Garbage Gold
just kept staring at Sally. Then he said,’Get the police.’
An officer of the Las Palmas PD arrived and told the crowd to keep away from the crime scene. A mall guard went near the cop and asked him,’Need help?’
‘Not really. Do I know you?’
‘Mel Figuerra. Moonlighting here. I’m with the LP traffic department.’
‘Then you can help secure the area. Thanks.’
Mr. Maceda was taken to the LPPD station for questioning. Detective Joe Picasso interviewed him for about twenty minutes. Then he was allowed to go. Sam forgot to show him the piece of paper he took near the body of Sally.
Back home, Sam was changing clothes when he got hold of Sally’s paper. He unfolded it and read it. All he saw were names and numbers. None of them familiar to him. More importantly, none of them seems to be a relative of Sally. He decided to use it as a bookmark and inserted it in a book by Agatha he was reading.
Carmi does rackets on and off with Al Garcia and Benny Amante. The two idiots had just told her about their latest dumb move.
‘Have you checked Rolly’s place?’ She asked them.
‘Last night after the cops let Benny loose. One a.m. he still wasn’t there so we split.’
Clyde was relaxing with Carla Soriano, his girlfriend, in his hotel room.
‘My boss at the office is harassing me,’ Carla was telling him. ‘He wants me in bed and he’s threatening to fire me. Will you do something about that?’
‘Sorry babe. I’m not a muscle.’
‘Will you just try talking to him please?’ She was starting to sob.
‘I’m a businessman. Find some other goon to do him.’
Carla was suddenly angry. ‘Sure. I’ll find somebody with guts which you obviously haven’t got.’ She said loudly.
Al Garcia was surprised to see it was Carla who was at the door.
‘Hey Carla babe! Been a long time!’
Carla hugged and said. ’Oh Al, I’m in trouble.’
‘That so?’
She told him how her boss was forcing her to commit fraud et cetera…
‘So what’s your plan?’ Al asked.
‘Anything you can do to lay him off me.’
‘Hmmm…’
Sam Maceda lives at a condo called Alta Vista. Rolly Valero, dressed in a coverall uniform of an electrician, entered the building and approached the receptionist.
‘Good afternoon ma’am.’ Rolly greeted her. ‘Somebody called our office and told us you need your wirings checked in some rooms.’
‘Sorry. But I don’t know anything about that.’
Rolly looked at his clipboard and said, ‘But it says here Alta Vista,’ then added the condo’s address and phone number.
‘Maybe some of the owners called.’
‘Someone named Maceda.’
‘OK. Oh! But he’s out… I almost forgot.’
‘There might be a fire hazard in his room,’ Rolly persisted.
‘Oh. All right. Here’s his key.’
When Rolly left Alta Vista, Carmi was tailing him until he arrived at his apartment. After about fifteen minutes inside, Rolly got out looking terrified and very edgy. Then after he drove his car off, Carmi approached the house to see if she could take a peek inside. She found a slightly open curtain and peeked. What she saw also surprised her—a wrecked bedroom. Drawers, closets, tables; almost everything upturned or thrown down.
Carla was speaking to her boss on the phone.
‘I’ve decided to do what you want. Why don’t you come tonight at my place so we can have a little party or celebration?’
‘Well, I’m sure glad to hear that. Okay. Would nine suit you?’
‘Fine. I’ll be waiting.’
They hung up.
Rolly decided to make another ‘hit list’ since there were still some receipts he hadn’t thrown away although they were only half of the list Sally had taken.
Clyde didn’t know that he was committing the mistake of his life when he decided to drop by at Carla’s place.
‘Go away.’ She said when she saw it was him.
‘I just want a little celebration with you babe.’
‘What celebration?’
‘I just hit a big pay-off.’ He pulled out a five-hundred bill and pushed it inside her shorts. Then he took out a small vial from his pant pocket and handed it to her. Her resistance failed and forgot everything. Clyde went inside without prompting. Carla prepared some of the powder then snorted it.
After they drank champagne and had some sex, Carla told him, ‘We have to postpone this dear. I’ve got a visitor coming. Pure business.’
But Clyde pulled out another vial from his pants.
Al and Benny were now executing the plan. Al rang the bell on Carla’s door and waited.
The bell startled Carla. Because of the wine and dope, she was disoriented; out of reality. She didn’t know if