CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Kincaid located La Hacienda on the street that Lopez had given him. It was a modest looking hotel, single story and constructed out of the same pink adobe that described so much of the architecture in the northern part of Mexico. There was an office on the south end of the single wing. The parking lot wrapped around the building with odd numbers on the front, and even numbers on the back. Kincaid drove slowly around the building and located Room 104. There was a single car in the lot on the back side of the hotel. It was a late model Mercedes and was parked by itself at the back edge of the lot under a stand of Chihuahua white pines that gave shade to it.
There were no lines on the asphalt to indicate spaces so Kincaid parked about three car widths from the door to Room 104. He looked at the clock on the dash of the Honda. It read 12:13. Close enough. He gripped the handle of the satchel and stepped from the car. He looked about the area and moved toward the door. There was a large plate glass window to the room with the curtains pulled half way across it. He noticed a table on the other side of the window and a man seated at it.
He tapped lightly on the door.
It was cracked just inches, then opened wide. “Hola,” greeted Capitán Juan Luis Lopez. “Señor Kincaid?”
“Si, Capitán Lopez?” Harry responded offering a hand.
The fat Capitán took his hand. “Please. Come in.”
Kincaid stepped into the room and looked over at the man seated at the table. The man stood as Kincaid took a step toward him.
“This is Rafael Carmello, Señor Kincaid,” said Lopez. “I believe your General Hastings has mentioned him to you.”
“Yes, he has,” Kincaid confirmed.
“Please, Señor Kincaid,” offered Carmello. “Have a seat with me at the table. We have business to discuss.” His eyes never left Kincaid’s as he spoke to Lopez, “Juan, please get our guest a drink of water.”
“Certainly,” replied Lopez. Kincaid quickly determined that there wasn’t any doubt as to the pecking order in this meeting.
Lopez walked into a small kitchenette and retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge. He returned and placed it in front of Harry.
Kincaid nodded his thanks to Lopez and directed his discussion to Carmello. “So, Lobo? I believe that is what you are called?”
“Si,” he smiled. “It is a name that has followed me most of my life. It is what my friends call me.” He studied Kincaid carefully and said, “I will consider you my friend until I am proven otherwise.”
“Well, Señor Carmello,” Kincaid responded, “that is yet to be determined, isn’t it?” Kincaid had made his point. “I am here to discuss our MX21 side arms. What is your requirement, should we decide to sell them to you?”
Carmello looked at Kincaid with a sly grin. “Señor Kincaid. Let us not waste each other’s time. I am here to purchase one thousand of your MX21s. We will pay you 200 USD each. It is a very simple arrangement. You will invoice Capitán Lopez, just as before. And you will ship it to his address, just as before.”
Kincaid thought he should say, “You know that my government has grave concerns as to who these weapons will serve. They have strict…”
“Señor Kincaid,” Lobo said. “We are past such rhetoric, aren’t we?”
Kincaid shrugged his shoulders, as if making a concession. “Yes. We are,” he answered. “But I have one condition.”
Lobo looked over at Lopez and smiled, then back at Kincaid. “And what might that be?”
“I am led to believe that you arranged the killing of Diana Ricci in Oklahoma City.”
“A very sad necessity, Señor,” Lobo replied. “It seems that your General Hastings wasn’t willing to cooperate with us. We must have more of the weapons.” Lobo sighed, and said mournfully, “We had to get his attention.”
“Well, you did,” Kincaid conceded. He paused a moment to get the full attention of Lobo. “Here’s the deal, Rafa,” he said with a certain swagger, almost a sneer. “We will sell a thousand of our MX21s, billed and shipped to Capitán Lopez, as before. You will turn over to me the man who killed Miss Ricci. This woman was… special to my general. I must deal with him.”
“Ah, Kincaid… you joke with me,” said Carmello.
Harry did not bat an eye. “No. I do not joke with you. Is he so important to you that you will not give him up for the guns?” Kincaid’s eyes were locked with Lobo’s. He knew that the first man to blink would lose.
“We can send another man to visit Mrs. Hastings, you know,” said Lobo. He was becoming nervous. He broke the stare with Kincaid.
Harry knew he had won. “You will not be that foolish, Rafa. We can deal with anyone you might send. But, why? All you have to do is turn over your man to me. He doesn’t have to know. Just have him meet with me.”
“You ask too much, Señor Kincaid,” he said.
Without threatening, Harry reached into the satchel that he had placed on the table. With his forefinger and thumb he gingerly removed the MX21. He laid it on the table in front of Carmello.
“One thousand of these are yours. Just turn over the killer,” Kincaid said.
There was a long pause as Carmello gazed at the pistol on the table.
“Or, I walk,” added Kincaid.
A full minute of silence.
Carmello looked up at Kincaid. “His name is Carlos Garcia-Mendoza. He is called el Hacha, the ax.”
“And where can I find him?” The tenor of Kincaid’s voice conveyed his seriousness.
Carmello replied, “He lives in Nogales… in Arizona.”
“I want you to arrange a meeting,” Kincaid said. “Call him and tell him that I have a job for him. Tell him I like his work. I want him to deal with a woman who has become a problem.” Lobo listened carefully. Kincaid continued. “Tell him I will meet him tomorrow morning in Nogales and pay him $10,000 in cash.”
“When can you ship the guns?” Lobo asked.
“We ship the guns after I meet with el Hacha,” Kincaid said with a wry smile. “and I arrive safely back in Oklahoma. And, of course, after your payment has arrived in our bank, as before.”
“Very well,” Lobo replied.
Lopez had been watching the exchange with eyes as wide as saucers. He let out an audible sigh of relief at Lobo’s last words.
Kincaid leaned back in his chair and continued to look at Carmello. “Call him now.”
Carmello pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He looked questioningly back at Kincaid.
“There is a McDonalds on Mariposa Road on the east side of Interstate 19 north of Nogales,” said Kincaid. “I stopped there yesterday. Tell him to meet me there at ten o’clock in the morning.”
Kincaid and Lopez sat quietly as Carmello made the call. He listened closely to every word to determine if there were any verbal signals being given and decided there wasn’t. Besides, this was all about the guns. He didn’t expect Carmello to betray him with el Hacha.
When Carmello ended the call, he said to Kincaid. “It is done. Hacha will meet you where you say. He will be driving a white van. He will be alone.”
Kincaid smiled and stood up. “Well, gentlemen, I believe this concludes our business.” He leaned over and shook the hand of Capitán Juan Luis Lopez. “Señor Capitán…,” then shaking the hand of Carmello, he said, “A pleasure, Rafa.”
Lopez smiled broadly and nodded ‘yes’ in perpetual motion. Carmello smirked and said, “We will be awaiting the shipment, Señor Kincaid. And, do not call me Rafa.”
Harry nodded, gave Lobo a condescending wink, then turned and exited the room. He got back into the rented Honda and drove around the building and out of the parking lot.
Kincaid picked up his cell phone and hit the speed dial number for Bobby Lawson.
After two rings Bobby answered. “Hola, Kincaid. How goes your Mexican vacation?”
Harry chuckled and said, “Almost over. Look, I need for you to pick me up in the Citation tomorrow morning at eleven o’clock in Tucson. We’ll have Pet
e Von Karmenn and one other passenger we’ll need to drop off in Oklahoma City.”
“Who is the other passenger?” Bobby asked.
“His name is Carlos Garcia-Mendoza, Bobby. He’s the guy that murdered Diana Ricci in Oklahoma City.”
“And you’ve got him with you now?”
“Well, not quite yet,” Harry answered. “But I will have by the time we meet up in Tucson. And, by the way, Bobby, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to let Jack Tully know we are bringing him in. This guy is tied in with the Sinaloa Cartel. And that’s always of interest to the FBI.”