CHAPTER 29

WHEN THE SLEDGEHAMMER RIPPED into the windshield for the fourth time, Cal was expecting the worst.

Instead of reaching inside the car to jerk Cal and Kelly out, the hulking man offered his hand in assistance. “Hurry up and get out, Mr. Murphy. I need you to move quickly if you want to save that boy,” he said.

Cal hesitated but then held his arm out for the man to help him. Maybe this guy is so cruel that he wants to offer me hope before crushing me! As soon as the man helped Cal out of the car and onto the ground, Cal thought about running. If he could find a way back to Juarez, he could escape and tell the FBI what he learned. But there was Kelly. If he ran now, who knows what this beast might do to her. Cal decided to stay put.

Kelly stopped screaming long enough to realize that the man had decent intentions despite his dramatic entrance into their vehicle. She allowed him to help her out of the car before rushing to hug Cal. They both stood and stared at the man, not sure what was going to happen next.

“I must apologize for my violent introduction, but it is necessary for your safety,” the man said. “My name is Carlos Rivera and I want to help you.”

The journalists said nothing. Cal noticed a handful of intimidating tattoos on Rivera’s arm, but not “La Pelona.” His trust needed to be earned.

“I understand you might not trust me, but you have to believe me,” he said.

“Why are you trying to help us?” Cal asked.

“I know this might sound crazy to you, but I want to help. I know I work for Mr. Hernandez and do many horrible things for him. I have to. I have no choice. But I also have a six-year-old son. And I no longer can sit by and watch them abuse Jake the way that they are. It’s cruel. Mr. Hernandez’s sense of decency is gone. He’s going to kill Jake when the Super Bowl ends. He has no intention of returning him once he gets what he wants. That’s how he works.”

Cal took a moment to let everything sink in. His life wasn’t over, but neither was his fight. Rivera actually wanted to help him.

Rivera continued.

“I know you might want to run and never come back, but you still have time to save Jake.”

Cal hadn’t considered leaving altogether but maybe Kelly had. However, Rivera’s explanation and plea seemed to resonate with her.

“What do you want us to do?” she asked.

“My cousin is waiting at the bottom of this ravine. He will take you some place safe. Mr. Hernandez is moving Jake today and it will be much easier to rescue him at that location. Tomorrow, attend the Saturday morning mass at San Augustín Chapel and speak with Padre Francisco. He will tell you what to do next.”

Cal peered across the street and into the ravine. Large boulders clung to the steep incline.

“Are you sure this is safe?” Cal asked.

“Anything is safer than Mr. Hernandez knowing you’re alive,” Rivera said.

Cal and Kelly looked at each other and prepared to cross the road.

“Wait, before you go, I need your wallets, passports, cell phones, everything,” Rivera said.

“How are we going to contact anyone?” Cal asked.

“You won’t. And it’s best that you don’t for now. I’m going to make it look like I caught you and killed you. It’s the only way to keep you safe for now.”

Cal and Kelly fished everything out of their pockets and handed them to Rivera.

“Now go. You need to hurry.”

* * *

RIVERA WATCHED THE JOURNALISTS run toward the ravine, descending out of sight. He walked to the back of his truck and pulled a tarp back across the bed. Beneath it lay the dead bodies of a man and a woman. Rivera had no idea who they were. Two people who got in the way of something Mr. Hernandez wanted to do, he suspected. They had been in the walk-in cooler for three days and Hernandez had asked him to bury the bodies earlier in the day. He decided against it. Planting their bodies in Cal and Kelly’s car would confirm his story.

He loaded the bodies into the car, buckling them into place. Rivera inserted the man into the driver’s seat and the woman in the passenger’s side. He stuffed the pockets of the dead bodies with Cal and Kelly’s belongings. Before finishing his masterpiece, Rivera beat on the side of the car with his sledgehammer a few more times for good measure. He then put the car in neutral and pushed it toward the rocky ravine. It rolled about 50 yards down the ravine until coming to rest against a large boulder.

Rivera scrambled down the rocks toward the car. Armed with a gas can, a lighter and a few strips of old rags, he prepared to finish the job. He doused the vehicle with gasoline, taking extra precaution to ensure that the bodies were soaked. After circling the car to make sure he was ready, he inserted the rags into the gas tank. He lit the inside of the car on fire before lighting the rags. Then he ran.

He was halfway back up the ravine before he heard the first explosion. Kneeling for cover against a boulder, he looked back down to see flames engulfing the car. Surely someone from the house would have seen the explosion. They would assume Rivera completed his special assignment.