Ch 15 Grief

Ronnie’s right eye creaked open. He was lying on his side, the left side of his body facing toward the sky. He was half awake hearing distraught voices behind him. He knew nothing but the pain that was thriving through his body. He could feel something cold and slimy on his left temple, a green, mossy residue. The voices behind him were getting clearer.

“We can’t take him to a hospital.” Said Adelita in Spanish wiping her hands on her floral apron. She was a stocky, short old woman. Her house was badly painted in a pastoral green that could be seen chipping off on the corners. She had crucifixes and pictures of saints on all walls. Ronnie was on the bed with candles lit on the bedside table. There was a few droplets of blood from his hair that had dropped onto the sheets. On another table there was white sage burning. 

Pedro stood at the doorway with his trucker hat in his hands. His black hair cascaded over his brown skin. 

“What if someone else took him to the hospital?” asked Pedro trying to relieve himself of this responsibility. There was no way he was going to take him to the hospital. He was too afraid of them asking questions, and there was always the possibility of them calling immigration. Pedro immediately regretted picking him from the side of the road. 

“You don’t know anyone who’s legal Pedro.” Said Adelita. Pedro paced back and forth.

“If he catches a fever, there’s no way I’m going to be able to stop it. This boy needs antibiotics” She said again. 

“we gotta pray then” Said Pedro coldly.

Jane got out of her car with a slugged step. She looked around the parking lot to make sure she won’t get attacked again by the crazy bitch. Her hair was frizzy and unwashed; her face was pale and unresolved. She walked to the campus clutching her handbag and with other hand holding some textbooks. She couldn’t stop thinking about Albert, she was convinced something bad happened to him, that he was probably kidnapped from the hospital. That would explain why he doesn’t answer his phone. But then she thought why does it keep ringing day after day? Just when she thought she would make it to a building without interference, the familiar blond countenance showed itself through the glass walls of the Observatory. Bradley   extends his arm and tries to touch Jane but she turns around and slaps him. A few people gasp as they walk by and witness the scene she was about to produce.

“You son of a bitch! Your fucking crazy has-been psychopathic girlfriend attacked me!”

“She’s not my girlfriend anymore.  I broke up with her” He said as he quickly recovered from the slap.

“You think I care? You think that just because you say you broke up with your girlfriend I’ll suddenly go climbing back into your bed? No. I’m sorry Brad but you are so deluded if you think I’m that stupid” 

“I know! I know why we can’t be an item. It’s because of your brother isn’t it? Look Jane I’m willing to come to terms that he’s a… fag, just give me a-“ 

Jane slaps him again and starts to walk forcefully in the opposite direction but Bradley catches her and grabs her arm and pulls her back into him.

“Let me go!” She said without causing uproar. Bradley refused to loosen his grip. His expression changed, that slap triggered a fervent anger. He held her close to his chest and breathed her in. Her slightly unwashed hair soothed his soul and calmed his grip but not released until a familiar figure came up behind them.

“Hey! Let her go.” Said Iago standing right behind Bradley. His grip loosened and Jane pushed him away. Bradley looked ashamed and angry. He stared at Iago. he contemplated getting into a brawl with this guy but after observing his stature and his physique he reconsidered. Iago walks in front of Jane and stares down Bradley. Bradley looks back at Jane who seemed to be a shuddering like a puppy hiding behind its wolf mother. 

He immediately turned around and walked away not looking back.

“Thanks Iago” She said.

“No problem, that guy was high out of his mind.”

“You think so?” She asked him knowing for a fact that Bradley did not do drugs of any kind. 

“Oh yeah. You can’t tell but I can bec… well there’s a certain way you can tell. Anyways it seems you can’t ever walk down this way without being attacked. I have a feeling this is gonna be a regular thing” he said.

“I’m sorry, you shouldn’t have to be defending me all the time”

“what? Are you kidding? I kinda enjoy it. Not that I enjoy seeing you get attacked more than me rescuing you” He gives an awkward smile.

“Right… Well I gotta get going-“

“Hey um, my buddy’s throwing a party this weekend down by Ojai County, you wanna come? I’ll drive you. C’mon you look like you could use a distraction” he said. Jane was already preparing her excuse but she paused to actually think about it, she did need to stop worrying about Albert even for one night.

“Sure. Why not?”

Albert closes the bathroom door behind him, brushing his hand through his wet hair. Chico emerges from another room wearing a short bathrobe. Albert looked bored and inattentive as Chico made lustful glances toward him. Albert made it to his guest room an began to dress while Chico stood at the doorway observing him take off his bathrobe and put on one of his fitted t-shirts.

“Could you be a bit less awkward Chico” Said Albert as he turned around to put on a fresh pair of undies. 

“What? You uncomfortable? I thought you homos liked to get stared at?”

“you bisexuals have no walls do you? I’d be okay with it if I didn’t know you were gonna go mack on one of your three girlfriends later.”

“I’m sure there’s someone you’d rather be macking on right now but I forgot that you don’t like to share”

Albert pulls out a backpack from under the bed.

“Where you going?” Asked Chico

“I must be driving my sister insane, she’s been calling me for days now. It’s time I faced her”

“Oh… and for a second there I thought it was because I suggested that threesome earlier. Well you know you’re always welcome back here sugar dick. I’ll close the door now then”

“Thanks”

Albert heard a sudden click after the door closed. He looked at the door knob and there was no turn lock. He quickly grabbed it and tried to turn it. It was locked. Albert panicked and started violently trying to turn the doorknob. 

“Chico! The door! Its locked!” he banged on the door so he could hear him. Chico was standing on the other side.

“Well what do you know, It locks from the outside.” he said. Albert start to act frantic, his movements become sporadic and starts banging the door harder.

“This isn’t funny Chico! Let me out now!” Albert yelled. 

“Lo siento Albert but I’m gonna keep you for a while. Besides, you’re better off here”  He laughs and runs to the kitchen and taps on a boombox. 

The Smiths start to play while Albert bangs on the door and yells while “This Charming Man” plays in the background. 

Kessler steps into a glass office in the center of a column. The office scenery outside the glass was chaotic. There were several men in uniform, most of them walking around the glass office. 

Everything was visible from inside and out. 

He sat in front of a large glass top desk with a think and burly man on the other side with a receding hair line and a soft mustache. 

“Chief” he said. 

“Well, what is it Kessler, have you left the tranny case alone again?”  Said the chief. Kessler noticed large scale photos on the desk of Enrique’s mangled ribcage plastered onto a sofa. 

“His rib cage was pried open, broken vertebrae, and sharpened the edges of his bones. Left him looking like something from one of those ‘end of the world’ zombie movies. And all without leaving a trace. No bodily fluids, no fingerprints, footprints,  no shitprints. Its like a goddam ghost came in and chopped him up. Although I would’nt be surprised, he was one of those Jesus freaks from the University, speaking of which, Ronald Abernathy, was he helping you with the tranny case?”

“Yes he was” 

“well, we can’t find him-“

“Can’t find him? How did you know he was missing?” 

“He’s our lead suspect-“

“What? No. That can’t be. I was with Ronnie last night”

“You just said yourself he was missing. What happened Kessler?” Said the Chief. Kessler turned pale and avoided looking at him in the eye. 

“We were out in front of the club and” Kessler avoided the direction of the chief altogether and hung his head in shame as he opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t verbalize.

“He… left … my car. I told him to get out and I… left him… on the road. We were in Ojai county there was no way Ronnie could’ve made it to DeMille in time.

“That’s irrelevant, besides Petrovsky already narrowed down the suspect to a student in DeMille, one who knows the dorms in the Pastoral side of the College. And a Reverend, the one from the Jesus club pointed out that Ronnie has had several altercations with the student accusing him of the murder of William Stegovitz-“

“Sir, if I may, the reason Ronnie suspected Enrique was because he was a  closeted drag queen. He worked in that drag queen club and Stegovitz recognized him from the Christ Crusaders.”

“So you think this is the Lady Killer?”

“Yes most definitely.”

“We’ll then you’re gonna have to conjure up evidence that Ronald was with you last night or that Enrique was a drag queen.  I got witnesses piling up saying that they saw Ronald leaving his dormitory this morning in a hurry” Kessler looked appalled and then squinted his eyes knowing who would be capable of lying like that. But the fixated on the corners of his eyes thinking that it could be true. 

“I can prove it.” Kessler stood up in front of the chief and left the office.

Gemma knocked on Teddy’s dorm holding some brown paper bags in one hand and her car keys jingled as she kept knocking. 

“Teddy? You there?”. She kept knocking. A distraught figure opens the door. A bug-eyed Teddy stands at the threshold. 

“What?” He said. 

“What the Hell?! You haven’t answered my texts or my calls, I need you to work with me cause like Jane is in utter shards thanks to her jerk of a brother and Ronnie is out playing detective with his man candy and so it’s up to me to keep the club-“ Teddy backs away and retreats to his couch and sits at the base and picks up his game controller and is immediately sucked in his video game.

“Teddy? You okay?” Gemma walks inside the miniscule and dark room. Gemma could only depict the reflection of the television screen in Teddy’s glasses. 

Teddy paused the game and he turned to face her. 

“So… How big was it?”

“How big was what?”

“Jeremiah’s dick… It must be nice to stab your friends in the back. So how was it?” Gemma stood staring at him with disgust.

“So is that why you’re cooked up in your room like an old hermit?”

“How come you didn’t tell me? Is it because you know you’re a shit friend, was it killing you inside? Or did you just take pity on me?”

“Shut up Teddy! Look at yourself… you’re a burning fag tree. That’s the thing with you gay boys, you always think all men are like you. Jeremiah is straight Teddy. He is never going to look at you the way you look at him. So stop wallowing in your fake misery and stop blaming me for natural events. And yeah, I didn’t tell you Teddy because I felt bad. But if you want to shove yourself into your flat screen, be my guest.  Cause I’m so done.” Gemma walks out slamming the door behind her.