by Dan Smith
‘After you,’ I said to Leonardo.
‘You can’t bring the big boat closer?’ he asked.
‘It’s safer out there,’ Raul told him. ‘Harder to steal.’
‘Who’d want to steal that?’
‘Just get in,’ I said. ‘Time’s wasting.’
He paused, touching the figa around his neck, then waded into the river, threw his backpack into the boat and tried to look casual about climbing in after it.
Gripping the near side of the small boat, he steadied it as he lifted one leg.
‘I’m guessing you’re new to this,’ I said as the boat tipped towards him and he stumbled backwards, only just keeping upright. ‘Let me help you.’
I held the small boat with both hands while he climbed in, but even then, his face was set firm with concentration and his body reeled with the tiniest sway of the vessel. He stood with both arms outstretched for balance, then bent at the waist to hold the sides and prevent himself from tipping into the water.
‘Just sit down,’ I told him.
Leonardo wobbled a few more times, his legs stiff, not rolling with the movement, then he dropped onto the seat and stared at me.
Rocky came into the water, wading out until the surface was lapping at her chin, so I scooped my arms under her and lifted her into the boat.
She was moving right away, the water pouring from her coat before she stopped to shake it off. The sun shone rainbows through the fine spray that misted the air, then she was moving again, excited by the activity.
Leonardo pushed back in his seat, torn between wanting to get away from the dog and being afraid of the boat tipping over.
‘What’s the matter with you?’
‘Get the dog away from me,’
‘Rocky always comes with us,’ I said. ‘She’s part of the crew. What’s wrong? You got a thing about dogs?’
‘I don’t like them,’ he said.
‘Don’t be such a coward.’ I looked over at Rocky who had gone to the other end of the boat and was sitting upright, watching Leonardo. ‘And guess what? I don’t think she likes you either.’
I stepped back and moved to one side to let Raul go next, turning my head, catching sight of movement up on top of the bank. Someone was jogging towards us, a hand in the air.
‘Zico,’ Daniella called as she came. ‘Zico, wait!’
She was wearing a skirt that fell short of her knees, ruffled around the hem. A white T-shirt without sleeves. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail like it had been yesterday when I visited her in the shop, and she was carrying a bag over her shoulder.
When she reached me, her cheeks were flushed and she was breathing heavily but she wasn’t out of breath. ‘Zico, Raul, I’m glad I caught you.’ She looked upset.
‘What is it? What’s happened?’
‘My mother,’ she said. ‘It’s my mother.’
‘What’s happened to her?’
‘What’s happened to her?’ Daniella dropped her bag to the ground. ‘What do you mean what’s happened to her? Nothing’s happened to her.’
‘Well, what’s the matter, then?’ I looked at the old man standing close by. Outside his house, Carolina had put down the washing and was watching, one hand on her hip, the other raised to her brow to shade the sun.
Leonardo was sitting in the aluminium boat, his attention shifting from me to Rocky and then back again.
‘She’s a bitch, that’s what’s the matter with her.’
‘What now?’ I took Daniella’s arm and led her further along the shore. Leonardo didn’t have to hear any of this. My business was not his.
‘I can’t live with her any more ...’ Daniella was saying, and I nodded, only half listening as I made sure we were away from the others.
‘OK. You want to tell me what this is about? I thought you were going to go talk to her.’
‘Have you heard anything I’ve just said?’ She pulled her arm from my hand; a sudden movement, sharp and forceful without needing to be.
‘Well, I—’
‘For God’s sake, Zico, listen to me. I did talk to her, at least I tried, but she wouldn’t let me say anything. She was waiting at the shop, standing on the step, yelling at me the moment I came close. Calling me a puta, saying I’d be punished for staying at your place, for sleeping with a ... She called you ... Well, it doesn’t matter what she called you.’
‘You’re right,’ I told her. ‘It doesn’t matter, so I don’t know what you’re angry about. Your mother’s always saying things about me, you should be used to it by now.’
‘I can’t work for her any more, Zico, and I won’t live with her. I want to stay with you.’
‘My place is so small. It’s not good enough for—’
‘It’s good enough for you.’ She came closer, trying to soften her manner, but there was a fire burning behind her eyes. ‘If it’s good for you, it’s good for me.’ She took my hands and looked up at me, working her charm.
‘You need something better, cleaner. I don’t even have hot water.’
‘So I’ll use cold.’
‘You say that now, Daniella, but—’
‘Zico, I want to stay with you. It’s what I want. And then we’ll look for somewhere better.’
‘That’s not so easy. I’ll need money for that.’ An image of the woman in the newspaper cutting came to mind; a collection of grey and black dots that was worth five thousand dollars and a piece of land. We’d need the money even more now that Daniella was saying she’d quit her job.
Just one more life.
‘Please,’ she said.
I sighed and closed my eyes. She knew she’d beaten me. She always did. She could get what she wanted from me every time. ‘Here.’ I fished a key from my pocket and held it out to her. ‘If Juliana asks, tell her it’s only for a couple of days. I’ll be back soon and we’ll see what happens then.’
Daniella looked at the key, not understanding.
‘Take it,’ I urged her.
‘A couple of days?’ She still didn’t take the key. ‘But we’re supposed to be going out tonight. The festa.’
I sighed. ‘Shit. Look. I’m sorry. There’s a job. I can’t turn it down.’
‘You forgot.’ She stepped back and put her hands on her waist, dropping one hip, her head tilting the opposite way. ‘I leave my home, my job, I tell my mother she can rot in hell and now you’re going to piss off and leave me on my own? Where are you going?’
‘A long way.’ I glanced at the old man.
‘Don’t look at him,’ she said. ‘Look at me and tell me why you forgot about me.’
‘I didn’t forget about you ... Well, about the festa, yeah, but I need the money, Daniella. We need the money. It’s for us. So we can be together.’
Daniella sighed and looked down. She was swallowing her temper, dousing the flames. She must have sensed that this time she might not get her way if she didn’t try a more sensitive route. ‘I don’t want to be on my own, Zico. What am I going to do on my own?’
‘You’ll think of something. It’s not for long.’
Her expression softened further and she reached out for me. ‘Stay here,’ she said, taking my hand but not the key. ‘With me. Forget about the money, we’ll have some fun.’ She ran her fingers along my forearm.
‘I can’t just forget about it, it’s too much money.’
‘How much?’
‘And anyway, Raul needs me.’
‘So do I.’ She stepped closer, looking up at me, one hand on my chest.
‘Come on, Daniella, I have to go.’ I looked at my watch again. ‘I’ll be back in a few days, a week at the most.’ As soon as I said it, I knew I shouldn’t have.
‘A week?’ I felt her hand tense on my chest.
‘No. It won’t be that long. Shouldn’t be.’
And then an idea came to her. I watched it light up her face, her eyes widening, a smile touching the corner of her mouth. ‘I’ll come with you,’ she said. ‘It’ll be—�
�
‘No. You can’t come with us.’
‘Why not? I’ve been out with you before. I can fish.’
‘We’re not catching fish, Daniella, this is work.’
‘That’s OK, I know what kind of work you and Raul do. I can keep quiet, you know that.’
There was a fraction of a second when I imagined saying ‘yes’ to her. I could see us on the boat together and something about it felt good. To be with Daniella, on the river, away from Costa and his people, away from her mother and my need for money. A surge of emotion welled in me and I knew I loved her and wanted to be with her and would do anything to make that happen. That’s why I was doing this job for Costa – so that Daniella and I could be together. But that was also why she couldn’t come with us.
Hiding the killing from the old man would be easy enough, but not from Daniella. She would be with me every moment, and she would see a side to me I didn’t want her to see.
‘What about all your things?’ I said. ‘We’re going to be at least four or five days. You won’t have—’
‘Everything I need is right here.’ She toed the bag by her feet.
‘Daniella, it’s not safe.’ I lowered my voice. ‘You know the kind of stuff Raul carries. There are people up and down the river who might try to take it. And that man back there? He’s a killer.’
Daniella turned around to see Leonardo sitting still in the boat.
‘I know him,’ she said, thinking for a second. ‘Yeah. That’s the guy Manuela met at Kaiana’s the other night.’
‘What?’
‘Seemed all right to me,’ she said. ‘And Manuela liked him. In fact, she liked him a lot. He’s actually quite good-looking, in a rough way. Doesn’t look like a killer.’
‘And what does a killer look like?’ I asked her.
‘Like you, maybe.’ She let her eyes linger on mine for a moment, speaking without words.
‘Zico, we need to go,’ Raul said, coming over. I could see he didn’t want to interrupt, but he knew better than I did how long it was going to take us to get to the place where we were meeting the plane. And if we weren’t there at the right time, Leonardo had made it clear the plane would leave without us.
‘It’s OK,’ I said to him. ‘Daniella’s—’
‘I’m coming with you,’ she interrupted.
Raul threw me a questioning look and I shook my head at him. ‘No. I already told her it’s not a good idea.’
‘You’re right,’ he agreed. ‘Zico’s right, Daniella, this is no place for a woman.’
Immediately I touched a hand to my forehead. Of all the things Raul could have said.
‘No place for a woman?’ Daniella turned on him, making him take a step back and hold up his hands. ‘You saying I’m not strong enough?’
‘And your parents will worry,’ Raul back-pedalled. ‘They don’t know where you are.’
‘Let them worry.’
‘You don’t mean that. That’s not like you.’ Raul looked to me for help, but I gave none. I was glad that she had turned on him for a moment, giving me space to breathe. Daniella’s passion was one of the things I most liked about her, but when her temper was changing like this, I always found it best to step away.
‘Carolina can tell them where I am. And what exactly did you mean “no place for a woman”? I can fish. I can lift. I can probably even shoot a rifle straighter than you can.’
Raul held up his hands. ‘All I’m saying is that ... Oh, you know what, Daniella? If you want to come, you can come. We haven’t got time for this.’ He looked tired. The bags under his eyes were fleshy half moons of dark, wrinkled skin. His eyes were red like he’d been drinking. ‘It’s your call, Zico. But either way, we’ve got to go now. You stay here if it makes it easier. I can manage without you.’ He wiped moisture from his eyes and yawned.
‘No, old man, you’re sick. You’re not going anywhere without me. In fact, maybe you should be the one staying here.’
‘You’re sick?’ Daniella looked concerned.
Raul shook his head. ‘Tired is all.’ He started walking back to the boat, seeing Leonardo becoming agitated, tapping his finger on his watch, saying something I couldn’t hear.
‘Take me with you, Zico,’ Daniella persisted. ‘I can keep an eye on Raul for you. And I might be able to make your journey more exciting.’ She reached forward with her right hand and pressed it against my crotch.
I backed away, looking over to see if the others had spotted it. Carolina was hanging washing again and Raul had his back to me, but Leonardo had seen. He raised a hand and waved his fingers at me.
‘You don’t want to leave me alone over the weekend, do you?’ she said. ‘I’d have to find someone else to take me to the festa.’
‘That’s cheap.’
‘I can be as cheap as you like.’
I turned around and walked away from Daniella. I took off my cap and ran a hand over my head, looking up at the bank and seeing something that made the decision for me.
The trip would be dangerous and I had no idea what kind of cargo we would be carrying. There was something about Leonardo that made me nervous and I didn’t want him on board. Daniella would see a different side to me, too. When I was on the river with the old man, I had to be focused – I was his protection. There was Costa’s job to think about too.
So many reasons for her not to come.
But up there, on the bank, standing in the wide-leaved carpet grass, there were two reasons for me to take her with us.
‘OK.’ I turned back to her. ‘OK. But you have to promise to do whatever I tell you, OK? No matter how pissed off it makes you.’
She nodded.
‘And stay away from him.’ I looked across at Leonardo.
Daniella stepped back and saluted. ‘Sim capitan.’
I nodded and glanced up at the two men standing on the bank.
It would be dangerous on the river, but at least Daniella would be safe from Luis and Wilson.
‘Come on,’ I said. ‘Let’s get you in the boat.’
But as we headed back to the water, Luis kicked off his flip-flops and began to make his way down onto the beach.
‘Wait here,’ I told Daniella and turned to meet him halfway.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Luis said as he came closer. ‘She’s not going anywhere. And who the hell is that other guy?’
‘Have you got nothing better to do than follow me around?’
‘A job is a job.’ He squared up to me and I glanced over his shoulder at Wilson, still on the ridge of the bank. His hand was under his shirt, no doubt gripping the handle of a pistol.
‘Is that what Antonio was?’ I moved closer to him so our noses were almost touching. ‘A job?’
Luis grinned. ‘No, that was just fun.’ He reached up and put a hand on my chest to push me away.
I stepped back and worked hard to control my urge to hurt him, reminding myself what Costa had said. When I came back, Luis and Wilson were mine. I couldn’t help Antonio, but I would avenge him.
‘Costa won’t like this,’ Luis said. ‘Other people on the boat. Taking your girlfriend and the old man with—’
‘Costa can go screw himself. I told him I’d do what he wanted. All he has to do is wait for me to come back and have my money ready.’
‘You think you’ll keep them safe if they’re with you?’
‘Safer than if they’re here with you.’
Luis thought for a moment then looked over at the old man’s house. ‘His wife’s ugly,’ he said, leaning to one side and spitting in the sand. ‘I think we’d just burn her inside the house. We could do the same to the store. Burn your girlfriend’s mother. Find her father and—’
‘I’m coming back,’ I said. ‘You’re not going to burn anyone.’
‘We’ll be waiting.’
‘I’m looking forward to it.’
I watched him walk up the beach towards his friend and wondered what I would come back to when we re
turned to Piratinga. Whatever it was, I knew it wouldn’t be good.
14
I rowed out to the Deus, nudging the hull of the larger boat, the two vessels making a hollow sound as they knocked together. The old man helped me hold us against the Deus while Daniella climbed aboard, then waved me away when I tried to help him. I watched him struggle over the gunwale, then passed up the few things we had with us.
‘Is she your namorada?’ Leonardo asked as I took Rocky in both arms. ‘Not the dog. The girl.’
I ignored him and lifted Rocky up onto the deck. She was glad to be on the larger boat and immediately began rushing around, rediscovering familiar smells.
‘She’s nice. Pretty. Just the right amount around the hips for me. Her friend was a bit too fat. If she’s not yours, then maybe I could—’
‘Just stay away from her,’ I said, looking him in the eye.
‘What’s her name?’
‘Doesn’t matter. All you have to do is sit and be quiet. We make the collection, we make the delivery, you pay us, and then we’re done.’
‘Just trying to be friendly.’
‘We don’t need to be friends.’
Leonardo stood and reached out for the Deus, clinging onto the tyres fixed to the hull. ‘You got something against me?’
I looked at him standing there in his wet trousers and his shirt, his cap skewed at an angle, and I wondered what it was about him that I didn’t like. It wasn’t the way he wore his cap. It wasn’t the way he smiled or the look in his eye. It wasn’t the lazy slouch to his shoulders, nor was it that he had tried to bring a pistol on board. It wasn’t a single one of those things, but it was all of those things. All of those things made him a man I knew I could not trust.
‘I bother you, don’t I?’ he asked.
‘I don’t want you here.’
‘It’s the only way you’re going to get paid. I have to be here. We should try to get along.’
‘Just get on the boat.’
Leonardo laughed and pulled himself up onto the deck. He was young and fit, and it came in one swift movement. The larger boat didn’t dip in the water like the other one had done, and the stability made him more confident.
I followed him up, keeping hold of the rope tied to the bow of the smaller vessel.
