Clint Faraday Mysteries Collection B :This Job is Murder Collector's Edition (39 page)

Clint chatted a minute, then made
arrangements to return to Chiriqui Grande the following day. He
went fishing. The next day he went to David. The next day he went
to Bocas Town and home.

Home

“
Hi, Clint! Welcome back!” Judi called
when she saw Clint laying in the hammock on his deck at six thirty
in the morning. He had come in late the night before and had
cleaned up his computer messages and such, then crashed. He was
still exhausted from so many days in buses and running around the
country. No more of that for awhile!

He waved and called that he would come over
in a while. She said she’d be right over. She had found a recipe
for hojaldres with a bit of coconut and banana that was beyond
delicious.

His computer dinged with an e-mail, so
he went in to read the message from Emanuel.
It seemed that the woman I was to contact died in a car
accident the very night before I got here. At least this one wasn’t
after I contacted her! I spent two nights in Panamá City before
going to San Blas. Veronica had sent, not just ten, but FIFTEEN
thousand dollars! I already have a small medical and educational
center being built. Things are wonderful. I actually have friends
here! These people would work their asses (giggle) off to
help.

Wasn’t it sad? The accident in San Diego,
California? The church would sorely miss one such as Veronica and
... well, I supposed the project has ended permanently. All the
directors were there when it happened.

Be in touch! – best wishes always to my best
friend in the world! – Manu (as the people here call me)

Clint went to the world news site to check on
what had happened in San Diego. Accident? The entire directorship
of the project?

He found it.

UPSI: Sunday, Feb. 5, 2011: San Diego,
Calif. USA: At four thirty three this afternoon a natural gas leak
under the Suterclift Building in San Diego caused an explosion that
destroyed the building, resulting in the deaths of nine people, all
those in the building at the time. The building was owned by a
group of international businessmen who were meeting for a strategy
session to attempt to halt the decline in buying power of the US
dollar, according to sources.

The explosion was of such intensity that
windows were shattered in buildings for more than a block away. It
is most fortunate that the business district involved is virtually
deserted on Sundays. There would certainly have been many more
deaths and injuries had those businesses been open.

The victims names are being withheld pending
notification of the families.

Clint read the report and sighed.

The computer dinged again. It was his private
and personal e-mail service. Very few people knew about it, so it
would be Manny, Dave – not Judi. She was a hundred feet away.

It was from Raul Mali:
Hi, Clint. I’m in London and will return to Panamá
in about two weeks to retire. I was not in California. I think I
know who was.

Emanuel is going to get a surprise. It seems
there was an insurance policy recently taken out for various
projects funded by a certain now-extinct group to be split up
between their projects – which was The San Blas Mission Emanuel at
the time. 5 mil. He can build a major hospital and school for the
area. Some good will come from this.

Hope to see you soon. You are the one true
friend I found in my business – at least, I hope you consider me as
much of a friend as I consider you.

Clint sighed again. Right!

Well, what the hell? He was a great guy in a
lot of ways and he hadn’t prevaricated. He had arranged for Emanuel
and the Indios to receive a true blessing. He had only eliminated a
couple of growing cancers from the world. Maybe he was a
friend!

Now. Fishing today?

No. Enough of that.

Judi came in the front door with a big plate
of hojaldres. “Hi! I’m off to David today. Want to come along?”

Clint didn’t hesitate for that one. “No.”

C. D. Moulton’s works are available on most
major outlets as printed or e-books. CD writes the CD Grimes, PI
mysteries, the Det. Lt. Nick Storie mysteries, the Clint Faraday
mysteries, the Flight of the Maita science fiction series, books on
orchid culture and many others of many types. Mystery, adventure,
intrigue, science fiction, fantasy, para-normal, mild erotica, and
factual.