo said, taking Sadie by the shoulders and turning her back to the house. “Too nice. It’s not that kind of bar.”
Fifteen minutes later, Sadie stood in front of the full-length mirror attached to the back of the bathroom door in her apartment and pulled at the black fitted T-shirt she usually wore underneath other shirts, not by itself. It hadn’t fit this well a year ago, however. One of the positive side effects of Sadie’s trip to Kaua’i last spring was that she’d lost her appetite and, in the process, dropped nearly twenty pounds. Of course, she’d gained half of it back once she came home thanks to a six-week trip to England with her two children. But within a week of returning from that trip, she was in New Mexico and Caro was dragging Sadie to her Zumba and spinning classes every day.
Tres Leches Cupcakes Page 5