“You drive a hard bargain, son, but if you’ve got the cash right now, I’ve got to sell this boat to you.” Rudy practically hugged him. He helped him take the dinghy off the sailboat and in five minutes it was in the water and he was heading down the river. That was three years ago, and since then Rudy had learned to take the little engine on his boat apart and put it back together again with his eyes closed. It was something he could get his hands on and his mind around.
The Okalatchee was Rudy’s daily escape from the world. The birds didn’t look at him like he was stupid. Nobody yelled at him for making the wrong change. Out on the river, he fit in. The fishing pole was his prop. Although he threw it in the water once in a while and even caught a fish or two from time to time, mostly he drove around exploring. When he found his perfect place for the day, he turned the motor off and drifted, watching and listening. He didn’t stick to the main waterways either. The river had a thousand winding little fingers that led to nowhere, and Rudy was determined to explore them all. When he turned off the river, he was immediately lost in a world bordered by thick mangroves and tall pines that shot up from roots deep under the water’s surface-a world where the gator ruled the water and the osprey ruled the trees.
The osprey wasn’t like the gator. He allowed the herons and the egrets to poach in his waters and the other birds to sing and fly. His was a benevolent kingdom. But when he took to flight, his white chest protruding, his massive brown wings extended, there was no doubt who ruled. Rudy sometimes imagined himself to be an osprey, perched high above the madness, proud and brave. As an osprey, he had no fear.
In Rudy’s mind, this was the real world, a world that had not changed since God first created it The other world was temporary, unreal, out of harmony with the universe.
While Rudy was getting ready for work after spending Thursday morning on the river, Wesley Brume was at the convenience store talking to his boss.
“I want to take your boy in for questioning when he comes in for work this afternoon,” he told the owner, Benny Dragone.
“What for?” Benny asked. He hated cops, especially the fat little bastard standing in front of him. He’d seen Wes in action before.
“I’m not at liberty to say. It’s police business.”
“You’re not at liberty to say. Does his mother know about it?”
“What are you, his fucking father or something? Is there something going on here I don’t know about?” Wes was getting his dander up a bit.
“No, I just watch out for the kid. I don’t want you guys fucking with him. You know he’s not all there. I’m not going to let you talk to him without his mother’s permission.”
“You’re not, eh? How about if we fuck with you instead? How about I get the health department over here right now? Check out your bathrooms, check out your walk-in.”
“Wait a minute. Hold on here. We don’t have to get drastic about this. I was just asking a question, that’s all.” Benny was from Chicago. He knew how bad things could get if the cops got city hall on your ass.
Wes knew from Benny’s demeanor he had the upper hand.
“No offense taken, Benny. I just want to talk to the kid for a while. If you can stay here for a bit I’d appreciate it. I’ll have him back as soon as I can.”
Benny thought about it for a minute. It stunk. He’d heard the rumors about Rudy being at Lucy’s house the night of the murder. It was all over the neighborhood. He was sure the cops had leaked the story and now they wanted to talk to Rudy. He also knew that Rudy was too stupid to defend himself. But what could he do? He didn’t like it but he had a business to run.
“All right,” he responded weakly. “But take it easy on him.”
“I know. I talked to his principal. You can count on me, Benny.” Sure, Benny thought, I can count on you to bend me over a sink somewhere in the middle of the night.
Wes was there when Rudy showed up for work. Benny introduced him.
“He wants to take you down to the station to talk to you. It won’t take long. I’ll cover you here and you won’t lose any money, I promise.”
Benny felt like the gatekeeper at the Colosseum feeding one more Christian to the lions. He saw Wes standing there licking his chops. Rudy could see Benny’s fear, but he had just come from the river and he had seen an osprey. He had seen him float down from his perch high in the sky and scoop up a fish in his talons. Rudy felt like an osprey, strong and fearless. Nobody was going to get the best of him today.
“It’s okay, Benny. I’ll go, no problem.” Benny watched as the kid led the fat little grunt out of his store.
As soon as Wes’s unmarked Ford left the parking lot, Benny picked up the phone and called Elena. He had always liked Elena. Ever since his wife Maria had died, he had fantasized about being with Elena. It was one of the reasons he hired young Rudy. Why else would I hire a kid who has trouble making change for a dollar? But Elena had no time for him or any other man.
“Elena,” he said when she picked up the phone in the hotel lobby. “It’s me, Benny. The police just picked Rudy up for questioning. They’re taking him down to the station.”
Elena was alarmed but not overly so. Working at the hotel, she had not heard the scuttlebutt about Rudy and Lucy that was spreading through the barrio like so much cow manure.
“Now Benny, what would the police want with my Rudy?” she asked lightly, almost as if she was trying to calm Benny down instead of it being the other way around.
“They’re questioning him about the murder over here in the barrio.” That made some sense to Elena. Rudy worked nights at the convenience store. He might have heard something. But why the station?
“Is there something you’re not telling me?” she asked, a little more worry in her voice. Benny hesitated. He just couldn’t bring himself to tell her that her son was suspected of killing Lucy Ochoa.
“No. I’m just concerned, that’s all. I don’t trust those damn cops. And Rudy, sometimes he’s his own worst enemy.”
It wasn’t his words but the hesitation in his voice that made her suspect this might be a little more serious than Benny was letting on. To be safe, she decided to put her head waitress, Teresa, in charge and head down to the station to find out firsthand what was going on. She thanked Benny for his concern and hung up the phone.
Five minutes later, after she had given Teresa explicit instructions, Elena stepped into her beat-up old Camry and headed for the police station a few short blocks away. It was a beautiful afternoon, a little nippy with a slight breeze blowing. She would have preferred to walk but there was no time to waste.
The receptionist politely assured Elena that someone would be with her in a minute and asked her to take a seat. It was a small room with only a few chairs and a door that presumably led to the inner offices of the police department. Rudy was in there somewhere, but the door was closed. The sign on the wall next to it said it was locked and could be used only by police personnel. Big deal, Elena thought. They make it sound like people actually want to go in there. But at that moment there was nothing she wanted more. The only possibility was to get the young woman at the receptionist window to buzz her in. She decided to sit and wait, at least for a few minutes. She looked at the clock above the receptionist’s desk. It was 3:16 p.m.
After a few minutes she walked up to the window. “Please, Miss, could you please call back there and let them know I’m here? I really don’t want anyone talking to my son outside of my presence.” The receptionist gave her a look but picked up the phone and delivered the message to someone on the other end of the line.