by Ted Clifton
“Wow is right. This is delicious. Wonder why she never mentioned her food skills before.”
“Maybe she didn’t want to become the house cook.” An annoying but logical answer.
As Big Jack started his speech, some of the guests headed to the beer tent to stock up—Jack usually shut off the free beer after his speech. Ray and Sue headed back to the taco tent for seconds.
“These are amazing Beverly, I had no idea you were such a great cook. I’m starting to really look forward to next week’s dinner.”
Beverly gave her a genuine smile. “Thank you Sue, for being so great.”
Maybe Beverly was an okay person after all. After Big Jack’s speech, Ray and Sue headed home.
“I want to invite Nancy to the dinner next Saturday as a date for Tyee—what do you think?”
“I think I’d let Tyee find his own date.”
“But he won’t, so I need to invite someone. Ray, he’s still depressed after all of these years about his wife and his failed marriage. He needs help to get some love back in his life. Just like you did.” Oops. That got Ray’s attention.
“Just like I did?”
“Yeah. Just like you did. If I’d just waited on you, we’d both have been dead before anything would have happened. Ray come on, I need to help Tyee rejoin the human race. My god, even Big Jack has a girlfriend—can you imagine if you were Tyee, how that would make you feel—Big Jack has a girlfriend and you don’t?”
“Who is this Nancy person?”
“She’s the new girl at the café. She’s from Albuquerque, but her parents moved up here about three months ago to retire. She moved in with them for a little while to help them get everything set up. She’s really cute. She quit her job as a paralegal to help her parents, and she works part-time at the café. Did I mention she’s real cute?”
“Listen, this is your doing. If it blows up in your face, don’t drag me into it, okay? And by the way, do you think she’d want to be Tyee’s date?”
“Good question. She may not know who he is—which could be helpful. Most of the people who’ve been around here for a while know him as ‘that scary Indian’—but they don’t know him the way we do. I think she’d come because it’s at our house and we’ll be here.”
Ray walked off to the kitchen shaking his head. In the ultimate head-in-the-sand position, Ray thought romance just blossomed, kind of naturally, but Sue knew better. He’d be sure to warn Tyee about Sue’s plans.
The next day Sue went to the café and had coffee. During Nancy’s break she was able to talk to her and invite her to the dinner. Nancy didn’t initially show a lot of enthusiasm. Sue mentioned that the party would be a small gathering with Big Jack, the guy running for mayor, and his girlfriend Beverly, who was going to do the cooking, and of course her and Ray—and Tyee Chino. The list of attendees made the nature of the invitation obvious. Nancy didn’t give Sue an answer, so she hung around for a bit to see if they could talk on Nancy’s next break.
“Sue, I appreciate you trying to fix me up with someone, but the timing is probably not right. I told everyone that I moved here to help my parents get settled in with their retirement, and that’s true, but I also moved because my relationships with men have been a disaster. I just wanted to get away for a while and not think about men. So it’s not you or your Mr. Chino, I’m just too gun-shy right now.”
“Oh bullshit, Nancy. What are going to do, become a nun? I’m just asking you to dinner. Yes, there will be an equal number of women and men, but Tyee is no masher—he’s a gentleman. You can have polite conversation with him or ignore him—he won’t attack you. Plus, you’ll get to meet some people in a social situation and it’ll make you to start feel more at home here. So, can you make it or not?”
Maybe Nancy figured that she probably had nothing to fear from Sue, but decided not to risk refusing anyway—she said yes.
Being a natural worrier, when Sue hadn’t heard from Beverly by Saturday afternoon, she began to feel concerned. Had Beverly changed her mind, had she forgotten, was the whole thing some kind of cruel joke? But just as panic was starting to set in, Beverly and Chester showed up with a truckload of goodies. They started bringing in the food, most of it already cooked, and the aromas were fantastic.
In all the days that Beverly had been a guest in Sue’s house, she hadn’t done a thing, but tonight she handled everything. They made two trips with the food, and then Beverly left to get dressed. She was back in a surprisingly short time and began the final preparations. She also helped Sue set the table and seemed in a great mood. She looked very attractive in an outfit Sue had never seen before, along with skillfully applied make-up.
Big Jack showed up a few minutes early and quickly found a beer. He also was dressed in a way that Sue hadn’t seen before, with a well-tailored, expensive suit. This dinner party had already brought out surprises.
Next to make an appearance was Nancy. She was lovely. She had brought a bottle of wine and seemed more relaxed than Sue had expected after Sue had pressured her into coming. The dress she wore was beautiful, and it was enhanced by her very attractive, trim figure. Sue thought she was actually better looking than she’d remembered.
Ray was busy helping everyone get something to drink and seemed to be having a nice time. He chatted with Nancy, and Sue could tell he liked her. She had the kind of little girl charm that many men couldn’t resist.
Tyee finally arrived. Sue hoped that arriving late wasn’t some kind of macho bullshit—then saw him and realized that he’d known Nancy would be there and had dressed for the occasion. At six-foot-four, with long, braided, black hair and an obviously muscular body, he wasn’t someone anyone would miss, but dressing in an absolutely gorgeous suit and tie gave him a movie star quality. He was an extremely handsome man, and quite a hunk. Sue glanced at Nancy and realized she was staring at Tyee. Sue stepped over, grabbed Nancy’s hand, and guided her over to Tyee so she could introduce them—and she gave the other woman’s hand a squeeze along the way to snap her out of her glazed gawking.
Once Nancy and Tyee started talking, they hit it off without any help from Sue. They discovered that they had many connections from Albuquerque, where they’d both lived for many years. Nancy had also gone to the university there, although she hadn’t graduated. They seemed to be doing fine, and Sue relaxed. Ray gave her a smile.
The dinner was a smashing success. Beverly served honey-chipotle roast chicken with a green chili sauce, acorn squash with honey butter, and asparagus with a honey-lime based sauce. She had made amazing rolls with more honey and butter, and for desert she prepared sopapillas with a special spiced honey. “Nobody ever complained about too much butter or honey,” she said. Everyone raved and ate, then raved some more and ate some more. Beverly was a star.
Confession
Ray hadn’t realized how tired he was until he’d had the previous few days to rest. He’d been so busy, he had worn himself out and hadn’t even been aware how bad he felt until he started to feel better. He had to promise Sue, an easy thing to do, that he’d be more aware of his health and his limitations and not push himself so hard in the future.
The time they had together during these slower days was special. Ray made every effort to enjoy what a wonderful person Sue was and how much he appreciated her humor and wisdom—and the sex wasn’t bad either.
Ray let Happy out for his morning romp, then decided to join him and take a walk along the path down toward the lake. The weather was turning and the morning air was crisp. He was about to start running, then remembered his promise to be careful and not kill himself—Sue’s exact words. On his return from his walk he stopped in at the office to see what was going on.
“Morning Tyee, how are you on this fine morning?”
“Well, you’re in a good mood.”
“Yes, I am. Although, since everybody notices with such shock when I’m in a good mood, it must mean most of the time I’m an asshole. That right?”
“Indian not
understand English.”
“Very funny.”
“I was just going to head up to the cabin to give you a message. Some officer from the Albuquerque Police Department said that a woman walked in this morning and announced that she wanted to confess, but only if you were there—he wants you to call.”
“Some woman? Did he say what her name was?”
“No. He just wanted you to call him as soon as possible.”
Ray went over to one of the desks and called the number.
“Albuquerque Police Department.”
“Officer Clarke, please.”
“Just a moment, please.”
“Officer Clarke.”
“This is Ray Pacheco, you wanted me to call you.”
“Mr. Pacheco thanks for calling. Kind of a strange deal. A woman walks in this morning and say she wants to confess, but she’ll only talk if you’re here. We don’t have any idea what this is about, but this woman is absolutely gorgeous and very upper-class, so we decided we’d call you and see if you knew what it’s about.”
“Did she give you a name?”
“Just her first name—Isabella.”
“I’ll be there in a few hours—don’t let her go.”
Ray went back to the cabin looking for Sue, but apparently while he’d been out she had gone shopping. He went back to the office and asked Tyee if he’d look after Happy. He told Tyee what was happening and that he was going to Albuquerque immediately. They discussed Tyee and Happy going with him, but it just created logistical issues so Ray decided to go by himself.
He got in his Jeep and headed out. He had a full tank of gas, so he wouldn’t have to stop until he got there. What was this about? Isabella wants to confess to what? Where had she been the last few days? He had no answers, so he just concentrated on driving.
“Ray Pacheco to see Officer Clarke.”
“Sure, come on through—he’s in the last office on your right.”
“Officer Clarke? Ray Pacheco.”
“Come in Mr. Pacheco, have a seat. I’ve been told that you’re some kind of special officer for the governor and I should do what you say—is that right?”
Ray chuckled. “Well, I do work for the governor. Doing what I say will be up to you. Where’s Isabella Ortega?”
“We’re holding her in an interrogation room. She’s just been sitting there for hours, like she’s meditating or something. We’ve offered her food and something to drink, but she’s only taken water. Damn, she’s the most beautiful woman I think I’ve ever seen. What is it she’s wanting to confess to?”
“I’m not sure officer. She’s been involved in some things in Ruidoso over the last few months, including the apparent suicide of her husband. I guess the best way to find out what she wants to say is to go ask her.”
Officer Clarke took the hint and showed Ray to the interrogation room. Ray entered and stood at the door. He felt as if he knew Isabella Ortega after discussing her so much as part of the events in Ruidoso, but he’d never seen her and for a moment he was stunned. People had said she was beautiful, but the words didn’t do her justice. But when she turned her eyes up and looked at him, he saw a real person, someone feeling great pain.
“Isabella Ortega, my name is Ray Pacheco.”
“I have to tell you what has happened.”
Ray shut the door. There was a tape recorder on the desk—he adjusted it and made sure it was working.
“Isabella, I need to record what you’re saying so there are no mistakes. Do you agree to that?”
“I do.”
Ray turned on the recorder and stated the date, her name, and his name.
“Tell me what happened.”
“My father was powerful—he controlled whole armies of men. He was rich and famous. But my mother died about five years ago, and he died with her—not completely, just his mind. He lost his power and his money. As soon as the scum knew he was weak, they took over his businesses, cut off his money. I was the only thing he had left. I had to help him, so I did.”
She told her story. Andres Ortega had been the top gangster in all of Mexico for years. He ran all kinds of illegal activities, but he was generous to the people, who loved him. His family had owned property in what was now New Mexico for hundreds of years, long before the area became part of the United States. He had established a secret getaway in Tularosa. She told how he had married Clara and had been so much in love with both the woman and the artist. They’d had a child, and he had softened. As he became more and more of a father and a husband, he lost much of his power. He decided he didn’t want to go back to Mexico, so they just stayed where they were.
Even though he wasn’t the head of a criminal organization anymore, he still received money—lots of money—from its activities, because he knew the names of the people involved and the locations of their dealings. He knew where they kept money, drugs, prisoners, guns—all of it—and if they didn’t pay him they’d feel his wrath. He was a legend and they all feared him. Much of the fear was a result of the fact that, although they hadn’t seen him in years, if someone bad-mouthed him or threatened him, they died. It was as if he could hear them and always found a way to punish them if they did him wrong.
Once the stupid police chief, Nelson, came to see him and asked if he would supply Nelson with drugs that he could sell. Nelson said he knew about his Mexico connections because he had once been in the Houston police department. Her father laughed at the idiot and kicked him out. He told Isabella about it, saying how ignorant Americans were.
Her parents wanted her to marry a Spaniard, but that wasn’t something she wanted. Instead she chose Dick Franklin, deliberately picking someone she could control—plus it made her parents mad, which in that moment she wanted. After they were married, though, she fell in love with Dick. She stayed away from her parents and began to enjoy an almost normal life. But then her mother died. Her father went crazy, accusing people of hiding his wife. He even attacked some of the employees—everyone started leaving.
Word got out about her father and his madness. The cartel stopped sending money. Her father slipped deeper into madness and started hiring all kinds of thugs to guard the hacienda. He refused to see Isabella and accused her of killing her mother. What money still remained was disappearing fast.
“At that point, I could have abandoned my father—who wasn’t in his right mind anyway—or I could try to help. I can’t tell you how much my parents meant to me. I adored them both, and for many years they were my entire life. I couldn’t turn my back on my father. Of course I didn’t have money, but I did have connections. I contacted the police chief and asked him if he was still interested in buying drugs. The pig of a man said he was.”
“Dick was running the Ruidoso Racetrack, and it seemed natural to me to use those facilities as a distribution point. I convinced Dick to hire Lewis Esparza as a stable manager because he was one of my connections and would do what I told him. He helped set up the system of transporting the drugs with the horses from El Paso to Ruidoso. Nelson recruited Sheriff Rodriguez, another law enforcement moron, to move the drugs from the racetrack into town or to Albuquerque.”
“Nelson told me about running into that thug Marino in town—he remembered him from Houston. He said he didn’t trust Rodriguez and wanted someone on the inside who was tougher to make sure nobody was stealing from us. I didn’t care as long as I was getting my slice. They started using Tito somewhere along the way to move drugs through his clubs, and he was the main pipeline to Albuquerque. And at no time did my husband know anything about any of this.”
“I was getting what I wanted—money—which I gave to my father. He was wasting it on his paranoid delusions, hiring guards and increasing security. I knew it couldn’t go on, but I didn’t know how to stop. Dick and I became distant. I could tell he was suspicious of my activities—going to my father’s all of the time. He accused me of having an affair. He was very upset. And then this moron Marino starts strong-arming people for mone
y. We had a nice deal going with the drugs, and it wasn’t bothering the good people in the community, but now this nut is threatening my husband along with all of the other businessmen. I couldn’t believe it. I told Nelson I was going to shut everything down unless something was done about Marino.”
“And then poor Dick goes to meet Marino to tell him he wasn’t going to pay him any more money. Marino laughs at him and tells him it’s his wife who’s running everything. I have no idea how he knew that, but Dick went crazy and tried to strangle him—they got into a fight and then Dick left and came home. He confronted me and I eventually told him what I’ve been doing. He tells me to leave. He said he wants a divorce—that my whole family has always been crazy and he’s going back to California.”
“I left and went to Tularosa. My father confronted me and I told him that I’d screwed up everything, including my marriage. I told him Dick was going to divorce me and said it was his fault. I screamed and told him that I hated him. He hit me, then he hit me again and again. I got away and ran to my room and locked the door. He pounded on the door for a while, but then left. As soon as I thought it might be safe, I escaped and drove to Albuquerque to the hospital.”
“Mr. Pacheco, I believe my father had Dick killed. In some strange, twisted way he must have thought he was helping me. One of the investigators here told me about the contents of the suicide note, that it said I wasn’t involved in the drug dealing. Dick didn’t commit suicide and he didn’t write that note. Only my father would try to clear me with a fake suicide note—no one else would care. I think my father is completely out of his mind—he doesn’t know what he’s doing or why. He has to be stopped.” She put her head on the table and cried.
Ray waited for her to stop crying.
“Do you know who killed Marino?”
“No. My guess would be Nelson. I guess you might be able to make a case that I ordered it, but that’s not what I meant when I said something had to be done to stop him. I just wanted him gone, but I think that Nelson took it as an order to kill Marino.”