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“Per…”
“Year.”
“Ah.”
“We’re under no obligation but why not?” said Aguirre. “He seemed a nice fellow, Charlie. Delicate, you know?” Smiling and waiting for a reaction that didn’t come.
“Good guy,” he said. “Can’t believe someone would do that to him.”
“Is there any other family you’re aware of?”
“Nope. I’m sure of that because Charlie told me he was it.”
“How often did Charlie visit his brother?”
“From what I saw, once a week?” said Aguirre. “Can’t tell you if he came in when I wasn’t here. We don’t keep visitor records, we’re an open facility.”
“Are you aware of Charlie ever having any conflict with anyone?”
“Here?”
“Yessir.”
“No way. Nice guy, cool with the staff. We don’t have conflict.”
Milo said, “What about with another client?”
“Sir,” said Hector Aguirre, “our clients are incapacitated.”
“How about with the relative of another client?”
“Nope, never,” said Aguirre. “And yeah, I can be sure. I’m not going to lie, we don’t get that many visitors.”
“People stash their relatives and forget about them?”
Aguirre winced. “Man, you come right out and say what you think. I’m not going to lie and tell you that doesn’t happen. Dumping. It does, it’s not good but it does. But also I like to think families get relaxed because they trust us to service their loved ones.”
That sounded like something a mortician might say. This place felt like eternity’s waiting room.
Aguirre said, “Do I like the clients not being visited more? For the ones who can tell the difference, sure I don’t like it. Is it reality? What can I say? I’m not going to lie and tell younoone comes but on a given day it could be no one or one or two or three. Except on birthdays. Then they show up. We bake cakes. Tasty cakes, the families like them. Clients who can eat solids like them. We do balloons, those acetates…”
As if realizing he was bombing onstage, he trailed off.
Milo said, “Did Charlie ever visit Joey with anyone else?”
“Couple of times, there was a girl,” said Aguirre. “I remember her because she was…hope I’m allowed to do this but seeing as you’re guys.”
Grinning, he outlined an hourglass.
Milo said, “Hot.”
“Oh yeah. Lots of shape, lots of blond. I figured her for a friend of Charlie’s. A pal, if you catch my drift.”
“Not a love interest.”
“Love interest,” said Aguirre, as if learning a new term. “Well, you know. He, Charlie, was obviously of the gay persuasion.”
“Did he ever show up with a boyfriend?”
