In pretty short order I pulled up to her place, and knocked on the white painted door. There was no answer, but after another knock I noticed some splintering around the lock. Hesitantly I turned the knob and the door swung open.
What I saw shocked me. Her living room was in utter disarray. The couch was ripped and over turned, lamps on the wood floor smashed, pictures torn from the wall and shattered. Fear quickened my pulse, but something about the destruction bespoke finality, as if they’d had plenty of time to finish their task. I walked numbly from room to room, surveying the disaster. It filled every space, spite and mindless fury screamed from every corner. Whoever had done this had done it with full malicious intent; there was nothing random or incidental about this. The fact that she wasn’t present was at once ominous and welcome. Perhaps her Grandmother had been right, that she was just at the market, but I also dreaded some sign that she had been there, that the same rage and hate that had done this had been unleashed on her.
I took a deep breath, trying to still my thoughts, when the silence was interrupted by a faint beeping. I turned in a slow circle trying to locate the sound. I drifted closer to the hallway, it faded, but when I backed up and moved closer to the couch it grew louder. I hunted and mostly beneath the shredded piece of furniture I caught sight of a cell phone, the battery indicator light blinking as it chirped out its need for recharging. I grasped it in my palm uncertain what to do. I opened it and couldn't help noticing the familiar logo; it was from a company I'd had business with. It seemed like a sign, and since I'd already touched it, I slipped it into my pocket. That done I continued my search. In her bedroom; the familiar bed was a jumbled pile of bedding. Some of it marked unmistakably with blood, and none too old at that. It was still bright crimson in patches. Panic threatened to overcome me- Rosa, dear Lord in Heaven, not Rosa. Images of Miguel’s ruined face flashed unwelcome in my brain. Dear God what if they had her too?
