by Sam Hawken
‘águila.’
‘Who is águila?’
‘He runs the cops over there.’
‘Is he a Zeta? A Golfo?’
‘What do you think?’
‘A Zeta,’ Gonzalo said. ‘What does he look like?’
‘I don’t know. My height, a little heavier. He got a mole on his cheek.’
A little sensation thrilled up Gonzalo’s spine. The man with the gold watch. ‘Where can I find him?’
Ramiro held up Gonzalo’s money. ‘You didn’t pay me enough for that. Ask Guadalupe.’
‘I’m asking you,’ Gonzalo said.
‘Well, I ain’t talking no more.’
The man turned to go and Gonzalo grabbed his arm. ‘Listen—’ he said.
‘Get your hand off me, coño,’ Ramiro said, and his voice was like a razor.
Gonzalo released his grip. ‘Does águila know about the girls?’
‘Ask Guadalupe.’
Ramiro turned his back on Gonzalo and went into the bar. A burst of music, chatter and smoke passed through the open door and then it closed again. Gonzalo let his arms fall slack at his sides. ‘Ask Guadalupe,’ he said to himself. ‘Ask fucking Guadalupe.’
He went to his car and drove away.
FIFTEEN
GONZALO WOKE LATE WITH GUADALUPE on his mind and through his morning shower and breakfast he turned the issue of the man over and over. It occurred to him to call Jack, but he was not sure of what he would say. By the time he was dressed and ready to leave, he still had no idea.
He opened the front door just as they were preparing to knock: two armed soldiers in uniform, their eyes hidden behind sunglasses. The first one introduced himself: ‘I am Lieutenant Casiano,’ he said. ‘You are to come with us.’
‘What have I done?’ Gonzalo asked.
‘Everything will be explained.’
Gonzalo held back in the doorway, suddenly tempted to shut the door in Lieutenant Casiano’s face, but knowing that would lead to no good. His gaze drifted to the other soldier and he saw the man held nylon zip cuffs in a gloved hand. He felt weak in the knees. ‘Can you tell me what this is about?’
‘Please, Inspector, come quietly.’
‘I have to get some things.’
‘You won’t need anything.’
‘I need to make a phone call.’
‘You’ll have time to make calls later,’ Lieutenant Casiano said, his face blank. ‘And if you would give me your phone…?’
‘Why do you want my phone?’
The second soldier took a step forward, but Lieutenant Casiano stopped him with a hand. He slipped off his sunglasses and Gonzalo saw where long hours in the sun had traced a line around his eyes and across the bridge of his nose in paler skin. ‘Captain Alvares requests that you come to the station to answer some questions. There’s no need for this to be ugly. Now… your phone, please.’
Gonzalo fished his phone out of his pocket and handed it over. Lieutenant Casiano passed it to the other soldier, who put it away.
They led Gonzalo down to the small lot beside the building where three army trucks stood idling. In all there were nearly ten soldiers, most standing sentry in the open beds of their trucks. The third vehicle was an SUV and it was pleasantly cool inside.
Lieutenant Casiano rode in the back seat with Gonzalo. With the SUV in the lead, the little convoy turned out onto the street and headed toward El Centro. A radio tuned to a military band squawked in the front of the truck as units called out to each other across the airwaves like singing birds.
‘Am I the only one being picked up?’ Gonzalo asked after they had driven a little while.
‘I’m afraid I can’t tell you that, Inspector,’ Lieutenant Casiano said.
‘Can you tell me anything at all?’
‘As I said, all will be explained.’
Gonzalo sat quietly as two blocks passed, and then he said, ‘I’ve been working privately since my suspension. If that’s what this is about, I can assure you that I have done nothing illegal.’
‘I really don’t know anything,’ Lieutenant Casiano replied. ‘Relax and enjoy the ride.’
When finally they turned onto the street that led to the station house, Gonzalo forced himself to take deep breaths. His palms were sweating and they soaked through the material of his pant legs despite the chill from the air conditioning. A trickle of nervous perspiration escaped his armpit and trailed down his side beneath his shirt.
Sandbags and concrete dividers had replaced vehicles in the blockade around the station entrance, but the ways in and out were still covered by guards. The convoy slipped past the last defenses and cruised to a halt before the building. Lieutenant Casiano got out, reflexively scanning the rooftops with his hand on his weapon, and then signaled Gonzalo to disembark.
Inside he was bustled past the front counter, past his empty desk and to the back stairs. They climbed to the second floor and down a familiar hall with a door at the end. When they got there, Lieutenant Casiano held the door open for him and let Gonzalo pass through.
The interrogation room was small, barely large enough for a scuffed and worn wooden table and three plastic chairs. It was empty. Gonzalo did not know what he had expected.
‘Captain Alvares will be with you shortly,’ Lieutenant Casiano said, and he closed the door.
Gonzalo looked up. The unblinking eye of a security camera pointed directly down from a high corner. The video feed was in a nearby room and everything could be recorded on tape. If he had been the interrogator, Gonzalo would have taken a seat that put his back to the lens, but now he sat so that his face was visible.
It was close in the little room. Gonzalo sweated freely now and his mouth was dry. There was no clock in here and no windows. Foam attached to the walls deadened the sounds from the rest of the building. The walls leaned in.
He did not know how much time had passed before Alvares opened the door. The captain carried a pair of folders under his arm and he looked very fresh in his short-sleeved uniform. ‘Good morning,’ he told Gonzalo. He sat at the opposite end of the table. His back would be to the camera.
‘Why am I here?’ Gonzalo asked.
Alvares put the folders down on the table and squared them neatly before answering. ‘All police personnel are subject to interview as part of the review process,’ he said. ‘We’ll call this your first session.’
‘You didn’t have to send armed men to bring me in.’
‘I wanted to impress upon you how seriously we take this.’
‘Is this because I lost my temper with you? If so, I apologize. I was upset and I spoke too hastily.’
Alvares leveled his gaze on Gonzalo. ‘This is not about that.’
‘Oh.’ Gonzalo could think of nothing else to add.
The first folder was opened. ‘I have been through your records,’ Alvares said. ‘I found it interesting. Especially the part about Leopoldo Sisneros.’
Gonzalo stiffened. ‘That’s not supposed to be in my regular file.’
‘It wasn’t. We had to go searching.’
‘Then you know everything,’ Gonzalo said.
‘I do.’
They looked at each other for a long time, though Gonzalo did not know for how long. ‘What are you going to do with me?’ Gonzalo asked.
‘What should be done with you?’
‘I’m no longer the policeman I was back then. I committed to change and I meant it.’
Alvares nodded. ‘I believe you.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘I said I believe you. I don’t think you take money anymore. I don’t think you are in the pocket of narcos. I think you are an honest policeman and my evaluation will reflect that.’
‘Then why—?’
‘I’m getting to that. I said I have been reviewing your records, and that includes the cases you were working at the time of your suspension. There is one in particular I would like to discuss with you. If I may.’
Gonzalo
said nothing.
Alvares closed the first folder and set it aside. He opened the second. ‘I assigned one of my men, Gervasio Chaidez, to your caseload. He is not doing a very good job continuing where you left off, I’m sorry to say. You were right when you said we are better at fighting narcos than we are doing police work. This particular case has to do with two missing girls, one of them an American. I think you’re familiar with the one.’
‘Yes.’
‘I should think so, since you’ve been spotted in the city with the father of the American girl.’
‘I can explain,’ Gonzalo said.
‘Save it for after. I said we were not expert policemen, but we do have our resources. We also have your notes. What do you know about Eliseo Guadalupe?’
Gonzalo’s mouth worked. ‘He’s a fellow officer,’ he managed to say. ‘He works the area where the girls were last seen.’
‘And his prints were found on the girls’ car,’ Alvares finished.
‘Yes.’
‘What do you think happened?’
‘I don’t know what happened,’ Gonzalo said.
‘But you have suspicions.’
‘Nothing I can prove.’
‘And if you were given the opportunity to prove them?’
‘What are you saying?’
Alvares flipped the folder shut and then he thrust it across the table. ‘Take it,’ he said.
Gonzalo obeyed. He fidgeted with the folder, felt its lightness. The emptiness of little evidence and fewer leads. He thought of Jack.
‘I have been over Eliseo Guadalupe’s file, as well. He does not have your record for honesty. Three times he’s been charged with corruption and three times he’s managed to escape punishment. That is three times too many.’
‘What do you want me to do?’ Gonzalo asked.
‘I want you to interrogate Guadalupe. Here. In this very room.’
‘About the missing girls?’
‘About them. About taking bribes. Anything he’s suspected of.’
‘Why would you allow this?’
Alvares folded his hands together on the table and leaned in toward Gonzalo. ‘I am here to clean this city up, and policemen like Guadalupe are part of the problem. If he’s not guilty of this, he’s guilty of something. You’re a cop, be a cop. Do this for me.’
‘What do you want in return?’
‘That’s something we can discuss later.’
‘When would this happen?’
‘Is tomorrow soon enough?’ Alvares asked.
Gonzalo put the folder down. His hands were shaking, but not from fear. He swallowed. ‘I’m just an inspector, not an inquisitor,’ he said. ‘I can’t guarantee anything.’
Alvares smiled. ‘Just do your best. I’m sure that will be good enough.’
SIXTEEN
CALLING GONZALO DID NO GOOD BECAUSE Gonzalo did not answer. The phone would ring a long time before finally turning over to voicemail, and though Jack left several messages, none were returned.
Leaving the hotel was out of the question. Jack wanted to be there when Gonzalo arrived, but the hours kept ticking away and Gonzalo did not come. A pair of old men, guests at the hotel, wandered down to the lobby and took up positions near the television, not talking to each other, but watching the screen intently. Jack had seen them before. They would be here all day.
It was nearly noon when he called Bernardo. ‘Have you heard from Gonzalo?’ Jack asked.
‘No. I’ve heard from no one,’ Bernardo said, and he sounded tired. Jack imagined him up all night, waiting for his phone to ring with the tip that would end all of this. His brother-in-law’s voice was desolate.
‘He won’t answer his phone. He’s not showing up.’
‘Maybe something came up.’
‘He’s gone out alone,’ Jack said. ‘He went out and left me here, goddamn it.’
‘Even if that were true, he would have called you,’ Bernardo said.
‘No, he’s keeping things from me,’ Jack said, and in that moment he was convinced. Gonzalo had been quick to take him away from Goyo’s, to go back on his own. He’d disarmed Jack and now he was pushing him aside.
‘He’ll come,’ Bernardo said.
Light reflected off chrome in the street and Jack saw Gonzalo’s car pull up to the curb. Jack felt his heart surge. ‘He’s here,’ he said.
‘Jack, listen—’
‘I’ve got to go.’ Jack closed the phone and went out to Gonzalo. He was ready to shout before he got there, the frustration of hours bubbling up. ‘Where the hell have you been?’
Gonzalo did not flinch. ‘Get in,’ he said.
Jack lowered himself into the car and slammed the door hard. ‘I’ve been trying to call you,’ he said.
Gonzalo pulled away from the curb. ‘Some important things have happened and I need you to listen carefully.’
‘Don’t ever leave me hanging like that,’ Jack said. ‘Ever.’
‘No promises, Jack. Things are moving very quickly now and there may not be time to brief you every step of the way.’
‘What’s going on?’
‘I have access to Guadalupe. Official access.’
‘How?’
Gonzalo waved the question away. ‘It’s difficult to explain. What matters is that I will be face to face with Guadalupe tomorrow and I can demand answers. This is a major breakthrough. You should be very pleased.’
Jack watched the streets slip by. He wasn’t sure which way Gonzalo was going. ‘I’d be happier if I knew what he had to do with all of this.’
‘That is what I intend to find out,’ Gonzalo said. ‘Where he was on the night in question. What he was doing. Why he lied to me about seeing the girls.’
‘Do you think he did something to them?’ Jack asked.
‘I don’t have those answers, Jack. But we’ll know soon enough. I have the cooperation of the army and Captain Alvares. He’ll talk.’
‘What makes you so sure?’
‘He’s caught,’ Gonzalo said. ‘It would be one thing if I could not link him to your stepdaughter’s car, but I can. I can prove he was there with the girls that night.’
‘He’ll just deny it.’
‘Let him deny it. I still have the evidence. And I’ve learned other things, as well.’
‘Like what?’
‘I’d rather not say. For your own protection, Jack. If you said the wrong thing to the wrong person, bad things could happen and I don’t wish that on you.’
‘Tell me,’ Jack said.
‘It has to do with the Zetas, but I am still piecing it together.’
‘They’re involved?’
‘I don’t know and I’m not sure I would tell you even if I did.’
‘Where are we going?’
‘I’m taking you to your brother-in-law’s house,’ Gonzalo said. ‘I want you to take your other girl and leave the city as soon as you can.’
Jack shook his head sharply. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’
‘Please, Jack, it’s safer if you let me continue this on my own.’
‘I knew you were trying to cut me loose!’ Jack exclaimed. ‘I knew it!’
‘It’s not like that. The situation… the situation is more complicated than one crooked policeman. You know what the city is like now; you know it’s not safe for you to continue being seen with me. Even the army knows we’ve been together asking questions.’
‘You’re in the middle of it.’
‘That’s the risk I take as a police officer.’
‘Then this is the risk I’m taking.’
Gonzalo gave Jack a sidelong look. ‘You’re a very stubborn man, Jack Searle.’
‘I just want my girl back at home,’ Jack said. ‘That’s all I want.’
‘That’s what I want, too,’ Gonzalo replied. ‘You may have your doubts, but from the beginning I’ve been on your side.’
‘Then don’t try to send me away,’ Jack said.
Gonzalo sighed and his sh
oulders slumped. ‘At least stay with your brother-in-law today. Be close to your family. Tomorrow we move forward.’
SEVENTEEN
JACK HAD BEEN RIGHT AND BERNARDO had not slept the whole night. When he ended the phone call with Jack, he felt a wave of tiredness wash over him that made his eyelids flutter. The chair he was in seemed suddenly very comfortable, and though he wanted to rise, he found his body did not wish to cooperate. It took real effort to stand.
The children were playing in their rooms and Reina had gone away to her work. Bernardo appreciated having Lidia there to keep the little ones busy because he was good for nothing else but waiting for the telephone to ring. He wandered to the kitchen and got limonada from the refrigerator, and then he settled into a chair by the large, empty table to drink and think. A sudden burst of happy giggles carried to him from Leandra’s part of the house and for a moment Bernardo almost smiled.
He held the phone in his hand as he had all night. Even in bed he kept it clutched in his fist lest he miss the call, though he was attuned to every sound. Now it vibrated once and followed with a jolly tune that shattered the stillness. Bernardo checked the number, did not recognize it, and put the phone to his ear. ‘Bueno,’ he said.
Silence on the other end, but the line was open. Bernardo thought he caught the hint of breathing, but it was too faint. The quiet went on for so long that he was certain the caller would hang up, but then he heard a throat clear and a man’s voice kept low. ‘You are the one who put up the flyers? About the missing girls?’
‘I am. They are my daughter and niece.’
Another long pause and this time Bernardo could hear the caller’s breath. ‘Is there a reward for information?’
‘I am not a rich man,’ Bernardo said, ‘but if the information is good, I may be able to pay something for it. Do you know anything?’
‘Sí.’
‘What do you know?’
This time the caller fell silent for so long that Bernardo had to check to see whether the line was still open. Finally, the man said, ‘I saw it.’
All the tiredness rushed out of Bernardo and his body was flushed with sudden electricity that made him tingle. He sat upright in the chair. His hand on the phone trembled. ‘What did you see?’ he asked.