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Mexico City. She s not afraid of this deal. She s seen some things, done some
things. It turns out Billy, who is Billy Sullivan, is full of it and doesn t
really have any money. He s a blowhard but Beatrice falls for it. He gave a
little down payment, but the rest of it he didn t have and wasn t about to ask
his father, who, though not rich, is fairly well off.
Know what, I said. I never did call his old man. I forgot all about it.
Doesn t matter, Jim Bob said. He finally got in touch with him and his
father came down with lawyers and money and got him out of jail and took him
home. I traced him down when I got back from Mexico. And, guess what? He s
dead. Someone went all the way to Indiana, which is where he s from, and cut
him up. Same way as Charlie.
Poor old Billy, I said.
Fuck Billy, Leonard said. I wouldn t have shit a hot meal in his hand if he
was dying of hunger.
Way I figure it, Jim Bob said, Beatrice gave names or had addresses on her,
something. Somehow she led them to you, Hap, or rather Charlie. I don t think
they knew the difference. Then they went to Indiana and got Billy. For all I
know, they got all your addresses from the police and Beatrice didn t give
them shit. Enough money, information tends to change hands. And not just in
Mexico.
But why would he want us? I said.
Jim Bob shrugged, said, Juan Miguel wanted vengeance and he thought you and
Billy were in on the scam. Maybe Beatrice, to prolong her life, told them
that. How s that for a guess? I think it s that simple. Juan Miguel, he
doesn t like taking a fuckin , and if he does take one, then he makes sure
whoever gave it to him takes it up the ass as well. A sort of permanent
fuckin . Course, could be he thought you or Billy, or both of you, knew about
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the facades and maybe he thought he d find that out. He d still want them, I
think.
What about Leonard? I asked.
I don t know, Jim Bob said. No one tried to kill him, so maybe she didn t
give his name, died before she could. I don t know. No way of knowing.
I gave my address, Leonard said. Not where I was staying, with John. The
ironic part is after Charlie was killed I moved John and me out to my house
for a while, because I thought it was safer.
By then it was, Jim Bob said. The killers had gone home. Maybe they decided
they had the main two, and after torturing Charlie and Billy and getting
nothing, they decided neither of you knew dick about the facades.
That seems like a pretty good guess, I said.
And Ferdinand? Leonard said.
He was going to kill Ferdinand too, but Juan Miguel made the mistake of not
sending the Jolly Green Giant. They sent some everyday fucker, and guess what?
They sent him to do it with a machete. It s kind of their trademark, death by
machete.
Guy comes to get Ferdinand on his boat. Ferdinand disarms him, beats him like
a circus monkey, makes him tell why he s come. That s how Ferdinand finds out
about Beatrice.
Then, Ferdinand ties up his attacker, takes him out to sea, and dumps him in
the ocean.
Tied up? John asked.
Yes, Ferdinand said. That way he cannot swim.
Yeah, Leonard said, tied up cramps a fella s breast stroke all right.
I thought, Damn. This is one mean old man.
How the hell did you find all this out? Brett asked.
Hey, I m a detective, lovely lady. And I had some help. Guy down there, a
Mexican, runs a little private eye agency. I ve worked with him I don t know
how many times. I heard this name, Juan Miguel, I thought it rang a bell. My
acquaintance down there, César, he had a partner who met a nasty end not long
ago, and the whole thing s connected with Juan Miguel. That s where I had
heard the name, year and a half ago. It didn t mean much to me then. Just
something they had got themselves into.
I didn t know the details, just that some gangster named Juan Miguel was
responsible for César s partner s death. The partner I had met, but hadn t
dealt with much. Not directly. I always dealt with César. Fact is, César
helped me find Ferdinand.
How did you find him? Leonard asked.
Me and César found him by finding the boy you told me about. José. The one
helped him fish. He didn t know Ferdinand was in trouble, just that he was
gone, and César simply asked him did Ferdinand have a place he went that few
people knew about, and how about three hundred dollars if he told us. He was
loyal to Ferdinand for about five minutes, then he was loyal to three hundred
dollars. For him, that s like a thousand, at least.
The boy told me about a little island. Said that was where Ferdinand
sometimes went to fish for himself and to be alone. Said he had gone with him
a couple times. No one else had asked José that. No one else had offered him
three hundred dollars either. No one thought or knew to ask him the question.
We told José he should say nothing else about it to anyone. César rented a
boat and we went out there, found Ferdinand. And the facades. That s the
island where they re stored.
What about what really counts to us? Hanson said. Justice for Charlie.
There s the rub, Jim Bob said. We might could put together some pretty good
information for the Mexican police. But in that little town of Playa del
Carmen, Juan Miguel s pretty much the man. He s pretty much the man throughout
Mexico when it comes to crime and payoffs in cocaine, money, and poontang.
So, Leonard said, might we assume you re saying that would be a worthless
approach to taking care of Charlie s killer?
Right.
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I say we go to Mexico and get the sonofabitch, Hanson said. Him and this
giant. Or whoever gets in the way.
First off, you re not going anywhere, Jim Bob said. No offense, but in your
state you d just fuck up the mission.
All right then, Hanson said. What are you and the others going to do? And
how can I help?
I like Hanson s idea, Leonard said. We kill the sonofabitch.
It s an idea, Jim Bob said, but not an easy one to pull off.
I been in on a designed killing once, and I didn t like it, I said. I m
still dealing with it. I just don t like the idea of a guy pisses you off, you
kill him.
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