Fatal Intent - Jamie Jeffries Page 0,6

aren’t here to help?”

And that was the crux of the matter, wasn’t it? She and Dylan were in love, or she thought they were. At nineteen, she wasn’t entirely certain it was love, although their physical relationship was intense. More than once, they had argued over her desire to leave town and finish school in Phoenix, especially after his bid to adopt his brothers had been successful. She was part of his support network. The network included Wanda, a distant relative of Dylan's.

Sofia, a Native girl who’d moved in with him with her own son for a little while to be nanny to the boys, had moved out shortly afterward. All too soon, the distance from her home in Sells had proved to be too great for her, and she’d gone home, leaving a gap that Dylan had a hard time filling without Alex, and Alex’s feelings were mixed.

At times, she resented the boys for complicating her relationship with Dylan. Not only did they take a lot of Dylan’s time, but their very existence made Alex wonder if she wasn’t just a convenience for him. Someone easy to be with who could also be an on-call babysitter. At the same time, she loved them for the sweet boys they were and her heart went out to them, since they were all but motherless. Completely motherless now, she reminded herself.

“I don’t know, Dad. I guess he’ll have to expand his network of friends. We’ve talked about it. He knows I have to do this, and he’s told me he’s willing to wait for me. I’m going, and there’s nothing you or he can do about it.”

With the words out, Alex didn’t feel any better. Her excitement was dampened by the knowledge that she might be running out on Dylan at the worst possible time.

THREE

Dylan hadn’t been inside the church since he was a young boy, but he sent his brothers with Ange on Sundays while he sat with his mom. He felt strange, following their lead as the congregation rose, sat, knelt and rose again during the funeral mass. Alex sat in the same pew, the boys between them, and did her best to follow as well. He was aware there were other people there, not many. It was surreal, hearing the intonations of the priest and knowing they were for his mother, and yet, so far, her name hadn’t even been spoken.

He risked a look at the casket, the best he could afford, sitting in the front of the chapel. A handful of fellow rangers had accompanied it in as pallbearers, and he was truly grateful he’d made some good friends in the short time he’d been back. He didn’t know who else he could have called on for this favor. Nevertheless, at the moment, he couldn’t even remember their names, except for Rick Anson, with whom he was often partnered on the job.

Davi fidgeting in his seat distracted him, and then Alex put a hand on Davi’s leg to quiet him. What would he do without Alex? His heart swelled with love for her, as he once again turned his attention to the priest. Now he was reading the obituary.

“Our sister Maria Chaves entered this life in an unnamed village of the Tohono O’odham Nation, forty-five years ago on January 15, 1970. In 1988, she married Jaime Lopez in Nevada, and then returned to her village to wait for him to return from war. Alas, that was not to be, as he fell to a terrorist bomb in Beirut, Lebanon. Maria is survived by her sons Dylan Chaves and Juan and David Mendez. Maria’s life was cut short by cancer, and she went home to Our Lord on Thursday, March 26, 2015.”

What a pitiful account of a life.

Dylan knew there was far more to it. His mom’s alcoholism, which prompted her to leave the reservation and settle in Dodge, illegally as it turned out. Rufio’s abandonment of her when his sons were toddlers and the extended months of near-vegetative state after the cancer invaded her brain. He hadn’t put any of that into the obituary, because he was the only one who cared. No one else needed to glimpse inside that sad life, if they didn’t already know of it.

At last, the Mass was over and the mourners followed the hearse to the city cemetery, where Maria would be interred. After a short graveside service, only a handful went back to the church for a luncheon provided by the