The Death Relic

by Chris Kuzneski

  He spread his arms out wide. ‘For the next hundred years, the Aztecs dominate this valley and beyond. Led by rulers such as Montezuma, Tlacaelel and Ahuitzotl, the Empire stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. And our city – our tiny little island in the middle of the lake – becomes a capital unlike any the world has ever seen.’

  Once again, he pointed to the northeast. ‘Remember our temple? The one made of earth and wood? It is no longer suitable for our city. It is rebuilt over and over, seven times in all, until it is an enormous pyramid of stucco and stone. Unlike Egyptian pyramids, the Templo Mayor has no apex. Instead, there is a great platform on top that is over three hundred feet wide. The platform is divided into two shrines – one for Huitzilopochtli, and one for Tlaloc, the god of rain. The shrines are over a hundred feet in height. They house sacred fires that always burn.’

  Paco raised his arms while wiggling his fingers to indicate smoke.

  ‘Surrounding the Templo Mayor is a walled square. It is known as the temple precinct. It is home to more than forty buildings. This includes a temple honouring Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, and several smaller shrines honouring minor gods. We do this to keep them happy. We expand our city even further by building miles of roads upon the water. They stretch west to the mainland and connect us to smaller islands that we have raised in the lake. But these are not normal causeways. They have special bridges that allow boats and people to pass freely. Amazingly, if we are ever attacked, the bridges can be pulled away instantly to protect our city from invading forces.

  ‘Tenochtitlan was grouped into four zones called campans, which surrounded the temple precinct in the middle. Each campan had twenty districts, and each district was crisscrossed by perpendicular streets that were half land, half water. This allowed boat and foot traffic throughout the city. Each district, or calpulli, had its own marketplace where the Aztecs went to buy products, but they paled in comparison to the main market to the north.

  ‘By 1492, the year Columbus discovered the Americas, the population of Tenochtitlan is more than three hundred thousand people. That is bigger than London, Madrid, or Rome. On a normal day, more than fifty thousand people work and shop at our marketplace in Tlatelolco. Money is not used there. Goods and services are bartered for. Small trades are made. Differences in price are settled with cacao beans. They are small, brown and practically worthless, just like an American penny.’

  He winked at Tiffany, who responded with a smile.

  ‘There are restaurants and hairdressers. Pharmacies and butchers. Art shops and fruit stands. Everything you can imagine in one immense plaza. Best of all, the marketplace is clean and orderly. No chaos, little crime, no garbage on the streets. More than a thousand men work as cleaners. This includes men in small boats who collect the trash and haul it away.’

  Paco lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘Do not get me wrong. Our city is not perfect. At night, half-naked women with heavy make-up and painted teeth – yes, painted teeth – roam the alleys looking for men. To attract attention, they chew Aztec gum called tzictli as loud as they can. The clicking noise echoes throughout the streets. When the noise finally stops, you know their mouths are doing something else, like … talking.’

  Everybody laughed at the misdirection. They thought for sure that he was going to say something much dirtier than ‘talking’.

  Paco gasped in mock disgust. ‘What you think I going to say? I am a classy tour guide!’

  22

  DeJute fiddled with his wheelchair until he was perfectly positioned in front of the control panel. ‘Much better. Now let’s get down to business. What’s your room number?’

  Payne gave him the number of Maria’s suite.

  DeJute punched the information into his computer and pulled up her registration. He studied it intently. ‘Hmm. Must be some kind of mistake. You don’t look like a Maria.’

  ‘I’m not. I’m Miss Pelati’s bodyguard.’

  ‘Her bodyguard?’ He glanced over his shoulder and stared at Payne’s biceps. His muscular arm was almost as thick as DeJute’s withered legs. ‘Now that I believe. What, is she an Italian princess or something?’

  Payne scoffed at the notion. ‘Sometimes she acts that way, but she’s just a regular person. No better than you or I.’

  ‘I hear ya, chief. Rich people piss me off.’

  ‘Me, too,’ he joked.

  ‘Is she gonna fire you?’

  ‘If this goes public, she probably will. You know how rich people hate bad publicity. That’s why I didn’t go to the police with any of this. If they get involved, my ass is grass.’

  DeJute reached behind him and tapped Payne’s arm. ‘Don’t worry, chief. You came to the right place. We only call the cops if it’s absolutely necessary. They’re bad for business.’

  ‘Tell me about it.’

  ‘So, when did this break-in occur?’

  ‘Late afternoon, early evening. She was having drinks at that bistro by the beach. When she returned to her suite, the place was trashed.’

  ‘Someone trashed it?’

  ‘Like a rock star,’ Payne replied. ‘Don’t worry, we straightened things up. Looks almost as good as new.’

  ‘What did they steal?’

  ‘Not much. Maybe a few trinkets. The main thing was her passport. Someone swiped it from her nightstand. We’re still trying to figure out if they got anything else.’

  ‘Jewellery? Laptops? Anything like that?’

  ‘Nope. Nothing big. Just her passport.’

  ‘Hmm.’ DeJute stroked his chin in thought. ‘Something smells fishy.’

  ‘Fishy? What do you mean?’

  He turned back and stared at Payne. ‘I mean, I’m not buying it for a second.’

  Jones lingered at the edge of the parking lot, waiting for the all-clear signal from Payne. Just to be safe, he checked the reception on his mobile. Several bars were visible.

  ‘What’s taking so long?’ Maria wondered.

  ‘Could be anything. Won’t know for sure until he calls.’

  ‘You’re sure he’ll remember?’

  ‘Of course, he’ll remember. He’s the most dependable person I’ve ever met.’

  ‘Ever?’

  ‘Ever,’ he proclaimed.

  Maria struggled with his statement since she’d never had anyone like that in her life. Not a family member, classmate, or long-term boyfriend. No one that she truly felt she could count on if times got rough. And it wasn’t through lack of trying. Over the years, she had made a number of friends, but it seemed like something bad happened whenever she got close to any of them, whether it was a death, a fight, or a personal betrayal. After a while, she became so sick of the heartbreak, she decided to put up walls to keep everyone out.

  She glanced at Jones. ‘I know this is going to sound like a funny question, but I’ve always wondered something about you and Jon.’

  He cut her off. ‘We’ve never kissed, and we never will.’

  She laughed. ‘Good to know, but that wasn’t the direction I was heading in.’

  ‘In that case, fire away.’

  She gathered her thoughts. ‘When the two of you first met, did you click right away? Or did it take a while to build your friendship?’

  Jones grinned. ‘I never told you about this?’

  ‘You said you met in the military, but you never gave me the specifics. I think I would have remembered because I’ve always wondered.’

  ‘Trust me, you definitely would have remembered. Because the first time I met Jon, I thought he was the biggest asshole in the world.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Really.’

  The comment surprised her. ‘What didn’t you like about him?’

  ‘Just about everything. He was Navy; I was Air Force. He was white; I was black. He was rich; I was broke. He was tall; I wasn’t. Not much common ground to work with.’

  ‘I guess not.’

  ‘The worst part? We were up for the same command,
and he got the post instead of me. Pissed me off something fierce. I figured he got the unit because of his connections, or his skin colour, or something that shouldn’t have made a damn bit of difference, and I held it against him for the longest time. I’m sure this will come as a huge shock to you, since you hold me in such high esteem, but I can be a royal pain-in-the-ass when I want to be.’

  ‘Noooooo!’ she said sarcastically.

  ‘Hard to believe, huh?’ He laughed at himself. ‘Anyway, the military, in their infinite wisdom, made things worse by making me his second-in-command. New unit, new rules, and the two officers in charge couldn’t stand each other. I’m telling you, for the first month or so, I was a prickly S.O.B. I was never technically insubordinate because I didn’t want to get thrown in the stockade, but every chance I got I made his life a living hell.’

  ‘For a month?’

  ‘Or three.’

  ‘How’d he handle it?’

  ‘Much better than I would have,’ Jones assured her. He paused for a moment as he thought back to his younger days. ‘That’s when I realized he was special, not some pampered rich kid who’d been given a job for the wrong reason, but someone who deserved the command. As hard as this is to admit – and you’ll never get me to admit it in front of Jon – the Pentagon made the right choice. Not only was he the better soldier, he’s also the better man.’

  Maria shook her head. ‘I find that hard to believe.’

  He shrugged. ‘Believe what you want to believe, but I’m telling you the truth. That’s how I honestly feel. If I didn’t, do you really think I would’ve stayed by his side for so long?’

  Years in the trenches had taught Payne to remain calm in the worst circumstances, so he barely blinked an eye when DeJute challenged his story. ‘What aren’t you buying?’

  ‘The entire thing about the break-in. Something else is going on. Something bigger.’

  ‘Such as?’

  DeJute looked at him. ‘Identity theft.’

  ‘Identity theft? Why do you think that?’

  ‘We see it all the time in Mexico. A wealthy gringo comes to town and the locals take advantage. I mean, why else would they steal her passport? They got her name, her photo and her country of origin. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re applying for credit cards as we speak.’

  Payne doubted the possibility but didn’t want to hurt the feelings of the one guy who could help him. ‘You might be onto something.’

  ‘I know I’m onto something.’

  ‘In that case, we need to see who broke into her room immediately. Maybe we can stop the bastards before they bleed her dry. Maybe even save my job.’

  ‘You got it, chief. We’ll nail their Mexican asses to the wall.’

  Payne ignored the racism and pointed at the control panel. ‘While you’re pulling up the video feed, mind if I call my assistant? I want to see if they grabbed anything else, like her driver’s licence or a credit card.’

  ‘Good idea. The more they know about her, the more damage they can do.’

  Payne hit the speed dial as he walked towards the outer office.

  Jones answered on the second ring. ‘How’s it look?’

  ‘Great. We’re pulling up the feed now. The head honcho is an American who really knows his shit. He wants to nail their Mexican asses to the wall.’

  DeJute heard the comment from across the room and gave him a thumbs-up. ‘We’ll get the spics and beat them like piñatas.’

  Jones grunted. ‘Sounds like a real winner.’

  Payne smiled at the sarcasm. ‘He thinks it might be identity theft because of the stolen passport. Says it happens a lot down here.’

  ‘Maybe so, but I highly doubt it in this case. Identity thieves wouldn’t trash her room. They’d try to slip away unnoticed because it would give them more time to operate.’

  ‘I couldn’t agree more.’

  Jones glanced across the parking lot. The only person in sight was Maria, who was quickly running out of patience. ‘How much time do I have?’

  ‘More than you possibly need. There are cameras all over the place, which means tons of footage to examine. Odds are pretty good I’ll get eyes on the incident.’

  ‘You talking about the break-in or Hamilton’s disappearance?’

  ‘Both. If something happened here, I’ll definitely get to see it.’

  23

  DeJute punched a few buttons and pulled up the video from the camera near Maria’s suite. He tapped another key, and the live feed appeared on the centre monitor. The screen was four times as large as the others and would give them a better view of the break-in. ‘Not much going on right now. Just an empty hallway.’

  Payne glanced over DeJute’s shoulder and got a feel for the control panel, just in case he needed to pull up some footage on his own. ‘Empty is good.’

  ‘Unless you’re talking about my glass at happy hour. Then empty is bad.’

  ‘You got me there.’

  ‘Of course, I have to be careful when I drink. Don’t want to get a DUI in my wheelchair. No telling who I might run over in this thing.’

  Payne pushed his personal feelings aside – he’d lost his parents to a drunk driver – and ignored the comment. ‘The incident took place sometime between four and seven p.m.’

  DeJute entered the data on his keyboard, and the video skipped back to 4 p.m. the previous afternoon. From there, he grabbed the joystick on the control panel and tilted it to the right. This sped the video forward. ‘Pretty cool, huh? I control everything with this little lever. I can go backwards or forwards, up or down, in or out. Whatever I want to do.’

  ‘Let’s go forward until we see someone in the hallway.’

  ‘You got it, chief.’

  Nothing appeared on the monitor until Maria departed the suite. Wearing a sundress and sandals, she opened the door, closed it behind her, then made sure it was locked. After that, she strolled down the corridor towards the elevator.

  DeJute pointed at the screen. ‘Is that your boss?’

  ‘Yep. That’s her.’

  ‘I’ll be damned. I know who that is!’

  Payne tensed. ‘You do?’

  ‘I sure as shit do. That’s Mariachi Maria!’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  DeJute laughed to himself. ‘Your boss is Mariachi Maria. How funny is that?’

  Payne stared at him. ‘I think you’d better explain.’

  He leaned forward and tapped a few buttons. ‘I can do better than that. I’ll let you see the video for yourself.’

  ‘The video? Of what?’

  ‘Sometimes when we get a really important client, the hotel mariachi band is summoned to greet them by the front door. Well, your boss lady was selected for the royal treatment.’

  ‘She was?’

  DeJute nodded. ‘I’ve been playing this video all day long. It’s actually kind of sexy. After a while, she gets into the music and starts to shake her chi-chis.’

  Payne watched the video of Maria’s arrival and couldn’t help but smile. In a span of five minutes, she went from confused to embarrassed to downright festive. For him, it was a pleasant surprise, because it revealed a side of her personality he wasn’t familiar with. Jones had always claimed that she was fun – that she liked to dance and goof around – but Payne had never seen it for himself, because whenever he’d been with her there was always an imminent threat of danger.

  ‘If you can, please burn me a copy. I’d love to have it in case she fires my ass. You know, as blackmail material.’

  ‘Dude, I like the way you think.’ DeJute reached to his right and opened a small filing cabinet under his desk. Inside, there were hundreds of DVDs. He grabbed the first disc in the stack and handed it to Payne. It was labelled ‘Mariachi Maria’. ‘You can have my copy. I’ll burn another one later for my personal collection.’

  ‘Thanks. I appreciate it.’

  ‘No problem at all.’

  ‘If it’s OK with you, can we go back to the other f
eed now? Maybe I can save my job before I have to play this card.’

  ‘You got it, chief.’

  DeJute hit a few keys and the hallway video returned to the point where they’d left off: Maria had just departed her suite and was headed for the elevator. DeJute grabbed the joystick and tilted it to the right. The video sped forward at ten times the normal speed. He stared at the screen intently, patiently waiting for someone to make an appearance in the corridor.

  Several seconds passed before someone finally did.

  Jones and Maria walked across the parking lot at a leisurely pace. Not from overconfidence, but to draw as little attention to themselves as possible.

  ‘Hamilton’s car is just ahead. It’s the maroon Hummer H2.’

  ‘How do you know?’ Jones asked.

  ‘Because he told me he was driving a maroon Hummer H2. And when I checked the parking lot last night, it was the only one here.’

  ‘In that case, I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s probably his vehicle.’

  She gave him a friendly punch. ‘Thank goodness you’re here. I never would have figured that out on my own.’

  Jones smiled. ‘Well, I am a trained professional.’

  ‘I know you are. That’s why I gave you a call.’

  A few seconds passed before he spoke again. When he did, his voice was a little less jovial. ‘Actually, you didn’t give me a call. You called Jon, not me.’

  The comment stung her so much she stopped walking. She paused for a moment, took a deep breath, then rushed to catch up with Jones, who didn’t break stride until he reached the H2.

  ‘About that,’ she said as she grabbed his arm.

  He shook his head. ‘Not now. We’ve got a job to do. Can’t lose focus.’

  ‘Right. Sorry. You’re right. We can talk about it later.’

  ‘Or not.’

  ‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘We will talk about it later.’