Kiss and Kill (17 page)

“Not if I can get close enough to explain the proposition.”

“What proposition?”

“That if I don't come back with Liz, you'll turn Garner over to the law. They know he'd drag them down with him—or if they don't know that for sure, they can hardly afford to take the chance.”

“But to let those two get off scot-free …” began Claire in a troubled way.

“I'm not the arm of justice,” said Barney. “I'm being paid to get Ed's wife back, nothing more.”

“But if they're free, what's to keep them from kidnaping her again? Or me?”

“Suppose we get Liz back first and argue about it later.”

But Claire was unwilling to let it drop. “If you're killed, Barney, we may never get Liz back. Ed and I couldn't carry it through alone.”

“I agree,” said Ed instantly. “I'll go instead.”

“They'd be slower to suspect a woman than a man. It's only a matter of carrying the message.”

“Claire, they'd just hold you as another source of information, an even better one than Liz. And you, Ed, what if you saw Liz? What would you do?”

“I don't know, Barney.”

“There's the point. You don't know. You might lose control of yourself and foul up the whole deal. Besides, they know you both from those photographs. You'd never get close enough to explain.” Barney slapped the wheel. “End of debate.”

It was after midnight when they reached San Blas.

The days when the Manila galleons had stopped here were centuries in the past; the harbor had filled with silt, and the grand government buildings were roofless ruins. Now the town consisted mainly of adobe buildings around a central garden, with shacks of mud and sticks dribbling off up and down the coast.

The hotel was about a mile out of town. Claire directed Barney down a sandy track that brought them to the deserted beach half a mile from the hotel. A horde of mosquitoes gathered immediately in the lee of the car, but in the breeze the air was clean and sweet. The moon was low in the west; in thirty minutes it would drop behind the horizon.

Barney handed his .45 to Ed. “Keep this ready. Claire, you've got your .32. You think you can use it properly?”

“Now? Yes.”

“Okay, we'll set up a series of passwords; it'll be dark by the time I get back, so you won't be able to see me. Claire, you wait in the car, ready to turn on the lights. Ed, you gouge out a foxhole in the sand a dozen yards away. That way you two will be able to set up a crossfire. If I'm coming back with Liz and everything's okay, I'll yell, ‘Merry Christmas.' Got it?”

Ed and Claire nodded.

“If I haven't got Liz, but there's no danger, I say: ‘Happy New Year.' What's the next holiday?”

“Lent, Easter—”

“No, April Fool's Day. I'll say: ‘April Fool.' That means the situation is complicated, stay under cover, and wait for some sign from me. Next is May Day. You know what that means. You turn on your headlights and open fire as soon as you can see what you're shooting at.”

“And what if you don't come back?” cried Claire.

Barney shrugged. “Then I've had it as far as you two are concerned. But give me an hour before you write me off. After that, I suggest the police.” He went to the car and took Garner's wallet and signet ring. “If anyone comes by, better shove a sock in his mouth. He could louse everything up by yelling at the wrong time. And watch your fingers. He may bite.”

He nodded at Ed, then looked at Claire.

“May I come a little way with you?” she asked.

“Okay,” said Barney. “But not far.”

Together they struggled through the soft sand toward the sea. They found easier going on the wave-packed sand just above the surf line. Claire took off her shoes and padded barefoot beside him. Ahead, the floodlighted hotel looked like a frosted confection, with its tiered balconies and fountains sparkling in the garden. On their right the surf marched forward in phosphorescent ranks; on their left a few feathery coconut palms stretched their necks above the clumped vegetation. Claire had not replaced the blouse she had contributed to Garner; modesty seemed superfluous after what had happened. Barney noticed that the splice she had made in her brassiere strap raised the left breast higher than the right. Another time he might have found it amusing.

He stopped and put his hand on her shoulder. “Far enough,” he said.

She came into his arms without a word and raised her lips to his. It began like the other kiss, a mere touching of flesh; but then her lips opened and he tasted the honey of her mouth. He spread his hands across her back and felt her body surge against his.

“Ten minutes, would it matter?” she whispered.

“I can't fish and cut bait at the same time,” muttered Barney. “It'll be better later.”

“I'll be waiting.”

She turned and swayed away in the sand. Barney watched until she merged with the darkness. Then he turned and strode toward the hotel. He felt off-balance without his .45. He was suddenly conscious that he had nothing going for him but his wits.

There was no black Buick in the parking lot. Barney woke the
velador
, who called the clerk. Two men and a woman?
No hay, señor
. But had they been here?
No, señor
. Barney pulled a bill from Garner's wallet. He told the clerk to get his keys, he wanted to check the rooms.

Nightgowns and staring eyes, indignant grunts and drunken snores, bewildered children and crying babies, naked bodies unblanketed, the smells of cheap perfume and insect repellent, gritty sand and fish, damp walls and musty mattresses. But no Green, no Brown.

And no Liz.

Barney returned to the lobby scratching his jaw. He could not understand why, if Brown and Green were searching the entire route, they would have passed up the hotel. He looked at the clerk, a skinny youth with a long neck whose head tilted sidewise in the manner of a bird.

“I don't understand,” he said in Spanish. “They were supposed to leave word. Are you sure they didn't leave a message?”

“
No, señor. Nada, nada
—” His mouth snapped shut.

“How much did they give you not to tell?”

The boy only shook his head rapidly.

“They gave you something. Did they buy everybody's silence? I doubt it. Somebody will talk. The
velador
, the manager, one of the waiters …”

“No, they know nothing! The two men did not stay in the hotel. They came here yesterday morning and wished to see a certain room.” The boy shrugged. “This is not forbidden. They gave me fifty
pesos
, and I showed the room to them. They had me wait on the balcony while they searched but since they did not take anything …” He spread his hands. “Then they went up the river. I do not know what happened there. After three hours they returned and departed.”

“They left no messages?”

“None, as I said.”

“You were lying, then.”

“But this time, I assure you—”

“Were you instructed to look for a certain man? Small, with a large head, gray eyes—”

“They gave no instructions.”

Barney left the hotel in disgust and went back to the car, calling out, “Happy New Year.” Claire and Ed stared at him. Garner lay trussed on the sand. Barney strode up and kicked him in the ribs.

“You lying bastard.”

Garner giggled. “I can't be trusted. You'll have to kill me.”

Barney shook his head. “Not on your life, Garner. We've got people today who do it on a mass-production scale, the way they build cars in Detroit. One man heals your jaw, another one cuts your hair and shaves your beard. If you've got a cavity, a dentist will fill it. If they think you're nuts, they'll set your wig straight before they kill you. Society demands its full payment—a sane mind in a sound body. You'll be a long time dying, Garner.”

Garner lay still. “Can we make a deal?”

“You're in a rotten bargaining position.”

“I'm in a good one. Nothing to lose.” He laughed again; it came out as a liquid sound. “Listen, you said you were going to turn me over to Brown and Green. Is that right?”

“I'm willing to trade you for Liz, yes.”

“Okay. I'll tell you all I know.”

“Another lie—”

“No, listen. You were right about them, they wouldn't want me arrested. I'm the one who can put the finger on them back in the States, and they've got a lot to lose. That's why I let them go ahead, because I knew they wouldn't take a chance on losing me.”

“I guess you've thought what they'll do when they get you.”

“Sure, they'll try to kill me. But maybe they can't.”

“Okay. Talk.”

Garner explained that he was to trail along behind Green and Brown and catch up if they found the money. The last place Johnny could have dumped it was in Tula, for he had left the Tula hotel without his suitcase. Garner was to go there in the event he missed them. At Tula the search would end, win or lose.

Barney drew the others aside. “It sounds logical,” he told them. “I believe him.”

“Me, too,” said Ed.

“We could go straight to Tula and wait for them,” suggested Claire.

Barney frowned at her. “Have you remembered something?”

“About the money? No. But I remember the ruins at Tula. You could easily set a trap for them there.”

“You see anything wrong with that?” Barney asked Ed.

“God, yes. If they find the money before that, they'll kill Liz.”

Barney nodded and turned to Claire. “Where do you last remember seeing Johnny's suitcase?”

After a moment she said: “The last place I'm sure of was Oaxaca.”

“Okay, we can skip Guadalajara and Oaxaca, since we know he didn't ditch the money there. We'll go straight to Taxco.”

They climbed the lush Pacific slope to the squatting mountains of Nayarit. Claire sat beside Barney, while Ed sat in the rear and watched Garner, who lay on the floor between the seats. Barney felt the touch of Claire's hand on his knee. She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Delays,” she said softly. “It seems as if we're back where we were when the trip started.”

“Doesn't seem that way to me.”

“We're no closer to Liz.”

“The difference is you.”

“Oh, yes!” She slid her hand inside his shirt. “I've lost all my pride. I want to grab while I can.”

“You'll run us off the road. I can't play two games at once.”

She glanced over her shoulder; then she whispered, “When Ed falls asleep—”

“When he does, you'll be watching Garner. He's our Judas ram; without him, we can't deal with Green and Brown.”

“Oh, you …!”

She sighed and drew away to light a cigarette for herself and one for Barney. After a time she fell asleep. It interfered with his driving, so he lowered her head into his lap. Now and then he reached down and touched her half-open lips. Will it be the same, he wondered, when the danger is past?

He decided to worry about that later.

He drove on, headlights punching holes in the darkness. The tires hummed through the sleeping city of Tepic; the motor idled as he coasted down into a gorge, then whined as he climbed the other side and rolled out onto the broken, wind-scoured plateau of Jalisco.

Claire woke up at 4
A
.
M
., yawning. Barney stopped the car while she and Ed traded places. He checked Garner's bonds, made sure the rear doors were locked, and returned to his driving. Within a half hour Ed was snoring, head rolling around on the back of the seat. Barney was aware of Claire's opening her bag behind him, combing her hair, applying makeup. Most of the time she smoked and yawned. He made a mental note: Some day he might bring her coffee in bed, then sit and watch her until she was ready to begin the day. She'd be mussed and puffy, but warm and scented under the covers.…

The vision made him step hard on the accelerator. Ahead, the eastern sky turned purple, then lavender. Smoke filtered through roofs of occasional roadside huts. The highway, a slate-colored ribbon, stretched endlessly ahead. The speedometer climbed to 90, 95. The rim of the sun appeared like a red-hot stove lid balanced between two purple mountains. Barney reached up to lower the sunshade.…

He felt the rush of cool air on the back of his neck an instant before Claire shrieked. He shot a glance back and saw that the right-hand door had opened and was now being forced shut again by the wind.

On the highway a rag doll rolled and flopped over and over, as though trying to catch the speeding car.

9

Barney was petrified with fear that it was Claire who had fallen out. But no, she was still sitting there, both hands clapped over her mouth. His terror gave way to despair as he slowed the car; far behind them Garner's figure was lying on the graveled shoulder like a flung mail bag. Long tarry streaks glistened on the highway.

He made a slow U turn. There was no need to hurry; Garner could not possibly have lived through a tumble like that, at that speed.

“What happened, Claire?”

“God, Barney, I don't know. All of a sudden the door opened—”

“You weren't watching?”

“Was I supposed to watch all the time?”

“Yes!”

“Well, I couldn't Lord, he hadn't moved for three hours. You can't just sit and stare and stare …”

Her voice broke. Barney felt a tired, undirected anger.

“Shut up,” he said. “You can bawl later.”

She choked and fell silent.

He stopped the car where it would conceal the body from passing traffic. Garner had landed on his face; his face had been sliced away as though by a knife. His neck was broken; both arms, both legs stuck out in impossible directions. Where his clothing had peeled away, his flesh looked like hamburger. Around one wrist was a fragment of Claire's blouse.