SAM HAWKEN A graduate of the University of Maryland, Sam Hawken pursues twin callings as writer and historian. Areas of his study include comparative theology, Jewish and Middle Eastern histories and the formational experience of the United States. All of Sam Hawken’s work involves extensive research, authentic flavor and a devotion to illuminating issues both historical and contemporary. Sam Hawken’s short fiction can be found in a number of places and embraces a broad spectrum of genres, from southwestern noir to historical fiction and literary horror. |
NORTH PASS Across the US/Mexico border from El Paso is the city of Ciudad Juárez, an industrial zone dominated by the maquiladoras, massive factories producing American consumer goods at Mexican labor rates. The cities are so closely intertwined that they are almost one entity, except that on one side there is American wealth and on the other side is a boiling mass of violence and crime. People make a life in Ciudad Juárez despite an ongoing battle between the authorities and two rival drug cartels. But forgotten amid all of this are the crimes called feminicidios, the female murders. Since 1993 more than 400 women have vanished or been found raped and murdered. Only a handful of cases have been tried, and in all of them there have been allegations of false confessions, police corruption and torture. Kelly Courter is an American living in the city. For reasons left initially undisclosed, he has fled Texas and started a new life as a punching bag in local boxing matches and as a drug mule for his Mexican friend, Estéban. He’s also involved in a relation with Estéban’s sister, Paloma, who has a personal crusade in the dead women of Juárez. We also meet Rafael Sevilla, an aging policeman trying to turn Kelly against Estéban’s drug suppliers, and Ortíz, a sometime fight promoter who Paloma hints has a much darker agenda. A relapse leaves Kelly circling the drain and when he manages to right himself again he finds Paloma has disappeared like so many women have. When her violated body turns up in a field not far from his apartment, he becomes the number one suspect in her death. In jail Kelly is subjected to repeated abuse at the hands of police until a serious beating leaves him in a coma. Sevilla, unconvinced of Kelly’s too-convenient guilt, takes up the case with the help of an insider from the investigation. Sevilla discovers the truth about Paloma’s abduction, one that has nothing to do with Kelly, and zeroes in on Ortíz. The man leads Sevilla to a wealthy maquila owner, Rafa Madrigal, and his son, Sebastían. An attempt at an undercover operation goes awry, with Sevilla mistaken for a grifter trying to scam the Madrigals. Running out of time and options, Sevilla turns to the brutal tactics of others involved in the feminicidios cases, forcing a confession out of Ortíz and discovering the truth not only about Paloma’s torture and murder, but about the Madrigals. Sevilla knows full well that a rich man like Madrigal can’t be brought to real justice thanks to his money and influence. He infiltrates the hidden den where Madrigal hosts “parties” featuring bloodsport fighting between men and animals alike, as well the sexual abuse of innocent women lured off the streets. The police, tipped off by Sevilla, raid the site and Sevilla takes this opportunity to gun down Madrigal under color of authority. In the end there is little to celebrate. Kelly is still in a coma and officially under indictment for Paloma’s murder, but at least the man truly responsible has been brought to the only justice that was permanent and possible in El Paso Del Norte, Ciudad Juárez, the North Pass. Rights available: World ex. English language (Serpent's Tail). |