The man yanked her arm, his stained teeth showing. “Perhaps we have more to give.”
“Enough for today,” the bigger man said as he tucked his shirt in and finished buttoning up his pants.
Armando looked up at the man and smelled his foul breath, saw his grinning face and the scar that tore down one side, and then to his father staring down at the floor, held by two more men who glared hungrily at his momma.
The man baring his teeth let go of her and licked his lips as she fell to the floor, sobbing. With a dejected exhale, the smaller man buttoned his pants back up. Armando moved to comfort her as the men shuffled out.
At the door, the man pointed at his father. Armando noticed a mark on his hand, in the fleshy part. Another scorpion—only different somehow. “Pay your debts by the next new moon or we’ll be back to collect more... interest.” The men laughed as they stepped out into the sunlight.
𓂓
After Officer Hines left with John, the crime scene unit thoroughly searched the truck. Hair, blood, and tissue were found on the passenger front fender and samples taken with lab analysis pending. Otherwise, there was only the duffel of drugs—nothing more. Despite that, the truck would be impounded just in case. Streets wasn’t going to take any chances.
The video specialist, Detective Mark Slade, had arrived and went to the garage with Sally to view the footage of the morning’s events. Sean had gone over to Clay’s truck and trailer to lock things up until he could get it home. As a courtesy, Sean asked Sally if they could leave them there for a couple days, or until they knew more about Clay’s condition.
On the way in with Detective Slade, Sally had been clear, “As long as it isn’t there too long.”
As she walked off, Sean shook his head slightly and whispered to himself, “Never a change in her damn attitude.”
Sean walked back over to his brother, who stood in Jackie’s front yard. Streets glanced up from his phone but said nothing. Elena and Jackie had gone inside and came back out with bottles of water for everyone. Streets took two, thanked them, then handed Sean a cool plastic bottle. “Truck and trailer secure?”
“Yeah, best I could. The cab of the truck is locked and the trailer is closed up, but I can’t lock it without the keys,” Sean replied.
“I’ll let the night shift know it’s here, and what happened. Maybe someone could drive through here a few extra times tonight.”
“Thank you, Officer.” Jackie smiled and nodded. “Sean, do you need a ride somewhere?”
Sean looked over at his brother.
“No ma’am, I should be able to get him home,” Streets replied. He regarded Jackie and Elena, who seemed to be unable to go back inside. “What are you going to do?”
“We’ll wait for Sally to be done with the specialist, and I think we’ll all go down to the hospital and see how Clay is doing,” Jackie replied.
Sean looked over at his brother and raised an eyebrow.
“Go,” he said to Sean. “Text me and let me know how he’s doing and when you want to leave. I’ll be nearby.”
By that time, Sally’s garage door had begun to crack and creak open. Detective Slade emerged with the DVR tucked under his arm. Everyone looked over as he approached the group. Slade looked to Jackie as he explained, “We have good video on here of what occurred. It looks like everything happened just as you said.”
“That is good news,” Jackie said, visibly relieved.
Slade continued, “Same for you, Sean. It seems obvious from the video that he attacked you both. Looks like self-defense to me too.”
Streets nodded in agreement, glad to know his brother might have been fully justified in his actions. “Is there anything you can add that might help?”
“No, nothing to add to the case,” Slade hesitated, and Streets picked up on the pause.
“What is it?”
“Well, it’s pretty strange, but there is a moment on the video where a really bright white flash bursts out from nowhere as that guy runs in front of the truck. It disrupted the video, but only for a half second. It doesn’t take away from the case. Probably the reflection of the low morning sunlight off a surface or window. Just wanted to mention it since it was the only irregularity.”
“You know, I saw that too,” Jackie remarked. A thoughtful look passed over her. She got a chill as the breeze picked up. Elena reached for her hand.
Streets and the specialist nodded goodbyes to Jackie and Elena, then Streets walked him to his car. “See what you can do about identifying that flash. It’s making my neck hairs stand on end thinking about it.”
“Will do,” Slade replied as he got in his car and drove off.
By that time, Sally had emerged from her house dressed in a dark gray pants suit and black pleather orthopedic shoes. A matching black purse hung from her shoulder. She stopped at a keypad to close the garage door, then headed down the driveway and crossed the street.
“That was fast,” Jackie said to her.
“I’m ready to get over to the hospital and see how Clay is doing.” Sally paused, looked back at her partially finished landscape, and frowned. “Jackie, do you still want to drive?”
Jackie noticed Sally’s subdued vexation but didn’t comment. “Sure. Sean is going with us.”
“Oh, good,” Sally said as she turned to Sean. “Clay will be glad to see you’re okay. Maybe he’ll agree to let you and the others resume work tomorrow.”
Sean glared at Sally while she fumbled with her phone but said nothing.
Jackie just shook her head. “I need to grab a couple things. We’ll be right back.” Jackie sent Elena to her room to grab her day bag and then went to the bathroom to assess herself. She had a grass scuff on one knee of her capri pants, but everything else seemed to be in order. It would have to do for now. Elena had been ready for school in her sundress and sneakers. Should be fine.
She went to the living room to find her voluminous brown leather mom-purse and removed the files she brought home from work the day before. It had been a working night after putting Elena to bed, but worth the extra effort. After finishing her bachelor’s in marketing, Jackie secured a position at a local agency where she still worked and had recently been made partner. Her willingness to put in extra hours had helped secure the promotion. On the way to the hospital, she would need to call her assistant. He would need to reschedule a few meetings.
Now that the adrenaline from the morning’s events had passed, a nervous energy set in. Her thoughts settled on Clay as she gathered their things. This man she didn’t even know had almost sacrificed his life to save her little girl. Right now, he was being taken to the emergency room because of his bravery. Although she remained distant in the moments after the incident, she now felt overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for his actions, all on the behalf of her and Elena.
She paused and took a breath. Emotions turned in her stomach like a bad meal. It felt like only yesterday Evan had passed. So sudden. One day, he was here, next day, gone. Right after his death, she went through the motions telling herself she needed to be there for Elena. And she was—strong and fierce as ever. There for her baby girl. But inside, the pain and loneliness had turned from a dull ache, prolonged by her mourning, into a longing desire to heal her life. She felt a pang of guilt at the thought, like moving on would be disloyal to Evan’s memory. A gesture such as this from a man she didn’t know only served to pull her in the other direction. Setting this aside, she swore to herself she would be there for him as he recovered. Paralyzed or not, Clay had earned a friend in her.
“Elena, ready to go, honey?”
