By edRogers
[Reviewed here on the novel’s publication day, October 6, 2018: “Coming soon to a Barnes & Noble store near you?”]
Margot was having her coffee on the patio and enjoying a beautiful sunny morning after a rain-filled night. After Charlie rented the house on the mountain he spent very little time at her place. They were becoming more like colleagues than lovers. It made Margot sad, for she had grown fond of the old Charlie. It was as if that Charlie had died in the ocean that horrible night and a new Charlie had taken his place. What hurt more than anything else was that she was responsible for the new Charlie.
She was trying to guess in which direction Charlie’s plan would take them. Charlie knew military tactics, but Margot knew the Costa Rican people, and when they were confronted by gringos, you could never be sure what their reaction would be. They aren’t a rude people and will lie to you by telling you what you want to hear instead of just saying they don’t know. And while they might appear to trust you – well, gringos were never that trustworthy.
The cell phone interrupted her thinking: “Hello. Yes, this is Margot Rosenburg.”
The man spoke very good English, but she could tell he was a Tico. “My name is Juan Reyes. I’m sorry it has taken so long for me to call, but my family and I have been on vacation for two weeks and I’ve just gotten the message from Diego that you might have a job for me.”
She remembered asking Diego for help before Charlie went out on the finning boat. “Mr. Reyes, I’m afraid that the job ended sooner than we had expected.”
“I understand – time waits for no man. May I give you my phone number, in case something else comes up.”
“Please do.”
“4850-6624. You can reach me day or night at that number. The only time it is off is during vacation, and that is only once a year.”
“If something comes up, I will give you a call. Thank you for contacting me.”
She clicked off her cell phone and went into the kitchen to warm up her coffee before returning to the patio. Charlie needs to talk with this Juan Reyes, she thought. We need a Costa Rican face in our operation.
Juan walked back into his house. His wife, Carla, was laying out breakfast for their son, Felipe, who would be attending the University next month, and their daughter, Gabriela, who wanted to become a doctor but had settled for nursing school when Juan told her he didn’t have the money for medical school.
He pulled out the chair at the head of the table and waited for Carla to bring his coffee, rice, and beans. It was at times like these that he looked back on his life and thought about all the things his family had gone without just because he wouldn’t take a bribe.
He and Diego had joined the police force about the same time. They met and became friends for a while when they were both assigned to the drug task force. They were the hotshots of the unit. Between the two of them, they had more arrests than everybody else combined. The last door they had kicked in together, Juan was shot in the upper leg, and while he was in the hospital Diego got his lieutenant bars and was given command of the Special Fishery Unit. Their lives drifted apart after that.
Five years before Juan retired, things had begun to change. To Juan, it looked like everybody was on the take. Now a lieutenant, he had been offered money a number of times but refused it. One night, as he was coming out of the police station, a black SUV drove past and someone from the back seat opened fire on him. He was hit four times, but no one came out of the station to help. A passerby called the ambulance that saved his life.
He was laid up for six weeks, and while he was in the hospital his commander promoted him to captain. It was their way of saying don’t make waves. Upon his return to duty, he found he was assigned to the records department. It was a dead-end job, where he rode out the clock waiting for his retirement.
He was more sad than bitter – he had loved being a policeman.
Margot drove through the gate at Charlie’s house and set the dogs barking. She didn’t know why he had the dogs. Anyone breaking in, the first thing they would do would be to kill them.
The door was unlocked and she walked in. Charlie was perched on the couch going through papers that Tommy had found on the list of people they had targeted. “Morning, Margot, there’s still coffee in the pot if you want a cup.”
“No, thank you. I’ve had my fill of coffee for today.”
“Well, come over here and help me go through these financial reports. I’m having a hard time making heads or tails out of them. These people are making a lot of money, but it all seems legal.”
“Charlie, there’s something else I need to discuss with you.”
He dropped the papers and leaned back on the couch. “Okay, what’s on your mind?”
“There’s somebody I want you to meet.”
“The last time I did that, it didn’t turn out so good.”
“This is different. This person doesn’t belong to any government group. I believe him to be on the up and up. He was a police captain who fell out of favor with his department because he wouldn’t be bribed. He isn’t part of the government anymore, he’s retired.”
“Then why do I need to meet this person?”
“We can’t do anything without a Costa Rican being a part of the plan. I have lived here for a long time, Charlie, and we need a guide – a pathfinder, if you will. The government of Costa Rica is a maze in which we could end up spending years running into dead ends without someone who knows their way around.”
“How do you know you can trust this person?”
“I don’t for sure. That’s why I want you to meet him. I was told he was an honest cop. If he wouldn’t take a bribe back then, it’s fair to think he wouldn’t today. That says a lot to me. You remember me telling you about Diego Acedo? Well, in the early days, the two of them were on the drug task force together. Diego says this guy is a straight shooter.”
“What’s his name?”
“Juan Reyes. I called Tommy before I left the house and he’s running a background check. He should be sending it to you shortly.”
At that moment, Charlie’s computer binged, letting him know he had an email. He opened the email, which was from Tommy, and began to read. “Wow, this guy really got shit on by his own people.”
“Then you’ll speak with him?”
“See if he can meet me this afternoon. Tell him lunch is on me.”
Juan arrived early and sat down at the little outdoor café he was told about. He was nervous. It had been a long time since he had gone for an interview. He didn’t know what the job was, or even whether he would take the job, but it didn’t hurt to listen. He wanted a beer but thought better of it – the person with a job to offer might not drink. As he looked around idly, a motorbike parked at the curb. The driver, wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals, removed his helmet. He was brown from the sun, but Juan knew by the way he carried himself that he was a gringo.
“Are you Juan Reyes? I’m Charlie Blankenship.”
Juan stood and put out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Blankenship.”
“Let’s keep this on a first-name basis. If you don’t mind, I’ll call you Juan and you can call me Charlie.”
“That will be fine, Charlie.”
“How about a beer and something to eat?”
“Sounds good to me.”
They ordered food and after having a long drink of beer Charlie said, “I did a background check on you. I must say I was impressed. Not many people can stand up to the pressure you must have been under and not cave. For what it’s worth, you should have gotten a medal, not shot.”
“That is in the past. What kind of a job would an environmentalist like Margot Rosenburg need a person like me to perform?”
Charlie laughed – Juan too had done some checking. He liked Juan. There was no bullshit about him, he was straight to the point. “First, I need to ask you something.”
“I’ll answer any question you have, if I can.”
“It’s about your friend Diego. You retired without ever being on the take. As far as I can tell, Diego could have retired about the same time as you, but he is still there. Is there any way someone could stay on the job that long and not be dirty?”
Juan didn’t hesitate. “No.”
Charlie drank some more beer. “I didn’t think so.”
The food came and they ate, each man not sure how to move forward. The café’s owner removed the dirty plates and Charlie ordered two more beers. After the beers came, Charlie asked, “Would you have a problem doing a job that might put your friend Diego in Jail?”
“The message I got from him to call Ms. Rosenburg was the first time I had heard from him in almost ten years. We stopped being friends a long time ago. However, remember there are degrees of being dirty these days. You can’t paint all cops with the same brush.”
“I’ll let you do the painting. We’re planning on breaking the back of Mr. Tai and the hold he has on the government, but I need someone who knows the players. Are you interested?”
“How much does it pay?”
“One million colonies a month, or two thousand dollars if you want it in U.S. dollars. I’ll pay you for five months, even if the job is over in two.”
“Then I’m interested.”
“Welcome aboard, Juan.”
| Copyright © 2018 by Ed Rogers |
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