Baja Blues: The Boy Who Played With Marbles (Liza McNairy Mysteries Book 2)

by Dan Glover

  "Instead you're hiding out here with me... ain't that just like a white man. Don't wanna take me anywhere that we might be seen together."

  "Come on, Bernie... it isn’t like that."

  "I'm teasing you, Hank. Come on. Let's get dressed and go to dinner. Take me somewhere nice."

  The resorts all had fine dining. Sure... he'd take her down the beach to the Sol Beach House or maybe the Stil Victoria Playa Hotel... maybe even get a room. Spend a little time wining and dining the woman, and a little more time... well... doing more of the dirty.

  Bernie Cooper was one of those kinds of women who he thought he'd never stand a chance with... hell, if they didn’t accept MasterCard the odds were they wouldn’t go for Hank Lupo. He had no illusions. He was a middle aged man with a paunch, bad teeth, and a rapidly receding hairline. The only thing he had going for him was the swagger he wore... that practiced step that the authority of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department imparted to all who wore the badge.

  2

  Here, though, he was nothing. No one in Mexico recognized his position. Why should they? A hundred thousand white men like him flowed through Santo Tomas every year all of them pretending to be something they weren’t. On the other hand, a woman like Bernie Cooper... well... she could change the day into night with just a glance and a whisper.

  He saw the way they all looked at them when they walked into the Playa... like he'd done hired her for the night. Christ, he'd think the same thing himself if he spotted an old cracker with a fine woman like Bernie trotting along beside him. What the hell did she see in him? He had no idea but he damned sure wasn’t going to go and spoil the show by asking inane questions.

  "Jesus, you look good, Bernie."

  "Why thank you, Mr. Lupo. You ain't half bad yourself. Care to dance?"

  It was like they were cut from the same cloth. She seemed to anticipate his each and every move flowing into and out of his arms, Ginger Rogers to his Robin Williams. Luckily he'd kicked off his shoes so he wouldn’t crush her toes with his clod hoppers. Bernie never seemed to notice his lack of skill or if she did she didn’t say so.

  The mariachi musicians seemed to time the intricacies of their melodies to Bernie's moves playing one song after another. El Perdón was followed by La Gozadera and then Danza Kuduro, all tunes Hank knew from frequenting dive bars in Los Angeles with his Spanish sweethearts. By the time they sat down, Hank was glad to see she was as breathless as he was.

  "You shake it pretty well for a honky, Mr. Lupo. Where'd you learn those moves of yours?"

  "Come on, Bernie... I'm a hack compared to you. You got it going on, girl. As good as you are you ought'a be up right up there on stage Dancing with the Stars."

  "Well, thank you, Hank. It's been a while since I've had this much fun. Now what’cha gonna feed me, big boy?"

  She liked her man to take charge. He noticed it in the bedroom. But neither was Bernie a submissive mouse like his wife Sally, just laying there waiting for him to finish. Nope. Bernie Cooper had a style all her own.

  He knew they'd never see one another again once this little vacation had come to an end. That was a given. Maybe that's why he was able to open up to the woman in ways that simply weren’t possible with Sally. He loved his wife. But the woman had a habit of judging him, of finding fault in all his weaknesses rather than the strength Bernie seemed to see. Taking Bernie by the hand he led her into the lounge sitting at a table in a darkened corner where they'd be alone. She surprised him by sliding into his arms after he ordered their drinks and meals. Had to admit, the woman was something.

  "So where you from, Mr. Lupo?"

  "I was born in Albany, New York. Spent eighteen years there until I enlisted in the Navy. No jobs. All the steel mills had shut down. That's where my father worked, my uncles, my grandfathers. Growing up I thought I'd follow in their footsteps. But then the layoffs began.

  "It'd happened before. Whenever the economy went into the shitter, the mills were the first to slow down. Every other time, though, once things picked up again, so did the steel industry. That was before China got into the act. They were able to make the steel, ship it here, and still do it for half of what the stateside factories were charging.

  "I couldn’t afford college. Hell, no one in my family ever went past high school. They'd graduate and go right to work in the mills. Not me. No work to be had. So I joined the service. Figured I'd get a free education out of the deal. Turned out I wasn’t much for book learning, though. So I put in my twenty and got out."

  "How'd you end up being a Sheriff's Deputy?"

  3

  "I was thirty eight years old and I simply wasn’t ready to retire. The civil service exam allows extra points for veterans like me so I scored pretty high. I had a friend who joined the department a year before I got out. He put in a good word for me. So here I am."

  "And is there a Mrs. Lupo waiting for you somewhere in Los Angeles?"

  "Yes there is. Sally. I married her while I was stationed in San Diego. Three kids."

  "So what's Mr. Lupo doing in big bad Mexico without his family?"

  "The children are grown and married and the wife... well... we don't talk much anymore. I know it's as much my fault as hers. We tend to do our own thing these days. How about you, Bernie? Where are you from?"

  "Oh, I'm one of those Creole girls you hear so much about. Born and raised in Louisiana... down on the bayou. Never knew my daddy. Moved out here when I got pregnant with Reilly. My momma didn’t want me around no more. Saw my belly swelling and chased my ass off. Come out here to live with my Aunty Lee and went to work. It wasn’t until the last few years I've been able to slow down a bit. Work one job instead of three. Hell, I never knew what it was like to sleep more than two hours at a time.

  "After Reilly was born, I figured my life was over. I was wrong. It'd only just begun. Hey, there's a song like that. That skinny white girl who wouldn’t eat. Karen something... remember her? Anyway... that boy of mine taught me so much about love and about life. He's always surprising me. Like this trip. He called me up right out of the blue and said, momma, we're going to Mexico. Pack your bikini."

  "Well, I gotta say, Bernie, you sure do wear it well."

  "Well thank you, sweetie! Even if it isn’t true it's nice to hear. So tell me about the psychics... how well do you know them?"

  "I worked with McNairy when she was with the department some years back. Good girl. Forthright is the psychic, supposedly. I've known 'em both for years."

  "Tha man is gay."

  "Do you think? What gave it away?"

  "But they're quite a couple too, Hank. You'd almost say striking, wouldn’t you."

  "I wouldn’t but that’s just me, Bernie."

  "You don’t like him. Jealous?"

  "Of Forthright? Come on, Bernie. Actually I do like the man... I mean, not in a gay sort of way. I admire him. What he's been through. You know he spent ten years on death row?"

  'I had no idea. Who'd he murder?"

  "Turned out no one. Falsely accused. Got an enormous settlement from the County of Los Angeles. Ran into eight figures is what I heard."

  "So what the hell is he doing here?"

  "Guess he's like me... can't just kick back and drink piña coladas all day. Has to be in on the action. The man's got a gift."

  "I don’t believe in that sort of shit... do you?"

  "I didn’t used to believe it, Bernie. Now, I'm just not sure. He's done some pretty impressive things... found people everyone else had given up on, both dead and alive."

  "I see them both on television sometimes.... the daytime talk shows. I had no idea Reilly was mixed up with them."

  "Now you're the one who sounds suspicious, Ms. Cooper."

  "Maybe I am at that, Mr. Lupo. My boy is thirty years old but I still look out for him. I wouldn’t want a couple shysters taking advantage of Reilly."

  "I don’t blame you there, Bernie. They are a pair to draw to, that's for sure. Honestly, though, I
think Reilly is in good hands. They'll treat him fair. If not, I'll kick the shit out of both of them."

  "You'd do that for me, Mr. Lupo?"

  "That and a whole lot more, Ms. Cooper. Now... what say we retire to that room of ours and you show me more of those moves?"

  Chapter 35—Empty Bed

  (And Light Bundles)

  Where had Danners gotten off to? Normally the man slept until noon but this morning when she woke his side of the bed was empty. Thinking he might've gone to the toilet she rolled over, tried to go back to sleep, but then gave up.

  "Danners? Are you in there?"

  No answer. Maybe he woke early and went out to get breakfast. Taking advantage of her alone time she took her bundle into the bathroom, loaded a spoonful, and held her Defi Dupont Extreme Lighter—its one and only purpose on this earth—under the silver spoon until the powder melted into a pure and potent liquid amber in color and tantalizing in taste. She was nearly out... the gram she had left would last only the rest of the day. Time to see the something man... but first... ah... the surge of the rush followed by... heaven.

  She'd been getting high close to half her life with no thought of ever quitting. Oh, Danners worried over her from time to time, sure... and yes, it was probably true that one day she'd end up on the losing end of the needle. Most junkies did. Still, the destination didn’t matter as much as the journey.

  The water was cold. Dammit. Didn’t they have water heaters here in Mexico? She'd noticed if she waited until evening to shower there was plenty of hot water. Mornings, though, nothing. Just as well... maybe she'd take a stroll down the beach... not too far... to see if she could spot her supplier of fine powder... before Danners returned with breakfast.

  Odd that the man left her alone like that. He was the one going on about how they needed to stick together. Him and his visions. Dragon dreams he called them. The man loaded up on the hottest foods he could find just before bedtime... no wonder he had nightmares.

  "But that's how I see what I see, Liza... I've been like that since I was a kid."

  "I've never heard of that before, Danners... are you for real?"

  "My mother warned me about eating spicy food before bed... she said I'd have nightmares. So I had to try it and see. Sure enough. When I started kicking and screaming she'd wake me by throwing ice water on me."

  "What? Are you kidding me, DanMan?"

  "She wasn’t the typical lovey dovey type of mother, Liza. I never told anyone this, but she used to sell me to strange men to get money for drugs."

  "Jesus, that's some sick shit... how old were you?"

  "I don’t know... four, five... six years old... I do remember how she brought me to Union Station in Los Angeles when I was six and left me there. Told me she'd be right back. Then she went and drove her car into a ravine and killed herself. I always wondered why she didn’t take me with her."

  "God, DanDan... and I thought I had it rough growing up. What happened after that?"

  "I became a ward of the courts... foster homes, one after another. I couldn’t wait to grow up. When I finally turned eighteen I joined the army."

  "That must've been during the Vietnam era."

  "Yes it was. That's where they shipped me after boot camp. I did one tour of duty there before the war ended and they sent me home."

  "So what did you do in the army? Were you a cook? Yep. I see you as a cook, DanDan."

  "Sniper."

  "No you weren’t. Danners Forthright was a sniper?"

  "I had a knack for handling guns. Never knew it until I joined the military. Once they got me on the gunnery range I discovered I could hit a target from a mile away... if the day was still and I knew the distance."

  "That's impossible. A mile?"

  "Oh yeah... so they put a rifle in my hand, dropped me off in the middle of the jungles of Vietnam, and told me to have at it. I hooked up with a Rangers unit... the sergeant heard I was a crack shot. Asked me to tag along. That was the first time in my life anyone actually wanted me around.

  "I'd always hang back, watch out for enemy patrols. Over there, even the civilians could be deadly. They had a habit of engaging our boys... bringing them food and what not, but the baskets they carried would be loaded with explosives. Boom. A whole squad gone... just like that.

  "So I kept an eye on the men. If I saw anyone approaching them in the field, I shot first and never asked questions. That's the only way we survived over there. I killed anything that walked or crawled... didn’t matter who or what it was."

  "That must've been hard."

  "At first it seemed second nature. Later, though... well... I had an incident. I still have nightmares about that fucking jungle. Guess I always will. That comes with the territory, I suppose."

  "Jesus... I had no idea, DanDan."

  "I don’t talk about those days much... I don’t think anyone does who went through a war. The weird part is, after a while, over there, everyone becomes the enemy. Even when I came home and tried to settle down, I'd keep watch. I still do."

  "Who do you watch out for now?"

  "You, Liza... I'm always watching out for you."

  She hadn’t seen the note at first. He'd stuck in inside the case where she kept her shit... her dope, her syringe, her lighter and spoon. She just didn’t notice it, not until she went to put her stuff away.

  Liza... if you're reading this you got up before I returned. Don't go out. You are in danger. Stay away from the something man. He's bad news.

  She read the note twice. Well, yeah, Captain Obvious... they'd talked about how they were both at risk as long as they stayed in Mexico. But she'd be in a lot deeper shit if she didn’t procure more candy and soon. She'd been in that position before. Besides... she'd just pop down by the shore and have a quick look around. If the something man wasn’t about, she'd come right back and wait until later. No one would be the wiser.

  Chapter 36—Assholes

  (And Trouble)

  "Uh oh... I just got a text from Special Asshole in Charge Matt Murk. He's wondering why our database is being accessed from Mexico when I'm supposed to be home sick with the flu."

  "Why didn’t you just take some vacation time?"

  "I figured the guy would turn me down, Danners. That's how the Bureau operates. Once they discover your weakness, they go after it with all they got."

  "So now you're in trouble?"

  "I don’t know, Elena... possibly. I suppose I oughta think about going back."

  "But we had plans for tonight..."

  "I guess it wouldn’t hurt to stay on another day, though."

  They'd gotten Danners his heroin and were heading back to Santo Tomas when his phone buzzed. Murk was being a prick again, as if that was anything new. The man lived to bring down his subordinates, or maybe the shit stream of his life was just running downhill like it had a tendency to do. Christ. Why couldn’t he have been born rich instead of handsome?

  Now they were back and Danners had gone off to reunite with Liza but mother was still nowhere to be found. Hell, he hadn’t seen her since she took off with Hank Lupo two days ago. He didn’t like it. Reilly'd heard about Lupo and his penchant for chasing skirt. And mother... well, she was nothing if not naïve. Hell, he doubted she'd been with a man since his father.

  "Her cabin is empty and it's pretty obvious she hasn’t been back. I don’t like it, Elena."

  "Come on, Reilly... your mother is a big girl. She's probably off with her new boyfriend exploring the sights."

  "Hank Lupo isn’t her boyfriend."

  "Well, you could've fooled me the way they were sucking face down at the beach."

  "I don’t like it. That man is married."

  "So what, Reilly. Let her have a little fun. Isn't that why you brought her down here in the first place?"

  "No, I invited her along because she hasn’t had a real vacation in decades."

  "And now she is... you oughta be happy about that. Let's order up some drinks and get wasted."

&
nbsp; "But where could she be?"

  Chapter 37—The Luxury

  (Of Demons and Saints)

  "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned."

  There were times when he wondered if he did those things on purpose just to have the opportunity to confess to his Lord and Savior. The sanctuary always seemed so peaceful right after morning mass. If only he had the money he'd have stained glass windows installed like the Catholic Church over in Ensenada but at the prices they were asking that was an impossibility.

  Arturo had done as he was asked. The man was reliable. Someone he could count on. And it was McNairy's own fault. The woman shouldn’t be dabbling in dope. If she didn’t overdose today it'd be tomorrow. Everyone knew that addicts like her were living on borrowed time. And hers had come due today.

  "Will she suffer much, Arturo?"

  "¡Oh, no, padre. Ella va a dormir. Nada mas.... and when she wakes the angels will be singing.'

  Sleep... now that was a luxury. If only he could catch a bit of shuteye the world might sort itself out. But lately, the insomnia had him in its grip. Even when he worked himself to exhaustion, as soon as he laid his weary body down, his eyes refused to stay closed.

  Was it the guilt? Maybe. But he'd confessed his sins and in doing so absolution was his. Wasn’t that what the bible taught? They'd crucified two thieves alongside Jesus Christ and in His presence one found redemption. Had he not?

  Jesus, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.

  The good thief was crucified on His right side. The bad thief on His left. Of what significance was that? Was it but rumor? Only the Gospel of Luke made mention of the thieves. Yet in keeping with the myth, Father Fletch made use of his right hand in wielding his authority, and his left in dealing out retribution to those who would not listen to the word of his God.

  The angels will be singing... how poetic. And yet might they not also be weeping? McNairy had come here to Santo Tomas not to blasphemy the Church but to right a wrong perpetrated upon a child. That he had a hand in that... well... the deed bothered him more than perhaps it should.