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Tino wondered at the excitement of the Graza household staff as they hustled around preparing for the welcome home dinner and party for Karyme Garza. From the chatter among the staff, that didn’t go on when the woman wasn’t around, it would seem the mistress of the house was more down-to-earth than her husband.
This knowledge worried him. Isabella would like señora Garza and it would put a strain on their relationship, with her knowing his plans. She could feel a need to warn the woman which could end up hurting everyone.
He had to find a way to speak with Isabella tonight. He had to make her see staying away from the Garzas was in the best interest of their relationship and missions.
“Rodriguez! Go help Hector, he cannot even figure out how to park cars.”
Cezar’s command and derision for Hector could give him his chance to talk to Isabella. If he helped park cars, there was a chance he would be at the front of the house when she arrived or better still keep her company while waiting for a ride to pick her up.
Tino hurried out to the garage and then the circular driveway. He’d been warned by Diego that only Cezar was allowed to mingle with the guests. They, the lower pecking order, were delegated jobs to blend in and still be handy in case any enemies infiltrated the party.
He found Hector, drawing lines on a diagram of the compound.
“What are you doing?” Tino asked, peering down at the small hash marks all over the circular drive.
“I have to do this right or my uncle will send me back to making tiles.” Hector spit on the ground. “I do not like making tiles.”
“You cannot park all the vehicles in the drive. You will have to take them over to the side yard and park them.” Tino placed his finger on the flat area west of the house.
“Sí. Why did I not think of that?” Hector scratched his head and continued to peer at the diagram.
“Because you are worrying too much. Cezar sent me out to help you.” At that moment a delivery van arrived.
“More flowers?” Hector said, slanting his gaze toward a van that came from the back of the house.
Tino spied Rico driving the flower van. Ahh, so DEA would have eyes and ears planted, literally, in the party. Unless the ever-vigilant Garza had Cezar do a sweep of the rooms before the guests arrived. Tino glanced at his watch. The first arrivals would pull into the driveway in half an hour. Would Isabella be early or late? He’d guess late. She knew he didn’t want her here and she’d procrastinate, debating about coming at all. A proprietary smile curved his lips. He knew his pichon, little dove, well.
~*~
Isabella stood in the lobby of the hostel waiting for Director Bastante to pick her up. When she was leaving the curator’s office earlier in the day after requesting records of all the employees and asking about surveillance cameras, the director had cornered her. He informed her, he and his wife would pick her up for the party at Garza’s. He’d also told her to purchase a nice outfit if she didn’t bring one with her. He implied that Garza parties were the same as a Hollywood party in her country.
She’d dumped the employee files and tapes from the surveillance cameras in her room and took a taxi to one of the upper scale clothing stores, Palacio de Hierro. She purchased a long dress that wrapped about her body like a sarong, tying behind her neck, and sandals with a two-inch heel to dress the garment up. Also bangle bracelets and an obnoxious large beaded necklace that the saleswoman at the store insisted made the dress. She felt overdressed and yet, naked, venturing out without her vest. No matter how hard she tried, finding a way to bring her along had ended in futility. The only bag she brought with her that would accommodate the folded-up vest looked tacky even to her untrained fashion sense.
She stood in the lobby waiting, and feeling vulnerable.
“You look stunning tonight, Señorita,” Felix said, smiling.
Isabella smoothed a hand down her dress. “Gracias.” She eyed the restaurant. “I think I’ll get something cold to drink. When Director Bastante comes in would you let him know where to find me?”
The clerk nodded and turned his attention to another guest hovering near the desk.
Walking slow so as not to step on the long dress or fall off the wedge-shaped heel of the sandal, Isabella entered the restaurant. All the tables appeared to be full. As she peered about, a hand rose and waved to her. She pushed her glasses up tighter on the bridge of her nose and recognized the clerk’s cousin, Alphonso.
What would he want? She crossed the room, her gaze taking in the other man and two young women at the table with him. They didn’t look threatening though the other man didn’t exude hospitality.
She peered back out at the lobby where Felix was in a conversation with a guest.
“We have room for you to sit.” Alphonso squeezed the shoulder of the young girl sitting next to him and pulled her across the bench seat to scrunch up next to him.
Was he using her as a ploy to get close to this girl? Isabella studied the girl. Her makeup was on too thick and her clothing too tight and skimpy for one so young.
“If it’s all right with your friends?” She turned her attention to the couple across the table. The man was five to ten years older than Alphonso, but the girl clinging to his arm was just as young as the one Alphonso clutched to his side. She wanted to tell both the girls to go wash their faces and go home to their families.
The older man nodded and motioned with a hand for her to sit.
“I’m Isabella,” she said, extending her hand across the table.
The girl just nodded and the older man looked at her hand before saying, “Alphonso, how do you know this gringa?”
Her shoulders ached from the tension bunching her muscles.
“There you are.” Director Bastante walked up to the table. His eyes widened when he noticed the man across from her. He grabbed her upper arm, dragging her from the seat. “We need to hurry. We are running late.”
Isabella didn’t bother saying good-bye. She was still trying to figure out what had compelled her to walk toward Alphonso when he waved at her.
“Do you know who that was you were sitting with?” the director hissed in her ear as he continued towing her out of the building.
“Not everyone. Alphonso ran an errand for me last night.” She stopped, jerking her arm from his grasp. “I’m perfectly capable of walking at a fast clip. There is no need to haul me around like a recalcitrant child.”
“I’m sorry.” The director ran a hand over his face. A man held the door on a limousine. It looked like she and the director and señora Bastante would be arriving at the Garza’s in style. He waved the man away and shut the door. “Do not tell Paolo about the men you were just with.”
The hair on the back of her neck vibrated. “Why?”
“If he found out you were talking with his enemy...” The director opened the door, again. “Get in. And there will be no more talk of this.”
Isabella took the seat opposite señora Bastante. The woman’s dress made Isabella feel like a peasant. It looked to be the kind of party, where once again, she would feel out of place. Her quivering lips proved hard to press into a smile. Behind the smile, she dissected the conversation with the director. He knew what Garza was capable of. And he knew Garza’s enemies. That made director Bastante more than an acquaintance of señor Garza. It made him an accomplice.
After being led to Guatemala on a promise of money for her department only to learn she’d been lured there to be used as a sacrifice, this new development between Garza and Bastante had her wondering about the stolen artifacts. She knew that Delgado asked for her specifically. Was he also in cahoots with Garza and Bastante?
With that thought and her insides churning, she gripped the arm rest on the side of the car and tried to stay focused on the conversation in the car. It appeared señora Bastante considered herself one of señora Garza’s best friends. Her haughty tone and condescending stare made Isabella wonder how Garza could believe she and his wife would get along if this person was so chummy with señora Garza.
The limousine pulled up to the compound. A guard at the gate waved them through after Bastante lowered the window and conversed with him. As the vehicle neared the house, Isabella swallowed the lump in her throat. What was she doing mixed up with this type of people?
The car circled the drive, and her heart picked up speed. Tino leaned toward the car opening the door. The Bastante’s exited. She took her time, allowing them to walk away. Tino took her hand, helping her out of the car.
She squeezed his hand, wanting him to know how much of a lifeline she considered him.
He leaned into the car while she stood beside him still holding his hand.
“Park on the west lawn,” he said to the driver, then stood next to her.
“We cannot talk. Someone might see.” He peered into her face. “What is wrong?”
“I-I’m wondering if this is more than I was told.”
His gaze hardened. “What have you learned?”
“It’s not so much as what I’ve learned as what has been happening.” She glimpsed someone walking toward them. “We need to talk.”
“I will find a way.” He squeezed her hand and dropped it.
“You will find the party through the front doors and straight back in the ballroom,” he said loudly and turned to help the people from the next arriving car.
She turned and found Cezar watching her and then Tino. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, wishing she’d purchased a shawl to cover her shoulders and headed into the house.
Passing Cezar, she met his eyes and smiled. “Buenas noches,” she said in greeting, hoping he’d think she was one of those women who talked to and smiled at everyone.
“What were you and Rodriguez talking about?” Cezar put a hand on her arm, stopping her.
“Who is Rodriguez?” She peered straight into his eyes and tried to look nonchalant.
“The man who was holding your hand.” The coldness in his eyes caused a shiver to ripple up her spine.
“My there is a chill in the air tonight.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms again. “So, the guy who helped me out of the car is Rodriguez? He didn’t tell me his name when he drove me back to the hostel the other day. He’d given me some tips on good restaurants and asked if I’d had a chance to try any of them.”
She looked down at his hand still on her arm. “He detained me much like you are doing. What is it with you domineering Mexican men? As an independent American woman, I don’t like it.” She pulled away from his grasp and walked with authority to the door and entered when a young woman held it open.
Garza and a very beautiful woman in a champagne-colored, silk dress stood in the middle of the foyer greeting the guests. The Bastantes were there now. From the forced smile and head bobbing of the woman who must certainly be señora Garza, Isabella had to snicker. Señora Bastante was not a favorite of her hostess.
The couple moved on, and Isabella walked forward.
“Karyme, may I present to you the woman I have been telling you about. Dr. Isabella Mumphrey, may I present my wife, Karyme Garza.” Garza held his wife’s hand as he did the introductions. It was evident by their glowing faces and eye connection the two were deeply in love.
How could one love a drug dealer?
Isabella extended her hand to the woman. “Señora, it is wonderful to meet you. Your husband has a high regard for you.”
Laughter crinkles formed at the sides of the woman’s dark brown eyes. “Dr. Mumphrey, I am my husband’s one weakness.”
Garza laughed and squeezed his wife around her waist. “This is true. Karyme has a way of making sure I keep my full attention on her when she is around.”
Señora Garza laughed pleasantly and patted her husband’s hand spanning her mid-section. Then she walked out of his embrace and linked arms with Isabella. “Come, I want to hear about the work you do and where you live in the United States.”
Isabella found señora Bastante glaring at her, but she didn’t care. She liked the straightforwardness of señora Graza even if she was married to a drug lord. They sat on a couch large enough for only two.
“Please, call me Karyme. From what Paolo says, we will be working together. It was his love of Aztec and Mayan artifacts that brought us together. I was working at a site that he visited. We talked all night about the history of his people and why I found it all so interesting.”
“So, all these artifacts displayed in your home are not just for his pleasure.” Isabella didn’t like the way her mind was going. If Karyme also loved Aztec art and lore, she could be the one stealing from the museum.
“Sí. I started collecting and insisted they be displayed. What good is having something if you can’t display it and enjoy the beauty of it?”
“I agree. But that is what a museum is for, to allow the public to see the wonders. Here only you and your friends and family are able to view the pieces.” She waited in anticipation of the woman’s reply. It might give her a clue as to Karyme’s part, if any, in the missing pieces.
“Oh, we share. You will be helping me box up the carvings in the foyer to send to a museum in London. They will be on loan there for six months.” Karyme leaned closer. “Isabella, I would never dream of harboring my ancestor’s work for my own. It belongs to the people.” The sincerity and earnestness in her voice gave Isabella the impression the woman was trying to impart something more than her feelings about the artifacts.
All during their conversation the guests mingled among one another, stopping in and saying hello to señora Garza and finally coming back by and saying buenas noches.
Isabella gazed around the room while Karyme talked with a couple that was about to leave. The Bastante’s had left. She didn’t see any sign of her ride among the handful of people who remained. How would she get back to the hostel?
With that thought fresh in her mind, she stood.
“Isabella, is something wrong?” Karyme touched her arm.
“It’s late and my ride has left.” She looked around and spotted Garza watching the two of them.
“You can spend the night. We have lots of rooms.”
“No! I mean, I need to return to the hostel. I have a lot of work to go over tomorrow.”
“But it is Sunday. Surely, you could get started later. Anarosa makes the most delicious chicharrón.” Karyme stood and waved her hand. Within seconds, Garza was by their side.
“What has you two women looking so upset?” he asked, snaking an arm around his wife’s waist.
“Isabella’s ride has left. I offered her a room, but she insists she must be at work early tomorrow.” Karyme rested her head on her husband’s shoulder.
“But it is Sunday. A day of rest.” Garza peered at her.
“A day of rest for those who aren’t working to keep a university department open. If I’m to come help you each day, that shortens my time researching for my paper. I really need to get back, get some rest, and get up early tomorrow to work.”
Garza continued to watch her.
“I like your dedication.” Karyme turned to her husband. “One of your security men could drive her home.”
Isabella’s heart raced, hoping he’d picked Tino.
“Most of the guests have left. I could spare one man to drive Dr. Mumphrey.” Garza pulled his gaze from her and motioned to Cezar.
When the other man walked up to them Garza turned his attention back to Isabella. “Cezar, have Hector take Dr. Mumphrey back to her hostel.”
She kept her expression neutral and nodded her head in thanks. Was he watching to see what her reaction was to who he picked? Did he already suspect her and Tino? Nerves buzzed around inside while she worked to remain calm and detached on the outside.
Cezar nodded. “Dr. Mumphrey, please come with me.”
Karyme clasped her hands. “I am looking forward to working with you on Monday.”
“I’ll be here around one,” Isabella answered, releasing the woman’s hands and following Cezar’s broad back to the front of the house.
Out in the cool air of the evening, she shivered.
“Wait here while I find Hector.” Cezar gave her a pointed look and walked toward the garage.
If tonight was any indication of what coming here every day would be like, she wasn’t sure her nerves were going to be able to hold up. She’d studied ancient people and languages her whole life. Trying to decipher what modern day people said and thought was much harder. Especially when you knew your life and the life of your lover were in the balance.