by L C Hayden
Mike popped in. His eyes were huge and his skin was aflame as if he wasn’t getting enough oxygen.
Larry lowered the gun. “You! I thought I told you to stay in the living room.”
Mike shrugged. “I must have missed that part.”
“Where’s Wally?”
“Wally? The guy you left to guard me? Let’s just say that he met with a small accident, but he’ll be fine when he wakes up.”
Larry smirked. “I should have known.”
“Did you expect anythin’ else?” Bronson stood, his eyes telling Mike it was time to get out and get out fast. “He is a trained police officer.”
Larry’s head bopped once, as though acknowledging and dismissing Bronson’s comment all at one time. “Back to business.” He stared at Bronson. “You say Nick wanted to take over Andrew’s business, and these two clowns are part of his team?”
“Looks that way to me.”
“Are they dead?”
“Don’t know.” Bronson massaged his temple. “I hid. They fought.”
With stoop-shoulders, Larry trudged to where Nick lay. “As long as Andrew is my boss, nobody betrays us.” He raised the gun and pulled the trigger. “Nobody.”
Bronson bit his lip, hoping he looked scared instead of shocked.
Larry headed for the bouncer’s body and even though he looked dead, Larry still shot him. He did the same to the giant. “That solves that problem,” Larry put the gun down and faced Bronson. “Do we still have a deal?”
“Yeah.” Bronson was quick to answer. “I definitely plan to use Andrew’s services.”
“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”
Bronson straightened up. “Mike and I—we better get goin’. Looks like you have other business to tend to tonight. Maybe tomorrow, we can work out the details.”
Larry nodded. “Yes, definitely tomorrow.”
Bronson and Mike headed out the door, but Larry blocked their way. “About tonight, what just happened …”
“I didn’t see a thing. Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” Bronson looked at Mike. “And you?”
Mike shook his head. “No, nothing at all.”
Larry stepped aside. “Good. Make sure it stays that way.”
48
The evening sun had dipped down to kiss the horizon, turning the valley mauve. The sky shined with shades of bright reds mixed with streaks of orange, fading yellows, and deep blues. Under normal circumstances, Bronson would have admired the sunset. But for now, all he wanted was to get far away from the mansion. He inwardly said a small thank you as Mike left the long, winding driveway and merged onto the two-lane road which led to the main highway heading back to Austin.
Once they had made that first turn, Mike accelerated. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”
Bronson told him.
Mike listened quietly. He stopped at the stop sign and turned left, merging with the heavy traffic heading to Austin. “Continue.”
Bronson did.
As Mike listened, he glanced at the rearview mirror. “That’s one heck of a dog you have there. You said she’s got police training?”
“The previous owner, now dead, was a hermit. There’s no way to know, but I’m pretty sure she must have.”
Mike’s glance once again drifted to the rearview mirror. “You lucked out.”
“In more ways than one.”
Mike slowed down as he approached the red traffic light. They had reached the city limits. “Meaning?”
“One, Honey saved me, and two, Nick made me but failed to tell Larry. I have no idea how he figured it out, but I’m sure if he had told about his suspicions, we’d both be dead now.”
“True. Maybe even Honey too.” Mike readjusted the rearview mirror.
Honey barked.
Mike’s sight drifted her way. “I thought you said she was a Basenji and can’t bark.”
“She skipped that chapter in the Basenji instruction book.”
Mike shook his head and half-smiled.
“Maybe she’s not a full-blooded Basenji,” Bronson said. “All I know is that she seldom barks.”
Mike remained quiet as he focused on the rearview mirror.
Bronson looked out the side mirror. A pair of headlights glowed behind them. “Do you think we’re bein’ followed?”
“We’ll find out in just a second.” He made a right turn and drove around the block. The car followed at a discreet distance. “Looks like we have a tail. What do you think we should do about it?”
Bronson’s site remained glued to the car. As it went under the street light, Bronson caught a glimpse of it. To Bronson’s right, he saw a sign for a liquor store. “Pull in there.”
Mike slowed down. “What? Why?”
“Whoever is driving behind us has a fancy car. A red Porsche, I believe.”
“Yeah, so?”
“Chances are it’s one of Andrew’s men. That bein’ the case, we don’t want them to think we’re suspicious of anythin’. If we stop at the liquor store and buy a bottle, they’ll think we had meant to do that all along. They won’t know we spotted them. Let them follow us to the motel. We can deal with them there if necessary.”
“Makes sense to me.” Mike turned into the small parking lot. “I’ll stay in the car and watch them. You go in and make the purchase.”
“What do you want me to get?”
Mike shrugged. “Couldn’t care less.”
Bronson nodded. Behind them, the Porsche parked across the street and turned off its lights. Bronson stepped out of the car and without looking back headed inside. He purchased two beers and returned to the car. “They’re still there,” Bronson said as he climbed into the passenger seat.
“Yep.” Mike pulled out of the parking lot and headed directly to the hotel.
The Porsche pulled in behind him.
* * *
“Now what?” Mike asked Bronson once they had stepped inside their hotel room.
“Now we take Honey and our beers and sit outside on those benches I saw in the entryway and drink our beers.”
“That’s a good way to unwind.” Mike grabbed the beers. “But knowing you, this has nothing to do with unwinding. What’s going on?”
“If I’m readin’ this right, the Porsche guys were sent to toss our room. They want to make sure we are who we say we are, and if we are, we have no plans to betray them. That means they’re getting suspicious. If we’re goin’ to pull this through, we’d better hurry. We’re runnin’ out of time.”
49
The soft swish of the wind brought on a cool breeze that chilled both Bronson and Mike, but still, they sat sipping their beers. The last thing they wanted was to head back to their room and catch the men snooping through their belongings.
Honey had rolled herself into a ball and rested by Bronson’s feet. “Smart dog,” Bronson said. “At least she’s warm,”
“Wish we could do the same. Or maybe the wind could stop blowing.” Mike rubbed his arms.
“Me, too, buddy. Me too.” Bronson wished he had thought to bring a light jacket.
“We need something that is going to set the ball rolling,” Mike said.
“How about we tell Andrew that I got a call from one of my men back in Columbia? He told me the Columbian government is moving extra fast, and if we want to get any of those treasures out of Columbia, we need to do it like yesterday.”
Mike set his beer down and nodded. “That should ignite a fire under them. Soon as the deal goes down, we, along with Pablo’s help, will arrest them all, and this thing will finally be over.” He picked up his beer and took a long gulp. “At least this part will end. The hard part—facing Adela and everyone else …” His voice faded as he drew a deep breath.
Bronson patted Mike’s shoulder. They both knew what lay ahead. The best thing was to change the subject. Bronson took a swig of beer and wished it was coffee instead. At least that would be warmer. “It’s settled, then. First thing tomorrow mornin’, we
’ll make the call.”
“Do you think it’s safe to return to the room now?”
Bronson glanced at his watch. Almost an hour had passed. “Yeah, but you realize the room might not be safe anymore.”
“You’re talking about them planting bugs in the room? Think they’ll really do that?”
“I would if I were them.”
“I agree. Let’s sit here a bit longer while I report to Special Agent Pablo. I need to catch him up.”
Bronson leaned back on the seat and reached for the beer.
* * *
Bronson expected to find a mess in the room: drawers emptied, bed covers pulled down to the floor, suitcases emptied and its contents scattered all over the floor. Instead, he and Mike walked into a room that was just as they had left it.
Bronson glanced at the top dresser drawer. It was open a fraction of an inch. He switched his sight from the dresser to Mike who was staring at him. “Dang! I must have left my phone downstairs. I’m goin’ to get it. Want to tag along?”
“Yeah, sure. I can use the walk.” Once out in the hallway, Mike said, “Were we wrong? Do you think they actually came?”
Bronson nodded. “They were here all right.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“I left the top dresser drawer opened exactly one inch. It’s still open, but not the entire inch.”
“Smart move.”
“On my behalf or theirs?”
“Both, I guess. You for thinking of that, and they for leaving everything just as they found it—including a partially open drawer.”
They reached the elevators. The opposite wall had a door that led to the stairs. “Which do we use?”
Mike pointed to the stairs. “We need the exercise.”
“I was afraid you’d say that.”
Mike shrugged, opened the door, and started down the stairs.
Bronson followed. “You realize what this means?”
“That we’re dealing with a bunch of smart outlaws?”
“Is that how you’d categorize Andrew’s men?”
Mike stopped halfway down the stairs. “No, not really.” He slapped his forehead. “Shiiit!—as you would say. Andrew isn’t the leader. There’s someone above him.”
“My thoughts exactly. Any idea who?”
Mike resumed the descent. “I have a candidate, but I want to hear what you think first.”
“The guy following us drove a Porsche. Obviously a rich guy. Andrew is tight with the senator’s son. From what we heard, Andrew spends a lot of time with him. My bet is on the senator’s son.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“If that’s the case, what’s our next step?”
They reached the bottom floor. Mike opened the door that led to the lobby and stepped through. “I’m a police detective, which basically means that I’m pretty far down the ladder. If I go against these people, things can get real messy real fast. It can even get out of control.”
“Are you sayin’ you’re quitting?”
“No, far from that. I’m saying I don’t want to drag you through this. You’re free to go home.”
“No way, buddy. We’re partners.”
Mike’s grin spread from ear to ear. “You sure?”
“Never been more sure in my life.”
“In that case, our priority is to confirm our theory. Any ideas how?”
“Yeah, let’s find the driver of the Porsche. That will tell us a lot.” Bronson looked at the door leading to the stairs. “Let’s take the elevator back up.”
“Excellent idea.”
“First thing we do when we get back to our room is search for a bug. But even if we don’t find one, let’s assume there’s one and not say anythin’ we don’t want them to hear.”
“I’m with you.” They headed toward the elevator.
* * *
Mike and Bronson searched the room twice before Mike found the bug hidden on the inside of the lampshade. They had missed it the first time because of the unique way the intruder had concealed it.
Both agreed to let it be and use it to their advantage.
50
Bronson used the mirror in the main room rather than the one in the bathroom to shave. This way, whoever was at the other end of the bug could hear him better. “I tell ya, Mike, Manuel wasn’t a happy camper when he called last night.”
“So you said, but you didn’t say what he was so uptight about.”
“He thinks I’m takin’ too long to set things up. Seems the Columbian government is movin’ at incredible speed to retrieve those treasures. Manuel thinks it might be too late for us to sneak any out.”
“If that’s the case, what’s our next move?”
“That’s just it. We don’t have an alternative. We either get this done within a day or two or we lose everythin’. I certainly don’t want that to happen.” Bronson paused for a brief moment. “You know Andrew a lot better than I know him. Do you think he can expedite things fast enough to meet our deadline?”
Mike gave Bronson thumbs-up. “He has a lot of power. I know that for sure. But enough? We’ll see.”
Bronson returned the thumbs-up symbol. “Why don’t we get some breakfast and then contact him? If we’re lucky, he can start makin’ the arrangements. See how long it takes him to set things up. Then dependin’ on what he says is what we do.”
* * *
Half-way through their meal, Bronson’s phone bleeped. He looked at the caller I.D. then up at Mike. “It worked. That’s Andrew on the phone.”
“Go for it.” Mike dipped a piece of toast in the egg yolk and ate it.
“Bentley here.”
“It’s Andrew—Andrew Beauregard.”
“Good to hear from you. How can I help you?”
“I have wonderful news. I just got off the phone, and I’ve made all the necessary arrangements. We are good to go.”
“Oh really? That is indeed wonderful news.” Bronson flashed Mike the okay symbol.
Mike nodded and smiled.
“When is this goin’ down?” Bronson asked.
“We can do it as early as five PM tomorrow, but we need to finalize the details first. You and Mike should come over so we can work things out,” Andrew said.
“Sounds like a plan. We’ll be there in what? An hour? Forty-five minutes?” Bronson sought Mike’s approval.
Mike mouthed the word sure.
“I’ll see you then.” Andrew disconnected.
Bronson returned the cell to his pocket. “Andrew said he could be ready to go tomorrow as early as five PM. What do you think?”
“I’m thinking that working under such a tight deadline might cause Andrew to be a bit careless. If so, he’ll let his guard down. If he’s the real leader, we’ll find out soon enough. But if he isn’t, we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”
“Can we rely on Pablo to help us?”
“Not on this. He was clear about that. Once we’re sure we know who is who, we set up everything. Once the deal goes down, that’s when Pablo and the rest of the FBI agents come storming in. All Pablo is asking of us right now is to keep him informed.”
“Which you have.”
Mike nodded. “Which I have.”
Bronson crossed his fingers. “Hopefully, the next time you call him is to report that all is set.”
“Looks like we have a little over twenty-four hours to try to find the answer.”
“In that case, let’s get a move.”
* * *
At the opposite end of the restaurant’s dining room, two men each wearing Windsor Base Sharkskin three-piece-suits sat quietly eating their breakfast. Neither looked at Bronson nor Mike or made any attempt to draw attention to themselves. In spite of the extra-expensive suits, they seemed to blend into the crowd.
As soon as Mike and Bronson went to pay their bill, the two men wiped their mouths, pushed their plates away, left a one-hundred-dollar bill on the table, and followed the detective and
his friend out.
51
“One of my household staff will bring pastries and coffee any minute now.” Andrew perched on the edge of the couch. “Would you care for anything else?”
Bronson took a seat on one of the twin beige leather chairs Andrew indicated. “Yes, the details please, so I can call my men back in Columbia.”
“All in good time. Let’s enjoy some refreshments first.” Andrew’s glance drifted toward Mike. “Would you care for anything else?”
Mike flopped down on the other beige leather chair. “No, that’s plenty. We just got back from eating.”
The maid entered, carrying a tray filled with various flavors of Danish, a pot of coffee, plates, cream and sugar, spoons, and napkins. She set it down on the chrome-and-glass coffee table.
“Close the door behind you,” Andrew told her as she headed out.
“Yes, sir.”
“Before we get down to business, do either of you gentlemen have any questions for me?”
They were interrupted by another knock on the door.
“Larry, is that you?” Andrew raised his voice.
“Yep.” The door whisked open and Larry stormed in. He nodded at Mike and Bronson and occupied the space next to Andrew.
The coffee’s rich aroma enticed Bronson’s nostrils. Even though he had had two cups of coffee during breakfast, he poured himself a cup. After all, there was no such thing as too much coffee.
“I hope you’re enjoying your stay here, Mr. Bentley.” Andrew reached for a Danish and took a bite.
“I am, except for one thing.”
Andrew’s eyes widened. “And what is that?”
“I have this thing for luxury sports coupes.” Bronson stirred his coffee. “I thought when I got to the rich part of the Texas hill country, I’d see plenty. But I haven’t even seen one. You wouldn’t have one locked in the garage or some other place, would you?”
