One Grave Less

booth. Good, a private place to call. However, it would cost them. Maria gave him money she pulled from her tote bag and went to use the phone. She felt almost sick with excitement. The two of them entered the booth. As Maria settled in front of the phone, Rosetta slid down behind her legs.
    “Bad guy coming this way,” said Rosetta.
    Maria looked through the window. He was heading in their direction. Damn. He stood near the booth as if waiting to use it. She was wishing she had the gun. She would shoot him where he stood. Damn it, we’re just trying to get home.
    Maria ignored him and proceeded with the call. Her hands shook, not from fear, but from anticipation. The word help never sounded so good. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the man edge toward them. He was going to listen in. Could he hear much with the door closed? She didn’t know. The conversation would have to have a lot of code. At least John was used to weird with her.
    She made the call, praying he would be there. The phone was answered even before the first ring completed.
    “Lindsay,” he said. She heard the hope and fear in his voice.
    “John,” she said. “It’s me, Maria Ravinel. I know you didn’t want me to come on this excursion and bring our daughter, and you were right. I’m sorry. Could you come meet us here? If you could bring Betty Boop , Rose and I would really love it. She misses it. Her toys were lost. Everything was lost when we were attacked, everything. We are in Benjamin Constant, Brazil, right now, but we could meet you in Tabatinga.”
    Maria stopped for a breath. Throughout the whole conversation John hadn’t said anything. She couldn’t even hear him breathing, or sighing, or cringing. She wondered if he even recognized her voice, as scratchy as it was. He would recognize her middle name, Ravinel. And he would probably recognize the drama surrounding her. She couldn’t seem to ever get away from it.
    “Rabbit,” he said, using his personal affectionate name for her. “Are you in trouble?”
    His voice had its usual calm, but she could hear the edge in it, the confusion. Still, it felt so good to hear him. She wished he could reach through the phone and grab them both and pull them away from here.
    “Most I’ve ever been in,” she said. And that was saying something.
    “Can the authorities help you until I get there?” he said.
    “No. I’m sorry about this. Please trust me again. Rose of Sharon and I really miss you. She’s afraid she is going to miss her eighth birthday party next week.” Maria dropped Rosetta’s age a year, hoping to further disguise her.
    “Are you all right?” he asked.
    “At the moment. We’re at the Sao Judas Hotel. I used my real name—Maria Ravinel West. Maybe I shouldn’t have.”
    “I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’ve been worried. I just discovered . . . Never mind, we’ll talk when I see you,” he said. She heard him tapping on keys. He was in front of the computer. Probably looking up a map and distances.
    “It will probably be tomorrow afternoon,” he said. “I’ll have to look for the Betty Boop doll. I’ll be there as soon as I can get there.”
    “Thank you for understanding,” she said.
    “I believe I do. What’s the number you are calling from, just in case?” he said.
    She gave him the number.
    “Rabbit, keep yourself safe. And Rose too,” he added. “I’m sure you have an interesting story to tell. I love you.”
    “I love you too,” she said. “Please hurry.”
    “I will, baby,” he said.
    Maria felt resentment at straw fedora man. She would be feeling total relief if it weren’t for him standing outside the door, waiting. She felt sick and trapped. Damn him. She thought for a minute. She hadn’t hung up the phone yet, but kept it to her ear.
    Rosetta said that after the massacre she had to be pointed out to him by the other kids at the mission. That meant he didn’t really know what she looked like, even though he had seen her several times before. He was probably the kind of person who thought all indigenous people looked alike. She was now a little more than three years older than last time he saw her. He probably didn’t know what she looked like now, just that he was looking for either a Hispanic or indigenous kid.
    She put the phone back on the hook and bent down and whispered to Rosetta. Explaining her reasoning, and what she wanted to do.
    “Are you up for it?” she asked.
    “I can do it. Can we call Mother