The Devil's Assassin (10 page)

Pablo
laughs
.

Linus ignores
the
other
man
and
answers
in
his
own
Spanish
. “Me gustaría que no
bromeaba sobre este detective. La gente está muriendo. La cosa casi me mata.”

Arroyos looks at
the
Spanish-speaking
Linus
with
some
surprise
.

June
follows
quickly
, in
English
again
. “A
friend
of mine
died
two
days
ago. …
We’re
here
to
help
.”

Arroyos looks
at
the two people in front of him and can see that they are quite serious.

“What exactly do
the two of you get out of this investigation of yours?”

“Just
information,” says June. “Maybe we’ll learn something that will help us
recapture the creature that we lost. Perhaps we can assist you in finding the
one here. At the very least we can help get an innocent man out of jail.”

Arroyos doesn’t
like this, but they are persuading him to at least follow the lead. He knows
that he has a weak case against the man that he’s holding in his cells.

“Are there just
four creatures then?” the detective asks.

“Highly unlikely,” replies Linus.

“But we can only
go after the ones we know about,” says June. “Are you going to help us?”

Detective Arroyos
wishes he’d never seen the two Americans. Their story is too ridiculous and he
can feel his deputy bristling with incredulousness next to him. But he doesn’t
have a shred of evidence against the man in his jail cell.

“Give me some
phone numbers of people who can verify this or your credentials. And give me
the disks and whatever else you have. I’ll call you at your hotel later.”

Pablo can hold
his tongue no longer and bursts out in Spanish.
“Detective!
You don’t believe these, Norte Americanos, do you?”

His reply is in
Spanish. “We’ll work it out, Pablo. If they aren’t telling the truth, I’m sure
they know how unpleasant it will be for them in Argentina.”

He looks to Linus
and June as he says this.

Linus is
unruffled by the comment and June doesn’t understand it. Linus writes a few
names and numbers on a sheet of paper and hands over his disks. June writes a
few more names and numbers on the same sheet.

“Thanks,
Detective,” says June sincerely.

The detective
gives her a look that says he’s not so sure if he’s doing the right thing. The
two start to leave and he speaks to them. “If your story checks out, I expect
to get some help finding the killer.”

Linus answers
over his shoulder. “That’s why we’re here, Detective. I didn’t come to
Argentina to see the sights with Dr. Dituro here.”

Arroyos raises
an
eyebrow. “Though who could blame you if you did, aye Señor?”

Linus smiles and June chuckles.
The two walk outside into the sunshine of Villa
Huidobro. They stand in front of the police station thinking about what to do
next.

“I like how you
handled old Arroyos in there,” says Linus.

 “Thank
you,” says June. “So, do you have anything against seeing the sights of
Argentina with Dr. Dituro?”

Linus winces. “I
just meant to suggest that my focus was searching for the creature.
Nothing against you, of course.
I appreciate that you are
here, especially considering that Van Horn could have come in your place.”

June smacks Linus
in the arm playfully and smiles. “Not exactly a ringing endorsement. And it’s
Van Houten!”

“I am kidding, of
course. I’d vacation with you anywhere, and have a grand time.”

“Wow, Mr. Hather.
I’m honored by the compliment. I’d enjoy vacationing with you too.”

Linus smiles.
June
looks down and then directly at Linus. Their eyes connect for a while.

“Well, it’s not
Paris, or the Bahamas,” says June. “But let’s pretend we’re seeing the sights
while we wait for Arroyos.”

“There’s a good
idea,” says Linus. He hadn’t planned on doing so, but he reaches down and takes
her hand in his. “Okay, let’s see what Villa Huidobro has to offer.”

June is surprised
and looks down in pleasure at their hands. It’s been a long time since someone
held her hand. She cannot remember when. She grasps his hand tighter and looks
at his smiling face, something he hasn’t done very much since she’s met him.
His smile increases his attractiveness tenfold she thinks. He starts to pull
her along at a leisurely stroll.

“What do you
think?” he asks. “See the sights? Get something to eat?”

“I’m still full
from that wonderful steak at lunch,” she replies.
“How about
some coffee and churros?”

“
Bueno
.
Shouldn’t be hard to find either of those in
Argentina.... Then, assuming Arroyos believes
us,
we
get ready to help find the real killer.”

June stops
walking. “Sounds like a short vacation.”

Linus is still
smiling. “Okay, okay. Let’s forget about that for now. I agree. Churros, coffee
and see the sights with my lady friend.”

June smiles and
the two resume their walk hand in hand toward the center of town.

›

Linus is sitting
at the small desk in his hotel room and speaking on the phone. A picture of the
capitol building in Buenos Aires hangs on the wall over the desk. The floor is
wood and the room looks more like a bed and breakfast than a typical hotel
room. Two windows throw sunshine into the room.

“So the reporters
have been hounding you about the creature?” asks Linus.

Jay is on the
phone in his office at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
“Them
and every professor and postdoc from here to Timbuktu.
And while they
don’t mind siphoning me for information, as little as I have to give them,
guess who they really want to talk to?”

“I don’t know,
Bill Nye the Science Guy?”

“Yeah.
Nooo
.
It’s you they want, chum.”

“I wonder why,”
asks Linus rhetorically.

“Maybe because you discovered the creature.”

“Caught it actually.
By accident.
So what are you telling them?”

“That you’re on
vacation with a beautiful brunette,” says Jay.

Linus chuckles
and looks at the door as if expecting someone to be there. “It’s funny that you
should say that, Jay.”

“Yes. What does
that mean?”

“Nothing,” says
Linus. “Just a game we were playing.”

“So you’re
getting along?”

“So far so good.
Listen,
keep giving them the same line if it makes your life
easier. We’ll be back in a couple of days and some pressure will be off of
you.”

“Good,” exclaims
Jay. “As I mentioned, I’ve got some bad news. Someone else has been killed.
This one was in the paper. That’s why there’s been so much publicity. It seems
the creature killed a homeless man in Franklin Park in Philadelphia. Another
homeless man watched it happen.”

“Oh man...”

“The victim tried
to fight the creature with his cane. He lost his life pretty quickly, the other
man says. When the cops got there he was afraid they’d throw him in the can for
the murder, but he was drunk enough to tell them the story, which to his
surprise, they believed.”

“So they any closer to finding it?”

Van Houten says
they haven’t found it yet.”

“Figures.”

“Speaking of Van
Houten,” says Jay. “He seems pretty keen to see you as well.”

“Whatever for?”
says Linus without worry.

“I couldn’t tell
you, Linus. I’ll let you go on that mysterious thought. What’s next down there,
by the way?”

“We’ve finally
persuaded the police here thanks to you and the lab. I do believe we’re going
hunting.”

“You really like
to get into the thick of things, don’t you?” says Jay. “Well, you and June
be
careful, seriously. It doesn’t seem like too many people
have much luck staying alive around this animal.”

“I know, thanks,
Jay.
Hasta la vista.”

›

It’s a cloudy
morning. A police four-wheel drive vehicle drives quickly down a rural
Argentine road. Behind it follow four similar vehicles, each packed with people
and guns. Inside the lead car are Detective Arroyos and his deputy, Pablo, who
is driving, and Linus and June. The two are sitting in the backseat of the SUV.
June is dressed a la
Banana Republic
. Linus has on
Levi’s and a brown button-down shirt. A restless dog paces behind Linus and
June in the back of the vehicle.

“We have ten men
from the provincial office,” stated Detective Arroyos, “four men from my
department, five men from the ranch of the man who was killed and three men
from the station in the village where the creature was spotted, and us.
Twenty-six and two hounds.
Not a bad start.”

“It’s not enough
to put a noose around him,” said Linus skeptically.

“This is the best
that we could do for manpower in two hours. When I get two hundred men we can
try to surround him in a noose. But I don’t have two hundred men. Do you?” The
detective pauses. “This ‘
poco
diablo’ is an animal
after all, isn’t he?”

Linus is looking
eye to eye with Arroyos as he says this,
then
looks
out the car’s window to watch the plains roll by. “This is no typical animal,
Detective. His intelligence is practically human, and what’s worse is that all
his genetic code, all of his instincts and intelligence
have
one goal – to hunt and kill humans, and get away.”

Arroyos is
dismissive, turning back to the front of the car. “We’re hunting
him
now. You say his technique is to hunt weak and helpless humans.” The detective
lifts his shotgun and looks at Linus. “We are not weak nor are we helpless.”

›

Under a gray
morning sky, twenty-six people and two eager dogs are gathered in front of an
old barn. The policemen are all outfitted similarly for the hunt:
walkie-talkies, and backpacks with supplies, weapons, and ammunition. The five
gauchos are not as uniformly dressed or equipped, though they have canteens,
guns, and gaucho hats in common between them.

Detective Arroyos
addresses the group of men and one woman in Spanish. “Everyone with a compass
check it now so that if we get separated you can find your way back. Mine is
showing this direction as North.” He points. A few other men with compasses
check them. Then Arroyos divides the group in two.

“You thirteen
will start out with the first dog. The next thirteen will start out after the
other dog ten minutes later. We’ll meet back here in . . . six hours.” He looks
at his watch. “That’s 2:15. Also, no shooting unless you have
positive
identification of your target. I don’t want any of you ending up dead or injured.”

He looks around
at the group.
“Any questions?”

There are none.
He looks at his second-in-command, Pablo. “I want regular contact with the
radios.”

Pablo nods.

The first group
of thirteen hunters moves out. Arroyos, June, and Linus are in the lead,
directly behind the policeman who has the hound on a long leash. Linus’s
compass hangs around his neck and his rifle is in the ready position, as is
June’s rifle dart gun.

The hunters walk
alertly, scanning from side to side, following the trail blazed by the dog and
his handler. As time passes, the group is beginning to spread out. Linus keeps
himself near June, ready to protect her from the creature. He speaks to her
quietly, maintaining his alertness.

“So what made you
think to bring the dart gun? I can’t believe you thought you’d be hunting ‘el
poco
diablo’.”

“It was a
possibility that occurred to me . . . Us government types like to be prepared,
as you pointed out.”

“Is that what I
said?”

“Yes,” June
whispers.
“Now,
shhhh
.”

›

Hours later it is
still overcast. Detective Arroyos is searching alertly. He is closest to the
man handling the dog. The dog still hasn’t led them to anything. He checks his
watch impatiently. “Where are you, diablo?”