Missy's Gentle Giant (17 page)

Missy blinked with wonder. 
She watched her mother fuss around her room a while, then glance up with a sad
smile, fuss around some more and finally leave.  Missy fell back on her
bed totally confused.  Something had happened.  She tried to sleep
but Ben’s words telling her he’d take care of her and protect her kept floating
to the surface of her thoughts.  It was very late when she finally fell
asleep, and then her dreams were troubled with Ben holding his hand over her
mouth and calling “Missy, Missy, Missy” over and over.  She heard him
saying it when he kidnapped her.  She’d heard it.  She’d heard Susan
too.  She could hear!  She woke up with a start but heard nothing.

Rolling over on her stomach, she
thought about Ben and let his love sweep through her.  But deep loneliness
kept edging inside.  Ben must be hurt or something.  Still everyone
said he was fine.  He was supposed to come back and take her home. 
Maybe he was never coming back.  Maybe he already knew the horrible
truth.  But of course, that was it!  He knew the truth if Susan told
them to arrest Moreno.  He knew she’d been ruined, and he wasn’t coming
back.  Was her family just trying to protect her still?

The next morning she walked down to
the kitchen in a daze.  Gonzalo glanced up and smiled at her.  Her
brothers were talking; she could see their lips move, but she couldn’t hear
them.  Disappointment waved through her because she really couldn’t hear,
only thought she’d been able to like when she heard talking in her dreams.
 Yes, it was just a dream.

“Well Melissa, ready to go back to
work?”  Gonzalo smiled.

Missy dropped in chair and stared
at the coffee her mother gave her.  So it was over?  They all knew
Ben wouldn’t be back.  He was doing all right.  He was doing fine,
but he wouldn’t be back?  Susan dragged the truth from her for
nothing?  But she’d hinted Ben already knew the truth.  So he wanted
her to face it, had made love to her and left her with a doctor who made her
face the truth.  This way he could go on his merry way to another
job—another case.  Missy slowly let the horrible truth sink in.  He
merely took care of her through a crisis like he did for Susan.  He was
like all the others—no worse.  At least when Eduardo stared at her, she
saw how he knew she’d been ruined.  The gleam in Eduardo’s eyes revealed
his sadistic needs.  She shuddered.

“Melissa are you ready to go back
to work?”  Gonzalo asked again.

“What else is there to do?” 
She glanced at her eldest brother.  Ben was gone.  Charger was gone
too.  Her pen pal with promises was gone.  Her secret dreams were
gone.  As she walked with Gonzalo to the car, she let reality sink in and pain
raced through her.  Susan had told her Ben knew about her.  And now
he was gone.  So was her fantasy world.  Missy felt even more alone
and dead now.

As days passed Missy became totally
resigned to living with reality.  When she came home from work she’d
wander upstairs, think about not having any future except working in the shop’s
office and try to accept it.  Sometimes she’d have fleeting thoughts of
going away to college and maybe meet some other deaf people.  Other nights
when she was desperately lonely she’d pull out Ben’s letters, re-read them and
cry. 

Gonzalo worried about her but tried
to stay out of her way.  So far he hadn’t been able to find out where Ben
was or what happened to him.  After ten days he finally decided Ben had
walked out on her too, and he hated what she was going through.  One night
he decided he needed to talk to her.  She’d become more withdrawn
everyday, eating less and losing weight.  When he opened her door, he saw
her sitting on her bed with tears rolling down her cheeks.  She’d torn
Ben’s letters to shreds.  Turning away, he closed the door.

The next morning when Missy came
down she asked her parents if there was enough money for her to go to some
college for the deaf in the fall.  The question hit like a small bomb, but
Gonzalo smiled at her and told her they’d look into some colleges. 
Somehow he must convince their parents it was time to stop protecting Missy and
let her grow up.  If they didn’t let her go, they’d lose her another way.

Missy was filing when the phone
rang in the office the next afternoon, and she happened to be watching Gonzalo
when he picked up the phone.

“I didn’t expect you.” 
Gonzalo frowned, and Missy saw his expression become pale and worried. 
“Yeah, I’ll be there and we’ll—” Gonzalo’s eyes met hers.  “We’ll take
care of it.  Gonzalo dropped the receiver and tapped with his pencil on
the desk for several seconds before he smiled and got up.  “Look, Melissa
something’s come up—a new client—”  His face brightened, and he
smiled.  “Have Marco help you lock up and take you home.  “Tell Mom
I’ll be too late for dinner—” He forced a smile as he put an arm around her
shoulders.  “Okay?”

“Sure.”  At this moment in her
life Missy no longer worried about clients, who took her home, or
anything.  Not caring she resumed her filing and didn’t see Gonzalo go out
and tell Marco where he’d be.

The moment Marco got her home, she
felt choked with attention.  Suddenly everyone wanted her to go to
college?  Even her father had gone to the library and brought a book
listing schools for the deaf, and they looked through it checking distances and
tuition costs.  Since the drug problem had been eliminated, the Sanchez
Trucking Service had been kept busy, and with some of her inheritance still
left, she could afford college.  She noticed her brothers were rather
quiet, all apparently lost in private thoughts.  Eduardo sat on the other
sofa glaring.  He didn’t like the idea of Missy going off and meeting new
people.  It was late when Missy finally decided to mention Gonzalo was
still not back, and it bothered her.  She could see it bothered her
parents too.  Eduardo still sat in the living room as if he lived there.

Missy went up to her bedroom,
slipped between the sheets on her bed and fought the usual haunting images which
kept her from sleeping.  Ben, always Ben.  His broken promises. 
Ben and the loss of him had replaced the painful memories of the past leaving a
larger pain and a far greater emptiness.  She couldn’t tell anyone how she
hurt inside now with Ben gone.

Chapter Nine

Five miles out of town, Gonzalo
paced around his car.  Ben should be here by now.  What the hell was
wrong with him anyway?  Ben carried on like he’d done something wrong just
because he hadn’t explained what happened to Missy.  It happened,
dammit!  Missy couldn’t stop it.  Why did it all have to be brought
out again?  Wasn’t it bad enough everyone where they lived—everyone in
town knew?  Damn, what did Ben want?  Blood?  Gonzalo glanced up and
saw a van coming toward him, pass and continue down the road.  His body
went rigid when he heard the honk of the big rig, turned to watch it top the
hill, pull over and come to a stop behind his car.  Unable to move, he
waited while Ben killed the engine and climbed out of the cab.

“Yo—your late.”

“Didn’t plan on getting a ticket
for speeding.”  Ben walked up to him, his expression unreadable.

“I guess this is it.”  Gonzalo
shrugged.

“Yeah, out in the field.”  Ben
motioned.  Gonzalo couldn’t decide what was in Ben’s eyes. 
Hate?  Fear?  Pain?

“Look Ben—”  Gonzalo turned
toward the field.  “Missy wanted me to tell you but—”

“But you preferred I stomp in,
making an ass of myself and hurt her.”

“No, I didn’t want it.  I
didn’t realize you cared; you were just pen pals—”

“You bastard!”

“Look Ben—”  Gonzalo dodged
Ben’s first swing at him.  “Most men can’t accept it when a girl has
been—has been—”

Ben’s fist hit Gonzalo’s right
eye.  “Say it dammit!  Say it before I—”

“All right!”  Gonzalo swung
with rage and hit Ben squarely in the nose causing it to bleed.  “She was
raped!”  The two scuffled and hit each other several times before Ben
could speak.  He grimaced and tried to hold back what he felt.

“So what else is new?”  Ben’s
fist landed on Gonzalo’s jaw.

“You knew all along?”  Gonzalo
let his guard down and grunted when his ribs felt like they were crushed by
Ben’s blow.

“Not then!  Hell no, I didn’t
know, or I’d have never blundered in and hurt her!  But you knew!” 
Ben and Gonzalo rolled over and threw more punches.  “BUT YOU KNEW ALL
ABOUT BOTH OF THEM!”

Gonzalo tried to kick Ben in the
groin just as he heard Ben’s words.  “Both of them?”  His shocked
expression was short lived when Ben slammed his fist into Gonzalo’s jaw, and he
dropped in a heap before Ben.

Grunting Ben pulled away and half
sat with a groan.  He glared at Gonzalo’s limp body still filled with
rage.  “Come on, get up you bastard!”  He prodded Gonzalo, then he
grunted and picked him up, but he was out cold.  “Dammit, you should have
told me—warned—me—”  When Gonzalo didn’t respond, Ben let him drop like an
empty sack, got up and staggered to the truck.  He climbed up to the cab
and pulled out a bottle.  Groaning, at the pain in his left shoulder, he
took a big swallow of scotch and then sat down on the ground beside the truck. 
“You should have told me, so I wouldn’t hurt her.”  He mumbled to himself,
took another swallow and then groaned.  “Damn, how I hurt her!”  Ben
took another swallow trying to bury his pain.  He barely saw Gonzalo move
out of the corner of his eye, but he no longer cared about him.  Missy had
been hurt when he stomped in, blowing his horn and waking everyone.  If
only he’d known!

Gonzalo rolled over and dropped his
head to the ground.  What the hell was Ben talking about?  Slowly, he
lifted himself to sitting, saw Ben wasn’t looming over him ready to punch again
and pulled himself up.  He felt like he’d spent the evening going through
a meat grinder.  Clutching his side because his ribs hurt like hell, he
slowly staggered toward the truck and Ben.

“What’s this about both?”

“The two of them who raped her.” 
Ben glanced at the ground, then up at Gonzalo.  “You didn’t know?”

“All I knew about was the Torres
guy—Ben who?  What happened?  Are you sure?”

“Yeah I’m sure.  Mario Moreno
is related to Torres through marriage and Tijerina and Torres are
cousins.  Moreno was running scared.”

“But are you sure?  Missy
never once said—”

“She was afraid.”

“How did you find out?”

“Blood is thicker than water man,
even with Italians.  I got to checking and discovered how they were related. 
Tijerina was being pressured to find a way to get Torres out of Huntsville
while at the same time Torres was trying to get Tijerina, to set up Moreno. 
It seemed strange they were playing against each other when they were related.”

But are you sure, Ben?” 
Gonzalo still didn’t believe it.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”  Ben rubbed
his sore shoulder wondering if the stitches had reopened.  “This past two
weeks since I got out of the hospital, I’ve been collecting evidence to get Moreno
sent up, so Missy wouldn’t have to testify.  Just went through his
hearing, I thought you knew about him.”

“You were in the hospital?”

“Yeah, picked up a stray bullet.” 
Ben took another swig and felt his shoulder.

“No one told me.”  Gonzalo
leaned against the truck.  “I thought—”

“I’d run out on Missy.”  He
glanced at the blood seeping through the bandage.  “I had to take care of Moreno.”

“Ben, I swear I didn’t know!” 
Gonzalo shook his head.  “I had no idea.  None!”  He looked up at
Ben.  “Look, I swear—”

Ben took another swallow, smiled
and held out the bottle.  “I’m going to marry Missy—”  He glared at
Gonzalo.

“Yeah, I guess you are.” 
Gonzalo felt his ribs, took the offered bottle and then a drink.  He
gasped and sputtered after a swallow.  “Man, how do you drink this
stuff?  I’m glad you got him, but I—”  His voice trailed off. 
They watched a car pass them on the highway.  “Ben—”

“Think you can drive us in
Gonzalo?”

“And your truck?”

“It’s empty.  We could put
your car inside—save a trip.”

“Yeah.”  Gonzalo’s eyes
brightened.  “But you beat me—I drive up, they’ll think—”

“Hell, I’m too damn drunk to drive
man, and I don’t give a damn what they think.  I’m an Italian,
remember?”  Ben’s words had become slurred.  He drank some
more.  “Look Gonzalo, jus’ get me there.”

“Ben do you know what my brothers
are planning to—”

Ben took another big gulp of
scotch.  “Yeah, I know.  Jus’ get me there.”

“Sure thing.”  Gonzalo
grinned.  “Just sit right here, relax and drink.  I’ll take care of
everything.”  Like hell, he was going to take Ben home for his brothers to
kill him.  He’d get him plastered and take him to a motel or something for
the night, call home and fix things first.

Within half an hour Gonzalo had his
car in the back of the truck, managed to get a very drunk Ben into the cab and
was wheeling his way toward town.  Even though one of his eyes was swollen
closed, the other nearly closed, dried blood covered his face, all of his ribs
were probably broken, and he felt like a steam roller had gone over him,
Gonzalo had a wide painful grin on his face.  Damn him!  Charger
wouldn’t give up!  A sudden worry hit Gonzalo.

“Charg—Ben—about Missy—”

“I won’ hurt her Gonzalo, is tha’
your worry?”

“Yeah, thanks.”  Gonzalo
grinned again.  Even plastered out of his mind, Ben said he wouldn’t hurt
her.  He might kill everyone else, but he wouldn’t hurt Missy.  It
was all he needed to know.

When Gonzalo pulled up to a motel,
Ben bristled.  “No man, on wit’ it.”  He groaned.  “Wasted
enough time a’ready.”

“Yeah, okay, man.”  Gonzalo
shook his head and drove on.

Ben recognized the corner just as
Gonzalo turned.  “Pass the house and drive around man.”  He shook his
head.  “Gotta’ think abou’ this a minute.”