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***
The smell was all over her, and she almost felt sorry for the young reserve deputy who was driving. He had the AC on High Max and his nose near the whistling, two-inch gap where the window was rolled down. Even with that, he was pale.
She got out at the Tahoe, thanking the deputy for the ride. He didn’t wave as he left. The drive to the station took almost two hours, and when she reached it, she had reports to complete before she left. Chief’s orders, no matter how long you’d been working.
A half-hour later, she put the last copy of the report in the Watch Commander’s In-Basket and glanced at the clock as she went out the door. She’d been at work for thirteen long hours. She was whipped. The drive to the house took only a couple of minutes and as she entered the door, the phone rang.
Hunter hurried into the living room and picked up the receiver. Her mother, Belinda, said, “Why haven’t you called me?”
Hunter closed her eyes and shook her head in slow motion. “Hello, Mom.”
“I didn’t know if you were working nights or not.”
“I start mid-to-eights tomorrow night.”
“Well, I was worried about you. You know, you haven’t bothered to call me in over two weeks. Ronald calls me three times a week. He never misses.”
Hunter sat down and rubbed her eyes. They felt gritty, “Mom, I’ve been busy, I just haven’t-”
Belinda said, “I know,” a little hurt coming through in her voice, “You’re always busy, Hunter. Ronald’s busy, too, you know. He’s a very busy man, with his law practice and as the regional President of the ACLU and head of the local Democratic Party. But he makes time to call me. I guess I’m more important to him than to you.” She gave a sniffle with the last word.
Not tonight, Mom. Hunter took a deep breath and said, “Mom, I’m not Ronnie-”
“It’s Ronald. You know how he hates that other name. He says it presents him as immature.”
“He’s not there listening, all right? He doesn’t know I’m calling him Ronnie right now.”
“He’s just very sensitive about it, that’s all.”
“God, don’t I know it.”
“Please don’t take the Lord’s name in vain, Hunter.”
There was a long silence before Hunter said, “Mom, why’d you call? I know it’s not to visit. You don’t make calls just to visit.”
“I wanted to talk to you about your case. Has the Border Patrol provided you with an attorney?”
“Yes.”
“I hate it that my children are going after each other in court.”
“Tell Ronnie to drop it.”
Belinda let it go by, “Ronald says it’s clear to him that those poor people need someone to protect them from renegade policemen. He says vigilante justice by those with badges can’t be tolerated, and that the victims are always the poor and the minorities.”
“He wants to run for governor and he thinks making a sacrificial goat out of me will show how tough he is on crime. You know, prosecuting his kid sister in a courtroom with television coverage. It’ll be El Paso’s answer to the O.J. Simpson circus.”
“He’s just trying to defend the innocent,” she said.
“He’s in it for himself, Mom.”
“Well, did you or did you not shoot that Mister Lobo in front of his wife and child?” She sounded indignant.
Hunter said, “You bet I did. Three times. Two in the chest and one in the head.”
Belinda started crying. Hunter felt terrible, guilty.
“Baby,” her mother said, “I love you…no matter what. No matter how hardened you’ve become or what you did wrong.”
