Clint Faraday Mysteries collection A Muddled Murders Collector's Edition (91 page)

Clint saw his place had been searched very
professionally. His little traps made that plain, but whoever it
was found his cameras and erased the computer records. There wasn’t
anything there to find. Clint had been around enough to where he
knew what not to leave around. Nothing was bothered much.

He relaxed a bit, then went to walk with Gina
to the Bahia. She wouldn’t stay at his place because that may be
dangerous to them both, in her mind. If someone thought she knew
anything and it was a serious as Clint said, killing them both
would be much more likely. She wouldn’t be alone at anytime, except
in her room – and she would manage to move to another without
anyone knowing.

Avenidas had left early. He looked like death
warmed over, as she put it. Sergio called to say that an officer
had seen Brandon in town and was discretely keeping an eye on him
to see who he met.

Clint went back home. He could use a long
night to just sleep, now and then. Either things were going to get
more tranquil fast – or all hell was going to break loose.

“
Clint?
Someone was watching your place from a boat since before dawn.
What’s that about?” Judi greeted him in the morning.

“
What
kind of boat?”

“
A
sixteen or eighteen foot Wellcraft. White with green
trim.”

“
Brandon?
Why would he be watching me? This shit isn’t going to get weird
again, I hope. Thanks, Judi.”

He went out on the deck with binoculars and
made it a point to let Brandon know he was being observed. Brandon
waved and came toward the dock. Clint waited until he was right
beside the deck to ask what he wanted. He said he had to know what
was in that chest. It was important in ways he couldn’t guess.

“
After
you drugged me for the information and didn’t get any, you would
just come here and ask me?” Clint said. “You’re weird,
man.”

“
I
figured you might talk without the added aggravation. The scope was
NOT my idea.”

“
Okay.
Who’s going to end up with no heirs and planted himself?” Clint
replied.

“
So you
found the significance of the thing. I was worried about that.
Sylvia is in it up to her neck. I’m not. I wish I’d never met her.
She’s a Cano.”

Clint
nodded in a knowing way to disguise the fact he didn’t have a clue
as to who the Canos were.

“
I
suppose the states will have traced the serial numbers by now,” he
said. “That’s all I can see that would tell anyone about that
money. There was nothing else in the chest. Most of the money was
in series in the original bank bands.

“
Is
Sylvia Darlin’ a Cano – within second cousin?”

“
No, but
her half brother is. A nephew.”

Clint nodded again. “Does he know anything
that certain agencies might find interesting?”

“
To hear
them brag, you’d think so. I’m not at all convinced any of them
stick within spitting distance of the truth. He might.”

“
Then he
has a very slight chance if he can get to one of those agencies
before the aggressive parties get to him. They’ll make a good deal
for protection.”

“
There
isn’t any way to perhaps delay ... I guess not if you’ve sent the
serial numbers out. You know a lot more than they guessed about
it.

“
Does the
Halverson woman know anything or is she just caught up in the
intrigues because of who her father was?”

“
The
latter.”

“
I can at
least make that clear. I can’t make any guarantees. None of them
have a chance, anyhow. No telling what they’ll do.”

“
As you
say, they don’t have a chance anyhow, so what good would it do to
go after her?”

He shook his head. “You don’t know how those
people, excuse the expression, think,” he said with a grimace.
“Thanks. I wish you hadn’t found that chest. The word is that you
found two. What’s that about?”

“
One was
an authentic treasure chest.”

“
Christ!
Why couldn’t I have found that?!”

“
Because
you didn’t know where to look.”

“
I
noticed you went away from the runnel. I didn’t hang around out
there. How did you find it?”

“
We asked
an Indio where to look. He said the runnel wasn’t where it is now
fifty years ago. We found an even older runnel path and checked out
both. Both had chests.”

“
The
Indios know that much about where to look?! Why didn’t
they?!”

“
They
aren’t interested in old treasures. They bring more trouble than
they’re worth,” Clint said. “You haven’t a clue as to how they
think. They tend to be practical and basic. Treasure may be pretty
or whatever, but you can’t eat it, it won’t keep you warm or cool,
it doesn’t cure sickness. Leave it to when you have the time to
waste on such things.”

“
But they
can sell the stuff and have everything!”

“
The
government gets most of it and will screw them out of the
rest.”

“
But ...
why? I mean ... Christ!”

“
Their
culture doesn’t have ownership as any real part of it. I can’t
explain it. You don’t have the basic concepts.”

He shook his head. “I guess so. Thanks. I
appreciate your help. I wish we had simply asked you about things
before. You would probably have told us.”

Clint nodded. “Most of it, anyway.”

Brandon headed out. Clint went back inside
and called Manolo. “Cano,” is all he said.

There was a short silence. “It positive or an
educated guess?”

“
The
half-brother of Sylvia Gordas is a Cano. Nephew. He’s afraid he
won’t survive the day.”

“
Tell him
to contact Peter P. Hanson. He can possibly be protected and put on
a witness protection plan in the states. They REALLY want
information about Josefus Cano and his cronies!”

“
Within
three days there won’t BE any Canos,” Clint pointed out. “Problem
finally brought to a reasonable conclusion.”

“
But we
can get very valuable information from them if we can get to them
before the others do.”

“
There is
that,” Clint agreed.

He chatted awhile, then called Manny to tell
him what he’d learned. Manny said he sort of thought it might be
Cano. He was very cool about it and the operative then said he was
the only one who wasn’t scared shitless among them all. Now the
family will be wiped out because of what grandpa did. Grandpa – who
died thirty five years ago.

“
I sort
of feel sorry for some of them. They got trapped into something
before they were born. Something they didn’t have a clue
about.”

“
I think
the ones who got out of the business will be Okay. The ones still
in it don’t get any sympathy from me!”

“
I
suppose,” Clint replied. “How’s the wife and family?”

“
Point
taken. I don’t have anything like that hanging over me. I wonder if
maybe Pop did, but I’m sure he would have warned me.”

They talked a little more. Manny would come
into Bocas about seven. They would get a meal and spend some time
getting to know Gina, who Judi had said would probably end up a
permanent part of their group. Everyone liked her – and she was
seriously considering being a more or less permanent part of
Clint’s life.

Clint learned the strangest things about his
own life this way!

Deadly Day

“
Avenidas
seems to have skipped – or would have. The idiot union has all the
boats blocked from coming and going here,” Dave announced. He was
with Gina at the new little restaurant where four or five had
already failed near the office. “He’s either paid somebody to take
him to Almirante or he’s hiding somewhere on the
island.”

“
What’s
it about?” Clint asked. “I know there were some people killed when
a water taxi hit a cayuca full of people, then the water taxis are
blocked. Everybody knows that was the fault of the driver of the
water taxi and no one else. How did any union get into that
mess?”

“
They’re
using it for an excuse. It’s like the big union crap in the states
awhile back. They did this kind of thing, as much as the government
let them get by with, got their union, thought they were getting a
better deal and would make a lot of money, paid union fees so that
bunch of crime syndicate got rich, wages went up about ten percent,
then prices went up twenty percent, they were paying union dues on
top of it, they actually lost their asses and those crooked unions
are still there and still a major base of inflation. Credit got
easy, so everybody seemed to have more than ever, but they were in
debt up to their eyeballs until the credit crash came along – but
they could get money from their credit union and go into debt even
more ... why am I preaching to the choir?” Dave said disgustedly.
“The same thing will happen here. It’s part of the human stupidity
condition. It’s all there to see, but history has never been
listened to and never will. People are collectively stupid. It
could turn your stomach.

“
Off the
soapbox. Would Manny know when and how many Canos are getting
erased?”

“
He’ll be
here later. So long as none of the innocent are involved, I say to
let it lie,” Clint said.

“
What
about the relatives who aren’t involved in it?” Gina asked. “No one
gives a thought to them.”

“
Manny
says things have changed enough that anyone who got out of the crap
that started it will probably be alright. They don’t go after
anyone not still in the business,” Judi said. “I think I agree with
Manny about that. If you stayed in the business I can’t work up any
sympathy for you.”

They changed the subject for awhile, but got
back to it. They knew things would be hard to get until the water
taxis and ferry were running again. The people who would actually
be hurt were the tourists and businesses that catered to them. Then
the very people who were on strike would suffer because groceries
and supplies would become a problem. The people who lived out of
Bocas Town wouldn’t have much trouble, except at the tourist
hotels. Tourism would be hurt very badly for a couple of years
more, minimum. Maybe permanently, because prices on the island
would skyrocket. It was going to cost a lot more to get anything
out there and it was already known that prices on Isla Colón were
at least double those as close as Almirante, on the mainland. That
was why Judi and her friends went to Almirante and Changuinola
every month. If it was going to cost more on the taxis they would
pool and use someone’s boat among their own group. Screw the
idiocy. Martinelli was a businessman. He could surely see what was
going to happen to tourism because of this.

“
What do
you suggest?” Gina asked.

“
Well,
they’re blocking public access on the water, which is public
property. Round up the union thugs and put them away for a couple
of years,” Dave suggested.

“
How
could he ever get away with that?!” Judi asked.

“
Reagan
got away with it in the states because the general public, who he’s
supposed to protect, was being hurt. Business was being hurt. The
economy was being hurt. The airlines themselves weren’t the
important feature. They were a necessity,” Dave said drily. “That
water traffic is necessary to the economy of Panamá. DO something
about it!

“
I
thought we were going to talk about something else.”

“
There’s
nothing but that and the Cano thing to talk about,” Judi pointed
out. Dave gave her the finger.

They decided to wander around a bit. Avenidas
figured that he was safer with them than alone in hiding and found
them. They didn’t want him around, but he would drag along. Dave
asked him if he was a Cano or just involved for some other
reason.

“
I’m a
second cousin,” he said.

“
You
aren’t in any danger unless you’re still involved with them,” Judi
said.

He didn’t answer that. Clint smirked at him
and said eventually what you do comes back to haunt you. As the
Seger song says, no one gets to walk between the rain.

“
But you
can carry an umbrella,” Gina said. “Oh! WE’RE your
umbrella.”

“
If the
wind whips up too strong an umbrella becomes a liability,” Dave
replied. “What are we doing? Competing for the worst metaphor of
the month?” Everyone except Avenidas gave him the
finger.

“
Mr.
Faraday, it is well-known that you are acquainted with some
powerful people involved in that business. Could I impose upon you
to have them intercede? I am NOT involved in that kind of thing.
I’m merely stretching the rules a bit in the real estate and
stockbroker business. No one is hurt who can’t afford
it.”

“
Then why
was Betina Blakley here?” Clint asked. “We aren’t stupid. There
ain’t no way my friends – who are in the Mediterranean at the
moment – will get involved in this kind of thing.”

“
I knew
there was a very large cache of money hidden somewhere in the area.
I thought it may be as much as two million dollars. Those things
are always exaggerated. I also knew she would be the only person in
the world who would know how to find it. The fact that her father
paid me for certain services with articles from the chest told me
that.