by Earl Sewell
“What’s corona? Is that like the beer?” Keysha asked.
“No. Corona means ‘crown.’ Get it? Like a king wears a crown?”
“Got it,” Keysha said. “Go on.”
“Anyway, he pretty much stayed in his own neighborhood and didn’t venture outside of it very much. When Viviana turned thirteen, he took her out for a birthday dinner in another gang’s territory. There was a big gang fight, and Viviana watched everything as it went down. She even saw a guy get his face smashed through a glass window. Anyway, her dad was badly injured when all was said and done. Viviana freaked out because she thought he was going to die. When he got well, he went and found the rival gang member who stabbed him with an ice pick. He beat the guy so badly that he died. Someone snitched on her dad, and the next thing the family knew was the police were looking for her dad, who was hiding out with my aunt Salena at my grandmother Esmeralda’s house.
“At the time, I was spending my summer there, along with Viviana. Anyway, one night I couldn’t sleep, so at about three in the morning I got up and was planning on watching television in my grandmother’s living room. As I was coming down the stairs from the second floor, I saw Viviana’s father standing at the front door, talking to a member of the Latin Kings who had come to give him information. I overheard her father give out orders and name some people who were to be dealt with. I even heard him brag about how he’d beat and killed the man who stabbed him. He even said the guy’s name. Neither Viviana’s father nor the other gang member knew I was listening to their every word. They frightened me, so I went back into the bedroom with my grandmother. The next day, my mom came to pick me up after I pleaded with her. I told her that I didn’t want to stay with Grandmother Esmeralda anymore. I told her that I was scared. My mom wanted to get to the bottom of what had happened, but I didn’t want to say anything.”
“Did Viviana’s dad do anything to you?” Grandmother Esmeralda asked.
I said, “No.”
“He frightens you, doesn’t he?” asked Grandmother Esmeralda.
“Who frightens her?” asked Viviana, who’d just walked in on the conversation that I was having with my grandmother and my mom.
My mom said, “Viviana, go into the other room with your mother.”
“My mom made Viviana leave. Viviana didn’t go far. She stood in the hallway and eavesdropped on our conversation. From my point of view, I could see her standing still and listening to our every word.”
“Mom, I told you not to allow Salena to stay here with her boyfriend,” said my mom to Grandmother Esmeralda.
“What was I supposed to do? They had no place to go. Besides, he was only supposed to stay for a few days, and he left this morning.”
“Grandmother Esmeralda argued with my mom. In the middle of their fussing, there was a loud knock on the front door. My grandmother went to answer it, and Viviana followed her. The next thing I knew, four cops walked into the kitchen, where my mom and I were. They began asking questions about Viviana’s father. They wanted to know if he was there.”
My mother asked, “Why are you looking for him?”
“We’re doing a death investigation and we need to ask him some questions,” answered one of the officers.
“My mother and grandmother remained quiet. They had no idea what he’d done, but I knew.”
“So, did you tell the police?” Keysha asked.
“No. They left, but they gave my mother and grandmother a card and said to call them if they found out any information on his whereabouts.”
“Well, how did the cops even know to come to your grandmother’s house to search for him?” Keysha asked.
“Who knows? Maybe someone tipped them off, or perhaps the cops followed him there. Either way, someone talked, and snitching was something that could get a person killed.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t explain why Viviana hates you so much,” Keysha said.
I exhaled deeply before I continued. “My mom and Grandmother Esmeralda continued to argue. My mom was concerned about Grandmother Esmeralda’s safety. She feared that gangbangers would come to the house and attack her. Viviana, who had wandered out of the room to watch the police leave, came back into the kitchen and said, ‘Don’t worry. My dad is tough and everyone fears him. He’ll protect everyone.’”
“Your father is a mean man,” I said. “He hurt someone, and I heard him telling it to someone who came here in the middle of the night, while everyone was asleep.”
“Everyone got quiet after I made my little secret known.”
My mother then asked, “Is that why you called me and told me you were afraid? Because of what you overheard?”
Fearfully, I answered, “Yes.”
“What did you hear?” asked my mom.
“I laid it all out for her, and when I was done, Grandmother Esmeralda did one of the hardest things ever. She forced my aunt Salena to tell her where Viviana’s dad was and then tipped off the police. They picked up Viviana’s dad and brought him in for questioning. As it turned out, several eyewitnesses pointed him out in a lineup and he was detained. They eventually matched blood samples from the victim’s body to Viviana’s father, and off to prison he went. He was locked up for about a month before he was killed. It was retribution from a rival gang. After his death, Viviana blamed me. She said that had I kept my mouth shut, her father would be alive. I felt guilty about that for a long time. At one point, I even had to go to therapy for it.” I looked up at Keysha and her face had turned pale. I hadn’t talked about the animosity between Viviana and me in a very long time.
Keysha finally broke the silence. “I see why she hates you so much.”
“Do you think I deserve what she’s done to me?” I swallowed hard as I waited to hear Keysha’s thoughts on the matter. I was certain she was going to say that yes, Viviana’s hatred for me was fully justified and that I didn’t deserve any kind of happiness.
“I believe that you did the right thing. It sounds like the guy was kind of creepy, and I know that I would have been afraid, as well, if I overheard him say he killed someone.”
I exhaled a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad that you don’t think I’m a bad person,” I said, moving next to Keysha and draping my arm around her. I gave her a tight squeeze. At that moment my cell phone rang.
“Who is that?” Keysha asked.
“Believe it or not, it’s Viviana,” I said, wondering if I should answer it.
“Answer it. At least now you can tell her that you know what she’s done,” Keysha insisted. Keysha was right. I needed to confront Viviana about her evil ways. I was about to get really nasty with her.
“Hello,” I answered, with venom in my voice.
“Maya! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! I don’t know what to do.” Viviana sounded hysterical and forced me to pause for a moment. I’d never heard her sound so unhinged.
“Viviana, what’s going on?” I asked, sensing something had gone very wrong.
“I need your help, Maya!” Her breathing was labored.
“Are you running or something?” I asked.
“Yes. A gang of girls is chasing me. They said that they know that I was the instigator of everything that went down with Misalo and Carlo.”
“Well, you are,” I said unsympathetically. In the back of my mind I was hoping she’d get beaten down.
“Please, Maya. I need your help. I can’t fight them all off. I’m around the corner from the house, cutting through the park.” I heard Viviana release a murderous shrill. Then the call dropped.
* * * * *
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ISBN: 9781459233270
Copyright © 2012 by Earl Sewell
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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