Read Online Devil's Playground by D. P. Lyle - Free Book Online Page B

take the weight of her body off her feet. Sam leaned against the corner of her desk, eying the woman whose world was about to crash around her.
    Lupe leaned forward, hands on her knees, and shook her head from side to side as Sam told her what had happened. “No. No. No,” was all she could say, repeating the mantra between sobs.
    “I’m so sorry,” Sam said, tears now streaming down her face.
    “Santa Maria,” Lupe said, crossing herself. “Madre del Cristo.”
    Sam knelt beside Lupe and hugged her.
    Lupe’s forehead fell against her shoulder. “They were good boys. They never really hurt nobody. Why’d this happen?”
    “I don’t know.” Sam stood, sniffing back tears.
    “Juan wouldn’t hurt Carlos. He loved him.” Lupe pulled a handkerchief from her bag and wiped her eyes. “I mean they used to fight and all, but that was a long time ago. When they were teenagers.”
    “Do you think they could have been afraid of Judge Westbrooke? What he had promised to do if they got in trouble again.”
    “No. They knew he wouldn’t do nothing.”
    Sam turned to the window and exhaled loudly, fighting back tears.
    “Can I see them?” Lupe asked.
    “Not yet. Vince Gorman took them over to the hospital. Dr. Klingler will have to do an autopsy.”
    “Is that necessary?” She sobbed into her handkerchief. “Does he have to do that?”
    Sam returned to her side and knelt once again. “I’m afraid so. They died in custody and the law requires it. I’m sorry.”
    “When can I see them?”
    “After Dr. Klingler finishes his exam, Vince will take them over to the funeral home. You can see them there.”
    Lupe stared past her, out the window. Her pain was palpable and seemed to thicken the air, making it difficult for Sam to breathe.
    Sam could only imagine what movies played in the broken woman’s mind. Remembrances of Juan and Carlos as rambunctious boys, or muscular young men. Perhaps the time they stole one of Lanny Mills’ horses and rode it through town and into the movie theater. Or perhaps the day Juan graduated from high school, the first person in the history of their family to do so. Sam remembered how handsome Juan had looked in his cap and gown and how Lupe’s face had beamed with pride.
    Her face didn’t beam now. There was no joy in her eyes or her pale, tear-streaked face.
    Sam gripped her hand. “I’ll take you home and talk to Maria.”
    “I’m OK,” Lupe said. “I’ll tell her.”
    “No. You can’t drive. I’ll take you.”
    Lupe didn’t argue.
    *
    After telling Maria what had happened, Sam left the two women with their private sorrow and drove to Millie’s. She sipped coffee while Charlie ate. He had just finished a healthy plate of bacon, eggs, and biscuits when Lisa McFarland took a seat in the booth next to Sam. Millie placed a cold Dr. Pepper and two slices of toast, dry, Lisa’s usual, in front of her.
    “What happened with the Rodriguez brothers?” Lisa nibbled the toast she had smeared with Millie’s homemade apple butter.
    “Ralph Klingler says it looks like Juan strangled Carlos’, then hung himself,” Charlie said. “He said he didn’t think Juan’s neck was broken or anything like that. Just hung there and died. No struggle, no nothing.”
    Lisa dropped her toast on the plate. “How does someone do that?”
    “Beats me,” Charlie said.
    “Did you or anyone from your office talk with Garrett yesterday or this morning?” Sam asked.
    Lisa shook her head. “Not that I know. Why?”
    “He knew details about Connie’s accident, but I don’t know how.”
    “Maybe Mark Levy told him.”
    “I called him,” Sam said. “He said no.”
    “Oooh, maybe he has supernatural powers like he says,” Lisa said, waving her hands over the table as if conducting a séance.
    “That’s probably it,” Sam laughed.
    “It’s a strange situation all around,” Charlie said. “But, not that strange.”
    “You know what bugs me?” Sam said. Charlie and Lisa looked at