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‘We need to talk,’ he declared in a gruff voice.
‘Jose?’ I asked, simply to make sure it was him. I’d only seen him a couple of times but he didn’t exactly have a memorable face. I’d tried my hardest to avoid looking at him, too, which didn’t help at this very moment in time.
‘Yes.’
He was wearing the same outfit as yesterday, with the added bonus of a frayed leather jacket. No gloves, I was quick to note. So, he was unlikely to kill me on this visit. Unless, of course, he had a pair hidden in a pocket. Along with a gun and torture tools. Okay, I think I was going to tell him to leave.
Unfortunately, I’d dithered too long and he shoved his way in, slamming the door behind us. I searched for George, hoping he was as quick as he’d been before, but he hadn’t returned yet. I took a deep breath and faced Jose down.
‘What do you want?’ I asked, cramming every ounce of bravado I could into four words. I folded my arms, matching his stance, hopefully giving off the impression that we were equals. I’m not actually sure that worked.
‘You’re getting involved in something that is of no concern to you,’ he graciously informed me. ‘Stay away from Angela, or it won’t turn out great for you.’
‘Is that a threat?’
‘Was that not obvious?’ he frowned.
‘And what to do you mean, no concern to me? This involves my father. I will follow this to the ends of the Earth to find out what happened to him,’ I claimed, hating myself at the same time for saying it.
‘If I were you, I wouldn’t,’ he warned.
‘And what does that mean?’ I huffed, deciding he wasn’t going to hurt me. Hey, if he hadn’t yet, I was pretty safe. Today.
‘Your father spent the last eighteen or so years not even thinking about you. Suddenly, you come into his life and he disappears. For good.’
‘I guess he has a lot to think about,’ I sighed, as my cell rang. I glanced at the screen and quickly hung up. It was my dad. My real one. I didn’t want him calling right now.
‘Please, cut the crap,’ Jose spat, uninterested in my call. ‘We were all at the beach the other day. We overheard you saying to your friend. You know, and we know, that Ronald is dead.’
Boy, I really wished George would come sailing back any second now. I wondered if I screamed, how far that sound would travel. Probably not far enough.
‘Alright. Then, you’ll know that I know that Angela killed him.’
‘You don’t know anything,’ he sneered. ‘Besides, who’s the likely suspect? His loving wife of many years, or a needy bastard daughter he didn’t know he had? Perhaps you were angry; you said as much yourself. Maybe he rejected you, and you lashed out. Stranger things have happened.’
Oh no, I could see where this was going. He wasn’t exactly being subtle about it anyway, but at least I knew the reason for the random visit. It was more annoying than anything else. I’d been accused of murder so many times I could actually commit it and safely get away with it. That was pretty depressing, actually.
‘You can’t pin this on me, so don’t even try,’ I groaned.
‘Who said anything about pinning?’ he asked innocently, smiling creepily. ‘He was a bad father and bad husband. You are both better off without him. And so is the world. Go back to your mother. She needs you right now.’
‘You mean because you wrecked her-my home?’ I corrected quickly. My cell rang again and I switched it off. Later, Dad. I promise. Jose gave me a suspicious look, clearly feeling something wasn’t right with me.
‘And yet, you’re still here. Strange. Why is that?’
‘I want justice for my father. You can’t stop me from getting it.’
The cold look he gave me suggested that he can and will. I quickly changed tack.
‘Besides, I have something you want, remember?’
I’d like to say he perked up, but I’m not sure he did. He’d been leaning on the TV cabinet the whole time, moving no unnecessary muscles. The vague talk of money didn’t provoke him, either. He was a tough nut to crack. I wondered what Angela saw in him. And vice versa, come to that. It was a weird combination.
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘Then, Angela hasn’t told you the full story. Tell her I have it.’
‘“It?” What “it” is it?’
‘Is there more than one “it?”’ I asked, perplexed.
‘Why are you speaking in riddles?’ George asked, coming through the door at a most opportune time.
‘George!’ I spurted before containing myself.
‘Rookie mistake,’ he whistled, admiring the scenery. ‘Whoa, what’s this guy doing here? Whoa, why’s he trying to kill you?’
Apparently, I’d said a magic word of some sort. The instant I’d mentioned George’s name, Jose had burst into life, coming toward me like his life depended on it.
‘You know George?’
It was like someone had flipped a switch. He seemed inquisitive, friendly. I freaked.
‘You know George? Oh my God, I was right,’ I said to my George, getting a little confused about all the Georges. ‘He did know him. He did send him.’
‘Send him where?’ Jose asked, oblivious to my other random conversation with thin air.
‘Uh, to my hotel room, remember? A dead, practically limbless body. Thanks for that.’
‘George is dead?’ he yelled, paling considerably. He backed up against the TV cabinet, steadying himself as he reeled at the news. The remote control fell off and hit his head as he keeled over, but he barely noticed.
‘Are you okay?’ I felt the need to ask.
‘They didn’t tell me,’ he said softly.
George – my George, I mean – carefully wandered over and checked him out.
‘He doesn’t look so good, you know.’
‘I know,’ I said quietly, but Jose was still frozen.
‘He knew Jorge, but didn’t know he was dead. That’s odd, right?’
‘What are you thinking?’
‘I don’t know what to think,’ they chorused, Jose without realizing.
‘Whoa,’ George said again, shaking his head. ‘Maybe he’s an informant.’
‘What, why?’
‘What do you mean, why? I-’ Jose looked up at me, irate. Then he checked himself, reverting to his usual grimace. ‘It’s none of your concern what I think, anyhow.’
His robotic nature was back in a jiffy. Standing up, he appeared ready to leave, and I was still partly confused about why he’d even bothered turning up in the first place. His vague warning had been pretty useless, and since he seemed to be a pal of the late Jorge, the whole murky business was even less clear.
‘Maybe he’s a cop, too,’ George suggested. I ignored him.
‘So, that’s it?’ I called out as Jose headed for the door. He turned towards me and smiled.
‘I trust we’re on the same page?’
‘Oh yeah, totally. 100%,’ I assured him, rolling my eyes.
‘Let me recap for you.’
‘Oh good, thanks,’ George whispered. ‘I think I missed-’
‘You stay away from Angela, she stays away from you. Nobody else has to die, do they?’ Jose iterated, with an emphasis I didn’t like.
‘I don’t know why you’re implying that I killed Ronnie, ’cause that ain’t true and you and I both know it.’
‘You probably shouldn’t goad him, I don’t-’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. I wasn’t there.’
‘Let me finish, damn it!’ George hissed.
‘And as far as I know, nobody was there,’ Jose went on. ‘Let us leave it as that, shall we?’
But I couldn’t, could I? I had to go mouthing off and say the fatal words that had gotten me into so much trouble in the past.
‘I have proof!’
Even I couldn’t ignore the look of utter disbelief on George’s face.
‘Now, why did you have to go and say a foolish thing like that?’ he groaned. Even if I could answer him, I couldn’t.
‘Proof?’ Jose asked, eyes narrowed.
‘I know that Angela whacked him over the head with a champagne bottle before tossing his body off the pier.’
He blinked slowly at me, giving me ample time to write out my will in my head. You know what? I didn’t care. He was a jerk, and so was Angela. Ronnie didn’t deserve to die- well, hmmm, let’s not go too far. I mean, I was sure he had redeeming qualities somewhere along the line, and he’d suffered a terrible injustice-
Okay, I was lying to myself. I could care less about all of that jazz. What I really wanted was to piss Angela and Jose off. I think I succeeded.
‘What proof do you have?’
He was all business, with a look in his eyes I could only define as hope. He wanted Angela caught. The only possible reason for that would be that he wanted the cash for himself. I wondered if I could buy him off myself- no, wait. My dad would probably notice a million bucks going AWOL. Bad idea.
‘Like I’m gonna tell you,’ I scoffed.
‘Enough to send her to prison? No, otherwise you would’ve given it to the police, right? You’re greedy, not stupid. You don’t have anything,’ he said, dejected. ‘Leave us alone, kid.’
Before I could come up with a stellar reply to that, he left. Great. I’d probably think of something witty in about six hours’ time. Always the way.
‘What’d I miss?’ George asked, staring in confusion at the shut door.
‘Not much. Couple of threats. If I don’t leave Ronnie’s death alone, they’ll try to pin it on me. What about you? Anything?’
‘You had no neighbors, so I got bored and checked the whole floor. There was one elderly couple and a family of tourists. I think they might’ve been Brazilian.’
‘You think they might’ve been the target instead?’
‘Wow, no I do not. I think the only thing clear from Jose was that you were the intended target. We might not know why, but it’ll have something to do with those mystery people spying on Angela.’
‘This is so messed up,’ I moaned. ‘One dead cop, random guys out to get me, Angela and Jose threatening me, too. And Jose is definitely hiding something. You still think he’s an informant?’
‘Sure. Or a cop, like I said.’
‘Based on what?’
He gestured around the room, like it was obvious.
‘You moved hotel rooms about fifteen minutes ago. Jose turns up five minutes later. How did he know where you were?’
I hadn’t thought of that. And that knowledge didn’t fill me with a warm fuzzy feeling, either.
‘Uh, maybe he paid off the receptionist?’ I asked, considering that the best option.
‘No way. It’s crowded with law enforcement in the lobby. He’d never have gotten away with it. The only way he knew you were here, is if someone told him. And the only people who know are cops.’
‘So, now I have another problem,’ I sighed.
‘Are they dirty, or is there something else going on?’ George asked, vocalizing my thoughts.
If they were dirty cops, I’d be in big trouble. I didn’t know why, and I probably never would if they thought me to be a threat. Either way, I suddenly didn’t trust anybody around me. And I certainly didn’t feel safe.