Sky High Stakes (Pacheco & Chino Mysteries Book 2)

by Ted Clifton

  “Well, sort of. I definitely got Rodriguez involved. He and I used to drink together. He was involved even back when I went to see the old man. Rodriguez was the one who brought in Tito. Marino was just a coincidence. I saw him on the street in Ruidoso. I knew him from Houston—a thug of the worst kind, mean and violent—but when I saw him, I thought he might be useful in controlling Rodriguez and anyone else who got in the way. I thought I’d be able to keep a tight rein on Marino—man, was I ever wrong. The guy just went nuts with power. Then, when Rodriguez bailed out, Marino completely lost it. I was going to kill him—had to, there was no choice. But I wasn’t the one who did it—somebody shot the bastard before I could.”

  “You didn’t kill Marino?”

  “That’s right. I wanted to kill him, maybe the only person I really wanted to kill—he was so fucking evil. But I didn’t. Someone else got to him first.”

  “Do you know who?”

  “Nope. The list of suspects has to be long, but I have no idea who actually did it.”

  “Did you kill Lewis Esparza?”

  “Yes. I knew things were coming to the end. Esparza told me he was done with the drugs and he was going to tell Franklin what was going on. He said he wasn’t afraid of Ortega any more. My guess is that Isabella got Esparza involved, but she implied it was her father who was in charge. I couldn’t let Esparza implicate me. I’d gone to the racetrack to kill him when I saw him arguing with Franklin. At that point I’d decided I was going to kill both of them. I climbed up the grandstands with the rifle, but at that moment you showed up and Esparza went into the stable. I was debating what do to when he drove out of the barn and headed toward your Indian buddy. On impulse I shot him—then I took off. I knew it was all over and I just wanted to clean up what I could, get out of town and hide somewhere.”

  “What about Tito. Did you try to kill him?”

  “Yes. The bastard called me and said he was going to make a deal with you. He said he wouldn’t implicate me, yet, if I’d pay him some ridiculous amount of money. He said he could survive a few years in jail for selling drugs, but that I’d die in jail. I either pay him big bucks or he names me as the leader. I figured he was hiding at his old cabin so I went up there and waited. Shot him, but I could tell he was still alive—and then this old woman shows up screaming her fool head off. I got out of there.”

  “Do you know anything about the Rodriguez murder or Franklin’s suicide?”

  “I had nothing to do with any of that. My guess is that Ortega had Rodriguez killed. Rodriguez told me he was going to El Paso and was going to use Ortega’s name to find a new source that he’d use to sell drugs in Denver. Rodriguez was so stupid, he thought he could just go shopping for a drug dealer. I told him that was the dumbest thing he had ever thought of and that it’d get him killed. Regarding Franklin, I can’t imagine why he would kill himself. He had nothing to do with the drugs going through the racetrack—that was all his wife, and she had said to me that he didn’t know about it. My guess is it was Ortega again. I’m not sure why he’d do it, but Ortega has a history of killing people when they get in the way.”

  “Marino talked to Tony Garcia, the AG, and told him that he had proof that Tony’s wife was involved in the murder of her fiancé in Houston. He also said that you’d back him up. Did you know about any of that?”

  “Jeez, Marino was some kind of crazy. I knew nothing about any of that—he was just flat out lying. Of course you already know that I knew about Tony and how he screwed up his career in Houston because he fell in love, but I never talked to Marino about any of that.”

  “Do you think Marino would have any way of knowing about the murder that happened in Houston?”

  “Who the hell knows? He was a complete lowlife, so whenever anything bad happened it was always possible he was involved. Where that guy was supposedly killed—or died or whatever—was the area of town where Marino hung out, but I don’t know anything about Marino that ties him to that crime. If I had, I’d have had him picked up—the mayor and everybody downtown was driving us nuts trying to find someone to pin that on. I’d have tossed them Marino in a New York second.”

  “Sheriff James found the .30-30 rifle and they’ll match the bullets and casing. You’ve been charged with the murder of Esparza, the stable manager, and the attempted murder of Tito. If you live Larry, you’ll be extradited back to New Mexico to stand trial.”

  “Ray, I think I’ll die in El Paso and save fuckin’ New Mexico the trouble. I’m tired now, so why don’t you and your Indian pal get the fuck out of my room.” Nelson looked even worse than when they’d arrived, if that was possible. The conversation had taken a toll and he was obviously in pain.

  About that time the nurse came in with a doctor in tow. The doctor directed Ray and Tyee to leave immediately and they complied. After asking for assistance—twice—they managed to make it back to the parking garage.

  Without hesitation, they headed home. The only stop, besides for gas, was in Las Cruces, where Ray insisted that they stop at a Whataburger for a green chili cheeseburger and fries. Tyee didn’t object—he had soft serve ice cream, his favorite.

  The next day Ray put together a report to the governor outlining what they’d learned from Nelson and Isabella Ortega. He faxed it to the governor’s private fax line, then called Sheriff James and filled him in on what had happened.

  “Ray, we were notified this morning that Nelson died during the night.”

  Ray decided it was time for a walk with his dog. Seemed like he was spending a lot of time thinking about life and death lately. Maybe it was an age thing. After his first wife died, Ray didn’t worry about death—in a way, he’d felt ready for it. There hadn’t been much to look forward to except for getting older. But since his marriage to Sue life had become more valuable than ever—and it was slipping away.

  That night Ray held Sue and told her he loved her. She started to cry. Ray wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t mind.

  Tacos

  Beverly’s Taco Stand had become the talk of the community. At lunch time there were lines circling the building, with people driving in from T or C in groups. One man ordered fifty tacos, saying that he’d established a delivery service.

  Big Jack wasn’t sure if he was happy with the success or irritated by it, but Beverly was ecstatic, blossoming before their eyes. Despite working with delicious food every day, she was losing weight. She smiled more and laughed a lot. She was experiencing something she’d never had before, success—and in a small town sort of way, fame.

  After high school Beverly had gone to culinary school in Boulder, Colorado. She was an excellent student, but had never pursued a career because of her depression. Instead, she married Chuck and had children, but she’d been miserable as a mother and housewife. She ate compulsively and gained a lot of weight. She knew she was driving Chuck away, but she didn’t care—she was too absorbed in self-pity. Now she felt alive. She wanted to sing and dance and tell everyone how happy she was—it was getting a little annoying.

  Chuck and Beverly had signed the final divorce papers, and while there was some lingering sadness it seemed that they both felt good about their break-up. Chuck reported that the children were doing well, and made sure that Beverly knew she could visit whenever she wished. He was definitely too good for the old Beverly.

  “Hey cheer up Big Jack. Remember, you’re getting a share of the sales as rent.”

  Big Jack didn’t look cheered up. He grabbed a beer and headed out to the dock. Even self-absorbed Beverly knew that something was wrong. She followed him.

  “What’s the matter Jack? Did I do something wrong?”

  “It’s not you, it’s me. Tomorrow’s the election—I actually may become mayor. But I’m not sure I want to be mayor. Your success is wonderful, but it’s changing everything. Chester changes shit like that’s his fuckin’ goal—just to change shit. Everything is changing. I don’t know that I want it to change.”

  “Jack, in a very shor
t period of time you’ve given me the confidence to try to make myself better, to try to please you if I can. If you don’t want change, then I don’t want change. We’ll put everything back the way it was, okay? Well maybe not that infamous smell I’ve heard about.”

  Big Jack laughed. Not one of his infamous falling-over-on-your-back sort of laughs, but a genuine, good laugh.

  “I think I’m scared.”

  “Yep, me too. You and I can be something, or we can just be friends—I just want to be with you. You don’t have to make any commitment to me. And whenever you want me gone, just say so and I’ll leave. I know I dropped in out of nowhere and have taken up a lot of space in your world, and you’ve been generous and kind. I owe you a lot.”

  Nancy had started working for Beverly in the taco stand. It was only open during lunch, and her parents’ cabin was just a short distance away, so it was much more convenient than working at the café. And of course, it gave Nancy more opportunity to see Tyee, although as best she could tell he wasn’t very interested. Sue had said he was still upset about his failed marriage.

  Nancy had always been described as cute, and she hated it. When people said cute she always heard plain. She’d tried to make herself more attractive, but it was a lot of effort and usually just attracted the wrong kind of men. She was a serious person who took everything too seriously. Her parents had been telling her to lighten up since she was about ten. They were ex-hippies who seemed never to have taken anything seriously, except maybe their child. At times, as she was growing up, she’d felt like she was the only grown-up in the house.

  The move to the cabin on the lake was perfect for her parents. This was the lifestyle they’d always wanted. But it wasn’t so perfect for Nancy. She didn’t mind the location, but the isolation sometimes made her feel like she was being punished for something. She wasn’t very outgoing, but she enjoyed being around people, and the more the merrier. Going for days at a time seeing just her mom and dad was wearing thin very quickly. At the same time, she was nervous about trying to make friends since she’d screwed things up so badly in the past. Sue was wonderful, and she immediately trusted her, so she’d made the attempt with Tyee, and wouldn’t you know it she was genuinely attracted to him, but he seemed uninterested. More of life’s mysterious ways.

  The election watch party was the following day at Sue’s, and Nancy was going to make an impression on Tyee one way or another.

  “How many tacos did you say?”

  “One hundred.”

  Nancy stared at the guy. Then she recovered and began looking around for Beverly—she was going to need some help.

  Sue and Ray had spent the morning together. She was getting worried about him—he was starting to act like a puppy, always right there following her around. She knew he was feeling the pressures of all of his responsibilities, and he was becoming increasing conscious of his age as well. She thought it was nonsense to worry about it, but couldn’t say that to him. Maybe they needed a vacation.

  “Ray, how about we do a little traveling?”

  “Traveling where?”

  “How about Paris?”

  “France?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t want to go to France.”

  “How about San Francisco?”

  “Maybe.”

  Sue made up her mind—they’d take a vacation to San Francisco the following month. She needed to get Ray out of his funk. No Happy, no Tyee, no Big Jack—just the two of them for a week. Done, plans made. She’d tell Ray later, after she’d bought the tickets.

  “Tyee, did you know that Nancy works at Beverly’s Taco Stand now?”

  “No.”

  “What the hell’s wrong with you, Tyee? You know she likes you, but you act like it’s some damn big burden to be nice to an attractive girl. So tell me what the hell’s wrong with you?” Sue had lost her patience with the big, dumb Indian act.

  “Sue, I know you mean well. But I’m not interested in a relationship right now.”

  “Well then when? Five fucking years from now? Maybe ten? Are you just through with life? You just going to hang out with your computers? What’s wrong with you?” Oops. Sue had a history of losing her cool, and now she had done it with her good friend Tyee—who definitely didn’t deserve it.

  “Sue, sit down. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. You being angry at me isn’t helping.”

  Sue couldn’t have felt worse. In a bid for the Illogic Hall of Fame, Sue began to cry.

  “Okay. Please stop. I’ll go see her, okay?”

  “I’m sorry Tyee. I care a lot and just want you to be happy.”

  “Okay, mom. I said I’d go see her.” They both laughed.

  Election Day

  Today the good people of T or C, New Mexico would decide who should be their mayor. The results would be close. Most people had made up their minds weeks before, and the town seemed evenly split.

  The current mayor, Martinez, had been in office for a long time. He had lots of friends due to his practice of only hiring people to work for the city who promised to be his friend, and he had lots of enemies—mostly because he was an arrogant, overbearing, crooked politician.

  Big Jack was running as the anti-Martinez candidate. He and Martinez had developed an intense dislike for one another, so the campaign had often been nasty. Big Jack was okay with winning or losing—mostly he was more than ready for the campaign to be over. The bickering and accusations had become absurd and childish.

  Big Jack closed the bait shop at four o’clock and headed to the Pacheco & Chino office, in the outbuildings on Ray and Sue’s property next to their cabin, for the watch party. They were expecting maybe a hundred people to pass through at various times during the evening. He’d heard that one of the El Paso TV stations and one from Albuquerque were sending crews to monitor the results and report them live from city hall. This was unusual for T or C, and most people suspected it was because of the nastiness of the race. Whatever the reason, it meant that they should know the results by around ten that night.

  Beverly had gone to the watch party early to prepare the food and stock the bar. She would serve various finger foods—mostly using the same ingredients as her tacos—and Chester and Tyee were helping out, bringing in wine, beer, and ice. Serving a hundred people took more food and drink than most people realized, and the biggest problem was keeping the various items either hot or cold over an extended period of time. Beverly was nervous about Big Jack. She wanted him to win, but she wasn’t sure what that might do to their schedule. She enjoyed being around him and didn’t want him sitting in the mayor’s office in town. On the other hand, hoping he would lose was just not right.

  Sue and Ray were busy, too. Their biggest challenge was finding room for the guests to park their vehicles. They had cordoned off a nearby street that was very rarely used and planned to have people park their cars there. They also had some fairly flat land about half a mile away where people could leave their cars, and they would run a shuttle service from there to the party using Ray’s old Jeep. They were busy putting up signs in various locations, directing people to these options.

  “Hey Ray. There is a call for you in the office.”

  Ray waved to Tyee to let him know that he heard. He went up to the office and picked up the phone.

  “Ray Pacheco.”

  “Hello Ray, this is Tony Garcia.”

  “Well my goodness, Tony. Good to hear from you. Are you in the neighborhood or something?”

  “No, I’m in Boston. Look, I have some things we need to talk about and I have something I need to give you, can you come to Boston?”

  “Talk about? Give me something? What’s this about Tony?”

  “I’d really prefer to talk to you in person.”

  “Can’t you come here, or I could meet you in Albuquerque.”

  “Maybe I’m being paranoid, but I don’t want to be in New Mexico.”

  “What’s this about?” Ray’s tone took on an edge.<
br />
  “It’s about the things that went on in Ruidoso. I know what happened with Nelson and Franklin. But there’s something you need to know and I won’t discuss it on the phone or leave Boston. So if you want to know, you’ll need to come here.”

  Ray paused. His gut was telling him that he needed to find out what Tony knew—and he needed to do it now. He made a decision.

  “Give me your number. I’ll call and book a flight. Once I have the details, I’ll call you. I’ll try to be there tomorrow. I hope you know what you’re doing, Tony.” Ray got his number and hung up.

  Ray went and found Sue. “We need to talk a minute.” He told her what had happened. Sue knew how to book a flight—he didn’t. He asked her if she wanted to go with him.

  “Ray, you go find out what this is about and come back home. I’ll call right now and try to get you out early in the morning and—depending on schedules—back tomorrow evening. If I can’t, then I’ll book you a hotel and get you back the next morning.” She left to take care of the arrangements. Ray felt nervous.

  As Ray went back into the main room, he noticed that there a small band was busy setting up in one corner. He hoped they wouldn’t be playing loud rock and roll, but based on the ages and appearances of the band members it probably was. He headed to the opposite corner and took a seat. He was sitting there when Sue came back.

  “Connections aren’t good. I got you out early in the morning from Albuquerque on TWA, but there’ll be a stop in Dallas and you’ll get in Boston late afternoon—so most of the day will be flying or waiting, sorry. So, no question you’ll be spending one night. I booked a room downtown at the Hilton—not cheap. Coming back isn’t any better. You’ll leave a little after noon and get back to Albuquerque around nine. It’ll be eleven or later by the time you drive home—one long day. You sure you want to do this?”

  “No, I don’t want to. And I’m not sure I can bill the Governor for this, either. Asshole Johnson probably won’t pay until he knows what Tony wants first. Sue, I’m on edge and need a break.”