Chapter Twenty-Four: The LetterFor a long time Señor Martinez sat under the shade of a withered olive tree, hunched forward, hands on his knees, staring sightlessly into the ground. When, finally, his housekeeper came back he looked up at her. “Why?”
She titled her head, folded her arms. “That boy is wicked. You've never been able to see it.”
“Wicked?”
“The way he struts around thinking he is so superior. His father was the same, his mother. Twisted, the lot of them.”
“So you went to the Mayor and told him Luis was here.”
“He killed his mother—you heard what the mayor said.”
“You stupid fool, have you any idea what you're saying?”
“He's odd, Señor Martinez. He's not right. Everyone knows it—all the boys hate him.”
“They hate him because they're jealous! Jealous because Luis has an
