Hollywood Tough

Chapter 45

"His name isn't Carlos Martinez, it's Juan Ruiz," Delfina said, her voice a whisper. She looked like a delicate, dark-skinned, black-eyed doll lying in the hospital bed, her glossy black hair fanned out on the pillow around her.

Chooch was sitting next to her, holding her hand.

"They thought I wasn't listening, but I was. They had me taped to the bed. I was… I was without clothes… they…" She shut her eyes.

Chooch looked at Shane, silently pleading with him not to pursue Delfina's darkest memories.

Shane and Alexa were standing across from the bed. Dr. Sloan had suggested they keep the' group small and was waiting in the hall with the chief and Nicky.

"It's okay," Alexa said. "We don't have to discuss that."

"No, no… I have to say it." Delfina looked up at Chooch. "I'm so ashamed," she said. "But if I can't talk about it, it will live inside me. I will not get past it. I won't get better." Surprising wisdom from a sixteen-year-old.

"You did nothing, querida," Chooch whispered. "It was them."

She had tears rimming her eyes as she smiled up at him. "Thank God you are here with me, querido."

"What else did they say?" Shane asked.

"They said this man Ruiz has a dairy in Arizona, that they use his hay trucks, which come up from Sinaloa, Mexico, where he owns a hay farm. Juan Ruiz ships the Mexican hay across the border to feed his cows in Arizona, but the real reason is the chiva. The mayates said the drugs make it through the border checks because Customs dogs cannot smell it hidden in the hay."

"Did they say when this was going to happen? When the shipment of heroin was coming in?" Shane asked. "My cousin thinks soon."

"American," Shane said.

She nodded. "Senor…" Delfina was looking only at Shane now, her eyes boring into him while choosing her words with care. "My cousin is rifa. You know this word? He is special-the very best. But he fights for things so big, he has made bad choices to win. He worries about the movimiento and our clica. He fights for his people, but his weapons are wrong. He uses drugs and guns. These things give him money, and money gives him power, but they also enslave the children he hopes one day to free. He knows this and it tortures him. He cannot sleep. He is up half the night pacing. He wants to be a force for good. He wants to change the laws, to affect the politics here in El Norte, but without the drugs he has no leverage. This dilemma is destroying him. He carries it all on his back. It is making him desperate, and one day soon it will cause his death."

She was saying a lot of what Chooch had said two days ago in the kitchen in Venice. "You are the police, but he trusts you. If you can find him, maybe he will listen to you or to Chooch. Deep down he knows that to make a difference he must fight using the right weapons, and must be able to survive. He understands that the real solution is education. Soon our people will be the majority in California. Amac told me about a new plan he has to try to get elected to Congress, maybe go to Washington one day and become a great leader. But to do this he must not be a criminal. Please help him." When she was finished, her eyes remained locked on Shane.

"The blacks who held you, are they going to Arizona?" he asked.

"SI, Arizona. They said they were going soon. Maybe they have left already."

"But you don't know where?"

"No, but wherever Juan Ruiz's dairy is, that is where they go."

"Thank you," Shane said. "I hope you feel better soon."

She nodded. "I will feel better when my cousin is safe."

Shane and Alexa left the room and found Chief Filosiani and Nicky down the hall. Dr. Sloan had gone to attend to another patient.

"What'd you get?" Filosiani asked.

"Somebody named Juan Ruiz, which could be another alias for General Fernando Miguel Ruiz, or possibly he's a relative." Then Shane told him about the dairy in Arizona and the heroin that was coming in on hay trucks from Mexico. "We need to get into the state tax records and run a cross-check, see if we can tie somebody named Juan Ruiz to a milk business anywhere in the state of Arizona. It's probably near Flagstaff, because that's where the stolen Hertz plate came from. If that doesn't work, I'd check to see if there are any Arizona dairies owned by anybody with a Spanish surname, starting with Martinez and going on from there."

"Maybe we're about to get back in this thing after all." Filosiani opened his cell phone and moved down the hall, stopping next to a window for better reception.

"Pretty remarkable girl," Alexa said softly.

"Muy rifa." Shane nodded.

"Whatever the hell that means," Nicky commented.

Chooch exited the room and walked over to them, a fiercely determined look on his face. "Dad, I want to go with you."

"Jesus, if we're gonna keep having this argument, you better get over to the Police Academy and grab yourself a badge."

"Dad, please, what she said about American is true. He could make a difference one day. He could change things, but he's out of control right now. He'll try and avenge what they did to her. But I can get to him, talk him out of it. I know his heart. I'll be able to reach him."

"Son, we can't keep doing this. I can't. If this drug deal is going down, and American has gotten Farrell to spit up the location, then believe me, it's gonna be bad theater. I can't have you there."

"I owe Amac. It was my life and future he saved in that park two years ago. If we can keep him alive, someday he could really help our people."

"Our people?"

"I can't pretend I'm not Hispanic, that people don't look at me and see my dark skin. Sandy took chances to try and get a new life. She had brains and beauty, but here in El Norte, she had to sell her body to get ahead. If Amac's dreams had been true back then, she wouldn't have had to do that. If things were different, she could have had a different life."

As always when Shane was stuck, he looked over at Alexa, who just stared back at him.

"Don't you dare," she said softly.