The governor of Texas sat in his office in the Governor's Mansion staring blankly out the windows at the State Capitol. He sipped his coffee. He had awakened early that morning; it was still before nine when the phone rang. He grabbed the receiver but realized that no lights on the console were lit. The phone rang again. It was his cell phone.
'Hello.'
'He took her.'
A man's voice.
'Who is this?'
'Jesse Rincon. Governor, he took your wife.'
'Who?'
'El Diablo.'
'When?'
'Not an hour ago.'
'Where?'
'Nuevo Laredo.'
The Mexican drug lord who wanted him dead now held his wife. It took Bode a moment to get his mind around that reality. He tried to think out his options.
'Governor, if you go public, he will kill her. If you call in the Border Patrol or ICE or the Mexican military, he will kill her. If you do nothing, he will kill her. We must go into Nuevo Laredo and take her back-before he kills her.'
Bode sat still for five minutes after he disconnected the phone call. He considered his next steps. Perhaps his last steps in his life. He would change clothes. He would pack his weapons and ammunition. He would fly to Laredo in the Gulfstream. He would cross the border into Nuevo Laredo. He would find El Diablo. He would kill him and save his wife.
He would not come back.
Two hundred thirty-five miles south, El Diablo said to the governor's wife, 'Does your husband really believe that he will be elected president? Another Texas governor?'
'Apparently.'
He grunted. They had just driven through tall gates leading into a white compound. Lindsay sat in the back seat of the Hummer with El Diablo. His driver and a bald man named Hector sat up front. She did not like the way Hector had looked at her. Her body still had not stopped trembling. El Diablo must have noticed. He reached over and patted her hand.
'You have nothing to fear from me, Senora Bonner.'
'Why not?'
'You saved my son's life. I told you I would not forget.'
'But you want to kill my husband?'
' Si. He has much to fear. Because he murdered my son.'
The vehicle stopped, and the man named Hector opened their door. She got out, and El Diablo escorted her past armed guards and into the house. She glanced back at the guards.
'Do not fret, Senora Bonner, the guards do not come into the house where my children live.'
The exterior of the house resembled a prison; the walls were thick and seemed impenetrable. But once through the double entrance doors, she stepped into a magnificent open-air hacienda filled with color and art, soft Latin music and Spanish voices, plants and sunlight and servants dressed in black-and-white uniforms scurrying about. The entry opened onto a stunning courtyard and pool with palm trees and lush landscaping and a grand piano. El Diablo led her into a commercial-grade kitchen where they found a chef, a slender teenage boy, and a young girl dressed in a plaid school uniform fingering a cell phone.
'Are you texting that boy again?' he asked the girl.
She quickly ended her message and smiled.
'No, padre.'
He turned to Lindsay and turned up his palms.
'Children.' He sighed. ' Senora Bonner, you met Jesus. I would like you to meet my other children, Julio and Carmelita. Children, this is Senora Bonner. She will be our guest for a few days.'
The children greeted her with good manners. The tightness in her chest lessened.
'Julio is a talented pianist, and Carmelita sings like the birds in the morning. Perhaps they will perform for you while you are here. Would you like something to eat, Senora? '
'No, thanks.'
'Perhaps you would like to freshen up, wash the smell of the colonias off. Come, I will show you to your room.'
When they exited the kitchen, Lindsay said, 'A few days?'
'I think it will take that long for your husband to arrive.'
'Mister El-'
'Please. Call me Enrique.'
'Enrique, this won't end well.'
'Not for your husband, I am afraid.'
'You don't know him. He can be a very hard man.'
'And what? I am a pushover?'
'I didn't mean-'
He laughed. 'I am just joking. Let us not talk about unpleasant matters that are in the future. Let us enjoy the moment.'
They walked down a gallery fronting the courtyard-'That is my chapel'-and past alcoves holding statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, religious shrines, and a massive 'Ten Commandments' carved in marble. They arrived at an elevator and rode up to the third floor. They proceeded down another gallery overlooking the courtyard and into a spacious suite.
'I hope this will be acceptable.'
As if he were the concierge at a luxurious hotel. And the suite was luxurious. He opened the drapes to reveal a sliding glass door leading to a balcony that looked out upon Laredo across the river. They walked outside. He gestured at the river below.
'The Rio Bravo del Norte.'
A Mexican woman dressed in a maid's outfit stepped out onto the balcony.
'Ah, Blanca. This is Senora Bonner. She is your only concern while she is our guest. Please bring her anything she desires.' He turned to Lindsay. 'Food, water?'
'Water.'
'Blanca, three bottles of Evian. And the lunch menu.'
Blanca departed, and they went back inside.
'Flat-screen television, all the cable channels. I love Fox News.'
He gestured at a painting on the wall.
'That is an original Picasso. I have an extensive art collection, perhaps you would like to see, after dinner.'
He showed her the bathroom, which was much larger than the master bathroom in the Governor's Mansion.
'Jacuzzi tub, shower… all the comforts of home. Everything you need is here. If not, simply ask Blanca, and she will obtain whatever you desire. Anything at all.'
'Thank you.'
She was thanking the man who wanted to kill her husband.
'I will leave you now,' he said. 'Until dinner.'
He walked to the door but turned back.
'Oh, please do not leave the room.'
He shut the door behind him. She went over and locked the door. But there was soon a knock.
'Who is it?'
