Clint Faraday Collection C: Murder in Motion Collector's Edition (30 page)

Clint waved to Lydia and pointed to him. She
brought the drink. Clint asked what was new.

“
Well,
other that some real macho badass in Changuinola dumped Tigre, not
much. Of all the people in Changuinola who deserve dumping, and
they number in the hundreds, he was top of the list. He’s a creep!
Can’t keep his hands off you, then pretends he won’t even stay in
the same room with a gay. Stupid fucking piece of shit is probably
gay himself. Why else would he always be the one who’s pawing at
transvestis like me?

“
What a
thrill! Big Bad Brucie-woosie, in person!”

“
Yeah. He
broke bad with me. All I did was go in for a beer. It was hot as
hell over there this morning.”

“
He tells
everybody you two are friends and always try to get the best of
each other. Sometimes he decks you, sometimes you deck him. You’re
both man enough to take a little dumping from a friend in a good
spirit.”

“
We’re
friends about like chickens and boa constrictors. He thought he had
some old geezer he could intimidate and make himself look like a
real badass instead of a cheap copy wannabe. He tried to intimate
he was the one who clocked the gringo punk and his mom.”

“
Shit!
That was probably Anderson or Rico. Tigre – and that’s a bigger
joke than the rest of him – doesn’t do anything himself. He just
finds people who will for a fee. I’m more actual macho than he’ll
ever be.”

“
I sort
of figured Rico. I’m not familiar with Anderson.”

“
He’s
that really big one, in more than one sense, from Panamá City. The
one with the gold chains all over the place. He’s man enough to say
he likes sex and doesn’t care who it’s with so long as they at
least know what they’re doing. He considers me an
expert!”

“
I’ve
heard you really are.”

“
Well,
Ben has you so tied up with the gay stuff that I can’t get an even
chance, but I’ll be glad to demonstrate anytime you’re feeling
lonely and unloved!”

They chatted awhile. Clint moved away when a
young tourist came in and looked over the place. Marchesca moved
right in and said he’d show him the best side of town.

“
You’re a
guy in a dress! I’m not gay!” the man cried.

“
I
wouldn’t be interested if you were. Where are you from?”

Clint grinned to himself and went outside
where several people were sitting on the curb (such as it was)
across the street, smoking. Smoking isn’t allowed anywhere in
Panamá where anyone else will be in the smoke. That’s all
restaurants, bars, stores, parks, etc. Clint doubted very much that
the police would check a place like the VIP for smokers. He chatted
with several about general things. They didn’t say anything he
wanted to hear about anybody, but he had a place to start looking.
Anderson, who he didn’t know and Rico, who he’d met and been
unimpressed.

He went next door to where they were sitting
and into El Ultimo Refugio for a good late meal and to talk with
various people. Not much was happening so he went to the Toro Loco,
which was about the same, then to the Rip Tide to find the boat was
gone. Neal and Cathy had broken up and she owned the landing, but
Neal the boat. She was running the restaurant on the land now.

He finally went home about twelve thirty.
Anything else could wait until morning.

Clint laid in the hammock on his deck with
his coffee and hojaldres he’d fixed. He had some spaghetti sauce
from a couple of days before in the fridge so used it as a sort of
cold dip for the hojaldres. It was damned good!

He had to look up Anderson and Rico today. He
figured he would know which one by what they were doing now.

Judi came onto her deck and waved and shook a
finger at Clint. That was as much as a ritual anymore. He didn’t
wear anything until he decided what he would do for the day. He
waved and called that he would probably be around for the next day
or two at least. His case was at a standstill. She waved back and
said, “Regular!”

He finished the semi-breakfast and went into
town to talk with the regular people sitting at the Golden Grill
and other regular stops. Don Chicho’s and Chitres. Nothing much
new. There was some talk about the dead gringos, but few of the
people ever met them. They were the type who didn’t mix with the
natives. The few who met the punk said he always seemed to have a
chip on his shoulder about one thing or another.

Without
asking he found that Anderson was living just off
6
^th
street with Arnie and Jorge
Salinas, also from Colón and they wished he’d go back and take them
with him. Judi had taught him how to drop a little piece of
information and move on. A lot of times someone else with a gripe
or any knowledge or something would say something. You act like
that’s interesting, did you plan to go to the Orchid Fair in
Boquete?

They would just have to expand on it to
impress you with what they knew.

Clint said he’d heard there were a couple of
real thugs from Colón on the island. Supposed to be hired killer
type. He wished there was some way to get them out before they did
something that Sergio could use to bar them from Isla Colón. He
then said the fishing was pretty good down by Tierra Oscura and the
islands there clear out to the Zapatillas. Jim had connected that
in his mind with the gringos they’d mentioned in passing earlier.
Anderson occurred to him immediately as a likely type to have
killed them.

So. Clint knew where to find Anderson. Rico
would be on Bastimentos in the mornings and come to Bocas Town
about three nights a week so he would be easy to find.

Clint went home to catch everything there up
to date, then went back to town and to The Reef Restaurant.
Anderson would hang around the dock outside. A lot of that type
would because the tourists liked the restaurant and they could
start conversations and learn if they had anything worth stealing
or could hire themselves out as gigolos. Clint always told people
coming in that he met to stop showing around their expensive cell
phones and cameras or those were two items that would disappear.
Laptops even more.

Anderson wasn’t there, but Rico was on the
island taxi docks talking with Guillermo, who wasn’t interested in
what he was offering. Clint happened to walk by and greet
Guillermo. Rico said “Hola!” and walked back off the dock to stand
by the gate. He obviously wanted to talk to Clint so a few words
later he went back to the gate.

“
Clint, I
just want you to know I didn’t have anything to do with the gringos
going over the cliff. Marchesca told me you seemed interested in
it.”

“
I’m just
that. Interested. Nothing I’m going to waste a lot of time on. I
don’t want to tag whoever did it, but I’d like to know which one of
those greedy clowns arranged it.”

“
It was
some woman. She was asking about who to get to do a job that wasn’t
entirely legal and would end up ending someone up.”

“
The
gringa? Which one – and don’t answer if you’ve made any promises or
whatever. I’m just curious.”

“
That one
who went over. The Sarah bitch. That’s why I don’t understand
it.”

Clint nodded. “She probably wanted her dear
husband knocked off. Someone else wanted her knocked off. Maybe she
found the hit man who hit her, which would be a real giggle.”

“
It would
be that!” He saw a woman who looked lost. A tourist, grinned at
Clint and asked her what she was looking for. She said some place
called “The Gourmet.” It was almost across the street, but they
were building a hotel next door that hid the signs. Rico showed her
the place and went inside with her. She managed to grin at Clint so
she knew what she was doing. She was a middle-aged woman who wanted
a good time, Rico was a good-looking native who spoke English, she
could act like she had a lot of money and he would romance her to
get some. Everyone would get part of what they wanted. Go for
it!

So. Sarah found a hit man. She was plotting
with at least one of the others to knock over her husband. Her
husband was staying out of reach. She became the next best bet to
get that insurance payout. It would have worked but for a handprint
on a gearshift knob.

Hit Man
Found

Clint knew Anderson made the hit. He didn’t
know which of the survivors was behind it. Even Robert could have
found out about it and could have made a deal with that hit man to
hit the one trying to have him hit. That would be un-poetic
justice! She found her own hit man!

It would be easy enough to prove Anderson did
the job to Clint, though the proof wouldn’t be usable in court. He
would have money. The type didn’t do anything but party if they had
money – until it was all gone, then they’d be looking for another
such “job” to have another big splash on. Anderson hadn’t been in
Bocas Town for three nights. He’d gone to Changuinola where he
could find a lot more parties that would appeal to him than he
could in Bocas Town.

Clint went to Changuinola and to places where
he would be known. He had gone to David. He had a lot of money and
couldn’t find any excitement in Changuinola.

Clint drove to David and went to the spots.
Anderson had been to The Esmeralda one night, hadn’t found a girl
he particularly liked and had left. He was in two places in
Pedrigal, then said this was nothing but shit and had gone to Las
Tablas.

Clint figured there wasn’t anything in Las
Tablas that would attract him more than David, which meant Colón or
Panamá City.

Not Colón. If he showed up there with money
his own type would soon relieve him of it. Clint headed for Panamá
City. He would stay away from the worst parts of town there for the
same reasons he wouldn’t go to Colón. He’d probably go to the more
expensive tourist places at night, but would stay in the suburbs
during the day.

Clint wondered if it was worth it, then
decided it was something to do so went to two places before
deciding Anderson would go the casino route in Panamá City. He
didn’t in David because he would be watched there. David had some
bad experiences with people from Colón several years back and made
it plain they weren’t welcome.

He had been in the Fiesta the night before,
had won a couple hundred dollars and had connected with one of the
“ladies” who frequented the place. It was very likely he’d be back
that night. He came in about ten the first time so that might be a
pattern. Clint would be there at ten.

There he was! He fit the description
perfectly. He was wearing some new expensive clothes and showing a
little money. Clint knew damned well he’d know not to show much. He
wondered how much he’d left out for the woman of last night to
take.

Clint waited until he was sitting at the end
of the upstairs bar with an empty stool on either side to go sit
next to him and say, “Anderson. Bocas.”

“
And
you?”

“
Faraday,
almost anywhere in Panamá.”

“
Oh,
shit! Look. I might have done a job, but it wasn’t anything like, I
mean ... Oh, shit!”

“
I’m not
after you. Calm down. I just want to know which one or ones should
be asked to leave Panamá permanently.”

“
First
was some idiot woman on the phone who wanted me to get rid of her
husband. He was squandering everything they had. I think it was
about some other woman or maybe two of them or something. I asked
her who and she told me it was some guy who someone tried to kill
on Isla Popa so it could be made to look like part of that. They’d
get the insurance that would bail them out of trouble and be rid of
him at the same time.

“
I heard
about that and that the cops would be watching every move he made
and would catch me so no thanks.

“
The
other, I don’t know. It was by notes with half down and half when
it was done. I figured, ‘What the hell? Why not?’ I figured it
right then that the same one to get wasted was the one who wanted
me to go after her husband. It was just something that, Christ! I
just turned the job on her. I don’t know who was behind it. The
note said this one was going to David and would be the only one
going in a rented car then.”

Clint nodded. “Where were the notes
delivered? By whom?”

“
While I
was at The Reef, on the dock. A kid came and said the man said to
give me the note and he’d get a quarter. He spoke English and the
note was in English so there wasn’t much chance an Indio kid about
ten years old could read it.

“
I picked
up the cash down, five hundred, at The Reef next day after I sent
the kid back with another quarter to tell the man maybe I would be
interested.

“
Next was
another kid with a note that said what he wanted and that I could
collect the down at The Reef on the dock the next day at three when
there wasn’t anybody around. It would be in a dirty carry-out box
in the garbage can.

“
I
watched the place from the road. I didn’t see when it was put
there, but it was there with instructions so I did the job. He
probably came in a boat to leave it so I couldn’t see from the road
That was all.”

“
It was
someone who knew the car and where it would go?”

“
Yeah. It
was a rented Honda and would be on the way to David with two
people, one male, one female, and would be the only one going then.
I could watch for it at the restaurant where the buses stop because
the people would want to get something to eat before going on to
David. I could manage something from that point they didn’t want to
know about. If the job was done the money would be delivered in a
sack with my name on it in David. I was to be in the bus terminal
there at six in the morning if I wasn’t contacted with the payment
before then.