Ganado: a novel

by Manolo Mario

  They stood directly across from the priest, on the other side of the empty casket. Rico stood behind, trying to keep a straight face. Somehow, Galo managed to convince the priest that Alonso and Elena were in danger and that the ruse of his death was necessary.

  As they sat together two days ago in the church sanctuary, Father Tomas stared at him incredulous, for several long moments. He finally replied, “I’ll probably burn up in hell for this, you know.”

  Galo just smiled sheepishly. He’d known the priest for a good many years and they had always shared a sense of mutual respect. If not, then Rona’s devotion and stature with him provided the solution. This apparently carried more weight then even Galo had imagined.

  After finishing his short and sweet eulogy, Father Tomas glanced at Galo and gave a slight nod. Galo replied in kind - their agreed-upon signal for ending the service.

  Relief washed over the priest’s face. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…..”

  A chuckle escaped Rico’s mouth.

  Elio’s heel quickly drew back and found his shin.

  Galo stepped forward and placed the flowers on top of the casket, right beside the faded photo of his very-much-alive friend.

  ~~~

  Galo’s plan worked better than expected. Though not in season as yet, the children of the families were packed and sent away to the beach house in the east, except for Galo’s baby. Elio’s wife, Fiona, went with them to make sure they were cared for. They directed a couple of helpers as well.

  The continuing complication involved Alonso himself. He had not awakened from his injuries and the doctors concluded he was in a coma. There had been some head trauma, and though they did not give it too much importance due to the other severe injuries, they were now worried. If they were going to be successful with their plan, Alonso could not be found. The hospital was well compensated to make sure no one knew. Twenty-one days passed since his injuries and nineteen days since Elio saw the cop. He needed to resolve the protection rate issue as well.

  ***

  Galo slept little during this period. He looked around furtively, not wanted to be seen. At the current count, he visited nine houses of doubtful reputation with varying names that could not hide their purpose; he chatted with a minimum of seventeen ladies of varying shades and talents; drank an unmeasured quantity of rum; and smoked an ungodly number of cigarettes. If he indulged with any of the seventeen, one would be hard pressed to obtain the information from him.

  The art was in the conversation. It required a friendly engagement along humorous topics. This led into their trade. One more step slipped the ladies to speak about their strangest encounters, all in fun. Of course, money would need to exchange hands and during this whole process, no suspicions could be raised.

  On this, the twentieth night, Galo ventured a little out of the way to house number eighteen on his schedule with a plainly painted sign in the front above the door reading ‘Lulu.’ The place stood at a corner of an alley a block from the Malecon.23 It was an interesting place, not as nondescript as one would expect, but not too loud either. He remembered the name from the cattle brokers at the restaurant that one day three months ago. Music played and the buzz of many people talking dominated. Every few moments a belly laugh or a guffaw would rise above the chatter.

  The entrance had steps climbing to the door. They were wide at the base and narrowed by the door. It rose a good six feet to the entrance, but there were no handrails. An awkwardly placed streetlight sat to the left facing the door, a few feet from the bottom of the staircase. It seemed to provide a beam of light straight down and everything else around it was dark.

  Upon entering the door, Galo was swept up in a dance by a scantily clad blonde smoking a noticeably large cigar. He went along smiling and twirling around the room and splitting the time between looking at the young woman and the various patrons. He did not recognize anyone initially as the piece of music ended and he made his final turn. She was a little out of breath when she spoke, “Hey, you’re cute and thanks for the dance.”

  She still had an arm hanging on his shoulder and the other bent into the air with the cigar burning between her thumb and three fingers. He looked her down and up. “You move real well and by the looks of your cigar, there are other talents you have perfected.”

  Her eyes flew wide open to show their blues, accompanied by a slight grin. She then turned her head to the right and up, brought down the cigar and opened her mouth to take a good pull. She let out rings of smoke, one, two, and three, before breathing again. She then broke into a broad smile, “Cute and with a strong voice; let’s get a drink.”

  This place hosted a cast of characters all indulging in various pleasures. There were a couple of businessmen in suits with loosened ties. There were sailors, which Galo expected. There were other people; tourists most likely. He thought he heard English being spoken. On the good side for his cause, besides the blonde he hooked up with, most of the other ladies were brunettes of different shades. The more he surveyed the room, the more apparent there were mulatas for the choosing. The blonde hung on him. She strafed his upper back and right arm with her protruding breasts while they waited for the drink.

  “Do I get your name before the drink?” She hissed.

  He took the drinks from the tender and offered her one, but held it back at the last minute. “It’s Rick.”

  She reached for the drink, but he teased her a bit moving the drink around until she finally gave him a peck on the cheek. She whispered in his ear. “I’m Lesly.”

  Galo handed her the drink and pointed to some seats by a window. After a few sips, he leaned forward, and smiled. “Lesly, you are gorgeous. I have not been to this place before. Beside the fact you are here, what makes this place special? Who comes here and why?”

  It opened a faucet. She began to talk and talk about her friends, and about the various regular characters and kept coming back to what a cute guy Rick was as she ran her hand along his thigh. Galo showed off his wedding band as he picked up his drink, as he lit a cigarette, and as he gestured in conversation. He took the conversation to tell stories about his adventures in such houses, mostly disruptions by jealous patrons or their wives or other girlfriends. Despite the conversation, no word of a tall bearded Spaniard emerged. By chance, Lulu herself appeared on the floor and Lesly called her to them.

  Lulu was made up in an elegant manner and stood erect, but friendly. Lesly introduced her new patron and Lulu welcomed Rick. Rick asked Lesly for a moment and he addressed Lulu directly.

  “Señora, I like Lesly, but I would also like your most sought after mulata. You know, the prettiest. Who do you suggest?”

  Lulu waived her arm wide across the room. “Well have a look. They are all beautiful. Which would you like?”

  Rick smiled and made a shy look. “You see I want this special person to be with Lesly and me.”

  Lulu stepped back and looked Rick over, “Oh, I see.”

  “To be sure, money is no object.”

  “All right. Let me see what I can do. There must be someone that I owe a bit to.”

  This is how Martica came to join Lesly and Rick. It took a few minutes for the spark, the conversation, and a little dancing. Martica seemed extremely happy and Lesly went with the flow. At their corner table, they got another round.

  “Martica, are you always so happy?”

  “I try to be, but there are difficult days.”

  Galo looked around pointing at the laughter, dancing and drinking. “With all this happiness going on? I don’t believe you.”

  “Believe me. There’s this tall, smelly Spaniard who requires thirty minutes of scrubbing before any of the girls will touch him. He drinks more than fishes and is foul. I have terrible luck.”

  “Oh, come on. It can’t be too bad. He pays, right?”

  “Pays, yes. But, he falls for me and doesn’t want any of the other girls. Señora Lulu tells me to play along because he pays well. She doesn’t like him either and so
she keeps increasing the rates and the price of his drinks, but he continues to pay.”

  “That may be bad luck, but money is money, right?”

  Her eyes drooped. “I thought so. Not so much now. He comes in on Thursdays. Did I tell you I hate Thursdays? The good thing is that Señora Lulu doesn’t let him stay the night. She kicks him out at three in the morning. We wake him from his drunken snore and drag him to the door.”

  “It’s too bad that sailors behave so rotten and are so foul!”

  “Sailor? Hell no. The guy is a cop!” She caught herself looking around with a serious demeanor.

  Galo broadened his smile and his eyes seemed to light up. “Well, tonight is different and you don’t have to worry at all. I am not a cop and I am actually a nice guy. Right, Lesly?” She nodded, smiled, and took a drag from the cigar.

  Martica and Lesly were quickly laughing again at other stories. Rick was loose and beamed with the information he received. Unexpectedly, he set his glass down and stood. Both girls looked up with a puzzled look and spoke in harmony.

  “Are you leaving?”

  Rick, in his unique a way said, “Yes, I’m leaving … but upstairs with the two of you. My mind, among other things, is running adrift thinking of what awaits.”

  Lesly and Martica giggled at each other and followed Rick up the stairs.

  ***

  The police station bustled by Thursday afternoon in May. There had been a boat accident on the bay and some lives were lost. A store was robbed the night before and someone glimpsed the culprit. A cop thought he knew the person and by the description, felt he knew where to find the thief. The description of the man alerted Santiesteban. It sounded like Leo; especially since the witness thought he heard the thief stutter. That’s all he needed, another fire developing. He didn’t care that Leo hadn’t been paid in a few weeks. There was still no sign of Esperanza and the thought of her made him feel ill. There were still smirks among the men at the station, but he remained calm so as not to create another fire. He still awaited a response from the meat people, but knew that with a dead partner they needed time. Almost a month passed and all seemed quiet. It was time to collect.

  He left the station and didn’t walk too far, when Elio startled him. Blocking his path on the sidewalk, it was now the Lieutenant’s turn to control his surprise.

  ~~~

  “Good afternoon, Lieutenant. It’s good I ran into you since I was coming to see you.”

  Santiesteban stood quietly and looked around in every direction, as pedestrians scooted by them. Elio pointed to a café bar a few doors down.

  “Can I get you a coffee and we can talk a little?”

  Santiesteban nodded in agreement and followed Elio. Two espressos were ordered from the corner window along with some water. They drank the water without speaking. Elio looked around. The coffee was served as Elio reached in his pocket and placed the coins for payment on the counter. They took the coffee and Elio talked in a very soft tone.

  “I’ve spoken to my partners and we are gravely concerned about the safety issues at our plant. We don’t want anything else to happen to any of our people. We’ve agreed we need to make sure you handle the problem. I’m going to reach in my pocket and pass our payment with a handshake. You’ll find this week’s insurance and an advance for next week. We want to be assured it all will be solved. Can I … can we count on you?”

  Santiesteban stretched his hand out and with repeated head nods said, “Nothing will ever happen to your company or your people.”

  They shook hands and the money exchanged hands. A quick nod and each man went their separate ways. If Santiesteban could have skipped along the sidewalk, no matter how silly it looked, he would have. He had two hundred pesos and knew where he could blow off some steam. Maybe things were not as bad as he thought. This is a positive turn and he looked forward to the greater inflow going forward.

  ***

  “Elio, the transfer went as planned?” Asked Galo staring into his eyes and darting back at Rico. The office was quiet and Elio nodded accordingly.

  “I didn’t spend too much time and the sneaky process played to his ego. I think.” Elio admitted to Galo and Rico.

  “Also, I can affirm from his visits and from our meeting this afternoon, his sole weapon is a nightstick. It is time.”

  Galo thought, “Gentlemen, the information I’ve provided is the best I could do. It is imperfect, but it is the best we have. If we let it pass, we will be enslaved to this animal.”

  “That is certain because the prick of a cop is going to want two hundred pesos every week. Not to mention what he will do when Alonso is resurrected,” Rico added.

  Galo lit his cigarette and took a drag. “Let’s recap. We want to keep it simple. When the bastard steps out the door of the whorehouse, Rico, you are the tallest. You’ll be hiding beside the steps. You reach up and trip him into falling down the steps. We are assuming the cop will be drunk and not balanced.” Rico nodded and Galo continued. “Rico, perhaps not exactly what you wanted, but you’ll take a cattle prod and smack him in the back of the neck. That won’t be too different from what you do to the steers. The right smack will break his neck. We can hope that the whole thing seems like a drunk fell down the steps. So, I ask for the last time, if both of you are in agreement?”

  Both Elio and Rico nodded.

  “Rico will act and the two of us will help if he needs it. The body will stay where it falls. Let’s hope the authorities determine that he fell coming out of a whorehouse. End of story! Now Rico, do you have any hesitation?”

  With eyes focused on him, Rico half winked. “Haaaaa, the son of a bitch is mine, though I wish I could carve his heart out!”

  Galo pointed at Rico, “You will not miss anything. This beast has no heart!”

  Elio tapped the table. “Heart or no heart, we are on for tonight.”

  Galo finalized the plan. “Each of you knows where to position yourself and how to get there. Try to avoid unnecessary contacts, but be friendly if you encounter any officer. Once everything is done, we meet back here and open the slaughterhouse as if nothing happened.”

  ***

  Santiesteban was back in good humor upon his return to the station. He finished several reports and looked up when the sergeant called an alarm and the squad ran out. He was left alone, and looked forward to his night at Lulu’s. He had money, but Lulu was getting too pricy. He decided to eat supper and have drinks elsewhere before the diversion. He grabbed his hat and headed out when he noticed someone left his pistol on his chair. Santiesteban surveyed the area to confirm that no one was around. He had wanted a gun for some time and for some reason the Captain had not given him one. Finally, this arm was his and it was time. Who did these people think they were? There were no concerns with taking it. The gun’s owner would never admit to the loss for fear of losing his job.

  * * *

  23 Malecon is the seawall along Havana’s waterfront.

  Chapter 26

  The night was hot, heavy and humid, like no other night in May. The sweat rolled off their faces, hands, backs, legs, and they hoped for patience. On one hand, the dark clouds and moonless night allowed for welcoming shadows. Yet, it was much too quiet. There needed to be some noise to disguise their movements. They were all committed. They knew what had to be done. This evil man needed to disappear from this earth and pay for his sins to a higher authority. That it fell in the hands of these three was merely fate.

  They started their walk from different locations as agreed. Each intended to minimize contact and not be seen unnecessarily. Their alibi and course of events would follow as scheduled. It was as well a thought-out plan, considering all the things that could go wrong, as anyone could have mustered in a short period time. It was an art to be out this late in the night and not raise suspicions or be seen by an authority out on patrol somewhere. Their pace was a normal walk, not too slow and not too fast. They turned through shadows and crossed the streets.

 
; They targeted to be in position at two fifty five in the morning. This would give them approximately five minutes of waiting for their appointment to exit the building. It was the early morning of Friday when the devil himself would indulge for the last time in the pleasures of the flesh at the house of Lulu. He had done so for the past several weeks and this week would be his unlucky number. He was a creature of habit and he kept it up for all the time he had been in La Habana.

  Elio arrived first to his spot across the street and toward the left of the front door in a darkened crook between the buildings. He noted that Lulu’s house of pleasures was ideal, just like Galo detailed. The door was elevated six feet from street level. He guessed it was a good thing to have it this close to the sea. The street had lights in a slalom pattern from each sidewalk and not all of them were working. He was concerned with the quiet of the night. When Galo scouted the location, he affirmed the brothel sounded of music and laughter and loud speaking. The noise must have been inside. Tonight, there were murmurs and muffled music in the background, and it was hot. Why were the windows not open? The storm shutters were closed holding the noise back. He felt soaked from head to toe and thought of how bad it could be inside.

  Rico, with the primary task for the night, sneaked to his spot at the left when facing the front door. He squatted in a shadow made even more obscure by the one eerie streetlight. As Galo had described, the streetlamp shone a beam of light straight down with little of it bleeding to other areas. Neither Galo nor Elio would see Rico at all, which left them wondering if Rico even made it. As for Rico, he stayed calm, but excited about his task. He was the one to avenge Alonso and his impending life of misery. No man could stand in his way tonight. For Galo, it was a practical matter to have Rico in place. He was the tallest one; the one who could reach up and trip their target.

  Galo arrived to his station later than the others. He was positioned to the right of the door as well, but further down the street, almost to the Malecon. It was a spot that would give him a wider view to see the street, the cross street, and the Malecon. He would sound the alarm in case and he would cause a distraction to allow Rico to leave if it all would go wrong.