Clint Faraday Mysteries collection A Muddled Murders Collector's Edition (8 page)

Clint returned the grin and got them each a
beer.

Marko as a neighbor – well, on San Cristóbal.
Close.

The place was big enough that he could pull
it off. It might be a good idea to have Marko owe him a personal
favor. If he ever had to call in a marker from “Pops” he’d still
have that one on tap!

A Sometimes
Thing

Clint Faraday walked into The Steak House in
David and looked around at the people sitting at the tables. Quite
a few of the gringos from Boquete came here when in David because
the food was exceptional and not unlike the better restaurant fare
in the states.

Al Stewart, a man Clint met a week or so ago
in Bohmfalk’s on Isla Colón, was sitting at a table near the rear
with another gringo type. He went to be introduced to Hugh Jamieson
and to be invited to join them. Al had called him at his home in
Bocas del Toro to hire him for an as yet unexplained job. If he was
with someone make it look like a chance encounter – but pay very
careful attention to what everyone said and did.

“
Hugh is
in development just about halfway between my place and Concepcion,”
Al explained. “We come here every Friday for something a little
different, though I have to admit I’m getting to like the local
fare more than this kind of thing.

“
Clint is
a friend from Bocas, Hugh. Did some kind of work with that murder
thing last month. On the news.”

“
Oh,
yeah. Detective from the states, I hear?” Hugh replied.

“
Uh-huh,”
Clint answered disinterestedly. “Seems my reputation follows so
they asked me to show them some US methods. Really a simple kind of
case.”

“
Don’t be
too modest!” Al said, laughing. “You were always good – if you read
about the stuff you used to do.”

“
The
tabloids make it a lot more interesting and juicy than it usually
is. I had a lot of help – if you mean that Indio land
deal.”

“
Yes,” Al
said, pointedly adding, “Hugh was saying something about some
bigtime gangster from the states being involved or
something.”

“
Marko?
He just warned me about that bunch of clowns who think they can
think in Panamá City. Socalled mafia. I knew his father from a
couple of cases in California. We sort of owed each other favors in
an odd sort of way. He heard about it and made somebody back off or
something.”

“
Oh. Yes.
Manny Mathews, friend of mine who bought the Indio’s place said he
found out about that when he bought it,” Hugh said. “He said Marko
came to see you in Bocas.”

So. Manny WAS Marko, looking for a way to get
away from his California mob Don bit by getting a new identity,
marrying a beautiful girl from a good family and going legit in the
states so his kids wouldn’t have to be ashamed of what Pop made his
at. There was no way this character had ever spoken to him – so he
was trying to find out where Marko was now.

“
Marko
came to see me when it was about over,” Clint answered easily.
“He’s got a place where he can retire on Curacao or somewhere such.
Wants out of the mob crap. He says when you’ve got a certain amount
more is useless and ties you down too much.”

“
Oh?
Curacao?” Hugh replied. “I heard it was back to Sicily – but he’d
do that I suppose. He’d blend in and could use a new
ID.”

“
Well, to
tell the truth I got a sort of idea he’s going to be on one of the
smaller Greek islands,” Clint answered. “How do you know
Marko?”

Hugh looked like he’d been slapped and
mumbled that it was just something he’d heard somewhere. Maybe from
Manny.

“
Manny
knows Marko?” Clint asked, innocently.

“
I really
don’t know,” Hugh said. “It might have been someone
else.

“
Have you
looked at any of the Pacific-side places? Good investment?” He
looked around and waved to a waiter.

Al smirked at Clint when Hugh was looking at
the waiter. Clint raised an eyebrow and smirked back.

“
Oh,
Puerto Armuelles is a great little quiet town. Sort of picture
postcard sort of place. Have you been in the Chitre
area?”

“
Not yet.
I’m new here, really. Just moved in and noted you were the one on
the news.

“
Waiter!
Mr. Faraday will want something, I’m sure!”

They stayed about an hour more. Clint had the
second best New York ribeye steak he’d ever eaten.

“
Oh,
Clint!” Al called as they were leaving. “If you’re going to be
around the next couple of days we can get together for a drink or
two!”

Clint nodded. “Yeah. Just tomorrow and
tomorrow night, minimum. Maybe we’ll meet somewhere. Panamá Bill’s
or El Fogón or somewhere.”

“
Great
little place I found out on the main! Las Brasas. Out toward the
airport,” Al suggested. “It has some great food and isn’t the
tourist trap kind of place. Eight o’clock tomorrow
night?”

Clint nodded, but replied, “Well, I don’t
think I’ll leave downtown. My business is there. Maybe Bill’s at
eight? They have decent food.”

“
Okay.
See you then!” Al said, then got in the cab Hugh had flagged. They
left.

So. This turkey was looking for Marko. Marko
had made a promise the type would NOT be around to cause the kinds
of grief they always did.

Something else wasn’t quite right. Clint
thought a minute, then got a self-satisfied grin on his face.

“
Hi,
Judi!” Clint greeted on the phone. Judi Lum was his nextdoor
neighbor in Bocas and was the only person there who knew about
Manny/Marko beside him. “Listen, Luv. Has anyone asked anything at
all about Marko or Manny?”

“
Just a
couple of locals who noticed he and his wife had started building a
place on Cristóbal. A couple of people saw the construction and
asked about it at Bohmfalk’s. Somebody who wanted to know if there
was anything else there, seeing others are moving in.”

“
Hmm.
Very quietly try to find out about anyone who asks anything,
okay?”

“
Will do!
What’s going on? Somebody a little bit too curious?”

“
Something like that. Is Manny around much?”

“
Only the
times when you were there. He sure doesn’t look like he did when he
was here before!”

They chatted a few minutes, then Clint headed
for the catastro. They would have the records he wanted.

An hour and a half and he knew this Hugh
character wasn’t developing anything of any size anywhere in
Chiriqui Province – and probably not anywhere else in Panamá. Al,
however, had bought a sizeable piece in the area Hugh was supposed
to be developing.

“
I
wondered how you knew so much about Marko that you’d call me in on
something like this!” Clint muttered. He went to MoviStar and
bought a new phone. With a camera built in. He programmed it for
Judi’s number – which she could receive on her computer.

He made a few more calls, then went to gossip
at Panamá Bill’s. Seems the bartender remembered two people who
asked a lot of questions about him. One of the “girls” had spent a
night with a guy named Howard who fit the description of Hugh.
Perfectly.

He then went to the hotel to clean up for his
“date” at Las Brasas.

Al showed up about half an hour late, out of
breath. He said Hugh had been murdered not more than two hours ago
and the policia were questioning him because he had spent some time
there earlier.

“
I wonder
if it’s that – what was his name? Marko? – found out he was asking
so many questions about him and where he’s hiding,” Al confided.
“You noted I got you together with him for the express purpose of
letting you know someone was asking a lot of questions about him.
You think maybe that’s it?”

“
How
would Marko even know about it?” Clint asked, looking confused. “I
mean, we talked about it, maybe someone in Bocas asked some
questions or whatever, but Marko wouldn’t have any way to even know
about that – so it couldn’t be him. I’ll call Judi, a friend who
knows everything there is to know about what’s happening in Bocas,
and see if anyone was asking anything.”

He took out his phone to make the prearranged
call to Judi, who answered. He sent a picture of Al as Al was
protesting that there was no reason to get anyone else involved if
that was what was going on.

“
Yes?”
Judi answered (meaning Al was the one asking questions there). “Oh!
Clint! What’s up?”

“
My blood
pressure, prices, the temperature. Has anyone there been asking
questions about Marko?”

“
Marko
who ... oh, him. A couple of people, but I don’t know anything much
about him,” she answered. “How the hell would I know where he
is?

“
One of
them, an Allen or Alex or something, was asking about him and
Manny. I do know Manny and spouse are building on Cristóbal now so
I told him to go out there and ask them whatever.

“
When you
coming back here? Carlos wants to see you. He’s still feeling like
he owes you for keeping him out of trouble.”

Clint noticed that (he had the volume turned
up to where Al could barely hear the conversation) Al was very
nervous when she was talking about the people asking questions. He
answered, “I’ve got a situation here so it’ll probably be a few
days. I’ll call later if there’s anything ... oh! Marko gave you
his number didn’t he? What is it?”

“
I can’t
tell anyone, but I can call and conference it to your phone and
drop out when he answers. Gimme a sec.“

He waited. Marko soon came on (Judi explained
what was going on there before she put Clint on the conference so
he wouldn’t say anything) to ask what was the problem.

“
You have
a turkey name of Hugh hit here?” Clint asked, making Al almost fall
off his chair.

“
Hugh?
Hugh who? Why would I have some dink hit down there? Shit! I wish I
was there! Weather’s a real stinkeroo here! Damned rain won’t stop
– okay, it rains a lot there, but this is cold and miserable and
you don’t even pay attention to rain there much.

“
Say,
Clint! Maybe this Hugh character crossed that bunch of would-be
clowns down there and just dropped my name or somethin’?

“
Like I
give a shit. I decided against Curacao. Got a good deal on a place
in the Med. I gotta get out of here. Economy’s going to hell with
this idiot would-be king of the world who thinks he’s runnin’
things while he’s bein’ run. Be glad you’re down there! If I
thought I could stand more than a week of nothin’ to do and nowhere
to go I’d move down there. It’s really nice, but I can’t hack the
tranquilo bit.

“
Hey!
Gino! Who’s that?

“
Got to
run. I ain’t hit nobody down there. Nobody down there is worth it
but you and Judi – and that’d get me in a pile of shit I’d probably
be the next one hit! I’d marry her if she’d have me. Class like I
ain’t never had and looks great!

“
Ciao!”
He hung up.

“
That’s
good ol’ Marko! He talks, you listen!” Clint confided. Al grinned a
sick grin.

“
Now I’m
getting curious. Maybe I’ll see why Hugh was killed. Maybe ... how
was he killed?”

“
Apparently he opened the door for someone and they stuck
him dead in the heart before he could move. It seemed like a
professional type of thing is why I wondered if that Marko person
had him hit. Maybe it was some husband or boyfriend and a lucky
stab. He tended to be a bit too crude with women and didn’t care if
they were spoken for.”

“
Typical
gringo type in a lot of these people’s minds,” Clint agreed. “One
like that and everyone has to live it down. He didn’t strike me as
a very likeable sort, anyhow. ‘Crude’ describes what I though of
him. Not too smart in a lot of ways.

“
Well, I
guess I’ll go to the scene of the crime and see what’s there to
see! Where is it?”

“
A suite
in the Wantril House Hotel.”

“
Cripes!”
Clint exclaimed.

“
What?”

“
That’s a
mob whorehouse! The local would-be, as Marko calls them, mafia.
Crap!”

“
I sort
of got that impression. The whorehouse. Too many sexpot women. I
just didn’t connect it with any mob.”

Clint
sighed.
Everyone in Panamá knows about that place,
he thought.
You’re overdoing the innocent
act.

“
You’re
the fellow who caught that gangster for killing that gringo in
Bocas, right?” the officer at the door asked. “I’m Antonio Valdez.
Tonio. You’re Clint Faraday. Is this connected to that?”

“
Clint
will do. I don’t know, but it could be and I’m here in David so
I’ll look into it if you don’t object.”

“
So long
as you don’t act like those TV jerks or the Jamaican movie
detectives, go for it, Mon!” Tonio said with a grin. “Osorio is my
cousin. He said you’re really pretty cool and about ten times as
smart as you try to look like.” His accent was mildly
Jamaican.

“
You
learn English from those TV shows and Jamaican movies?” Clint
asked, grinning back.

Tonio laughed and admitted that he had a
Jamaican uncle who raised him part of the time and who taught him
most of the English he knew.