Inside Vargas Jewelers at their Main Street store, the phone rang as it normally did multiple times each day. However, this morning, upon answering it, Maria’s face paled.
Everyone who resided in Arica, Chile knew the city’s police department never looked kindly upon those who conspire to commit murder – especially if the case got the attention of the country’s top political figures.
“Ms. Vargas,” the voice on the phone said, shortly after Maria identified herself. “My name is Sergeant Cortes with Arica’s Police Department. According to our records, you have an eighteen-year-old named Chad Vargas Jr. Is this correct?”
Maria hesitated. “Yes. I do. Why? Is he in trouble?”
“Would you happen to know where he is?” the Sergeant said, ignoring her questions. “We need to ask him a few questions.”
Maria gasped. “You do? Why?”
Sergeant Cortes chuckled a medieval type of chuckle which indicated, mentally, the boy had already been booked, found guilty, and was only awaiting sentencing.
“That will be determined after we question him, Ms. Vargas. At present, he’s considered innocent. On the other hand though, there’s a possibility he could be found guilty of Conspiring to Commit Murder – or at least, assisting someone who definitely is.”
Maria’s mouth dropped. “And that someone is?”
“Felipe Alvarez,” the Sergeant replied. “And it’s rumored for the past several months; your son has maintained a relationship with him.”
***
Even though it was lunchtime and despite the fact his mother’s voice could be heard calling from the living room, Chad Jr. remained in front of his laptop; his pupils focused onto the computer screen in front of him. On his display, his army was currently under attack and if he dared to divert his attention, even for the slightest second, there would be several casualties – if not the loss of recently gained territory.
“I’ll be there in a short,” the eighteen-year-old yelled in hopes she’d wait. After all, what’s more important – winning this battle I’d been fighting all morning, or losing everything so Mom can inform me of something she wants to be done?
Total silence was Chad’s reply. And then ...
“Hey, Chad! Yo. Dorkface,” a voice shouted as his door was being pounded. “Mom needs you, like right now,” Jose Jr. said, before twisting his brother’s doorknob to the left. “And boy, aren’t you ever in deep shit, Bro!”
“Deep shit?” Chad’s eyes narrowed and he reached for his computer’s power button. “What in the hell are you talking about, Jose? I haven’t done anything wrong – at least not recently.”
“Oh?” Jose Jr. looked at him and displayed a larger-than-life grin as they left his bedroom. “You better hope you’re right. You’re going to need to be in order convince the police. Didn’t I warn you months ago that Felipe was nothing but trouble?”
“What?” Chad’s jaw immediately dropped and his mouth opened so wide that under different circumstances, you might have thought he was about to undergo a dental exam. “What in the hell are you talking about, Jose?
“Is what Dufus talking about correct, Mom?” he asked upon entering the living room.
Maria stared at him and her face was not only as pale as a ghost, her expression couldn’t have been more solemn. “I’m afraid so, Son,” she replied while motioning for him to take a seat on the couch. “It appears the authorities in New York have found a connection between Felipe and the kid who shot your uncles, Mike and Eric.”
Chad’s head automatically lowered. He loved his uncles dearly even though, in actuality, they were only friends of the family instead of being true uncles.
Maria had met the two of them several years previous when her mother (Victoria) had visited her sister (Lisa) and her husband for a year in Hollywood and had arranged for Maria to attend Florida International University.
From almost Day One while on campus, the two boys and Maria quickly became close friends.
“So. What exactly does all this have to do with me, Mom? Dad?”
“Well. It seems, Son,” Chad Sr. began after clearing his throat. “The person who shot your uncles was paid to do so by his cousin, Felipe.”
Chad Jr.’s face turned a deathly pale. “Felipe, as in Felipe Alvarez? Who lives here in Arica? You must be kidding?”
“Unfortunately, we’re not,” Chad Sr. said, with a shake of his head. “And the New York police, as well as the F.B.I., have the whole incident on videotape. Including the confession stating, he was doing this so Mike and Eric wouldn’t try to break up the relationship you and Felipe share.”
“My and Felipe’s relationship?” Chad Jr. questioned. “Why would Mike and Eric try to interfere with our relationship?”
He then paused to catch his breath.
“I mean, I know you, Jose, and Mom wanted to break us up. And I had figured that was why you went behind our back and signed both Jose Jr. and me to go to Florida International University this fall. But I didn’t think Mike or Eric would get involved. Why should they?”
Chad Sr. deliberately ignored his son’s question. “Son,” his father began. “Exactly what have you been telling Felipe recently? I need to know because the officers are really going to drill you about what the two of you discussed.”
Chad Jr. gazed deeply into his father’s dark-brown eyes and upon seeing nothing but his love and support, felt the way he used to when he was four years old.
“I’m sorry,” he quietly muttered. “I’m afraid before we temporally broke up yesterday, I might have said something Felipe might have misunderstood, even though at the time I said it, it wasn’t referencing Mike or Eric.”
Chad Sr.’s pupils widened. “Oh?”
Chad Jr. nodded. “Yeah. I know there have been at least a dozen times I’ve told Felipe I’d kill before I’d ever let anyone or anything come between us.”