MILF Money

Chapter Twenty Four

Princess Leia had added a red hat to her ensemble. It was straw with a wide brim. She had to take it off to drive Anna's car, and she was not happy about that. It was in the backseat next to Pete. When they arrived, Leia lowered the window and motioned for the teenage kid on the corner to come over.

"This is China?" Anna asked? "I was expecting an Asian."

"No, our China's a little different."

"Is that her real name?"

"Of course not. She ODs every time there's good heroin on the street."

The skinny girl walked over to the car. Her wares were hidden under a large military coat from an army surplus store. She stepped up to the side of the car.

"How many times you caught a ride outta town, China?" Leia asked the girl, inquiring about her many overdoses.

"Six so far, but the third one was the most beautiful. Still haven't got back to that one since. You coming with me next time, you promised."

"Yeah, I promised, and you know I will. Any movement in there?"

"Just playing their music. Stupid gangsta rap shit. And Aerosmith. I don't understand the Aerosmith. And it's only the songs that really, really, REALLY suck — the ballads."

"Get in, and I'll give you a ride back." Leia jerked her head to the side to motion toward the backseat of the car.

"You ready, baby?" Pete asked as he looked at Anna in the rear view mirror.

"As I'll ever be," she responded.

"Let me go get my smokes," China said. "I left the pack under that tree over there." She pointed toward a nearby tree, and then left to get the cigs.

Anna handed Leia $200. "This is for China. She's been helpful."

"Darling, you handing that girl a death sentence with this. Just let me keep it for her and dole it out on the days when she doesn't have any work or gets sick. Give it to her and she'll be dead within forty-eight hours."

"You really think that'll happen?"

"How do you think I keep her from doing it again? I tell her that I want to do it with her next time, but every time the good stuff comes around I've got something else come up that needs doin."

"I had no idea," Anna shook her head, sad for the young girl.

"She's gonna spend the rest of her life waiting for me to have enough spare time to have a heroin overdose with her. That time will never happen. So, one day she'll get tired of waiting for me and go exploring on her own. She's a smart kid. She knows to only do it around a crowd of people. But sooner or later, she'll do it around people without compassion, and then that'll be the end of her."

China approached the car.

"Listen, you're gonna drive the car back to my house, and then take a taxi back, right?"

"That's the plan, Stan."

"Then do me a favor, leave China at my house. She's welcome to use, take, or steal whatever she wants. If she's there when I'm done here, if I am not dead, then I can promise her, that with a lot of hard work, she can have a most wonderful life."

"I'll tell her, but don't count on it, sister. She's a stubborn little cunt."

Anna got out of the car and raised the hood. China took her place in the front seat. Anna looked in the side view mirror. Pete was waiting.

"I'm scared," she whispered to him.

"I am too. I always get that way. But that just means you're smart."

"You are, really? I never imagined you being scared of anything."

"Yeah, it happens. Remember: shoot, move, shoot. Stay low and keep something between you and them whenever you can."

"Got it. Let's go." Anna reached through the open car window and touched China's hair. "I'll see you in a few hours, young lady. I hope." She pulled her baseball cap down to cover her face. As she rounded the corner of her car, her phone rang. She had forgotten to turn it to vibrate. It was Carmen. She answered the call.

****

They had reached the end of the sixth chapter of Pete Marr - A Shallow Grave in Chalmette.

"You know," Lee said through their telepathic connection, "I'm beginning to like the writer's style. It's like he's making fun of homophobic, misogynistic men."

Carmen didn't even try to hide her distaste. "Glad you like it. I can't stand the little bastard. Constant smart ass, but he is good at his job, and it's the underside of New Orleans for sure. Do you think he'll keep the bag of money he found or give it to the widow?"

"I bet he keeps it. The widow's a low life. She's like a sucker fish on a whale. She'll find another one and latch on."

"Well, out of nearly seventy pages we've skipped four pages of sex scenes."

"Not bad. Kinda light I'd say."

"Yeah, I'm happy about that. Be right back."

Carmen turned loose of her father's hand. She picked up the pitcher of water, and poured some into a cup. She took a few sips, and put it down on the table beside the bed.

"That was some really gruesome crap. They buried the guy alive knowing he would eventually suffocate. That is cold."

"And risky. He might have survived."

"Don't they have this book in the library where you are?" Carmen asked.

"They probably do. It's just that the filing system here is atrocious, and nothing can be found where it's listed to be."

"What a pain"

"Yeah, people wander around and ask each other if they've seen certain sections of books. Sometimes we stop and share our stories with each other. Sometimes I just pick up a book from the shelf and start reading it. But that's a hit or miss proposition. The last one I picked up was about a peasant woman in Ecuador whose life had been just a constant stream of poverty, bad luck, and neglect. Brought tears to my eyes. She couldn't seem to get out of the way of anything bad that came her way."

"Sometimes I feel like that, but then I look around, realize how fortunate I am, and stop feeling sorry for myself."

"That's a good way to be. Give yourself that moment; then kick self-pity out the door and get back to work on making it better."

There was a knock on the door. Ester came in. "I thought I heard you talking to someone," she said.

"Just reading a book to Dad. Give him something to think about while he's just laying there."

"You should take a few minutes and go see your grandfather in a bit."

"I will. Have you heard from Mom? I tried calling her, but it just went to voicemail. I wanted to see if she needs anything. Gonna step outside and try her again. Be right back."

Carmen left the room. She dialed her mother's phone again. This time she answered.

"Mom, where are you," she asked. After a pause, "will you pick up some chips and salsa when you're on that aisle?" There was a pause. "The doctor came by about an hour ago. He said that Daddy is out of the dangerous period now. You know how they are; they talk in vague terms so they can't be sued. Anyway, he seemed confident that Daddy's going to survive. But he was cautious about what level of recovery we should expect. Isn't that marvellous, though? I'm so happy, Mom." Carmen began to cry with joy. "Mommy, I love you and Daddy so much. I never realized how much before. I don't know what I would do without either of you."