Statute of Limitations

Chapter Six

Early Christmas morning, Everett Wardell and Bruce Jakes would be arraigned on charges of grand larceny auto theft, interstate transportation of stolen goods, conspiracy, and resisting arrest, as well as assault during the commission of a felony. Estelle had no intention of dragging Judge Lester Hobart out of bed before then.

Sour under any circumstances, Hobart’s reaction was predictable. He would dither with rage as he dealt with the ragged pair who had dared to assault one of his oldest friends on such an otherwise peaceful holiday.

Both Wardell and Jakes swore to the deputies that they had never laid a hand on retired Posadas Police Chief Eduardo Martinez back at the motel, but that would cut no ice with Judge Hobart. Whether Chief Martinez was ever going to have a chance to recite his version of the incident remained in question.

The young Las Cruces reporter, Todd Willis, whom Bill Gastner had dubbed “Joseph,” remained the only witness to some of the events outside the Posadas Inn that Christmas Eve. None of the motel’s other patrons interviewed by deputies had glanced out a window or strolled into the parking lot during the moments in question. And Willis was unwavering in his recollection. He had not seen the two Indiana men physically touch Chief Martinez.

Until they could appear for preliminary arraignment before the judge, the two men could enjoy the sterile comfort of separate cells. There was no reason to doubt their pitiful tale.

Bruce Jakes had worked for an auto parts store in Hickory Grove, Indiana. The week before Christmas, his uninsured 1982 Datsun pickup truck, parked at the curb under a growing pile of snow, had been totaled by one of the Hickory Grove city snowplows. As that storm stretched on and on, the leaden skies over Hickory Grove remained bleak and oppressive, crushing the winter-weary Hoosiers.

Bruce Jakes’s string of bad luck and the dismal weather finally prompted Jakes to suggest, during a long drinking binge with his unemployed pal, Everett Wardell, that the sunny climes of the Baja were just the place for two Indiana slush-kickers. Neither had ever visited Baja, but Jakes had seen enough of it during coverage of an off-road race on ESPN that it looked like heaven compared to the mounds of snow. One thing led to another.

Responsible for closing the auto parts store at noon on Saturday, Jakes had done just that…after pocketing the cash portion of the week’s receipts. Secure in knowing that the store’s owner was enjoying two weeks in Georgia with a daughter’s family, Jakes then stole the well-worn Dodge sedan that belonged to the store owner’s wife. With pockets flush and the car sort of eager, Jakes and Wardell had headed west.

They had a full day’s head start. The store owner’s teenaged son reported both the stolen car and pilfered store the following Monday morning. By that time, Wardell and Jakes were long gone.

When they crossed the Mississippi River on Sunday afternoon, they had outrun the winter storm. The skies cleared and they motored on, convinced that the gods were smiling on their enterprise. The interstate seemed a safe place, and the old Dodge blended in with traffic.

The first tickle of sour luck struck Monday afternoon in eastern Oklahoma. Whether it was flu or food poisoning, a virulent bug laid them both flat on their backs, and the motel outside of Claremore became their home until they were able to stagger back onto the road.

Trading driving chores, they had made it as far as southern New Mexico before the weather turned bad again near Las Cruces, and then a bit later the right front tire gave up the ghost-almost exactly halfway between Deming and Posadas. Bolting the silly little space-saver spare on the Dodge, the two men wobbled ever westward into Posadas, stopping at the Posadas Inn on Christmas Eve. By now road-weary, they saw the inn as a safe haven for the night. They would tackle tire troubles the next morning, if they could find a service station open on Christmas Day.

Temptation smiled on them through the drizzle that Christmas Eve. In the motel’s parking lot, they chanced to pull in beside a nice, shiny new Buick LeSabre, warmed up and ready to go, with an owner who barely had the strength to haul himself toward the motel entrance. Everett Wardell had seen heart attacks before-both his father and two brothers had died of them. He could tell that the little stout man with the pale, sweaty face and bluish lips wasn’t going to need the Buick much longer.

Neither Wardell nor Jakes knew anything about border crossings, but with the impulsive theft of the Buick, life was becoming complicated enough that Mexico seemed like a good idea, sooner rather than later. Arriving in Regál innocent of the realization that now they were only minutes ahead of the law, they were astonished to find the border crossing closed for the night-whoever had heard of such a thing?

That presented a problem, since both men knew from the movies that both the big crossing behind them at El Paso and the one farther ahead somewhere in Arizona were crawling with Border Patrol and other cops at all hours of the day and night-holidays not withstanding.

The brainstorm of hiding at the little picturesque iglesia had been Wardell’s, part of his life philosophy whose cornerstone read, “When in doubt, do nothing.” Parking beside the bulk of the church, the Buick remained in the shadows, its license plate hidden. Had the headlights of Deputy Tom Pasquale’s patrol unit not glinted briefly off the Buick’s headlight chrome, the fugitives’ luck might have held.

The inside of the church was warm and inviting, and both Jakes and Wardell relaxed, chatting with the ancient man who kept the fire stoked. Had the scene not been interrupted so rudely a few minutes later by the young man and woman who, it turned out, were far more than just a young couple, Wardell and Jakes might have been invited over to the old caretaker’s house after church services for some holiday cheer.

Fifteen minutes after midnight on Christmas morning, Estelle Reyes-Guzman finished the preliminary paperwork and recorded the requisite message on District Attorney Dan Schroeder’s voice mail. She cranked out a brief press release for Frank Dayan, publisher of the Posadas Register, knowing that the release would prompt a flood of additional questions that she either couldn’t, or wouldn’t, answer.

The fugitives were in separate cells in the Public Safety Building lockup, no doubt staring sleeplessly at the ceiling and thinking that this was turning out to be one of their least merry Christmases. Confirmation of their story had already arrived from the Hickory Grove, Indiana, police department.

Stopping at the small newspaper office just long enough to slip the release through the mail slot, Estelle then continued on to the hospital, where she found that the extended Martinez family had pitched camp, taking over the small waiting room beside the intensive care unit. Father Bertrand Anselmo had stayed with them.

Estelle spent half an hour with the family after looking in on the chief. Eduardo Martinez remained unresponsive amid the welter of tubes and sighing machinery. His body was there, but he was clearly no longer in residence. Having done as much as he could, Dr. Francis Guzman had gone home, leaving the ICU in the efficient care of the unit nurse.

Shortly after 1:00 a.m., Estelle left the hospital as well. The rain had stopped. She drove slowly with her window down, savoring the sharp wind from the southwest that carried a bouquet of aromas from the wet desert. She could see a scattering of stars breaking through the scud over the San Cristóbals.

Turning south on Twelfth Street, she saw that her husband’s SUV was pulled into their driveway, tucked in close to the neighbor’s fence so that Estelle would have plenty of space to park her county car.

Sofía Tournál’s Mercedes was parked at the curb in front of the house as if poised for a swift getaway, but in truth, Francis Guzman’s aunt would have reveled in the opportunity to spend a long evening with Estelle’s sometimes acerbic mother and the two little boys.

If not feeling actually cheated or jealous, Estelle did feel a pang of regret that she had passed Christmas Eve investigating the exploits of two misfits from Indiana, her mood driven further into melancholy by Eduardo Martinez’s illness.

She punched off the headlights as she nosed the car into the driveway. As she got out, she saw that besides the porch light, a single light burned in the living room. She pushed the car door closed with her knee so that the latch made no more than a quiet click. Standing still for a moment, she inhaled the tang of the sharp, damp air. The antiseptic smells of the hospital still clung to her, the same smells that lingered on her husband’s clothing as a sort of permanent trademark.

The front door opened, and Sofía Tournál stood framed by the porch light.

“Qué noche,” she said as Estelle approached the step, then switched to her elegantly accented English. “The good doctor came home about an hour ago.”

“I’m sorry all of this came up,” Estelle said.

“Oh, there’s nothing to be sorry about, querida.” Sofía deftly held open the storm door with her hip and hugged Estelle at the same time. “We all have our jobs to do.” She peered out toward the street. “I half expected the good Señor Noctámbulo to be with you.”

Estelle laughed at Sofía’s reference to Bill Gastner, Mr. Night Owl. “No, he went home. I think we wore him out. Either that, or he got hungry and went to find something to eat.”

“Ah, we have plenty here,” Sofía said.

“It smells wonderful.” Estelle closed the door and slipped off her coat, draping it over the back of the nearest chair. “But Padrino is more like the old tejón. He comes out for a while, but then he needs to find a dark corner somewhere, away from everybody.”

“Such an interesting fellow,” Sofía mused. “I am very fond of this old badger, as you call him. That’s most appropriate. But…,” and she waved her hands in a flourish to change the subject. “What can I fix you?”

“A cup of tea would be nice.”

Sofía looked askance at her nephew’s wife. “Tea? Just tea, after such a night? Don’t be ridiculous. Let me fix you a little something.”

“No, really,” Estelle said, holding up a hand. “I need to let my stomach settle a little. It’s too late to eat now.”

“Ah,” Sofía said. “An ugly night, no?”

“Just depressing,” Estelle said. She lowered herself into one of the straight chairs at the dining table with a sigh. “Sometimes I think that people lie awake nights thinking of stupid things to do.”

“Ah,” Sofía said again. “Well, we both know that to be true.” She half-filled a saucepan with water and set it on the stove, and Estelle watched as the older woman methodically double-checked that she was turning on the correct burner. “Do I know Mr. Martinez?”

Estelle rested her head on her hand with half-closed eyes. It felt good not to move. “I think you met him the night we had the big retirement banquet for Padrino a couple of years ago. Short, quite heavy, a very gentle man in every way.”

“His wife is Essie?”

“Yes. I wish I had your memory, Sofía.”

The older woman chuckled. “I remember only things that don’t really matter, querida. But I remember her. We had a nice talk that night, I remember. She was so glad that Arturo…is it Arturo?”

“Eduardo.”

“Ah. She was pleased that Eduardo had retired the year before.” She leaned her hip against the counter and watched the water. “I remember that she was a little bit worried about Padrino…that maybe he’d have a hard time with retirement.” A wistful expression touched her face. “That maybe he wouldn’t find enough to do.”

“Not likely,” Estelle said. “I think Padrino is every bit as busy now as he ever was.”

“I think so, too. But the good doctor doesn’t think it will go so well for Mr. Martinez now.” The “good doctor” was her standard reference to her nephew, Estelle’s husband.

“No.”

“Lo siento,” Sofía said. Estelle watched her husband’s aunt contemplate the steaming water. The lines in Sofía’s face were etched a little deeper, her square shoulders a little more rounded than Estelle remembered. She knew that Sofía Tournál had enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the complex legal and political world of Veracruz by being intelligent, tough, and cool under pressure. Sofía had buried two husbands and, childless herself, had focused her attention over the years on the myriad nieces and nephews in her extended family, in particular her favorite, Dr. Francis Guzman.

The quiet worry that Estelle saw now wasn’t because a man whom Sofía had met only once had suffered a heart attack…or even because she might be worried that retired sheriff William Gastner might not be finding enough to keep him busy.

“These things are always so sad,” Sofía said finally. She glanced at Estelle. “But we had a nice evening. You know…,” and she stopped in midsentence, busy with selecting just the right mug from a cabinet beside the refrigerator. With economy of motion, she filled the tea strainer with bulk green tea, then poured the boiling water. She turned off the burner and carried the cup to the table.

“There,” she said. “And nothing else?”

“No, thanks, tía. This is fine.” It was nice to be waited upon.

Sofía settled in the chair beside Estelle, folding her arms comfortably on the table. Estelle stirred the tea gently, waiting. The older woman’s lips had been pursed in concentration, but now her face relaxed. She took a deep breath, her patrician eyebrows rising with the inhalation.

“I should just go to bed,” she said. “Such a day.”

Estelle smiled and adjusted the mug carefully on the table, lining it up with the pattern of the placemat. “But that’s not what you want to do,” she said.

Sofía reached out and patted the back of Estelle’s left hand. “You’re most perceptive,” she said, and then leaned closer, her voice no more than a whisper. “Listen, querida, I tell myself that this is none of my business, but…”

She stopped, and Estelle took Sofía’s hand in both of her own for a quick squeeze, touched at the woman’s uncharacteristic reticence. Her aunt looked somehow older, more fragile. The skin of her hand felt paper thin, and Estelle felt a jolt at the realization that this amazing woman was actually aging. A quiet force who had simply always been, now for the first time that Estelle could remember Sofía Tournál appeared hesitant and unsure.

“We must talk about Francisco,” Sofía said abruptly.

Estelle’s heart jolted and she couldn’t keep the surprise out of her expression. She instinctively knew that Sofía was not referring to Dr. Francis-any concern she might have about her nephew and his clinic she handled mano a mano with “the good doctor.” That left little Francisco, and clearly, this was not a “boys must have a dog,” “baseball through the window,” or “chocolate smeared on the carpet” moment. Such things, Sofía would shrug off with an expressive roll of her green eyes. Few of life’s vicissitudes appeared to dent the gracious attorney’s serenity.

Giving herself time to think, Estelle turned the tea strainer around the cup, then lifted it out, holding it for a moment to catch the drips. She placed it carefully on the napkin. Sofía said nothing else, but waited as if it might be important that Estelle hold on to the table with both hands.

“It’s important for me to know what you think,” Estelle said.

Sofía’s face softened and it seemed as if some of the tension left her.

“That’s good,” she said, “because I have to speak my mind even if you should hate me for it.”

Estelle smiled at her aunt’s formality. “I think you know me better than that,” she said. “You’re talking about hijo’s music?”

“Ah,” Sofía said, nodding. “Yes. That’s what we need to discuss, you and I. Your mother sat up with me until the good doctor came home. She and I talked this over.” She flashed a smile. “And listen to me now. This is what I mean. Two old ladies discussing what the boy’s mother and father should do. It’s none of our business, no?”

“You have an interest,” Estelle replied. “And you’re concerned. So am I.”

Sofía heaved an enormous sigh. “Tell me,” she started to say, then hesitated. “Tell me what you think about this little boy of yours.”

“He worries me,” Estelle replied. She pushed the mug of tea to one side. “It keeps me awake at night. Here he is, six years old, so drawn to the piano, so sucked into his own private world,” and Estelle collapsed an imaginary ball with both hands until her fists were clenched one over the other, “that I know exactly where he’s going to be when I come home.”

She nodded toward the living room. “Even Carlos…I see changes in him. He’s always been enchanted with books and stories-you’ve seen that. And now, with his older brother composing these…these soundtracks to go with them, it’s as if Carlos has become a permanent fixture on the end of the piano bench.” She paused, surprised at the gush of words she’d released. “All of that is wonderful, but I don’t know where it’s going, and I don’t know what to do about it, if anything.” She raised an eyebrow at her aunt. “So you see, querida, what you think is important to me.”

“Ah,” Sofía said, and she drew it out thoughtfully. “Let me just say it, then. I talked to Francisco’s piano teacher today.” She folded her hands, as if passively waiting for an explosion. “We spoke on the phone earlier, and she invited me to stop by. I did so, early this afternoon.”

“Mrs. Gracie is an interesting lady,” Estelle said.

“Yes, she is,” Sofía said slowly. “I was surprised when she agreed with me.”

“Agreed? About what?”

“Francisco is a prodigious talent, you know.”

“Yes.”

“But listen. I don’t mean simply gifted. He is so much more than that. The problem arises…,” and she paused. “The problem arises because in just a short time, there will be nothing for him here.”

“Nothing for him here? What does that mean?”

“Mrs. Gracie agrees that within the year, perhaps two at most, Francisco will grow beyond anything that she might be able to do for him. Maybe even sooner than that.”

“She’s such a wonderful musician,” Estelle said.

“Sofía tilted her head in agreement. “Yes, she is, querida. She plays beautifully. And you know,” and Estelle’s aunt leaned forward, a twinkle in her eyes that Estelle saw was tinged with something akin to regret, “so do I, when this arthritis allows it.” She thumped swollen knuckles gently on the tabletop. “But we are not Francisco.”

“That’s hard to believe, tía.”

“You must believe it, querida.”

“Perhaps she can recommend someone else, then,” Estelle said.

“Oh, perhaps she can, perhaps she can. And so can I. But the truth we must face is a simple one: Posadas, dear little village that it is, is not the sort of place that will-” she paused, searching for the right words “-that will nurture the musical world of this remarkable little boy. His mind is so filled with it, you see. He thinks in musical terms, Estelle.” She leaned forward eagerly. “Music to Francisco is simply a private language that he speaks far more fluently than English, or Spanish, or whatever you choose.”

She spread her hands in front of her and waggled her fingers. “With all of that, he is also blessed with the magical coordination that allows him to speak this language of his.”

Estelle sat back, the tea forgotten.

“This is a serious question,” Sofía said. “And I will put it in the simplest terms. You have a son with an extraordinary gift…. It is beyond anything I have ever seen-and I have seen many gifted young musicians come and go.”

“He’s only six, tía.”

“I don’t care if he’s but three,” Sofía said with surprising vehemence. “What faces you now is deciding how that gift should be bestowed on the world.”

She leaned forward again, again placing a hand on Estelle’s. “The twelve years between this moment and when we start thinking of him as a young man…those are vital to his growth as a creative genius. I’m sure you know that.”

The twelve years, Estelle thought, and found herself unable to imagine little Francisco as an eighteen-year-old. Worse yet, various faces of eighteen-year-olds that she’d had contact with through work paraded unbidden through her mind, like Macbeth’s ghosts.

“He is so…so dócil at this point, don’t you think?” Sofía asked.

“I know that he seems consumed,” Estelle said carefully. “It’s as if the piano is a window for him, somehow.”

Sofía nodded. “It is a rare thing, this combination. The gift up here”-she touched her own temple-“and the gift here.” she extended her hands palms up, the fingers playing silent arpeggios in the air. “And I see…” Once more she hesitated, searching for just the right words in English. “I see a kind of concentration, a kind of ambition with no concern for time, that is most unusual in a mere child.” She shrugged expressively. “But he is no mere child. Do you agree?”

Estelle laughed quietly. “He has no sense of the time of day, that’s for sure. If he wasn’t interrupted, I don’t know how long he would sit at the piano.”

“Just so. And every moment he spends there, it is as if another door opens for him. I hope you see that. The challenge is that he must work with someone who recognizes those doorways, those opportunities, and directs Francisco on this path he has discovered.”

“He’s only six,” Estelle said again, and surprised herself with the defensive edge in her voice.

“Only six,” Sofía replied. “You keep saying that. To him, it is an eternity since his fifth birthday. He does more in a single hour than the average child who is forced to plod through piano lessons does in a year. Let me tell you what we did this evening.” She leaned forward with relish, both hands clasped tightly, pressed between table and bosom. “I played for him a small piece, a trifle, by Debussy. Maybe you know it.” She hummed a lilting series of notes. “It is his ‘Reverie,’ and everyone who takes lessons on the piano plays it sooner or later. I had played no more than ten measures when Francisco dissolved in giggles…pure six-year-old, you know. He leans against my arm and says, ‘He has his feet in the water.’ And he swings his legs back and forth under the bench, like so.” Sofía paddled her hands.

“His feet in the water?”

“That’s what happens, you see,” Sofía said. “When Francisco hears music, it instantly paints a picture in his little head. And then he uses the piano to extend that picture, to paint the whole image…the whole gallery, if you like. That”-Sofía leaned back in satisfaction-“that is his genius. And for him, I see no limitations.”

Estelle sat silently for a long time. “My husband needs to invent a potion to keep hijo six years old forever.”

“Ah, that would be a tragedy for Francisco,” Sofía said, unamused. “He must grow into himself, and we must help him do that.”

“What are you suggesting?” Estelle asked, feeling as if she’d drunk a bag of cement rather than a quarter-cup of tea.

“There is so much to discuss, querida, but Mrs. Gracie and I agreed, and maybe we are out of place. But I must say it. Posadas is a wonderful little village, and you and Doctor Francis have done wonderful things here…commendable things. But it is not the place for Francisco. Not now.”