Мэри Эндрюс - The Newcomer

“If she gets any more upset, we’re stopping,” Letty said, her eyes boring into his. “I mean it.”

“Did you stay in your room that day, when you heard them fighting?” Joe asked.

“No?” Maya hesitated. “Mommy was crying and I was scared and I wanted some juice, but then Daddy was very, very mad. Mommy yelled at him to go away, and I wanted him to go away too, but then he yelled at her again, and he hitted her and she fell down. She had a boo-boo on her head.”

Tears were flowing down Letty’s face as she considered the unbearable act that the child had witnessed.

Joe’s voice was gentle. “What happened next, ladybug?”

Maya ducked her chin. “I wetted my pants. I am a big girl and Daddy says big girls don’t wet their pants, so I should be ashamed of myself.”

“That’s not true, Maya,” Joe said. “Even big girls and boys have accidents sometimes,” he reassured her.

“I wet my pants in PE the first day of junior high,” Isabelle confided.

“And I had to take clean clothes to her at school,” Joe said. “Hey, Maya? Did your daddy see you after he pushed your mommy?”

She shook her head. “No. I hid. I waited and waited a long time for Mommy to come and get me, because I was scared.”

“Where did you hide?”

“Under the bed.”

“Good girl,” Joe said, patting her hand. “You’re a very brave girl, Maya. Can you tell me what happened next?”

“It was a very long time,” Maya said. “And then Letty got to my house.”

“I’m glad Letty got there,” Joe said.

“We took Mommy’s car, because Letty said Mommy went to heaven,” Maya said. “And now I live here, with Letty. And I swim in the pool and maybe soon I will get a kitten.”

They heard the ambulance doors closing behind them, and Letty turned slightly to see that the EMTs had loaded Wingfield into the vehicle. Vikki Hill walked over. She pulled Joe aside.

“They’ll patch him up in the ER, and unless there’s an issue, he’ll be transported to the jail.”

“Maybe he and Rooney will have adjoining hospital beds,” Joe said.

Vikki rolled her eyes. “Shit. That’s not even funny. Garcia was going to meet them at the hospital. How about you call your partner Shauna, and tell her to make sure they don’t let Wingfield anywhere near Rooney. By the way, he’s already demanding to speak to a lawyer. Can you meet me at the jail after you get things settled down here?”

“Yeah.” Joe nodded in Letty and Maya’s direction. “Maya basically just told us she witnessed her mother’s murder. Tanya and Wingfield were arguing, and she says she saw him push her down and she hit her head.”

“For real? She’s sure of what she saw?” the FBI agent asked. “Was Letty aware that Maya saw it go down?”

“No. Maya was awake and crying when Letty reached the scene, but I think she was hoping Maya didn’t actually see her father kill her mother. As far as I know, this was the first time the kid has spoken about it.”

Vikki pushed her sunglasses into her hair and kneaded her forehead. She watched as the ambulance pulled out of the motel parking lot, lights flashing but no siren. “What a cold-blooded piece of work that bastard is. He murders the kid’s mother, hires us to kill the aunt, then shows up here with a pretty pink outfit to take her home to her new mama. He actually thinks putting Maya in a fancy preschool will solve all her problems.”

Joe was only half listening. His eyes were following Letty as she and Isabelle walked over to the planter and parted the ferns to let Maya peek at Midnight and her kittens.

“What do you think will happen now? I mean, the only witness to Tanya’s murder is her four-year-old kid. Will they let me and Letty testify about what she told us? Or would a judge put Maya on the witness stand?”

“I’m just a lowly Feeb agent, DeCurtis. Not a lawyer. Obviously, you and Letty will have to make some kind of sworn statement about what Maya told you.”

Vikki sighed heavily. “But in the meantime, I’ve gotta go file a report because I shot a suspect who was getting ready to off an octogenarian. Christ, I hate paperwork.”

56

AFTER ISABELLE WHISKED MAYA AWAY for a much-needed afternoon nap, the Murmuring Surf regulars lingered in the parking lot even after the ambulance had departed—a rapt audience for Oscar Jensen’s first-person account of his recent ordeal.

He tightened a faded green-and-yellow-striped beach towel around his waist. “That guy was going to kill me.” He pointed to the scarlet stain on his crepey skin. “He had his arm around my neck and like to choked me to death.”

The crowd of women murmured their concern.

“And then Vikki—hey, it turns out she’s an honest-to-God FBI agent! Then, she hauls off and shoots him right in the foot. Didn’t even bat an eyelash. Pow! Just like on TV.”

Oscar looked over at Letty, who was mindlessly picking up the bloodied bandages, gauze pads, and other detritus left behind by the EMTs.

“Hey Letty, Letty,” he called. “That guy? I heard him say he’s Maya’s father. Is that right? How come he showed up here at the Surf? Was he trying to kidnap the kid?”

“Oscar!” Ava yelled, coming to Letty’s rescue. “That’s enough! Why don’t you go back to your room now? Put some ointment on your neck and a sock in your mouth.”

But Oscar was not easily discouraged.

“Man, what a weekend! First, I catch that prowler snooping around out here, then this morning, that Rooney guy tries to snatch Maya.…”

Ava threw a protective arm around Letty’s shoulder. “Come on over to my place now, hon. You look like you could use some peace and quiet.”

“And coffee?

“Definitely coffee.”

She’d just settled in at the table in Ava’s apartment when the downstairs door opened and a male voice bellowed up from below.

“Ava? Ava, are you here?”

Her hostess didn’t turn a hair. “No,” she hollered. “I’m not here. I’m off the clock. Come back tomorrow when the office is open.”

But the intruder was not to be deterred. They heard footsteps on the stairs.

Merwin Maples walked into the kitchen, out of breath from the climb and brandishing a battered aluminum walker.

“Now Ava,” he started. “This is an emergency. You see this walker? You see the legs? They’re all banged up. This thing is ruined.”

Ava poured coffee into a mug and handed it to Letty, then poured one for herself.

“What do you want from me, Merwin?”

“I think you need to buy Trudi a new walker, of course.”

Ava laughed. “Me? How is this my fault? Your wife is the one who turned her walker into a weapon.”

“But you’re the one who rented to that lowlife Rooney in the first place. And you’re the one who took up with Chuck, who invited that lowlife to move in here. I remember, I told Trudi, there’s something fishy with that character and his so-called wife. What was her name again?”

Letty spoke up. “Her name was Tanya, and she was my sister.”

“Oh. Well, uh, sorry to speak ill of the dead and all, but that doesn’t change anything,” he continued. “They were a gang of thieves.”

“And Tanya also happened to be Maya’s mother, in case you’re interested,” Ava said pointedly.

“Okay, but about the walker? These things cost money.”

“I’ll pay for the walker,” Letty said. “Trudi probably saved Maya’s life with it. Just buy a new one and save me the receipt, please. I’ll reimburse you.”

“Happy?” Ava said. She gestured to the door. “I’ll let you show yourself out.”

After they had the kitchen to themselves again, she went to a cupboard and brought out a tin of shortbread cookies. She lifted the lid, helped herself to a cookie, and offered one to Letty.