Page 73 of The Doctor's Twins

“Deal.”

“In the meantime, don’t you get any Karate Kid ideas. You feeling me, buddy?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I mean it, Ben. Leave this to me. I can’t have you walk into a situation you can’t escape from.”

“I’ll wait for you.”

“You do that. Now, buy me a whiskey, and let’s not talk shop anymore.”

* * *

Sam called me back three days later. I’d been waiting to hear from him with trepidation, checking my phone for missed calls whenever I’d been away from the damn thing.

“Sam. Talk to me.”

“Hey, Ben. Jeez, you weren’t kidding about this guy. He’s bad news on an epic scale.”

“I told you he was no good.”

“I’ve had someone keep an eye on him for a few days now. He has some interesting habits.”

“I’m sure.”

“He likes to smack the fairer sex around some. My contact followed him to a house of ill repute if you catch my drift, and let’s just say he likes to leave his whores behind, battered and bruised.”

“I can’t believe this man was married to Peyton. The idea just blows my mind, Sam.”

“Sociopaths are very charming when they want to be. That is what makes them so difficult to spot. He’s a benevolent, successful, charming, and apparently pretty good-looking man, as far as most are concerned. But scratch the surface enough, and out pours a freak of nature.”

“I need to stop him, Sam.”

“No. You don’t ‘need’ to do a thing about Mateo Garcia. You need to take care of Peyton. I’ll keep an eye on the guy, until such time as we’ve thought of a fitting punishment.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“That depends on you, I suppose.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you want him dead, we’ll do it. But someone like Mateo will be better served in prison where he can get a little payback for his abhorrent behavior. If you get my drift. Death is far too easy for this clown.”

“I agree. He must rot in prison where the inmates can show him some TLC. Besides, what good am I as a person if I become a murderer myself? I couldn’t look Peyton in the eye.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“There’s just one problem. There’s no way his connections will sit back and fold their hands if he’s arrested in Mexico. He’s too valuable an asset to the cops. The man is rather generous with his Pesos when it comes to paying off the cops. He’s the proverbial golden goose to them.”

“How are we going to get around that?” I asked, irritated at this critical hurdle in my plans.

“Well, the only way we’re going to make this stick is to have him arrested on American soil.”

“But what about the extradition treaty? The government will simply send him back to Mexico.”

“True. But at least then Mexico has to do something. It will be all over the news. What a juicy story for the press! Have you ever seen the media descending like flies on a turd when the words serial killer is mentioned? Mateo Garcia will be an international headline.”

“Yeah, I suppose killing two wives and attempting to do the same to another will get the tongues wagging.”

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