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

Lila’s Patio had opened at four p.m. It was a neat storefront located in the heart La Placita. The colorful murals and inviting atmosphere was a dramatic change from the establishments she had visited the previous night. Law enforcement and drugs are a deadly combination in Puerto Rico. She hoped she would not have to return to the other bars for further investigation or even worse: send Manuel undercover.

  She continued, looking directly at Danny. “Mr. Prieto. One of your customers was murdered. I am here only as a homicide detective. I am not here to judge.”

  Alexandra had already decided to take the risk and reveal the possibility of multiple homicides to key witnesses. There were two deaths she could already link directly to gay bars in San Juan, so revelation of that information was inevitable. However, it was essential to limit the amount of information she shared. She began again.

  “It is very likely that this was one of two murders that targeted gay men. Your customers may be in danger if we don’t catch this person. Again, I’m not here to judge and I am very discrete when conducting my investigations. Your customers have nothing to fear from me.”

  The mention of a multiple murders had an immediate reaction on Danny. He had just listened to a regular American patron the night before talking about the disappearance of a gay friend of his from Condado. Over the weekend, he had seen a group passing flyers out to patrons in the bar regarding a missing person from Fajardo. Danny noticed everything that went on in his bar. In Puerto Rico, all rumors get their genesis in or are repeated at bars. Even in a world dominated by social media, there was no more enticing place for salacious gossip than a gay bar. Danny still had one of those flyers.

  “Who was murdered? How do you know he was a customer here?”

  “I don’t. I am hoping you can help. Do you recognize either of these two people?” Alexandra handed her cell phone to him displaying the faces of the victim to Danny. Danny’s eyes widened.

  “He has been here several times. Oh my god, you mean he’s dead?”

  “Yes, I am afraid so. Let’s start with this one.” She pointed to Ricardo Herger, the victim he had just identified.

  “Yes, he was here Saturday, I believe. Yes, Saturday because I let them stay a little after closing.”

  “Them?”

  Danny paused, realizing he had just pointed the finger at Titi’s son, Fernando. He began tapping his fingers nervously on the bar. Alexandra immediately saw his hesitation.

  “Mr. Prieto, please share me what you know. We are talking about murder here. This isn’t the time to try to protect someone. I already know that he was last seen in the company of a gentleman named Fernando Armado here, on Saturday night. After that we have no record of his whereabouts. His name was Ricardo Herger.”

  “Fernando. Is he okay?” At the mention of Fernando’s name Danny stopped tapping his finger.

  “Yes. I’ve spoken with him. How do you know Fernando Amado?”

  Danny explained his close relationship with Fernando’s mother Titi, and his paternal affection for young Fernando. The detective made notes in her notebook and continued.

  “I want to know if you know the victim and if you saw him here on Saturday.”

  “Ok, yes he was over there by the pillar talking to Fernando and Fernando’s friend.

  “Friend?”

  “Fernando’s friend. Phillip something, an American.”

  Alexandra flipped through her notebook. “Phillip Winthrop?”

  “Sounds right. I’m bad with last names, but I remember drinks!” Danny smiled and signaled to the bar, indicating it was open if the police officer wanted a water, soda, or something stronger.

  “I’m fine. What can you tell me about this Phillip person?”

  Danny shifted again, this time more comfortably. He had no problems telling Alexandra of his opinion of Phillip. Danny had noticed how Phillip behaved toward Fernando, and his fondness for Fernando translated into a paternal affection for the amiable young man. He knew everything that went on in his bar, and Phillips’ dark personality and extreme mood swings had been noticed. He had seen Phillip in the bar cruising men when he was not with Fernando, and he strongly suspected that Phillip was not as committed to the relationship as Fernando seemed to be. Danny paused and pursed his lips. His eyes rolled to the left as if he were trying to remember something.

  Danny collected his thoughts for a moment, and began. “Fernando is the son of an acquaintance of mine. He and his mother are good people. He wouldn’t harm a fly.”

  “Fernando is a witness at this point, not a suspect,” lied Alexandra. Pointing a finger at someone’s family member or close friend always shuts a witness down.

  Danny continued. “They hung out over there by the pillar for about two hours. It was mostly Fernando and Ricardo chatting. Phillip was hovering around like a dark cloud. They drank a little but didn’t get out of control. Fernando and Ricardo seemed to be enjoying themselves. Fernando got a pen to write his number down, I recall. I thought maybe they would hook up and then Fernando would get over that Phillip character.”

  “You don’t like Phillip Winthrop very much, do you?” inquired Alexandra.

  “No, I do not.”

  “Why not?”

  Danny was much happier to focus the attention away from Fernando. “I don’t like him. He is leading Fernando on. I’m not one who likes to get involved in other people’s lives, especially their love lives, but Phillip is not good for Fernando.”

  Alexandra made a note in her notebook, scribbling ‘check background on Phillip Winthrop, Boston Police Department’ and continued. “So, the two are in an intimate relationship. What else?”

  “Well, like I said, they talked for a couple of hours and left.

  “Who left with whom, did you see?”

  Danny paused for a moment. “Let’s see, Fernando and Phillip left after Ricardo. No wait, Ricardo left first and then Fernando and Phillip left a few minutes later. I remember because it looked like this other guy, Esteban, followed Ricardo out. No wait. Esteban left a bit beforehand. They all were talking, then Esteban left, then the group broke up.”

  “This is excellent, Danny. Ok, who is Esteban?”

  “Esteban….let me think. He works over at the marina near the San Juan airport. Dock hand or something like that. Always has a bundle of rope with him.”

  “Rope?” Alexandra’s expression widened.

  “Yeah, that white polyester rope they use. I think they tie the smaller boats up with it, or that’s what he told me once.”

  “Okay, now Danny, this is very important. Do you remember Esteban’s name?”

  Danny pursed his lips again and struggled to remember. “Arroyo”, he announced, snapping his fingers at the recollection. “Esteban Arroyo. Anyway, he was only with the other three for about two minutes. I almost forgot about him. He left before Fernando, Phillip and this guy,” Dany responded, flipping his finger at Ricardo’s picture.

  Alexandra tried to elicit more information about Esteban now that Danny had confirmed his last name, but Danny’s knowledge of him was limited to a few interactions at the bar. She turned her attention to the Ibiza victim.

  “Now this guy.”

  “One moment.” He returned from behind the bar with the missing person flyer. “I didn’t know who he was until you showed me that picture.” He handed her the flyer. “I didn’t recognize him from that black and white photo, it is grainy and so old it looks like a different person. But I think these two are the same guy. Here.” Danny handed her the missing person flyer.

  Alexandra examined the flyer. Jackpot. It was the young man in the Ibiza shirt. His name was Tony Cotto. Age 23. A contact number was listed. She examined the photograph. The picture was at least five years old and a poor copy on top of that. It was no wonder Tony Cotto had never been identified.

  “What can tell me about him, Mr. Prieto. Let’s start with how you obtained this flyer.”

  “Through two friends of this poor fellow, Tony Cotto. There was a younge
r man and young female looking for him. I know the girl. She is a volunteer with the Youth Group at the health clinic. Comes by on occasion with condoms and literature.”

  Alexandra continued scribbling in her notebook. “Which health clinic?”

  “The health clinic down in Rio Piedras that provides services to gay community. They work a lot with HIV and teenagers.”

  Alexandra continued scribbling. “So, you have never seen Tony Cotto here?” she asked.

  Danny looked at the photo on her cell phone, thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers.

  “Soda water. Now I know who he is. That was about two weeks ago, though. It’s been a few days but I remember him. He didn’t order any other drinks or talk to anybody. He stayed outside most of the time, he came in to use the bathroom.”

  “Did he speak with anyone, come in with anyone, leave with anyone?” Alexandra had confirmed the victim’s first name and town of residence. She now had a concrete lead.

  “Nah, he sat by himself, or I should say stood and posed. He was a poser.

  “A what?” Alexandra look at him quizzically.

  “A poser. Wall flower. He stood there but didn’t talk to anyone. Pretty common among the young kids. You remember how it used to be, always looking to hook up,” Danny laughed. “Or he could have been a volunteer, or a hustler.”

  “What makes you think that?” Alexandra asked.

  “The health clinic. They do a lot with gay kids who get thrown out of their houses. There aren’t too many jobs for people without an address, so a lot of them get into turning tricks. That may be why the health clinic was involved at one point. Or, like I said, he may have been a teenager who volunteered with them. They help put up the kids in hostels when the parents throw them out of the house. It is probably why the only picture they have of him is so old.”

  “I will check that out. So, Tony Cotto talked to no one the entire time he was here?”

  Danny thought for a few seconds more. “Well, I only saw him for an hour or so. Now, I don’t know if it counts but I caught him staring at that bodybuilder while he was inside. I don’t know if they spoke, but he stood there and stared at the bodybuilder for, god, must have been fifteen or twenty minutes.”

  “Ok. Do you know the bodybuilder’s name?” Alexandra could barely contain her excitement.

  Danny’s eyes widened with realization. He had overlooked the connection until now. “It was Esteban, that same guy!” he declared.” Then Danny realized that Fernando had also been there that night. He remembered Tony Cotto because Fernando was talking to the same guy Tony Cotto had been cruising. That had miffed the Danny. Danny was very protective of Titi’s son.

  He needed to call Titi immediately.

  “Did he leave alone?” the Detective inquired.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t see what happened to any of them after they left.”

  Alexandra grilled him with questions for a few more minutes and handed Danny her card. Danny wanted to call Titi as soon possible and made it clear that the interview was over. It was obvious to Alexandra that he was trying to cut the interview short, but he had given her invaluable clues. She needed him to trust her, she would definitely have more questions for him. She decided to ease off on the questioning for now to check up the leads.

  “Thank you, Mr. Prieto. If you have anything else you want to tell me, or, if you see anything suspicious, call me. I will be back.”

  Alexandra left the bar shortly after. Two miles away Esteban Arroyo had just finished winding the heap of white cord in his hand into a tight bundle. He tossed it into the bed of his truck and drove off.

  ‹23›

  Danny watched Alexandra leave and drive off in her cruiser. As soon as she was out of sight, he dropped his bar rag, dried his hands on his pants, and grabbed his cell phone.

  “Titi, it’s Danny Prieto. How are you today?” he began.

  “Danny! I haven’t heard from you since...when?” Titi was excited to hear from her childhood friend.

  “We have to get together and reconnect soon”, replied Danny. “But I wanted to talk to you about Fernando a little bit.”

  “What has he done now?” Tit laughed, tepidly. It was odd for Danny to call out of the blue like this.

  “He hasn’t done anything. I’m a little concerned about him is all,” replied Danny

  “What’s going on, Danny?” Titi’s voice became suddenly serious.

  “I just got a visit from the police. There have been a couple of murders. They were here asking about Fernando not too long ago.”

  Titi nearly dropped her phone.

  “What murders? Who? Where are you?” Titi couldn’t ask the questions quickly enough.

  Realizing her distress, Danny sought to reassure her.

  “Can you call him? We need to talk to him” Danny inquired politely.

  “I can call him at work.”.

  “Well, call him and then call me back, Titi. I’m sure everything is all right.”

  Titi hung up the phone and called a number Fernando had said was his office number. He left his cell phone home when working. Warehouse employees were not allowed to take their cell phones onto the warehouse floor, and Fernando’s car window had been smashed by a car thief during his first week of work. He had taped plastic over the broken window as protection against rain, but leaving his cell phone in a car with only taped plastic covering the passenger window would have been an easy target for another thief.

  She nearly collapsed with relief when Raul Pena answered the phone.

  “This is Titi Amado. Where is Fernando?” she demanded.

  “Fernando who?” Raul replied roughly.

  “It’s an emergency, Fernando Amado I need to talk to him now!”

  “Fernando is out back unloading a truck. I’ll tell him you called.”

  “Tell him to call his mother back on my cell phone. It’s import….” Raul hung up the phone. He found answering the phone irritating to begin with. Answering personal calls for the juvenile manager he so despised was even worse.

  Titi tried calling back several times. Raul hung up the phone each time.

  Titi called Danny back immediately. Where are you?”

  “La Placita, Patio de Lila,” he replied.

  “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” Titi didn’t bother to change clothes or put her lipstick and eyeliner on. She grabbed her keys and rushed out of the house, nearly hitting a concrete pillar in her haste to back out of the driveway.

  By the time Titi arrived in La Placita, she had worried herself into a frenzy. Fernando still hadn’t called her back. She didn’t bother looking for parking. Danny had a chair reserving her a parking space in front of the bar. She nearly bowled over the plastic chair in her hurry to get parked. Danny rushed to the curb to clear her spot and directed her into the space. She sprang out of her car and rushed towards him, punching the warehouse telephone number again into her telephone.

  “Danny, what is going on?” Titi was nearly in tears and shaking. Danny showed her the card Alexandra had given him. Someone picked up the other end in the warehouse and hung up again.

  Titi scanned the business card in her hand. She looked at Danny pleadingly. “What’s going on?” Titi was almost in tears.

  Danny eased her into the bar, grabbed her a Medalla, which she gratefully accepted, and told the story of Alexandra Vargas’ visit.

  When he mentioned Esteban’s name, she immediately recognized him by his first name and description from the parranderas. A muscular bearded dark-haired man with pock marks in his face.

  “He was at my house. I let him into my house!” Titi shrieked. “So, this Esteban person is a murderer, and he was with Fernando?”

  “I don’t know, but I am worried they might suspect Fernando,” replied Danny. “Or possibly Esteban, either way Fernando is mixed up in this.”

  Titi could barely hold in her tears, but a mother’s protective instinct is stronger than any fear. She put on her reading glasses,
grabbed her cell phone, and dialed the number on the card.

  When Alexandra answered, it took several minutes to calm Titi down long enough to get her to identify her location. Shortly afterwards, Alexandra’s arrived back at La Placita and strolled into the bar.

  “Mrs. Amado-Miranda, I am Lt. Alexandra Vargas.” She extended her hand and gently helped Titi into a chair.

  “Please tell me why you haven’t arrested this Esteban person”. He is a murderer and was with my son!” exclaimed Titi.

  Alexandra held Titi by the shoulders and in a low but firm tone addressed her. “Mrs. Amado-Miranda. I do not have sufficient evidence to make an arrest. I am doing my best. The best thing you can do is to answer a few questions for me. I was going to come and see you anyway, so let’s get this interview done. Now, I need to ask you a few questions.”

  Titi shook her head in agreement and sat back down on her bar stool to nurse the Medalla.

  “First, have you have ever met Esteban Arroyo.”

  Titi answered. “He came with the parranda last night!” she exclaimed. “I thought he was one of Fernando’s boyfriends, but he is a murderer. He was in my house!” she shouted.

  “So, you know about Fernando?” queried Alexandra, thankful that she didn’t have add to Titi’s misery by informing her that her son was gay.

  “You mean that he is gay? Of course. Even Lydia was surprised I knew, but a mother always knows.” Titi exclaimed.

  Alexandra was afraid the poor mother was close to going into shock. She signaled for Danny to offer her another Medalla. Perhaps the beer would calm the distressed woman.

  “Who is Lydia?”

  “My cousin who runs a gay bar in Luquillo, in the Kiosks,” replied Titi.

  The moment Alexandra heard Titi mention Luquillo, she nearly dropped the pen she was using to compose notes. Another link between the murders. And not just Luquillo, but the only gay bar east of San Juan. That might explain why some of the murders seemed to be centered around Luquillo.

  “Are you the Titi who sells Lydia alcapurrias?” Alexandra asked.

  “Yes, I sell them alcapurrias”.

  The coincidences were piling up. There was still no direct link between Van Dusen and the remaining murders, however.