The Chicken Hanger

Chapter 31

221 THIRTY-ONE Ricky Delgado sat in the darkened movie theater in Laredo and wondered whether he smelled like chicken. It was, of course, a valid concern. Did he carry the aroma of deep-fried fast food? For six weeks now, he’d been working as a cook at the Tastee Nuggets in Rugoso. He had been conducting himself as a model employee, and his boss had already hinted that Ricky would be a candidate for the next assistant manager position that opened up. The restaurant job was a vacation compared to working at the poultry plant. Ah, the poultry plant. Already it seemed so long ago. A lot had happened in the past two months. Herschel Gandy had pled guilty to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and was serving six years. But he had larger problems, namely his murder trial coming in the spring.There had been several newspaper articles about the case, but Ricky hadn’t read them. He was again healthy and strong, and Tomás was almost fully recovered, too. For the time being, they were sharing a home in Howard’s old neighborhood . Ricky had purchased it with his half of the settlement. One point six million dollars. He felt it was obscene to receive that amount of money for a bullet wound, but that was how they did things here. Brent Nielsen and Samuel Gandy, Herschel’s father, had readily agreed to the terms Peter Wynn had suggested. Ricky hadn’t gone to that settlement conference. Peter Wynn had suggested that Ricky should also sue Kountry Fresh Chicken for the conspiracy regarding his illness, but Ricky felt that wouldn’t be right. He said he’d rather sue Wayne Skaggs personally, but Peter Wynn said Skaggs had nothing to take. The same was true of Dr. David King, who wasn’t properly insured. He might’ve been a doctor, but he handled his finances poorly and owed many creditors. He had filed bankruptcy and left town. He would lose his license when the medical board finally took action. The plant itself was slowly rebuilding. An experienced manager had been brought in from Arkansas. He was attempting to hire a new workforce, but it was a difficult task because the employees had to be legal residents. Few people wanted the jobs. The town, meanwhile, seemed to be holding on. Peter Wynn had not yet managed to obtain U-visas for Ricky and Tomás, but he had performed some “legal wrangling” that allowed them to remain in 222 the United States while the matter worked its way through the government bureaucracy. For Tomás, though, the end result would likely be of little consequence . It appeared doubtful that Sarafina would be granted citizenship, and Tomás would not remain in the States without her. He would return home— with one less thumb and a lot more money. Ricky munched a handful of popcorn and waited for the movie to start. It was a Christmas comedy, but he wasn’t sure what it was about. It didn’t matter. During the third preview of coming attractions, Cris finally returned from the lobby and took the empty seat beside him. ...