First Avenue (11 page)
“That badge you’re wearing says
“Appreciate that.”
“How long have you been back downtown?”
“A couple years.”
“Better than the hill?”
Sam sat back in the chair and thought for a moment before answering.
“It’s all about the same, isn’t it?”
“Probably. We used to do quite a bit of business together when you were up there.”
“Quite a bit,”
“Sure,”
“Radio told us it was a disturbance,”
“On the way to the station,”
Twenty-third Avenue
, and when you’re done you go down to Twenty-ninth and see about a family disturbance. Something about a sewing machine. Call number 12. Call number 13. They’ve all become the same.
“When I was taking him into the holding room, it hit me all of a sudden that the calls weren’t the same. I asked myself, ‘Am I leading this guy or is he leading me?’ Fishing. I was thinking about fishing. That’s when I decided I needed to do something different. So I switched to mornings for a change of scenery if nothing else and ended up back on
First Avenue
. My life’s story. How about you? You going to rust up here forever?”
“Probably.”
“No interest in getting back to the street?”
“None. You know what they say. Once you get on the gravy train, there’s no getting off.”
“Is that
“No, it’s
They could have laughed then. In each man, there was a rumble in the gut; the mouth moved at the corners; their heads shifted backward. They might have laughed together if only one had begun, but they did not.
“Have they done the autopsy yet?”
“It’s set for today. Do you want to go with me?”
“I’ll pass. Thanks.”
“Maybe you can do something else, then. The girl’s parents are staying in a motel out on
“Me?”
“You knew her, didn’t you? And the baby? I doubt they can tell us much, but they might need some help getting the baby after the autopsy. Besides, you seem to have a good opinion of the girl. It might be nice if they heard that. They’re going to hear plenty of other stuff later.”
Markowitz shuffled through his papers again until he found the worksheet on the parents. He copied the motel address on a scrap of paper and gave it to
“If anything turns up around here, I’ll let you know. Do the same for me, will you?” Markowitz asked.
“Sure,” Sam said, barely thinking about what Markowitz said. “Anything you want me to tell her parents?”
“We’re sorry.”
Sam nodded and began to walk away. He stopped after a few feet and turned around.
“How many kids do you have now?” he asked
“Three boys.”
“Three boys. My God, that’s got to be a handful.”
He turned away before
The parents’ motel was north of downtown on Highway 99. Before the freeway was built, 99 was the main north and south highway. It was called several names as it passed through
He saw an old Ford pickup parked in front of the room where he expected to find
Alberta
’s parents. Its license number identified it with
Yakima
County
. He pulled into the stall beside it and noticed a curtain moving inside the room. A man stood in the doorway waiting for him before he could even shut off the car. He didn’t tell Radio where he was. He had not cleared since going into the station.
“Are you
The man nodded but did not speak. His face was weathered, and his skin was deeply wrinkled around his eyes, as though it had been witness to years and years of sunshine. More than sunshine marked it now. Lines of sorrow were equally embedded.
“I have no news of your daughter, but I would like to speak with you and
Sanchez stepped back from the door, still holding the far side of it as
“
“She speaks little English,”
Sam turned around and looked at
“Would you translate for me? I would like
Sanchez waited a moment, thinking, and then spoke in Spanish to his wife.
“We have not found your daughter.”
Sam spoke to the woman who did not understand him, then glanced toward
“We don’t know where
Alberta
is.”
When he spoke their daughter’s name,
“I believe
Alberta
loved her baby, and she did the best job she could taking care of her.”
Then he told them about seeing
Alberta
and the baby at the Donut Shop, and how happy
Alberta
seemed when she had the baby with her. He told them she had been a good and conscientious worker in a place that did not deserve her work. He told them about the day he had held the child. The pain became even clearer in
“I’m afraid something has happened to Alberta,” he said. “She would have never left the baby. I thought you should know that.”
Tears ran from the corners of both her eyes and dropped heavily down her cheeks. She rubbed their tracks away with the back of her hand. “Gracias, señor,” she said.
He understood that without translation, and
“If you would like, I’ll help you with the baby. There will be many papers to fill out.”
“If it is not too much trouble, we would be grateful,”
“It’s no trouble. There will be an autopsy this afternoon to determine the cause of death. The law requires that. I’ll find out when we can come for the body. It may be a little while. Shall I call you here?
Sanchez nodded and Sam got up to go. He took out one of the generic police business cards they all used and wrote his name on it. He also broke one of his rules and wrote his home telephone number below his name.
“I work from four in the morning until noon. This number is where I live. You can call me if you have any questions.”
Sanchez extended his hand, and
He bowed his head to
“My wife asks if by any chance you would know the child’s name?”
“She called her baby
Mrs.
“
Then the old man began to cry, and his wife,
