By edRogers
[Reviewed here on the novel’s publication day, October 6, 2018: “Coming soon to a Barnes & Noble store near you?”]
The next day Charlie made a trip to Customs. He had the box of feathers that Margot had made up for him and the two thousand dollars for Julio Morales. It had crossed Charlie’s mind that the two Morales’s could be related, but Victor was a Mexican and Julio was a Tico through and through. South America lacked a large pool of names to choose from. Unlike the States, most names in South American countries came from one source, Spain.
As he walked toward the entrance to the Customs warehouse, a sharp pain hit him in the mid-section as he realized that Margot was with him the last time he was here. His longing for her was driving him crazy. He hadn’t had a full night’s sleep since her death. He would be awoken from the nightmare of lying on the ground with her all night beside the jeep. As terrible as that was, he wanted to be back at that moment holding her forever close to him. He wiped the tears from his eyes, climbed the stairs, and confronted the man at the desk.
“Mi nombre es Charlie Blankenship. Me gustaba ver a Julio Morales, por favor.”
The man picked up the microphone and called Jennifer, who was in the truck next to them. She climbed down and said, “Hello, Mr. Blankenship. I guess you have your shipment ready to go?”
“Yes, but I need to speak to Julio.”
“That is no problem. Give me your box and I’ll process it while you go see him. He was asking just the other day if I had heard from you or the lady.”
Charlie handed her the box. “I’ll bet he was.”
“Sorry, I don’t understand?”
“It was nothing, Jennifer. Thank you.”
Charlie kept forgetting that sarcasm doesn’t translate. It wasn’t the first time a Tico looked at him with that blank stare. He crossed the wide span of warehouse floor and climbed the stairs. At the top, he knocked on the office door.
“Come in, Mr. Blankenship.”
Charlie walked in and they shook hands. Charlie pulled the money from his pocket and handed it to Julio, who took a few seconds to count it. Then he looked up at Charlie with what appeared to be real sadness. “I heard about the environmental lady being killed. It is a terrible thing. I didn’t believe in what she was doing but I never wished harm to come to her.”
“Somebody did. And you might watch your back also.”
“I don’t understand, watch my back. Why?”
“Two of the people who worked with her are dead also.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“One of the men that was murdered knew the name of a D.E.A. mole in the government. I don’t know who it was but Margot said it could involve the Casa de Blanco. Tai must not be paying enough money, if people are starting to go over to the other side.”
“This is the first I have heard of anything like this,” complained Julio. “Are you sure?”
“No, I’m not sure. The only ones that were sure are dead. That should tell you something.”
Charlie could tell he had hit the right button. Julio seemed scared shitless.
Charlie stood up and put out his hand. “I’m shutting down my feather business until whatever this is blows over. It’s been nice to do business with you. Once things cool down maybe we can do it again.”
Julio shook Charlie’s hand but his mind seemed to be running so fast Charlie wondered whether he was even aware that Charlie was leaving.
He paused outside the door and looked back inside to see Julio with his cell phone to his head. Charlie knew the call was to Tai.
He climbed into Margot’s jeep and headed toward the hospital Mexico in San Jose to see Juan. It took him some time to find a parking place. It wasn’t like the States; all parking here was private. Then he made his way into the lobby and had no idea where to go. Luckily he found a nurse who spoke English and directed him to where he could find Juan.
He knocked lightly on the door and stuck his head inside. Of the room’s two beds, Juan was in the first. “Hey, Juan. How are you doing?”
“I guess I’m doing better than the others – I’m still breathing.” He saw the pain on Charlie’s face. “Charlie, I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. I’m so sorry about Margot and the others.”
Charlie wasn’t sure what information Juan was getting in the hospital. “Then you heard about Tommy and Howard?”
Juan was still in a lot of pain and talking or breathing hurt. “The police came by to ask me questions. They wanted to know if the four of us were involved in anything illegal. They said all the shootings looked professional.”
Charlie was thinking, that was quick. “What did you tell them?”
Juan took a deep breath and paused to let the pain subside. “I said I knew nothing, I had been hired as a security consultant and wasn’t involved in their day-to-day operation. Seeing as how I had only been on board for a little over a month, they believed me. Do you know who is behind this shit?”
Charlie looked down at the floor. “I do.”
Juan tried to pull himself up in the bed. “For God’s sake, who?”
Charlie looked sadly at Juan. “Victor Morales.”
Juan let himself back onto the bed. “Victor, not Tai? Why the hell would Victor be killing us?”
Charlie shook his head. He knew the rest of the conversation would go downhill. “He knows it was you and me that broke into the warehouse.”
A look of surprise came over Juan’s face. “Holy shit, how did he find out?”
Now comes the turning point, Charlie thought. “There was only one way: Tommy or Howard told him.”
Juan was shaking his head as if trying to clear it. “Then why did Morales kill them?”
“He didn’t.”
Juan’s face showed the shock he felt. “Don’t say anything else. I don’t want to know.”
Charlie pulled up a chair and poured a glass of water for Juan. “Here, drink this. You need to know everything, my friend. Once this is over someone will need to sort out what happened, and I may not be around to tell you then.”
Charlie spoke for at least an hour, with Juan sadly listening as his friend laid out the wildest plan he had ever heard.
Charlie finished and stood up. “We’ll never talk again, but I want you to know I have valued your friendship.”
Juan said nothing – there was nothing he could say.
Charlie turned and walked out of Juan’s life.
He sat behind the wheel of the jeep for a while thinking how strange everything sounded once it was spoken aloud. He started the jeep and headed back to Puntarenas.
Tai slammed his cell phone on his desk. He had just ended the call from Julio – crazy Julio, who was trying to stop shipping his products because of a rumor. He screamed out to no one but to everyone, “Get a hold of our contact in the American Embassy! Find out if there are any payments going through them to anyone in the government.”
| Copyright © 2018 by Ed Rogers |
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