Clint Faraday Mysteries collection A Muddled Murders Collector's Edition (56 page)

“
But, I
really do think she IS!”

“
It is a
distinct possibility. More and more.”

He had a few things to consider now that he’d
never thought of before. What if Frieda DID set it up? The slimy
disgusting old bastard certainly got what he wanted from his death!
Almost everyone involved was a suspect! What a stupid mess! Clint
was determined to solve the murders if only so that slimy bastard
didn’t get his last wish!

“
Manny?
Is there some way you can find if that Frieda woman in California
could have set up Lawrence’s and Donald’s murders?” Clint asked.
They were at Dave’s place in Bocas Town. Serg had just reported
that most of them had been to Panamá several times in the past four
years on their other passports. Judi was shopping with Manny’s wife
and kid. Dave was still up in the mountains.

“
If she
used some local talent, but she didn’t. She’s working with someone
in that family.”

“
I think
there are a lot of motives in this silly mix. I think Orison and
Rasmussen have brainwashed that family for years. I think Frieda
has been manipulating the family in another way and was in on all
the race-fixing and blackmail. I think anyone in that family would
want Lawrence dead and that Donald ... maybe gave them the
opportunity to kill two birds?

“
I can’t
figure which was the target. Frieda makes it logical that it could
be both of them, but she would be working with someone in that
family who was after one of them. It would be Lawrence. This thing
keeps going off in tangents that turn back on
themselves.

“
Okay.
Frieda and Lindsay arranged for the killings, meaning to get both
of them by having the...! I just got a scenario that would damned
well work! Those injections were in a case that used disposable
plastic hypos ... I have to talk with Doc Astrades! I may have a
scenario that would cover a lot of it!”

Not
California
Again!

“
So. I
did find it in the phial that was most recently used,” Astrades
answered. “Perhaps that was the reason it happened here and when it
did. He finished the old phial the night before. The next one had
the curare. I can judge by the time they were here and the dosage
that this would be the end of a phial that had two to three uses
before they left California. It would be easy to time because a new
phial is ordered from any local pharmacy when there are no more
than six injections left. The one with the curare was put in the
case a day or two before they left California.

“
Do you
think he put it there himself?”

“
No. I
think the only real coincidence in this mess is that he planned his
suicide for the night the new phial was used for the first time. It
ended up with this ludicrous bit where nothing seems to fit. It
also caused several more investigations that led to even
more.”

“
Yes.
Serg was telling me about some of it. I quite frankly don’t care to
know about anything except my own part as the local medical
examiner.”

“
I almost
wish I didn’t. Someone in that family went into that hotel room
where Donald had just killed Lawrence with an injection someone
else put in the medical case in California ten or twelve days ago.
It was timed for here and now. They didn’t have a clue that the
nasty old bastard was planning to suicide and make it look like
murder here and now. That tells me it’s still pretty complicated.
It means someone else in that family meant to get rid of Donald
when any good opportunity arose. That came together here and now.
This is really three murder cases with two victims. They’re
actually separate and only loosely connected by the first triple
coincidence I’ve ever come across I can believe.”

“
Or you
could still be wrong,” Doc pointed out.

“
There is
that.”

He went into town and to Bohmfalk’s. There
was a sign that Sunday was a big farewell party. He’d known the
place was for sale and that they had a buyer, but not that it was a
done deal. It saddened him a little. He had always liked both
Sharon and Bill. He hoped the new owners would continue with the
Key West theme and beach town atmosphere.

“
Where do
you stand now?” Judi asked Clint at her house the next
morning.

“
Just
about where I started. It’s taken out a lot of things that happened
to come together at this particular time. The killer was after
Lawrence and came in there when Donald had injected only a little
of what was in the syringe. There was enough more in it to take
care of Donald, too. I don’t think Donald wanted Lawrence dead –
quite yet. It was to his great disadvantage.

“
Lawrence’s death was planned by either Frieda or Frank
Lindsay. Or both. Lawrence was killed when a phial planted ten or
twelve days before was used. Planted before he left California.
They have access to concentrated curare. Doc said one drop of what
was in that syringe would kill a man in fifteen seconds. There was
plenty for five or six murders in that one phial. Donald started
the injection and Lawrence immediately went totally limp, so he
pulled out the syringe. Maybe he put it down on the end table to
try to revive Lawrence when someone else in that family came into
the room and got rid of Donald. They then injected more of the
curare into Lawrence’s neck, thus that injection point. I still
can’t figure who or why.

“
Trudy
found her blackmail evidence was copied by Donald and was going ...
no! Donald didn’t need to blackmail Lawrence with that evidence! He
was ALREADY blackmailing him in another way and had been from years
ago. That was probably why Lawrence wanted him suspected along with
the others. He had become resigned to it and it wasn’t more than he
could afford. He was probably into the race-fixing and laundering
with Donald. He might have believed the money was in his name, as
far as that goes. He planned to die soon and didn’t much give a
shit about the money.

“
Orison
and Rasmussen knew about the abuse from before Lawrence came under
Orison’s treatment and have been deliberately killing him slowly
and painfully with the cancer. They might have started by trying to
help the family, but didn’t do the right thing when Lawrence’s wife
died, which was to put a bullet between his eyes. I doubt they were
ever anything more than they are now, but had that excuse for doing
whatever they did since. I think they’ll be murdered themselves
within a few days or weeks if I don’t tag the Lindsays.”

“
From
what I’ve seen and heard of them, make it a point not to expose the
Lindsays for a few days or weeks,” Dave suggested. Judi, Sergio and
Manny agreed. “But don’t tell anyone I said that,” Sergio
added.

“
We can
now blackmail YOU!” Judi cried.

“
Well,
yes, but I can then have you held for investigation and deported as
an undesirable, should it come to that! No one will take the word
of some cheap prostitute who was expelled from Panamá where it’s
LEGAL!” Sergio fired back. Judi gave him the finger.

They lightened up and decided to go
snorkeling off of the Zapatillas where Clint was supposed to have
been for a few days diving anyhow. Sergio complained that just
about everyone else in Panamá could take time off anytime they
wanted to go swimming but HE had to work!

They all gave him the finger.

“
I don’t
want to have to go to California again!” Clint complained. “I don’t
know what I can do from here. I might not even be able to prove
enough to have them extradited to Panamá.”

“
You
don’t have proof of anything except for what had to have happened,”
Dave pointed out. “You have to have something more solid than the
simple fact it couldn’t have been anyone else, under the
circumstances. If you can get the one who’s working this end, the
one who killed Donald Lesley, you can get enough from what they
tell you to get them sent here – if you can prove it was both of
them. If it could have been either one, not both, they can use that
to deny extradition.”

“
Well,
one good thing is that the one they’re using here is more than
likely to be the one who knocks off Orison and Rasmussen,” Judi
suggested. “So we go fishing for a day or two until that part’s
handled, then you can tag the connection and close it
out.

“
Don’t I
sound like those TV molls?”

“
They
haven’t used ‘molls’ for thirty years,” Manny said. “You managed to
sound a little like some of the more hard-ass female PI’s on TV.
Now all you have to do is get into some kind of stupid overdone
karate fight with twenty-odd trained assassins and kick hell out of
the bunch so you can call Serg and tell him to come pick up the
bodies.”

“
After
you crash your boat into a helicopter that results in an explosion
that would make Bikini look like a firecracker,” Dave added.
“Seriously, you won’t get the killer here that way. I think this
one walked in on something and retaliated.

“
Have you
considered that someone went in there and thought this Donald
character had killed the old bastard and took it into his or her
hands to get rid of ... I’m not making any sense.”

“
There
are already ‘way too many coincidences in this mess,” Clint
replied. “That would be one more. I think maybe the killer knew
Lawrence would get his with that injection and wanted to get Donald
out of the equation. Maybe they knew Donald was getting a lot of
money sent down here and thought it would end up in their
hands.

“
How
about...!”

“
Mr.
Faraday!” someone called, loudly, just outside of Manny’s door on
San Cristóbal where they had gathered this morning. “Urgency, Mr.
Faraday!”

“
What the
hell?!” Judi cried. Manny went to the door and asked what was going
on. It was a police officer who had come from the police boat at
his dock.

“
Telephones aren’t working. Sergio said for me to come tell
Mr. Faraday that another one of the Lesleys has been murdered. He
said to tell you it wasn’t the doctor or lawyer, it was a
Lesley.”

“
Oh,
crap!” Clint snarled. “What’s THIS one about? Who?”

“
A Mrs.
Martime, I think the cleaning lady said.”

“
WANDA?!”
Judi cried. “Why would ... I mean, who would ... WANDA?”

“
And
where was her husband?” Clint asked.

“
I don’t
know except that Sergio said for you to please come back with
me.”

Clint nodded, downed the last of his coffee,
swore very colorfully and said to lead on. He waved at the others
as he went down to the dock.

“
She was
smothered. Someone held a plastic bag over her face. Someone pretty
strong, judging by the bruising,” Dr. Astrades reported. “She’s
been dead for about two hours. Put it at six this morning to six
fifteen.”

Clint and Sergio asked a few questions, but
that was all the information he could give them at the moment. He
had to make some tests, but it seemed clearcut enough.

“
I have
to know where everyone was from five thirty to six thirty,” Clint
said. Sergio said that was done. George was out past Bastimentos
with four other people fishing. He checked with the boat captain,
Maxie, and he was there. Amanda was staying at the Olas. She was in
her room asleep when he got there and no one noticed that she had
left and returned. She would have to pass the girl at the front
after five. The doctor and lawyer were at the Swan’s Cay Hotel in
their rooms. If any of them had been on the streets at that hour it
would be noted. No one was up then except for a few workers on
their way to the other islands. Gringos would very certainly be
noted by the regulars. Maria was collecting aluminum cans along the
front of the hotels and from the Limbo to the Mar. She would note
any non-Panamanian.

Clint started to say something, then said
he’d be back in a minute. He went to the back dock and looked over
the area, then asked Nino, the boy who kept the docks and slides
clean, if anyone had come in that morning – or left.

“
Only
Lila and Dorita. The usual Indios on their way to work for the
gringos who come in the boat with Lila from Bastimentos. The
Johnson woman came with a gorda who works at the marina. She went
back a little later with some things from Rukel. The bags had
‘Rukel’ on them.”

“
You
didn’t know her?”

“
She was
a little fat and had long black hair. I didn’t see her close. Maybe
an India or Mestiza. I think she’s come before. Some come from the
marina with Johnson to pick things up at the stores.”

“
Rukel is
open at five AM?” Clint asked. He shrugged.

“
Thanks,
Nino,” Clint said and went back upstairs to Wanda’s room where
George had just burst in. Maxie had brought him straight back.
Sergio looked a question at Clint, who nodded the slightest bit.
Sergio turned George over to the officer he left in charge and he
and Clint went to Chitres for coffee and some empanadas.

“
Who?”
Sergio asked.

“
Amanda.
She would have to ditch the wig somewhere, but she would also have
to wear it back to Olas. We find it and we have her.”

Sergio didn’t say anything for a moment,
then, “How? She didn’t come in from the ... oh. She caught a boat
at the dock at Olas and came to the suites, then returned the same
way. You need a wig, so she was disguised as a native.”