Chapter 3

<Jees ... you remembered.>

I thumped the side of my head, “Steel trap ... my mind is a steel trap.”

<We heard you thump it ... hollow steel ... very thin, very empty.>

“Cease and desist ... What house?”

<The one Maria de la Natividad Valero y Asensio rented from Karen.>

“Karen built a shack on my land?”

<Title is in her name.>

“How did that happen?”

<She wrote the check, Mr. K delivered title. She registered it. Her land.>

A different voice, <Wasn’t a shack.>

“Now there’s two?”

<You ain’t heard nothing yet.> said the voiceS in my head.

<It was a nice house ... it was just too close to the creek.>

“The flood was that bad?”

<You really need to go home. The new house... >

“What new house?”

<To replace the one in the creek. As I was saying ... the new house is in between the trees and the dump driveway.>

<East and north of the bunkhouse.>

“What about the trailer?”

<Guatemalans ... a passel of ‘em. Don’t ask.>

<Yeah ... Don’t ask ... and don’t ask Karen. She isn’t over it yet.>

“Over what?”

<Poor girl ... couldn’t get to the hospital.>

“Connie? Connie’s dead? That’s horrible!”

<Was a very bad winter ... baby died too.>

“Edgar must be devastated.”

<He went to Texas.>

“David!”

“Yes Wendy?”

“Can you come up here?”

“You decent?”

“What difference doses that make?”

“Umh...”

“I need your help.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good boy.”

“What?”

“Just get up here.”

I thundered up the staircase.

“In here.”

The voice was coming from the only open door in the hall.

“Wash my back. I can’t reach it and it’s bloody.”