Chapter 1

I had been to Mexico many times before – my job as an engineering consultant takes me all over the country and to many places around the world. But this was the first time I had gone there strictly for recreational purposes. I had seen parts of Mexico that I wanted to visit, but I was never able to enjoy them because of work constraints. So now I went there for me.

I had enjoyed myself immensely and was now on my way back home. I had bought a thirty-eight foot Class A motorhome (one of the really nice RV’s) a couple years back in preparation for my retirement. The plan was to spend my “golden years” traveling the country and seeing things I’d only heard about or saw on the travel shows on TV.

While I was still a few years from calling it quits workwise, this would be a good “preview” and I’d had a blast. If retirement was anything like this trip, I would be having the time of my life!

I had stopped at a little mom and pop restaraunt outside of Juarez, Mexico for some breakfast before heading across the border into El Paso, Texas, USA. Juarez in a huge city and I wanted to get through it as quickly as possible without stopping as a motorhome this size is not designed for inner city travel! Besides, I didn’t know how long I would have to wait at the border crossing, and I didn’t want to be hungry doing it.

I had parked my motorhome right in front of the restaurant, far enough back that I wouldn’t have to back up to pull out of the parking lot, but close enough it was easy to keep an eye on it. I went inside and sat down at a nice table to eat my last genuine Mexican meal.

Unbeknownst to me, while I was eating, there was mischief afoot. A young girl probably all of 19 years old had come to the restaurant and was sitting at the table behind me.

As I told the waitress my story and that I had been down here on vacation, she admired my motorhome from the window. I told her a little bit about it, bragging a bit admittedly, and that I was headed back to the U.S right after I ate.

Well, it seems the waitress wasn’t the only one listening, and after she had gone on to other customers, the girl behind me snuck out to check out my motorhome for herself.

I had foolishly forgot to lock the door, so after she had a look around for anyone that could catch her, she quickly jumped inside the motorhome and shut the door. She walked around I guess, looking at everything then went to the back of the coach and hid in the closet.

The way my motorhome is set up, the hallway to the back is on the passenger’s side all the way back to the master bedroom. She hid in the driver’s side of the closet, tucked down with the sliding door closed. There was no way I would have known she was there unless I physically went to the back of the RV, and opened the door to look. Which I didn’t.

I finished breakfast and went out to my motorhome. I set out, carrying my new passenger, for the border. When I got to the border crossing, the guards took the drug dog around my unit as usual, but of course, they found nothing. They asked for my papers from outside the coach and all was in order. I passed through customs pretty easily and when I got to the U.S. side the same routine and I went through just as easily.

Nothing was at all unusual until I got well within the U.S. border. I was probably 50 miles from the outskirts of El Paso when I pulled off the road at a widespot to get out and stretch my legs. There was nothing but desert around for miles, but I had been sitting for awhile now and needed to get up and move around. I had just got up headed for the door to go outside, when I heard a strange bump in the back of the coach. I went back to investigate and at first I didn’t see anything. But I knew I had heard something, so upon further investigation, I opened the sliding closet door and there I found her.

“What in the hell?” I said, stunned at what looked up at me. Now a small animal or even a snake wouldn’t have surprised me – scared me maybe, but not surprised me. They have been known to take refuge from the heat where they find it. But this was no snake or small animal. It was, in fact, a young woman!

“Who are you and what are you doing in my motorhome?” I demanded.

“Please Sir, don’t hurt me!” she said, raising her arms to protect herself.

I grabbed one of her arms and pulled her to her feet. “I’m not going to hurt you,” I said, “But I want to know who you are and what you are doing here.”

I sat down on the bed with her directly in front of me and listened to her story.

“Sir, my name is Rosa Ramirez. I live in Juarez ... or I used to. My father and older brother own an automobile junkyard there. We get by, but we are very poor. My brother likes to drink and when he does, he gets mean and he likes to fight. One day a few months ago, he went out drinking and got into a fight. The fight got bad and he punched the guy who fell against the stone wall and cracked his head open. He died, and as a result my brother was thrown in jail, accused of murder.

Well, my father could not run the business without my brother’s help and he didn’t want to see his only son go away to jail for years – my father is not a young man. So he made a deal with the Chief of Police. The police in Juarez are very corrupt and my father said if the Chief would let my brother go, he would give me to him as a bride. The Chief had always thought I was pretty and wanted me, so he agreed. My brother was let go and I went to live with the Chief.

Sir, the Chief of Police is a fat, sweaty, ugly man with terrible breath and an even worse temper. He wanted to have sex with me the first night we were together, but I refused. He got very mad and slapped me hard, telling me he owned me and I had better start being thankful that I was there. Well, over the next few months he tried a few more times and I got beat even worse when I didn’t want to.

“Once he hit me so hard he nearly broke my jaw. I had a black eye for days afterwards and couldn’t leave the house. The last time I tried to run away and go back home, my father gave me back to him and he beat me so bad that time I almost went to the hospital.

“I knew I could never go home again and if I tried to stay anyplace in Mexico, I would just be brought back to him. He has a lot of power in Mexico. So when I ran away this time, I knew I had to get to America where I could be safe.

“But you can’t just walk across the border, especially as a nineteen year old runaway. So I was in the restaurant when I heard you talking to that waitress. I saw my chance to get across the border and ... well here we are.”

“What about the border crossing – weren’t you afraid you’d be caught?”

“Sir, the border crossing is easy if you don’t have any drugs. The dogs there are trained to sniff out drugs, not people. And if you don’t give them a reason to search your vehicle – if you act calm and like everything is normal – they won’t. Since you didn’t know I was back here, you didn’t act nervous and they didn’t search this motorhome.

“Please Sir, I just have to get out of Texas. I have to get further north. I am not safe here – too many of these people live in Mexico and they will turn me in for the reward. I have to go further north to be safe. Please, I won’t make any trouble and I won’t be any bother. I just can’t go back there.” She dropped to her knees, begging me not to turn her in or send her back. I had to feel for her situation. I knew that Juarez could be a real bad place if you lived in the wrong area, and it was plain she had.

“Rosa, I’m not going to turn you in or send you back. But I sure can’t leave you here by the side of the road either. It’s 50 miles or more to anyplace and it’s hotter than blazes outside. You would die in short order out there. So I guess we are stuck together at least until I can find someplace to drop you off.”

“Oh thank you, Sir. I promise I won’t be any trouble – you won’t even know I’m here. I’ll sleep on the floor if we have to stop for the night and...” she said so fast I could barely understand her. And I have a pretty good grasp on Spanish!

“I don’t think all that will be necessary, Rosa. You are welcome to ride along with me. And if we do stop for the night, there’s no need for you to sleep on the floor. The sofa makes into a pretty comfortable bed,” I said.

“Thank you Sir. That will be fine. It’s nicer than my bed at home! This whole thing is amazing Sir.”

“Thanks. This is going to be my retirement home once I stop working. I plan on traveling around the country when I retire.”

“It’s very nice. Sir, can I trouble you for a glass of water?”

I got her a glass of water and then a thought occured to me. “Wait a minute, Rosa. If you were behind me at the restaurant, you came in after me. You left before I did and I didn’t hear the waitress talking to you. You didn’t eat anything at the restaurant, did you?”

“No Sir, I was more concerned about getting in here and hiding.”

“When was the last time you ate?”

“I had an apple yesterday at lunch.” she hung her head in shame. “I had to steal it from a street market. I hadn’t eaten since the night before and I was so hungry.”

“So you are telling me that in the past three days all you’ve had to eat was an apple?”