Isabel was standing there with Mateo next to her. Her face was bruised and so was Mateo’s. Someone had used them for punching practice. Mateo was sniffling and coughing. Isabel said nothing. She just stared at Puller with unfriendly eyes.

But Diego said, “Isabel told me what happened. I want to thank you for helping her and Mateo.”

“Are they your brother and sister?”

“My cousins.”

Isabel stepped forward. “We all live with our grandmother.”

“Where is she?”

“Working,” said Diego. “At a restaurant on the water. The Clipper. She works in the kitchen.”

“As a cook?”

“No, as a cleaner,” said Isabel.

Puller motioned to their injured faces. “Who did that?”

“Who do you think?” said Isabel.

“I’m sorry but I had to step in, Isabel. I couldn’t just let them do that to you.”

“Why not? It’s happened before.”

“You’re not a puta,” retorted Diego. Mateo began to cry.

“Maybe I am a puta,” said Isabel.

“No, you’re not,” said Puller. “It’s not a road you want to go down.”

“Oh, right. I’ll just go to college and become a doctor or something.”

“Why not?” asked Puller.

She looked at him pityingly. “What planet do you live on?”

“You are not a puta,” Diego said again and she looked away, gently stroking Mateo’s head to make him stop crying.

Puller refocused on Diego. “Did you see the car?”

Diego looked over at Isabel, who was watching them closely. He stepped outside and closed the door.

“What happened to your and Isabel’s parents?” Puller asked.

Diego shrugged. “One day they were here and then the next day they weren’t. They might have gone back to El Salvador. I do not know.”

“Doesn’t your grandmother know what happened?”

“She does not say if she does.”

“And your parents would just leave you all here?”

“They must think this is better than to go back there. They wanted the best for us. Now I am the man of the house. I will take care of things.”

“Okay, I like your guts, but you’re still just a kid.”

“Maybe I am a kid, but I found your car.” He paused. “And you said there would be more money.”

“Did I?” But Puller had already pulled out a twenty. “Give me the details.”

Diego gave him the license plate number first.

“How’d you get that? It was covered up.”

“The men they have to eat, right? When they do, I take a rag and wipe the dirt off. Before they come back, I put the dirt back on.”

“Describe them to me.”

Diego did so.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Puller handed him the twenty bucks.

“Isabel and Mateo. Did someone come here and hurt them?”

Diego shook his head. “Not here or I would have looked like they do too, because I would have tried to stop them.”

“Tell me about the men I knocked out. Are they part of a gang?”

“They want to be, but they are so stupid that no one wants them. They run some drugs on their own, but nothing much. Then they hassle people. And get money for that. They are scum.”

“Do they have friends?”

“Anyone here has friends, if they have the money to pay for them.” As he said this, Diego carefully folded up the twenty and placed it in his pocket.

“Think they’re waiting for me back at my place?”

Diego shrugged. “I think you must be very careful.”

“Thanks for your help.”

“I just do it for the money.”

“I admire your honesty.”

“Don’t trust anyone in Paradise, mister, including me.”

“At some point, Diego, you have to trust someone. You need any help, you can come to me.”

“If you are still alive, mister. We will see.”

“You can just call me Puller.”

“Okay, Puller. Buena suerte.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Puller walked off. Part of him was thinking about having to deal with the three stooges again, and possibly their paid help. But part of him was thinking about the descriptions that Diego had just given him of the two men in the Chrysler.

Lean, fit, buzz cuts. They fit the description of men who had the same employer he did.

The United States military.

CHAPTER

29

PULLER WALKED TO THE TAHOE, climbed into the back, stretched out, and thought about what he had just learned.

If the guys in the Chrysler were former military, then that changed the balance of things. They might very well see through his disguise and change rides. They might be able to fire at him faster than he could fire back.

And if they were still in the military he wondered why they would be here following him.

If they weren’t in the service he wondered the very same thing.

After what had happened to him in West Virginia it was possible that the military had put a tail on him. He decided to see if that theory held any water. He called Kristen Craig back.

She must’ve recognized his number because instead of hello she said, “Miss me already?”

“Always.”

“Seriously, don’t you ever sleep?”

“Look who’s talking.”

“Yeah, but I heard what happened in West Virginia. Not the official story, because there is no official story. But just scuttlebutt, stuff between the lines. I think you could probably write your own ticket right now. Even take a vacation if you wanted to.”

“I’m on vacation. Well, sort of.”

“I have my iPad ready to take down your next assignment, boss.”

Puller chuckled to himself. He got a kick out of the lady, he really did. If she weren’t married, he might have even asked her out.

“I need a license plate run down.”

“Okay. Not usually something I do, but I know people.”

“Do you know people who can get it done sooner rather than later?”

“You know the drill. Somewhere in the world there are DoD personnel awake and on the job.”

“And there are two of them on this call.”

“I’ll turn it around as fast as I can. Now, can you tell me a little of what you’re involved in?”

“Why?”

“Just in case you get killed and I have to explain my billable hours. Is it even related to the military?”

“Five minutes ago I didn’t think so. Now I’m not so sure. It all started when my aunt sent a letter saying things were not quite right in Paradise, Florida. Then the next thing I knew, she was dead under suspicious circumstances.”

“Jesus, Puller, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too. Anyway, I got down here and things got even funkier.”

“And the license plate?”

“Two guys making my business their business by following me. And from their descriptions they sound a lot like dudes who either wear or wore the uniform.”

“I don’t like the sound of this.”

Her voice had clearly changed. Gone was the playfulness, replaced with legitimate concern.

“Me either.”

“Do you have any backup?”

“Like I said, I’m on vacation.”

“You need to stop taking vacations, then, and get back to work. Seriously, Puller, get somebody to watch your back.”

“Good advice. I’ll start looking. In the meantime, get me what you can. I’ll pick up the duffel tomorrow as planned.”

“Just make sure you get to tomorrow.”

“I’ll do my best.”

He clicked off, set his internal clock to wake in two hours, and closed his eyes. His hand gripped the butt of his M11 and he knew it would take him three seconds to wake, aim, and fire at anyone trying to do him harm. If that wasn’t fast enough then he was dead. That’s just how it went.

At the end of two hours he woke in the backseat of the Tahoe, refreshed and ready to go. It was one a.m. now and he believed that the time was right for things to happen. Both military and cops liked to strike at night. Targets were tired, in their beds, with weapons often conveniently out of reach.

Yet even stupid criminals could grasp the concept of coming for you in the dark.