An Inconsequential Murder

by Rodolfo Peña

  The crew went to the suspected burial spot a couple of days later. They were fully equipped with metal detectors, eco locators, and other equipment, and also pretended to be land surveyors. They dug around a few promising locations and soon found the body of Senator Elizondo, the mastermind behind Senator Romero’s murder. They reburied the body, as per John Wayne’s instructions, and marked the spot with a couple of rocks. The only thing they took was the dead cell phone, which upon analysis was found to contain the number of a cell phone belonging to the President’s cousin. The wallet that they found on the body had identification that said that the dead man was Francisco Elizondo, Senator from Coahuila.

  John Wayne called Robert Miller: “We’ve got the bastard.”

  Robert Miller asked, “Yeah? How’s that?”

  “We’ve located the place where they dumped the assassin. Guess who had been in there with him?”

  “Who?”

  “Senator Francisco Elizondo Elizondo, a close friend of the President’s cousin. He has been reported missing, you know. I think he organized the Romero hit and then got blown away himself.”

  “Geez, these people won’t stop at anything. So, what’s our next move?”

  “I’m giving the Federal Prosecutor all the info and the cell phone. He is going to act based on a confession and is going to ask for a search warrant.”

  “Who’s confessing, and what?”

  John Wayne said, “They have some guy in jail that was identified as an accomplice of the assassin. He was seen on the surveillance tapes misdirecting people as the assassin ran away.”

  “So, he confessed to what?”

  John Wayne sighed and said, “It doesn’t matter, you see? The Prosecutor will say that the guy told him that the bodies were buried in the cousin’s ranch, so, they’ll get a warrant, find the body and the telephone, which I will give him, and then they will make an arrest.”

  “President Echeverría will be pissed. The guy is family.”

  “Yeah, but Washington will cool him down. He’s got too much riding on the Bilateral Trade Agreement; it’s coming up for a vote in the Senate tomorrow. Washington will suggest that he say that law and order has prevailed and that no one is above the law so he is confident that justice will be served and that if his cousin is innocent he is sure the judicial system will protect his rights, blah, blah, you know the drill.”

  “Yeah, I know the drill,” said Robert Miller. “Well played, my friend.”

  “It’s like a fucking chess game,” said John Wayne.

  Chapter 30: An Invitation He Cannot Refuse

  A week after John Wayne’s conversation with Robert Miller, the Federal Prosecutor, Mr. Eugenio García Loera, held a press conference to announce that acting on information supplied by an anonymous source, and the confession of an accomplice in the assassination of Senator Juan Alberto Romero, the body of Senator Francisco Elizondo Elizondo had been found in a grave in a rural property belonging to Mr. Alfonso Echeverría Garza, Head of the Confederation of Rural Workers and Cooperative Farmers (this was his official position in the federal bureaucracy).

  In the press release he read, the Federal Prosecutor did not mention that Mr. Alfonso Echeverría Garza was related to the President of Mexico. But some of the reporters who were present were on the payroll of conservative elements in the government, so, following orders, they immediately asked, “Is not Mr. Alfonso Echeverría Garza related to President Echeverría?”

  “Yes, I understand he is the President’s cousin,” answered the Federal Prosecutor curtly and following the script that had been prepared by anonymous anti-legalization forces.

  “Has the President been informed?” asked another.

  “Yes, I called him this morning and gave him a full account of the investigation.”

  “What was the President’s reaction?” asked a newsman from Teleuniverso, the largest television chain in Latin America.

  “He is in complete agreement that the investigation should be conducted in such a way that all of the facts of the case are…”

  “Are you going to arrest Mr. Alfonso Echeverría?” yelled another reporter interrupting.

  “Members of the Judicial Police and of the Public Ministry are at Mr. Alfonso Echeverría’s home, as we speak. He will be requested to accompany them to the Palace of Justice in order to clarify why this person was interred on his property.”

  “What about the assassin, Isidro Covarrubias? Isn’t his murder being investigated, too?”

  “We are following several leads in that case. We hope to have some results soon. I am sorry I can’t say more because that investigation is ongoing and I would not like to jeopardize…”

  “Are these two murders linked? Is there a possibility that both persons were murdered by the same person or persons?”

  “I cannot speculate on anything like that. Until the investigation has been concluded, I prefer not to discuss motives or possible suspects,” he said, and added, “If you have any further questions, please refer them to my assistant and press secretary, Mr. Samuel Zamora.”

  Television coverage of the President’s cousin’s “invitation” to clarify the circumstances by which the body of Senator Elizondo had come to be buried on his property was intense. A dozen vans, including O Globo from Brazil, CNN from the U.S., as well as Televisa and Televisión Azteca, the two large Mexican chains, were present. Photographers climbed the walls to photograph the house and the moment that Mr. Alfonso Echeverría was asked to “accompany” the Judicial Police to the waiting Public Ministry van.

  Dozens of microphones and recorders were shoved in his face as he came through the large, wooden gates that usually only opened for his armored, bulletproof limousine.

  The newspapers and television cameras also covered the activities of the Judicial Police, Public Ministry agents, and forensic medics and scientists that scoured the ground in and around the gravesite where the Senator’s body had been found, as well as the shallow grave where the assassin’s had lain.

  A day later, El Metropolitano, a newspaper known for its “courageous” reporting and “fearless” denunciation of official wrongdoings, broke the story of the cell phone that had been found along with Senator Elizondo’s body. It was confirmed that the only phone number in its memory was that of Alfonso Echeverría, the President’s cousin.

  That same afternoon, CNN interrupted its evening business program with a report on breaking news: Phillipa Everton-Smythe, a Vice President of the New York Central Bank, had been arrested at Kennedy Airport as she was about to board a plane for Zurich. A spokesman for the FBI, which is now in charge of investigating the case, said that Ms. Everton-Smythe had come under suspicion because a guard dog had alerted its trainer to the possibility of drugs in Ms. Everton-Smythe’s luggage. Upon inspection, the luggage was also found to contain an envelope with cashier’s checks totaling more than six million dollars. Correspondence found in the same envelope instructed Ms. Everton-Smythe to deposit the checks in three different accounts in Switzerland. All of the checks in Ms. Everton-Smythe’s possession were in the name of Mr. Alfonso Echeverría Garza, said to be cousin of the President of Mexico.

  Ms. Everton-Smythe, through her attorney, denied any wrongdoing. She said she was empowered, as a Bank officer dedicated to special clients, to manage Mr. Echeverría’s investments. She denied all allegations of money laundering and said that these were legitimate deposits in a Swiss bank that were intended for legitimate investments in Europe and elsewhere. As for the cocaine found in her luggage, she had no idea of its provenance since she denied ever using any illegal drugs.

  When the New York Central Bank was asked to comment on Ms. Everton-Smythe’s arrest, a spokesman for the bank said the institution had no comment to issue at the time.

  That night, John Wayne phoned Robert Miller and said only three words: “Check and mate.”

  Chapter 31: The Devil Is Loose

  Dean Herrera had just concluded a meeting with the faculty heads
when the special cell phone rang. He answered and said, “Just a minute, please.” He then thanked the faculty heads for having come to the meeting and waited until they filed out before speaking into the phone again.

  “Sorry; we were just concluding a meeting here.”

  “Filiberto,” said the Governor, which surprised the Dean because he rarely used the Dean’s first name in a conversation, “I just talked to our friend in Mexico City and he said that ‘the devils have been set loose,’” said the Governor, using an old Mexican saying that signals the start of a “witch hunt.”

  “What do you mean, Governor?”

  “I mean that our friend asserted that they had enough on him to keep him in jail for ten years, even without bringing any specific charges, and that it was every man for himself now, because they were going to start looking for accomplices to his crimes.”

  “Are things that bad?”

  “Worse,” said the Governor. “He said it would be the last time he would be able to talk to any of us so he advised we make provision for finding safe haven.”

  There was a pause and the Dean could hear the Governor ordering someone to pack this and destroy that, or to shred some papers.

  “What are you going to do, Governor?”

  “Wait a second,” said the Governor and then the Dean could hear him ask people to leave his office for a minute or two. “Listen, I have made a deal with our ‘cousins from the north.’ They want me to, uh, to sort of fill them in, on, you know, some of the things we were thinking of doing, and on, some of the people who supported us, and things like that.”

  “I suppose you are going to tell them about me.”

  “Yes, but they are not interested in you—I don’t think. It’s other people they want to know about, you see.”

  “Yes, I see.”

  “I will be announcing my resignation tomorrow—citing health reasons and personal problems. Then I am leaving for the U.S. where, I will say, I will be receiving medical treatment, and then probably go into what they call ‘the witness protection program.’”

  “My God! So, it has come to this?”

  “Yes, I am afraid so. Look, my advice to you, as I have said to all of my closest associates, is that you find some sort of safe haven.”

  “But, where can I go? I don’t have anyone except my sister who lives in Galveston, Texas.”

  “Don’t go there. They’ll know about that and they will be watching her.”

  “But, I thought you said the Americans were not interested in me.”

  “It’s not the Americans you should worry about—it’s the other people, the ones who opposed us.”

  “I see, yes, I see what you mean.” The Dean buzzed his secretary and asked her to come in to his office. “Can’t you call the President and ask him to help us out?”

  “I have, but he said he was too busy with this Bilateral Agreement thing and that he could not jeopardize his relationship with Washington just now.”

  “So, we are on our own?”

  “Yes,” said the Governor, “we are on our own.” Then he added: “Look, there are things I have to do before I prepare tomorrow’s announcement. Good luck and I hope things turn out well for you. By the way, get rid of this phone—destroy it. Good-bye.” The Governor hung up.

  When the Dean’s secretary came in he said to her, “Teresita, I am sorry for having kept you here so late but I need you to do one last thing for me tonight. I have to leave for Europe urgently. Please see if you can get me a first class ticket on the Aeroméxico flight to Paris tomorrow. There’s one that leaves Mexico City around 8:45 p.m., I think.”

  She was about to leave his office when he called her back, “No, wait! That won’t do.” He had a sudden realization that Mexico City might be a dangerous place for him.

  “Do you have the number of that air taxi service we used about six months ago, Teresita?”

  “Yes, sir, I do.”

  “Well, call his cell phone number and tell him I need to fly to, uh, let’s see, Dallas tomorrow—first thing in the morning, say around eight o’clock in the morning.”

  Teresita made a note of his instructions although there was a worried look on her face as she wrote down the unusual, hurried orders.

  “And then, get me a first class ticket on American Airlines, direct flight, to Paris, from Dallas, OK? Call the frequent flyer number; you won’t be able to get a regular reservation person this time of night.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Teresita.

  While Teresita made the arrangements for his trip, Dean Herrera typed out his letter of resignation on his computer. He sent a copy by email to the Governor, and printed a copy, which he signed and put into an envelope, which he addressed to the Governor as well. He then made a third copy and addressed it to the Board of the University.

  When Teresita came in to give him the details of the arrangements she had made, he gave her the envelope and told her he wanted it delivered to the Governor’s office first thing the next morning.

  That following day, at 8 o’clock in the morning, as the Governor made some final corrections to his announcement, the Dean arrived at the Aeropuerto del Norte, the old city airport, which was now used exclusively by private aircraft.

  The media started to gather in the Governor’s Palace press room around 8:30. They had been informed the night before that the Governor would be making an important announcement.

  At 9:30 the Governor entered the press room and after saying good morning to the members of the media and his staff, whom he had asked to be present, he began his announcement.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, it is my duty, as Constitutional Governor of the State of Nuevo León, to inform you that on the advice of my private physician and members of the medical staff of the University Hospital, I am resigning my position as Governor of the State of Nuevo León, effective immediately. In my judgment, as well as that of my closest advisers, this is the best course to take in view that my first loyalty is to the State and.…”

  In other parts of Mexico, a couple of deputies asked for prolonged leaves of absence from the Chamber of Deputies, some liberal writers and University professors decided they needed a long vacation, and the heads of the various drug cartels, knowing that now there was no chance of drugs being legalized in Mexico, began to prepare for what they knew was coming—an all out war among each other and confrontations with the Mexican Army.

  As the Dean’s rented plane landed in Dallas’s Love Field, he wondered if anyone had informed Leobardo Contreras, the presidential candidate, of what was going on.

  Chapter 32: Lombardo Confronts His Boss

  Lombardo sat at his desk in the Investigations Department’s office, a rare thing for him. He was waiting for the Director to come back from the press conference. His cell phone rang; it was Lupe Salgado, the computer guru.

  “Have you heard the news? The Governor resigned and I hear that Dean Herrera has left town. The rats are leaving the sinking ship.”

  “I knew about the Governor; I didn’t know about Dean Herrera.”

  “I was talking to some of the people I know at the Computer Center a few minutes ago, including your friend David. The rumor that the Dean has left is all people can talk about in the main campus of the University.”

  “Do they know where he’s gone? Any speculation about that?” asked Lombardo, knowing full well that Lupe Salgado had his own intelligence network well in place at the University and elsewhere; after all, he is a consultant.

  “Well, don’t let anyone know your source but, Teresita, his secretary told me she had arranged for a private plane to take him to Dallas and he also asked her to get him a first-class ticket to Paris.”

  “The man has always done things with style,” said Lombardo.

  “I’ll say; have you ever been to his house?”

  “Yeah, a little Greek temple. Did he take his friend with him?”

  “Hmm, she didn’t say. Why is that of interest to you?”

  “Becaus
e if he left him behind, I might want to talk to him later; he probably knows more about the Dean than anyone else. You know how wives are!” said Lombardo. “And, if anyone wants to find the Dean, they should keep an eye on this guy. I’m sure they’re not going to resist being apart.”

  “You’re getting bitchy in your old age, my friend,” said Lupe laughing.

  “I gotta go,” said Lombardo, “the Director has just arrived.”

  Not five minutes had passed when Lombardo’s desk phone rang. “The Director wants to see you,” said the secretary.