Silent Night

I WAS ON THE ROAD to Weston at five-thirty the next morning. The sky was reddening past the tree line and by the time I got to the gates of the Alvarez compound the sun was up. The air was cold, the temperature in the twenties, and the snow was still white and unspoiled on the ground. I turned in to the driveway. The two granite lion heads on posts on either side had been decorated with Christmas wreaths of pine and cedar embellished with clumps of acorns and tied with big red velvet ribbons. I drove past the main house to the small cottage where Hawk and I had found Martita and her baby. I parked and went to the door. Before I could knock, Slide opened it. “Carmen said to bring you to the barn. She forgot to tell you she has an early te

He followed me to the car and got in the backseat. We drove slowly down a narrow lane to the big barn and parked alongside it. Slide led me through a small door to an office, which led into a huge open space. In the middle was a te

Slide and I sat in the bleachers and watched. Carmen served. She tossed the ball up with authority. Her racquet arm swung back, up, and over in a fluid arc. The ball landed on her opponent’s back line before he had a chance to move. The man yelled, “Carmen, for crissake, this is a lesson, not the Open. Give me a break!”

“You’ll never get better if I don’t push you, Sam,” Carmen said. Her dark hair was pulled back into a single braid and tied with a pink ribbon.

She looked over at us. “Hey, guys. I’ll be through in ten.”

“Looking good,” I said.

It was Sam’s turn to serve, and he wasn’t bad. Carmen swatted it back easily, and the ball landed at his feet where he couldn’t return it. “Move your feet,” she yelled at him. “Keep moving your feet.”

After ten minutes Sam looked as though he might need a defibrillator. Carmen walked smartly off the court, draped a towel around her neck, shook hands with the hapless Sam, and joined us.

“Take no prisoners,” I said.

“These rich guys don’t feel they get their money’s worth unless I make them suffer a little,” she said and gri

“You play real good,” he said.

“For an old lady of twenty-nine, not bad. You play, Spenser?”

“Te

She laughed. “I wouldn’t make you suffer. I like you. Slide, Spenser and I have some grown-up stuff to talk about. Would you go help Martita with the laundry and feed the baby? I’ll see you later.” Slide nodded, eyes wide, and took off.

“There’s coffee. Want some?” Carmen said. I nodded and followed her to a small bar area. I poured myself a mug while she took a bottle of water from a fridge beneath the bar.

“A couple of things occurred to me after our last conversation,” I said.

She smiled. “Of course. But couldn’t you have asked me over the phone?”

“I like to see faces when I ask questions. What you say and how you say it are equally important to me.” I could hear Susan’s voice in my head. “Juan Alvarez is suspicious that I’m nosing around in his business. It occurred to me that he may be using you to find out how much I know, and to share what I know with you so that you can report it all back to him.”

“You don’t trust me,” she said.

“In my business, that’s what keeps you alive.”

“So ask your questions.”

“You told me you learned Juan is a drug dealer. Tell me how you found out.”

She took a breath. “We were in bed. He liked to smoke this hash he brings back from Mexico. Strong stuff. Believe me, Spenser, I’ve been clean since rehab, but Juan says he needs it to relax.” She looked at me, and I nodded. “He was feeling good, let me tell you. Then his cell phone rings and he takes the call. I can see his expression change as soon as he looks at the incoming number. He waves me away, so I go into the bathroom and close the door. But I can still hear him. He was talking to someone about a shipment coming through Juárez to El Paso. The distribution would take place immediately, and the money would be in his hands by the following week.”

“It could be flowers,” I said.

Carmen laughed, but it wasn’t happy. “Yes, it could be flowers. Or shoes. Or tires.”

“But you don’t think so.”

“One moment I was listening and the next he was inside the bathroom holding me by the arms and asking me why I was eavesdropping on his call. It happened in an instant. I told him the door was closed and that I couldn’t hear a thing, but I don’t think he believed me. He was very rough with me when we went back to bed. Once he fell asleep, I left.” She took a sip from her water bottle. “Thank God he hasn’t come near me since. Not in that way. I moved in with Martita two days ago. He is pleasant enough when others are around, but he’s got his eye on me. He has me watched now whenever I leave the farm.”

“How many guys does he have here? I’m assuming they’re all armed.”

“At least five. Will, the one who stopped you, and four others. One of them is Martita’s brother. Marco. He’s weak. I use him for bits of information.”

“Do you have any reason to believe Juan is about to move away from here?”

She looked puzzled. “Move where? He travels a lot as it is. But we haven’t said much to each other these last few days. I don’t really know what he’s thinking or doing.”

“Let’s say he were to disappear. Would he take you with him?”

“Before last week, I would have said yes. I thought he loved me and would take me wherever he goes. But I don’t think that’s true anymore. I saw his anger that night. I think he is more likely to have me killed than take me with him. He knows I know something. I’m a loose end. If he were to disappear, it would be because he is afraid. And he’s afraid of what I know and what I might say.”

“So why hasn’t he killed you already?”

“Because it’s not that simple with Juan. He won’t look like the bad guy. So he won’t do the job himself. The killing must be arranged. He’ll stage some kind of accident, with witnesses, to get himself off the hook. This way he can deny it, even to himself.”

“In order to put Juan in jail, the authorities will need evidence that can be used in court. Would you be willing to testify against him at a trial?”

“Yes,” Carmen said. “I would gladly say what I know. Others would as well.”

“Really? These other people aren’t afraid?”

“The guards and employees here, they fear Juan, but they aren’t loyal. The guards are friendly and kind when Juan isn’t around. But they would tell what they knew if it meant they could get away from Juan—or avoid prison.”

“Do you have any idea where Juan keeps his business records?”

“I assume at his office in Boston? He does have a safe room here. It’s underneath the stable, but the entrance is through a tu

“If something happened to Juan, what would you do?”

“I would survive,” she said.

“You have any money saved?”

“Enough to last me awhile. I can always teach te

“Being independent is good. And what about Slide?” I said.

“Wherever I go, Slide goes.”

“From now on, I want you to start checking in with me every couple of hours. I want to know you’re okay,” I said. “Any obvious opportunities for Juan to stage an accident in front of witnesses?”

“Juan is hosting another big charity Christmas party next week. It’s a te