Guts over Fear

Chapter 3: Family Ties

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The next morning, Eva woke up at 5am. She couldn't really sleep all night, she had heard Joey's whimpering and held him close to her.  Ever since El Gallo had shown up, his night terrors were on high gear. And well  considering what they've been through in the past 12 hours, she wasn't surprised.

She turned on the living room TV, not realizing that Joe had slept over until she heard him in the kitchen. He was sitting, reading the paper drinking coffee quietly.

"Good Morning," He said. "Would you like a cup?"

She eyed his cup and breathed in the smell. nodding. He got up to pour her a cup.

"Thanks," She muttered as she walked to the counter where the creamer and sugar were laid out. "Is Marcos asleep?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No, Marcos had an early appointment. He'll be back soon," He folded the newspaper as he answered her.

He had just read about the quadruple murder that had taken place last night in the projects. There were still no eye witnesses or leads as of yet, well-according to the newspaper.

Joe, however, was skeptical. There was nothing on El Gallo's driver disappearance, or any mention on his friend.

He knew that now that the Chief was part of this,equation he'd hold most of the information from the press.

"I wanted to see if there was anything new on the news?" She asked him.

"I highly doubt they'd release any real information on this case. I think the Chief will make his own private investigation on this matter. I also think you're going to have to be careful," A sympathetic smile tugging his lips.

Her gaze shifted to the news as they plastered a picture of Joey and her on TV. The reporter stated that no one knew about their whereabouts and how the police were eager to find out any information on the siblings.

New development showed a reporter posted on the sidewalk of a brown brick building. The male reporter on the sidewalk began stating that the body of Celeste Jimenez was found early that morning, a single gunshot to the head. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Eva saw their mouth's move, but didn't hear any words. All she heard was the sound of her blood rushing in her ears.

Joe stood up to see what she was gazing at and turned to get the phone. She couldn't hear his conversation, or cared about it. She dropped to the couch and felt a flood of anxiety gnawing at her.

Joey walked into the living room at that moment, his eyes followed her gaze.

"What is it?" He asked her urgently.

"Aunt Celeste is dead," She turned to see his stricken face.

"What are we going to do? We can't go to the cops, can we?"

"I don't think that would be wise."

The reporter continued, 'As of now, her only living relative is a daughter and granddaughter who wish to be kept private.'

Fuck.

She had forgot about her cousin Linda. She hadn't thought about her in a long time. Last she heard, she had had a daughter; who must be 6 now.

Linda was known to barhop with her daughter in tow. How she managed to keep her daughter and not removed by social services was beyond Eva's comprehension.

"We need to find her," Eva told Joey quietly as her mind began to work.

"Who?"

"Linda, our cousin."