Salvation in death

“Oh.” Rosa’s eyes clouded. “A terrible time. So much loss, pain, fear. My kids were just little guys. I kept them close, took them out of school for a month because I was afraid of what might happen next.”

“There were never any arrests.”

“No.”

“Did you know Lino Martinez?”

“If you lived in the neighborhood during that time, you knew Lino. He ran the Soldados, him and that gorilla Steve Chávez. To protect the neighborhood, he’d say. To keep what was ours. His poor mother. She worked so hard. She worked for my uncle, at the restaurant.”

“The investigators suspected Lino for the bombing, but were never able to talk to him.”

“I always thought he had his hand in it. The gang was his religion, and he was, at that age, a fanatic. Violence was his answer. But he was gone before it happened-the second bombing, I mean. Most thought he’d pla

She formed three long, narrow rolls of dough, and to Eve’s reluctant fascination, began to braid them like a woman braided hair. “He was supposed to be at that dance, when the first bomb went off,” Rosa continued. “He liked to dance. But he didn’t go. None of his i

Eve cocked her head. “And neither Lino nor Chávez were there? That would’ve been unusual?”

“Yes. As I said, he liked to dance, and he liked to swagger and show off. I heard they were on their way there when the bomb went off. So, maybe that was true. In any case, Ro

Eve studied Rosa’s face. “That’s not what you said.”

“No. I think he left because he was a coward. I think he ordered the second bombing and made sure he was far away when it happened.”

“There were no arrests on that bombing either.”

“No, but everyone knew it was the Soldados. Who else?”

Eve debated with herself a moment. “Did you ever have any trouble with Lino, you specifically?”

“No.” As she spoke, she turned the braided dough into a circle, set it on a baking sheet, then began to form three more strips. “I was older than he was, of course, and my kids too young to interest him as recruits. Plus, his mother worked for my family. He left me and mine alone. I know he tried to recruit some of the older kids, but my grandfather had a talk with him.”

“Hector Ortiz?”

“Yes. Lino respected my Poppy, I think, because of what he’d built, and my Poppy’s pride in the neighborhood. Lino left us alone.”

She stopped braiding the second batch to look at Eve. “I don’t understand. Lino’s been gone for years and years. Do you think he’s involved with Father Flores-well, whoever he was-with his death?”

“The man posing as Flores was Lino Martinez.”

Rosa ’s hands jerked away from the dough as she took a stumbling step back. “But no. No, that can’t be. I knew him. I would have known. I cooked for him, and cleaned, and…”

“You knew him at seventeen, stayed out of his way, and he left you alone.”

“Yes. Yes. But still, he would come into the restaurant, or I’d see him on the street. How could I not know him? Pe

“We know.”

Rosa went back to her dough, but now her eyes were hard. “Why would he come back like this? Pretend all this time. And I can promise you, she knew-the one at the bodega. And they would have gone to bed. They would have had sex while he wore the collar. It would’ve excited her. Bitch. Puta.”

She rolled her eyes, paused to cross herself. “I try not to swear in the rectory, but there are exceptions. And I can tell you this,” she continued, wound up. “If he was here like this, it wasn’t for good. However much he pretended, however much time he gave to the center, to the church, his reasons wouldn’t be for the good.”

“He had friends here, old friends. But old enemies, too.”

“Most he warred with are gone. I don’t know, and I’d tell you if I did, who would kill him if they’d known. Whatever he’d done, whatever he was doing or hoped to do, killing isn’t the answer. So I’d tell you.”

“If you have any thoughts on it, I hope you’ll tell me that, too.”

“I will.” She sighed, slowly turned the braid into a circle. “His mother, Teresa, she sent flowers to the funeral. I talk to her now and then, not as often as I should. Does she know?”

“Yes.”

“Is it all right if I talk to her? If I give her my condolences? He was her son. Nothing changes that.”

“I imagine she’d like to hear from you. Can you tell us where we’d find either Father López or Father Freeman?”

“Father Freeman is doing home visits. He’ll probably be back in an hour or so. Father López went to the youth center.”

“Thanks. We’ll get out of your way. One last thing. Pe

“If she has friends, I don’t know them. And she has a reputation for sleeping with many. Her mother was a junkie, and her father was a dealer. He was killed when she was still a child, and her mother OD’d years ago.”

Shaking her head, Rosa placed the second braided circle on the baking sheet, began to brush both with some sort of oil. “It was a hard life, hard begi

Impressions?” Eve asked as she and Peabody started toward the youth center.

“She’s a straight arrow, and one who’s kicking herself for not clueing in on Lino while she kept house for him. She’s going to think about all this, and think hard. If she comes up with anything, she’ll contact us.”

“That’s how I read her, too. Now try this. Lino and company routinely attend the dance deal where the bombing took place. But they’re not there when it gets hit. Just Joe’s there, in what you could call the line of fire. And days later, right before Lino takes off, he and Joe argue. No arrests. The cops look hard at members of the Skulls, but they can’t tie them. Maybe because there was no tie.”

“You think Lino was behind both? Wait a minute.” When they got out at the center, Peabody leaned on the vehicle, stared off into middle distance. “You want war, you want to be a hero-important. Retaliation’s sexier than unprovoked offense. The bombings kicked the level up from street fights. Bomb your own turf-school dance, plenty of i

“Spread the word that you were the target. They came after you. Now you hit back, hit harder.”

“Okay, but why leave?”

“You leave important, your name on people’s lips. You make sure word goes that you’ve left so no more i

Like Peabody, Eve leaned on the car. Across the street a woman swept her stoop, and beside it flowers made a colorful waterfall down a glossy white pot. The early morning rain still glittered on petals and leaves.

“The cops can’t hassle you,” Eve continued, “not only because you aren’t there, but because evidence says you weren’t. He’s patient, the son of a bitch was patient. You’re going to come back one day, come back rolling in it. Could be he didn’t plan for it to take so long. You’re seventeen, and full of yourself. You think, I’ll score, big score, in a few months, go back, live like a king.”

“Doesn’t work that way,” Peabody mused. “Plus, you’re seventeen, and you’re out of the box for the first time in your life. There’s a big world out there. You’re whoever you are, whenever you want to be. I like it.”