Malice in Mexico

by Gayle Wigglesworth

  And when she first met Jack she was mostly just annoyed with him, but then, somehow she became interested. When they went their separate ways she never expected to see him again, so she was very surprised to meet up with him again in Washington D.C. and then again in Venice; it was like kismet. By that time she knew there was some strong connection between them and was waiting for the next meeting. Meanwhile she would periodically get an unsigned postcard to remind her he was thinking of her.

  She abruptly cut off the water in the shower, realizing time was passing and the guys were waiting dinner for her. She donned fresh underwear and selected a pair of khaki pants and a cotton sweater from the little pile of clothes Jack had brought, slipped on the sandals she had been wearing and towel dried her hair. She was ready to eat.

  Tia, Teddy and Jeff’s valued housekeeper, had done herself proud with the groaning table holding charbroiled chicken, a salad made of chunks of tomato, avocado, sliced red onion on a bed of lettuce and flavored with cilantro, a pot of spicy chili beans and a corn pudding casserole, all accompanied by lots of homemade tortillas. Jeff and Jack had been well into their beers when she appeared and at her nod, Jeff brought another one for her, to the table. For a while there was no sound, but the occasional crunch and unconscious sigh as they enjoyed Tia’s art in the kitchen.

  Finally, Claire could eat no more. She was toying with the little mound of the delicious corn pudding she still had on her plate, but finally conceded her stomach wouldn’t hold another bite. So now she could ply Jack with all the questions she had.

  But before she could voice the first one, Jack started talking. “Claire, Jeff and I were talking while we were waiting for you, and we both agree it wouldn’t be wise for you to stay alone at the Pruitts’ house.” Jack held up his hands to ward off her immediate protest. “Now wait just a minute, think about it. There have been two break-ins there just since we’ve been here. We don’t know where Kathleen is, or Graves, for that matter. We don’t think it’s safe.

  “So Jeff suggested you stay here until you leave. He’ll drive you over to pack up your things and when it’s time to go to the airport he’s going to take you.”

  She didn’t like imposing on Jeff, but she had to agree. She wasn’t sure how well she would sleep at the Pruitts’, where she would probably be jumping at every sound in the night. “Oh, Jeff, that’s so nice of you, but that’s way too much trouble.” Claire looked at him, her appreciation of his generosity showing on her face.

  “Actually, I’m happy to have company Claire. It’s too quiet here with Teddy gone.” Then he grinned. “And it will defuse Teddy’s anger when he finds out what happened as soon as he left town. Because he’ll feel responsible, you know. He’ll expect me to take care of you.”

  “He’s not responsible for us,” Claire protested weakly. She looked at Jack, a guilty expression on her face. “I guess I should have listened to you, Jack. We shouldn’t have tried to take a vacation. Something always seems to happen when I go traveling.”

  “It’s weird, isn’t it? And when you asked if I thought it was starting again after Raphael’s accident and Helen Marie was hurt in that break in, I, like a fool, told you it didn’t have anything to do with us. But now I think it did. I think it was all connected, because while we may not have recognized Guiness, for sure, he recognized us. And he must have thought there was a reason we were here. And he obviously thought we were a danger to his plans.”

  Jack paused and they all looked at each other. Jack said what they were all thinking. “Who would have believed that you would find and then buy one of their frogs made of cocaine?”

  Claire nodded. “That’s uncanny, and I wouldn’t have even noticed them if Jeff hadn’t given us a tour of his studio and shown his prototypes to us.”

  “And I seldom show my studio. But you were Vern and Mike’s friend. And I liked you right away, so I guess I just wanted to show off. I had no idea I was contributing to a chain of events which were leading you right into danger.” Jeff looked stricken.

  “Can you imagine what they said when they found out you had one of their valuable frogs?” Jack said, a bit of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

  “Oh, they must have thought we took it on purpose. No wonder they were going crazy. They thought we knew something. I think that’s called guilty conscience,” Claire said, thinking about the strange events leading up to their late night visit to the pottery.

  “If they had just ignored it, we would have never gone back; they wouldn’t have needed to try to eliminate us. We wouldn’t have seen Kathleen driving that truck which tried to run us down,” Jack added.

  Jeff joined in, “I wouldn’t have heard about the frogs and decided I had to check out the pottery.”

  “We would have never discovered what they were doing?” Jack said somberly. “We would have never known Graves was Guiness and that he was hiding out in San Miguel.”

  Claire looked up in surprise. “It was never anything we did, was it? It was all because he recognized us. Oh, somehow knowing that makes me feel a little better about it. But it doesn’t help poor Raphael or Helen Marie though. They were innocent victims and, unlike us, they paid an awful price.”

  The three of them sat there staring glumly at each other, remembering Raphael would never have another meal, and Helen Marie was still in pain.

  “And one more thing I didn’t tell you. Late this afternoon we learned that a truck carrying a load of ceramic black frogs was stopped at the border near McAllen in Texas.”

  Jeff and Claire looked at him with eager anticipation.

  “It seems one of the drivers had some marijuana in his carryall behind the seat in the cab and the dogs picked up the scent right away. While they were searching the truck they received the bulletin we sent out about Graves, Kathleen and the coca negra. Somehow they were able to connect all the dots. So now they have a truckload of product, which is never going to get to the streets. And while the address on the invoices is fictitious, the driver knows where he was going. They’ll get it out of him sooner or later. It’s the only way he’ll save himself. And when he decides to make a deal, we’ll know where they process the drug on the other side.”

  Tia interrupted them with offers of coffee and Jeff suggested they move out to the patio and have coffee near the pool.

  The sky was velvety black and the stars were out in full force. Sitting here in the quiet, the sounds of the crickets around them, the scent of the many flowers wafting on the evening breeze, Claire could feel the tension draining out of her shoulders.

  The shrill ring of the phone shattered her mood. Tia brought the phone out. “It’s for Senor Jack.” She handed the phone to Jack and disappeared back into the kitchen.

  Jack put the phone down on the table and said, “That’s my ride. I’ve got to go now.”

  Claire’s heart fluttered, but she smiled bravely. “I’ll walk you out.” She waited until Jack and Jeff shook hands and exchanged words, and then she walked beside him as he picked up his backpack from the living room and headed for the front gate.

  There in the shadow of the gates he wrapped his arms around her for a toe-curling kiss.

  “Don’t forget, you’re coming back. And try to be in one piece.”

  He nodded. “I promise. I’m going to get the bastard, Claire. I’m going to make sure he will never threaten us again.”

  She hugged him. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

  Then just before he pulled the gate closed behind him, “Maybe you better not take any more trips for a while, do you think?”

  She laughed, shutting the gate behind him. She stood there listening to the sounds of car doors closing, and then the car drove off and the silence returned. She sighed, and went back to join Jeff at the pool.

  CHAPTER 17

  Phil pulled the car over to the curb and put it in park while they looked around. He pointed to the building on the corner of the next block. Everything was quiet.

  A dark figure e
merged from the shadow of the building beside them and slipped into the backseat whispering hoarsely, “The girl came in by taxi a few hours ago. So now there are three inside. Our guys are down the block on the other side. Dr. Nose is around the corner.”

  “What’s the plan?” Manny was nervous. He always was just before something this big went down.

  “We’ll all drive into the parking lot in front. The guys will go in through the door. Angelo and his guys have the back where there’s a back door leading to a little alley. They’ll go in that way when they hear the commotion start in the front,” Phil explained calmly. He had been over and over this plan already. “Roberto is driving Dr. Nose. They’ll pull in when we do. We won’t enter the building until we get the all clear signal from inside.

  “Everyone is ready. Just waiting for you to say the word.”

  “Well, okay then,” Manny said tersely.

  The man in the back poked a number into his phone and put it to his ear.

  “Wait!” Manny barked. “What the hell? Who is that?” Manny was sitting forward peering through the darkness as several dark SUV’s pulled up along the front and side of the building they were watching.

  “Oh, shit! Let’s get out of here.” Manny’s voice was shrill with panic. “Tell the guys to scram. This doesn’t look good and we don’t want to be caught in the middle of whatever is coming down.”

  The man in the backseat spoke tersely into the phone, made another call and folded the phone and slipped it in his pocket.

  Phil put the car in reverse, backing quickly down the street, the lights on the car still dark. He turned sharply, paused long enough for the man in the backseat to get out and slip back into the shadows, and then put the car in drive and took off toward the Eastex Freeway.

  “Those guys were Feds. I know them when I see them. How did they know? How in the hell did they find the place when it was so hard for us?” Manny muttered.

  Then when they were on the freeway heading south Manny said, “If they had come an hour later they would have caught us in possession.” He shuddered, perhaps imagining his house, car, and all his assets impounded by the DEA. “That was too close!”

  Phil turned into the circular drive and pulled up to the front of Manny’s house.

  “Come on in, Phil. We need a drink while we think about this.”

  They started up the stairs to the front door when a soft voice came from the darkness behind them and froze them in their tracks.

  “Just came by to thank you personally for the flowers, Mr. Hillerman. The whole family was touched by your generous expression of sympathy for our sorrow.”

  They turned around slowly to see Gilberto standing near the bottom of the steps, a sardonic grin on his face, his eyes shadowed, holding an AK-47 in a very businesslike manner.

  “Hey, Gilberto, wait a minute...” Manny started, while Phil reached for the gun under his coat.

  The fire spewing from the gun barrel abruptly halted Manny’s words. The pain probably didn’t last long.

  * * *

  “Where is Carlos?” Kathleen impatiently looked at her watch again while George and Gary continued their game of gin rummy. “And I don’t understand why he doesn’t answer his phone,” she said with frustration.

  “There could be a hundred reasons. He could have had a flat. You know how bad some of the roads are. He could have pulled over to the side to sleep for a few hours. It’s a long boring drive. You know that. His phone battery may have gone dead. Or maybe he’s just between cell towers and can’t get a connection. Calm down Kathleen. He’ll be here.” George kept his voice even and low, trying to sooth her.

  “And there could be a million reasons for me to worry. You forget what a mess I left things in down there,” she retorted crossly. “I’m just going to the front to see if he’s coming up the street.” She headed through the door into the darkened showroom.

  George raised his eyebrows at Gary and shrugged, but suddenly Kathleen was back. The air was charged with electricity.

  “There’s someone in front,” Kathleen whispered hoarsely, heading for their gun stash.

  George jumped up from the table so fast his chair fell over with a clatter. Gary was right behind them. They picked up their guns and helped themselves to extra ammo clips.

  “Is it Hillerman’s goons?” George asked.

  “I don’t know. I saw several dark SUV’s. Could you have been followed after your delivery?”

  “No, I’m certain of it. Gary tailed me and saw there was no one behind me.”

  “Well, someone is out there.”

  “Hell, let’s just get out.” Gary headed for the back door.

  “Stop! Don’t be a fool, Gary. If they’re out in front they’ll be waiting out in back too. No one is that stupid.”

  Gary looked at her a moment and then nodded sheepishly.

  “Let’s put together a little surprise for them in the laboratory. If it is Manny’s guys, we might be able to do enough damage to send them home licking their wounds.” She headed for the door in the far wall.

  The lab was dimly lit by an exit sign over the back door and a security light over the door leading to the loading dock. She pointed to the stack of drums containing the chemicals they used in turning the little black frogs back into white powdered cocaine. Gary nodded. He crawled into a space behind them which gave him a clear shot at the door to the loading area.

  Kathleen quickly scanned the rest of the area and pointed to an area behind the door they just entered which also had a clear view of the door to the loading dock. And she headed a little further to the back of the space where she could cover both stations where George and Gary were hidden, as well as the back door leading to the alley running behind the building.

  And then they waited. It was very quiet. Now Kathleen was glad Carlos was late. She would have hated to risk losing a whole truckload of raw product. And she hoped whatever delayed him would delay him a while longer.

  ATTENTION!

  ATTENTION!

  THIS IS THE POLICE!

  EXIT THE BUILDING NOW, WITH YOUR HANDS OVER YOUR HEAD.

  THIS IS THE POLICE!

  “Stay where you are,” she yelled at Gary when she saw him poke his head out from behind the stack of drums. And she let go with a couple of rounds of bullets to emphasize her instructions as well as to alert the police they wouldn’t be docilely exiting with their hands over their head.

  Police? How in the hell had they gotten on the police’s radar. It hadn’t even occurred to her those black SUV’s meant the authorities were moving in. She began frantically examining their plan, looking for the flaw in their scheme. Somehow the police were on to them.

  It couldn’t have been her uncle. No, even under torture he wouldn’t divulge their plan or the whereabouts of their laboratory. No one else at the pottery knew precisely where they were located, only vaguely somewhere in Houston. And all the bills of lading and invoices had a fictitious address for this very reason. Only Carlos knew.

  Carlos! Damn his soul to hell, she thought viciously. That prick must have given them up. She hoped it was worth it to him, she thought grimly, because if she got out of this she would be making sure he paid for his treachery.

  The noise was deafening when one of the SUV’s armed with special bumper guards crashed through the loading dock’s rolling overhead door. The double doors into the lab sprang open and, while they didn’t see the shooters, bullets poured in through the opening. At the same time some kind of battering ram was launched against the steel door in the back. The back door was resisting and George, Gary and Kathleen united in spraying the door in the front, discouraging any attempt at entry that way. No one noticed the liquid seeping out of holes in the barrels of chemicals caused by the zinging bullets bouncing around the room.

  Kathleen was focused on the front for now when a sudden flash of deja vu brought to mind that Sunday so long ago when her mother and sister were caught in Granny and Pap’s house with no possibility
of escape. She wondered if her sister felt as trapped, as determined, and as charged up then, as she felt now.

  Two things happened at once. The battering ram finally broke down the back door which allowed a cross draft to sweep through the laboratory at the same time a bullet ricocheting off the concrete floor caused a spark which ignited the acetone spreading in an ever widening pool. It wasn’t exactly an explosion, but the resulting fireball was so fierce and intense blowing through the laboratory, that it hurtled those men crowding around both doors trying to gain entry back into their colleagues behind them. Many were badly burned.

  The fire was immediately out of control and went to four alarms before the fire department was able to contain it. The original building, the one next door and half of the building behind it across the alley were a total loss. The Fire Marshall told the DEA it would be a while before the ashes would be cool enough so they could sift through the rubble for evidence. Most likely there would be little left.

  The police and DEA were left trying to explain to their superiors what went so wrong. How their drug raid had caused so much havoc and they didn’t even end up with any suspects to prosecute.

  * * *

  Claire didn’t sleep well. She was very tired, but every time she closed her eyes too many disturbing thoughts crowded her head. Finally in the wee hours of the morning she slept, and then she found it very difficult to get up. In fact, it was almost ten o’clock when she awoke and found she had slept a good portion of the morning away.

  Still she didn’t rush; there didn’t seem to be any point. And after her shower she dressed in the remaining clean clothes Jack had brought yesterday, thanking her lucky stars that the ladies who had come to clean up the mess at the Pruitt’s on Monday had also done their laundry. So Jack had found clean clothes to bring. Finally ready, she headed for the kitchen area, looking for coffee.