An Unacceptable Death - Barbara Seranella Read Online Free PDF Page A

ensure her exclusion.
    Today there was a bottle of mescal on the table and
two other middle-aged Mexican men sat with him gripping jelly-jar
glasses in their callused hands. Their faces were brown and deeply
lined, their bodies solid with muscle and unstooped by age, their
otherwise dark hair gray-streaked. The men didn't smile when she
approached. Fernando's expression under the brim of his Dodgers cap
was particularly grim. Munch didn't feel he'd ever approved of her.
She supposed he thought that his son needed and deserved a more
traditional wife.
    She wondered if he also blamed her.
    Fernando lumbered to his feet. He seemed to have aged
twenty years overnight. She hesitated at the entrance of the garage,
willing to accept whatever recriminations he had for her. He crossed
the cement floor to meet her. His arms raised up. She flinched. He
pulled her to him and hugged her tightly. Munch buried her face in
his shoulder. She tried to cry quietly and hold back the racking
sobs. This man who would have been her father-in-law, this poor man
who must deal with the loss of his wife and son, didn't need a
hysterical woman on his hands.
    After a too-short moment, Fernando released her. She
instantly missed the feel of his rough shirt against her cheek. The
moment of comfort was as surprising as it was brief.
    A Gran Torino pulled up to the curb behind Munch's
GTO. Two white men in suits got out. The flashing of their badges was
redundant.
    " Here we go," Munch said.
    Fernando grunted and put a hand on her shoulder. For
him the gesture was as eloquent as any crafted speech.
    " I'm looking for Fernando Chacón," the cop
who had been the passenger said.
    " You found him," Fernando said.
    " I'm Detective Martin Grimes, this is my partner
Phil Bayless. Can we go somewhere private t0 talk?" Both cops
were gladiator-type specimens. White, six feet tall, with requisite
cop mustaches. Obviously, Munch thought, they had joined the force
before affirmative-action mandates had tilted the requirement scales.
Fernando stood tall and squared off. "I already know my son is
dead."
    " We just have some questions, sir," Bayless
said.
    " Can I see your identification again?"
Munch asked.
    " And who are you?" Grimes asked, obviously
annoyed at having his authority questioned.
    " Miranda Mancini," Munch said, also holding
her ground.
    The two cops looked at each other. "We have some
questions for you, too," Bayless said.
    He showed her his identification and gave her a
business card. Bayless was with Internal Affairs. Playing the memory
association game in her head, Munch instantly dubbed the two Grimy
and Ball-less.
    " Ask me anything you want," she said.
    Bayless took her aside and pulled out a notebook. "So
what do your friends call you?"
    She studied him dry-eyed for a second before
answering.
    " Munch."
    " How long had you and Detective Chacón been
seeing each other?"
    " About a year and a half. You know we were
planning on getting married, right?"
    Bayless looked up from his notebook. He seemed ill at
ease, or maybe he was just the nervous sort.
    " I'm sorry," he said, and those words
sounded genuine enough.
    " Had you combined households?"
    " We were going to buy a house, but I canceled
the deal."
    " When?"
    " This morning. Right after I got the news Rico
had died."
    Bayless nodded, as if the timing made sense, but then
asked, "Why?"
    " Why?" Munch wondered if this was some
dumb-cop routine, but decided to play it straight with the guy.
"Because it was supposed to be our house and I couldn't afford
it alone."
    " Was Chacón supplying the money?"
    " We both were."
    " And did you have a joint bank account?"
    " No."
    " Did Chacón get any mail at your house or
perhaps at a PO box you knew about?"
    She felt her hackles rising. What were they
insinuating? "I'm not even sure what kind of stamps he
preferred. You want to tell me what any of this has to do with
anything?"
    "If you would just answer the questions to the
best of your knowledge, we'll