The Collected

aqui?”

“Cinco dias. La mayoria sale esta tarde y en la noche llegan mas.”

“Ah. Okay, gracias,” she said. She turned to Quinn and Daeng, and played the part of interpreter. “Their turnover’s a little slow. He says sometimes up to a week. The stuff here’s been waiting for five days. Says it’ll be gone this afternoon, though.”

“Thank you,” Quinn said, looking over at Hector. Then, with an intentionally imperfect accent, added, “Gracias.”

“De nada,” Hector said.

“Can we wander around?”

Orlando translated the question, and Hector nodded, telling them they could go wherever they wanted, and that he’d be in the small office near the front when they were done.

“Gracias again,” Quinn said.

Once Hector was gone, they headed down the middle of the aisle, and turned down the row Burke had told them had been used for the Lopez hit. Nate had done an excellent job of cleaning up. There were no bloodstains and no signs of any struggle. In fact, the only thing unusual was that about a dozen of the boxes were empty.

“All right,” Quinn said. “So this is where it started.” He crouched down in front of the empty boxes. “Wrap up the body, clean up any loose ends.” He looked back down the aisle. “And get the hell out of here.”

“Same as always,” Daeng said.

“This part,” Quinn agreed. “But not the rest.” He stood back up and looked over at Orlando. “Find out from our friend if anyone else has been out for a visit in the last couple of days.”

Orlando nodded, and headed off toward the office. Quinn gave the vanished crime scene one final look-over before he and Daeng headed out.

They found Orlando standing in the doorway to Hector’s office.

“No one unusual,” she said.

“Not even the police?”

“Nope.”

Hector accompanied them back outside.

“Gracias,” Quinn said as he shook the man’s hand. “Muchas gracias.”

Back on the road, they followed the route Burke had told them Nate had taken, stopping briefly near the point they guessed Nate had done his lights-off-turn-around maneuver, but instead of going back toward Monterrey, they continued on to where the cops had been waiting. There they stopped and climbed out. Dozens of tire tracks covered the ground, some less eroded than others, but they could have belonged to anyone. Down the canyon, they found the hole Nate had dug in the ground, untouched and waiting for its body.

Back on the highway, they drove toward Monterrey, looking for where Nate had dumped his van. Burke had said they’d driven behind a row of buildings near a gas station. It wasn’t the most exact description ever, but when Quinn spotted the Pemex sign, he had a feeling it was the one Burke meant. He turned down the road between the station and a row of shops that faced the highway, and again down the road behind the buildings.

Two thirds of the way down, he knew for sure they had found the right place. Though Nate’s van was no longer there, there were scorch marks and soot on the cinderblock wall. Not a lot, but enough to indicate a fire that was started but not allowed to reach its full potential.

“And from here, he ran,” Orlando said as they stood in front of the wall.

“Apparently not far enough,” Quinn said.

He stared at the black marks, his frustration returning. He glanced at his watch. “All right. We’ve seen it all. It’s time to talk to the cop.”

CHAPTER 27

When Liz saw her brother and Orlando waiting at the departure gate at LAX for the flight to Monterrey, she had not been surprised in the slightest. Though they hadn’t mentioned on the recordings she’d listened to what airline they would be taking, Orlando had mentioned the time of their flight. Liz would have preferred to take another flight, but she knew her only chance was if she arrived before or at the same time they did. Before wasn’t an option.

She noticed a man standing with them, and realized he had to be the third voice she’d heard. There was no mistaking Daeng. He looked just like the picture Nate had shown her once.

Hanging back, she waited until boarding was all but completed, then presented her ticket and walked onto the plane as the last passenger. Her hope was that if she got on board right before the doors closed, even if her brother did see her, it would be too late to leave her behind without causing a scene-something she was sure he would not want to do.

But she needn’t have worried. He didn’t see her. Upon entering the aircraft, she had turned right and headed to her seat two rows from the back, not seeing either her brother, Orlando, or Daeng anywhere in the economy section. Apparently, they had booked themselves business-class seats, and instead of going right had gone left when they entered.

At passport control in Monterrey, she’d pressed her luck and followed as closely as she could, afraid that if she gave them too much room, she’d lose them. She positioned herself so that she would be helped by a different passport officer a few stations down, and was fortunate enough to actually finish before them. She walked quickly through Customs and lost herself in the crowd on the other side, keeping an eye on the exit.

When the three others emerged, they paused for a moment to talk before heading through the terminal to one of the booths along the wall. Though her Spanish wasn’t perfect, the sign above the booth clearly indicated it was a car rental agency.

She tensed, knowing that if she tried to rent a car herself, she’d never be able to keep up with them. Her only option would be to grab a taxi.

Once Jake and the others finished up, one of the clerks led them over to the door and outside. Liz took the exit fifty feet away, and watched as they climbed into a van with the name of the agency on the side.

She looked around until she spotted the line of taxis. She sprinted over to the one in front and jumped in.

“?A donde? ” the driver asked.

“That van,” she said in English, pointing out the window. “Follow it.”

CHAPTER 28

“Up!” The shout came from down the hall. “Up, up, up!”

Every word was emphasized by a loud bang of something knocking against the wall.

Nate opened his eyes, suddenly alert. The lights in the hallway had come on, and seeped through his door vent, creating a rectangle of illumination on his floor.

“Up! Everyone. Wake now!”

As Nate pushed himself to his feet, the overhead bulb came on. He blinked several times, shuffled over to the toilet, and relieved himself. As he was zipping up his pants, the door behind him opened.

Janus took a step into the room, with one of the fatigues-clad soldiers following.

“I said up. I not say play with self,” Janus said.

A thousand comebacks played through Nate’s head, but he kept his mouth shut.

“Put this on.”

Janus tossed something at him. As Nate caught it, he realized it was a black bag similar to the one put over his head when he’d been captured.

“Put it on,” Janus repeated.