– But moo, what do you want to say? I’m talking about James, the little James, do you remember?
– The little James grew up, that was the boy you knew. I don’t want to see in what he became, I mean, I don’t want you know in what he became.
– Mom, he might be in danger now, Andy said me yesterday...
– Andy? That disgusting lesbian, she shouldn’t talk about it with you.
–What is happening, am I not the only one who don’t know what is happening? – Armando was always calm but now he was with an angry man expression. – Tell me what nobody wants I know, but guilty me?
– Armando, I’m not going to tell you this horrible thing. If this is your fate, go to Brazil and find it alone, the answer you want a lot.
There wasn’t dialogue anymore, and minutes later, Armando was going out off his house in Three Forks to go to São Paulo, there, he will look for nursing homes like Andy said.
In the airplane Armando was thinking in what would do James in a nursing home and why in São Paulo?
All kinds of thoughts were in his mind. Had James fought someone because of everybody called them little boyfriends, and after the fight he was warped and needed a plastic surgery?
Had James been addicted in any kind of drug and choose Brazil to recover from it?
Would Armando be guilty of some friend’s disease and because of it he wanted to say something before treatment?
He would have these answers when he found James. He knew that it wouldn’t be easy.
CHAPTER 09
When he arrived in São Paulo, Armando rented an apartment in Pullman hotel, one of the most accessible places for Armando’s situation, he didn’t choose that place by chance, while his trip, he searched and found that hotel was close to many nursing homes and rehabilitation clinics. He didn’t plan to go to every clinic asking for his friend, before it, he employed a good particular detective on his loyal lawyer’s recommendation who knew about Armando’s anxiety to find his childhood friend.
The first step was talk to the detective and show who was James through the picture he took it from Melanie, before come back to Brazil. After it he tried to explain the reason, I mean, some of the reasons that made James went to Brazil being in some nursing home. The detective assured Armando that it would be easier to find his friend than a criminal person, because of he didn’t know the real reason, and the picture was recent, the fact he was in São Paulo and maybe in a nursing home, will help him a lot. Armando was anxious to know he’ll find his friend as soon as possible, so he knew that he was closer to find the answers to some of his questions.
The anxiety made Armando’s memories lukewarm about was happening for a short period of time, and appreciating the Ibirapuera Park’s view, he remembered again his teenager’s life in Three Forks.
Looking at people walking in the park, he remembered once James and him went to the city’s park to see what everybody went to do there, when they weren’t at Congo Bar.
When they arrived there, they noticed they only weren’t part of that place. Because of it was always cold in Three Forks, the older rebels’ teenagers; meet them at the park to stay in front of drums with bonfires and drinking something wasn’t only tea. They tried to become rebels, but when they drank that tea, they came back to Congo Bar.
Armando smiled with that sensation to feel that night’s cold and became attached to his memories tried to bring up another dates. At night Armando’s Smartphone emitted an alert about an e-mail he received. Armando took a nap at the bedroom’s balcony; he got up scared looking at the starry night.
The e-mail was from the detective Max, it was about some simple information and said his investigation was very well, because about three nursing homes have James’ register some weeks ago, but neither of these registers were about what he was looking for or why he was in Brazil. Armando felt happy anyway, Max has been competent.
CHAPTER 10
The sun rose and Armando got up smiling without any reason.
He dreamed with the past and he wished that day were wonderful, something that hasn’t been happened for a long time. He took advantage of that hour he got up to swim in the climatic hotel’s swimming pool, one of the most commented in Brazil’s gossips magazines. When he got in the swimming pool, he understood the reason for a lot of comments. The water didn’t have only a pleasant temperature, it was also adapting with the body’s temperature and it made the difference to Armando.
Armando didn’t like luxury hotels or something like it, but after he got marriage with Glória, he had to change this idea. When their honeymoon ended they decided to travel to another place to spend a short time, Glória wanted to stay in a four stars hotel, but Armando was scared about the room’s price that weren’t different of that one without any stars he saw a few kilometers ago.
Glória tried to convince him to stay in that hotel, but he was stubborn and justified saying that she had chosen where they would spent their honeymoon, and now he should choose the hotel they would spend a few days. So, it was done, they came back a few kilometers and stayed in that hotel with no stars which Armando chose.
The bedroom was charming, it had a plenty of space, the bed was big and there was a bath inside the bathroom, but when they received the room service, they noticed the difference between a four stars hotel to another without any stars. The food was a kind of test gave to guinea pigs, the shower and bath’s water was warm, it didn’t warm up.
Glória laughed when she saw Armando jumping under the shower, they got married on winter and that hotel was in the Porto Alegre’s border, the cold was at the peak of that region, and warm water would be like a water that was in a refrigerator.
Armando took a shower and didn’t wait the sun rise to get ou of that hotel, leaving behind almost five nights played. He said to the manager; why was ashamed with the scene, got you head down waiting Armando went away after said that the money would be to help the hotel, at least, to warm up the shower’s water. Glória felt herself like a winner when she repeated to Armando how important was the hotel’s stars, so he looked all the stars in all the hotels they went.
When he left the swimming pool, Armando went to his apartment and drank a strong coffee, something in his subconscious was telling him that day would be a long day and he soon understood why.
The phone was vibrating on the table, he was trying to distract himself watching a movie in HBO’s channel. When he answered the phone he was stopped listening to the voice, it was a foreign called, it was his mom.
– Dear Armando?
– Yeah mom, what happened?
– Well, nothing to care, I just want to say something to you.
– You can talk mom, I’m listening – Armando layer down on the couch with the phone in his ears and closed his eyes.
– I want you know that James, aren’t who you think – she stopped to talk for a minute and continued – when I came back to Three Forks, I received the news about his involvement with the dealers...
– Mom, what do you want to say?
– James, James isn’t the same.
She wasn’t speaking softly anymore, your voice was weak and she was stammering.
– Mom, please, tells me what happened.
– Please, Armando, take care with him... – said her hanging up the phone.
Armando got up from the couch after hanged up the phone and looking to him, reproduced his mom’s words.
He didn’t understand anything his mom has just did; he waited the detective to get in touch with him to talk about James’ search and taking medicine for his headache, he called to his lawyer to ask for help to control his finances, because he wanted to avoid doing it for a long time.
As he expected, he consoled Armando saying that he must rest a lot, because he knew that one day he’ll want to come back and suggested him to do a college to ease his thoughts, something new was always good, he repeated. Armando thanked because he had a person who he could trust and promised that he’l
l think about that.
The medicines did effect and Armando fell asleep at 3h30 p.m.
CHAPTER 11
When he woke up, Armando noticed he slept for three hours and when they took his phone he saw that Max called him almost five times and he received a notification of two e-mails, then he took his computer to check the e-mails. The first one was from his father who was saying that he was sad because Armando’s mom, Rita, called him and told that Armando came back to Brazil to look for his childhood friend.
Armando felt himself like he was in a puzzle which he was a piece and James was the last one to be fit. Does his dad knew something and he didn’t want to tell him, too? No, his dad was arrogant to keep secrets of his son.
Armando remembered his dad saying that it wasn’t bear to keep secrets in their family; but Armando had heard it only from his father after he separated from his mom. Forgetting that thought he was going to read the second e-mail.
The second e-mail was from Max with some information about the searches. The e-mail was short and well revealed; Max said they had some news about James and the strong detail was James wasn’t in São Paulo anymore, but he has been in Brazil for a long period of time and it was just because he was on judicial protection. He was on protection for a sometime and lived in Brazil and after he moved to Vaimea and now he was back to Brazil. This time he wasn’t on protection, he was here to end some surgeries he has been doing and he chose Brazil because of the doctor who helped him with that surgeries. Max finished it saying if James was on judicial protection yet he couldn’t continue, and Armando knew the reason.
Armando was sat down reading again Max’s e-mail and thinking what it means; if James has been in Brazil, why hasn’t he looked for him? James being on a judicial protection could be explained, there was a probability that it was James who reported the Three Forks’s dealers to the police. But, what about the surgeries? This very strange.
The only way Armando had to know what happened it was meeting James and listen from him what really happened. He was convinced that his thoughts wasn’t the enough to decode what James was doing, or why wasn’t he looking for Armando, or was he? Armando wasn’t sure of nothing anymore; the only certainty was find James as soon as possible.
After thought about what would happen with his friend like everybody was saying, wasn’t the same. Armando got in touch with his detective Max to know about something as soon as possible, his mind bothered him each second and he wasn’t so comfortable as before. Max answered in the first ring.
– I’m in traffic now – said Max trough car’s voice command. – I have just obtained the information was in your e-mail.
– Please, let’s have a meeting and we can talk about it. – Armando’s hands was trembling, but he didn’t notice his anxiety.
– Great, I was going to have dinner, but I can take a snack.
– No, it won’t be necessary, I didn’t have lunch yet. We can eat a good dish there is in this hotel, I pay.
– Thanks Mr. Zie.
– Please, call me Armando; you’re more intimate with me than my ex-employees. – It was the first joke Armando did since his separations, and he notice that he was the same inside.
– Right, I arrive in fifteen minutes.
– Great, we’ll have a reservation, bye – after he hanged the phone Armando called to the hotel’s restaurant and made a reservation, which served the best fondue he have already seen.
CHAPTER 12
Max wasn’t like Armando imagined. He had almost two meters and a sculptural body, he had a beauty and force standard, a shy and a firm face at the same time.
He didn’t show that he was a detective; Armando noticed the reason people never know when they are being following by him or another detective. After all, to this activity, all of the should be really discreet, to be someone that even there would be distant, only one in the crowd.
They took advantage of the dinner, Max specially Max. He said that didn't eat well for a long time, made Armando laugh when he was telling about some of his case about unfaithful husbands; where he had to stay in the car about six hours eating chips and drinking light soda because he couldn't to leave the local. Even he is being sincere, Armando distrusted when he looked at Max's body again.
After the dinner Max asked Armando to drink the common coffee after the dinner. Armando was accustomed with this habit because he has been in Brazil for a long time. It was during it that Max finally told Armando about what he was waiting all the time.
– I think that the information will be a little bit strange for you, or it wouldn't be no sense for you, like I couldn't find anything to connect a thing to another one. – Started Max.
Max made himself at home while savored the coffee. Armando in turn, looked at some paper that Max gave to him. Most of them were only reports and clinical records which weren't recent, but a folder called attention of him because of the phrase: “confidential” which was above the identification of Montana State's witness protection.
– What is the subject? – Asked Armando showing the folder to Max.
– That's why I said this is strange. The information contradicts each other.
– But this is as a Montana's archive.
– Yeah Armando, this is a witness protection request which had given to James in Three Forks, this is a Brazilian government request to accept him here in Brazil. That's why he had been here under protection a long time ago.
–And why was he under judicial protection? – Armando stared at Max trying to guess the words even before being told by the detective.
– He had an involvement in a Montana's big dealer prison; however he was threatened after another dealer died in Three Forks.
– Takaso... – said Armando looking for something in the folders.
– What did you say? -asked Max serving more coffee to himself like it was a delicious lemon juice in a hot day.
– Is there something here about Takaso?
– Yeah, it was after a member of this family death, James had the protection. According to I could, he witnessed two guy’s death in a railroad vehicle and everybody was thinking that he had killed the guys, and he was in debt with the local police, then he decided to help them in return he asked for the protection.
– And where is the mystery?
– Well, the question is that he chose Brazil to stay about two years.
– It was he? Two years?
Armando was trying to think, in; “and if”, his mind brought, and if James had looked for him, and if James had kept near him during all the time, and if James had thought that he knew the situation. His thoughts were interrupted by the Max's firm voice saying that it didn't stop there.
– He decided to come back to Montana as soon he left Vaimea and since then the police didn't register anything about him. After a long time he came back to Brazil and he is here, but without as in witness protection, but he is here on his own. Are you seeing this archive? – Max gave to Armando a small archive with two pictures and one patient record. – This is Dan Souliver, one of the best and expensive surgeons in Brazil.
– I didn't understand!
– This picture in the other side is your friend James about one year before.
Armando looked at a man's picture who was with a half of his face deformed by a kind of burn, it seemed that the picture was recent because of the face's expression.
– This is he? Did you say this is James?
– Yeah Armando, he knew Dan after he suffered this burn when he came to Brazil at the first time, the fact is that there are a few people who know it and because of it you shouldn't believe.
– But the picture I gave you is recent and he was so different.
– This is simple, the James' picture you gave me isn't recent, this picture had taken after the accident.
– But what really happened?
– It's everything here in this patient record, but some friends of my told me the exact information about what happened �
�� said Max proud with his job deserving the advertising his friends did about him.
Armando didn't notice the smile Max gave and turning the patient's pages, he read in a few minutes what it had written.
Nothing made sense for him. It was written in the report only that the patient will do a facial surgery to renew his face because of the third-degree burns, caused by an unknown substance.
– Unknown substance? – Asked Armando looking at James' picture.
– Not exactly – said Max. – This was the only clinical record I found about James' surgeries both in Brazil and in anywhere.
– Do you want to say there are more things? This record isn't the only one?
– I said that the situation was very strange. James isn't like you described.
Armando closed his eyes for a moment when thought that wasn't the first time he heard that phrase in a small period. His mind was diving in mysteries.
CHAPTER 13
There were drinking the second coffee when Armando decided to ask for something with alcohol because he was surprised with the news. Max came with him to drink a dose of wine and told the rest of the information that weren't in the reports.
– Dan Souliver made many surgeries in James, but it weren't registered. – continued Max.
– Why not?
– This is the mystery, my wellspring of information don't know the right reason that Dan hid the surgeries and the registers of its. He did the registers by himself and said that James was a big friend of his family, that's why he always made the surgeries when his clinic were empty
Armando has listened each information like he was in an investigation, but he didn't know if there was any crime or something like it to check.
– But, what kind of surgeries?
– Well Armando, I still don't have this information, the only thing I know is that he made nine surgeries and it weren't only because of the burn.
No Trace Page 4
