Mercury Decending (Mercury Black Authority Book 3)

by Finian Blake

  “I told you that I knew Dianne and Opal, so your little play with the maroon and red lingerie was not wasted. Anna, it also proves that you knew about them even though they died before you came out of Russia. About four years ago, I was entertaining our mutual friends when Dianne took an interest in Maria, Constanza’s sister. We set her up much like Constanza was set up today. She entertained us for a day and a half. Let me tell you that girl has a set of lungs. Constanza, your sister actually begged us to die. It is a damn good thing that this place is sound proof. We set her up in that chair.” She indicated a narrow chair against a brick wall that was highlighted by a series of spotlights. “I sat on her lap facing her while Opal and Dianne each took an end of a rope that was looped around her neck. I started to kiss her and my two companions played tug of war while I collected Maria’s last breath.” She wiped the ice cream mess in Constanta’s hair as if it was a serviette. “Much like you are going to do tonight. I promised Paul that he could have you any way that he wanted you.” Constanza tried to knock her over. Laurita had a solid grip on her hair. She shoved hard and Constanza fell on to the broken bowls with a loud scream. “You have a set of lungs, just like your sister. I look forward to listening to your screams all night long. We will be filming this with sound so don’t hold back.” Laurita turned her attention to Anna. “By the carnage I am assuming that Alex here had a large part to play in the death of Dianne and her organization. I promised him to Paul because he prefers men to women. I’m quite sure that Alex will do his share of screaming, since Paul is quite an accomplished sadist. When he finishes digging the hole we will have some fun.

  This brings me to you Anna. I could use someone with your talents. If you help me with these two, you may live.” Anna shook her head silently. “I didn’t think so.” Laurita leveled the gun at Anna.

  “Turn around and put your hands behind your back.” She produced a pair of handcuffs from under a pillow. “Dianne loved handcuffs. There must be thirty pair hidden around the room. Opal loved the screams, so we only have a few gags. You may last for weeks. I loved those two and you will pay.”

  When Laurita was only a foot from her, Anna turned around, calmly taking hold of the gun wrenching it from Laurita’s hand. Laurita must have pulled the trigger six times as Anna took the cuffs from Laurita quickly subduing her. She secured Laurita to the narrow chair that she had indicated earlier with the leather straps that were attached to the chair.

  Alex rolled over and flexed his wrists finding that they were not the magician’s cuffs that he believed them to be. “I was busy while you were shopping I found five guns and unloaded them while you and Laurita were shopping, but what is with these hand cuffs?”

  “They are the real thing and I am going to leave them on until you assure me that you will not try and protect Laurita as you promised Juan.” Anna’s voice left no doubt that she was serious. “I know the value that you put on your promises and this sadistic bitch dies tonight.” It took a few minutes for Alex to formulate his answer.

  “I promised to save a young woman that was concerned about her father and not this sadist. She is the one that voided the promise. I will not interfere with you but I will not raise my hand against her.” There was a definite sound of regret in Alex’s voice. Anna stepped behind Alex unlocking the handcuffs.

  “I will do what needs to be done,” Anna whispered in his ear.

  Alex went straight to business, “I will get the other guns reloaded. Be sure that you remove Laurita’s shoes they have done enough damage. Please see how Constanza is doing.”

  Anna turned to Constanza, “You are going to need a lot of help, your sister was killed in a most horrible manner, and the killer was bragging about it to your face.”

  Alex headed for the door, “Well at least we can tell you that two of the killers are dead, and the other two will follow shortly. I am going out to see how Paul is doing with the digging. I would hate to interrupt him before he is finished. We will need to fill that hole.” Alex turned back to Anna. “We need to keep Laurita alive until we extract certain information. Have Constanza help by having her switch clothing with Laurita. I am working on an idea. Juan was private and not prone to having company, so we might be able to pass Constanza off for Laurita. He kept his business life and his personal life separate. When you question Laurita, find out where the stashes for Dianne and Opal are.” Anna allowed Constanza to put her maid’s uniform on Laurita. When they were finished, Alex sent Anna into the house with orders to clean up Constanza and prepare her for the next step. She was a similar body type to Laurita, but there were some differences they were two years in age apart, one inch in height, one dress size off and five pounds in weight off. The big difference was in grooming since Laurita had the advantage of money. Anna’s instructions were to come as close as possible in making her a look like Laurita.

  Alex looked out at Paul in the garden. He was only down to three feet since he was making the hole extra wide for two people. The dirt in the area was already disturbed from an earlier grave, so the digging was easy. He calculated that Paul had two more hours to dig. Laurita was furious with Alex.

  “You promised my father that you would protect me.” Alex did not take his promise to her father lightly, but under the circumstances an exception was easy to concede.

  “If you were only attacking me, I could ignore it. When you attack my family, I can no longer ignore things. I was happy enough to let things go, but your treachery warrants an exception.” Alex continued cleaning up while Laurita ranted on. He moved all of the pillows to one side of the room, removing a serious amount of weapons and bondage equipment patting down each pillow to make sure that there was nothing hidden. After an hour Anna brought Constanza back to the pool house. Anna had done her hair and makeup dressing her in a fresh set of lingerie. Constanza took the Rhinestone shoes and raked Laurita on both thighs with the toes of the shoes while Laurita howled with pain. She took the ice cream mess and piled more of it in her hair so that it covered her face. It was impossible to tell the difference between her and Constanza’s earlier mess without a critical look. Anna didn’t want to waste any more time.

  “Alex, I will interrogate her to get the stuff that we usually go for, plus Opal and Dianne’s stashes. I am betting that she was into blackmail much like Dianne and Opal were. There may be some stuff in that collection that we must be careful with. Paul has one more hour of digging.” It only took Anna ten minutes to find out where the stashes were, and where the keys were hidden, since Laurita wanted no part of the shredder shoes that she was so proud of. Alex went to work looking for the stashes. He found some more information that MI would be interested in, fifty thousand Pounds in cash, two hundred thousand in gold and some blackmail information of a highly sensitive nature on some prominent figures some of whom were in the news on a worldwide basis. Laurita tattooed the account numbers and passwords high on her thighs so that she would not forget them. After some more pressure, Laurita revealed that only Maria was buried here. Anna went out to the hole. She tossed a plastic hard side suit case to Paul.

  “Grab any bones that you find and we will move them somewhere else. Laurita does not want this place to look like a cemetery. Paul did as instructed not thinking about what he had just heard in the pool house. He was great at following instructions but not too swift at independent thought.

  “I am going to need a ladder to get out of here.”

  “Ok, I will be right back.” After a few minutes went by, a figure in a maid’s uniform was prodded to the edge of the hole wearing the opaque sunglasses that Dianne preferred to use on her victims. The maid’s hands were cuffed behind her back, her legs were bleeding from the shredder shoes and she was gagged. Anna cuffed her ankles together at the edge of the hole pushing her face first into the center.

  “Use your shovel!” Sweat was stinging Paul’s eyes and he swung hard with the shovel nearly severing the head. A second swing completed the job.

  “Give me the ladder!�
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  “Stand back.” Paul moved to the opposite end of the hole. Constanza appeared at the edge of the hole with Laurita’s Glock nine in her hands. She kept pulling the trigger until the gun was empty. She hit Paul several times, but failed to score a mortal wound. He was curled up in a ball in the mud, but Constanza felt no pity for the man that tortured and killed her sister. Alex loaded another clip so that she could finish the job and Constanza fired until the gun was once again empty. The three intended victims filled in the hole using a bag of quick lime that Paul had for the first layer over the bodies which would help break down any organic material. The trio then began to shovel in dirt, spraying in water to activate the quick lime and eliminate the air pockets as they worked. Alex kept Constanza working hard on a shovel in order to tire her out so that she would lose the energy that the adrenaline had built up in her. When they were done Alex handed Constanza the suit case with her sister’s bones in it.

  “We will find a proper place to bury her,” Alex’s pronouncement caused Constanza’s legs to fold up and she sunk to the ground crying. The three went in the house with Anna taking Constanza in the kitchen while Alex went to the garage. He went to Juan’s older Mercedes pulling out the back seat. There were British Pounds stacked on the right side and German Marks were stacked on the left side. Alex removed the cash. Next he took a wrench and removed the back rest of the rear seat finding bundles of hundred dollar bills taped to the back. When he was satisfied Alex loaded all of his finds in a trash bag dragging it into the house. Next he went out to the pool house retrieving the stash that Dianne and Opal had left behind. When he had collected everything in the dining room Alex started to count the money separating it by country. With the gold coins there was just short of eight hundred thousand dollars from the car alone.

  Alex noticed the aroma of Catalan cooking. Anna walked in the room carrying a tureen filled with a hot fish soup.

  “Constanza was beginning to fold up, so I put her to work doing what she knows best.” Anna said as she pulled a chair out for Constanza. As they dined Constanza reminisced tearfully about her sister also telling some stories that made them all laugh. Anna intended on keeping her busy for the remainder of the evening. She also needed to find out what Constanza’s feelings were before they started the next phase. Alex thought it was time to try a sincere offer.

  “First thing in the morning I will see if we can get Maria buried in hallowed ground”

  “My family is Catholic,” Constanza smiled weakly. “I would greatly appreciate anything that you could do. It would be a great comfort to have my sister in hallowed ground, but how do we do this without a death certificate?”

  “I will make it my first priority in the morning. Your sister will have a first class funeral. Tonight, I must ask you for some help, for which you will be well rewarded. We need to search for evidence of other crimes.”

  Alex went upstairs to search the master suite. He had the information Anna had wrung out of Laurita finding the three safes in the panic room. There was a small lock box in side of one of the safes and Alex tried the keys on Mooney’s key ring finding the right key almost instantly. In the box was a list of stashes showing the location of several million dollars spread throughout Europe that could be accessed should a problem develop? Juan had ten such stashes and Laurita had her own stashes separate from Juan’s which she learned to set up shadowing Juan’s stashes using the same banks, so that she could visit them without raising Mooney’s suspicions. Alex moved the cash, gold and jewels from the safes down to the dining room table.

  Constanza walked through the room and let out a loud gasp.

  “You are robbing Don Garcia?” She loved the old man and hated Laurita.

  “No, we are not leaving this behind. Laurita killed your sister and she tried to kill us too, so we will take what is of use for ourselves. We will empty the house before we surrender it back to the rental company. Juan owned nothing in his own name even the furniture was rented with the house although he did own the rental company. In a few days’ time, Laurita is going to buy a ticket to Chile and go on a prolonged tour of South America. I thought that Anna explained what was going to happen.” Constanza shook her head no, so Alex started to explain.

  “Tomorrow you and Anna are going to the spa for a lady’s day and while you do that I will do some business. We will have a nice lunch and you will have your picture taken several times after which you will become somebody else and you will start a new life.” Alex decided to go slow so that Constanza would not be over whelmed. Right now, we will go upstairs and make sure that nothing valuable is discarded.” They went through all of the clothes discarding what would not fit or look right and that was two thirds of the closet. Even with this reduction the closet looked well stocked. Alex instructed the ladies to go through the pockets of all of Juan’s clothes and feel the linings of all of Juan’s coats. The three chatted while they performed their inspection. Old everyday clothing was inspected especially the old coats. All of the scraps of paper were inspected and re-inspected. Old claim checks were reviewed. Juan had kept his habits from the old days and they found: cigarette cases with hundreds of dollars stuffed inside, boots that had hundreds of dollars hidden inside of linings, and coats with money stuffed in the pockets. Laurita’s boots had several thousands of dollars hidden in them. They found out that Laurita had a strong business of her own. It was one AM and they agreed to start again in the morning. So far they dug out an extra a hundred thousand dollars out of the clothing. They finally stopped due to exhaustion agreeing to run their errands in the morning before resuming their search.

  Constanza and Anna dropped Alex off at the Gaudi Hotel agreeing to meet him there at one. Alex rented a business room and started to make phone calls. After the fourth call he found the man that he was looking for. He was known as the Artist. The Artist was the man that Wanda used to make Juan’s papers and he was one of the best forgers in Europe. His fee for services was out of sight, and he did not discount. When questioned about his demands, he would say, “You are receiving my discount price. Go find for me a discount Picasso or a discount Gaudi.” As luck would have it the artist had time to see them today, so Alex met him at noon instead of having lunch. The price for one set of papers was thirty thousand dollars American and the Artist was pleasantly surprised when Alex did not even blink. He opened this money belt rolling out thirty thousand.

  “I may need to get these quickly. I have to fly to Switzerland and start a few accounts.”

  “You cannot rush perfection.” Alex rolled an additional fifteen thousand out of his belt.

  “Stop by tomorrow at noon for the papers, but we will do the pictures this afternoon,” The Artist said in almost perfect English. The full history will take two weeks if we can keep it in Spain, the work will be perfect and the histories will be iron clad. Here is the address of my studio. Be there no later than two.”

  Alex met the ladies at one PM acknowledging that Constanza’s new transformation was truly amazing. Anna had made sure that she received the royal treatment. Both women looked like they were born to luxury. Taking advantage of the fact that Barcelona was a fashion center Anna had done some shopping purchasing quality clothing that fit Constanza perfectly. Alex seated both women in the back seat and played the chauffer. He parked the car next to a hotel taking a cab to the Artist’s place. Constanza brought a bag with her containing her new clothing as instructed. She had a fresh elegant style and it was clear to see that Constanza was thrilled by her new look.

  “We need a name.” The Artist smiled at Constanza. “I would like to pick your name. He caressed her face turning her in circles. He smiled at Constanza. How about Liliana Baca? You remind me of a Lilly and Baca is a common last name it is even my sister’s last name. It will be easier to make a history that way. The Artist hated to make ugly names. Constanza repeated the name several times and nodded her head. Alex was enjoying the privilege of watching an artist at work.

  “Wanda was not
exaggerating when she bragged about your work. Jeff said that you were amazing too.”

  “Do you know these people?”

  “Jeff’s fiancée Cassandra is my wife’s niece. Wanda and I go back many years. She has done a few jobs for me.”

  “Who is your sister?” The Artist turned to Anna.

  “Sarah…” The Artist held up a hand to interrupt her.

  “No, it is Seraphina. We have exchanged favors when I needed some Russian documents. They use a very unusual stock for their documents. She is quite good. Why did you come to see me?”

  Anna answered in a casual voice, in perfect Castilian Spanish, “We are in Spain, and need a Spanish artist.” Anna nodded toward Constanza. “She will be living here. We need to tutor her for her new status. Can we get some help?” The Artist wrote down a number.

  “Liliana, if you can memorize this number you may call me.” He gave Liliana a wink and a smile. “When asked, vehemently deny being an aristocrat. I have several customers that I have given titles to and they will cooperate. People love titles and are willing to pay for them. They will swear that you are some kind of countess. The Civil War muddied the waters for many a Royalist and Catalan is the perfect place for that since many noble families fled from Madrid during the civil war. When anybody asks if you have a title, just wave your finger in front of your lips shaking your head no and you will not have to lie, they will make up their own story. You will be my living work of art.” The Artist put his arm around Liliana as they walked back to the camera. “Constanza did not suit you anyway. You are more of a Lily. For these pictures I want you dressed in the best clothes that you have.” The artist showered Liliana with compliments as he worked, so that when the results were viewed she had a confident angelic expression on her face. The artist was pleased with the results. “Liliana look at these you look like an aristocrat in these pictures. Just look at the confidence in your eyes, they say that the world is yours.”