Bodega Dreams

The next day when Chino returns home from work, Blanca and Pastor Vasquez are having coffee in his apartment. When two police officers stop by to ask Chino some questions, Blanca invites them inside. Chino is asked about “Enrique Guzman” and informed that they are investigating the murder of Alberto Salazar. Chino gives them the bare minimum of information, including that he has been Sapo’s friend since junior high and that Sapo occasionally gives him rides to school. Blanca, angry and disappointed in Chino, tells him that she is going to her mother’s house.

The officers bring Chino down to the precinct for more questioning. Although they are Hispanic, Chino notes that “cops are a race unto themselves. It’s blue first, brown second” (173). One officer, DeJesus, who is Cuban, insults Chino for being Puerto Rican and without the intervention of another officer, they might have been involved in an altercation right there.

Chino is called in to speak to Captain Leary, who shows Chino a picture of Salazar’s body with the bite mark on his shoulder. He also shows documents from the Harry Goldstein Real Estate Agency and asks Chino about the names William Irizarry and Willie