THE VAGABOND VIRGINS
by Ken Kuhlken
She looks like someone Alvaro Hickey “dream[s] about every day,” and he’s instantly smitten—with the Virgin of Guadalupe?
The lady’s exceedingly lovely, and some people think she really is the Holy Virgin. On the other hand, some are convinced her sister is. Alvaro is sure of one thing: She’s in trouble. The lady’s actual name, it’s soon revealed, is Lourdes Shuler, and she has crossed into San Diego from Mexico seeking Alvaro’s professional services because he’s been recommended as smart, tough and resourceful. She needs a private eye to find her sister Lupe. True, Lupe’s been missing ten years, but that’s only a minor snarl compared to subsequent revelations about history and divinity. Now that it’s June 26, 1979, the most important Mexican elections in recent history are only five days off. The party in power, the tyrannical and murderous PRI, is deeply interested in the alter ego of the Holy Virgin, since she seems to be taking an active interest in current politics. Whenever she appears, she persuasively berates the PRI. From bitter personal experience, Alvaro knows how vengeful the PRI can be, but he signs on anyway and then watches the divine fallout.
Not much story here, but the family Hickey—Alvaro, brother Clifford and Pop (The Do-Re-Mi, 2006, etc.)—is always entertaining.