Short Straw

Vittorio turned and followed her, at a distance, toward the restrooms. As he approached the ladies' room, the door opened and a woman left the room. As the door swung shut, Vittorio caught sight of Barbara, standing at the restroom sink, checking her makeup in the mirror. Then, just before the door closed, her eyes locked on his, and shock flooded her face.

As Vittorio reached for the door he heard the lock turn. "Shit," he muttered to himself. Then, as he knocked on the door, two closely spaced holes appeared in it, and he felt a tug at his jacket. He jumped aside. That had been two rounds from a silenced pistol, and one of them had nicked his clothing.

He jumped to one side of the door and leaned against the stone wall. "Barbara," he called out, "listen to me very carefully."

Another bullet hole appeared in the door, but he was well out of the way.

"If you fire another round, I'll have the Mexican police break down the door and take you. We can avoid that, if you'll listen."

There was a long silence, then a muffled voice. "I'm listening, Vittorio."

"I have some papers here. If you'll sign them I'll call off the police and be on my way."

"What papers?"

"A divorce settlement, giving you three hundred thousand dollars and nothing else."

"And what makes you think I would sign that?"

"You've no reason not to; Eagle has changed his will and changed the beneficiaries on his insurance policies. You would have to fight for everything in court, and you'd lose. If you don't sign them, I'll turn you over to the Mexican police. Remember the capitan from Puerto Vallarta? The uncle of the man you maimed? He's waiting outside with two carloads of policemen."

"You're bluffing."

"The only way for you to find out is to risk losing everything, maybe even your life. You're never going to get another dime out of Eagle, and you're not going to get out of this building without being arrested, unless I help you, so you may as well sign."

There was a long silence. "Let me see the papers," she said, finally.

"First, I want the gun. You can have it back when we're done." After a pause, he heard the door unlock. "Hand it out butt first," he said. The door opened slightly, and the butt appeared; the slide was locked back and the weapon empty. He took it and pushed the door cautiously open.

She was standing, facing the door, her back to the mirror. It took him a moment to be sure it was really Barbara, but it was, indeed.

"Let me see the papers," she said.

He handed her the folder. "There are four copies; sign them all and keep one."

She quickly sca

"As soon as you've signed."

"We seem to be at an impasse," she said.

"It's over, Barbara; the alternative is a Mexican jail, assuming the capitan lets you make it that far." He handed her a pen.

She looked at him for a long moment. "You were a good lay," she said. Then she signed the papers, kept a copy and handed him back the folder. "Now call the capitan."

Vittorio took back the pen, so she couldn't use it as a weapon, inspected the signatures, then he pressed the redial button on his cell phone.

"Si?"

"Capitan?"

"Yes, Vittorio, we are ten minutes away."

"Capitan, I am sorry to tell you that I have made a mistake; she is not in the restaurant. The woman I was following was another person entirely. I apologize for this terrible inconvenience."

Vittorio held the phone away from his ear to avoid the torrent of Spanish cursing and so that Barbara could hear the policeman. "I'm sorry, capitan," he said, when the swearing had ebbed. "It was the wrong woman."

"Vittorio," the captain said, "I owe you no more favors." He broke the co

"Did you hear that?" Vittorio asked Barbara.

"Yes, I heard it."

He took a towel and wiped his fingerprints from the pistol, then handed it to her. "Have a nice evening," he said. "I don't think we'll be seeing each other again." He stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him. He could hear a thumping noise against the door as he walked away; she was apparently punishing the door.

Outside, he found Eagle and Cupie leaning against the car. He opened the folder, rested it on the trunk, witnessed the documents and handed the folder to Eagle. "There's your signed agreement," he said.

Eagle checked the signatures. "All is in order, Vittorio. I'll send you a check when I get back to Santa Fe."

Cupie spoke up. "When do the capitan and his men arrive?"

Vittorio laughed.

"Come on, it's all you had to threaten her with."

"I called him off," Vittorio said.

"Are you sure?" Eagle asked. "I don't want her hurt."

"I'm sure. Can I give you a lift to the airport?"

"Yes, thank you."

Eagle looked around the parking lot. "Do you know which car she arrived in?"

"The black BMW," Vittorio replied.

The three men got into Vittorio's rented Jaguar. He introduced Eagle and Cupie to Birgit, then he started the car and headed for the airport.

Vittorio turned to Birgit. "You might have told me she had changed her appearance," he said.

"Sorry, I forget about that." She smiled sweetly. "I'm hungry," she said.

"Later," he said.

Fifty-eight

The Jaguar was approaching the turnoff to the airport when Eagle spoke up. "Don't turn for the airport. Take me back to Tijuana instead, to the border crossing."

"As you wish," Vittorio said, speeding up. "Why do you want to go to the border?"

Eagle didn't reply, and Vittorio didn't question him further. He drove into the city and made his way to the border crossing.

"Park over there," Eagle said, pointing to a space.

"All right," Vittorio replied.

"Before you confronted Barbara, did you see their table?"

"From a distance."

"Could you tell how far along with di

"I saw a waiter take away dishes; I assume they had finished their main course."

"All right," Eagle said, then went silent again.

Vittorio settled down to wait for whatever Eagle was waiting for.

BARBARA AND JIMMY finished their coffee, and Jimmy asked for the check.

"You've gone all quiet on me," he said.

"I'm sorry," she replied, "I was lost in thought." She had been quiet, indeed. Now that Eagle had dried up as a source of money, she needed to make new plans. "Jimmy, you said your wife left you, what, three weeks ago?"

"Yep."

"You haven't sounded upset about it."

"I'm not; I feel nothing but relief."

"Have you filed for divorce?"

"She has. I was served less than a week after she moved out."

"Have you enjoyed our time together?"

"Every minute of it. What are your plans?"

"Oh, I think I'll spend a couple of days at La Reserve, then maybe go back to L.A. for a while. Want to stay with me and relax for a bit?"

"I'd love it," he said, reaching over and kissing her. "And when we get back to L.A., why don't you move in with me?"

"What a nice idea," she said, kissing him back. She breathed a sigh of relief. Nice to have old Jimmy waiting in line.

VITTORIO BEGAN TO HAVE uncomfortable thoughts. "Mr. Eagle," he said, "could I speak to you in private for a moment?"

"Sure, Vittorio."

They both got out of the car and walked a few steps away.

"Mr. Eagle, you said you didn't want Barbara harmed, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did."

"Well, I'm begi

"Relax, Vittorio," Eagle said. "The responsibility is all mine; you have nothing to worry about." He walked back to the car and got in.