Page 51 of The Perfect Stranger

“Antonio,” I greeted shaking the man’s hand.

“Carlo. I’m showing you around.”

“Thank you. Don’t alert anyone to why I’m here.”

He shook his head to say it wasn’t a concern.

For the next thirty minutes, he guided me through the production and packaging rooms. There would have been around two dozen workers in each area. Labs were set up to produce both powered and liquid cocaine before it was handed over to the women who would package the contents. It was standard operation. The women were stripped down to their underwear while armed guards watched on.

“Who was in charge of the packaging room the day the dragon fruit was being filled?”

“Frederico.” Carlo rocked on his heels, arms folded as he took a moment to watch his staff.

“Point to some of the women who were working that night.”

He scanned the room again before pointing. “Juanita, Natasha, Mariana, Rosita, Deedee, and Sofia. The others are not scheduled to work until tomorrow.”

“Bring one of them over.”

“Juanita,” Carlo barked, startling the women. A woman with her back toward us stood and removed her gloves. She turned, and I was immediately filled with guilt and sadness. She could have been Ana’s sister. Twin even. The resemblance was uncanny… and unnerving.

“Que pasa?” Carlo asked, frowning.

“Nothing,” I shook my head as the girl approached, caught in a moment of grief and attacked by guilt. “She reminds me of someone, that’s all.”

Someone who blinked the wrong way and had her head cut off. Someone who saw the wrongs and wanted to make things right. Someone who died because they wanted to be a good person.

“Si, Carlo?” Juanita had a voice as smooth as honey.

“Antonio wants to talk with you.”

She nodded, and I could sense some unease. That didn’t mean she was guilty of anything. Like Ana, she worked in a hostile environment.

We walked into an office on a mezzanine level that overlooked the production on the ground floor. I watched from the window as some of the women subtly conversed, glancing up at the office in the hope of some answers.

“Juanita,” I began. “I understand you were working the night the coke was being packed inside the dragon fruit.”

“Si.” Her eyes flicked between Carlo and me.

“You don’t have anything to worry about. You’re not in trouble.”

“Okay.”

“I need you to remember some things for me.” She nodded so I continued, “Were you one of the women packing the fruit?”

“Si.”

“How many of you worked that night.”

“Everyone was sick. So less than usual.”

“And the guards? Were they the same as the two working now?”

“Si.”

“Thank you. How many boxes of fruit did you pack?”

“Sixty.”

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