The Charity Chip (21 page)

Angelica looked up at him and gave a furtive glance at the adjacent tables. “Pay close attention to the layout of his office, especially his computer. Just try to remember how everything is organized.” She wrinkled her brow and asked, “Why do you need to go see Isak?”

“He said he wanted to reward me for the interview yesterday with Sofía Encuentro. He said I cast Caritas in a good light.”

Angelica raised an eyebrow. “You got interviewed by Sofía Encuentro?”

Julio sat up straight. “She interviewed me yesterday. I was on TV last night.”

Angelica wrinkled her brow at first, but then her eyes lit up. “That’s it!” said Angelica, pounding her fist on the table. The outburst got everyone’s attention in the lunchroom, and she blushed at the attention, but she was smiling as she stood. She leaned over and said, “I will be waiting for you with a ride in one hour.” Then she skipped over to the kitchen to deposit her dirty dishes and hurried over to her computer. After a few minutes she rushed out the door.

Julio was puzzled at Angelica’s outburst but glad to see her happy. He scooped up his dirty plate, dropped it off at the kitchen, and started for the computer, but changed his mind. He had struggled to concentrate all morning, and he knew it would only get worse after lunch. He decided on a shower instead.

He cranked up the hot water and stripped off his clothes. The hot water felt good, and he relaxed. It was nice to be able to get clean, wash off all the dirt from the street. It boosted his confidence somehow, like he could do something with his life. As he toweled off, he thought about Raúl and hoped the money from Isak would be enough to pay off his debt.

After his shower, Julio strolled through the front door of Caritas feeling confident, until he saw Isabela in a low-cut black dress doing her nails. Her hair was pulled up on top of her head and she wore a long string of pearls. She didn’t even look up when Julio walked in. Julio pushed back his wet hair with his hand. “Señor Blixt asked me to come see him today,” he said.

“He’s in his office with Señor Pascal and Doctor Kozyar,” answered Isabela as she continued to paint her nails bright red.

“Do you think I could see him?”

Isabela looked up at him and frowned.

“Please?”

She finished painting her last fingernail and put the tiny brush back into the bottle. “Let me check first.” She tapped the earpiece in her ear with the tip of her finger, careful not touch her wet nails. She looked right through Julio like he wasn’t there and waved her hands back and forth to dry the nail polish. “Señor Blixt, Julio says you wanted to see him today. Should I send him in?” She looked down at her nails. “Yes, sir.” She nodded at Isak’s office door. “Go on in,” she directed as she continued to wave her hands in the air.

Julio had the feeling that he was interrupting something when he walked into Isak’s office and stopped just inside the door. Doctor Kozyar was at the window with her back to the door. She didn’t even turn to look at Julio when he entered. Señor Goulet sat in the leather chair in front of Isak’s desk with legs crossed and his fingers steepled in front of him.

Isak was at his computer and closed a window on the screen just as Julio walked in. He turned to face Julio as he crossed his hands on his desk. “What can I help you with, Julio?”

Julio glanced at Señor Goulet and Doctor Kozyar, but neither of them acknowledged his presence. He stared at his feet. “You asked me to come see you today. You said you wanted to reward me for making Caritas look good for Sofía Encuentro.”

Isak glanced at Pascal Goulet, and the French gentleman granted his consent with a nod. Isak smiled and said, “Yes, you did help us promote Caritas with Miss Encuentro yesterday. For that, we will place an additional fifty euros on to your chip that you can use for clothing or other needs. How does that sound?”

“Thank you, sir,” answered Julio with a humble nod and a smile. He got the distinct impression that he wasn’t welcome at this moment, and started to leave, but he remembered Raúl’s debt and decided to try something. “Would it be too much trouble, Señor Blixt and Señor Goulet,” he said as he stared at his shoes, “if you allowed me to withdraw that money? I want to buy a used skateboard and the seller only accepts money on a free chip.”

Julio’s bold request earned a glance from Doctor Kozyar. Señor Goulet’s normal toothy smile was gone. Isak seemed unfazed by the request. “That is beyond the scope of the program, Julio. You know that,” he replied.

Julio looked at his feet. “I was hoping that you would make an exception, since they used the interview on TV.”

Isak smiled and turned to his computer. “Let me see what I can do,” he said as he typed on his keyboard.

Julio continued to stare at his feet and hoped the awkward moment would pass. The office was silent except for the sound of Isak’s fingers at the keyboard and the ticking of the brass clock on his desk. Remembering Angelica’s charge to take a good look at everything, he forced himself to raise his eyes and look around. He paid particular attention to the computer. The large flat screen that dominated the corner of Isak’s desk was the same brand as all the computers used by the students, except it was bigger. Everything else was tucked away in drawers.

Isak closed the window he had been typing in and turned back to Julio. “I have adjusted the protocols so that you may now withdraw the fifty euros onto a free chip from any participating bank in the next twenty-four hours.” He held up a finger. “But you must understand, this is not normal procedure and will not be repeated.”

“I understand.” Julio bowed his head and began backing out of the office. “
Gracias, gracias
,” said Julio, gushing with gratitude. He hoped that fifty euros would be enough to settle Raúl’s debt and keep him from going back with
los mALditos
.

Julio skated home, so excited about the money that he forgot about meeting with Angelica until the mototaxi pulled up beside him. “Get in. Hurry!” urged Angelica from the backseat.

“You skated right past us over a kilometer ago,” said Angelica when he scrambled into the backseat. Even over the sound of the droning motorcycle engine, she sounded annoyed. “I even texted you to turn around, but you never checked your phone.”

Julio pulled the phone from his pocket and saw the message. “Sorry. I’m not used to having a phone, and I forgot what color mototaxi you were in last time.” He didn’t want to tell her about the money.

Angelica rolled her eyes but then seemed to brush it off. “Did you get a good look at Isak’s computer?”

He nodded. “It looks like the computers we use, but bigger.”

“Makes sense. That should make access easier.”

Julio gave her a puzzled look. “Access for what?” he asked.

She gave him a funny look like she couldn’t believe she had to explain. “For hacking into his system. What else?”

“You want to hack into his system?”

Angelica shook her head. “How else did you think we were going to figure out what was really going on? Walk into Isak’s office and say, ‘Excuse me, Señor Blixt, but would you mind telling us what you are really doing here?’ ” She rolled her eyes again.

“I understand that, but I didn’t know you knew anything about hacking into someone’s computer.”

Angelica gave him a devious smile. “I used to help my mother’s old boyfriend, Tito. They would send me in with the hardware and I would get them into the system. As they say, physical access is total access. Sending me in also gave them deniability if I got caught.” The smile faded, and she wrinkled her nose. “That’s how I ended up at Caritas. I got caught. Unfortunately for Tito, they traced the signal back to him and caught him red-handed. He won’t get out of jail for another two years.”

“How did your mother die?”

Angelica looked out the window. “She used to drink a lot. I guess she got drunk one night and wandered into traffic and got killed by a car. I was in bed when it happened. When Tito told me she was dead, I didn’t believe him, but then he took me to see the body.”

“Mine died of pneumonia. I was fighting with my brother in the street when she drew her last breath.”

“What about your father?” asked Angelica.

“He was killed during the protests when I was five. How about yours?”

She shook her head. “I never knew him. My mother said he left to find work in the mines near Tacna while she was pregnant and never came back.”

Armando pulled the taxi over to the curb in front of Martín’s store. “Do I take him home too?” he asked over the sound of the motor.

Angelica looked at Julio. “No, thanks,” answered Julio. “I’ll get out here also.”

Armando reached back and grabbed Angelica by the arm. “Tell Martín I need my phone recharged if he still wants me to give you rides. I’m out of minutes.”

“I’ll be sure to let him know,” answered Angelica. The exchange made Julio uncomfortable, but he didn’t say anything.

Martín was busy helping a woman with a baby on her hip, so they slipped upstairs to Angelica’s room. She closed the door behind them and pulled out her phone. “I know how we can put some pressure on Isak and Caritas.” She shook her phone with excitement. “We can call Sofía Encuentro and tell her what we know. She will investigate.”

Julio cringed. The last encounter was uncomfortable, and he didn’t relish another one. “She just spent an entire day at Caritas. What makes you think she will investigate further?”

“She put you on TV. She’ll listen to you.”

Julio shook his head. “She’s probably already off covering another story,” he said with a wave of his hand. “It’s a waste of time.”

Angelica’s face fell, and she slipped her phone into her pocket. She moved close and put her arms around Julio’s waist. “Please, Julio,” she pleaded. “Will you call her for me?”

Julio felt his chest tighten and the blood rush to his cheeks. With her hands around his waist, he didn’t know where to put his arms, so he let them hang loose at his side. He made the mistake of looking down at her. Her bottom lip jutted out slightly and seemed to invite him to kiss her. He wanted to speak, but his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth.

Angelica squeezed him. “Call her for me. Please!”

Julio swallowed and forced his tongue to lick his lips. He tried to speak, but all he could do was nod. As soon as he nodded, Angelica moved her hands from around his waist and grabbed him around the neck. She pulled him down and kissed him on the lips. “Thank you.”

“I looked up her number,” said Angelica as she whipped out her phone. “Once you get her on the line, we can put her on speaker.” She dialed and followed the prompts. When it started ringing, she handed him the phone. “Tell her you have information about another student from Caritas that died last night.”

Sofía Encuentro was talking by the time he got it to his ear. “Sofía Encuentro,
cuando hay noticias, yo encuentro.
”

Julio’s tongue still felt thick and awkward. “This is Julio Camino . . . uh . . . the young man you interviewed at Caritas yesterday.”

“Oh, hello, Julio. Did you see yourself on TV last night?”

“No, no I didn’t. I don’t have a TV.”

“I can send you the link to watch it online if you like.”

Angelica whispered, “Put her on speaker so we both can talk.”

Julio turned away from Angelica so he could concentrate. “That would be nice.”

“Is there something I can do for you?”

“Well, remember how you asked about the suspicious deaths yesterday?”

“Yes, I remember.”

Julio glanced back at Angelica to find his courage. “I have some information about a Caritas student who died last night.”

“Another one died last night? Who?”

“The girl that was sitting with me, Graciela.” Julio could see Angelica’s impatience building as she folded her arms and tapped her foot.

“I see . . .” The sound of her fingers clicking against the keyboard came through the phone. “Look, Julio, I would like to help, but some very important news involving the president’s mistress just broke. The story is going to be huge, and my producer gave me a tight deadline. I really won’t be able to look into this for at least a couple of days.”

“I understand,” said Julio. Angelica threw her hands up in the air and glared at him. “Could you at least make a couple of phone calls? You remember what it’s like to be in my shoes. It would mean a lot to me.”

“Do you have her full name? Which hospital did they take her to?”

“Her full name is . . .” Julio looked to Angelica for help. “Graciela, uh, Gomez, I believe.” Angelica nodded her head. “They took her to Hospital Edgardo Rebagliati last night for an overdose. She was dead when she got there.”

“Graciela Gomez, Hospital Edgardo Rebagliati . . . got it. I’ll have one of my staff call and check on it. I’ll call you.” The line went dead.

Julio held out the phone to Angelica. “She said she would check on it.”

Angelica snatched the phone from Julio’s hand. “Why didn’t you explain to her what we saw last night? Why didn’t you put her on speaker phone like I told you to?”

“She told me she was busy with another story. What was I supposed to do, demand that she drop everything and listen to me?”

Angelica wagged a finger in his face. “You should have put her on speaker. I could have convinced her.”

“If you could have convinced her, why didn’t you call her yourself?” He slipped back on his backpack, grabbed his skateboard, and started for the door.

Angelica moved in front of him and put her hands on her hips. “So now you’re just going to run away?”

Julio started to slip around her, but she moved in front of him again. He rolled his eyes and said, “I have to go. I have to check on my brother.” He tried to slip past again, but Angelica sidestepped and blocked him.

“You promised me you would help. You can’t back out now.”

Julio glared at her. “I promised to help. I keep my promises.” He slid past Angelica before she could react again, and opened the door. His ears were burning as he hurried past Martín and the woman with the baby. He bolted out the front door of the shop, tossed his skateboard in front of him, and hopped on in one swift motion. His hands were balled into fists and his jaw was tight as he picked up speed and carved his way through the crowd.
Why doesn’t she trust me?