Risky Business

The man looming over her now was a different matter.
    “I don’t know anything.”
    “ Por favor. Just a few minutes.”
    “Tell her I’ll make it worth her while,” Jonas added before she could refuse again. Without waiting for Liz to translate, he reached for his wallet and took out a bill. He saw fear change to speculation.
    “A few minutes,” she agreed, but pointed to an outdoor café. “There.”
    Jonas ordered two coffees and a glass of wine. “Ask her her name,” he told Liz.
    “I speak English.” The woman took out a long, slim cigaretteand tapped it on the tabletop. “I’m Erika. Jerry and I were friends.” More relaxed, she smiled at Jonas. “You know, good friends.”
    “Yes, I know.”
    “He was very good-looking,” she added, then caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “Lots of fun.”
    “How long did you know him?”
    “A couple of weeks. I was sorry when I heard he was dead.”
    “Murdered,” Jonas stated.
    Erika took a deep drink of wine. “Do you think it was because of the money?”
    Every muscle in his body tensed. Quickly, he shot Liz a warning look before she could speak. “I don’t know—it looks that way. How much did he tell you about it?”
    “Oh, just enough to intrigue me. You know.” She smiled again and held out her cigarette for a light. “Jerry was very charming. And generous.” She remembered the little gold bracelet he’d bought for her and the earrings with the pretty blue stones. “I thought he was very rich, but he said he would soon be much richer. I like charming men, but I especially like rich men. Jerry said when he had the money, we could take a trip.” She blew out smoke again before giving a philosophical little shrug. “Then he was dead.”
    Jonas studied her as he drank coffee. She was, as Luis had said, a knockout. And she wasn’t stupid. He was also certain her mind was focusing on one point, and one point alone. “Do you know when he was supposed to have the money?”
    “Sure, I had to take off work if we were going away. He called me—it was Sunday. He was so excited. ‘Erika,’ he said, ‘I hit the jackpot.’ I was a little mad because he hadn’t shown up Saturday night. He told me he’d done some quick business in Acapulco and how would I like to spend a few weeks in Monte Carlo?” She gave Jonas a lash-fluttering smile. “Idecided to forgive him. I was packed,” she added, blowing smoke past Jonas’s shoulder. “We were supposed to leave Tuesday afternoon. I saw in the papers Monday night that he was dead. The papers said nothing about the money.”
    “Do you know who he had business with?”
    “No. Sometimes he would talk to another American, a skinny man with pale hair. Other times he would see a Mexican. I didn’t like him—he had mal ojo. ”
    “Evil eye,” Liz interpreted. “Can you describe him?”
    “Not pretty,” she said offhandedly. “His face was pitted. His hair was long in the back, over his collar and he was very thin and short.” She glanced at Jonas again with a sultry smile that heated the air. “I like tall men.”
    “Do you know his name?”
    “No. But he dressed very nicely. Nice suits, good shoes. And he wore a silver band on his wrist, a thin one that crossed at the ends. It was very pretty. Do you think he knows about the money? Jerry said it was lots of money.”
    Jonas merely reached for his wallet. “I’d like to find out his name,” he told her and set a fifty on the table. His hand closed over hers as she reached for it. “His name, and the name of the American. Don’t hold out on me, Erika.”
    With a toss of her head, she palmed the fifty. “I’ll find out the names. When I tell you, it’s another fifty.”
    “When you tell me.” He scrawled Liz’s number on the back of a business card. “Call this number when you have something.”
    “Okay.” She slipped the fifty into her purse as she stood up. “You know, you don’t look as much like Jerry as I thought.” With the click of high heels, she crossed the pavement and went back into the club.
    “It’s a beginning,” Jonas murmured as he pushed his coffee aside. When he looked over, he saw Liz studying him. “Problem?”
    “I don’t like the way you work.”
    He dropped another bill on the table before he rose. “I don’t have time to waste on amenities.”
    “What would you have done if I hadn’t calmed her down? Dragged her off to the nearest alley and beaten it out of her?”
    He drew out a