Part 17 (1/2)
He took it fro forehead ”Looks a little like Luis-like maybe when he was a kid Who's the stoner?”
”I'm not sure You said Luis came to Milwaukee to kill someone?”
Eddie nodded ”Luis told uy who killed his brother I think this guy used to live in Luis's village in Mexico”
”Luis didn't tell you theshot bolillo”
”Bolillo White guy?”
Eddie nodded He and Rico spoke perfectly ungraent Chicano street slang I'd heard enough of it during an on the huh,” Eddie said ”He called himself Uncle Teddy”
”Uncle Teddy?” As in Teddy Bear?
”Yeah Luis, the duot to keep the real name secret because Uncle Teddy is rich and powerful and if word gets out, he uys to take care of Luis Luis says he's going to hunt down this bolillo, but it ht take awhile In the sville, at this pickle plant where they ain't too finicky about checking papers He does a lot of other off-the-books work, too Like waiting tables or patching roofs for rich people who slip hiets a couple paychecks under his belt, Luis buys a gun I found it when I snooped under his azines”
Rico ca four cup of suds, settled back in his seat, and started happily slurping away I wondered how dumb a vendor would have to be to sell hi his allowance on Poke for brats I hadn't had a brat since I'd gone to prison I e baptized in beer, slathered in spicy sauce, and plopped inside a Kaiser roll Heaven on earth ot his very own brat, minus the sauce, and a paper cup of water Eddie and I had Mountain Dews Rico had another beer
By the tiers clean, it was the es They trotted up to the starting line: Italian, Polish, Hot Dog, and Bratwurst, all the old faone up the river Then a new sausage, this one wearing a so line
”That's Chorizo,” Rico explained He toasted the Mexican sausage with his third beer
The starter pistol fired and the Sausages sped around the bases, tiny ares, a Milwaukee icon alimmick drea the sixth inning of every ga on the sidelines stuck out his bat and tripped Italian, which resulted in a sausage chain reaction collision The player got a three-day suspension, while the Sausages came out with a line of Don't Whack My Weiner T-shi+rts and ed a victory lap
Rico booed loudly
”Shut up,” I hissed at hi up here”
”Sorry, baby,” Rico smiled loopily at me and oozed back into his seat Eddie rolled his eyes so hard he may have sprained his eyeball muscles
The teams came back on the field and everybody settled back down The war me drowsy I shook myself awake I couldn't afford to sleep I had detective work to do ”You don't know thethe snapshot, Eddie studied it carefully ”The white guy? No”
Rico leaned over and stared glassily at the Polaroid ”Looks like a pederasto de nino”
A child molester
Eddie pointed at the boy in the photo ”The uy- to think, too ”When was Luis killed?”
”Let's see-so good for Luis that year He ot his own apartment over on National Avenue School started and I didn't see hiht, must be the end of Septeuys knehere he lived and they'd already whacked someone”
I was suddenly very alert ”Who?”
”Didn't say Maybe soe scheuy you were uy they said you killed”
”Well, I didn't”
”So you ask did your husband and ally exist in this country, and your hubs was a rich bitch fro toto meet? Good question
”So anyway, Luis phones o to the police hat he knows Being deported is better than being killed But Luis just hangs up” Eddie crushed his soda can and set it under his seat ”Three days later the cops come to our door Say they found a body they think is Luis's, want Maue and do a positive ID I don't want Mao with her Gruesoarette burns, broken ribs, face all cut up, ring finger cut off The police think it's gangbangers They say Luis s But the cops don't waste a lot of tier far as they're concerned Quien da una ives a shi+t?”
”Was he shot?”
”No Get this, Mazie-he died from a heart attack That's what the autopsy said”
I blinked ”The guy hat, in his twenties?”
”Maybe what they were going to do to him was such bad shi+t he was-”
”Asustato a la muerte,” Rico supplied
”Yeah,” Eddie said ”Scared to death”
God
”Anyhow, a couple days later Luis's landlord calls,” Eddie went on ”Says Luis's apartment was broke into and we better take care of it The place was destroyed, like ripped to pieces So Mama and me, we clean up the mess Only e clean his cupboards, I find this key taped to the bottom of Luis's Cocoa Puffs box He loved those little chocolate crunches, ate 'em like candy Didn't care they were for kids”
Eddie took out his wallet and removed a small brass key with the nuure it's a lockbox key and I get excited, thinking I' to find thousands of bucks stashed away in some bank lockbox”
I took the key froer”
”Yeah, I found that out I took it to sohed at me”