The Expat
Copyright© 2024 by A Bad Attitude
Chapter 3: Maria Aguilar
As we prepared for takeoff, she opened the window and I looked out. She caught my eye.
“Are you American?” she asked in that cute accent of most Panamanian girls.
“Yes, but I have lived here in Panama for three years now.”
“Boquete?” she inquired.
“No, the other side of the mountain. Near Rio Sereno.” I joked.
“I’m stationed in Rio Sereno at the moment. I’m sorry, I should introduce myself, I am Maria Aguilar, actually Captain Aguilar, with the National Police. I am what you Americans call a prosecuting Attorney. How about you?”
“My name is Cody Taylor.”
“Are you with that big coffee farm?”
“I own it.”
Then we were instructed to get ready for take-off. Once we were in the air I asked, “So how do you like living in Rio Sereno?”
“I hate it. I’m a city girl. I was assigned up here to investigate a gang living in Costa Rica but harassing the businesses in Rio Sereno. They provide a ‘vaccum’ to protect your store from being vandalized. Nothing more than extortion. I have discovered that they are negotiating with a cartel in Colombia to open a new drug smuggling route through Rio Sereno. We also believed them to be involved in other endeavors like selling drugs there in Chiriqui and human trafficking.”
“Sounds like a bad group of guys.”
“They are. They call themselves Los Diablos, the devils. They are led by one man, Roger Caparosa. He is a Panamanian that did 5 years in an American prison for selling drugs while he was an exchange student in the States. I have enough evidence to seek indictments on him and some of his men when I get back.”
I decided to try and change the subject. “So what were you doing in Panama City?”
“Visiting my mother and father for the holidays.”
It was the first week in November and Panama celebrates their independence for a week. There are lots of parades and parties.
We were talking about the rain as we prepared for landing. There is always a lot of rain in November, but this year it was exceptionally heavy.
We landed and of course it was raining. In the terminal she took my arm and asked if I was driving home tonight. I was.
“Can I follow you through the mountains to Rio Sereno? It will be dark and with this rain there are sure to be trees down in the road. I would feel safer if I was behind someone.”
I told her I always carried a machete and an axe in my truck so for her not to worry. As we left the airport I thought I should have asked her to supper before we left David, but I too wanted to get home before it got too late. That road can be dangerous at night.
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