Chapter 26

The Cactus Point Hardware Store was in the middle of the block, set back from Main Street by a small parking lot shared with the other stores on the sides of it. Customers could park in front of any of the stores and walk to the others. Or sit on the benches or chairs placed in front of each store. Buck was right. The hardware store wasn’t easy to miss with its huge rectangle white sign with bold navy letters spanning half the width of the storefront. Centered at the bottom of the sign was lettered “Est. 1901.” A glossy cardboard Open sign hung in the window next to the door.

A jingling bell hanging over the inside of the front door announced Steele’s arrival. An old man with a hunched back was behind the counter in the rear. He looked up from the book he was reading. He had a full head of stark white hair that matched his bushy eyebrows and thick sideburns that came below the bottom of his earlobes and almost reached the corners of his mouth. His cheeks were drawn and his leathery skin was lined with age. He wore a black and white short-sleeve collared shirt with a paisley bowtie. Bright green suspenders held up his black pants. Steele wondered if he had worked there since its founding in 1901.

“May I help you?” the old man said.

“I’d like to see the mayor. Buck Ka-e-te-nay told me he owns this place.”

“You know Buck?”

“Yes.”

“Good man, that Buck. Awful shame what we did to his people.”

“There’s a lot of injustice in the world. So, is the mayor here?”

“He is.”

“Can I see him?”

“You can.”

Steele waited. The old man didn’t move. Their eyes never left each other.

“I mean, can I see him now?” Steele said.

“So did I. I’m the mayor of Cactus Point.”

An image of Sarita Lopez was retrieved from Steele’s memory. As was her young son.

“I’m sorry,” Steele said, “there has to be a mistake. You can’t be.”

“Young man, the voters of this fine town would disagree with you.”

Steele gawked at the hunched over old man. “Are you Maria Lopez’s father?”

“Of course not. Why would you think that?”

“Elena Bargas told me her father was the mayor.”

“Oh, I wondered who you were. No. Well, yes. That poor child’s father is the mayor of Diablo del Norte.”

“Where’s that?”

“The other side of the border. In Mexico.”

“Why didn’t the police report mention that he didn’t live in Cactus Point?”

The old man shrugged. “You’ll have to ask Sheriff Millwater. Is that important?”

“No, I guess not. It’s just that there’s a lot missing from the report. His name is Juan Lopez, right?”

“Yes.”

“The report listed Maria’s parents as Sarita and Juan, but gave her Cactus Point address.”

“Maria lived here. It was her address. Why is that odd?”

Steele tapped the ball of his right foot on the floor. “I guess it’s not. It’s just that when someone is listed in a police report their current address is listed with their name.”

“I guess everyone knows where Mayor Lopez lives.”

“I didn’t.”

“You’re not from around here.”

“That’s why it should be listed in the report.”

“For you?”

“Yes. No, not just for me. For anyone who reads the report.”

“Everyone else knows it. They don’t have to read it in a report.”

Steele shook his head. He gawked at the old man. Was the mayor of Cactus Point senile? Steele didn’t think so. And he didn’t think he was playing with him. The old man was serious. Everyone in Cactus Point knew Maria Lopez. They all knew her father was Juan Lopez and that he was the mayor of Diablo del Norte and that he lived there in Mexico, wherever there was. So there was no need for it to be spelled out in a police report? That was the old man’s logic.

“Thanks for your time,” Steele said.

Steele turned and left the hardware store. The bell above the door stopped jingling as soon as he was outside. Not that Steele heard it. His mind was busy on other matters as he stared up at the vast sky, all blue with one whisper of a white cloud so faint it was barely noticeable. Sarita Lopez was hiding something. He had hoped to ask Maria’s father the same questions and compare the answers. But her father didn’t even live in Cactus Point. How involved was he in his children’s lives? Mrs. Lopez still wore her wedding ring, but she seemed ashamed for having it on. So they had an unusual marriage. So what? Steele knew he was grasping for straws. But she was hiding something.

Steele would have to speak to Sarita Lopez again, but now he needed to see Clive Jenkins. Buck had said he was the best shooter in town. Maybe Pete had led a secret life Elena didn’t know about.

Steele drove to Wood’s Place, the place of business where Clive Jenkins worked. Buck had provided Steele with information on Clive. He had graduated from high school three years ago and was doing well as a carpenter. Steele sat in his car in the parking lot observing. People at the shop were working both inside and outside on the spring day, but Clive was easy to spot. Buck had described him as six-foot-three and lanky. That’s who Steele was looking at. The boy wore a baseball cap turned backward, goggles, and a mask for protection from the sawdust floating up all around him as he worked on a piece of wood with an electric sander.

Steele got out of his car and strolled up to Clive, waiting at a distance to stay away from the sawdust. When the boy turned the sander off and swept his hand over the smooth wood surface, brushing the sawdust off, Steele closed the gap.