Page 61 of Casualties of War
“How many has he missed in the past?” Minnie asked.
“None.”
Téra sucked in a deep breath. “They said whole villages were going missing…”
Minnie shook her head. “Pascuallita is a big town, almost a city. Besides, it has been under Insurrecto control since day one. Why would they strip a town of its people? Pascuallita was supplyingthe rebels with food and more.”
“What if something happened like here?” Chloe asked. “What if they tried to snatch Cristián?”
Téra gazed at Minnie, hoping she would deny that, too.
Minnie frowned. “We can’t afford to speculate.”
“It fits the pattern,” Téra said, her heart sinking. “Duardo said it looked as though they were taking key people. Cristián is a key.”
“They don’t know who Cristiánis,” Minnie said, her tone sharp once more. “They’ve never known. Starve your imagination, Téra, or you will be of no help to anyone.”
Téra sat up straighter. “Right. Sorry.”
Chloe’s jaw worked. “Is there anyone in the area who can check?” she asked, hope in her voice.
“No,” Minnie said. “It’s deep inside the Insurrecto controlled areas, Chloe. Your satellite photos are the closest we can get.The next time one passes over, see if there is anything to see.”
“If there’s no one in the house, we won’t see anything,” Chloe pointed out.
Minnie met her gaze. “If the house is still standing, if there are no bodies lying near it, if there are no Insurrectos surrounding it with guns, then we’ll know they still don’t know about Cristián and the girls. It means they went dark for other reasons.Rushing in to find them might make things worse.”
Chloe’s eyes got even bigger. “I…hadn’t thought of it that way. I’ll check the feeds.”
“And find me more cellphones, please!” Minnie called after her as Chloe left.
Téra smiled.
“What?” Minnie demanded.
“You sound very boss-boss, ma’am.”
Minnie rolled her eyes. “Next?”
* * * * *
The little old house in the poor, inner suburb ofla Colinahad black mud rendering on the walls, no paint and few windows. In the heat of the afternoon, it was an oven. Even up on the roof, the air was too still and muggy. Garrett’s body against hers was slick and hot, which was the way Carmen normally liked it. She sighed.
Garrett lifted his mouth from her throat. “Am I boring you?” He sounded amused although there was a wary glint in his eyes.
Carmencupped his face. “God, no! It’s just…I can’tbreathehere! My skin crawls. The walls are too close, I can’t see beyond the next corner and it’s driving me crazy.”
Garrett sat up, tangling up the blanket they had been lying on. He wore jeans and a singlet, for it was too warm for anything else. Up here, no one could see his scars.
He glanced over the low parapet at the hundreds of narrow, tallhouses they could see from the roof of the squat house they had “borrowed” for the current assignment. More houses stepped down the steep side of the hill, one after another, their concrete rendering painted in gay colors that didn’t hide the squalid conditions. The late afternoon sun blazed between them, casting long shadows.
“It’s not the forest, is it?” Garrett said. He helped her sit up.She winced and tucked her arm back into the sling. Her shoulder would throb if she didn’t use the sling. She plucked her sleeveless tee shirt away from her chest, trying to stir the air beneath and cool off.
The door to the roof pushed open with a creak of rusty hinges.
Garrett’s gun appeared in his hand. As Daniel pushed through the door, a cellphone in his hand, Garrett relaxed.
Daniel pulledover an old beer crate and upended it. He sat on it, his elbows on his knees, the cellphone held loosely between his fingers.
