We pulled dad out of the back seat and placed him on a lawnchair. I tapped him on the face a few times, and he opened his eyes.

“Wha... Are we home?” He asked, looking very disoriented.

“Not exactly, sweetie, but you’re welcome to call it that, if you like...”

Dad blinked a few times and looked at Susana. His expression was of total disbelief, like he had seen a very surprising ghost.

“No way. Oh, hell, no.” He got up from the chair and knocked it over. “Come on, Laura, let’s out of here.”

“Hold on, man, let’s hear her out,” I said. “I think she can help.”

He went to Jonathan’s car and tried to open the back door. Even though it was clearly locked, he kept trying.

“We can’t handle those jaguars on our own, dad.”

“The hell we can’t, girl...” He seemed really jumpy. More so than when he had guns pointed at him. “Jonathan, get in the car, please, we need a ride.”

“You should hear your daughter, Roger,” Susana smiled at him. “You must know she is smarter than you.”

“Ma’am, I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but I don’t want none of your damn’ business, alright? Jonathan, shit, you owe me that much, ok? Open this door.”

“Mr. Dias,” Jonathan said. “There’s nothing shady going on, I promise. This is about your camp. And your people.”

“Yeah, sure,” dad got away from the car and put his hand on Jonathan’s shoulder. “Son, every single thing this woman does is shady. The sooner you realize that, the better. Now, you either give me your keys, or you’ll never be able to step in my camp again. Considering all the time you’ve spent there, you probably wouldn’t want that.”

I was starting to get real confused about that whole exchange. Did father knew about this woman, Susana? Did he had some sort of past with her? Now that was obvious. I was used to him keeping secrets from me. But I’ve never seen him acting that way, or even talking to Jonathan with that tone. I didn’t know if I should feel sad or scared.

“You know what? I don’t need this bullshit,” Susana ran her fingers through her hair and walked back to her front door. “I’m gonna make some coffee, and whenever you want to talk about the safety of your people, I’ll be in there. And don’t think I am just referring to some hungry bobcats.”

“They’re jaguars, grandma...”, Jonathan said.

“Who gives a shit?” Susana mumbled while closing the door behind her.

We all stared at each other for a moment.

“What is she talking about?” Dad asked.

“There is a man hiding in your camp, Mr, Dias. He wronged someone he shouldn’t have.” Jonathan lit one of his cigarettes. “And unless we get to him fast... Shit’s gonna get really bad.”

“How bad?”

“Much worse than a few wild animals, sir. Please, just talk to her. Ten minutes, that’s all.”

I looked at dad’s eyes and knew exactly what he was thinking. That no matter how stupid a decision, or how hasty, he would do just about anything to keep his people safe.

“Ah, for God’s sake...” He said. “Let’s go, then.”