The Scared Stiff Read Online Free PDF Page A

which he unlocked; he stepped inside and looked back for us to follow. So we did.
    Quite a contrast. Here we had a low plain white stucco house of the style you see in the better Florida developments, with a redbrick patio between it and the wall, flanked on both sides by tall lush tropical plantings: many bright flowers, many huge leaves. The inside of the wall was painted a light brown, and abstract metal sculptures had been fastened to it here and there.
    "Very nice," I said, and I meant it.
    "Better around back," he said, and led the way to the left, where a path went around the house, flanked by more wall.
    The back was an even bigger surprise, because here was a green lawn, and there was the river. It wasn't a swimming river, so where the wall ended in the shallows on each side, razor wire had been strung, in several coiled lines, just beneath the surface of the water. This was a viewing river. Seated here, you could view it without the slightest worry that anything out there would come ashore to view you back.
    In addition to well-tended green lawn, the rear of the house also featured a small and sparkly swimming pool, all light blue interior and pink stone surround, and another patio, this one shaded by a large blue-and-white canvas awning. A white plastic table and six white plastic chairs stood on the patio.
    Cousin Carlos waved toward the patio. "Sit," he said, and went on into the house.
    Arturo and I sat. "This is a hell of a great place," I said. "Is this where I'll stay?"
    "Oh, sure," he said, and grinned and pointed a finger at me.
"Mi casa…
"
    "…
Es
his
casa,"
I finished, jabbing a thumb toward the house.
    "Very good,
hermano,"
he said, and he smiled, approving of me.
    I said, "Do I talk money with him?"
    "No no no, I did that," he said. "Mostly, he isn't doing it for the money anyway, he's doing it for family. I told him, you're working a little scam; when it's done you're gonna get a whole shitload of money, and he gets forty million."
    "
Siapas
," I said.
    "Well, yeah, sure. Two hundred bucks, right? That's around forty million."
    "It's easy to be a millionaire in Guerrera," I said, and Arturo laughed.
    An older woman came out of the house then, clearly a servant, heavyset and waddling, dressed in a white apron over an ankle-length black dress. In thick gnarled hands she carried plates and snowy napkins and silverware. She set the table for three, then said, to both of us,
"¿Cerveza?"
    "Si,
" we both said, and she nodded and went away.
    Arturo grinned at me. "You learned
that
word pretty good."
    I knew what he meant, but I said, "
Si
?"
    "
Cerveza
," he said. "Gimme another
cerveza
."
    "Here it comes now."
    Heineken; very nice. Cousin Carlos didn't pay for all this stuff from his auto parts business.
    Arturo and I sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, drinking our Heineken from the bottle, watching the lazy river, and then Cousin Carlos came out in better pants and a guayabera shirt that on him looked like a balloon just starting to lose its air. He was carrying his own Heineken bottle. Plopping heavily down into another chair at the table, he said, "I ain't goin' back there today. Fuck 'em. I hate the fuckin' place, Arturo, but when I don't go there I get bored. And those assholes I got workin' there…" He shook his head.
    Sounding mildly interested, Arturo said, "Yeah? Who's that? I didn't see anybody working there."
    "Yeah yeah," Cousin Carlos said, and to me he added, "You like guacamole?"
    "I love guacamole."
    "Good, 'cause that's what we're havin'."
    Arturo said, "Where's Maria?" To me he explained, "Carlos's wife."
    "Up in Caracas," Cousin Carlos said. "She'll come back the weekend. She's got her dealer up there."
    "I'm sorry I'm gonna miss her," Arturo said. "Maybe next time."
    "Maybe so."
    Dealer, I thought. Drug dealer? Arms dealer? Who are these people? Is Arturo certain I can trust them? Am I certain I can trust Arturo? Maybe Lola and I should have one more discussion about