by Jim Daddio
“Not quite sure what you mean. After this is over, we go for a vacation in…where? Las…”
“LaPaz. But not a vacation. How about maybe a lifetime?”
“You mean…holy shit…take the money and run. You got to be crazy. Fat Baby will find us, and we won’t have a second to spend a dime.”
“I’m willing to take that chance.”
Sue looked over at Mat. “You’re serious. You really believe you can hide from him.”
“I know this place. It’s a villa right on the beach. I’ve been there. It will be hard for anyone to find us. Plus, we can stay there for a while and then maybe go somewhere else.”
Sue jumped up and down in her seat. She yelled, “Two million? Well, screw it. I’m in.”
~ * ~
Hector approached the border station. He slowed down and drove into the lane he always took. It was early. He wondered if the border guard would be curious. He would be surprised to see him so early in the morning.
He pulled up to the gate. The guard looked into the car. “Hector. You are early. Hey, you didn’t get fired, did you?”
Hector faked a small smile. “Na. I bent down and I get light headed and go down for the count.”
“It was the bear, man. The bear can get you some time.”
Hector nodded and waved as the guard opened the gate. For the first time all day he felt relaxed. He never had been so nervous. Now all he wanted to do was collect the money they had promised him for making the delivery and go home. He was told that delivery would be his last.
As he drove to the house, he had visited earlier that morning he couldn’t help thinking about the look on the man’s face when he popped open his shirt and dropped his pants. It was almost like he didn’t know he was coming. The more Hector thought about it, the more he had the feeling something wasn’t right. He had expected the man to be all over him and anxious to be getting the money. But then he thought the man was as nervous as he was and just wanted to get it over with.
He drove up to the front of the house, parked and walked up to the front door. He looked around at the street. The street was empty. He knocked. Nobody answered. He knocked harder. He called out. There was no response. He tried looking into the windows, but they were blacked out.
Hector walked back to his car. He kept looking back over his shoulder to see if anybody had come to the door. He thought he remembered he was supposed to come back to the house after the drop-off and show them the piece of paper with the man’s signature on it. Or maybe he was supposed to take the money out of one of the pockets. For a minute, he became confused. He started to walk back to the house. He wanted to find out if what he remembered was true. Everything had happened so fast and he was so confused and anxious in the morning, maybe he hadn’t heard what he was to do to get his money.
He started up the small set of stairs when a Juarez police car pulled up behind his. The officer got out and called out. “Hey. Hey there. Where are you going?”
Hector was caught off guard. He could feel a hot bolt of heat flash throughout his body. He turned. “Me?”
“Yes. You. What are you doing here?”
Hector thought quickly. “I came to visit a friend.”
The police officer moved toward him. Hector had no idea what to expect. The police officer called out, “What is your name?”
“Hector. Hector Morales.”
“Hector. This house has been abandoned for months. Nobody lives here. You have an ID on you?”
Hector could hardly speak. He couldn’t believe what the man had said. He had been there a few hours earlier. He stammered, “Yes.” He reached in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He handed it to the officer and said, “I…I…came to visit…Jose. An old friend.”
The officer studied his driver’s license. He handed the wallet back to Hector. “Several months ago, there was a call that someone had heard what they thought was the sound of gun fire. When we got here a man was found shot to death. I don’t think his name was Jose.”
“I…I…don’t know anything about that. It’s been awhile since I was here.”
The officer studied Hector for a few minutes. He asked, “You work here in Juarez?”
“No, sir. I work in El Paso at a landscaping company. I have my green card and—”
“Okay,” the officer said and began to walk back to his car. “Maybe you should try to find your friend. I hope it wasn’t the man who was killed.”
Hector waved and scampered back to his car. He got inside and took a second to collect himself. His hands were shaking, and his head was pounding. The only thing he could think about was how he was going to get his money. His other thought was next Tuesday the money would be in his truck like always. But that was never mentioned. As he started the car, he thought to himself, they have my cell phone. I can’t even call anybody. Then he laughed out loud and said, “I wouldn’t have anybody to call anyways.”
~ * ~
Mat found a dirt road with several small houses on it. He spotted Hector in the front of his house washing his truck. He pulled up next to the truck and got out of the car. Sue followed.
Hector looked surprised and confused as Mat walked toward him. Mat called out, “Hey, Hector, what’s up?”
“Not much. Just giving the ol’ truck a good cleaning.”
“Heard you called in sick. You all right?”
Hector felt another jolt of heat pass through his body. He stammered, “You…you talked to my boss…why?”
“Oh, I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes, so we dropped by the nursery.”
“What about?”
“By the way, this is Sue.”
Hector nodded. Mat continued, “Think we could find a quiet place to maybe have a drink and lunch. You know…an outside café?”
Again, Hector wasn’t sure what was going on and he stuttered, “I…I guess. Let me change and—”
“You’re fine. Come on.”
Mat waited for Hector to take a few steps toward the car and Mat slipped in behind him. Sue followed.
Hector turned his head around. “Anything wrong?”
“We’ll talk when we get there.” Mat handed Hector the keys. “You drive.”
Ten minutes later they were sitting at a table at the end of the café. The place was almost empty. Mat ordered two margaritas and a double shot of tequila for himself. Hector was quiet and nervous. He never knew what to expect from Mat.
Their drinks arrived and all of them took long swigs. Mat drained his shot and slammed the glass on the table. He said, “Whoa. Good stuff.”
Hector said, “So, why the visit?”
“Hector, let me say you always delivered for me. You always had my money ready for me. And I value that in you. Everything I’ve heard about you has been good stuff. Words like trusting and loyal and…well, you know.”
“I have always been. You know that.”
Mat leaned over and whispered, “Then why in the fuck didn’t you deliver the money this morning?”
Hector’s head snapped back. It was the last thing he expected to hear. His eyes opened wide and said, “I…and how…what’s going on, wait…how would you…no wait, I made the drop off. I was there at eight a.m. sharp. Mat, I’m confused with all this. Talk to me.”
“First, let me say, me and Sue went to the house to pick up the money and deliver it to Fat Baby.”
“You? Man, oh man. You work for him? Wait…I see it. You contacted him after you made a deal with me.”
“Not important. What is important is you’re fucking with the wrong people. We went to the house. The man did not have the money.”
“Mat, he had to. I gave it to him…look.” Hector reached in his back pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “He signed this.” He handed it to Mat.
Mat looked at it. “This is nothing but chicken scratching. It’s unreadable.”
“I didn’t look at it. All I did was ask him to sign where it said accepted.”
S
ue leaned forward and said, “Hector I was there at nine. I went there first. I held a gun to the man’s head. I even offered him…never mind. Let’s just say he was scared shitless. If he had the money, he sure played it cool. Mat came later, and we worked him over pretty well. I have to believe he ain’t got the money.”
“But I was there.”
“Tell me everything. Every detail.”
“Let me see. I went to a house in town early this morning. Under my clothes a man taped on this white silk like suit with little pockets filled with money. They gave me a GPS. I typed in the address in my cell and drove to El Paso. I was scared, man. I was hurtin’. But I made it. Got to the house, walked in, stripped off my shirt, dropped my pants to my knees and ripped off the suit. The man signed this paper and I left. It took me less than ten minutes…maybe less. I called in sick, drove back here and I’ve been waiting for my money.”
Mat waved his hand in the air and called out for another round. He sat there silently waiting for the drinks. After they arrived, he yanked the glass to his mouth and drained the liquor. He looked over at Sue. “Not drinking?”
“You know, I believe this guy,” she said.
“I don’t know who to believe. But I do know someone is lying big time.” He tapped his fingers on the table. “Let me think…let me…the GPS must still be on your phone. You have it?”
“Sure. In my truck.”
“I suggest we get the GPS, get in the car and follow the directions. Let’s see where it took you.”
~ * ~
The two Mexicans spotted the red Mustang with the black top and dent as it sped toward the border station. The driver positioned the car in the lane next to the Mustang. They both were cleared through customs about the same time. The Mexican pushed the car in front of the Mustang. They were on their way.
Thirty-seven
Bones and his partner, Lamar, walked into the house. He shouted, “Anybody home?”
Charlie called out, “Here. In the kitchen.”
They walked into the kitchen. Bones burst out laughing. “My, my, look at this. The man is all taped up. You look like a mummy.”
“Not so funny. And who are you?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“You going to get me out of this shit?”
“Not yet. Tell us where the money is, and I’ll think about it.”
“Ah, Jesus. Here we go again. Like I told the last dude and his hotter than hot lady, the money never made it here.”
“You’re saying someone came to pick up the money?”
“I just said that.”
“And it was a lady and some dude?”
“What is this? Twenty questions?”
“Just answer me.”
“Some hot babe came here at nine. She wouldn’t believe me. Nobody believes me. She put me in this strait jacket, held a gun to my head and offered me…never mind. I told her I never got the money. Then she called some dude. He came. Smashed my face a few times. Kicked me in the fucking ribs. They looked around and left me like this.” He cleared his throat and yelled, “I never got the money. Some Mexican is running around with two mil and people are beating me up.”
“Cool. Mind if we look around?”
“Listen. I just want this to end. I may not be a genius, but I wouldn’t fuck with Fat Baby. Look, I got a ticket to Vegas. But because of all this shit I missed my flight. He was paying me fifty grand. Why for the life of me would I want to take his money?”
Bones laughed out loud. “I could think of two million reasons. See, that kind of money makes people do strange things.”
Charlie lowered his head and shook it from side to side. “I’m hungry. I want to get up, get some food and forget this ever happened. Just take this tape off me.”
Bones turned toward Lamar. “Let’s look around.”
Bones grabbed a large kitchen knife and walked into the living room. He started the search by tearing up the sofa. He and his partner tossed, ripped and turned the living room upside down, then proceeded to the man’s office. They turned the entire room upside down and found nothing. They found the bedroom. They did the same to the bedroom. They sifted through the closet, tossing clothes everywhere. They emptied every drawer and ripped the bed apart. Again, they found nothing. They tore the rest of the house apart.
Bones pulled open the air conditioner vent and reached inside. He walked back into the living room and found one packed suitcase. He opened it and tore through the clothes. He found nothing. The two men stood in the middle of the mess. “Let’s go to the garage,” Bones said.
They walked back into the kitchen and toward the garage door. “Look. Keys are hanging here. I’ll check the car.”
Ten minutes later they returned to the kitchen. Bones called out, “Pal, if the money’s here, it sure is hidden good.”
Charlie cried out, “The delivery man never came. Will somebody believe me and cut me loose?”
“Charlie, my man, whoever did this had a reason. And I’m sure they’ll be back. But since I like you, and if we solve this and you’re clean, I’ll come back and cut you loose, and take you to dinner.”
“I’m guessing you work for Fat Baby. So, do me a favor and call him and tell him I never got the money and get me out of this shit.”
“Have a great day, pal.” Bones and his partner left the house.
Thirty-eight
Mat and Sue waited while Hector went into his house. His mind was racing. He walked over to the other side of his car and made a call. A man answered. “Eugene. It’s Mat. Listen. I need a new convertible. Red. Got one?”
“Hey, Mat. You’re finally going to get rid of that relic.”
“Yeah. How much for a new one?”
“I got one on the lot. Thirty-five grand. I’ll give you a grand—”
“Never mind. I’m going to have a lady friend of mind come over this afternoon. She’ll have the cash. Have the paperwork ready. She’s in and out in record time. Keep my car. Title’s in the glove compartment. It’s yours. Do what you want with it. And there’s five grand in it for you in an envelope. Can you do it?”
“Consider it done.”
“Make sure the title is in her name and that’s it.”
He walked back and stood next to Sue. “Here’s the deal. I know this guy at El Paso Ford. His name is Eugene. He used to be a cop. Now he sells cars. He’s going to have a new red Mustang convertible ready. When we get the money, we’ll drive to your place. You take the car and drive to the dealership. He’ll know what to do. The car will be waiting.”
“Cool.”
Hector closed the door and jogged toward the car. They got in and were on their way.
Mat pushed the old Mustang hard on Interstate 10. He listened to the voice on the GPS. Sue sat next to him and Hector sat in the back seat. From time to time Sue would hold up her pistol and point it at him. Hector kept telling her he didn’t like guns and to put it away.
Matt followed the directions specifically. Within the hour, they were turning onto El Camino Real. Mat slowed as he approached the house, he had left a few hours earlier. The voice on the GPS said, “You’re approaching your destination.” Mat slowed down. He pulled up in front of the house. The voice said, “Proceed for one thousand feet to your destination.”
Mat looked at the screen. The address read 11664 El Camino Real. It didn’t take long for him to figure it out. He yelled out, “Holy shit, Hector, you flip-flopped the last two numbers and went to the wrong house. Goddamn, you should have dropped off the money at one-one-six-four-six. You punched in one-one-four-six-four. The house you went to is a few houses down the street.”
Mat grabbed the GPS and threw it in the back seat, barely missing Hector. He said, “Let me think for a minute.”
Sue couldn’t stop laughing. “Oh, God. This is a riot. We went to the right house which in this case is the wrong house, and the guy in there is taped to a chair. Mat, I need to go in there and cut him loose.”
“Let’s make
sure first. We need to go to the house down the street and I’m going to knock on the door. When the man answers, Hector you sit in the car, stay low get a good look and give me a sign that it’s the right guy. Make sure he doesn’t see you. Sue, you take off and walk back and take care of…of…Charlie. Here, give him a couple hundred and apologize. But nothing more. I think you like this guy…maybe too much.”
Sue gave him a funny look and said sarcastically, “Ha. Ha.”
Thirty-nine
Bones made the call. Fat Baby answered. “What is going on, Bones?”
“I’m not sure. Who did you send to pick up the money?”
“Not important. What is important is what did you find out?”
“Your boy was tied to a chair. He was knocked around a bit. He said a woman came in and then a man came, after he told her he never got the money.”
“You believe him?”
“We kind of tore the house apart. We even looked in his car and in the garage. If he’s lying and the money’s in that house, well…”
“I have to make a few calls and find out where the Mexican who was supposed to deliver the money lives. Hang loose. ‘Cause when I find out, I want you to get down to Juarez and find the bastard. And if he has the money, get rid of him. You know what, get rid of him anyway. Twenty large for you.”
“Done.”
~ * ~
Mat drove to the next block and parked directly in front of the wrong house. He sat for a minute. He decided he didn’t want to use his badge to get in. He had to find another way. He looked back at Hector. He said, “Okay, Hector, slide down. Don’t let this guy see you. When he opens the door, take a peak. If he’s the guy, give me a thumbs up. I’m keeping the car running. As soon as I get the money, we’re out of here.”
He got out, walked up and rang the doorbell. The door swung open and a man stood in front of him in a gray sport coat, black pants and a blue striped shirt.
Mat said, “Hello. I would like to speak with you for a minute.”
“What? Why? What’s this about?”
