Forty-one
EAGLE TURNED OFF THE PAVEMENT OF TANO ROAD ONTO unpaved Tano Norte, toward Susannah's new house.
'You think they'll ever pave this road?' she asked.
'Who knows? I thought the county would never pave Tano Road, but they did. Anyway, a lot of people in Santa Fe think dirt roads are charming.'
'Really? I think they're dusty in summer and muddy in winter.'
'Your opinion is unassailable, but add icy to muddy. I've seen eight inches of snow on this road. You're going to need snow tires.'
'And a stock of canned and frozen food, too.'
'Not really. The county plows the roads in good time.' Eagle turned in through her front gate and pointed at the garage. 'You're going to need a private contractor to plow your parking area, though. It's uphill from your garage to the gate. I'll give you a name.'
'It's very convenient that you have this stock of people to do anything needed,' she said.
They got out of the car and walked down the steps to her front door. She unlocked it and stepped inside. 'Oh,' she said. 'It's so much better without the seller's furniture. I hated his furniture. And it's spotless.'
'I sent my housekeeper and half her family over yesterday.'
'Ed Eagle, you are an angel.'
Eagle pointed at the mover's truck that was pulling in through the gate. 'It's going to look even better with your furniture in it,' he said.
THE SUN WAS SETTING as the mover's truck departed, and Eagle sat on a sofa in the handsome study while Susannah poured them a drink.
'God, I'm tired,' she said, handing him a newly unpacked glass and flopping down beside him.
'All you need is a drink and some dinner and a good night's sleep,' he said.
'I don't even know which box the sheets are in,' she replied, taking a big swallow of the bourbon.
'Don't even look for them. Sleep at my house tonight and officially move in tomorrow. My housekeeper and her sister, who is going to be your new housekeeper, will be here to help you get things sorted out.'
She rested her head on his shoulder. 'What would I do without you?'
He put his arm around her and pulled her closer. 'I hope you don't find an answer to that question anytime soon.'
CUPIE HIT THE OUTSKIRTS of Tijuana just as it was getting dark. He pulled over and consulted the map from the rental car agency, looking for a place to leave the car. 'Good,' he said, 'there's a dropoff point very near the border crossing. We'll be there in ten, fifteen minutes.'
'Let's get some dinner first,' she said.
Cupie turned toward the backseat and looked at her. 'Barbara,' he said evenly, 'are you out of your fucking mind?'
'I want food,' she said.
'You want to die,' he replied.
'Oh, relax, Cupie.'
'Barbara, I know very well that it was you, not your sister, who cut that guy's dick off, but I can only imagine what his uncle, the policeman, is going to do to you when he finds you.'
'You're being melodramatic.'
'I'm being wise,' he said. 'This is what is going to happen: We're going to drive to the drop-off, leave the car, take our bags out of the trunk and then I'm going to escort you into the United States and we'll say good-bye. But I'll buy you dinner on the other side of the border, if you're interested.'
'Oh, all right.'
Cupie put the car in gear and, after checking the map again, headed for the border.
VITTORIO WATCHED CUPIE drive away. He would be going straight for the border crossing and the rental car drop-off there, but Vittorio knew the town better. Driving quickly, he cut through back streets and emerged a hundred yards from the border. He drove into the rental car drop-off, got his bag out of the trunk, marked down the mileage and tossed the contract on the desk of a dozing clerk. Then he walked across the street and stood in a doorway. Two minutes later, Cupie drove up, removed luggage from the car and went inside. Barbara did not appear.
CUPIE APPROACHED THE DESK and laid the car contract on its surface. 'How would you like to buy a couple of very nice guns, amigo?' he asked the clerk.
'Guns, senor?' the man asked.
'Maybe you don't need them, but they'll sell quickly on the street.' He laid his 9mm and Barbara's.25 on the desk, first popping the magazines and checking the breach to be sure they were unloaded.
The man quickly examined both guns and put them back on the desk. 'How much?'
'Six hundred American for the two of them.'
'I'll give you three-fifty.'
'Five-fifty'
The clerk looked doubtful.
'Five hundred, and that's my best price.'
'Are they clean, senor?'
'Of course, amigo. I brought them from the United States myself,' Cupie lied.
'Momentito,' the man said. He went into a back room and came back with two hundreds and six fifties. The money changed hands, and the guns disappeared into the clerk's desk drawer. 'Vaya con Dios,' the clerk said.
'You betcha,' Cupie replied. He went back to the car and opened the rear door. 'Okay, sweetheart,' he said, 'here's how we're going to do this.' He pulled the towing handle out from her large case. 'You're going to walk ahead of me down the street to your right, then turn for the border crossing to your left. It's very brightly lit, so you can't miss it. I'm going to be about fifty feet behind you.'
'Why can't we go together?'
'Because if our policeman friend is watching and he sees you with me, he'll know who you are. Alone, he may not spot you; I doubt if he has a picture.'
'I suppose that makes sense,' she said, taking a scarf from her purse and tying it around her head.
'Good idea,' he said. 'You look different already.'
She got out of the car, took the handle of her rolling suitcase and began walking.
Cupie gave her a head start, then followed. He had no idea what he would do if the police turned up, except deny that Barbara was who they were looking for.
VITTORIO WATCHED from the doorway across the street as the two left the drop-off and started toward the border. He fell in ten yards behind Cupie. There was a line of pedestrians at the crossing, perhaps fifty people, some carrying luggage, some drunk, all brightly illuminated by floodlights and waiting patiently to speak to the border patrol officers. He watched as Barbara joined the end of the line and Cupie held back, to allow a few others to separate him from her. Vittorio waited, then he joined the line, too.
As he did, a police car rolled slowly around a corner and toward the border crossing. Another patrol car was already parked next to the line of pedestrians, with two officers inside, watching them shuffle past.
Vittorio was glad he had the.45 Colt on his belt, and then he wasn't glad. He wasn't going to get into a shoot- out among all these people, and neither was he going to attempt to carry the pistol across the border; he had to get rid of it.
The second police car came to a stop next to the first, and Vittorio could see his friend, the police captain,
