Page 20 of Liaising Kai

“Who do they work for?”

“It used to be Nacho…Ignacio Siachoque, the head of the Siachoque Cartel, but your government took him down in Costa Rica where he was hiding and dismantled his organization in Colombia. His demise, and that of the Siachoque Cartel, left a vacuum in their wake, and you know what can transpire when that happens.”

“Another cartel takes over.”

He nodded. “A word of caution, Kai. If the Los Esmeraldas are involved in these murders, walk carefully in this city and outside it. They are the largest and most feared gang, the savage watchdogs of their cartel. They will not rest until everyone who stands in their way, including you and your partner, are dead.”

CHAPTER SIX

Davis was duly spooked after they left poor Mrs. Cordero’s townhouse, the beautiful surroundings hiding a dark and deadly threat. She and her dog had been murdered to either keep her away from their questions or to find Eduardo or both. The fact that they had tortured the woman gave him hope that Eduardo was still breathing. He thought about all the people who had died directly from the investigation of this case, his gut clenching again in grief at the loss of Carter. Their need to find Eduardo was even more imperative.

But his main concern was their safety. He and Kai were in a foreign country, away from their own turf, at the mercy of the Guayaquil cops. Other than each other, they had no idea who they could trust.

Having no choice in the matter, they had to leave the collection of evidence and the autopsy up to the local authority. It would be a while before they would receive any information about all that evidence, so they made the decision to go to Eduardo's residence. He lived in Guayas, a small fishing village, a quick drive from Guayaquil.

Kai’s body pressed to his as if she wanted to keep him close. She looked like she desperately needed to talk to him, but not in front of the police officers. He wondered what she was thinking, and why she’d wanted him to distract Cesar so she could talk to Dario. He wasn’t one to denigrate any law enforcement official’s gut instinct, and Kai had a good gut on her, among other attributes. His mind jumped back to the elevator and her blatant statement about how each of them wanted sex from the other. That had jacked him up from the get-go, and it was also the kind of distraction that could get them both killed.

He couldn’t deny her statement. He did want sex from her, his body craved to be inside her, but possessing her wasn’t all he wanted. He wanted her secrets and the trust that went along with those secrets. He wanted her to know that he would be there for her come what may.

She had gotten it right this morning. There were so many complications, and he still wasn’t sure she was turning to him for the right reasons just yet. That’s what stopped him from claiming her last night. He didn’t want them jumping into bed because it was physical. He wanted more than that from her.

But now with Mrs. Cordero’s murder, they were facing nothing but a dry hole in Ecuador. He had to wonder if that was by design, and whose design.

When they pulled up to an apartment building, the two police officers exited, but Kai didn’t open her door right away. She grasped his arm, and said, her voice low and urgent, “Be careful, Davis.”

He nodded, and before the two cops noticed, he opened the door and stepped out. The complex had six apartment blocks, the one in the middle with a distinctive white roof in the shape of a pyramid.

“Mosquera’s on the sixth floor, number 601,” the colonel said, looking up. “The building manager will meet us there.” They headed to the lobby of the middle building and rode the elevator to the right apartment. A balding, middle-aged man was waiting outside of Eduardo’s apartment. He opened the door, and they went inside.

Davis could tell by the musty smell of the place that Eduardo hadn’t been there for some time. The furniture was minimal, his bed an unmade mattress in the corner of the room. There were no signs that he’d been there recently.

Kai turned to the building manager. “Is Mr. Mosquera current on his rent?”

The man nodded, and they left the apartment no closer to Eduardo then they had been before. Next, it was to the marina where they had some hope of tracking down someone who had information on Eduardo, his vessel, or his crew.

They walked down the dock heading for the office. Davis looked out to where the fishermen would have moored their boats, one or two were still out there. The rest were gone, fishing, he presumed. None of them were Mayta’s Gift.

A man was sitting on a stack of crates looking to be mending a fishing net. He glanced up at them, then did a double take, his eyes widening.

They opened the door, a bell chiming as they walked into the neat office. The man took one look at the police officers and stiffened. His gaze then went to him and Kai, and his eyes narrowed. “Can I help you?” he asked just as stiffly. Not a fan of the law, Davis thought. In those instances when people were less than cooperative, it meant they had something to hide.

He and Kai flipped their badges. Davis said, “Good morning. We’re looking for Eduardo Mosquera. It’s our understanding he moors his boat Mayta’s Gift here at your marina.”

“Yes, he has a standing contract with me. But he’s not here.”

“When was the last time you saw him?”

The man looked up, thinking, then said, “About four days ago. I saw him and several men head out to his boat.”

“His crew?”

“No, they weren’t part of his crew.”

“Have you seen any of his crew around the docks?”

The man looked out the window and Davis followed his line of vision to the stack of crates that had been occupied by the man fixing the net. He was gone. Davis scanned the area, and he could see him hurrying down the dock.

“That’s his first mate, Roberto Jimenez.”

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