Monday Girl's Revenge

by David A. Thyfault

  Stump rolled his eyes and was tempted to speak, but thought better of it.

  “I know, but I couldn’t go back to Mexico because everybody was dead. Dixon suggested an abortion, but I didn’t want to lose your papa’s baby and I already loved you.”

  Tears had formed in Maria’s eyes.

  “Dixon was afraid that his first wife and his children would find out what he did, so he didn’t want me to tell anybody. As long as he thought he was your papa and he wanted to keep it quiet, I was willing to go along with everything.” She took a deep breath. “As soon as I started to show, he did that awful thing to Lupe. I couldn’t say anything to you about it because you were just a child. If you slipped up and accidently said something to anger him he might have thrown us out. I’d seen him do that to other people and couldn’t take a chance because I had no other money.”

  “Oh, Mama. I’m sorry you had to deal with that animal.” Maria’s tears and tone suggested she believed every word of her mama’s tale.

  “I would have moved in with him if I had to, but he liked to be with other women—which was better for us—as long as he kept providing a way to pay our rent.” Tears rolled down Mrs. Quintana face. She almost deserved an Academy Award. “I never loved him, but I’ve always given him what he wants because I had no other choice.”

  Stump sighed. Maybe this was one of those times when it was best to leave things alone. Maybe he should just keep the results of the DNA test to himself.

  “When you were about seven, my body began to change and from then on, he only used me in that way when he couldn’t find anybody else. But I always did whatever he wanted just to be sure he still supported us.”

  Maria threw her arms around her mama’s neck. “Oh, Mama. I love you more than ever.”

  “He made me get rid of Señorita too.” She looked at Stump. “I knew that the money we got belonged to Mr. Kraft, but I told myself that he wouldn’t miss it.” She hung her head. “Dixon may not have been a good man but I needed him to help me raise my beautiful Maria.” She wiped her nose. “But now he’s gone, and I don’t know what we’ll do.”

  At least that was true. It was difficult for nearly everybody around there to get a job. Stump had an idea. “I’ll be right back,” he said as he reached for the door. He stepped outside hustled next door and rang the bell. A minute later, Mr. Connors answered.

  “Hi Stump. I hoped I’d see you before long. Did you come for that job we spoke about?”

  “After you and everybody else helped me at the City Council meeting, my dad gave me his truck. I have to pay for gas and insurance so I was thinking maybe I could start sometime next week.”

  “Glad to hear that. I’ll hold a spot for you.”

  Stump shuffled his feet. “Mr. Connors, I had another favor to ask. I wouldn’t bring it up but—”

  “What’s on your mind?”

  “Well, Dixon used to give my girlfriend’s mama some work so she could pay their rent. You and Mrs. Connors have said you could use some help around here. Is there any chance you could hire Mrs. Quintana to help you?”

  “Strange you should ask that. We were just talking about something along those lines. Why don’t you have Mrs. Quintana drop by and we can talk about it.”

  “Really? I can go get her right now.”

  “It just might be the push we needed.”

  On the way back to Cal-Vista and jubilant, Stump decided to check if the DNA test results had been posted. But now he wasn’t sure if he’d show them to Maria. A couple of clicks into his cell and his pulse quickened. They were in. He clicked the link and instantly saw the answer. Negative? How the hell could that be?

  He looked toward Maria’s apartment. There could only be one answer. Maria’s mama was telling the truth. Maria wasn’t related to Dixon after all. The only person who’d ever out-bluffed Dixon Browne was the last person anybody would expect. A humble woman of limited means had been manipulating the great poker player non-stop for sixteen years. This was priceless. Stump sat down on the curb and laughed until it hurt.

  Chapter Eighty-Five

  Delores spent the last few days tying up loose ends but still had a couple unfinished stops. She pulled her Audi into the Cal-Vista lot and grabbed a padded envelope that she’d brought with her.

  As she moved toward building four she thought about the bond she shared with Inez Quintana. Each had lost a sister and endured a lot of pain because of an evil man. As she reached the back corner of the building Maria emerged with a laundry basket full of heavy pots and pans, which she set next to a white pick-up. Just then, Stump backed out of the building holding one end of a sofa. James followed Stump and they loaded the sofa into the truck. “Hello, everybody,” Delores said.

  “Stump got Mama a job,” Maria said. “It might be a little harder but at least she won’t have to rely on Dixon.”

  “It’s right next door,” Stump said. “With Mr. and Mrs. Connors.”

  “That’s wonderful. You guys deserve a fresh start. Is your mama home?”

  Inside, Inez Quintana had stuffed a lifetime of items in boxes and bags. “Hi, Inez. I brought you something,” Delores said, holding out the padded envelope. “I thought you might appreciate this.”

  Inez smiled and opened the package. “It’s Lupe’s crucifix,” she whispered as she touched it to her cheek.

  By that time Maria and Stump and James had wandered in. “They’d usually keep it until after the trial,” Delores said, “but I insisted they have more evidence than they need to convict Dixon.” Delores tapped Inez’s arm. “As you know I had a similar problem. That makes us like sisters.”

  Maria sprung to her tiptoes. “Does this mean you’re like an aunt to me?”

  Delores grinned. “Why not. I’d really, really like that.”

  “What do I call you? Aunt Detective or what?”

  Stump grimaced.

  “I guess you can just call me Aunt Delores,” she said before turning to Stump and James. “But I’m still Detective Sanchez to you gentlemen.”

  Maria grabbed her aunt’s hand and stuck her tongue out at Stump as if she’d won a big victory.

  “I hope you can find your sister someday,” Inez said.

  “After all that’s happened lately I’ve hired some professional people-finders to see if they can do any good. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

  “I’m glad Mama doesn’t have to worry about the police any longer,” Maria said.

  “That’s one of the good things that’s come out of all this. There’s something else too. I found out where the county buried Lupe. She’s in a nice cemetery in east L.A. I thought you might want to go there—to be reunited—at least you’ll know where she is and can visit from time to time. I’ve taken the morning off so I can take you there right now if you’d like.”

  Inez and Maria traded glances. “Can I go too?”

  Inez nodded, then looked at Stump.

  “Go ahead. James and I will finish moving the furniture. Then I can come back later and help with the rest of it.”

  * * *

  That afternoon, after returning from the cemetery, Delores invited Carlton Fayes to go with her to the office of Dr. Moreno. “I’m sorry I didn’t set an appointment, Jeanine,” Delores said as soon as the doctor stepped into the waiting room, “but, I’ve told Carlton so much about you and I just had to drop in and say thank you.”

  Jeanine shook Carlton’s hand before turning back to Delores. “I saw you on the news when you made the arrests. That was quite a night.”

  “So many things have fallen into place since I met you, Jeanine. I don’t know where to begin.”

  “Can I assume you had your cupcake party?”

  “We called it an extravaganza,” Carlton said.

  Delores grabbed his hand. “He did practically everything. There must have been fifty kids and teachers and parents and even somebody from the superintendent’s office.”

  “Impressive.”

  “Carlton had eve
rybody give away one cupcake to anybody they wanted, just to be nice.”

  Jeanine smiled.

  “We worked in some extras,” Carlton said, “so everybody would get at least one extra cupcake.” He gestured toward Delores. “Ms. Selfish here got seven of them.”

  “You were so right, Jeanine,” Delores said. “Nothing has ever lifted my spirits like that party.”

  “Extravaganza!” Carlton said teasingly. “It was an extravaganza.”

  “Tell me about your case,” Dr. Moreno said. “That must have been very gratifying.”

  “It sure was. Once we found somebody who was willing to talk, it all fell into place, just like I expected. I even got the DA to charge Dixon with serial rape by deception. He said that Dixon’s crimes prior to the new law wouldn’t count but we could still use the witnesses to show a pattern. Overall, it isn’t as powerful as the murder charge but it makes a darn good statement to the other cops. But that’s not all. I tried that IMT thing you taught me and decided to leave Mama and Tio alone as long as Mama is happy.”

  “That sounds like kindness over being correct to me.”

  “Yeah. I guess it does. You were right about that too.”

  “I’m happy for you.”

  Delores grinned. “You know that other thing we talked about? It worked itself out, too.” She kissed Carlton’s cheek. “Thanks to my very own cupcake man.”

  Chapter Eighty-Six

  “That’s the one I was looking for,” Stump said to James as they flopped a mattress on top of Maria’s mama’s bed. “The last piece.”

  “Good. I’m beat. Now you can take me back to my car.”

  They locked up and went outside where James pointed toward the bike rack. “Hey, Dude, check it out.”

  Stumped turned to see two boys about age ten, messing around with the bike tires. Suddenly Stump heard fizzing. “Those little bastards must be the ones who let the air out of my tires.“ He ran toward the boys. “Hey you guys—”

  The youngsters looked at Stump and ran away.

  All Stump could do was shake his head and turn back to James. “I didn’t recognize them. Did you?”

  “Nope, but they must be from the neighborhood, somewhere.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if they found my old phone too,” Stump said as they climbed into his truck and he inserted his key. “Did I tell you that Detective Sanchez said I should become a detective?”

  “You just listen to her ’cause she makes your pecker pucker.”

  “It’s not that, Dude. In fact, she’s not the first person to tell me that. I never took it serious before, but I kinda like investigating and figuring things out.”

  “I think you watch too much TV.”

  “I’m serious about this. It’s exciting to ask questions and sneak into places and learn things other people don’t know. If I hadn’t got my hands on Dixon’s notebook or ended up in the maintenance room with Maria, I wouldn’t have been able to solve the case.”

  “I bet the cops would have figured it out sooner or later.”

  “Probably, but that just proves that I think like they do. Furthermore, I wouldn’t have been able to help those other people improve their homes if I didn’t figure out how to get Mr. Barella on my side. I even liked going door-to-door.”

  “It was my idea to ditch school and to trick BigBunz. That was pretty rad.”

  “No shit. Did you see her smile at the end, when we needed her? Maybe we both have a knack.” Stump pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex and parked near Myles’s SUV. “I owe you a favor, Dude,” Stump said.

  “That’s another thing you’re good at,” James said. “Getting people to do favors for you.”

  Stump wasn’t sure if that was a good quality or not, but he was glad to have such a good friend.

  “Hello, people,” Stump said to Myles and Grandma Pauline when he and James entered the apartment. “We’re worn out.”

  Myles muted the TV and rose. “Just the gentlemen I wanted to see.” He pointed to the kitchen table. “You got some mail. Which do you want first, the good news or the bad?”

  “Huh? I like good news.”

  “I like good news too,” Grandma Pauline said.

  Myles handed Stump an envelope. “Looks like it’s from Irv Wedlock at the TV station.”

  “Really?” Stump ripped it open and read out loud. “Neal, Congratulations on your recent successes. I always knew you had the type of mettle that makes for great leaders. If you’re interested, I might be able to get you a nomination to one of the military academies. Otherwise, I expect to see you in law enforcement someday. Either way, I hope you’ll stay in touch. Your friend, Irv Wedlock.”

  Stump curled his bottom lip and grinned. “Wow! This is rad.” He looked at Myles. “I’ve heard of military academies. What do they do?”

  Myles took the envelope. “There’s West Point, and the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy. They give you a great college education for free and make you into an officer.”

  “It’d be pretty cool to fly those big jets, Dude,” James said.

  “Sure would.” Stump turned to Myles. “You think that’s possible?”

  Myles shook his head. “I doubt it. A guy has to belong to clubs, do things for his community and—”

  “I got the City Council to—”

  “As I was about to say before you interrupted,” Myles continued, “you won’t get in those places without good grades, which brings us to the next piece of mail.” Myles picked up a different envelope and slid out the letter inside. “It was addressed to me. It’s from your school. Shows you’ve had a serious attendance problem that I knew nothing about.”

  Stump shuffled his feet. “Oh, that.”

  “I called the school to find out why they never said anything to me about all the absents. As near as I can tell, you two cooked up some scheme to cover for each other.”

  “Uh-oh,” James said. “I gotta go.”

  Myles nodded and James disappeared faster than one of his infamous farts in the wind.

  “I guess you thought you were smart,” Myles said. “You assumed you could cut corners but it turns out you’re not quite as brilliant as you thought you were.” He picked up another envelope. “Your report card was addressed to me too. You got an F in Literature, another in Biology. Damn near flunked Spanish too. You know what this means. It’s summer school for you.”

  “How about Trig and History?” Stump asked, fishing for something good to offset the bad.

  “Not much better.” Myles handed the paper to Stump. “Everything else was I’s and D’s. Any worse and they would have held you back.”

  Stump lowered his head. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t have much choice.”

  “I know how hard you’ve worked, so if grades were your only problem, I might be inclined to cut you a little slack, but there’s something else here. Even worse,” he said while handing Stump a larger brown envelope. “This one was also addressed to me. Go ahead, open it.”

  What the heck could be worse? Stump pulled out the contents. The heading said it was from the County Court. The words “speeding” and “traffic ticket” stuck out like dress clothes in a swimming pool. Twenty miles an hour over the posted speed limit. How could that be? He’d only been driving for a few days. Maybe it was another one of Myles’s pranks.

  “Keep going,” Myles said. “Look what’s behind it.”

  Stump flipped to the back page where there was a super-clear picture of him and Maria and her mama, from when Myles went out of town.

  “You stole my truck,” Myles said, hands on hips. “Were you out of your ever-loving mind?”

  “Well. It was an emergency. Maria’s mama had to go—”

  “Bottom line is I didn’t say you could take the truck. And you know it.”

  “This reminds me of when you got drunk in high school,” Grandma Pauline said, looking at Myles. “You sure got sick.”

  Stump grinned. Sometimes Grandma Pauline
was an unintended ally.

  “Not now, Mom,” Myles said. “We’re talking about Stump, not me.” He turned back to Stump. “What other secrets are you holding from me?”

  “Nothing else. I promise.”

  “That’s what you said yesterday and before that. You always say there won’t be any more problems, but the words are barely out of your mouth before something new happens.”

  “I said I’m sorry.”

  Myles shook his head. “Not good enough this time, Stump. You stole my truck and messed up big-time at school.” He tapped the first envelope. “Summer school begins next week. It says here you’re already enrolled.”

  Summer school? “James said they have make-up classes online. I can just—”

  “Oh, no, you don’t. That might be alright for somebody who went to class in the first place, but since you couldn’t be bothered to get your butt into the classroom, I think you should try it again so you don’t get the impression that you’re getting away with anything.”

  “Good character is borne out of the pain of our mistakes,” Grandma Pauline added.

  Stump smiled at her, then returned his attention to Myles and exhaled. “Alright. I guess that’s fair.”

  “Good. And you have to get B’s. Nothing worse. That deals with school. Now, why don’t you tell me what should happen to a guy who sneaks around behind his parent’s back and steals cars and ditches school?”

  Fair question. Stump pursed his lips, then pulled his truck keys out of his pocket and handed them over. “I don’t get to drive for a week.”

  Myles shook his head. “Throw in your cell phone and make it two weeks.”

  “Okay. It’s a deal,” Stump said, turning toward his room.

  “Not so fast,” Myles said. “While we’re clearing the air, we still have this matter of your unpaid bills. When you took money that didn’t belong to you, you were doing the same type of thing that Dixon Browne did.”

  “But I was going to pay it back.”

  “That’s what everybody says, but sooner or later they get in over their heads and end up making matters worse. You’re going to get another job. I don’t care if you have to work for minimum wage. But you’re going to pay me back every damn dime before you get your keys back.”