“ I’m impressed, Earl. The average man would have said that eventually I’d get caught.”
“ There’s that, too, but I’d worry more about the other.”
“ Kevin was my control,” she said.
“ I wondered how you did it, but then it wasn’t my business.”
“ I met him in Israel years ago. He wrote that book defending the Hezbola’s right to take hostages.”
“ I remember the guy,” Earl said. “I thought he was a jerk.”
“ Yeah, that’s him. He was a reporter with an idea for a book. He sent me the proposal and I was intrigued. He also sent me the price of a round trip ticket and that intrigued me even more.”
“ So you went to Israel?”
“ Yeah. I liked the idea for the book, but unfortunately he couldn’t write anything longer than a news story, so I helped him with it. While we were working on it one thing led to another.”
“ And you wound up in bed.”
“ Yeah, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Kevin had all these inside contacts with the Hezbola and I saw a story developing that would make me a fortune. I was running all over the country interviewing all the wrong people and drawing the attention of the Israeli government. One night while Kevin and I were driving near the Golan Heights a couple of soldiers stopped us. They wanted Kevin to get out of the car, and when he wouldn’t they jerked him out and started using him for a punching bag. It was the last thing they ever did.”
“ What do you mean?”
“ Kevin kept a forty-five automatic in the glove box. I knew this, the soldiers didn’t. They were so intent on teaching him a lesson in Middle Eastern politics that they forgot about me.”
“ You shot the soldiers?”
“ And afterward Kevin turned me into an assassin. You could say that our roles became reversed. He became my agent. He’d hand me cash and a name and I did the rest. The incident with the soldiers turned me into a rabid supporter of any Arab cause. I killed to further their aims and got paid well in the process. After a few years it didn’t matter anymore. I was in too deep to quit, and besides I enjoyed my work. I got hooked on the challenge, the adrenaline and the adventure. They never knew who I was. Kevin kept it that way, both to protect me and to see that he never got aced out of his cut. But now he’s dead and they have no way to contact me. As far as the world’s concerned the Scorpion has gone into retirement.”
“ Jesus,” Earl said.
“ So what do you think, now that I’ve bared my soul to you?”
“ I think that now you don’t have to do Ramsingh.”
“ Think of the money. You can take Kevin’s place training the troops and heading up Chandee’s security. He’s already agreed to it. In a year we could leave here richer than our wildest dreams. You and me Earl. Forever. Do I still have your loyalty?”
“ Always,” Earl said. “Till death.”
“ And the money? What about that?”
“ I’d love being richer than God, but do we need it? I’ve been a crooked cop a long time. I’ve got enough for us to be happy. Let’s just go to Mexico. You’d love Cabo. We’ll lay on the beach, drink margaritas, windsurf and dance till dawn everyday for the rest of our lives.”
“ I want this Earl,” she said. She had plenty of money too, probably a lot more than he did, but she wanted more than plenty of money. She wanted it all. She’d worked for it, she’d earned it, she wasn’t going to walk away now.
“ Okay, babe. I’ll stick with you,” he said. She sighed. She’d been right about him. He was the man for her. Together they’d be unstoppable.
“ It’ll be great, you’ll see,” she said.
“ There’s your man,” Earl said. She turned and watched as George came into the restaurant from the dock.
“ Look, Daddy it’s George Chandee, the Attorney General,” she said in a perfect White Trini accent, loud enough for everybody to hear. She jumped out of her chair and went up to him. “Mr. Attorney General this is an honor,” she blushed.
He smiled at her. “I’m sorry, I’m pretty busy right now.”
“ What’s the matter, George, don’t you have time for your friends,” she said, lowering her voice and dropping the accent as she took his hand. She turned to Earl, added the accent and said, “Daddy, Minister Chandee is going to have a drink with us.”
Chandee looked confused as Dani led him to the table. Earl stood and pulled a chair out for him. “Nice to meet you,” he said.
“ What the fuck’s going on?” Chandee said, ignoring Earl and glaring into Dani’s eyes. He’d never seen her in disguise before, but he was adjusting fast.
“ I didn’t want to talk on the phone.”
“ You blew it at the park. Again. Then Ramsingh takes off, God only knows where, on that boat of his. Now he’s back, Broxton’s out and everything’s back to normal. What’s going on?”
“ This is Earl,” Dani said, ignoring his last question. “I don’t believe you’ve met.”
Earl offered his hand and Chandee shook it. “So you’ll be taking Underfield’s place?” Chandee was talking through pursed lips and clenched teeth. He wasn’t a happy man.
“ Seems so.”
“ Not if you two don’t get it right tonight. It’s your last chance.”
“ It’s taken care of, George. Don’t worry,” Dani said.
“ That’s what you said last time and I’m still worrying.”
“ He goes down at five straight up. This time I’m pulling the trigger. There’ll be no mistakes.”’
“ It’s about time,” Chandee said, looking visibly relieved.
“ I guess you two got business, so I’ll be on my way.” Then he turned to Chandee and offered his hand again. “Been a real pleasure.”
“ Same here,” Chandee said.
Earl released his hand, turned and made his way to the old Indian Trinidadian sitting on the hood of his taxi in the parking lot.
“ Earl,” Dani called after him. He stopped, turned. “You forgot the key.”
“ Yeah, stupid of me,” he said.
She left the table and headed toward him, smiling as his eyes played over her body. “You’ll need this, unless you want to break a window,” she said, slipping the key into his hand.
“ I’d have got the job done, but this makes it easier.”
“ Be careful, big guy,” she said.
“ I’ll be careful,” he said.
“ One more thing.”
“ Yeah.”
“ I’ve been too sentimental about Broxton.”
“ Kind of wishy washy,” Earl said.
“ Exactly, but not anymore, it’s time I grew up. Go by the hotel and finish it. No bullets, make it look like a double drug overdose. George will make sure the cops buy it.”
“ You got it, babe.”
Earl cursed the old Indian under his breath. The bastard drove slower than his mother’s molasses. He checked his watch as he got out of the cab. He wanted to go up and finish it now, but he was pinched for time. Maria and her loverboy were going to have to wait till after it was over, but he wasn’t worried, the pills would keep them out. They weren’t going anywhere.
He gave the valet his room number and studied a tourist map of Port of Spain while he waited for his rental car. Cliffard Rampersad, the chief of police, lived in the rambling string of Victorian houses along the Savannah, not far from where Dani lived with her father, the American Ambassador. He was still studying the map when the valet honked the horn.
He jumped in the car and took off, grabbing a look in the rearview as he spun the wheels and laughed. The
