Chapter Seventeen
“Change of plans,” Scabby said once everyone was back in the van. “They shut the border crossing down to three lanes and the backup is twelve to eighteen hours.”
“Are we close?” Leanna asked, having no idea where they were. All she knew, they’d been traveling on a straight highway through dry scrubland with no farms in sight.
“We’re on Mexico 54, and we crossed into Tamaulipas a while ago,” Patricia said. “Yeah, I’d say we’re close.”
“You girls better have your money ready,” Juan said. “We’ll stop at the wire service on Highway 2. I’ll text you the address so you can prepare your final payment.”
“I don’t have my phone,” Leanna said, shrugging helplessly. “Guess that means I don’t owe you nodinero.”
“We’ll deal with you later,” he said as he thumbed his phone.
Patricia’s phone chimed, and somewhere in the bundles, Maria’s phone also gave a jingle.
“I didn’t know the border was this close,” Leanna said. “Are you saying Carmelita might have crossed already?”
No one said anything. Juan pursed his lips, and Reuben, who was driving, kept his eyes square on the road. Ivan was asleep, and so was Maria, who must have taken another hit of whatever drugs she was on.
Patricia broke the silence. “Monterrey is only three hours from the border. Most of the time is taken up waiting for the smugglers. When we get there, we might have to wait a few days for the coyotes to figure out a crossing point.”
“I don’t actually want to go across,” Leanna said. “I just want to find my daughter.”
“Daughter?” Patricia hooked an eyebrow. “I thought you said sister.”
While Leanna explained, Scabby’s cell phone rang.
“Who found the bodies?” he asked in a hushed voice.
Leanna perked her ears, but Scabby didn’t say anything else, just mumbled, “Uh-huh, okay, got it.”
They drove several more miles with Leanna twisting her hair between her fingers while Patricia stared out the window, avoiding Leanna’s gaze.
The van made a right turn onto Highway 2 on a lonely corner with a gas station and an outdoor diner. Scabby texted while Reuben drove. Nobody spoke. Even the air conditioning at full blast couldn’t blow away the oppressive tension.
Leanna’s blood sludged through her veins, and her heart pumped to exploding. Had she come so far only to lose her precious daughter to an American sex fiend? Was it already too late?
What if the bodies they’d found included Carmelita’s?
Don’t think that. Don’t think that. Stay positive,she chided herself. Maybe Axe found Carmelita already.
Where was he anyway? Had he replied to Patricia, and she hadn’t said anything?
Leanna nudged Patricia and whispered, “Did I get any messages for me?”
“No, but if you want the money store, here it is.” She showed her the text message.
“Let me write it down,” Leanna said. “I will need cash for myself.”
“You’ll need to pay us for taking you this far,” Ivan said, waking up.
“I don’t have the password for my Western Union account,” Leanna said. “I need to call someone.”
He reached over to the front and plugged a phone into a charging wire. “Once it’s charged, you can get the money, but you better not call any cops.”
“I won’t call any police,” Leanna said, deciding to be agreeable. She was in prime cartel territory near the Rio Grande, and no police would risk their lives to rescue her. But as soon as she got away from these bozos, she was calling her father. Now that Carmelita was possibly alive, there was no reason to keep her search a secret from him, even if he worked for Joshua Cano. Blood, after all, should be thicker than water. “What happens after we pay?”
Scabby looked up from texting. “We’re hooking you up with coyotes. They’re kind of busy this time of the year. Lots of migrants break off from the caravan and come through these border towns. We’re in between Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa, off the beaten path. Since the backup is miles long at the ports of entry, many more people will be sneaking over the Rio Grande in these parts.”
