Read Online Hard Red Spring by Kelly Kerney - Free Book Online Page A

died?”
    â€œProbably.”
    â€œCan I play with them?”
    He gave her a squinty look. “Not if they’re dead.”
    â€œHow could God let that happen? How could He let His own house fall down?”
    The road crew coalesced around a task. They pushed and pushed a single stone that would not move. Evie imagined a little girl squashed flat underneath that stone. Father steered around it and the sound of the whip behind them made Tiny bolt. “God has left Xela, for the moment. Of that I’m sure. But someone has already taken His place.”
    â€œWho?” she asked with a shiver.
    â€œWe’re going to see him now.”
    â€”
    The government building had walls that went all the way up to the ceiling, doors that properly closed, and even gaslights. A sign in the window read in several languages that the telegraph was broken for an indefinite period of time.
    They entered a waiting room full of Germans. Robust men with red, worried faces, each holding a bag on his lap. Upon seeing them, Father groaned and said, “It’s going to be a while, Evie. Let’s play a game to pass the time.”
    â€œWhat game?” she asked, setting Magellan on the floor.
    â€œA game in which I predict the future. Are you ready?” A secretary called one of the Germans, who stood up and disappeared down a hallway. “I predict that his meeting will be very short. Under two minutes. And I predict that when he comes back out, he won’t have his bag.”
    â€œHow do you know? You don’t know what his meeting is about.”
    â€œJust count, Evie. And see if I’m right.”
    He was. The man strolled back through the room and out the front door in eighty-eight seconds, empty-handed. Evie soon learned that every meeting went this way, meaning Father knew something she didn’t, which she considered cheating. She showed her displeasure by accepting his predictions coolly, not even giving him the satisfaction of asking what was in the bags.
    They sat for hours, watching Germans and some Americans come and go. Evie began to lose patience. “We were here before him,” she whispered to Father. “So why is he going in before us? It’s not fair.”
    â€œI think you’re old enough to know, Evie, that life in Guatemala is not fair.”
    To distract herself, she studied a framed map on the wall: Guatemala. She studied the drawing, seeing railroads all across the country. Railroads she knew didn’t exist, because the fact that they didn’t exist had ruined theirtrip down from New York. The crazy route across Mexico, boarding countless boats and trains, had been no fun at all. She shook her head, seeing all the mistakes, and pointed them out to Father.
    â€œAs always, Evie, you understand the situation here more than anyone I know.”
    â€”
    Mr. Ubico, the
jefe político
, saw them last. Evie had lost track of time, had even fallen asleep in her chair, and woke up to find the waiting room empty. And then they were all inside an office, sitting on a wooden pew that faced this man at his desk. Light-skinned, the color of a sugar cookie, he sat on a sort of red velvet throne and wore a cream-colored suit. He fussed with a dented gold chalice on his desk, the chalice filled with sharpened pencils, pointing up. Father took the shrouded crate, placed it on the desk, and uncovered it.
    â€œA quetzal!” Mr. Ubico beamed. Magellan did not look so bad this morning, as Evie had cleaned out his crate and managed to smooth his feathers with a damp rag. If he looked sick or crazy, this man did not notice. He peered into the cage, curling his clean fingers around the slats. Magellan eyed this intrusion and Evie prayed he would not bite. She drew her eyes from the bird to Ubico’s fingers, then noticed a stack of colorful pesos at the bottom of the cage, where Evie usually left food. Where had they come from?
    â€œI will name him Estrada