watch this."
The twins leap up onto the fence surrounding the yard and walk along its narrow edge toward the house as though they're simply ambling through one of the wide dusty roads in the barrio. They take turns springing lightly from the fence top onto the roof, then one of them holds the other's legs as he dangles off the edge, fiddling with some box.
"Show-offs," Ti Jean mutters, but he's smiling.
Maria can't see what the twins do with the box, but after a few moments an owl hoots. Maria is startled by how close the bird sounds, then realizes the owl call was made by one of the twins. At the signal, Jack and Will emerge from the shadows on either side of her and start across the lawn toward the patio and its waiting glass doors. Maria hurries along behind until she catches up.
"How does a sheriff even afford a place like this?" Will says as they step onto a back patio as big as Maria's whole apartment.
"Cattle money," she tells him. "His family used to have this huge ranch north of the city."
Jack is at the glass doors. He inserts a couple of thin strips of metal into the lock. He works them for a moment, then the lock clicks open. The Glimmer Twins swing down from the roof and land softly on the patio. A moment later and they're all inside. The room is cavernous—easily as large as the patio—with the shapes of furniture crouching around the centrepiece of a large stone fireplace.
"Is there a safe?" Jack asks.
Ti Jean lifts his head, nostrils working.
"Front of the house," he says. "On the left."
Maria doesn't even bother to question how they do it anymore.
Jack pulls a couple of spray paint cans from the pockets of his jacket and tosses them to the twins.
"Have fun," he says as he follows Ti Jean and Will to the front of the house.
Maria waits where she is. She watches the twins spray messages on the white adobe walls of the living room and feels sorry for the maid who's going to have to clean this up.
One of the twins writes: "Give back to the poor."
The other writes: "Los Murrietas help you to share!"
When they start to tag the other walls, Maria goes to the front of the house where the other boys are. She walks carefully in the dark, though the streetlights out front help illuminate the house, so her eyes adjust quickly.
Maria enters a room where the boys have pulled a painting from the wall, revealing a safe. Jack leans close to it, smiling as he turns the tumblers. There's a final click and Jack steps back with a flourish of his arm. Will laughs and pulls open the door of the safe. They all step closer to look inside.
"Holy crap," Ti Jean says.
He reaches in and takes out a bundle of money, flipping through a stack of one-thousand-dollar bills. Maria's never seen that much money in her entire life. She's never even seen that denomination before.
"There's got to be a half a mil," Will says, then he turns at Maria. "Cattle money?" he teases.
Maria shakes her head. There's only one way anybody around here gets that much cash.
"It has to be drug money," she says as Ti Jean and Will stuff the bundles into their backpacks. "The sheriff must be involved with the cartels."
Jack grins. "This just gets better and better."
"No, it doesn't," she says. "Put it back. Nobody screws around with the cartels. Don't you read the news?"
But Jack only continues to smile.
"Perhaps the good sheriff should have thought of that before he got into business with them," he says.
"Seriously," Maria says. "The cartels are too dangerous for us to mess around with."
"Don't worry," Jack tells her. "No one will be hurt—except, perhaps, for the sheriff, and he made this bed for himself."
He doesn't understand, Maria realizes. None of them do. They don't know how deadly the drug cartels are.
"Let's just leave," she tries again. "We should put the money back and leave right now."
"This money can help a lot of people," Jack says.
"I know. It's just…"
She doesn't want to lose him. She doesn't want him to be
The twins leap up onto the fence surrounding the yard and walk along its narrow edge toward the house as though they're simply ambling through one of the wide dusty roads in the barrio. They take turns springing lightly from the fence top onto the roof, then one of them holds the other's legs as he dangles off the edge, fiddling with some box.
"Show-offs," Ti Jean mutters, but he's smiling.
Maria can't see what the twins do with the box, but after a few moments an owl hoots. Maria is startled by how close the bird sounds, then realizes the owl call was made by one of the twins. At the signal, Jack and Will emerge from the shadows on either side of her and start across the lawn toward the patio and its waiting glass doors. Maria hurries along behind until she catches up.
"How does a sheriff even afford a place like this?" Will says as they step onto a back patio as big as Maria's whole apartment.
"Cattle money," she tells him. "His family used to have this huge ranch north of the city."
Jack is at the glass doors. He inserts a couple of thin strips of metal into the lock. He works them for a moment, then the lock clicks open. The Glimmer Twins swing down from the roof and land softly on the patio. A moment later and they're all inside. The room is cavernous—easily as large as the patio—with the shapes of furniture crouching around the centrepiece of a large stone fireplace.
"Is there a safe?" Jack asks.
Ti Jean lifts his head, nostrils working.
"Front of the house," he says. "On the left."
Maria doesn't even bother to question how they do it anymore.
Jack pulls a couple of spray paint cans from the pockets of his jacket and tosses them to the twins.
"Have fun," he says as he follows Ti Jean and Will to the front of the house.
Maria waits where she is. She watches the twins spray messages on the white adobe walls of the living room and feels sorry for the maid who's going to have to clean this up.
One of the twins writes: "Give back to the poor."
The other writes: "Los Murrietas help you to share!"
When they start to tag the other walls, Maria goes to the front of the house where the other boys are. She walks carefully in the dark, though the streetlights out front help illuminate the house, so her eyes adjust quickly.
Maria enters a room where the boys have pulled a painting from the wall, revealing a safe. Jack leans close to it, smiling as he turns the tumblers. There's a final click and Jack steps back with a flourish of his arm. Will laughs and pulls open the door of the safe. They all step closer to look inside.
"Holy crap," Ti Jean says.
He reaches in and takes out a bundle of money, flipping through a stack of one-thousand-dollar bills. Maria's never seen that much money in her entire life. She's never even seen that denomination before.
"There's got to be a half a mil," Will says, then he turns at Maria. "Cattle money?" he teases.
Maria shakes her head. There's only one way anybody around here gets that much cash.
"It has to be drug money," she says as Ti Jean and Will stuff the bundles into their backpacks. "The sheriff must be involved with the cartels."
Jack grins. "This just gets better and better."
"No, it doesn't," she says. "Put it back. Nobody screws around with the cartels. Don't you read the news?"
But Jack only continues to smile.
"Perhaps the good sheriff should have thought of that before he got into business with them," he says.
"Seriously," Maria says. "The cartels are too dangerous for us to mess around with."
"Don't worry," Jack tells her. "No one will be hurt—except, perhaps, for the sheriff, and he made this bed for himself."
He doesn't understand, Maria realizes. None of them do. They don't know how deadly the drug cartels are.
"Let's just leave," she tries again. "We should put the money back and leave right now."
"This money can help a lot of people," Jack says.
"I know. It's just…"
She doesn't want to lose him. She doesn't want him to be
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