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Hugo Montana is a Latino officer who has been Daddy’s best friend for as long as I could remember.
The two big detectives greeted us cheerfully and then unpacked a box of Popeye’s fried chicken and a tub of mashed potatoes covered with gravy. Dad grabbed two beers from the refrigerator and they tore into the meal like they’d never eaten before.
Evelyn, who was wearing a gorgeous yellow caftan and matching headwrap, had been singing as she prepared the pizza. Now she was quiet and a frown creased her forehead.
“Don’t worry, Evelyn,” I said loudly. “Daddy is beginning to see the error of his ways. He won’t be eating that junk much longer. The other day I caught him drinking some of my soy milk.”
“I had already poured my coffee,” Daddy replied. “There was no other milk in the house.”
Hugo munched a drumstick. “Leave us in peace, chica. We’ve just had a rough eight hours. First, we had to arrest a woman just so she’d tell us where her murdering brother was hiding, but then when we got to the address she gave us, he was already on a plane to the Dominican Republic. Now we’ll have to do a whole bunch of paperwork to get him back to the United States. What makes it so bad is that both he and Beany Cruz put together ain’t worth the price of a postage stamp.
“Who is Beany Cruz?” asked Yero.
“The dead guy.” Hugo shrugged. “Some penny ante crack dealer.”
“That was just this morning’s work,” groused Phil.
Hugo nodded. “After that, we get another call. This guy beat his grandmother to death with a candlestick holder. He gets down to the precinct and starts playing like he’s crazy. Only we know he ain’t crazy. Then, when that didn’t work, he tells us he didn’t do it. That he has a violent twin brother who hated the old lady. So we go back to the block and talk to the neighbors again. They look at us like we been smokin’ angel dust or something. Then we get it. There ain’t no twin brother. In fact, there ain’t no other family around at all. So then your daddy got mad and when we got back down to the station, I had to keep him from killing that fool.”
Yero had stopped mashing the chickpeas. He loves cop stories. “Then what happened?”
“We booked the fool and threw him in jail.”
Daddy grinned at Yero. “Why don’t you take the officer’s exam, man? Quit fooling around. You know that’s what you really want to do.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Evelyn said. “It’s just like in the old days when the lives of proper ladies were very structured and stultifying; they were always willing to listen to stories of what they called fallen women. Of course, they pretended to shake their heads in disgust, but the tales really added some color to their dreary lives.”
Yero pretended to be hurt. “What are you saying? That my life is dreary?”
Evelyn laughed and patted him on the back. “Of course not, honey. I just meant that you sell stamps all day and uh . . .”
I laughed. “Evelyn, why don’t you quit while you’re ahead.”
Yero went back to mashing the chickpeas as we all chuckled.
Hugo pointed a fork in my direction. “So, chica, I hear you’re going to be a bride. Is that true?”
Evelyn answered for me. “Saundra is going to be the most gorgeous bride in the history of brides. I’ve been waiting for this wedding for a long time.”
She and daddy locked eyes and I could feel the negative energy.
I hurried to cover the silence. “Are you coming to my wedding, Hugo?”
“If I’m invited.”
“Of course you’re invited. Don’t be silly.”
“Can I have the first dance?”
“No, my first dance will be with Yero.”
He continued to tease me. “What about the second dance?”
“Sorry. That one belongs to Daddy.”
Hugo sighed and took a long swig of beer.
“This wedding is going to cost me a pretty penny,” Daddy said. “Have you two found a church yet?”
