by K C Ames
They pulled up into the restaurant, and it was a sight to see. It reminded Dana of Tara from Gone with the Wind.
“That is a lovely building. Looks more like an estate than a restaurant,” Dana mused as she got out of the car.
Benny explained that Ike Van de Berg was a Dutchman who had moved to Costa Rica in the late 1970s. He bought a lot of land around Mariposa Beach when it was still cheap, and he opened his restaurant in the mid-80s. It did good business, but the land it sat on was now worth a fortune. Ike was pushing seventy, so if he ever retired and sold his land, he’d be set until he was around three hundred fifty years old, Benny had explained to Dana and Courtney, smiling.
“Welcome,” Ike said loudly as the trio walked in.
Dana smiled. He was a big man, shaved head. He looked like the late actor Donald Pleasence from Halloween. He wore a white guayabera shirt and tan pants. Although it was the first time Dana met him, she figured he already knew who she was from how he greeted her.
“I hope last night’s tragedy doesn’t put you off our little beach community and that you’re enjoying that beautiful home that is Casa Verde,” he said warmly, then quickly added, “Oh, and I’m so sorry for your loss, even though your cousin and that wife of his were insufferable. I was about to ban them from my restaurant. Sorry, no offense.”
Dana smiled. It was the first she had laid eyes on Ike, and he knew all about her and those were his first words to her…all in two breaths.
“Thank you for the warm welcome, and no offense taken,” Dana said, smiling.
She wanted to say she agreed with Ike’s assessment of Roy and Skylar, but Benny would have had a coronary, since he kept reminding her not to talk to anyone about the case.
Dana appreciated that Ike wasn’t making her feel like an unwelcome killer. Far from it. Ike sat them at the best table he had available, and the three of them enjoyed a delicious meal and a bottle of red wine from Chile.
“Like I told you before, most people here are wonderful. Like any other place on Earth, you have good people and bad people,” Benny said.
“With an unknown murderer running wild out there,” Dana said.
“Well, yes, there is that matter that needs to be resolved, and that’s where we wash our hands and let the police do their work.”
The food was amazing.
Dana ordered the arroz con pollo—a rice and chicken dish that was very popular in Costa Rica. It looked like a Chinese rice stir-fry dish.
Courtney ordered the arroz con mariscos—seafood rice dish. They both came with a side salad, fried plantains, and French fries.
Benny ordered the pescado entero—the whole fish, and it wasn’t an exaggeration. From head to tail, the entire fish was on his plate. Its eyes stared at Dana as she ate her meal.
After a few minutes, Dana said, “Sorry, I can’t eat with your meal eyeballing me.” She grabbed a napkin and gently placed it over the fish’s head. She sat and looked at her handiwork. “There. Much better,” she said, sighing before all three of them broke out in laughter.
The lighthearted moment and the fun evening out was just what Dana needed, and then Gustavo Barca showed up.
Seventeen
Dana had heard so much about Gustavo Barca in the few days since she had moved to Mariposa Beach, and much of it was not good. She half expected him to be some ominous-looking fiend.
Instead, he looked…well, normal, she thought.
He was a stout, middle-aged man. Short, at around five-five. He had a round face, skin with a warm, golden-brown tint, and he was bald. Short, stocky, and bald, but by the way he carried himself, he was a seven-foot-tall Adonis. He oozed confidence as he made his way through the restaurant, glad-handing diners and staff like a politician at the state fair.
Dana was like a deer caught in the headlights, and she became mortified when Barca looked at her and his thin lips spread into a big smile. He gave her an acknowledging nod, and he made his way to their table.
“He’s heading our way,” Dana said under her breath. “It’s like staring at Medusa, I couldn’t look away and now here he comes…”
“Miss Kirkpatrick, nice to meet you. I’m Gustavo Barca.”
“Seems like everyone knows who I am,” Dana said without saying hello.
Barca laughed. “It’s a small town, word travels fast.”
“I’ve heard that a few times,” Dana said.
Dana shook his hand because he wasn’t putting it down until she did, so she didn’t want to be rude.
“Hello, Mr. Barca,” Dana said coldly.
“Please, call me Gustavo,” he said, making direct eye contact.
Barca greeted Benny warmly with a handshake and he shook Courtney’s hand and introduced himself to her, as well.
“Please accept my condolences for your uncle’s death. He was a fine man,” Barca said, turning solemn.
“Thanks,” Dana said. She doubted he was being sincere, but he was being polite, so she would do the same.
“I really think we should talk in the next few days. I’ll call Benny here to set something up,” Barca said.
“I’m not interested in selling the property,” Dana replied.
“We’ll leave that for another day. Enjoy your dinner,” Barca said as he walked away.
“That was weird,” Courtney said.
“The man is always working an angle. I’m actually curious what he has up his sleeve,” Benny said.
“I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. The man has been a thorn in my side since I inherited Casa Verde,” Dana said, returning to her dinner.
Soon enough, Gustavo Barca was out of their mind as they ate, chatted, and laughed. The pitcher of margaritas went down so smoothly between the three of them that they ordered a second one.
They each had tres leches for dessert, and by nine o’clock, Dana, feeling the margaritas, was feeling exhausted.
She had always been one of those early to bed, early to rise types, which had always annoyed her ex-husband. Why are you thinking about him? she thought.
“I know I’m coming off like an old lady, but I’ve hit the wall, can we go home?” Dana asked.
"Of course," Benny said, waving his hand in the air for the check.
The waiter came over and said, “Mr. Barca picked up the check for your table before he left. You’re all set.”
Benny, Dana, and Courtney looked at each other with surprise.
“Dang, we should have ordered some food to take home, and more margaritas,” Courtney said in jest as Dana and Benny laughed.
The next morning, Dana was slower at getting up than usual. At first, she couldn’t remember why she had overslept and why she felt so groggy.
“Oh, yeah, those pitchers of margaritas. Such a lightweight,” she said out loud to her empty bedroom.
She looked down at the end of the bed and there was Wally curled up asleep.
“Good morning, Wally,” she said as she got out of bed.
In the bathroom, she splashed some cold water on her face for about a minute and she brushed her teeth. She stood there in front of the mirror for a moment, checking her tired-looking face.
“Coffee. You need coffee, stat,” she said to herself, yawning.
After breakfast and a long, relaxing bath, Dana was ready to tackle the world. She would not think about Agent Picado, Gustavo Barca, Skylar, dead Cousin Roy, Casa Verde, or her legal quandaries. She was excited to take out the Willys Jeep into her new living area beyond Casa Verde and the beach town.
“You know this is our fifth day here and we haven’t explored these parts,” Dana said in passing during breakfast.
“You’re right,” Courtney said.
“Well, we’re changing that today,” Dana said. She was excited and eager to take out that funky little red Willys Jeep to explore and go off-roading.
“Yikes,” Courtney said.
Eighteen
“Are you sure we won’t get in trouble with the police for leaving town?” Cou
rtney asked Dana as they climbed onto the Jeep.
Detective Picado had warned them not to leave town.
“Benny called the police to let them know we were going to Nosara and would be back in a couple hours, so we’re fine.”
Dana was impressed how well the almost seventy-year-old red Willys Jeep handled the narrow winding roads between Mariposa Beach and Nosara.
“I’m amazed how well this little Jeep handles the road,” Dana said.
“I’m amazed we haven’t plummeted off the mountainside,” a wary Courtney said.
Dana laughed as she pressed down on the accelerator.
“Slow down, you’re Dana Kirkpatrick, not Danica Patrick!” Courtney begged as she white-knuckled the door sidebar grip.
Dana smiled then slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road to take in the breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean below.
It reminded Dana of California State Route 1—a similar winding north–south state highway that ran along the Pacific coastline of California, offering stunning views of the coastline from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
“Beautiful,” Dana said, staring out to the Pacific.
“It sure is,” Courtney agreed.
After a moment of taking it all in, they got back in the Willys and Dana noticed a dirt road off the highway that appeared to head up into the mountains.
“Ooh, off-roading,” she said as she started up the Willys and made a sharp right turn, then crossed the road onto the shoulder and then up the steep path leading into the jungle.
“Um, Dana, I’m not sure that this is such a good idea in a seventy-year-old jalopy,” Courtney said.
“Bite your tongue, Big Red is in amazing shape,” Dana said.
“Big Red?”
“Yeah, I’m christening her Big Red. Don’t worry, Benny said this was my uncle’s pride and joy. Shipped it down from the States. He completely refurbished it. Disc brakes and electric ignition, so we don’t even need to use the hand crank to start it unless we really need to,” Dana said, smiling.
“Hand crank? What are you even talking about?” Courtney said as she adjusted the seatbelt across her chest.
“I think that’s as tight as the seatbelt gets,” Dana said, looking over at Courtney as Big Red whirred up the hillside, over some fallen branches and through the forest. It didn’t look like an official road but more of a narrow path that was very drivable until Dana had to slam on the breaks at a river crossing.
“Okay, fun is over, make a U-turn and let’s get back on the main road. I never thought I would say this, but I miss those potholes,” Courtney said.
“It’s not that deep,” Dana said, looking over the dashboard at the water.
“Don’t even go there, Dana!”
“This is a real Army Jeep from the forties and fifties. Built to handle obstacles like a river crossing any day of the week, and twice on Sundays,” Dana said, looking over to the right and then to the left.
“Please, turn this thing around and let’s get back on the real road,” Courtney pleaded.
Dana looked at the crossing. The water was calm. It really didn’t look too deep. And it was a clear, sunny day. The path was very dry. Dana knew they were still in the dry season, so it probably hadn’t rained in a while. If it had, the dirt road would be mud and the river would be ferocious.
“Stop thinking about it! Let’s go back,” Courtney said.
“Hold on,” Dana said.
“Don’t you dare.”
Dana stepped on the accelerator and slowly drove the Jeep into the water. Once moving, she stepped on the gas and didn’t let off until she made it to the other side.
It took less than a minute to clear the waterlogged crossing, and Dana and Courtney screamed the whole time, Dana in delight and Courtney in fear.
Once they made it to the other side, Dana stopped to look back at the river and she yelped. “Now that was fun!”
“Don’t. Ever. Do. That. Again,” Courtney said.
Dana would learn later that that off-road path was a nifty shortcut up to Nosara. It was not one to be toyed with as lightly as she had done, especially during the rainy season that was a couple months away from starting in November.
They made it to Nosara a lot quicker thanks to Dana’s off the beaten path adventure. They drove around the area known as Bocas de Nosara, Mouths of Nosara. The locals called it El Pueblo, The Town.
This is where the public schools, the library, and the municipal facilities like the rural police force and ICE—the government-owned public utilities company—were located, along with local banks, a large grocery store, and retail stores for the locals who could never afford to shop in the retail stores down by the beaches. Only the curious foreigners like Dana made their way to El Pueblo.
It was the part of town where the staff in the resorts a few miles down the coast lived.
“A Tale of Two Cities,” Dana said as they drove through it.
She slammed the brakes, causing Courtney’s head to jerk forward.
“Hey, I’m going to need a chiropractor after riding with you in this contraption,” Courtney said, rubbing the back of her neck.
“Sorry, but look,” Dana said, pointing towards the sidewalk.
Blonde tourists in El Pueblo stuck out like a strobe light at night, so it was easy for Dana to spot Skylar walking on a crowded sidewalk.
Dana backed up the Jeep around the corner, since Big Red also stood out in a crowd.
From that vantage point, they could see Skylar walking next to a short, stocky, bald man.
“Hey, that’s the man that paid for our dinner last night,” Courtney said.
“Gustavo Barca,” Dana said.
The two of them seemed involved in a heated discussion as they made their way down the sidewalk before disappearing inside a three-story building and out of sight.
“Well, he has been Roy and Skylar’s sugar daddy,” Courtney said.
“Yeah, but she’s staying at his five-star resort. I wonder what they’re doing over here, together,” Dana said.
Courtney shrugged.
They waited for ten minutes. It was hot, and the soft top of the Jeep was rolled down, so Dana felt like an ant under a magnifying glass.
“Dana, I’m boiling up here, let’s go,” Courtney said.
After another minute or two, Dana agreed, and she fired up the Jeep and drove away.
The drive back was not fun and light like the dive over to Nosara had been. Seeing Skylar and Barca together brought back all the bad energy and worry that had become part of Dana’s life because Gustavo Barca wanted Casa Verde.
The whole idea to move to Costa Rica was to start over, to start fresh. But she had to deal with a dead cousin, his ticked-off widow, a suspicious detective, and a greedy developer who wanted to take her property away from her so he could bulldoze it and absorb it into his fancy resort.
There was no way Dana would allow that to happen.
Nineteen
The next day, Benny came over to Casa Verde in the morning. Ramón was watering the garden and opened the front gate for him. Benny saw Carmen hanging up laundry on a wire clothesline. She smiled and waved as Benny drove up to the house.
Dana was outside on the second-floor deck on her favorite chair. She was reading a paperback from her uncle’s massive book collection when she heard the crunching sound of the Land Cruiser’s tires on the gravel driveway. She got up and looked down at the carport where Benny parked next to the Willys Jeep.
Dana couldn’t help but notice that Big Red looked like a matchbox toy car next to the bulking Land Cruiser.
“Good morning,” she said to Benny from above.
He looked up and saw her standing there. They exchanged smiles, and Dana realized she had had little to smile about that morning, but seeing Benny standing down there made her feel happy inside, and that worried her.
“Morning. I brought coffee and bagels from Mindy’s,” Benny said, holding up the goods as proof.
/> “Coffee and bagels? You may enter,” Courtney said with a smile as she opened the front door.
Benny walked in and Courtney stopped him and whispered, “She’s feeling a bit down this morning. We saw Skylar and Gustavo Barca yesterday in Nosara. Together.”
Benny winced. Courtney nodded in silent agreement.
She escorted Benny upstairs to the deck.
Dana and Benny exchanged an awkward friendly hug. Dana could feel her heart beating stronger as Benny hugged, but she reminded herself that hugging and kissing on the cheek was a common greeting among friends in Costa Rica. Nothing to it.
“So, did you have a good time with the jeep?”
Dana’s eyes lit up, and she began talking excitedly to Benny about going off-road and the river crossing and all the fun times she and Courtney were having with Big Red—although Courtney made sure to interrupt. “Fun isn’t really the right word to describe it. Terrifying seems more appropriate.”
“Big Red?” Benny asked.
Dana told him about the jeep’s new nickname.
“I told you that was a great little vehicle,” Benny said, nodding his head over towards Big Red parked in the carport down below.
“Anyway, it was fun going off-road with Big Red, don’t listen to Courtney.” She shrugged whimsically, her eyes crinkling at her best friend. “Well, it was fun until we ran into Skylar, who was hanging around with Gustavo Barca in Nosara.”
“It might not be as odd as you think. Barca has an office in Nosara that handles the administrative stuff for the resort, human resources, accounting, that type of thing,” Benny explained. “And he is bankrolling her stay here, so I would expect they have a lot to talk about, especially since my sources at the resort tell me that Skylar is not just hard to handle, but she’s quite the spender.”
“They seemed to be arguing. Money causes a lot of arguments,” Dana said.
“Intriguing, but remember that Skylar seems to argue with just about everyone she interacts with daily. She has the personality that thrives on drama in her life, so she’s always looking for it,” Benny said.
