“And we get left cleaning up their mess,” another voice grumbled.
“It’s always the way,” Gravelly Voice said. “At least it’s all done now. And in a year, we’ll be sitting pretty, counting cash for a good deed.”
“Sounds good to me,” Young Guy said and laughed.
They then started talking about baseball. Panamanian baseball. I listened in for a while about teams and players I’d never heard of as the conversation became increasingly animated. After a few minutes of this, I realized I wasn’t going to get any more information this way. They had buried something (the Volcano Stone of Panama?), marked the spot, and were now celebrating. Why were they going to get money in a year? For selling it? If so, they were smart to wait a year for the investigation into its theft to go cold.
And what was that about doing a good deed and cleaning up America’s mess? I hardly saw murdering an English multimillionaire as a good deed, and from my investigations into him, he had never had any formal ties to the U.S. besides residency. He hadn’t worked for the government, and none of his business deals had ever been in Panama.
I crept away before anyone saw me. While I was tempted to wait until the door opened so I could stick a gun under the nose of the first man to come out, I didn’t trust my reflexes enough to keep control of that situation. I had distinguished at least four voices during the conversation about baseball, and if they decided to resist, things could go sour very quickly.
Besides, I wasn’t sure just what was going on yet. It didn’t appear that they were planning any more murders or planning to get rid of the stone, so I had a bit of time. If I stuck them up now, they would probably shut their mouths and wait for their lawyers. And with their CIA-approved visas, I might never get to the bottom of this. No, it was better to keep on investigating and see what I could find.
I tried to hurry past the office and avoid conversation with the resident literary scholar, but my back twinged and I had to slow down.
“Where is he?” the night manager called out over his book.
“Having a nervous breakdown in the room,” I said, pulling out my phone and waving it over my head. “I snapped some photos of him. Smart phones are a wonder, aren’t they? He’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”
He gave me a thumbs-up. “You go, girl!”
“Oh, and don’t mention to him that you saw me. He might try and prove entrapment if he thinks you were in on it.”
“Mum’s the word, grandmum.”
“Sorry for taking away one of your customers.”
“Nonsense! Once you divorce him, he’ll be here more regularly, although I guess he won’t be able to afford the deluxe suite anymore. Divorce is good for business.”
I walked away, rubbing my back and shaking my head. What an odd business this man had.
What was odder was the business the Panamanians were getting up to. It wasn’t simple robbery, and it didn’t seem like simple revenge. This case was getting stranger and stranger.
Ten
“So, what can I do to help?” my boyfriend asked.
Octavian had called bright and early the next morning, early enough that he woke me up. He knows I generally rise at six, but I tend to sleep in after being out late sneaking around cheap motels next to strip clubs. I decided not to talk about this over the phone and had him come over. I filled him in on the latest events while we sat in my living room, having some English Breakfast tea while Dandelion batted around Octavian’s shoelaces like they were especially skinny and resilient mice.
“I don’t really see what you can do at this stage,” I said. Truth be told, I didn’t want him on this case. I didn’t want him on any of them. While he had been a great help, all through my career I had tried to keep my professional and private lives separate.
He was having none of it.
“How about I go on over to Escudo Security and pretend to be a customer? I could have them come over to my house, and you could pop out of a closet and stick ’em up.”
He actually made his hands into the shape of guns like some little boy playing cowboys and Indians.
I chuckled. “I had the chance to do that last night. I don’t think we’re at that stage of the investigation.”
“Oh yes,” he said, shaking a finger at me. “The Show ’n’ Tell Motel. I hope no one we know saw you there. It would hurt our reputation.”
“We have a reputation?”
“This is a small town. People talk. Everyone has a reputation.”
“Oh dear.”
Grimal had said something similar. About me being known as the nosy new lady who was always being seen in odd places and with odd people. That could be a problem. I used to be good at keeping a low profile.
“Just let me go over there,” Octavian said. “I can get a good look at the place. Maybe I’ll get an idea of what they’re up to. I’ll wear my best watch and cuff links.”
“Why?”
“So I look wealthy. These people are obviously attracted to wealth. I only wish I had some gaudy gemstones to flash.”
“That’s not your style.”
“No, it is not, but business is, and I know my kind. While these folks might be murderers and thieves, they’re also businessmen. They’ll see a wealthy client well connected to the Cheerville community who wants a security system and will see a good opportunity to make some money.”
“They just stole a fire opal worth more than $1 million. Why should they care?”
“I did a bit of research on the prices of security systems. The system they sold to SerMart was worth just as much as that, or more. They didn’t steal the gem
