Killing Season Read online

  “No, it’s very scientific actually. Especially in physics. It helps to have a visual before you apply the actual numbers. I do it all the time.” Ben patted her back. “We geniuses think alike.”

  She blushed and went back to her bolo. “Thanks so much.”

  “You’re welcome.” Ben pointed to the bolo. “And I mean it. If Joe doesn’t want it, I’ll take it.”

  “I can make one for you, you know.”

  Her eyes were filled with expectation. Ben graced her with a gentle smile. Lilly’s siblings were a generation older than she was because her father had been married before. For the last four years, Ben had become her surrogate big brother. He had taught the two girls how to ride a bike, how to swim, how to read a compass, how to follow tracks in the mountains, how to skateboard. But puberty did what puberty does, and for the last few months, Lilly had become shier with him. He still viewed her as a little girl, of course, and he was careful not to give her the wrong impression.

  Rather than answer yes or no, he said, “I’ll see you later, hon.”

  Lilly’s face fell, but she masked her embarrassment by working on the bolo clip. Ben wondered if he should say something, but he’d only open up another can of worms. Right now, he had enough worms to start a tackle and bait shop.

  Henry Naranjo was a third or fourth cousin. Ben forgot the specific details, not that it mattered. Everyone was related distantly or otherwise in the pueblo. Henry’s studio was in the back section of the plaza, a dim, yellow light on over the door. He drank like a fish, smoked foul-smelling cigars, drove a souped-up BMW, and had had his license suspended twice for speeding. He’d been married twice with two kids and had remained on decent terms with both women. He was as American as they come, serving in the marines for two tours, but he wasn’t beyond doing the Indian thing if it meant showing customers that he was authentic. He wore a beaded headband and his black hair was braided and fell down his back. He was seated at his worktable, shoulders hunched over, squinting in the electric lighting, working on a red clay bowl. Henry, like a lot of Indian potters, worked freehand, considering it cheating to use a wheel. Music was blasting as loud as the volume button would allow. Ben turned it down and Henry looked up.

  “Someone has to take care of your eardrums.”

  “Sit down, Vicks.” Henry tossed him a glob of adobe clay. “Do something with those hands instead of jerking off.”

  The blob was wet and sticky, oozing red all over his hands. “I have no talent for this kind of thing.”

  “It’s practice.”

  “You say that every time, and every time, I suck. It’d be like me giving you a problem in topology.”

  “Just go with your heart, Vicks. Squeeze it, shape it, mold it . . . feel the energy.” A pause. “Have you gotten laid yet?”

  “Grace wants to know if you’re coming tonight.”

  “Of course.” Henry took a peek at Ben’s work-in-progress. “Looks like a turd.”

  Ben rolled his eyes, threw the glob at him, and washed his hands. He checked his cell. Plenty of bars for reception but no calls. “How’ve you been?”

  “Got a few commissions from Indian Market.”

  “That’s good.”

  “I’m not complaining,” Henry said. “Who’s calling you? Or not calling you. You keep checking your phone.”

  “No one important.” Ben stowed the phone in his pocket.

  “You still bugging that poor detective?”

  “Always.”

  “How’s the college search coming?”

  He was taken aback. “What?”

  “George Tafoya says you should make something of yourself.”

  “Of course I’m going to make something of myself. I’m going to college.”

  “Where?”

  “Henry, why do you give a shit?”

  “I told George I’d talk to you. He thinks you should go to Caltech or MIT. You should listen to him. Get out of here, Vicks.”

  “Who’d watch over you if I did?” Ben turned to him. “So you talked to me. Now you can shut up.”

  “Don’t get pissed. River Remez is a small town in a small state. People think you’re destined for bigger things. It’s a compliment, idiot.” When Ben didn’t answer, Henry said, “So you’re scared?”

  “I’m not scar—stop talking, okay. You’re pissing me off.”

  “Maybe.” He pointed a red-clay-covered finger at Ben. “But I am telling you the truth here.”

  “You never left here for the big city.”

  “I make pots, Vicks. I live here because this is the capital of pottery making. I don’t do nuclear physics.” A pause. “Is it because of Haley? You overprotect that girl. She doesn’t need your help.”

  “I know that. I’m not staying for Haley. I’m staying for myself. I like it here.”

  “You’re looking at your phone again.”

  Ben hadn’t realized he had taken it from his pocket. He put it away again. “I’m gonna go see if Grace needs help. She says you can come if you behave yourself.”

  Henry smiled. “I’ll behave myself. I’d do anything for her pozole.”

  As the car pulled up to the curb, the porch light went on. Ro came out a moment later, bounding down the walkway to the car. She opened the door for Griffen. She put her arm around her brother. “Was it fun?”

  “Super, superneat. Lilly’s grandfather showed me all his costumes. Some were like a hundred years old.”

  “Wow. Are you hungry?”

  “Are you kidding? I’m stuffed. They make a lot of stuff with beans. I’m gonna be dangerous tonight.”

  In the backseat, the two little girls cracked up.

  Ro stuck her head inside the car. “Anyone want to come in?”

  Ben declined for the trio. “I’m a little tired. Besides, I promised Lilly’s mother I’d take her directly home. How’d practice go?”

  “It went well. I just got home twenty minutes ago.”

  “Well, I’ll see if your hard work paid off at the kickoff game.”

  “You’re still coming?”

  “I told you I would. I keep my promises.”

  She said, “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it tonight. I was disappointed actually.”

  “It was really nice.” Ben tried to act casual, but the melancholia was obvious.

  Ro said to the girls, “He told me that he’d take the two of you to the game. Make sure he doesn’t renege.”

  “We’ll be there, Ro. Good night.”

  “Good night.” Ro rubbed her arms, but didn’t shut the door. “See you in class, Vicks?”

  Ben leaned over and took the door handle. “Sure.” He waited until she stepped back before he shut the door. He wasn’t mad or even disappointed. It was just the way of the world.

  Sometimes you lose and sometimes you lose.

  Chapter 6

  It was foggy and wet, but under JD’s guidance, Remez was smearing the competition 28–0 at the end of the third quarter. Ben sat off to the side, away and alone, wondering why he came where he neither fit in nor wanted to fit in. People kept telling him he was allowed to have fun. Trouble was he’d forgotten what fun was. He used to like skating and snowboarding, but after Ellen died, that all went to hell.

  The crowd began to roar again. JD had just made a brilliant pass to Mark Salinez, who timed it perfectly. Ballet for jocks, but it was pretty impressive. Ben looked away from the field and saw that Lilly was coming toward him, her stick legs climbing each tier until she got to the top. Impending womanhood was years off with her. Haley already had a few feminine curves, and he wondered if it was a sore spot between them. Lilly had chosen to don school colors in a show of solidarity: a red T-shirt, gold scarf, and jeans. High-tops on her feet. “I brought you a hot dog and a Coke.”

  “Thanks.” Ben took a bite. “I’m actually hungry.”

  “Mind if I sit down or are you solving the world’s energy crises in your head?”

  “Have a seat. How are you?”


  “Good. It’s a good game. Thanks for taking me, even though you had no choice. Where Haley goes, so do I. And now it’s also Griffen.”

  “Yeah, I’ve taken to calling you yin, yang, and yang.”

  “More like yin, yang, dot, dot, dot, and yang.”

  “Ah . . .”

  “It’s cool,” Lilly said.

  But clearly it wasn’t. Ben said, “Lilly, boys come and boys go, but a best friend is forever.”

  Her eyes were far away. “I don’t begrudge either of them, you know. I think they’re perfect for each other.”

  “They’re fourteen.”

  “You can fall in love at any age.”

  “You can fall in love, yes, but maybe not stay in love.”

  Lilly was still unconvinced. “I just wanted to give them some privacy. That’s why I’m interrupting yours. Why don’t you sit with the rest of us, Ben?”

  “Lilly, I’m not a huge football fan probably because I’m jealous of the guys who play and get the attention. I’d rather sit alone because it’s less noisy, and every once in a while, I can look up at the stars. They put on an even better show than JD.”

  She smiled. “You’re such a dreamer.”

  “I’m a loner,” he corrected. “A lone wolf.”

  Haley was bounding up the steps. To Lilly she said, “Where’d you go?”

  “I’m right here.”

  “Come back. Just because he doesn’t want to be part of it doesn’t mean we can’t have fun.”

  “I thought you told me not to stick around,” Ben said.

  “I don’t want you hovering around me, but you don’t have to alienate yourself.” Haley paused. “I talked to Ro at halftime. She’s going to show me some moves so I can try out for cheerleading next year. She also invited us to pizza with a few of the players after the game.”

  Ben was suddenly at attention. “Uh-uh. No way.”

  “Ben!”

  “You know what pizza after the game is, Haley? They go out to Ochoa parklands and get drunk and smoke weed. Sometimes they throw up in the trash cans. Not my idea of a good time, and it better not be your idea either.”

  “Please?”

  “Mom would kill me. Beer is bad enough, but Weekly’s a pothead. No.”

  “Mom’s not here. Please? Ro asked us to come.”

  “Fine. Go with Ro and be her responsibility. I’m not having any part of this.”

  Haley made a big point of sighing. “You’ll come with us?” she asked Lilly.

  “Not without Ben. I don’t trust those guys.”

  “You show solid judgment,” he said.

  “Please, Ben? Just this once?”

  “Why are you always asking me to do stuff I don’t agree with?”

  “Why don’t you ever do stuff that’s fun?”

  “Getting stoned is stupid, not fun.” She didn’t answer and he was torn. Go and have a rotten time or leave Haley to her own defenses?

  “Just this once?” Haley pleaded. “It’ll give me status with my classmates. I promise I’ll never ask you again.”

  She was Ro in miniature. Ben shook his head. “This is a mistake, but I’ll do it this one time and only for a few minutes. That’s the deal. If you complain, the answer will be no.”

  She kissed his cheek. “You’re the best.” She grabbed Lilly’s hand. “Come on! We’re going to miss the fourth quarter.”

  Lilly turned and waved good-bye. He didn’t bother waving back. The night had been a bust and he just knew it was only going to get worse.

  A few minutes turned into an hour. Ben sat in the darkness watching Ro sip her second beer while Griffen looked on in a little discomfort. JD was on his fourth bottle, but he was a big guy and always handled his booze well. Mark Salinez was also good-sized. He could down a six-pack with little effect. Shannon had chosen to remain dry while Chelsea had been nursing a single bottle for over an hour.

  It was Ron Weekly who was plastered. Weekly had one of those kinds of cute faces that girls went gaga over, the kind of looks that would turn womanish in his fifties. He was smaller than Manny and JD, but wiry and scrappy. Weekly was also not very good at holding his hooch and, of course, was drinking more than anyone else.

  The park was black, the sole illumination coming from a couple of flashlights. Manny had brought along a CB radio, and whenever a cop was in the vicinity, the lights went out and people hid behind the trash cans.

  Ben kept checking his watch. He had promised that he’d have the girls at home by eleven, which meant around thirty more torturous minutes.

  Weekly pulled out a joint. “Anyone interested?”

  Chelsea raised her hand. “Less calories than booze.” Shannon laughed a little too loud, then laid her head on Weekly’s shoulder. He brushed her off as he lit up. He passed the joint around and JD took a hit. He passed it to Ro. She locked eyes with Ben and then inhaled deeply. By the time the joint came to Haley, Ben’s eyes were daggers.

  Haley dutifully passed it to Lilly, who passed it to Griffen, who passed it back to JD, who took another hit.

  “Someone call the doctor,” Salinez told JD. “’Cause tonight you gave me one sick pass.”

  “Call the ambulance,” JD said. “A real sick pass for a real sick catch.” Another hit, then JD downed a wedge of pizza, washing the whole thing down with a beer. “But in all fairness, we could have mowed them down with a rolling pin. They were pussies.”

  “Yeah, they really sucked.” Weekly took a hit. “Sucked the big one.” He grabbed his crotch and laughed.

  Ben said to Haley, “Ready to go?”

  “Few more minutes,” Ro told him. “She’s my bud.” She put her arm around Haley. “My little bud.”

  “It’s a weekend, bro,” JD said. “What’s the hurry, Vicks?”

  Weekly said, “Where’s the fucking john? I need to take a wicked piss.”

  “Locked up at this time of night,” JD said. “Just use the bushes.”

  “Gross,” Shannon said.

  “Hey,” Weekly said. “I’m marking my territory, dude. Just like the ca-yotes.” He howled and broke up at humor no one else saw as funny. After he urinated behind a trash can, he stumbled back into the crowd, tripping over Haley. He prevented himself from falling flat-faced into the dirt by catching himself with the palms of his hands.

  Haley stood up. “Are you okay?”

  Weekly went over to her, picked up her hand, and kissed it. “I am fine, my fair maiden.”

  Ben was on high alert. Drop her hand, asshole. Instead Weekly kissed it again. “How does such a douche like Vicks have such a charming, lovely sister?”

  With Weekly still holding her hand, Haley began to squirm. Ben stood up. “Take your hands off her.”

  Weekly turned, grinned, and threw his arm around Haley’s shoulder. “If she doesn’t like it, let her say something, asshole.”

  Haley blushed and tried to move away, but Weekly had a good grip on her shoulder. Ben went nose to nose with him. “Take your goddamn hands off my sister.” A hard shove. “Now!”

  Lilly gasped and Haley’s eyes got wide. Weekly recovered and shoved Ben back, his arm making a swing toward his face.

  He ducked, but the asshole still clipped him on his cheek. Ben, being quicker and sober, kneed Weekly where it hurt. As Weekly doubled over in pain, Ben grabbed his jacket lapels and threw him into the trash cans. In the background, some of the girls were screaming. Shannon had rushed over to Weekly while Ro was screaming to stop. It was JD who ran interference, something he was good at on and off the field. He towered over Ben by a good four inches and fifty pounds. “Go home, Vicks.”

  Ben locked eyes with Ro. Say something!

  Silence.

  He backed away and grabbed Haley’s hand. “Don’t worry. We’re out of here!”

  Weekly had gotten back on his feet, but was still woozy. “Don’t fucking come back!” he slurred out.

  “Shut the fuck up, Weekly,” JD told him.

  Lilly and Griffen exchanged
glances and left to catch up with Haley and Ben.

  Ro shouted out, “Where are you going, Griffen?”

  “I came with him, not you.”

  “Griff?”

  But the boy was already at the car. As soon as Ben took off, Haley lit into him. “I could have handled myself.”

  “Yeah, I saw how well you did that.”

  “I coulda done it if you hadn’t butted in. Why did you do that?”

  “’Cause he was drunk and he was pawing you and you’re too stupid to see it.”

  “He wasn’t pawing me and you’re too stupid to trust me.”

  “Haley, shut up and let me drive before I have an accident. I can’t see too well, okay?”

  Lilly said, “How’s your eye?”

  “It hurts.”

  The rest of the ride was silent. When they got home, Haley stormed away. Still in pain, Ben waited a few seconds to get his composure back. He went inside the house. Mom took one look at him and her eyes got very wide. “What in the world happened?”

  Haley said, “What happened is my brother is an idiot!” She stalked off to her room.

  “Oh my God!” Mom exclaimed.

  His father said, “Laura, go get an ice pack.”

  Mom hurried into the kitchen. Lilly looked at Griffen. No one moved.

  Ben said, “I’m all right. C’mon, guys, let me take you home before it swells shut.”

  Laura came back with a bag of ice. “Benjamin, what happened?”

  “Little difference of opinion. No big whoop.”

  “You got into a fight?” Dad was incredulous. “You?”

  “With who?” Mom turned to Dad. “Hold this under his eye, William. I’m going to get some Advil.”

  Dad did as instructed. “Who punched you?”

  Ben took the ice pack from his father. “It’s not important.”

  “Ron Weekly,” Griffen said. “He was acting like an idiot.”

  “Ron has always been an idiot,” William said. “Why were you fighting with him?”

  “He was goading Ben by disrespecting Haley,” Lilly said.

  Dad whipped around. “What’d he do to my daughter?”

  “Nothing, honestly,” Ben blurted out. “It’s not important.”