Clint Faraday Collection C: Murder in Motion Collector's Edition (26 page)

“
We
haven’t poisoned any animals! What are you talking about?!” Sarah
cried.

“
So. You
have a run-in with the locals because you don’t understand what
they’re trying to tell you and their animals start dying off by
mere coincidence. Get real!”

“
I assure
you, we wouldn’t do anything like that! Why would we poison animals
because we can’t get along with people?”

William was looking at his feet and shifting
back and forth.

“
No. Your
little punk would and did, though. You’re held responsible if you
won’t allow his prosecution.”

Robert turned on William. “Did you poison
anyone’s animals? – And don’t lie to me! I’ll teach you a lesson
that you’ll never forget!”

“
They
hate me! They made me do it!” William screeched. Robert slapped him
hard enough that he went down.

“
Okay,
Faraday. I swear before god we didn’t know anything about
that!
Why
would you do
something like that, William? We are
not
that kind of trash!”

“
I wanted
to make them make us leave! I
hate
it
here! I don’t have any friends and there’s nothing to
do!”

“
You
can’t have friends if you refuse to be a friend,” Clint said. “You
don’t have any idea of what harm your stupid selfish acts have
done. The Indios won’t make you leave, you’ll put your parents in a
position where they have to leave because they’ve lost their asses
in a stupid venture that wasn’t researched nearly enough,” Clint
lectured.

“
Listen,
Faraday. I swear to you we didn’t know anything about this! No
wonder they want us out! I would, too!

“
Okay.
Maybe we’ve been stupid not to listen, but I swear we thought they
were threatening us!

“
What do
you mean about doing the research? We bought this place because
there was already a permit for a marina here. Collins, from the
company in Panamá City said it was all researched and that there’s
plenty of business for two or three more marinas here! The water’s
deep enough around here for some large draft boats and it’s level
enough for two hundred feet to build a good dry dock. The marinas
at Almirante and on Bocas are full all the time to where they
anchor all around the bay close.

“
Besides
the fact that we’re resented by the natives, what’s wrong with
building a marina here?

“
I know
what the Indios say about not having entrance to the mainland or
Bocas, but they use their dingies to come and go
now
! What are we
missing? Exactly? What makes it a bad idea?”

“
The
large draft bit.”

“
There’s
plenty of water in here!”

“
And
there’s plenty out there. It’s in between that doesn’t have a
channel. There’s plenty here and there, it’s just not connected.
There’s nowhere close where you can come in here drawing more than
three or four feet of water. The Indios weren’t saying they would
keep boats from coming here, they were saying the boats couldn’t
come because of the natural features of the place.”

“
But the
man from Panamá City assured us that there was plenty of water and
that boats come and go here all the time!”

“
Fishing
boats. Tour boats less than twenty feet. Catamarans and tri-hulls
that don’t draw more than two or three feet of draft. Those aren’t
live-ons, except the catamarans. No one keeps fishing boats in a
marina that they can’t get to without a boat the size they have.
The catamarans anchor among the islands and move a little every day
to get by the anchorage laws.”

“
Oh, dear
God almighty!” Sarah whined. “We thought we’d covered everything!
This is terrible! Our investors will be livid!”

“
Get off
the attitude and learn to listen to the people living in the area.
They’re the ones who know the conditions, not some schnook who’s
trying to sell you something so he gets a big
commission.”

“
Well, I
think I’ve learned something, but it’s not about the Indians, it’s
about land sales here in Panamá,” Robert said dejectedly. “He’s the
one who said the Indians will try to get us out. They hate
gringos.”

“
No, they
don’t. They would even like to see a successful operation of some
type here. It would mean jobs.”

Sarah looked shocked. “But ... but ... My
God! That’s true! They don’t have any jobs on these islands and
we’d bring them some! My God!”

“
They
have plenty of jobs here. They’re mostly working for themselves
growing coffee and cacao or cows and pigs this little snit
poisoned. They’re not for money, they’re for living the lifestyle
the people are used to and like.”

“
They
aren’t interested in money? Get real! They gouge us every chance
they get! We even got taken for six bucks by the taxi when we first
came here and nothing’s changed! Every time we go to Bocas we get
screwed!”

“
Two
little things to consider here. That’s not the Indios here, it’s
Panamanians, mostly the blacks, because they feel the gringos owe
them something vague. Number two, your attitude will make anyone,
anywhere, want to stick it to you as much as they can.

“
I’ll go.
Just remember that the people here were trying to warn you that it
wouldn’t be smart to sink a lot of money into a project that was
doomed before it got started.”

“
I’ve
learned my lesson,” Robert said. “I’m through listening to ... even
some of my own little family. I wasn’t an only child and didn’t get
the coddling this, as you would say, little spoiled brat’s used
to.

“
You’d
better get used to things going a lot harder on you now, sonny boy.
Poisoning these people’s animals crossed the line a long way.
You’re going to pay these people for every cow and pig you did that
to.”

“
I can’t
pay them! I don’t have anything to pay them with! Besides, they all
asked for it!” he snarled.

This time he ducked just fast enough to miss
another hard slap.

“
Your
allowance is twenty bucks a week. I figure no allowance for two
years will handle it!” Robert snarled.

“
Ma!”
William squealed.

“
Now,
Robert. He was just rebelling. Don’t be too hard on him,” Sarah
wheedled.

“
I’m not
being hard enough and you won’t get me to let him get away with
this shit anymore! My God! We’re about to lose everything we have
and you want to protect the one who caused most of it! If we’d
listened from the first we wouldn’t have borrowed – how will we
ever pay that back if we can’t...?”

“
We’ll
just have to sell this place and move back to Oklahoma,” Sarah
said, almost happily. William smirked.

“
So. I
see,” Clint said. Robert looked a little shocked and stared hard at
Sarah. Clint wouldn’t be at all surprised if he slapped her as hard
as he’d slapped William.

“
There’s
a little problem with that,” Clint said to ameliorate the tension.
“This place was for sale for ten years or so when it was finally
unloaded on you. There were other buyers, but they researched it
among the people here, not a bunch of sleazy crooks in Panamá City.
They decided to run, not walk, away from the deal. I doubt you’ll
find anyone to buy it for another ten years.”

That got rid of the smirks!

“
Oh,
fucking shit!” Robert exclaimed.

Clint got
in his boat, waved and headed back to Bocas Town.

Murder
Attempt

“
Buenos!”
Pancho called from Clint’s front door three mornings later. Clint
called, “Yantoro! Passe!” and Pancho came in.

“
What’s
cooking?” Clint asked.

“
Cooking?
I am not cooking anything. This is your house ... oh! An
expression!

“
I think
there is going to be big trouble on Popa. Those people again.
Someone tried to kill the husband and the wife and that unspeakable
son are blaming the Serranos.”

“
What
happened?”

“
Well,
the husband was working by the dock, trying to take out some kind
of winch he was returning to the place where he bought it. His back
was turned and someone hit him with a piece of steel rod like they
use in concrete. He was hit more than one time, but it wasn’t hard
enough to kill him. Anton heard the noise when he yelled and went
over, but whoever did it was gone when they heard him coming. He
called Enrique and me and we went to help. We tried to make the
husband come to the hospital because he acts like he doesn’t hear
or even know what’s happening at times and is dizzy.

“
Clint,
we get along with him very well now. He has paid for the dead
animals and says he was a fool to believe when they told him we
would try to make them leave. We are better to him than his own
family is. It is not he who accuses, it is the wife and
son.

“
I think
if any of my sons are like that one I will kill him
myself!”

“
Who did
it? Do you know?”

“
No. No
one was there. Just him and his wife and son.”

“
I’ll go
get him and make him go for X-rays. He’s acting like he has a
serious concussion or a fracture. Would you like to come
along?”

He nodded. Clint locked the front and went
through to his boat. He and Pancho headed for Popa.

“
You!
What are you doing here? Get out! You are not welcome on my
property!” Sarah yelled.

“
It’s not
your property. It’s registered under a corporate name. You’re
merely listed as the recording secretary in the corporation,” Clint
replied. “Where is Robert?”

“
He’s
sleeping! One of these Indians tried to kill him!” William said.
“No Indian is to come on this property. I’ll have them arrested!
Get out!”

“
Go fuck
yourself, punk!” Clint snapped back. “You’re a minor and can’t give
any orders about anything here. I’m a cop who’s come because
there’s a report of a serious injury as the result of a murder
attempt. It’s the Indios who’re trying to help him, not his family.
That will bear some investigation.

“
Where is
he? Now! I’ll run your ass in for obstruction in a heartbeat,
punk!”

“
Ma!”

“
Her,
too,” Pancho said. “She’s responsible for the way you act
here.”

“
Maybe
that would be best,” Clint said, but it wouldn’t do a bit of good.
Neither of those two spoke Spanish, though they both seemed to know
what he’d said. Clint pushed past the two and went to the house to
call, “Robert? Clint Faraday here! Can I come in?”

“
Yes,
please,” came back. “I think I’m worse than I think I’m worse than
I ... I can’t think.”

“
I’m
taking you to the hospital in Bocas for X-rays,” Clint said. “Do
you need help walking?”

“
I can’t
... I’ll trust you. I have a little trouble walking.”

Pancho helped him stand, then had him put an
arm over his shoulder to help him get to the boat. He was extremely
shaky and pale. Clint started the boat with Sarah and William
screeching at him that he had no right!

Clint got his cellular and called to Sergio,
the police captain. He said to get the ambulance to the ferry dock
and to alert Doc that there was a case of a probable skull fracture
and as probable poisoning. He pushed the boat as fast as he could
and got to the dock in about fifteen minutes. Doc was there and
took a quick look before they put him in the ambulance. He said it
was a depressed skull fracture and there might be other things.
Part of this wasn’t at all symptomatic of a skull fracture.

After Robert was hauled away Clint went back
to his place and tied to the dock. Judi came over and asked what
was going on. Pancho said he thought the wife or son or both tried
to kill the husband. Clint filled in the spaces for her.

“
Judi,
have you heard anything about those people? Anything since I went
out there four days ago?”

“
Well,
Violeta was at the community action meeting and we talked about it.
There are people from all the islands where there’s any kind of
community and even from Isla Pastore and Renacimento. They all said
they thought those people were fools and that there was going to be
more trouble because of what someone else had said or
something.

“
I think
that Grossman character who came in yesterday afternoon is somehow
involved. He booked rooms for two other couples in Swan’s Cay.
They’re supposed to be here today. He was asking Lucy and Angela
about the Morris people and the marina.”

“
Judi,
you can get so much more information so much faster than the cops
or myself I can’t believe it! Thanks!”

They chatted and visited for another hour,
then Clint said he was going to the hospital to talk with Doc.
Pancho had to get back home and Judi had the garden club
meeting.

“
What’s
the projection, Doc?” Clint asked when he was in the office at the
hospital.

“
Depressed skull fracture that could have gotten worse to
the point of fatality,” he answered. “I think there’s some kind of
poisoning, maybe ethylene glycol. It’s badly dehydrating him. I can
counter it. He’ll live, but there may be brain damage from the
fracture. I can hope not, but ... we’ll see. I’ve relieved the
pressure and he’s in very good physical condition. He keeps saying
‘It can’t be. I don’t believe it. It can’t be,’ over and over at
times. He also says, ‘Fatty? That was Fatty. When did he come?’ and
things like that. He’s confused about what happened and sometimes
can’t remember where he is or why.”