He tore open the package and was pleased to see a new phone programmed with his number and all the old contact information already transferred. It was ready to go – she had even charged the battery. “Excuse me for a few minutes,” he said as Odette handed him his key. He walked up the stairs to his room, shut the door and dialed the number.
Ryan Coleman answered Nicole’s office line.
“Put Nicole on,” Brian said curtly.
“She’s not in the office. She’s at a deposition downtown but said she’d call you this evening if you’re back in Belize.” Brian affirmed that he would be waiting for her call then stripped off his clothes and spent ten minutes in the hottest shower he could stand.
As Brian walked downstairs he saw Odette and Sam on the patio. She had ordered up snacks from the kitchen. As Brian sat down he saw Leo, the man whom he had dubbed the best bartender in Belize, coming through the lobby with a freshly prepared XO vodka martini in his hand. “Mr. Brian, welcome back. We’re all happy to have you safely in San Ignacio.”
“Leo,” Brian said earnestly, “seeing you walk through the lobby with that martini was one of the best sights I’ve seen in weeks.”
As soon as Leo had left and they were alone Sam Adams jumped right in. “So tell me what’s going on. What’s the deal with John Spedino? Why is he here?”
“Here’s what I can tell you at the moment. I’ll know more when I talk to Nicole – apparently she’s representing him as his attorney at the request of the senior partner in her law firm. She’s very good at criminal law so I’m really not too surprised he would want her on his team. But Spedino told me she is going to be acting on his behalf going forward in some other arrangement. There’s more, Sam. There’s some stuff that I don’t want to talk about right now. There are things I need to hear from her, not from that asshole. I have to talk to her. Hopefully I can tell you more after that.”
Brian explained his prior association with John Spedino and the mobster’s involvement with The Bethlehem Scroll, one of the world’s priceless artifacts. Sam’s felt better once he understood that Brian detested Spedino but was likewise gravely concerned about Nicole’s potential involvement with him.
“Arthur Borland apparently owes the mob a lot of money. Something about a gambling addiction, maybe drugs too. I don’t know about all that but I’m going to try to reach Arthur and talk to him when Spedino’s not around. He has wormed his way into our discovery through Arthur. Spedino wants a cut – not just to settle what Arthur owes him, but a big piece of our deal. He wants fifty percent ownership of the codices and the gold and says the rest of us can do whatever we want. Makes him no difference.”
Brian said that Spedino intended to play a behind-the-scenes role with hidden ownership so no one would know he was involved. “He says that’ll be better for the four of us, but in reality his public ownership of anything would bring up many more questions than it did answers. He’s way too high profile to own something in his own name and he’s used to doing everything in secret anyway. This would be no different.”
“By God, we aren’t going to let this bastard weasel his way into this deal, are we? What would he do with the gold and the books anyway?”
“Whatever he does with the things we found, you can bet they won’t end up benefitting anybody but him. He wants everything brought to the USA any way we can, legally or not. He says he’s going to send a plane to fly the stuff back if we can get the codices properly preserved to make the flight. I told him I wouldn’t be a party to smuggling.”
“What did he say to that?”
“He just laughed and said, ‘Talk to Nicole. She’ll come up with a solution.’”
“What the hell did that mean?”
Brian shrugged, his eyes angry. “I don’t know. I don’t know what he’s done to Nicole or what hold he thinks he has over her but I’ll kill the bastard if he hurts her. I’m going to talk to her this evening. That’s all I can say for now.” He clenched his fists tightly in anger.
Sam said, “The truth of the matter is that Lynne has undoubtedly already contacted the Guatemalan archaeological authorities so the idea of whisking the codices and gold out of the country just won’t happen. It’s probably out of our hands already.”
“That alone gives me some comfort but you have to realize that a guy like John Spedino never plays by the rules. He’ll come into Guatemala and spread money around to buy off some people and next thing you know some or all of the stuff we found will just turn up missing.”
“That really couldn’t happen, could it?” Odette asked.
“In the USA, not so much. In a third world country, absolutely. Payoffs are common in many small countries and I’m afraid he’s going to take control of this stuff either with our help or without it. This is the most important Mayan find in history. We can’t let him do this. But at the moment I don’t have enough information. I have to talk to Nicole.”
Chapter Thirty
They ate an early dinner. Brian excused himself and was back in his room by seven. Ten minutes later his phone rang.
“Hey there, baby,” Nicole said brightly. “Are you safely back in San Ignacio?”
“Cut the shit, Nicole. I just spent the afternoon with a friend of yours – a really close friend. Do you need three guesses who he is? Anything you need to get off your chest?” His voice was short, abrupt.
She started to cry. “Brian, I promise you I was going to tell you everything before you had to ask me. How did John find you? I didn’t tell him anything about you. I swear Brian, I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, ever.”
“’John’, as you call him now that you’re on a first-name basis, tells me you’re his new right hand man. He tells me the new relationship he has with you is far more than attorney-client. He says you’re his consigliere, Nicole, and his personal little consigliere too. He showed me the video. He showed me. I saw you. I saw what you did. Tell me the truth – can you still tell the truth now that you’ve literally slept with the devil? What have you done? What the hell have you done?”
She told him everything. She started with the lunch at the Petroleum Club where Randall Carter introduced her to John Spedino. She told of her fear that Carter was enamored with Spedino but she also said how easily that could happen given the charming demeanor of this ruthless mobster. She told Brian how they had met for drinks after a long day of work and she had gone to the restroom, returned and had a second cocktail, remembering nothing after that.
Sobbing, she continued. “Brian, I swear to you I wouldn’t do this. But I did. He drugged me – it had to be some kind of date-rape drug – and he recorded me. I was naked and so was he. We were in my bed. I did things to him, Brian. But I don’t remember, I swear. When I went with him to the airport he showed me the video then he made me perform sex on him in the back seat of the limo. And I did it because I was terrified. I’m so sorry. I’m so incredibly sorry. I know you probably can’t forgive me – I don’t know if I can forgive myself – but he drugged me. I swear to God.”
She continued, telling him that Spedino intended to make her his consigliere, his closest advisor. He would blackmail her and ruin her career if she refused. “But listen to me. I’ve already done something about it. It won’t erase the things that have happened, but it will clear my conscience that I’ve taken every measure I can to stop this monster.” She explained what she meant.
At last she stopped talking. There was no response. “Sweetie, please say something,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “Please don’t cut me off.”
He took a deep breath. “Nicole, I hear your story and I understand your version of what happened. Now that I’ve heard both sides, I want to believe you. I don’t think the truth matters one iota to John Spedino. I want your story to be the true one. I also think what you’re doing now is the proper move to begin to make things right. But you need to understand something. At this point I need some time to think about where we go from here – you and I. Regardless o
f your motives or your memory this son of a bitch has had sex with my girlfriend, the woman I love, and you’ve done things to him that are the most intimate of all. Things you and I did.”
As he continued all he could hear was sobbing on the other end. “Right now I have to figure out my feelings and see whether they can survive this or not. Are you the same person you were? Am I? I just don’t know. I’ll call you later.” He hung up.
Chapter Thirty-One
After dropping Brian at the hotel John Spedino and Arthur Borland had headed back to the border. The crossing into Guatemala was again uneventful. The driver steered the car through the vehicle lane while the men walked through Belizean immigration, had their passports stamped then walked to the building that said, “Welcome to Guatemala” in both English and Spanish.
Once inside they stood in a short line. Arthur presented his passport to a sleepy clerk who stamped it and waved him through without a glance. John Spedino laid his passport on the desk and the inspector took it from him. Looking up into his face the inspector said, “Welcome back to Guatemala, Senor Spedino. I hope you have a good trip!” He smiled broadly, stamped the passport and waved him through. As soon as John Spedino had exited the building the inspector picked up the phone next to his desk and said, “He just entered the country.”
Spedino had spoken to his pilot earlier, ordering the Gulfstream to fly to the town of Flores fifty miles from the border. It was a small airport and saved them an hour of driving. The godfather was ready to get in the air and out of Guatemala. Things had gone very well and once he disposed of the sniveling idiot in the car with him he would be very happy indeed.
The men sat in silence as they drove to Flores. The car pulled into the airport and drove toward a hodgepodge of hangars in which small airplanes were parked. The Gulfstream sat prominently in front of one of the buildings and the driver went directly to it.
As he exited the car John Spedino was surprised to see no security people around his plane. That was standard operating procedure and he made a mental note to deal with the pilot about this error once they were back in New York. A uniformed officer strode out of the terminal building and stood at the foot of the stairs while Arthur Borland entered the plane, followed by Spedino. The officer came on board and remained at the back of the cabin while Spedino and Borland sat down.
The door to the cockpit opened and a man in a suit walked out. John Spedino looked at him, a flash of anger on his face. “Who the hell are you? Where’s my pilot?”
“Mr. Spedino, I’m James Ruskin, and I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you.”
“You’re American? What’s going on? Get off my plane.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible, sir. In fact, there are two of us on here who are going to arm-wrestle later on to figure out which one of us gets this gorgeous jet of yours!”
Spedino angrily looked at the man. “Get out of my plane,” he said curtly. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”
The man seemed extraordinarily happy. “Au contraire, Mr. Spedino. I know exactly who you are. That’s why we’re so glad you’re here! I need to dispense with a couple of formalities before I explain everything. As I said, I’m James Ruskin. And yes, I am an American. I’m in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s field operations team in Guatemala. First I want to let you know that you are under arrest for the murder of Jorge Arocha. The gentleman behind you is from the Guatemala City Police Department and he is here to take you into custody.”
Spedino moved to put his hand inside his jacket. “No, Senor,” the man behind him said as he pulled a pistol from his holster. “Raise your hands in the air now.”
Ruskin walked to Spedino, reached inside the godfather’s coat and withdrew a gun.
“Stand up,” the Guatemala policeman said. He frisked him thoroughly then pulled Spedino’s hands behind his back, cuffed him and pushed him back into his seat.
“I’m not quite through, Godfather,” the American said, smiling ear to ear. “That’s what you call yourself, correct? I want to use respectful terminology. Mr. Spedino, you’ve become a worldwide sensation! In addition to your problem here in Guatemala you’re charged with drug trafficking in the United States and other charges are pending in London and the Dutch Netherlands Antilles, specifically the island of Bonaire.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Let me read you your Miranda rights and I’ll explain everything.” He pulled a card from his shirt pocket and began to read. At the end he said, “Do you understand your rights and do you wish an attorney at this time?”
“I understand my rights. I don’t want an attorney at this time,” Spedino replied. “What the hell is this about? You people are making a huge mistake. Enormous. You have nothing on me.”
The American rapped once on the cockpit door, a signal to the pilot. Momentarily over the cabin intercom system Spedino’s cruel voice could clearly be heard. “I’m sad to report that your friend Jorge has departed this earth. He had a misfortune in Guatemala earlier today. I uttered a single word, one command, Arthur, and Jorge Arocha got a bullet to the head.”
“You little prick!” Spedino spat words furiously at Arthur Borland. “You wore a wire. Your life isn’t worth five cents…”
““Uh oh,” the American officer said, still beaming. “Better not make things worse, Godfather. Let me return to my explanation. Your popularity has created a problem for us, sir. Everyone wants you. They are going to detain you here in Guatemala for murder. I want you extradited to the States for drug trafficking.”
“Drug trafficking?” Spedino snarled. “You have nothing on me.”
“Let’s see, what was it you said to Lord Borland? ‘If you owe dealers in New York or London, you owe me, the Godfather,’” the drug agent recited from memory. “And your airplane – well, my Guatemalan friend here thinks the millions Guatemala can get from selling your plane will supplement the police force’s budget nicely. I of course would like to have the DEA get those funds. But we’ll decide that later – right, Antonio?” The Guatemalan policeman laughed heartily.
“Excuse me for digressing, Godfather. I know your time is valuable. I was explaining that Guatemala wants you, London wants you for drugs, Bonaire for secret money laundering and casino ownership without proper licensing and of course we want you back in the good old U.S. of A. for that little drug trafficking thing you admitted to on the tape.
“The good news is if you agree to be extradited and Guatemala goes along we might get you back into the States within a month or two. If everything goes well here in Guatemala, that is. And as you probably know since you’re a big international businessman, sometimes these little countries are slow to act, sometimes not. I hope for your sake things go fast because you’re going to be sitting in a nasty jail cell in Guatemala City until either they decide to prosecute you or we get you back.”
Spedino sat back and said, “I want an attorney.”
“Of course you do and you need one badly I think,” the American officer said. “We’ll make sure you get to make that phone call just as soon as you’re booked in Guatemala City.”
“I can do it from here on my phone.”
“Sorry, Senor,” the Guatemalan police officer said. “That is not allowed. You will do things my way now. You are the big shot in some places but here it will be different. Here you may find that some of our prisoners are not so partial toward Americans. We will of course do our best to keep you safe and secure.” He laughed again.
Chapter Thirty-Two
The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dallas
Six months later
Brian tapped his glass with a spoon. The guests at the long table stopped their conversations and looked expectantly to the head of the table.
“I’d like to start by saying how thrilled I am to have all of you here with Nicole and me in Dallas. I hope you enjoyed the wonderful dinner – I think the Mansion on Turtle Creek and our servers are
due some recognition for the fantastic service tonight. Come in, ladies and gentlemen!”
The door at the end of the private dining room opened and the men and women who had attended them paraded inside to enthusiastic applause from the seven people at the table.
Once dishes were cleared he continued. “Thanks to the efforts of the people in this room we made the most fascinating discovery in Mayan history. For years to come scholars will be working on translating the seventy-two codices we found. The work they’ve done so far has already given the world amazing insight into this ancient civilization whose history was shrouded in mystery. And there are many codices left to translate – they’ve barely scratched the surface.”
He reached into an envelope that had been next to his place setting and pulled out one of the gleaming gold sheets the expedition had found in Guatemala. Holding it up for the assemblage to see, he said, “We found three hundred and six gold sheets. The world wonders what the value of this hoard is. In fact, every single one is priceless. Before the Mayan ruler of the lost city ordered them removed, they and many others covered the outside of the building in which we found them. It was part of a golden city shining in the clouds high above the rain forest. Most of the sheets of gold were transported to Hernan Cortes in order to ransom the king of the Mayans. But obviously the ruler hid these particular sheets to keep them safe.
“The gold sheets have given us dramatic insight into the writing and history of the Mayan people from which they came. Like the codices this project will take years to complete. And six months from now we’ll be featured on national TV when Discovery presents its four-hour documentary on our expedition.”
Brian stopped talking and paused to look at each of the guests individually. “I know that everyone here knows everyone else but I want to go around the table and acknowledge the contribution each of you has made.” He turned to his right and looked at Nicole. “You I am saving for last!”
Brian Sadler Archaeological Mysteries BoxSet Page 50
