The Oaths We Keep

Chapter 11

The house sat at the end of a cul-de-sac between two unsold homes. It was a small single-family dwelling that required upgrading and renovations. Its main advantage was that there were few prying eyes, and most people here were not likely to call the police about anything. No one was interested in two Hispanic men who kept to themselves and tried to make their footprint as small as possible.

To keep Dr. Harper disoriented, the kidnappers stopped here and there before resuming their route to the house. They moved him around a couple of times as a precaution and to keep him disoriented. As far as he knew, he was a hundred miles away on the other side of the state. That was good. The more confused he was, the easier he was to control. They rarely spoke to him and were always masked when interacting with him.

Fernando wanted no mistakes with this one, unlike the Arizona couple. It wasn't supposed to go down like that, but the guy tried to get brave at the drop site. With him dead, there was little reason to keep her alive, so she took a bullet to the head. Fernando was pissed about that. He didn't like complications, and murder was as complicated as it got. So far, there was no heat, but they got sloppy. This time, there could be no mess-ups.

Manuel understood his brother better than anyone. They grew up in Juarez, and he idolized Fernando, following his lead everywhere they went. While many siblings fought among themselves, Manuel and Fernando never did. That was especially true when they came to living in the United States. For months, they lived hand to mouth, surviving off the scraps people threw away. They lined up every morning in the gathering places where the construction people came looking for workers. When there was no construction work, they worked the fields for the farmers.

The last job they took was for a landscaping company. The man hired them and paid them a decent wage to lay sod, cut grass, do gardening, and do other outdoor work. It was hard work, but it gave them their chance. Eventually, they earned enough trust to go out on their own.

Fernando and Manuel observed the movements of the homeowners they serviced and those around them. They noted when the residents left and, in some cases, how long they were typically gone. They only hit places when no one was home, taking small items like jewelry and cash, trying hard to leave little trace of their presence.

After a few months, they had enough money to buy their van. They passed themselves off as home renovators and contractors. They took what they could and disappeared as soon as they were inside the home. Once they pulled a few burglaries, Fernando decided to look for a way to make more money.

Manuel was initially opposed to the idea of kidnapping. He argued that the sentences for burglary were a lot less than kidnapping. Manuel warned they were stepping into the far more dangerous stuff that could draw too much attention. Fernando won him over, and the first couple of jobs went according to plan, netting them a large amount of cash.

Then came the Arizona job, and the whole thing nearly collapsed. At the drop site, the man pulled a gun on Fernando. He did not count on Manuel being there as backup, and he did not hesitate to put the man down for good. The wife could have survived the whole thing if she hadn't started screaming. Fernando put a bullet in her head, and the two men fled to California. From what he could tell, no one got a look at them, and the police did not know anything about the kidnappers. He was sure they were in the clear.

When they arrived in California, Manuel argued they should lay low since the brothers had enough money to live off for years. Fernando won out again, claiming that they needed one more score. So they watched and waited, and now they had their score.

Dr. Harris was an easy mark. When they discovered he was about to travel, they decided to make their move. Manuel and Fernando arrived too late that morning to grab him at his home, so they decided to follow him to the airport. The coffee shop he stopped at was a possibility, but there were too many witnesses. Then, the doctor went to that drug store just down the street, which presented the perfect opportunity. He parked his car far enough away from the store, and no one seemed to be around.