Goat realized that none of his messages were being received and he suddenly stopped. He took a deep breath through his nose and expelled it through his mouth. He repeated the process several more times before he attempted to speak again.
“They took José,” he said, finding the English words.
Seven directed the boy over to the bed and instructed him to sit down and tell him what happened.
Goat sat down. He took another cleansing breath and began the story of the morning’s event. In a mixture of English and Spanish that both were able to decipher, Goat explained why he had returned to the motel panicked and alone.
Goat and Joey D. left the room early in the morning. They were unaffected by the previous dinner that had sickened Seven. They had a lengthy breakfast at a small café across the street and then looked for a taxi to take them to the interview on the other side of Matamoros. As they approached the street an older blue Buick approached. It displayed side markings and a lighted roof lamp, indicating that it was indeed a taxi for hire. Joey hailed the car and he and Goat prepared to get in. The passenger’s door flew open and a thin Mexican male with a cowboy hat and a mustache jumped out of the car. Joey had his hand on the rear passenger’s side door and Goat was standing behind him. The man drew a pistol from his waistband as he exited the car. He held it at chest level and pointed it at Joey. The man released one of his hands from gripping the pistol and used it to shove Goat away from the car. He kept the other hand secured to the gun and the gun pointed at Joey. Goat was forced back from the shove, but the man felt he needed more distance, so he cocked his left leg back and kicked the boy in the chest with his black cowboy boot.
The force of the kick sent the boy to the ground. The man then turned his back on the falling child. He regained his two-handed grip on the gun and directed all of his attention at Joey D. In the life