Forever in Your Deadly Heart

Chapter 7: Tino's Tamales

Julio Escobar rolled his eyes as the Mariachi singers continued playing a song he didn't recognize. They were dressed in dark outfits, sequins covering most of the black material. His brother, Gino, stood next to him and smirked. "You think they have guns in their guitar cases?"

"Eh?"

"Like in the movie, Desperado." Gino nudged him. "They'll shoot everyone here like Antonio Banderas. No more Tino's Tamales. Just dead bodies everywhere."

"Shut up," Julio whispered.

Tino Escobar, their father, stood up front holding a large shovel in his hands with a red bow tied to it. Today were holding the the groundbreaking ceremony for Tino's Tamales' new main headquarters. The whole family had gathered and stood on a thick plastic mat. The ground had been watered down earlier to make it easier for Tino to shovel up the first pile of dirt.

A few members of the press were covering the story as the Mexican food company was sure to bring in new jobs. A famous Latin comedian had just done a bit about tamales in his childhood. He danced for the press while the Mariachis played.

"This sucks. I don't know why we had to come. It's not like we get a shovel too," Gino grumbled.

"If you really want to shovel, tell Dad. I'm sure he'll give you a turn."

"Yeah right. That old man is a ham. He lives for the attention."

The music stopped and the comedian introduced Tino Escobar to the small crowd. Applause filled the air and Tino made use of his shovel. More applause followed.

"That was easy!" Tino shouted, giving a thumbs -up. "It must be a sign that business will be successful here!"

The crowd cheered and Julio pushed Gino forward. "Tell Dad you want to shovel too."

Surprisingly, Tino willing shared the limelight and laughed when Gino asked to help him shovel some of the dirt. Gino smoothed back his hair and licked his lips before holding the shovel in front of him to play it up for the press. He used all the muscles he had to force the shovel into the soft dirt. He hit something firm.

"Dad, I think I hit a rock or something." Gino grinned. "I'll get it out."

Gino bent his knees and grunted as he lifted the pile of dirt and tossed it to the side. He turned with a huge smile on his face but was greeted with looks of revulsion. A few women screamed and the reporters rushed forward. His father began cursing at him in Spanish. Gino turned around to see what he had shoveled out. Instead of a rock, covered in dirt, he'd found the remains of a human hand.

Gino jumped when Julio placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well, you said you wanted dead bodies."

Gino stared at the hand and his stomach lurched before he turned his head from Julio and vomited.

"Well, I'm taking a guess it was a female," Detective Daniel Chavez said, looking at the broken manicured nails on the severed hand.

Behind him, a police crew worked on uncovering the rest of the body.

"You could be wrong," Rick, his partner, said. Rick chewed on the end of his pen. "It could be one of those men who dress up like women. What do you call them?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Her hand looks feminine."

"It's discolored. You can't really make a fair determination just yet. Does the hand have big knuckles? Because men have big knuckles," Rick argued.

"Women can have big knuckles too," Daniel said.

"Name a woman who has big knuckles." Rick pointed his pen at Daniel, "and I'll prove she's really a he."

One of the officers brought over a wallet covered in mud. Daniel put on some latex gloves and opened the wallet. He grinned.

"Well there's no need for you to prove anything. This one is definitely a woman."

Rick made his way over the tarp the officers had laid out. He stood next to Daniel, who showed him the driver's license.

"Valerie Cole. Her driver's license picture is pretty hot," Rick said.

"Do you mind showing the deceased some respect?" Daniel elbowed his partner.

"What? I only mentioned it because it's strange. Most people take horrible pictures at the DMV. I'm sneezing in mine."

"Detectives!" an officer called out. "We collected the rest of the body. Her limbs were cut off and there's a large X carved into her chest."

"Well, hell," Rick cursed under his breath, thinking of their for fungus victim from a few days ago.

"She has a business card in here," Daniel said, pulling out a card from the wallet.

"You think she had a meeting before she met her end?" Rick asked.

"It's possible but it's probably just a coincidence. We'll have to ask to find out."

They both continued to stare at the business card printed in blue and gold lettering that read Knox Marsden.