by Moulton, CD
Oh, yeah. He was gay.
Clint and Judi translated the rest of the list of names. Twelve. There were four names that were different on the two lists.
The list from Gault had him and someone named Fred Sanders a woman named Gisela Christianson and a man named Yohn Kopec changed on Maria’s list. Gault was changed to Markos Jardín, Gisela Bendetti was changed to Oscar, Sanders was changed to Velasquez and Kopec was changed to Linderman. When Ben showed up Judi explained what they’d done and told him about the lists.
“It would seem, unless there’s another Oscar in this, that Mittermann plans to become a leader in this stupid scheme,” Clint said.
“Who’s Oscar?” Ben asked.
“You don’t want to know,” Judi said.
“A CIA asshole,” Clint said. “I think maybe we can bring this particular pot to a pretty fast boil.”
Clint’s cell phone buzzed. He looked at the caller ID and answered to hear Luis say, “It seems the lovely Maria has decided to stay with Cecilio for a few days. She is in fear of someone by what we can understand of her very poor Spanish or she is someone to fear because of a bruja in some other place or something. We have placed her into a room that can be locked to be sure no one can get to her. She has spoken to only Cecilio. She knows I speak Spanish, thus we let her know not that I am even here.”
“Thanks, Luis. If Cecilio could get a message to her with his own poor Spanish that someone named Oscar and someone named Gault are looking for her and he feels they are dangerous people she should be protected from...?”
“I think perhaps I can manage that.”
They chatted a minute more. It seemed Maria was trying to get through to them that she was working for a powerful witch who would turn them all into zombies or something. They were acting like they thought she was saying a witch was looking for her to turn her into a zombie. It was great fun. They kept assuring her that no witch could get to her because the comarca had a witch of their own to give her an amulet of garlic to keep zombies and vampires away.
“What was that about?” Judi asked when he rang off.
“Maria is being held in protective custody on the comarca because, from what Cecilio can understand of her very poor Spanish, some witch is looking for her to turn her into a zombie. Maybe him into a zombie. Maybe both. She didn’t make any sense. He locked her in where no one can get to her and will have the bruja make a spell against zombies.”
“Her poor Spanish? Hell, she speaks perfect Spanish!” Judi grinned. “He must only speak dialect so can’t understand Spanish beyond buenos dias.”
“Well, I was trying to understand his dialect and may have it wrong,” Clint said in excellent dialect. “I think this is a great break! I’ll call friend Gault and tell him we found a list in the kitchen at Obilio’s place that’s in German. I can give him the list of names that are the same in any language. Oscar is on it. He isn’t.”
“That could piss him off!” Judi said. Ben laughed and said maybe Gault would want to turn Oscar into a zombie. This could be a great horror movie. Zombies In the Mist or Terror In the Timbers.
“Maybe Zombies In the Timbers or Terrors In the Mist,” Judi suggested.
“It would make a good Keystone Kop show with this bunch of clowns,” Clint suggested. “Maybe Charlie Chaplin Meets the Chumps or something.”
He called Gault and said (with his innocent act) that they had found the list and translated the names. He said, seeing what had happened, that Oscar might be Mittermann, which would explain his even knowing about it. Don’t trust him. He could hear the rage in Gault’s voice, though he was trying to sound like it was nice to know, and thanks. Clint hung up and said, “I think the thing that’s boiling is Gault’s temper. This could get interesting.”
“It could be deadly,” Judi warned.
“Yeah, but not for us,” Clint agreed. “I think the only way to stop it is to let them kill each other off. Just so no more innocent bystanders are drawn in that’s fine with me.”
They waited for a couple of hours, but didn’t hear anything more. Ben had translated the sheets that were made by Claire Auber. The original list was the original group. The second was the way the group would become as soon as they got those four out of it. The main paragraphs, except for that item on the second set, was mostly laying out who was in charge (Auber) and who was to handle which part. Most of that was supplying funds and personnel when the thing was set in motion. The weak part was having no control of who outside of the group became involved. It was important that whoever else could be terrorized into silence if they learned too much. She could handle that. She was the most feared witch in Haiti so everyone in the Latin American countries could be threatened with untold horrors if they crossed her.
It might not be too easy to set it in motion now. It seemed some of the major players weren’t too happy about the arrangements. The main thing they learned was from adding up what had happened there with the Campbells and Maria and Pablo. The way Clint figured, Mittermann was in Panamá and had discovered the plot and cut himself in. He wouldn’t be someone Auber could terrorize with her mighty witch act. It would be up to him to get Gault involved so he could be knocked over.
Maria latched onto the Campbells as an excuse to come to Panamá and Gault was conned into coming because he was told that Maria had a list of the group that was about to fall into the hands of the CIA. It was the use of terror and threats of witches and zombies and so forth that would scare the Panamanians into not acting against them. The list was to be given to Mittermann when Gault et al were handled. It was his contract.
Well, maybe some Panamanians would be terrorized by some witch in Haiti, particularly the blacks. Not the Indios. That was a huge mistake. You can’t terrorize the Indios. They’re a very practical people. It went wrong because Clint Faraday got involved. They didn’t know who did that. Someone told a friend of Faraday’s that the Campbells were not what they seemed as a way to get suspicions started against them. Then they met Judi Lum and it went to hell from that point because she told Faraday what the Campbells were really like. Just normal people. If they had simply shot Gault and the other three in the head it would have probably worked. As it turned out the complications drug the scheme down. Nothing worked out the way the brilliant Claire planned. She didn’t take into consideration that Faraday and the Indios would find her to be a joke. Most Panamanians aren’t superstitious. Their witches are more medicine women than witches in the traditional sense. They don’t claim extraordinary powers.
Maybe that was way off on a tangent, but it made a kind of sense. Nothing else did. Claire Auber was an egomaniac who thought she was smarter than everyone around her because the witches were feared in Haiti and Jamaica. It was a fantasy in her own mind. Most of the others either feared witches or knew she could wield a lot of power – on those islands.
Which came down to Mittermann discovering a silly plot and using it to his own advantage. These people were wealthy enough to where he could get a few millions personally before the scheme collapsed. He figured wrong, too. Claire Auber thought she was a terror, but she was a joke. It would almost be funny if innocent people hadn’t been drawn into it. Doom was definitely involved. The plot was doomed from the get-go.
Clint thought about it awhile, then decided to wait for a couple of days to see what developed. He called Cecilio and said to tell Maria it was all a misunderstanding and let her go late this afternoon. Her own people would handle things from that point. Gault called him in the wee hours and said that some gringo by the name of Mittermann had left David and gone toward the home of some Indio named Obilio in the mountains. He understood Obilio was in Bocas Town with his wife, so what was he up to?
“He doesn’t know I found the lists, does he?”
“Not from me.”
“Then he has some way that Maria told him where she left it. He’s going after it.”
“That could be a mistake.”
“Uh-huh. Talk to you tomorrow w
hen they find one or the other of their bodies.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Rewards
Judi called from her deck for Clint to answer his phone. Gault was trying to get in touch. He seemed very anxious about something. He hadn’t struck her as the anxious type.
Clint turned the thing off when he didn’t want to be bothered all night with those people. He went in and turned it on. It rang about three minutes later.
“Faraday? Gault here. I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.”
“I turned the phone off for the night. It's the only way to get any sleep lately. What can I do for you?”
“I need to know if Maria’s free somewhere around here. She’s the only one I care about so far as danger to myself is concerned. She is one cold bitch! I doubt she ever feels anything at all.”
“She was staying at Cecilio’s until yesterday afternoon. He let her go. It seemed he thought she was hiding from a witch in Haiti or something so locked her into a shed where he could protect her. His Spanish sucks. He told her the witch woman said she would put a spell on her that would keep zombies away. She kept blabbing about him or her being turned into zombies if he or she didn’t do something. He couldn’t understand her, so protected her from zombies.”
“Zombies?” Gault giggled. He said Mittermann doesn’t answer his phone since midnight or a little after when he tried to call him. He might have met the lovely Maria unexpectedly. Clint said anything was possible. Maybe he met the zombie instead.
After Gault rang off Clint called Luis and said to CAREFULLY go to see what, if anything, was going on at Obilio’s place. Luis said he would go in a few minutes. It seemed quiet, but he had seen Pablo so would be careful to an extreme.
Judi came in and Clint said they could go to breakfast at Don Chicho’s. She agreed and they strolled into town. Mike Campbell was in Don Chicho’s with a local girl. They said “hello”s and such. Mike was going to the hotel and the family were going to head for San Andreas. Matt was talking about going back to Chitre and Las Tablas to look for a place. He wanted to stay in Panamá. Mike agreed, but Cori and Mark wanted to go back to the states.
Everybody could go where they wanted. They were an independent lot. Mike might stay here or go to David instead of San Andreas. He wanted to go to Rio Sereno and Puerto Armuelles like Clint had suggested.
Clint and Judi walked down to the ferry dock and back just for the exercise. They spoke with a number of people they knew and a couple of tourists who wanted to know the best restaurants and such. They decided to go to Red Frog by boat, then to go out in the Caribbean to see if the tuna were in and biting. That would take most of the day and would let them relax. They could use some relaxation.
They were out in the Caribbean catching a lot of sun and not too much else when Clint’s phone buzzed. It was Luis. He sounded excited.
“I hope that animal doesn’t ever decide to come after me!” Luis greeted.
“Which animal is that?”
“That Maria woman. You think Pablo was torn up? You should see Mittermann! At least Pablo died fast. Mittermann didn’t.”
“She thinks he found her lists ... no, that was what she was there for. To get rid of Gault and give him the new list. His list was his contract. I guess she just didn’t like him.”
“She tortured him like that because she didn’t like him?”
“She’s not a very nice lady.” Clint could picture Luis giving the phone the bird. They talked a bit longer and Luis said the police chopper was coming in. He took it on himself to call them to the comarca, seeing it was some gringo who was dead.
Clint told Judi about it. She shuddered. It could have been her and Ann when they had them at that cave. On their way back to Clint’s house they got another call from Luis. Maria was seen getting on a bus to David on the other side of the mountain ten minutes ago. She would probably take the Calderas bus to the highway, then get the Boquete bus at the junction.
Clint decided not to call Gault to warn him. He could fend for himself with his special bunch.
They cleaned up and went to the Nine Degrees for an expensive but very good dinner with Ben and a man he met at the surf shop by the Hotel Bocas del Toro. John Guest. Judi said she was jealous. She admired his taste in men.
They joked and had a good time for awhile. Judi went to El Refugio with a man she was dating on and off. Clint went to The Rip Tide and Ben went to The Iguana with his friend. Clint talked with several people there, then went home for a decent night’s rest. When he was passing the Mondo Taitu he saw a girl he had met the year before. She decided she would go home with him. Last year was so good she kept comparing him with other men and they almost always came up short. She wanted to see if he still had it.
The night wasn’t restful to any degree, but it was a great night all the same!
In the morning he had an e-mail saying that Dave would be back that afternoon. There were six or eight ads he erased.
He would go to Chiriqui Grande today. He had some unfinished business there. He could go on to Cusapín to visit friends there for a day or two or return to Bocas Town. He would wait until he was there to decide.
He got a call while he was in Chiriqui Grande from Sam, the police jefe in David. It seemed that a woman’s body was found close to Anastasia by the river. She had his name and phone number on a piece of paper in her pocket, but no other identification.
“What did she look like?” Clint asked.
“Latina with some white and some negro, pretty but not beautiful, about twenty three or thirty three. Hard to tell. The autopsy would get it. Maybe her prints. She didn’t seem to be local.
“It’s probably Maria Garza,” Clint said. “Pull her passport and check the prints to that.”
Sam said he’d try. It might work. He could pull the passport photo off the net.
He called back ten minutes later and said it was Maria.
“How did she die?” Clint asked.
“We can’t find anything. She seems to have gone down by the river, laid down and died.”
Clint was thoughtful, then smirked to himself. Maybe Auber wanted her out of the way, too. He wondered if maybe Gault hadn’t brought along some kind of voodoo poison from Haiti. Maybe it was someone he didn’t even know about. He wouldn’t worry about it.
He did sort of wonder if Gault was still around. It was altogether possible he was dead of some strange poison or something. That would fit the rest of this. If he was, Auber was getting rid of all the people and evidence against her. That would mean that whoever was doing the dirty work for her was a total fool. He or she would then be the only evidence around against her. He or she was handling the way people who knew too much were disposed of.
Clint wondered about that piece of paper. Why did Maria have that? Did she plan to come after him? Why? Would he ever know enough about this for it to begin to make sense? He didn’t believe for one second that he had all the answers. He might not even have a large percent of them.
He would worry about it some other time. She couldn’t come after him now, that was sure.
He headed back to Bocas Town. He wasn’t in the mood for Cusapín today.
Back in Bocas Town Clint went to several places to listen to the gossip. Douglas was sitting with Jim at the Golden Grill. He sat to see if anything was new, but it was more of the same. Tom came to join them and Clint left. Try as he might, he simply couldn’t like the ass.
He went to the China to stock up on groceries, then home with them. He got a call from Gault. It was from Haiti. He wanted to know if Clint knew what was happening to the group on the lists.
“They’re getting knocked off. How many of the eighteen of you are still alive?A”
“Eighteen? So you also found the list I buried. I thought you had.
“There are eleven of us left. I think.”
“Did you get Maria or was it someone else?”
“She’s dead? Someone else.”
“Claire seems
to be getting rid of possible witnesses against her.”
“Someone will have to get rid of her. Her voodoo can’t protect her when some of us know it’s mostly crap. She’s very good with poisons I’m told.”
“Yeah. She’s a homicidal maniac as far as I’m concerned.”
“Good description! I have to see if I can stay alive or if it will be her. It can’t be both. She’s a sociopathic homicidal maniac would be a bit more accurate, I believe.
“I like you, Clint. You aren’t scared of any of us and shoot as straight as we’ll allow. Thanks.” He hung up.
Clint sort of wondered if he would survive. As he said, both of them couldn’t.
Clint sort of liked him, too. He had a charm.
Obilio came to say he and Lila were going home on the late bus. They would get to David late, would stay at a friend’s place and go up to the house tomorrow.
“Be careful what you eat and drink there,” Clint warned. “Remember that Maria left that sleep potion for Ann. She might have left some other nasty little surprises around.”
“Doesn’t need saying.”
This was probably over for their part. It had been a little terrifying and a little fun and a little a lot of other things. Clint still didn’t have a clue as to what was really going on and probably never would.
He never would if Auber survived. Gault would call to let him know he won. He would want to gloat.
C’est la vie!
He and Judi went to The Lemon Grass for dinner. Dave came in to play a few numbers. He asked if anything came of the message he left about the Campbell people.
“Oh, it was fairly interesting. They were alright. Not boring,” Clint answered.
Clint Faraday Mysteries
#8
Omen
© 2011 & 2013 by C. D. Moulton
This is a work of fiction Any resemblances to persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental
Clint looks at the very strange colors in the sunset. It is beautiful, in a weird sort of way – but those colors are just beyond his experience.
