By edRogers
[Reviewed here on the novel’s publication day, October 6, 2018: “Coming soon to a Barnes & Noble store near you?”]
Charlie was mad. He didn’t trust Howard and what really got him was that Margot didn’t trust his judgment and sided with Howard.
Instead of going home, he turned toward town. He accelerated his little motorbike on the beach road. The buildings and palm trees raced past and became blurs as the small engine screamed from the strain. At that time of night no one else was on the streets as he flew past the closed shops.
At last he stopped, at the end of the beach road, where he sat and stared down the street that led to Mr. Tai’s warehouse. After several minutes he turned the engine off and let the bike roll downhill. He parked it close to the house of the old woman who was Juan’s friend.
He had no plan and no idea what he was doing, but he needed to do something and maybe it was time to do something crazy. He kept low and crossed the street, where he made his way around to the back of the houses. Following the same path he had taken with Juan, but higher on the bank this time, he reached the boat ramp. Thankfully the outgoing tide had cleared the fish guts from the ramp. Once inside the warehouse, he moved toward the stack of square pallets, across from which a metal ladder was bolted to a cement pillar that helped support the large overhead beams. He moved quickly to the ladder and began to climb. Halfway up he heard footsteps and hastily moved higher. He was at the top of the ladder when the guard passed under him. He held his breath until the guard turned the corner and was out of sight.
From the beams he had a bird’s-eye view of the warehouse. Behind the revolving loading table was another stack of pallets. These looked like the ones they used to ship the fins – and maybe dope. That would explain why the camera didn’t get any pictures of the drugs. From where he was, it would be possible to watch the entire operation from beginning to end.
He descended the ladder and hurriedly exited the building. When that next shipment came in, he knew where he would be watching from.
Back at his house he put some ice in a glass, opened a new bottle of rum, and filled the glass. He could feel it in his bones, time was running out. Something needed to be done before Mr. Tai began to wonder why Charlie Blankenship was still in Costa Rica. He was no longer employed as an owner of a business, so in fact his visa was expired.
He went out onto the patio, with his glass and the bottle.
And there he lay the next morning as the sun came up. The sound of a car horn blared like a cannon going off in his head.
Charlie stumbled into the house and hit the open button without even checking to see who it was. He was downing a glass of water when Howard walked through the door.
“My God, man, you look like hell.”
“You just see the outside, Howard. It’s worst from in here. Come take a seat before I fall.”
They went into the living room and sat on the couch. Charlie looked at his watch. “What are you doing here, Howard, at 7 o’clock in the morning?”
“What we talked about has been bugging me all night. I know you don’t trust me, but I promise there are no ties between me and Rodrigez. What can I do to prove this to you?”
“Really, you pick right now to ask me this?”
“I have to know what it will take, Charlie. I have no friends down here outside of our little group of environmentalists, so I can’t afford to have them doubt me. I have a few beers with Rodrigez because we share the same work background, not because I like him, nor because I am in cahoots with him.”
Charlie felt like throwing up. “Howard, you’ll have to wait until I put my head in some cold water. Could you put some coffee on, please?” Charlie headed to the bathroom while Howard went into the kitchen.
Charlie took his shirt off and tossed it in the corner, then turned on the cold water in the shower and stuck his head under it. Sometime later he came back into the living room with a towel over his wet head and picked up the cup of coffee Howard had brought for him. After several sips as big as he could manage of the hot liquid, Charlie placed the cup back on the table and leaned back on the couch. “You do have to understand why we – or I – would distrust you, Howard.”
“It’s only you, Charlie. Margot knows I would never betray her.”
“Okay, Howard, I’ll give you the benefit of a doubt. I do have something you can do to prove your worth.”
“Anything, Charlie. I do mean anything.”
“The next time you see Rodrigez, I want you to tell him that you heard from a contact at the American Embassy that the D.E.A. has a high-ranking official on their payroll.”
“I’ll call him today and set it up. Thank you, Charlie. I won’t let you down. Do they really have one?”
“I don’t know, Howard. After you tell him, you can feel free to engage in a guessing game as to who it is. Make note of who he believes would betray Mr. Tai.”
“I see where you’re going with this. What a great way to find the weak link.”
“Now will you please go and let me grab a nap?”
Howard rose and headed toward the door, with Charlie bringing up the rear to open the gate. At the door, Howard suddenly turned and hugged Charlie. “Thank you so much.”
Charlie watched him drive away and realized he had set a plan in motion without even thinking about it. He lay on the couch with his eyes half closed thinking about what to do next.
He must have dozed off because he awoke with a jump at the sound of his cell phone.
“Hello.”
“This is Juan. Did I wake you?”
“No, I’m up and awake. What can I do for you, Juan?”
“I don’t know if you care anymore, but the trucks from San Jose are at the warehouse again. There must be a shipment coming in.”
“Yes, I care. Can you come over now?”
He heard Juan laugh. “I’ll be there in ten minutes. I figured you would want one more crack at that dope.”
Charlie gave up on the coffee, which was cold now anyway, and opened a beer, which seemed to help. He set the can on the kitchen counter as he walked past it to open the gate for Juan.
“Come in, mi amigo. Can I get you something to drink, coffee, water, or beer, which is what I have chosen?”
“No, I’m good, Charlie, thank you.”
“Come in and sit down. Are the drugs coming in tonight?”
Juan took a seat on the couch. “That would be my guess. Tai doesn’t like to have the shit in his warehouse any longer than he has to.”
“I’m going in there tonight and see for myself how they’re shipping those drugs.”
“Charlie, that is very dangerous. If they catch you, they’ll kill you.”
“Do you have a gun?”
“I have my service pistol. It’s a .38 and only has six shots. Not much of a match for the firepower that Tai has.”
“It will have to do. There’s a ladder in the warehouse that will take me to the overhead beams. No one should see me once I’m there. I’ll need for you to be behind the stack of pallets where the camera was hidden. If I’m seen, buy me time to get back down and we’ll run for the exit.”
Juan got up and marched toward the kitchen. He opened the icebox and removed a beer. With the beer opened, he sauntered back to the couch and took a big drink. “That is the shittiest plan I have ever heard. We might as well put a gun to our heads right here and save time.”
“I’ve been back to the warehouse and up to the beams. It will work. The odds of anyone looking up at those beams are a million to one.”
“What happens if they do look up? And what do you mean, you’ve been back to the warehouse?”
Charlie cleared his throat. “I went in the other night to look around – there was a very low tide and I had no problems. There’s only one guard in there at night and I’ll bet that’s the only man with a gun. If worse comes to worse we might have to tie him up in order to make an escape.”
“You’re crazy, Charlie. You should never have gone in there alone. I guess if I say no, you’re going to do this anyway, and how do you know there is only one guard?”
“I heard the guard last night and it was only one person walking. This is the last chance I have to find out how the drugs are going out, so of course I’m going, with or without you.”
“All right, what time does the dance start?”
“It’s dark by six and they’ll be waiting for the day crew to leave, so that’s when we go in.”
Juan stood and put out his hand, which Charlie shook before standing to walk him out.
| Copyright © 2018 by Ed Rogers |
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