Murder With A Splash Of Rum: A Puerto Rican Thriller Read online

  ‹19›

  Esteban Arroyo slammed the trunk to his pickup shut and marched to the truck cab, wiping his forehead with the white handkerchief he had stuffed into his pants pocket. He had finished work for the day. The dock foreman waved goodbye as Esteban sped towards the Convention Center entrance, eager to leave the marina behind. Usually he stopped by Lila’s for a drink after work, but today he other plans.

  Half an hour later he pulled up to a warehouse parking lot. He combined his hair, checked himself in the rearview mirror, and entered the building.

  The inside of the warehouse was cool and dark. The smell of new car tires permeated the atmosphere. Esteban scanned the cash registers, and then proceeded to the far right of the building. He methodically passed by each aisle, carefully perusing each lane until at last he had found the object of his search.

  “Hello again, Fernando.” Esteban placed his hand on Fernando’s back. Fernando’s eyes widened as Fernando pivoted and discovered who was behind him.

  “Esteban.” Fernando smiled then realized where he was. His smile dropped.

  “I was looking for a car part, a fog light. Mine is broken, I don’t know if I just need a bulb or the whole casing. I remembered you worked at an auto parts store so I thought I would give you the business.” Esteban smiled widely, extending his hand.

  “Sure. Let’s go to the computer. What kind of car?” Fernando wanted to demand to know why Esteban was there, but they were surrounded by co-workers. He would he have to act nonchalant until he could pull Esteban aside.

  “’97 Chevy pickup, 1500 Silverado,” replied Esteban.

  The two walked to the digital catalogue counter. As Fernando scrolled through the catalog to identify the part, he could feel the warmth of Esteban’s body close to him. He was furious. And he was incredibly turned on. Esteban made him weak at the knees on every occasion that they had met. His cock became rigid. Esteban casually placed his right arm around Fernando’s shoulder and pointed to a line on the computer with his left hand.

  “That’s the one,” he exclaimed. He turned to look at Fernando, his white teeth sparkling underneath the overhead fluorescent lights.

  Fernando felt flush, and his eyes involuntarily lowered to take in Esteban’s arms, chest, stomach, and groin. He felt an overwhelming urge to wrap his arms around Esteban’s massive chest. But the eyes of co-workers to his left and across the aisle restrained him. The most he could do was press his hard cock against Esteban’s hip, hidden below the countertop.

  Esteban reacted by discretely pinching Fernando’s shoulder and pushing back against Fernando’s cock with his thigh.

  Fernando mentally forced himself to rebalance and take a step backwards. “I’ll get it right now.” His voice was husky and deep. He rounded the counter and entered the supply area.

  Moments later Fernando appeared from the stacks behind the counter with a box in his hands.

  Esteban accepted the box. “Thank you. You get a break anytime soon?”

  The brief search through the rows of supplies had allowed Fernando to compose himself. “No, I already had one. I have to work late tonight, unfortunately.”

  “No problem, it’s good to see you again,” smiled Fernando.

  Esteban paused for an awkward moment, and then signaled for an indication on where he should pay. Fernando pointed towards a cashier at the entrance. Esteban nodded, understanding that he was being dismissed. His smile faded slightly and his head dipped. His broad shoulders lowered as he grasped the box in two hands and turned to walk away.

  “So, Esteban” Fernando called after him.

  Esteban turned with his eyebrows raised.

  “When are you going to Lila’s again? Working tonight, but might be out tomorrow night,” offered Fernando.

  Esteban’s smile widened and his head and muscular shoulders returned to their powerful upright position.

  “I’ll be there Friday and Saturday”. He started to leave and then looked back at Fernando. “I will wait for you there.”

  Esteban turned to leave and then turned back around. “No matter how long it takes. Boomerang.” He turned again and marched toward the counter.

  As he paid, Fernando watched him from a side aisle. Fernando was smiling and fantasizing about the weekend when Maria approached him from behind.

  “So, who was that?”

  Fernando sighed. “I’m not sure yet.”

  “What does ‘boomerang’ mean?” Maria continued.

  “I have absolutely no idea.”

  Esteban left the warehouse and climbed into the cab of his truck. He tossed the box to the passenger seat and looked at himself in the mirror.

  “Your house next time, Fernando. Your house,” he muttered.

  ‹20›

  “Entra tantas flores

  hoy nos despedimos

  como se despiden

  el nardo y el lirio…”

  The crowd outside finished their song and Titi raised her hand to wave them inside her house. It was December 14 at 2:05 a.m., and it was Christmastime in Puerto Rico. The parranda had just finished off its night at Titi’s house. The group had gone around the neighborhood and finally ended up the night at Titi’s, where mounds of food were waiting.

  “Titi, Merry Christmas!” Lydia Ortiz exclaimed as she brushed through the door, removing a straw hat with one hand while shaking Titi’s hand with the other.

  “Felicidades!” Titi exclaimed through her wide smile. Tonight was her favorite night of the year. Her cooking was on display for all her friends and family. The food for the ‘surprise’ visit from the parranderos had taken all week to prepare.

  “Come in, what a surprise, I am so happy to see you. Merry Christmas!”

  Fernando was busy pouring tall glasses of coquito, the Puerto Rican version of eggnog, as Lydia entered Titi’s living room. She smiled, wiped the stickiness from the last house’s coquito from her hands, and embraced Titi eagerly.

  “Welcome, such a surprise!” Fernando knew, as do all Puerto Ricans, that acting surprised by a ‘surprise’ parranda was the most gracious way to say ‘thank you’ to the travelling band of friends.

  “We aim to please!” replied Lydia. “I brought along a friend, I always like a nice surprise. Fernando come here!” Lydia signaled to the figure waiting outside the door as Fernando turned to look at cousin Lydia.

  A muscular figure walked through the door. Fernando froze, allowing one of the slippery coquito-covered glasses to fall heavily back on to the table and spill. It was Esteban Arroyo.

  “Uh, hi.” Fernando reached his tremoring hand towards the approaching Esteban.

  Esteban smiled widely and said “hi, surprise!”

  Lydia grinned and grabbed them both by the shoulder. I’ll let you two chat, I’ve got some coquito to drink. Titi!” she called as she swung around and made her way to the couch where Titi was serving snacks.

  Fernando glimpsed around the room and then roughly pulled Esteban towards to the rear hallway. Once they had reached Fernando’s bedroom, Fernando started to shut the door quietly. Coco rushed through the door and pounced on Esteban.

  “Nice boy, nice doggie” Esteban scruffed Coco behind the ears. Coco licked his face eagerly.

  “That’s Coco. Coco, out. Out!” Fernando tried to push the dog out of the room but Coco refused to leave Fernando’s side. “Stay then,” he ordered. Fernando closed the door and turned to stare at Esteban, who was patting and scratching Coco’s head with both hands.

  “How did you…where did you meet Lydia? How do you know where I live?” Fernando was close to panic. He had always maintained a strict separation between his home and work life, and his gay activities. When Phillip had shown up unexpectedly at work Fernando had almost flown into full panic mode. With Esteban here, in his own house, his panic level was off the charts.

  “Relax. I’m not going to ‘out’ you. That’s not how I work. I just wanted to see you again, I never forgot meeting you that first night at Lila’s. I wa
nted to check in on you before we meet up this weekend.”

  Fernando exhaled slightly, Esteban’s assurance of discretion was enough to help slowly lower his anxiety to a point where he could begin to think logically again.

  “But how did you find me?”

  “I have my ways,” responded Esteban cryptically. He then stared deeply into Fernando’s eyes. “Look, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. The guy you are with isn’t treating you well. If you were with me you would never want for anything. You are special, I knew this the very moment I saw you. You and I were meant to be together. I don’t give up easily, my mom says I’m too stubborn. But you are worth fighting for. You can send me away, but I’m like a boomerang. I will always return to you.” He reached and grabbed Fernando’s shoulder and held it in a vicelike grip.

  Fernando nearly buckled, overcome by the firm grip and by the emotion in Esteban’s voice. He composed himself for a moment, still concerned that Esteban had the ability to ‘out’ him in front of his entire family.

  He felt dizzy, the same sensation he had felt when he stared into Esteban’s eyes at Lila’s that first night. This time it was different, however. They were in his house, with his mother and his entire family in the next room. More than that, they were in his bedroom. It was too much for Fernando. He mentally backed himself into a protective wall and spoke to Esteban in a very firm tone, making a conscious effort not to offend or piss him off. He needed to get Esteban out of his mother’s house. So, he lied. “I am with Phillip. I am not on the market.”

  Esteban looked at him, pained. But Fernando had made up his mind. He had kept his sex life away from his parents since his first tryst at age fifteen. He had spent years building a wall between his personal life and his family life, and he was not going to allow a complete stranger to come in to his parents’ home and wreck his life.

  Fernando continued. “You promised me that you wouldn’t ‘out’ me, and I will take you at your word. But make no mistake, you and I are not going to happen. I am happy with Phillip. Now let’s go into the party, and after that I expect you won’t be visiting here gain. I can see you at Lila’s, but this is wrong.”

  He had lied, he wasn’t sure where he and Phillip stood. But with his mother and family in the next room, he had to play his cards carefully.

  The second after he spoke those words, though, Fernando regretted them. Esteban was the most exciting man he had ever met, and being this close to Esteban made it difficult to even breathe. He managed a weak “Let’s go outside now.”

  With that, the two entered Titi’s front room. Fernando walked Esteban to the front door, and bid him good night, firmly closing the door behind Esteban. Fernando circled into the room with Lydia and Titi and grabbed another coquito.

  Outside, Esteban made his way to his pickup. A short distance from the pickup, Esteban collapsed into the middle of the street and turned around to stare at Fernando’s house. He remained there for long while, staring.

  As he rose to return to the truck, he wiped his eyes with a white handkerchief and stuffed the cloth back into his pocket. He started the engine and left the neighborhood with the angry sounds of his screeching tires echoing off the walls of the sleepy homes of Rio Grande.

  Inside the house, Fernando was working on his third coquito for the night. He was still shaken by Esteban’s sudden appearance. Lydia and Titi were surrounded by their lifelong friends, celebrating the joy of family and the Christmas spirit.

  “Titi”, signaled Lydia as she walked outside the front door to enjoy a breath of the fresh night air. “Who is that Esteban fellow? He seemed taken with Fernando, but something happened. I saw him and he didn’t look happy when he left, or maybe it was just me.”

  “It’s one of Fernando’s boyfriends, Lydia.”

  “What do you mean?” Lydia’s smile dropped and she peered intently back into her cousin’s eyes.

  “You know what I mean, Lydia. He doesn’t think I know he’s gay.

  Lydia looked at her with a blank stare. “Fernando is gay?”

  Titi smiled back at him. “Lydia, you of all people. Don’t act surprised. And don’t think I don’t know what kind of bar you run. I love you both, regardless.” Titi hugged an astonished Lydia.

  Lydia had never discussed Ely’s Place with Titi. As in most Catholic countries, purposeful ignorance is the preferred method of dealing with homosexuality.

  But Titi was no ordinary Puerto Rican. “A mother always knows”, she said.

  “Are you ever going to talk to him?” Lydia asked. She had never talked about her own sexual orientation with her family. She had dedicated her life to her previous job in New York, and then to Ely’s Place over the last couple of years. As far as the family knew or wanted to know, Lydia was simply a spinster.

  Titi replied. “Of course, I am, but my friend Irma has a son who is gay to. She said the best way to handle this is to let them grow up. I give him plenty of hints that it is okay with me, and yes, I make sure he knows where the condoms are. But he is a good boy. We’ve talked about condoms a lot, so I know I’ve drilled that into his head. His father is clueless of course. If it weren’t for us women, I don’t know how men would ever get by.” They both giggled and pointed towards Titi’s clueless husband.

  “So, who was that guy, one of Fernando’s partners?” asked Lydia.

  “Probably. I hope so, I want him to be happy. I just want him to be honest with me so I can be part of all these things he is keeping hidden. If I press too hard he will be embarrassed and go back into his shell. He is happy now, happier than I have ever seen him. How did you meet this guy, what was name…Esteban?”

  “Yes, Esteban. He stopped by the kiosk asking about Fernando. I thought it was little strange, but better to keep the strange ones close rather than the stranger ones hidden. Never know, you know, what the strange ones are capable of.”

  “Lydia, if you see anything else like that, you know, strange, you will let me know, right? Fernando is mature for his age, but he is still my baby. I don’t have to be directly involved to keep on top of things. Promise me.”

  Lydia smiled. “Of course, Titi, he is like a son to me, too. You are a great mother. He is very lucky to have you. I know of way too many mothers who would call a priest or stick the kid in mental institution. I hear those stories every day”

  “Yes, I know people like that. How someone can treat their own child like that is beyond me. Let’s have another coquito, I feel like dancing!” With that, Titi grabbed Lydia’s arm and the two joined the group and the party launched into full swing as the DJ play a song by El Gran Combo.

  Titi peered over the room to look at Fernando. If anything ever happened to him, she thought, life wouldn’t be worth living.

  ‹21›

  Alexandra Vargas pushed Reynaldo Garcia roughly back behind the barricade tape and warned him to stay put. The clumsy oaf had trampled across a set of tracks on a crime scene. He hadn’t even bothered to bring a notebook. In the three weeks since resuming her duties, Alexandra had been assigned to lead the investigation into the Van Dusen murders. She had made significant changes in investigative procedures. She had enforced the use of proper investigative procedures and ruled her crime scenes with an iron fist. She had already solved two unrelated homicides in her pursuit for the Van Dusen murderer. Garcia had come to learn it was futile to cross swords with her.

  “Colonel Garcia, we have the crime scene under control”. Vargas whirled around and clenched her fists, wondering how much damage the incompetent oaf had done to the evidence. She surveyed the area as she approached her team, the same two rookies who had assisted her in standing up to Reynaldo Garcia at the last Luquillo crime scene. The three had developed professional admiration for each other, with Alexandra at the apex of what was turning out to be a crack investigative unit.

  “What do we have, Manuel?”

  Her team member turned and ticked the list of findings thus far. “Male, mid to late 20’s. No ID, no wal
let, no money. But it fits the profile.

  Alexandra snapped on her latex gloves, another new protocol the team had introduced to Puerto Rico crime scene investigation, and approached a tall banyan tree. Tucked into a crevice on the far side was the body of an attractive, well-groomed male, seated inside the roots. A white cord was still wrapped around his neck, and his arm were curved over the tree trunks as if he were comfortably seated in a high back chair. A white handkerchief was placed over the face, unmoving in the listless December air.

  “This guy didn’t die quickly. The coroner will have to confirm, but it looks like he was choked by a cord, the cord released, and then choked several more times. Notice the strangulation marks on the neck and the scratches on the hands indicating resistance,” Manuel intoned as he handed Alexandra a plastic evidence bag.

  Alexandra was impressed. Manuel Quiñones had developed into a promising officer. Manuel had been studying every book he could locate on crime scene investigation, and had already devoured several books on pathology and anatomy. Manuel’s fluency in both English and Spanish allowed him to opportunistically purchase medical texts in either language as they became available. His eagerness to learn and excel was admirable, but his career would probably be outside of law enforcement. Alexandra had stumbled upon his secret two days before, when she dropped by his house as a surprise for his birthday. She had seen him embracing another male and kissing through his kitchen window. Spotting her, Manuel’s face had drained of color as he watched Alexandra back away and walk towards her car. This was the first time they had seen each other since, his color had returned but he obviously felt very uneasy about what her response would be.

  “Very good job, Manuel.” Alexandra looked down at the evidence bag, then stared directly into Manuel’s eyes. “You are going to make an excellent investigator one of these days. You are good, very good. That is the only thing I care about,” she stated, emphasizing the word “only”. She grabbed his arm and firmly squeezed it, and then proceeded to pull out her notepad. She turned back for one last comment: “unfortunately, the police force is filled with people like Reynaldo Garcia. They may not be as understanding as I am.”