“Sh!” the lady snapped. “Silencio.”
Mrs. Tanner looked increasingly uncomfortable as the quiet minutes dragged on. She looked back and forth between the woman and the girl. She started clearing her throat every few seconds.
“Si, si,” the girl whispered. “I can hear him now. Questions?”
“The money,” Mrs. Tanner said. “Where did he hide the money?”
“The money…” The girl scrunched her eyes. She licked her lips. Tommy was already developing a serious crush on her.
“This isn’t working—” Mrs. Tanner said, but the lady cut her off with a glare.
“Yes, he hid the money,” the girl called Esmeralda said. “It’s in his duffle bag. From the Army.”
“And where is that?” Mrs. Tanner said.
“In the trunk of his car,” Esmeralda said. “In the barn. Not this barn, the one over there.” She pointed in the direction of the newer barns. “His car under a sheet. He used to fantasize about jumping in the car and driving away. With his money in the trunk. He dreamed he would escape.”
Tommy eased back from the barn. When he felt he was far enough away, he turned and ran.
Pap-pap’s old Buick was parked inside the same barn where Mr. Tanner kept the horse trailer. Tommy lifted the mildewed canvas sheet and pushed it back, revealing the Buick’s trunk. The car was a rusted heap, at least forty years old. It had been years since the car had its last chance of ever running again.
It was locked, and Tommy couldn’t find a way to open the trunk. He might be able to pry it open with a crow bar, but that would make a lot of noise.
“God damn,” Tommy whispered. He would have to go back into the house, up to Pap-pap’s room, find the car keys. All without making a sound, all before Mrs. Tanner and the others came from the church to check the car.
Tommy pulled the canvas back into place. He ran back towards the house, where he eased the front door open and left it ajar.
In Pap-pap’s room, he found the car keys next to the scum-filled denture jar. No one had bothered taking Pap-pap’s dentures out of them in over a year.
Tommy went out the back door, figuring Mrs. Tanner would soon be returning through the front, in search of the Buick keys.
Tommy jogged back toward the barn, but he heard a voice from inside. He ducked low against the building and listened.
“—can’t get this fucking thing open,” Mrs. Tanner grunted. “Christ. The keys are up in the house.”
Mrs. Tanner stepped out and Tommy hid himself around the corner. He held his breath. He forced himself to count to ten before peeking around. Mrs. Tanner had walked out of sight. The barn was silent.
Tommy ran into the barn. She’d left the canvas off the back half of the car. Tommy hurried to the locked trunk and began sorting through Pap-pap’s thick key ring.
“What are you doing?” a soft voice asked, and Tommy jumped.
It was the girl, Esmeralda. Tommy looked around, panicked, but didn’t see her mother or Mrs. Tanner.
“Nothing.” Tommy found two keys with the Buick logo. He tried the first one.
“You have the keys,” she whispered.
“Quiet.” The first key wouldn’t slide in, so he tried the other one. There was a rusty squeal that sounded as loud as thunder to Tommy’s ears. Then he lifted the trunk lid.
A green U.S. Army duffle bag lay inside, among assorted junk.
“We have to go tell—” Esmeralda started for the barn door. Tommy caught her bare arm in his hand, and she gasped.
“Don’t tell anyone!” he hissed.
“Okay!” She shivered. She was terrified of him. His touch was probably giving her nightmares, and he felt bad about that. “Don’t hurt me, okay?” she whispered.
“Stay right there.”
“Yes, yes, yes.” She nodded. “Whatever you say.”
Tommy frowned and let go of her arm. He watched her for a second, to make sure she didn’t run or scream, but she just trembled and stared at him.
“Are you the devil?” she whispered.
“Yes,” Tommy said. He unzipped the duffle bag.
It was full of bundles of cash, each secured with a rubber band, and each bundle had a scrap of paper with an amount scrawled on it. The amounts were all in the hundreds of dollars, and he saw one or two that were over a thousand. Loose change sat at the bottom of the bag—a big handful of silver coins, plus one gold coin featuring an Indian head and an eagle on the back. “2 ½ dollars” it said, but Tommy thought it looked a lot more expensive than that. Pap-pap’s life savings.
“That is her money,” Esmeralda whispered.
“My money.” Tommy zipped the duffle bag and hoisted it over his arm. “I need it because I’m leaving.”