Unknown Victim by Kay Hadashi (classic books for 11 year olds .TXT) 📕

the trees along the stream, she followed the double track back to the house. Once she was out in the open, she noticed lights at the house. They weren’t on inside, but toward the back. Several cars and pickups were there, and she saw people standing around. Maybe because she was too far away, but she hadn’t noticed anyone arrive.

“Now what?” she muttered as she hurried along the gravel driveway. She felt her pockets for her phone, but hadn’t brought it. With no way of calling either the police or Millie, she’d have to deal with her uninvited guests alone. She also couldn’t remember if she’d locked the house doors, or even closed them. “Please tell me the house isn’t being invaded by more homeless people.”

She was almost running by the time she got back to the house. What she found were a dozen men and women, with several kids running around, and barbecues set up. The coals were already hot and slabs of meat were being put on grills. Camp lanterns were on small tables and several folding patio chairs were arranged in a circle. Several mosquito punks were smoldering.

“If these guys are homeless, they’re rather organized about it.”

With a sense of safety in mind, Gina went to the closest woman. Filipino, she was pretty and very pregnant.

“Um, hi. What’s going on here?”

“Sunday dinner. Are you Gina?”

“Yes. How’d you know that?”

“I’m Clara. We’ve been waiting to meet you.” She looped her arm though Gina’s the chummy way Ana often did and led her to the rest of the group. At first she spoke in a Filipino language, and then laughing, she switched to English. “This is Gina. She’s taking over as our new boss.”

From growing up in the Santoro family, if there was one thing Gina wasn’t it was shy. But she did feel a little intimidated by trying to learn the names of a dozen new people, especially not being able to see their faces well in the dim light. She had a speech to give, one she was planning to give the next morning.

“You’re catching me a little off-guard right now. I wasn’t expecting to meet you until tomorrow.” When she looked around the group, they all seemed to stare back at her. She held up her yellow pad. “I have some ideas and I’m looking forward to getting started on them.”

Still nothing. It got worse when a couple of the men went to their barbecues to tend the meat and vegetables that were grilling.

“It might take me a few days to learn everyone’s name.”

The smoke that wafted through the air was heavy, savory, with a peculiar scent that she couldn’t identify. It made her hungry for more than the minestrone that she was planning for dinner that evening. She still wasn’t getting much of a reaction from them. Scratching the side of her head with a fingertip, she wondered what the problem was.

She clasped her hands together in a prayerful gesture. “Maybe you guys could tell me what you jobs are?”

Finally, someone stepped forward. He was the shortest and roundest of all of them, including some of the women. “I’m Flor, spelled with one O. You’re not Filipino?”

“No, sorry. I’m Italian. Actually, I’m from Cleveland.”

“Cleveland. That’s a cold place, isn’t it?”

“In the winter. The lake effect…never mind that. What do you do here at the estate, Flor?”

“I’ll be taking care of the fruit trees. My wife Florinda will work with me.”

“It’ll be easy to remember your names,” Gina said. “I have friends at home with your names.”

A senior citizen-aged man stepped forward, bringing a young woman with him, along with two small kids. “I’m Gabe…Gabriel. This is my Reyna, and our kids, Jazlyn and Marisol. They won’t be trouble.”

“I’m sure they won’t be.” Gina waved at the two little girls who looked like twins. “Do you help your daddy?”

The kids barely blinked their replies, but Gabe answered for them. “They play, I dig. If you want a hole dug, come to me.”

“Well, the old koi pond needs a lot of digging.” Gina waved her yellow legal pad with her list of ideas and her simple schedule. “This should be a fun project. I’m looking forward to getting started.”

“When will the equipment be delivered?” someone asked after another round of introductions.

“Equipment?” Gina asked.

“I’ll need a backhoe,” Gabe said.

“Backhoe?”

“And a bulldozer with a plow attachment to dig the fields,” someone else said. He was the one responsible for returning the pea patches to their original places, a farmer by trade as he explained it. “The weeds need to be burned to the ground, and the dirt dug and turned over if you want to grow vegetables again.”

This was all news to Gina. She’d agreed in her contract that minimal expense would be used on heavy tools or machines that needed to be rented. Scratching her head while wondering what to say, she was saved when a figure come from one of the barbecues. When he got close, Gina recognized Felix’s smile. “Dinner’s ready.”

One of the wives prepared a plate of food for Gina, and she seemed to get the chair of honor between two campground lanterns. Once most of the food had been identified and eaten, Gina knew it was time to go back to work.

“You see, we won’t have the money for heavy equipment. Everything we’ll do will be with hand tools.”

The collective groan was almost palpable.

“Gotta dig with shovels?” Gabe asked.

“Just so you know, I’ll be digging with you. And planting, pruning, whatever I can do.”

“That’s what we figured,” Clara, the pregnant girl, said. “We heard about you on the roof this weekend.”

Flor was seated next to Gina. He took one of her hands for a close inspection. He smiled when he gave it back, and said something in Filipino to the others. That got a chuckle from them.

“What?” Gina asked.

“A year from now, your hands won’t be so soft.”

“Probably not.”

“You gotta husband in Chicago?” Clara asked.

“Cleveland, and no. Not here, either.”

That got the women in