Like A Hole In The Head

     'If I can't nail him on the estate where do I nail him?' I asked.

     'In around ten minutes you'll see.' He chewed for a moment, then went on, 'The Little Brothers are sending a witness who has to be convinced Timoteo did the shooting.'

     'Who will that be?'

     Raimundo spat over the verandah rail.

     'Fernando Lopez. He is a big shot in the organisation and he hates Savanto. He's sure Timoteo hasn't the guts to knock Diaz off. It'll be your business to convince him.'

     I didn't like the sound of this.

     'If he's going to stand over Timoteo while he shoots we can give up right now.'

     'Mr. Savanto will be here. He won't let him stand over him. This is something we have to work out.'

     I looked at him.

     'Just why are you getting involved in this? You're making yourself an accessory to murder.'

     Raimundo fingered his jaw tenderly.

     'I don't see it that way. Mr. Savanto did me a lot of good when I was a kid. I owe him plenty.' His black eyes hardened. 'This has got to work, soldier.'

     'So he tells me or my wife gets branded.'

     'When it's done you'll be a rich man. Savanto keeps his promises. You'll only have yourself to blame if he puts the iron on her.'

     I felt a cold chill crawl up my spine.

     'He will do it?'

     'He'll do it.'

     He looked at his watch, then got to his feet and went into the house. He returned, carrying two pairs of 9 x 35 binoculars. He gave me one pair, then sat down, holding the other pair on his knees. 'The bay ahead of you is part of Willington's private beach.' Again he looked at his watch. 'Take a look at the bay through the glasses and imagine you are going to shoot.'

     As I picked up the glasses I heard the distant throb of a high- powered engine. I was focusing the glasses as I picked up a sleek motorboat as it came around the arm of the bay. I adjusted centre screw. The glasses were good. I now had the boat in focus. There was a fat negress wearing a white overall at the wheel. I saw the tow rope white against the blue of the sea and I shifted the glasses to the left.

     The girl on the skis was completely naked. Her slim, perfectly-built body was golden brown: her straw- coloured hair streamed out behind her. I moved the centre screw a little and she came sharply into focus. I could see her dark nipples and her taut arm muscles. She looked like a sea nymph as she skimmed over the water to the far end of the bay. There was an excited, laughing expression on her young face. The boat made a sharp turn. She jumped the tow rope with the ease and confidence of an expert, then she lifted a leg and skimmed along on one ski.

     She cavorted for some fifteen minutes: beautiful, exciting, sexy and thoroughly expert. Then the boat took her out of sight behind the row of palm trees that fringed the bay. I heard the motor splutter, then die.

     'That's her,' Raimundo said, putting down his glasses. 'Every day at this time she skis. Diaz is one of the top skiers in South America. It's a safe bet when he has screwed her enough, they will come out on that bay and show each other how good they are. Can you nail him from here?'

     I thought about this. The target would be moving fast and constantly changing direction. I thought of the 600mm. telescopic sight which would cut down the distance to maybe a hundred feet. It wouldn't be an impossible shot, but a tricky one. Then I thought what it would mean if I missed. I looked again at the Red Dragon brand on the verandah upright. I remembered the time when I had been high in a tree with a rifle equipped with a 300mm. sight. I had waited three long, hot hours for a sniper to show: a sniper who had done a lot of damage. My arms had become stiff and my eyes, in the glare, unreliable before he raised his head into sight. The range had been close on five hundred yards. I had a split second to kill him, but I had killed him. That was three years ago. My reflexes were that much slower, but I would have Diaz in my sights for half a mile. I would be shooting with a silencer. I would have at least six shots at him without him knowing he was being shot at.

     'It's a seventy-five-twenty-five chance on,' I said. Will she perform tomorrow?'

     'Every day at this time.'

     'I'll know for sure when I've looked at her through the telescopic sight.' I stood up. 'I'm going back to get Timoteo's rifle.'

     Raimundo squinted up at me.

     'You want me to come with you, soldier?'

     'I won't run away.'

     He nodded.

'Go ahead.'

     It took me a little over thirty-five minutes to get back to the place I called my home. During the drive I thought of Lucy. I thought of the first night we had spent together. Unlike most girls these days she had been a virgin. I remembered her little gasp of pain as I had entered her and I remembered her gentle hands holding my head. I remembered the next three months when she had always been dithering but encouraging. I remembered her saying: I am a little scared of you. I do see you have to be tough and hard if you are to succeed, but please try not to be tough and hard with me.

     To get her back I had to kill a man. But who was Diaz Savanto? He had shown himself to be an animal. He had raped and branded a girl who was probably as harmless as Lucy.