yes to this fucking assignment.
The following night at eleven o’clock, Harry Lantz was seated at the same table in the Pilar, intermittently chewing peanuts and his fingernails. At 2 a.m. he saw Neusa Muñez stumble in the door, and Harry’s heart soared. He watched as she made her way over to his table.
‘Hi,’ she mumbled, and slumped into a chair.
‘What happened to you?’ Harry demanded. It was all he could do to control his anger.
She blinked. ‘Huh?’
‘You were supposed to meet me here last night.’
‘Yeah?’
‘We had a date, Neusa.’
‘Oh. I went to a movie with a girl frien’. There’s this new movie, see? Ess ’bout this man who falls in love with this fuckin’ nun an’ –’
Lantz was so frustrated he could have wept. What could Angel possibly see in this dumb, drunken bitch? She must have a golden pussy, Lantz decided. ‘Neusa – did you remember to talk to Angel?’
She looked at him vacantly, trying to understand the question. ‘Angel? Si. Kin I have a drink, huh?’
He ordered a double rum for her and a double Scotch for himself. He needed it desperately. ‘What did Angel say, Ñeusa?’
‘Angel? Oh, he say yeah. Ess okay.’
Harry Lantz felt a surge of relief. ‘That’s wonderful!’ He no longer gave a damn about his messenger boy mission. He had thought of a better idea. This drunken bitch was going to lead him to Angel. One million dollars reward money.
He watched her slop down her drink, spilling some of it down her already soiled blouse. ‘What else did Angel say?’
Her brow knit in concentration. ‘Angel, he say he wanna know who your people are.’
Lantz gave her a winning smile. ‘You tell him that’s confidential, Neusa. I can’t give him that information.’
She nodded, indifferent. ‘Then Angel say to tell you to fuck off. Kin I have a rum ’fore I go?’
Harry Lantz’s mind started working at top speed. If she left, he was sure he would never see her again. ‘I’ll tell you what I’ll do, Neusa. I’ll telephone the people I’m working for, and if they give me permission, I’ll give you a name. Okay?’
She shrugged. ‘I don’ care.’
‘No,’ Lantz explained patiently, ‘but Angel does. So you tell him I’ll have an answer for him by tomorrow. Is there some place I can reach you?’
‘I guess so.’
He was making progress. ‘Where?’
‘Here.’
Her drink arrived, and he watched her gulp it down like an animal.
Lantz wanted to kill her.
Lantz made the telephone call collect, so it could not be traced, from a public telephone booth on Calvo Street. It had taken him one hour to get through.
‘No,’ the Controller said. ‘I told you that no names are to be mentioned.’
‘Yes, sir. But there’s a problem. Neusa Muñez, Angel’s mistress, says he’s willing to make a deal, but he won’t move without knowing who he’s dealing with. Naturally, I told her I had to check it out with you first.’
‘What is this woman like?’
The Controller was not a man to play games with. ‘She’s fat and ugly and stupid, sir.’
‘It’s much too dangerous for my name to be used.’
Harry Lantz could feel the deal slipping away from him. ‘Yes, sir,’ he said earnestly. ‘I understand. The only thing is, sir, Angel’s reputation is based on his being able to keep his mouth shut. If he ever started talking, he wouldn’t last five minutes in his business.’
There was a long silence. ‘You have a point.’ There was another silence, even longer. ‘Very well. You may give Angel my name. But he is never to divulge it, and never to contact me directly. He’ll work only through you.’
Harry Lantz could have danced. ‘Yes, sir. I’ll tell him. Thank you, sir.’ He hung up, a big grin on his face. He was going to collect the $50,000.
And then the million-dollar reward.
When Harry Lantz met Neusa Muñez late that evening, he immediately ordered a double rum for her and said, happily, ‘Everything’s set. I got permission.’
She looked at him indifferently. ‘Yeah?’
He told her the name of his employer. It was a household word, and he expected her to be impressed.
She shrugged. ‘Never heard’a him.’
‘Neusa, the people I work for want this done as quickly as possible. Marin Groza is hiding out in a villa in Neuilly, and –’
‘Where?’
God Almighty! He was trying to communicate with a drunken moron. He said patiently, ‘It’s a little town outside of Paris. Angel will know.’
‘I need ’nother drink.’
An hour later, Neusa was still drinking. And this time Harry Lantz was encouraging her. Not that she needs much encouragement, Lantz thought. When she’s drunk enough, she’s going to lead me to her boyfriend. The rest will be easy.
He looked over at Neusa Muñez staring filmy-eyed into her drink.
It shouldn’t be hard to catch Angel. He may be tough, but he can’t be very bright. ‘When is Angel coming back to town?’
She focused her watery eyes on him. ‘Nex’ week.’
Harry Lantz took her hand and stroked it. ‘Why don’t you and I go back to your place?’ he asked softly.
‘Okay.’
He was in.
Neusa Muñez lived in a shabby, two-room apartment in the Belgrano district of Buenos Aires. The apartment was messy and unkempt, like its tenant. When they walked through the door, Neusa made straight for the little bar in the corner. She was unsteady on her feet.
‘How ’bout a drink?’
‘Not
