An otherworldly energy entered Ted’s body. He flung the two-hundred-pound black man over his shoulder and ran for the airplane.
Chris had the engine started and the propeller spun in a blur. Hope was in the passenger seat with James in the back. Catrina kneeled in the large cargo compartment.
“Hand him up,” she shouted.
Ted tossed Jeff into the plane and grabbed on as it started to roll. He ran a few steps alongside before he was able to pull himself up too.
He rolled into the cargo compartment and flipped onto his back, breathing hard.
Catrina slid the door closed.
Below them, the men were running onto the runway, firing at the night sky.
Catrina pushed the second red button on her little box. The small shack alongside the runway exploded, sending pieces high into the air. The men on the runway dropped to the ground.
Below them? They must have taken off. Ted raised his head to look out the window into a sea of darkness.
“Next stop, Ensenada airport,” Chris said. “Colonel Lazaro has cleared a fuel stop for us.”
“We‘re not going to Ensenada,” Ted shouted over the roar of the engine. “We need to head back to La Paz. Jeff needs medical attention.”
He felt Catrina’s hand on his arm. He turned to see tears streaming down her face.
“We don’t need a hospital, Ted,” she said wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. She’d spoken so softly he could barely hear her.
“It’s too late for Jeff, he’s gone,” she repeated.
Ted stared at her for an instant, then yelled up to Chris, “Ensenada, Chris.”
Chapter 37
East Los Angeles
Ted went through the next couple of days in a daze. Chris radioed ahead to US Customs and inspectors were waiting for them at Brown Field, just north of the border near San Diego.
US Marshalls relieved them of the fugitive James Adams, but Catrina and crew still had to answer for Jeff’s body in the cargo area.
They were separated and questioned for hours. Catrina made a call to her sometimes boyfriend, Sergeant Tom Bremen at the Seattle Police Department. He was able to pull some strings with a federal judge who owed Catrina a favor.
Eventually, the entire mess was resolved.
Chris and Catrina flew home to Seattle. Ted and Hope were picked up by Carlito, Ted’s youngest brother who drove them home to Los Angeles.
Ted didn’t have the strength to face Mama yet, so he asked Carlito to drop him off at his apartment. He would see her in the morning. Then they would make arrangements for him to fly back to Mexico City to pick up Guillermo.
He thought about Oscar? Maribel hadn’t called with an update. That can’t be good.
It’s funny, he hated cats, and yet that little bugger had wormed his way into Ted’s heart. He couldn’t imagine life without him. Oscar was his last link to Meagan. Maybe it was time for him to let that go too.
Carlito pulled Mama’s Acura up to the curb and let Ted out. Ted punched his access code into the lock and opened the glass door. He stumbled to the elevator and pushed the button.
He almost fell asleep on the ride up to his floor. When the bell chimed and the door opened, it startled him awake. He picked up his backpack and shuffled down the hall.
And there he was, a little black bundle lying on the floor, in front of Ted’s door.
Ted stared for an instant, then dropped his backpack. Oscar looked up at Ted and meowed, but didn’t move.
“Oscar, buddy.” Ted reached down and picked up the waiting cat.
“Good God.” Ted petted Oscars matted fur. “You’ve been in a fight.”
Oscar’s right ear was torn and he had multiple scabs on his blood matted coat.
“We need to get you to a vet.”
Ted turned and ran back to the elevator with his cat in his arms.
****
Seattle
Lisa sat with Jennifer and Catrina in the well-appointed conference room in the DA’s office. That little rat, Petrocelli, he always has to show how important he is. The bastard had kept them waiting for almost fifteen minutes.
“I think everything’s in order,” Petrocelli said as he entered the room. “We have Adams in custody, he waived extradition from California, and I have the papers to sign for your release, Mrs. Adams.” His smile seemed so insincere.
“I’ll take those.” Jennifer reached to intercept the folder Petrocelli offered to Lisa.
Lisa watched in silence as Jennifer read through the documents. It felt so good to be dressed in real clothes again.
She wore a blue blouse with a low neckline and a floral-print skirt that stopped just above her knees. The nylons and heels felt incredible. She was a real person again, even her hair felt clean for a change. Best of all, Kayla was waiting outside the courthouse.
“It looks all right to me,” Jennifer said. She folded the top sheet back and pushed it across the table to Lisa. “Sign at the bottom, Lisa, then we can get out of here.”
Lisa picked up the pen, and in a few strokes her ordeal was over. At last she was a free woman.
“Mom!” Kayla shouted as they exited the courthouse. She ran into Lisa’s waiting arms.
Lisa dropped to her knees and hugged her daughter. Tears flowed down her cheeks. She couldn’t speak, she just held her girl and cried.
“C’mon, Mrs. Adams.” She felt the strong masculine hand on her shoulder. “We have a car waiting.”
She looked up to see the handsome face of Harry Hardwick hovering over her.
She got to her feet and took Kayla’s hand. “Let’s go, honey. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
“The car’s in the lot down the street,” Harry said.
“I can’t thank you enough,” Lisa said. She threw her arms around Harry, then grabbed Candace in a hug too.
Jennifer and Catrina looked at each other and smiled.
“I guess that was a good call,” Catrina said, nodding her head towards Harry.
“Let’s go. Candace has a big lunch planned for us up at the house.” Harry took Lisa by the arm and led her towards the street.
Lisa couldn’t let go of Kayla’s hand. They waited for the green light, then stepped into the crosswalk.
Lisa heard the engine start, but didn’t think anything of it. Why should she? She was crossing a busy street in a major city. The black sedan jumped from the curb and flew towards them.
“No . . .” She heard Catrina scream and turned to see the big black car heading straight at her.
“Look out.” Harry shouted as he dived towards them.
He managed to get his hands on Kayla and pull her back.
Lisa saw her daughter being jerked away, then came the impact. She went flying through the air. The car never even slowed down.
****
Chris sat in his new office and surveyed his surroundings. The wall lined with bookcases full of law books made it look impressive. His diploma and license hung on one wall. He knew that as time passed, he would accumulate the trophies for that wall like in Dad’s office.
He had a window, he smiled. New associates didn’t usually get an office with a window. This was one time he didn’t regret being the boss’s son. Candace had the window office next to him; a little nepotism goes a long way. What the hell? One day, they would be running this place. They might as well get used to it.
He thought about Candace for a minute, and how much he’d hated her when she first married his father. That was long over now. She had been a great study partner in law school. He saw her at the office every day and he liked how she treated him like he was something special.
And the way she took to the little girl. Dad and Candace were planning to adopt Kayla. I guess we’ll have a new little sister, he thought.
Lisa was pronounced dead on arrival at Harbor View Medical Center. The police had no leads on the hit and run, but everyone knew it was the cartel. They just had no way to prove it.
His
reverie was interrupted by his ringing phone.
“Chris Hardwick.” He wasn’t sure how he should answer the phone, for now, that seemed to work.
“Hey, amigo,” came the familiar voice. “You see the papers yet?
“No, what are you talking about?”
“Google the San Diego Union-Tribune. I think you’ll be interested in the front page story.”
Ted didn’t bother him with useless trivia, so he keyed in the San Diego Union-Tribune in his search engine. It was the top story.
U-T Writer Nominated for Pulitzer
Special to the San Diego Union-Tribune - Special correspondent Rodolfo Trujillo of the San Diego Union-Tribune was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Journalism on Tuesday, publisher Douglas Manchester announced.
“Mr. Trujillo’s three part series on the Mexican Drug Wars broke new ground in investigative journalism,” Manchester said. Trujillo spent more than a year undercover in the war zone south of the border researching and investigating. The highlight of the series was an article on a raid on the Los Norteños drug cartel’s ranch in Senora, Mexico by rival cartel Los Conquistadores. Trujillo interviewed actual survivors of the raid, the first time any journalist has been able to speak with such survivors.
In his series, Trujillo put himself at considerable jeopardy and was able to produce evidence that has put several police officers, all the way up to the comandante of the Juarez, Mexico homicide squad, behind bars. In addition, several drug cartel lieutenants have been arrested or killed based on Trujillo’s reporting.
Evidence produced by Trujillo led to a Mexican Army raid in the early morning hours on Los Martires ranch in Baja California Sur where Arturo Valdez, also known as El Lobo, Mexico’s premier drug lord, was killed.
Juarez police chief, Richardo Lazaro said “We could not have brought these brigands to justice without the assistance of Señor Trujillo.”
“The son of a bitch.” Chris whistled. “He really made it, didn’t he?”
****
Mexico City
As the Boeing 737 settled down on final, Ted thought back on the past weeks.
He had made the big decision; he was done with the restaurant business. He never really liked it anyway. It had always been Papa’s dream and the dream had died with him. When Ted returned to LA, he planned to pack up all he owned and head back to Seattle. It was time to go home.
He’d already talked it over with Catrina. He was going back to work for her. Or rather, he would be her new partner. Flaherty & Associates was down an investigator after Jeff’s death. His presence there would help Catrina through the dark time she was experiencing.
Funny thing though, the whole Higuera family was going with him. For some unknown reason, Hope insisted that she was moving to a city she’d never seen. Seattle seemed to be calling to her.
And Mama, she couldn’t bear to have her two eldest children so far from home. She was selling El Chaparral and taking the rest of her kids north too. Hope loved the restaurant business. Mama and Hope had already made a deal to take over El Mercado, a well known Mexican restaurant in downtown Seattle, from the retiring owner once they got settled in. Ted’s younger siblings would finish high school in Washington.
Guillermo wasn’t going with them. Tío Ernesto offered to make Guillermo his partner in his garage. The Raton would learn the mechanics trade under his uncle’s watchful eye.
The big jet touched down and Ted gathered his backpack from the overhead bin. He was traveling light; he hadn’t even bothered to make a hotel reservation. He hoped he wouldn’t need one.
Tomorrow he would get Guillermo out of the hospital and bring him home, but tonight, he had more important business.
The cab took him to the Paseo de la Reforma near Chapultepec Park. He ran up the steps to the museum and down the now familiar corridor. When he got to the door, he stopped and caught his breath.
Was this really a good idea? He wondered. After all, they hardly knew each other. They lived thousands of miles apart, in different countries. But she said she had dual citizenship. She could live in the US anytime she wanted to.
Ted opened the door without knocking.
The office was empty.
“Maria?” Ted whispered.
He stood looking at the empty book shelves, the abandoned desk. He turned three hundred and sixty degrees looking for some sign, some note that Maria left for him.
He got nothing.
Stepping into the hallway, he grabbed the first person he saw, a short, heavy, middle aged cleaning woman.
“Maria Gonzalez,” he asked. “Where is she? What happened?”
“Maria, she gone. She moved.”
“Where to?”
“I no no. She just gone.”
Ted’s head swirled. He missed his chance. How would he ever find her? She could be anywhere in the world.
Baja. La Paz. She said she grew up in LaPaz. He’d start his search there.
****
Seattle
September can be a glorious month in Seattle. After a week of rain, the sun returned and the leaves turned brilliant reds and yellows. The days were short, the nights cool and Ted could feel football in the air.
After several horrible seasons, his Huskies had a new head coach and things were turning around. He was looking forward to seeing them in a bowl game come December.
And the Seahawks. Man oh man. The Seahawks. After their Super Bowl season, they were on top of the world.
Ted settled into his new job at Flaherty & Associates. Mama, Hope and the kids were ensconced in a lovely Queen Anne house with a magnificent view of downtown. El Mercado would re-open any day now.
Mexico can be damned hot in the summer. Ted had spent the better part of two months combing the blazing desserts and coastal resort towns looking for Maria. She had disappeared without a trace.
He often thought of what could have been. In his melancholy, he could picture Bogey saying, “We’ll always have Mexico City.”
Ted shook his head and pulled the tray of nachos from the oven.
“Kick off in five minutes,” Chris yelled from the living room.
“How’s your beer?” Ted asked.
He looked through the pass through to see his sister snuggled up on the sofa with his best friend. How did he feel about that? What would Papa think? Chris was his other half. He would put his life on the line for him, but his sister? They would definitely need to work out some ground rules.
He heard a loud bark from the hallway. What the hell?
Oscar, who had been cuddled up on the breakfast bar supervising Ted’s cooking, sprang from his comfy bed and flew through the apartment. He bounded off the recliner, ricocheted off of Hope’s head and flew to the top shelf of the book case.
“EEEEE,” Hope screamed, grabbing for her hair.
The door bell rang.
Ted took the three steps to the door and opened it.
A black and white monster awaited. As Ted opened the door, it rose up on its hind legs and put two giant bear-sized paws on Ted’s shoulders. Ted stared up into the biggest mouth he had ever seen.
The giant creature emitted a happy bark and drool slopped down onto Ted’s face.
“What the hell?”
“Where did the Great Dane come from?” Hope asked.
Ted’s heart rate rapidly approached escape velocity.
“Popo, down.”
Ted heard the familiar voice.
“I see you have met Teddy.”
Ted pulled the paws off of his shoulders and the giant dog dropped back down on all fours.
“Mr. Popo likes to do that,” Maria said. “He loves to startle strangers.”
Post Script
I hope you enjoyed your little foray south of the border.
Reviews are the life blood of independent writers. I need your reviews to give my work credibility and convince new readers to take a chance on an unknown author. If you liked the book, I ask you to write a review of The Mexican Conn
ection on Amazon.com, Goodreads or where ever you go for your book information. Thank you so much, it means the world to me. If you didn’t like the book, then please disregard this paragraph.
I’d love to hear your comments and criticisms. Who knows, maybe some of your ideas will appear in a future Ted Higuera novel. To contact me click here or use the Contact Penn form on my web site at www.pennwallace.com.
If you liked Cat, you have to read my short story about one of her early cases, The Mirror Image, available on Amazon.com at http://tinyurl.com/n5bxoed.
Ted and Chris will be back in Seattle in a new book, with a working title of Bikini Baristas. When the owner of a chain of bikini barista stands disappears in the Nevada dessert, his soon-to-be ex-wife hires Catrina Flaherty to find him.
Ted and Cat follow his trail, only to discover his bikini barista stands are laundering money for the Mafia and, despite the cash flowing through his fingers, he’s dead broke.
Look for it in the summer of 2015.
For now, if you liked this story, you can browse my other books and short stories at http://www.pennwallace.com/index.html.
Thank you very much for reading my book. I hope you will enjoy my other works.
Pendelton C. Wallace
10/292014
San Diego, California
Coming Soon
When the owner of a Seattle chain of sexpresso stands truck is found burned out in the California desert, Ted and Catrina are hired to find out what happened.
Millions of dollars have flowed through his hands, but Dick Randall is dead broke. The cops suspect his estranged wife did him in. His brother-in-law is certain it was a Mafia hit.
Can Catrina and Ted find the truth?
Read the first chapter of Bikini Baristas, the fourth book in the Ted Higuera series.
Bikini Baristas
Chapter 1
Jimmy could hardly wait for the bell to ring. He had been receiving text messages all afternoon. The pictures his cousin, Jake, posted on Instagram were outrageous. There was a link to their website too. There was happenin’s goin’ on at the Beach Hut Bikini Barista stand.
The Mexican Connection: Ted Higuera Series Book 3 Page 28
