West of Laredo by Tom Armbruster (novel24 .txt) 📖

Lee takes her to a Mexican clinic. When the Doctor hears a policeman and an American woman is involved he refuses to examine her and leaves.

Lee asks the nurse to make an examination, which she does in Lee’s presence. The nurse quietly advises them to forget about it.

The woman, a physical therapist from Allen, Texas will not forget about it. “I’m pressing charges. I want him to go to jail.”

The nurse reluctantly fills out a form, indicating the “possibility of rape.” With that, they leave to go to the police station. But the nurse hurries after them. She asks, “Was this man tall?”

“Yes, very tall.”

“Sanchez.” “She said, and walked away.

At the police station the official is solicitous and does a fairly good interview. When he asks for a description the woman asks for photos of the police officers. When the Sargent says that is impossible, the woman says, “well then, tell me how many “Sanchez’s there are.”

“One. Timofei. Timofei Sanchez.”

After hours in the police precinct, waiting for Sanchez to appear Lee and Susan Werthen cross to the Laredo side where Werthen’s friend is waiting. Lee goes back to the police precinct that evening with Consul General Farrington.

After two hours of negotiation with the Chief they come away with a deal. Sanchez will be sent to Michohuacan, in the south, immediately.

“So how do you figure we won on that Lou?” Lee asks.

“Easy. Everybody knew Sanchez was bad for tourism. He was getting reckless.”

Before they reach the car a tall man blusters towards them. He is seething. He and Farrington have an exchange in Spanish that Lee can’t follow due to the speed and swear words. Sanchez is inches from Farrington’s face and Lee can sense the wrong word or look will spark violence. Farrington is calm, outwardly. He continues towards the car, he continues talking, and when Sanchez is about to explode he says, “Remember, we have a witness across the river now that you can’t touch. I’ll bet you don’t even know her name. But she knows yours.” Farrington starts the car and drives.


**


It's Sunday. Lee's day with Second Chance. Her favorite horse at the Laredo Youth Center. There is also Never a Lady, Buck and Commanche. All good trail horses. Lee gets there early before anyone else can claim Second Chance. The trail is a few miles along the Rio Grande on the U.S. side. They usually see clothes hanging in the trees that migrants took off after they swam across, but they never see anyone actually cross into the U.S. on their Sunday rides. Today Second Chance is eager for exercise. It's been a few days and he wants to go. Lee obliges. Let's him go, gives the reins away with every gallop and Second Chance takes it all. She reins up when the trail gets sandy right on the river bank and takes in the morning air and sunshine. As usual, there are birds, turtles, snakes. It's a beautiful ride, and always fun to be able to look across to Mexico. Lee can't imagine a wall separating the two sides.


The wall leads Lee to think about the prison, and Marker, but she decides to let it go, for just an hour or two. This is her time. Second Chance waits all week to run and Lee wasn’t about to rein up and walk to have time to think. Marker can wait.


The kids usually talk amongst themselves while Lee rides ahead. They don't know that Lee pays the owner of the horses for their time. But Lee figures if she can talk to just one kid on every ride, put in a few good words about working hard, staying off drugs, and living responsibly she'll have done her good deed for the day. Sometimes the talk comes after, when they go to get corn in a cup or a smoothie. It's all money well spent. Lee figures she doesn't have any real expenses. The ride wouldn't be as much fun without the teens. They are reckless and wild, ride like the wind but have the reactions and agility to handle it. Lee isn't much older. Maybe that's why she likes being around them. She's likes seeing their little romances bloom. Seems like the trail is a good place for that and she can tell who is after who just by how the horses line up when everyone starts out of the corral, taking it at a walk until they get off the Youth Center campus and into the desert scrub.


Lee feels that it would be nice to have a serious relationship, but the guy would have to be able to move around the world, still do his job, and not interfere with hers. Lee is convinced a relationship now with a local would be a problem, everyone wants a visa and a boyfriend would simply be another conduit to her for that. Not fair to her or her man. Better to go to the U.S. side for companionship or have a fling on vacation or on TDY, temporary duty in Mexico City. At least in theory. Lee almost says aloud, 'it's not that big a priority right now.'


She is attracted to Dale, the horse trainer. Dale looks too big to be a cowboy. He comes from the Buffalo soldiers, which explains his build and his presence as a black man in a 98 percent Hispanic community. Dale knows horses, is gentle with them and has the right temperament with kids. He's just a little married is the trouble. Plus what cowboy would want to move around the world. Lee decides to drop the whole subject from her mind and watch what is happening on the Mexican side of the border. Some laundry in the breeze, a couple kids playing on the river bank. Not much... Lee spends the next two hours just riding, enjoying the wind, the heat, the sweat and the ride. Far out front is Fa, she rides likes a Commanche, fast with head down towards the horse’s neck.


Everyone reigns up and walks the horses in.

"Hey, Fa, you coming for a smoothie!" Lee shouts to the last rider. Fatima is 17, a beauty already picked up by Laredo Mall's "Spices" boutique as a showroom girl and local model. But on horseback, she is just Fa out with her friends.

"Yea, I'm coming. You better wait for me! I'm on this pokey horse, he just likes to smell the roses once we stop riding hard."

"Pokey, huh? He looks pretty fast to me when he wants to be. Kick him, we're going!"


At the Smoothie Shack the kids fan out on the patio. Fatima Ramirez brings her smoothie close to Lee. Lee can feel the cool from Fa's breath and taste the orange.

"Lee. Let's say you know a boy..." Fatima stops her story and smiles waiting for Lee's reaction.

"OK, I'm with you so far."

"Let's say you know a boy and he is kind of a bad boy. He likes to party."

"OK."

"Well, I like to go around with him 'cause he's nice, he buys me dinner on the Mexican side at the nice places, I mean like the Cadillac Bar, Las Jarritas. You know, nice places! Here's the thing. I don't like him like a boyfriend. But he is cute. And he is a little wild. But quiet wild. You know. Like he'll jump off the train bridge into the river, but he doesn't say anything. He just jumps! Do you think I have to stay away from him? We just talk. So far. I just like him."


Lee is tempted to caution Fa, but wonders if that is not the American Citizen Officer in her hoping to keep one more American from coming into her consular district and getting in trouble. She tries to answer as a friend instead. "Sometimes friends are like family. We almost can't choose who they're going to be. My grandmother said we have to love those God has entrusted to us. Maybe He entrusted him to you? What's his name?"

"Luis."

"Well, I'll keep a look out for him next time Homeland Security invites me to the train bridge to inspect some cargo. Maybe we can get him to ride horses, it's safer!"

Fatima laughs. "A gang banger cowboy! Ay!"

"Wait a minute, there's a difference between a bad boy and a gang member. Which is he?"

"He's a Teco."

"Fa, I gotta change my line. You ought to stay away. Away, away, away. You hear me?"

Fa laughs. "Yea, I hear you."

Lee cocks her head to the side. "You must have a lot of boys who would take you to the Mexican side to the Cadillac Bar."

"Yea. I've got some boys. Like "Dice," she laughs. But he's gay. Maybe we could get him to ride too, then we'd have a gang banger cowboy and a gay cowboy, Ay! Que rico!"

Lee smiles despite herself, but feels her stomach muscles tighten. Drugs and girls like Fa don't mix.


**


Consul General Farrington hopes this expedition is successful and yields some drugs or suspects. The Mexicans need a win right now anyway. They know there will be hell to