Fighting to Survive (As the World Dies 2)
“But why would anyone push him?” Rosie asked as she began to slide the hot biscuits into a large basket for the buffet in the dining room. “I can understand that puto Ritchie being killed after what he did to all those kids, but Jimmy? He was just a little grumpy man. ”
Roger carefully poured a large pan of green beans into one of the buffet tins. “He fucked up yesterday. He almost got Jenni killed. ”
Katie flinched. She had been really hoping that he would keep his mouth shut.
“Really?” Rosie’s eyes grew stormy. “My Juan’s Jenni?”
“Yeah. He freaked and pushed Curtis out of the hotel room they were in. Left her in there with three zombies. That’s why she’s all banged up today. I heard she had to jump from one balcony to another to escape,” Roger answered with all the fervor of a well-practiced gossip.
And people said women were bad gossips…
Rosie’s explosion of Spanish cuss words, though not really understood, impressed Katie. She slammed the lid to one of the skillets down and waved her gravy-covered spoon about like a sword. “Then he deserved to fall out the window!”
“Maybe Juan pushed him,” Stacey said softly.
“Oh, he wouldn’t do that, would he?” Gretchen looked up from where she was spooning cobbler into little bowls.
Katie looked toward Rosie, almost afraid of her answer.
“He might punch his lights out, but I’d be the one to throw him out the damned window,” Rosie responded. Her expression was so intense Katie was pretty sure that the older woman would have shoved Jimmy out the window if she had known that his cowardice had almost killed Jenni.
Then the prosecutor side of her whispered, Well, how do you know she didn’t know? This could be an act.
“Well, maybe someone did throw him out the window then,”
Gretchen said in a soft, conspiratorial voice. “Like Ritchie was. ”
“A vigilante,” Roger said to her.
“Yeah. A vigilante. ” Gretchen took this in and then shook her head.
“I don’t think I like that. ”
Stacey leaned across the counter, snagged a biscuit, and began to pull it apart. Rich, fragrant steam rose up from its center, making Katie even hungrier. “So we have to find the vigilante now and do what?”
“Thank him,” Rosie said irritably, “or her. ”
“Or…um…put them on trial?” Gretchen continued to spoon the cobbler out.
Roger looked at Katie. “What do you think?”
“I think we need to finish lunch and not worry about all of this. Let Bill deal with finding out what happened, then we’ll go from there,”
Katie answered as neutrally as possible.
“But aren’t you worried?” Gretchen asked. “Aren’t you worried that someone is just going to start throwing anyone who upsets them over the wall?”
Katie lifted the spoon and let a huge dollop of mashed potato fall back into the bowl. “Yes. But speculation isn’t going to help Bill solve this any faster. ”
“My son didn’t do it,” Rosie said firmly. “He may look guilty, but he’s just a very fiery Latino who loves his woman. ”
“Oh, aren’t they cute? Juan and Jenni,” Gretchen gushed. “They’re so cute together. ”
Stacey continued to eat the biscuit, piece by piece, listening intently.
Roger dumped more green beans and looked over at them. “Well, he’s the one who has the most reason to do something about Jimmy being a dumbass. ”
“I?