shorts and a T-shirt before wrapping herself in the robe, and now she was soaking the terry cloth with her sweat.
Across the pool were the most bizarre features of the compound—a miniature zoo and, next to it, a life-size statue of a skeletal woman in a black robe holding a scythe in one hand, like a lady Grim Reaper, and clutching a globe in the other. The gruesome statue was surrounded by burned-down stubs of candles, bottles of liquor, coins and bills, cigars and hand-rolled cigarettes, and colorful candies. They’d seen similar shrines in their travels through Mexico, with the skeletal woman in various colors of clothing—even a wedding dress—but nothing quite this big or elaborate. Or as creepy. The bones looked too real, and Ellen didn’t like to imagine that they were.
A skinny black panther paced in a cage in the tiny zoo, and next to it a pair of peacocks huddled in a spot of shade. In another cage an alligator lazed in a pool of greenish water that looked far too small for it. She felt profoundly sad looking at them, especially the big cat. Its eyes were as lifeless and glassy as those of the brutish guards who were always wandering around. And like the cat, she and William were prisoners behind El Varón’s compound walls. Or the newest animals in his zoo.
William looked like a tiny water bug doing laps in the pool. She wanted to hold him tightly against her, and not let him out of her sight, but it didn’t make sense to frighten him any worse than he already was. When he was swimming or floating on the pink and green raft he looked almost carefree and normal. Either that or he was good at hiding what was going on inside. After three days of this, she was worried that things were becoming too routine for him. They needed to stay sharp.
El Varón stepped through the doorway. He wore a tiny bathing suit—a banana hammock, Ray called them, the kind only European or Central American men would dare to wear. He was well built, if slender and a bit hairy, but Ellen struggled not to recoil as he sat down in a pool chair next to her. Better to not show her fear. Or disgust. He was smiling, though his eyes were hidden by what was undoubtedly a very expensive pair of sunglasses. And he didn’t look well at all, as if he hadn’t slept for days—his skin was almost gray. Probably jacked up on whatever illegal product he was selling, she guessed. He leaned his head back in the sunlight.
“Beautiful day, isn’t it?” he asked. His teeth were so white they looked like they’d been soaking all day in phosphorescent bleach.
Ellen nodded.
He waved to William, who ignored him and dove beneath the water. “I know you do not trust me,
Señora.
And I do not blame you. But I hope the hospitality I have shown you has proven I am not your enemy.”
Ellen wrapped her robe tighter across her chest. “If you’re not our enemy, then you should let us go. That’s what a real gentleman would do.”
El Varón took off his sunglasses. His eyes were bloodshot. “I have explained this to you, but I will do so again—I am protecting you and William and will keep you here as long as you are in danger.” Ellen hated when he spoke her boy’s name. He always seemed to stretch it out too far:
Weel-yam.
“If I were to let you go, you would not have a chance. You would be found within days. No matter where you go. She was already very close to finding you.”
Ellen straightened up. “So why are you protecting us? If she wants us so badly, I’m sure she’ll pay you whatever you want. So why are you keeping us here?”
El Varón nodded. “You are a very smart woman.
Muy
perceptivo.
I have not met many women like you, Ellen.”
I’ll bet you haven’t, you hairy asshole.
“So who are you? Like, what do you do? If we’re stuck here, I want to know who I’m stuck with.”
He put his sunglasses back on. “I am a man of industry.”
She wiped her brow. She was burning up inside the robe. “A man of industry who needs
Across the pool were the most bizarre features of the compound—a miniature zoo and, next to it, a life-size statue of a skeletal woman in a black robe holding a scythe in one hand, like a lady Grim Reaper, and clutching a globe in the other. The gruesome statue was surrounded by burned-down stubs of candles, bottles of liquor, coins and bills, cigars and hand-rolled cigarettes, and colorful candies. They’d seen similar shrines in their travels through Mexico, with the skeletal woman in various colors of clothing—even a wedding dress—but nothing quite this big or elaborate. Or as creepy. The bones looked too real, and Ellen didn’t like to imagine that they were.
A skinny black panther paced in a cage in the tiny zoo, and next to it a pair of peacocks huddled in a spot of shade. In another cage an alligator lazed in a pool of greenish water that looked far too small for it. She felt profoundly sad looking at them, especially the big cat. Its eyes were as lifeless and glassy as those of the brutish guards who were always wandering around. And like the cat, she and William were prisoners behind El Varón’s compound walls. Or the newest animals in his zoo.
William looked like a tiny water bug doing laps in the pool. She wanted to hold him tightly against her, and not let him out of her sight, but it didn’t make sense to frighten him any worse than he already was. When he was swimming or floating on the pink and green raft he looked almost carefree and normal. Either that or he was good at hiding what was going on inside. After three days of this, she was worried that things were becoming too routine for him. They needed to stay sharp.
El Varón stepped through the doorway. He wore a tiny bathing suit—a banana hammock, Ray called them, the kind only European or Central American men would dare to wear. He was well built, if slender and a bit hairy, but Ellen struggled not to recoil as he sat down in a pool chair next to her. Better to not show her fear. Or disgust. He was smiling, though his eyes were hidden by what was undoubtedly a very expensive pair of sunglasses. And he didn’t look well at all, as if he hadn’t slept for days—his skin was almost gray. Probably jacked up on whatever illegal product he was selling, she guessed. He leaned his head back in the sunlight.
“Beautiful day, isn’t it?” he asked. His teeth were so white they looked like they’d been soaking all day in phosphorescent bleach.
Ellen nodded.
He waved to William, who ignored him and dove beneath the water. “I know you do not trust me,
Señora.
And I do not blame you. But I hope the hospitality I have shown you has proven I am not your enemy.”
Ellen wrapped her robe tighter across her chest. “If you’re not our enemy, then you should let us go. That’s what a real gentleman would do.”
El Varón took off his sunglasses. His eyes were bloodshot. “I have explained this to you, but I will do so again—I am protecting you and William and will keep you here as long as you are in danger.” Ellen hated when he spoke her boy’s name. He always seemed to stretch it out too far:
Weel-yam.
“If I were to let you go, you would not have a chance. You would be found within days. No matter where you go. She was already very close to finding you.”
Ellen straightened up. “So why are you protecting us? If she wants us so badly, I’m sure she’ll pay you whatever you want. So why are you keeping us here?”
El Varón nodded. “You are a very smart woman.
Muy
perceptivo.
I have not met many women like you, Ellen.”
I’ll bet you haven’t, you hairy asshole.
“So who are you? Like, what do you do? If we’re stuck here, I want to know who I’m stuck with.”
He put his sunglasses back on. “I am a man of industry.”
She wiped her brow. She was burning up inside the robe. “A man of industry who needs