13

Nobody in their right mind would have lent Frederico any money. Nobody with their senses intact would have even considered the idea.

It wasn't that he was a bad guy, Frederico. He was alright, I guess. He was nice enough, and he was even helpful without expecting anything in return. A good person, maybe. But definitely not a bad guy - that, I can tell you for sure. He didn't have the face of someone who was bad.

Still, nobody would have loaned him money. 

The thing about Frederico was that he was a little... irresponsible with the cash. It disappeared as soon as it was in his hands. Blink, and it's gone. That's how fast he spent his money. Or other people's money, as it were. And that's why he was always in need of money. And that's how come everybody knew not to lend him any. They'd never get it back.

By the time he was twenty-seven, Frederico had amassed such a huge debt that he had no hope of ever repaying it. It wasn't all from one person, either. A hundred bucks here, a couple hundred there, a fifty from Allie, three-hundred from Jones, and the list went on. All together, it was more money than Frederico could ever dream of having at once, let alone paying back.

Enter: Maxine. 

Maxine was new in the neighbourhood. She didn't know Frederico all that well, or any of the other neighbours, but she put together a little BBQ and invited everyone over to get to know them. It was innocent enough, but as soon as her guests began to arrive, they could tell that Maxine had money.

And so could Frederico.

I saw him gaping at the place - the marble columns in the foyer, the big patio out back, the swimming pool, the thousand-dollar grill, the big steaks sizzling on its rack, and even the fancy pearl necklace wrapped around Maxine's wrinkled neck. He saw it all, and he liked it. 

He wasted no time trying to ask for a loan, either. 

Maxine was friendly. She was nice. She was charismatic. But she wasn't good.

You could tell, right from her face.

You can tell anyone from their face. Whether they're more good than bad, or more bad than good. Maxine leaned wholly onto the dark side. Something about her eyes, about her nose, about her lips - I don't know how to explain it, but she wasn't good, and that was as clear as day to me.

Not to Frederico, of course. He had dollar bills in his eyes, and she was a big pot of gold. 

I didn't get involved, you know. Some people think I warned Maxine, or I warned Frederico, or I was somehow involved, but it's not like that. I could just tell she wasn't above-board, that's all, and I noticed things. I stayed away from her because I didn't like her face. Plain and simple. It's all in the face.

Anyway, the morning of Frederico's murder, I'm sitting in my car, waiting for the kids, when I see Frederico coming out of Maxine's house, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. You'd think he'd won the lottery - and maybe he did. He's strolling on back to his house, completely unaware that he was being watched.

Not by me. I mean, I was watching, too, but that's just what I do. Curious guy, and all that.

But it wasn't me who Frederico had to worry about. It was Maxine. She stood at her front door, leaning against the frame, and crossed her arms, watching him. It wasn't a nice look on her face. It wasn't a normal one, either. You know how some people just look a little intimidating when they're not smiling - and that's just a natural thing? Well, it wasn't a natural thing, what I saw on Maxine's face.

It was calculating. It was cold. It was kind of icy. 

The kids got in the car, and I moved on, but I remember thinking that Frederico's really gone and done it now, because that woman looked like trouble.

I didn't realize, at the time, that I'd come home later that evening to find the whole neighbourhood crawling with police.

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