03_Cornered Coyote Read Online Free PDF Page B

best days of his life and also one of the worst. They spent hours window shopping. Slade had never seen stores or people like the ones he saw that day. They even smelled different. The women wore thick coats which his mother told him were made of real fur and the men were dressed in smart suits. He saw dog walkers holding onto leashes that held several dogs, some even wearing jeweled collars and sweaters. They looked so different from the pit bulls he saw in his neighborhood, often chained to a post because there were holes in the fences.  He didn’t think these dogs were fighters like the ones Julio had in his garage. On Saturday nights, the sounds of men cheering the dogs on and the barking, growling dogs would keep him awake.
    “Slade, what are you looking at?”
    “Mom, why do they have flowers in the middle of the street?” he asked, staring at the median that was manicured with brightly colored blooms.
    “People from all over the world come here to shop. Those in charge of the city want to make sure everything looks nice and presentable.”
    “I’ve never seen anything like it. Why don’t we have flowers like that in our yard? They’re pretty.”
    “Of course we will. Maybe in a year or so.”
    When he was older, he realized there had been no money for extras like flowers. He also realized how expensive it must have been to have blooming flowers out of season. His beautiful mother with her jet black hair and smooth olive complexion never said they couldn’t afford something. At the time he didn’t feel poor, but looking back he knew his family had struggled to keep a roof over their heads. This was in sharp contrast to what he saw later that day at his uncle’s home.
    “Mom, I’m hungry. Can we get something to eat?”
    “Of course. Let’s get a brat from that corner stand. That’ll be fun. We’ll tell your father we ate a brat while we sat on a bench in the Water Tower Place. It will be just as good as what the people are getting in those high priced restaurants in there.”
    “Okay, it’s time to go see my brother,” she said when they finished eating. I don’t think you’ll remember him. Everyone calls him Papa. There’s the bus we need to get on.”
    Papa lived in Kenilworth, a wealthy area north of Chicago. Slade and his mother had to transfer buses three times to get there. It was a long trip and Slade was tired. They had to walk two more blocks after the bus let them off.
    “There’s Papa’s house. I’ve only been to it once before. It’s the one at the end of the street, the one with all the cars parked in front of it.”
    His mother rang the doorbell which was quickly answered by a large man wearing a sports coat. Slade remembered thinking it was strange for a man to be wearing a coat when he was inside a house. Little did he know that the sport coat concealed a gun.
    “I’m Papa’s sister and this is his nephew. He called yesterday and asked us to come,” she said to the large man.
    “Come in. Papa’s waiting for you. He’s out by the swimming pool. Even though it’s cold, he wanted to get a little sun. Follow me.”
    Slade looked around. He’d never seen a house like this, even on television. To his young eyes, it was as big as the stores he’d seen on Michigan Avenue. It seemed like it took forever to walk across the hall and through the living room, where massive French doors opened onto a patio and a huge swimming pool. Several people were seated around the pool. Slade noticed some men standing in front of the shrubbery that surrounded the back yard, not doing anything, but just standing there.
    When he spotted them, a large man with a mustache and a full beard stood, walked over to them, and hugged his mother. “Josie, I’m so glad you came. And this must be Slade. I haven’t seen him for years. Let’s go into the den where we can talk.”
    “Papa, it’s good to see you. You’re looking well. I’m glad you called. Our visit will give you a chance to get to