The Inca Con: A Rex Dalton Thriller

by JC Ryan

  During this time, he also heard back from Rehka, who requested more information about the springs. She hadn’t found anything that would indicate a correlation between the kids consuming or being bathed in spring water and their skin and general condition deteriorating. She wanted to know whether any of the other villagers consumed the water or bathed in it, and if so, whether they were sick.

  ***

  ON THE FOURTH day after Rex’s discovery of the fake artifacts, the Markses and Rex were eating lunch when a flurry of activity at the edge of the village reached their ears.

  Rex stood up. “I wonder if that’s the agent from the Ministry of Culture.”

  Flo suggested he and Barry go to investigate, while she cleared away the remnants of their meal. They could hear the crowd chatter getting closer as they approached the small square where all public events took place. Entering it, they were only a step ahead of the flock of women and children who were sweeping a single figure along with them.

  The sun in his eyes prevented Rex from seeing well enough to make the person out, but his impression was of a short, slight figure in bush clothing like his own cargo pants and cotton shirt. It was only when they drew within a few feet of each other that he realized the figure was female. Another step, and he caught his breath sharply at her extraordinary beauty.

  His usual confidence stumbled like a missed step. Fortunately, Barry moved forward, his hand outthrust, and introduced them.

  “Barry Marks,” he said, pumping the hand she offered in return. “And this is Ray Davis.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Marks, Mr. Davis,” she said with a lilting Spanish accent. “I’m Luciana Mamani, sent here by the Ministry of Culture to investigate a claim of criminal activity involving antiquities. Would one of you be the reporting party?”

  Whoever appointed this woman at the Ministry deserves a medal for good taste.

  Rex found his voice and said he was the person who reported it. “I am the one who reported it, but it appears the message got garbled. I’m certain the objects I reported are not antiquities, but forgeries.”

  He barely heard her answer, lost as he was in the exotic dark eyes, liquid almond-shaped pools of the deepest brown he’d ever seen, almost black and slightly tilted as if her heritage included some Asian genes. In them shone a keen intelligence, always more attractive to him than the regularity of features that most people defined as beauty. Her black lashes were devoid of mascara, but still thickly framed those eyes.

  Her face, though, exhibited all the traditional markers of beauty – glowing skin, a straight and well-shaped nose in perfect proportion to her face, and cupid’s bow lips framing straight white teeth in an easy smile. Topped with lustrous mahogany brown hair to match her eyes, her oval face was perfection itself. She had pulled off a brimmed hat to better see the taller men, and the hair tumbled from it to her shoulders, slightly mussed. Rex had never seen such beautiful hat-hair before.

  “Wait—you don’t have arrest authority?”

  Now her eyes betrayed amusement. He’d been caught out, staring like an adolescent.

  “That’s correct. My role is usually to recover stolen artifacts, backed up by local police once my investigations discover their whereabouts. I’m an independent contractor, paid a percentage of the value of the artifacts I recover.”

  Rex’s face must have betrayed his frustration with the news, because she added she was sorry he was disappointed.

  He wanted to say that just getting a glimpse of her beauty was reward enough for him, but the echo of the thought made him sound like a creep, and he’d already made a bad impression. Instead, he asked if there was anything in it for her if she caught the scammers and con artists who preyed on tourists interested in antiquities.

  “Oh, yes. But not through the Ministry of Culture, which is who you called. I also freelance for the tourism department, again with the help of the police. They sometimes offer a reward, depending on the extent of the crime. Is this a police matter?”

  “I think so, yes,” Rex answered, feeling himself getting on more solid ground with his emotions.

  Luckily, he couldn’t see the smile on Digger’s face who was sitting a yard or so away observing Rex’s stupefaction.

  Okay, Dalton, you were sixteen almost twenty years ago, get your shit together. Sure, she’s beautiful. It’s not like you’ve never seen a beautiful woman before.

  With Barry’s help to fill in the details about how Junior Roper took the Markses for fifty-thousand, and how Rex got involved, the trio wandered toward the guest house. Rex revealed that he had been working on an idea of how to reverse the con and would like to discuss it with Luciana, as his plan required not only her knowledge of it but also her help to stay out of trouble with the police.

  When they reached their quarters, they introduced Luciana and Flo, and turned to a more immediate practical need. Where would Luciana find shelter?

  Alexandro’s disappearance from the village had left the village leaderless. Rex went to the old men of the village and asked where the ‘new woman’ might stay. After much discussion, she was shown to a small house only steps away from theirs. Flo insisted that Luciana have her meals with them for the duration of their mission, and to Rex’s elation, she gladly accepted.

  That evening, Pidro appeared at the door of the hut and asked to speak to Rex in private again. He knew the Markses couldn’t understand the request, but Luciana’s curiosity was manifest. He’d have to let her in on the other mysteries in the village soon if he wanted her to trust him.

  “You have more questions,” Pidro stated.

  It was eerie in a way, but Rex understood the villagers were naïve, not stupid. His investigations had attracted notice from the villagers, and they were talking about it. Maybe the families of the sick kids had even appointed the elder to find out what he was looking for.

  “I do,” he said. “Why would Alexandro tell you to keep this a secret?”

  “Because of people like you,” Pidro answered. “Alexandro told us he had a plan to get money for a doctor. If outsiders know of our affliction, they flee, and money does not come, and we won’t have the doctor.”

  “How many people like us have come?

  Pidro shrugged. “Three. Four. Perhaps more. I do not pay attention. We do as Alexandro say, and go about our lives.”

  There was the confirmation Rex had been looking for, that Alexandro at least, and probably Roper, had perpetrated this scam more than once. He’d thought so. Most likely, they’d schemed to do it over and over. However, he couldn’t think how they’d managed to get away with it more than once.

  He asked once again why Pidro would only now reveal the secret and received the same answer. Alexandro was no longer trusted. Rex counted it as good fortune. Now he had hope to enlist the villagers to help reverse the con, and maybe there was also a way he could help them get the medical attention they needed.

  Fifteen

  BEFORE THEY SET up their sting, it would be Luciana’s role to get buy-in from the Ministry of Culture, the tourism department, and the state and regional police. Rex’s idea was complex and required the blessing of the authorities. In addition, it required cooperation from the Ministry in the form of an audacious request that meant the Ministry must trust them. Rex wanted to borrow a couple of genuine priceless antiquities.

  But before that could happen, he had to gain Luciana’s unmitigated trust, the plan had to be rock-solid, and the villagers had to buy into it and cooperate. Rex had already decided he would stay in the village for as long as it took to plan and execute what he had in mind. The Markses, however, were long overdue for their return to the States. Rex wasted no time in outlining his plan and asking the Markses if they were in or out for the duration.

  “I don’t really need you two to be here to execute my plan,” he explained. “But I’d welcome your participation.”

  Flo answered for herself and her husband when she said, “We’ve never been involved in anything so exci
ting! We're not going to miss it for the world.” Her rosy cheeks and shining eyes confirmed her seriousness and excitement.

  Rex looked at Barry. “Are you sure? It could get dangerous.”

  Barry scoffed. “Like Flo told you. We’re not going anywhere. We’ll see this through to the end.”

  Rex smiled. “That’s the spirit.”

  He then explained his plan in detail. “We’re not only going to get your money back, we’re going to bankrupt them, put them out of business permanently. They won't ever do this again. And then, just for good measure, we’re going to have the Peruvians arrest them for doing it in the first place.”

  By the time he’d laid it out and secured Luciana’s assurances that she thought it would work and that she might be able to get the authorities to go along with it, Digger was insisting it was time to eat. Flo excused herself to go and trade for fresh food from the village women, and Rex bribed Digger to work first by showing him the Kong.

  Luciana followed and watched the exercises with interest.

  “He is so smart!” she exclaimed, when Rex had finally let Digger have the toy. “He is a police dog, no?”

  “No, not at all. He's just a very clever service dog,” Rex said.

  Fortunately, she didn’t ask why Rex needed a service dog. He would have hated to lie to her.

  Digger always knew when people were talking about him. He dropped the Kong at Rex’s feet and began to flirt with Luciana instead, first play-bowing, and then putting his head on her knee and looking at her soulfully.

  She laughed and petted his big head, scratching between his ears until Digger almost swooned with pleasure. “I like dogs,” she said.

  Rex answered, “Well, this one likes you. I’ll have to be careful or he’ll leave me for you.”

  She smiled. Digger was looking at him with a big smile, too.

  At dinner, Rex and the Markses asked Luciana how she’d gotten into her line of work.

  “I’m an archaeologist by profession,” she began. “My mother’s grandfather made his fortune in mining. Gold, silver, industrial metals. He was fortunate, but I'm afraid he didn't leave behind a good legacy as his mining operations created some environmental problems, here in Peru, in Argentina, and in other South American locations.

  “We have tried to make amends. My mother was an environmental activist, and she fell in love with these mountains, the rich heritage of the Quechuas, and with a Quechua man who she met while protesting a mining permit that would have destroyed his village.

  “Eventually they married, and I’m their only child. I guess I inherited my mother’s genes, which means I soon became bored with simply cataloguing and studying antiquities that others excavated. I wanted a little more excitement, and, well, here I am.”

  Rex was fascinated. He and Luciana seemed to have the same restlessness and yearning for adventure and learning. To travel to places where his fancy took him and study the history he loved wherever he went. It was as if something had been either bred or trained into him that craved excitement. Maybe that’s what attracted trouble to him like bees to nectar.

  The four talked long after the village had gone to sleep, a fire their only light, sharing stories of their travels. Rex, of course, had to censor his stories. When Barry finally declared himself exhausted and needing sleep, the party broke up with promises that tomorrow Luciana would start negotiating with the authorities to support their plan.

  ***

  AS PROMISED, THE next day Luciana used her satphone to speak with her contacts in the Ministry of Culture, the tourism department, and the highest police authorities she could reach. When she’d spent several hours going back and forth between government departments, she reported to the rest.

  “We have tentative support from Culture and Tourism,” she said. “The police want to know more about the man who took your money, Mr. and Mrs. Marks. A representative will be here to interview you as soon as he can get here from Santa Teresa.

  “They think these people, this Junior Roper and his uncle, have been operating in this region for quite some time and have scammed many people out of their money. Many of them have been tourists who were too embarrassed to admit how stupid they were, or they feared the trouble they could be in for trying to buy antiquities and just wanted to go home and not get involved in pressing charges.”

  Barry pressed his lips together, obviously angry. Flo was not as willing to censor her thoughts.

  “Those bastards,” she said. “Well, I’m embarrassed, but I’m not going to let them off the hook and go home. It's not the money—it’s the principle. If we get the money back, we’ll happily donate it to these people to get them their doctor.”

  “Agreed,” said Rex.

  Luciana had more to report, though.

  “The Ministry isn’t willing to risk real antiquities, Ray. I’m sorry. They don’t know you, and they pointed out that neither do I, really. What they will do, is lend us some very high-end fakes. Will that be good enough?”

  Rex took the time to think it through before answering. “We don’t know how sophisticated Junior’s knowledge of artifacts is. The crude fakes we found at the site indicate to me that they aren’t experts at all. I think that would work.”

  “Maybe I should see this site for myself,” Luciana suggested.

  “Good idea. I was going to suggest we do it today. But your negotiations have eaten up half the day. We can’t get there and back. We’ll have to go tomorrow.”

  Barry spoke up. “Could the two of you do it without me to slow you down?”

  Rex hadn’t wanted to suggest it and offend Barry. Flo, however, endorsed the idea.

  “You could, couldn’t you, Ray? I don’t know about you, Miss Mamami.”

  “Luciana please, Mrs. Marks. And yes, I’m acclimated to altitude, if that’s the issue.”

  “First names it is, then,” Flo said. “I’m Flo, he’s Barry, and altitude is our nemesis.”

  Luciana smiled. “I’m game if Ray is.”

  Rex was outnumbered, and truthfully, he did think they could make the round trip if Luciana didn’t want to explore too much of the ruins for now. Before they left, he showed her the fake they’d brought back the last time they’d been to the ruins.

  “Definitely crudely done,” she pronounced. “How could they think that would even fool anyone?”

  “You’d have to see where it was. At a distance it’s impossible to tell. I plan to put it back where I found it.”

  Flo quickly put a snack together from their stores of food and promised to get Barry to help her feed the llamas.

  A little smile played on Flo’s face when she said, “We’ll leave a light on for you, and I’ll have something for you to eat when you get here.”

  Rex and Luciana walked abreast on the trail, with Digger ranging ahead of them. On the way, Luciana questioned him about Alexandro’s absence.

  “We haven’t seen him since he ran away when we discovered the fake. The villagers don’t know what to make of it. Fortunately, they haven’t turned against us. In a way, it’s like they’ve decided to wait and see what happens, and then they’ll make up their minds who to follow.”

  “You’re probably right,” she answered. “These people are wise in the ways to survive up here, and they aren’t unintelligent. But they are gullible. They’ve had no experience of the modern world.”

  “Lucky them,” Rex said. “Do you think it’s wrong to enlist them to help us pull off this sting?”

  “I think they’ll take it as a great joke. But I’m worried about Alexandro’s whereabouts. How will the sting work out if he’s gone to Roper?”

  “I guess we’ll have to factor that in,” Rex said. “I don’t know how we’ll learn whether he has or not.”

  When they got to the ruins, Luciana agreed with Rex that the artifacts looked authentic enough to fool a non-expert, when viewed from the window slot. She was impressed that Digger found the way in. Rex took the time to wriggle back in through the t
unnel and replace the artifact, and then they raced nightfall for the village, arriving as the last glow of twilight left the sky.

  ***

  TWO DAYS LATER, a senior officer from the Policía Nacional del Perú arrived, bringing with him the promised high-end fake artifacts they’d need to pull off the sting. Before turning the fakes over, he insisted on interviewing all four of them, even Luciana, separately and then together. Only when he was satisfied that their stories were genuine and their plan solid, did he agree to work with them and ‘deputized' Rex. Rex assumed it wasn’t a legal deputizing, at least not one that would've been legal in the US since he was in Peru under a false name and forged passport. But, so long as his documentation held up, he supposed it would be fine. Besides, the planned actions were aimed at Roper and cohorts—there was no reason to scrutinize his background.

  The officer had also offered to deputize Luciana, but when he explained that accepting could mean she'd lose her entitlement to the bounty she’d otherwise earn on the capture of a major league criminal, she declined. Rex and the Markses had told her they weren’t interested in the reward; only retrieving the fifty-thousand dollars and putting Junior et al out of business. Anything more they got would be given to the villagers, who had heard over and over from Alexandro that their silence and cooperation would eventually improve their lives, and who had been disappointed time and again. It would be a major undertaking to gain their trust now, when their own leader had betrayed them.