Crossing the Line by Malín Alegría

shaking a fist of rosary beads so tight it was making her veined hand turn blue.
    â€œDon’t make him talk,” scolded Magda. “He’s just been assaulted.”
    â€œBut we have to know who did it,” Grandma Trini protested. She was wearing a tight Dos Rios High School T-shirt and still holding her pom-poms from the football game.
    Chuy tried to speak but he was having trouble taking a deep breath.
    â€œAre you sure his ribs aren’t broken?” Fabi asked, leaning on the mop. “I still think we should go to the hospital.”
    Benny straightened up and dried his hands on a warm cloth. “He’ll be fine. He’s just a bit shaken up. Just needs some rest.”
    Chuy tried to sit up higher in his chair, and struggled to speak.
    â€œHe’s trying to tell us something,” Alexis said excitedly.
    â€œHe knows who did it!” Trini cried. “He knows who did it!”
    With much effort, Chuy explained what had happened — how he had been locking up after his shift and hadn’t been paying attention because he was in a hurry to get to the Western Union before it closed. Every payday, Chuy sent money home to Mexico to help support his father and siblings. Chuy’s money put food on his family’s table.
    Then someone grabbed him from behind and someone else punched him in the stomach. He couldn’t see their faces because it was dark. They took all his money and then beat him some more and threatened to kill him if he said anything or followed them.
    It was a horrible story. No one wanted to admit that something like this could happen in tiny Dos Rios. This was not the big city like Houston or Reynosa — everyone knew everyone here, so they probably knew whoever had done this awful thing, too.
    Fabi had always felt safe in Dos Rios. She used to walk around town at any hour of the night without a care. She knew every street and corner. But now, in a matter of minutes, she felt like a stranger in her own town. There were a lot of new faces, mostly refugees from the drug wars on the other side of the river. For the first time, Fabi realized, she was really afraid.
    Leo and Benny helped Chuy move slowly out to Benny’s SUV. A few minutes later they heard the engine grumble, taking Chuy home. Georgia Rae and Milo left moments later.
    â€œLa Santa Muerte,” Abuelita Alpha said in a soft voice. She made the sign of the cross over her face. “This place carries the stain ….” she muttered, looking around the restaurant as if the devil himself were going to pop up from under the table. “We must get Father Benavides to come bless the place at once.”
    Grandma Trini started to giggle softly behind her hand. “ Comadre , now I know you’re going senile. You can’t blame the diablo for everything.”
    Abuelita Alpha turned bright red. “Don’t mock the devil!”
    But Grandma Trini only laughed louder, tossing her hair-sprayed, stiff copete back like a mane.
    The door chimed, and Santiago walked in with a light step. “Hey, everybody, what’s good to eat?” He stopped, noticing the somber mood. “Who died?”
    â€œSantiago.” Abuelita Alpha ran up to him before anyone could stop her. “You should not be walking around by yourself at night. It’s not safe.”
    â€œAh, Abuelita Alpha.” Santiago snuck in a kiss on her cheek. “No one messes with me. Not with these guns,” he said, flexing his arm muscles. Santiago went around the table kissing everyone. When he reached his mother, Consuelo, he threw a roll of dollar bills onto the table in front of her. “Ma, this is for you.” Everyone gasped in surprise.
    â€œWhat’s this?” Consuelo asked, worry sneaking into her voice. She didn’t touch the money. Her fingers hesitated, hovering over it.
    Santiago laughed. “It’s money. What? You don’t know money when you see