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There was the electrical whine as the stair door unfolded.
"I hope Edgar has got Max on the leash," Castillo said.
Edgar did not.
Max came down the stairs, trotted to the limousine--causing the smiling man to lose his smile--stuck his big furry head into the open rear door of the limousine, and then, curiosity satisfied, headed for the nose gear.
Castillo unstrapped himself and went into the passenger compartment.
"Terribly sorry, my fault, old chap," Cedric Lee-Watson greeted him. "I should have known something like this would happen."
"What the hell is going on?" Castillo demanded angrily.
"The thing is, you see, is that I have something of a vice."
"No!" Miller said in mock horror.
Castillo could not restrain a smile.
Lee-Watson mimed throwing dice.
"You're a crapshooter?" Miller asked. "Shame on you!"
"The car is from the Conrad," Lee-Watson said. "When I called to ask about accommodations for all of us, they must have assumed I was bringing friends."
"High-rolling friends?" Miller asked.
Lee-Watson nodded.
"And so you have," Miller went on. "Sometimes, when I've known that Lady Luck was smiling at me, I have been known to wager as much as two dollars on the turn of a card."
Castillo chuckled. Then he said, "Well, what the hell do we do?"
"One option, Ace," Edgar Delchamps called, "would be to get in the limousine and go to the hotel. It's getting hot as hell in here."
Castillo saw a Chrysler Town & Country van pull up behind the limousine, then a Chrysler Stratus behind the van. Two large men wearing wide-brimmed straw hats, sunglasses, and flowered Hawaiian-style shirts--which failed to conceal the outline of holstered pistols under them--got out of the front passenger seat of each and stood looking at the airplane.
"Let me deal with this," Lee-Watson said, and went down the stair door.
Max appeared at the foot of the steps and started barking.
Castillo turned to look at Svetlana.
"Didn't you hear Max, Cinderella? Your pumpkin is here."
[THREE]
Restaurant Lo de Tere
Rambla Artigas and Calle 8
Punta del Este, Maldonado Province
Republica Oriental del Uruguay
2025 3 January 2006
Charley held Svetlana's hand as they waited for her to judge if the Uruguayan caviar--as the waiter had promised them with a straight face--was really as good as that from the Caspian Sea.
