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Back The Desert of Glass Save as PDF
Chapters (84)
  1. BY MICHAEL C. GRUMLEY
  2. Prologue
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. 55
  58. 56
  59. 57
  60. 58
  61. 59
  62. 60
  63. 61
  64. 62
  65. 63
  66. 64
  67. 65
  68. 66
  69. 67
  70. 68
  71. 69
  72. 70
  73. 71
  74. 72
  75. 73
  76. 74
  77. 75
  78. 76
  79. 77
  80. 78
  81. EPILOGUE
  82. II
  83. III
  84. IV

“The problem was that we’d killed it in the night like a bunch of thieves.”  He glanced up, looking again at the distant bluffs.  “Cows don’t exactly roam wild here.”

“So, someone owned it.”

“Yes.  And if we got caught, it could have meant jail time.”

“So, what did you do?”

“We ran back down to the boat and pulled up anchor, sailing off before the sun came up.”

“Were you ever caught?”

“No.”

Angela stared at him before looking out over the open plain.  Brushing a handful of windblown hair from her face, she spoke.  “If you got away with it, then why did you come back?”

“Because,” answered Rickards, “it didn’t take me long to understand the impact of what we’d really done.”  He looked at her through eyes of shame.  “Mexico is a poor country where most people struggle just to survive.  Especially in a place like this.  That cow was worth several hundred dollars at the time to whoever owned it.  And it may have been the only cow they owned, their primary means of surviving in such a poor place.”

Angela stared at him, momentarily confused until finally understanding. She turned around toward the abandoned, run-down house.

“Them?”

Rickards nodded.

“Are you sure?”

“They were the only family living here back then—a man and wife and their two children.”

“You think the cow was theirs?”

“I’m sure it was.”

She continued staring at what little remained of the dwelling.  “What happened to them?”

“I don’t know,” he said.  “It took me years to get past the shame.  By the time I tracked down the location, the place was empty.  Abandoned.”

“You don’t know where the family ended up?”

“No.  Not twenty years later.”

Angela now stared at what was left of the tiny house in a very different light.

“This is why you keep coming back to Mexico?”

“I’ve been coming here,” said Rickards, “to try to find them, visiting nearby towns and digging through old records attempting to find out where they went.  I pray they’re still alive.”

There was a long silence while the winds blew and whistled around them.

The man was trying to fix his mistakes, she thought to herself.  Trying to right his wrongs.  For reasons only he knew.  Leaving Angela studying him through a pained expression and wondering what exactly Joe was planning to do if he found the family he was looking for.

IV

IV

Three floors below Omar, in Coptic Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, a man in a pair of dark polished shoes entered through double doors and proceeded to the hall's end.  Stopping at the second to the last door, the man lowered his head to peer in through the glass window at the still figure lying inside.