Darcy locked his room and wandered down the hall to the elevators. The couple standing waiting looked like they were about to jump one another. The woman reminded him of Elora George, with her brown skin and soft hairstyle. The man was probably Argentinean and had great handfuls of her plump bum. Darcy stood to one side and gave a half smile when the woman turned and looked at him.

They both did a bit of a take but the elevator arrived and the couple went to the rear while he stayed at the front facing forward. In the lobby he stepped to one side and let them pass, admiring wistfully the long legged stride and the sensuous hip swing of the woman. He sighed and made his way to the hotel coffee shop. Dinner would be whatever he could get for his budgeted eight dollars.

He found an empty booth, hung his hat on the rod beside the seat and slid in with a contented sigh, picked up the menu and began his hunt for the most for the least. At the counter he saw the back of a man hunched over a coffee and beside him on the floor was a briefcase. Darcy felt a chill as he stared at the man's back. There was something eerily familiar about the man. He moved around in the booth trying to see past the profile but couldn't. A waitress came and wiped the table, showering his lap with old toast crumbs.

"What are you having, senor?"

"Uh- I think I'll have the uh- the Pancho Villa burger and a coffee please."

"That ees eet?"

"Uh yes it is."

She sucked her teeth and ambled away, yelling something in Spanish through the serving hole to the kitchen. The man at the counter turned and looked at Darcy, smiling about the waitress's remark and Darcy froze. He shifted back in the booth as the man turned back. It was Graeme-Hughes! He recognized him from Hoyte's research. What was he doing here, in this excuse for a diner?

Darcy couldn't believe that if Graeme-Hughes had the money from the trust that he would be within a hundred miles of the airport coffee shop. Something fishy going on, Darcy, he cautioned himself. The waitress slopped back to his booth and dropped the plate with the Pancho Villa burger, a meal the size of a doorknob with three French fries and some kind of grass as a garnish. The condiment tray held more food than the burger. Darcy asked again for coffee and received a snarling reminder that she only had two hands.

*****

Terry hailed a taxi after clearing the airport security and customs and asked for the, Hotel Sol de Mayo. The ancient cab tore away in a bone rattling burst of speed and headed east into the city of Buenos Aires. His reservation had been arranged and his first appointment with the la Librería de Argentine was at nine-thirty the next morning. He would have the entire evening to dine and do a little exploring. He thought about the past weeks, about Wilfred and Jeantrine and the partners at JGD&S and particularly about Walter Jaeger. A trace of guilt lay on his tongue like the taste from a piece of metal, a taste he tried to hide with a breath mint. He hoped never to see something like that again.

The cab pulled into the forecourt of a wonderfully old Spanish styled hotel consisting of only three floors. Large palms gathered in clusters at the corners and around the grand entrance, which was a white stucco-ed archway with glossy terra cotta tile steps and foyer. Terry looked across the drive and down the hill he could see the lights from the many luxurious residences, financial and commercial businesses that clustered in the semicircle around the original settlement, the Plaza de Mayo. The excitement grew and he hurried after the driver who was lugging his bags to the front desk.

Terry paid and waved him off and then accepted the greeting from the charming young woman who took his reservation slip and rang the bell for a boy to take him to his room. The second floor room was small but comfortable with a tiny balcony that faced to the east. He was delighted and showed it with a generous tip to the bellboy who offered his services for any special needs Terry might have. Terry thanked him and locked the door behind him.

*****

Ebony smiled and allowed Hector to massage her thigh while he made a series of silly toasts to their evening. Her mind was on the odd feeling she had when she saw the man in the elevator. Something about the way he looked at her and the strange connection they seemed to make. He certainly wasn't anyone she would have tried cultivating; he didn't look like he had a dime to his name... still.

Hector's hand inched under the hem of her skirt and she turned slightly toward him, enjoying the fireworks that went off in his eyes as he experienced what he thought was a result of his style and charm. The waiter arrived with a silver bread tray and a matching container of whipped butter then proceeded to try and place the linen serviettes on their laps. The awkward discovery of Hector's hand under the woman's dress had him backing away, flame-faced.

"The poor man is devastated, Hector." She purred, sipping her wine.

"As will I be, senorita, if the meal comes to soon."

"We could always eat later," she said softly, parting her legs just a little.

Hector drooled just as a different waiter returned with a tray of lobster and a huge Caesar salad. His eyes remained on the food and not once did he look up, even when he asked if there would be anything else.

Ebony thanked him and made an, mmm-ing sound as she lifted a large piece of lobster from the tray and began prying the shell away. Hector moaned and sat back in the booth, withdrawing his hand and excusing himself for a moment while he went to the men's room. She chewed the tender meat and watched him go with a slow, bored blink of her eyes. Tomorrow they would be in the city and she would begin her hunt for a different local, wealthier, and more appealing mark; she was going to need money to stay down here. Sixty-seven million would have been nice but a girl does what she can.

*****

Wilfred left his stool at the counter and walked over to Darcy's table. He saw the man flinch and he stopped and offered a friendly grin.

"I just wanted to tell you what the waitress said when you ordered. I wouldn't bother with a tip if I were you."

Darcy relaxed a little. Obviously he didn't know who Darcy was. He smiled back and asked what she'd said, learning that he was described as another cheap gringo tourist with big ears.

"Big ears? Really?" Darcy touched the lobe of one and chuckled at his response. "I guess I should have reacted more to the cheap gringo part. Eh?"

Wilfred nodded, enjoying the humour. "Mind if I sit a minute?"

Darcy's moat bridge came up again and he watched as Wilfred settled across from him and ordered another coffee in fluent Spanish.

"Mind if I ask you a question?"

"Ask."

"I want to get into Buenos Aires downtown and I don't have any transportation. I wondered if you were going there and if you had a car?"

Darcy laughed. "The cheap gringo with a car? Not a chance, but I'd be open to splitting a cab."

Wilfred beamed at the man. "Jolly good. A cab it is." He leaned back as the waitress dropped his coffee on the table, slopping it onto the saucer. "What time tomorrow?" Darcy figured the earlier the better so he said right after breakfast, around nine.

"Super, meet you hear at nine, if this is where you intended to eat that is."

"Is there a choice?"

"Not really. By the way." Wilfred stuck out his hand. "Wilfred Graeme-Hughes."

Darcy felt his heart skip. He was right. "Uh, Darcy Wiggens."

"Okay then, Darcy, see you at nine." He slid out of the chair and left the coffee shop, whistling.

Darcy finished his burger, paid and left nothing then went back and left some change; he was still having breakfast here.

*****

Hoyte arrived like a bull, barging through customs and security, bullying his way out to the taxi rank and commandeering the first one that came along, shoving a pair of seniors out of the way. He headed straight for the financial district and asked for a reasonable hotel close to the Casa Rosada. The driver nodded and twenty minutes later Hoyte was kicking off his shoes and flopping on the bed in his room at the Hotel Sol de Mayo.

In the morning he would dig into every crack in the city looking for Darcy and when he found him he would rip out his black heart. Sixty-seven million dollars worth of ripping! And when he had lots of time and money he'd track down Elora and make her pay as well. He picked up the phone and ordered a sandwich and half a dozen beers then flipped on the TV and found a soft porn movie with a woman that reminded him of Elora. In fact the resemblance was so startling that when the sandwich came it was forgotten and the beer grew warm as the film flickered on late into the night, repeating over and over.

******

The sun rose out of the sea and bathed the city in gold. The population began to stir and all along the Rio de la Plata. The ports and marinas came alive with the day's commerce. Already the sound of rail traffic could be heard from one of the three terminals that served the city. Domestic flights were buzzing in the sky, landing and taking off from Municipal Airport near the downtown and automobile traffic was filling the Avinida de Mayo, Bartolomé Mitre, San Martin and the shopping roads of Florida and Santa Fe.

Terry awoke with all engines running. His first day on the new job in a new country and nothing but success ahead. He showered, shaved and dressed in what his interviewer had suggested for the first day, a shirt and tie and casual pants. In the hotel dining room he ordered a hearty breakfast from the menu and sat back anticipating the day ahead.

*****

Hoyte pried open an eye and blinked at the harsh sunlight, streaming straight in his window onto the bed. Holding an arm up defensively, he rolled over and out of the bed landing on his knees on the rug. The TV was hissing with a screen of fizz and the room smelled of stale beer. He looked at the sandwich with the wilted, curling lettuce sticking out of the sad bun and picked it up, taking a bite. It was dry. It was very dry and he groped around for one of the beer bottles that had a mouthful remaining and drank. The combination of warm beer and stale food on top of a horrid morning mouth sent him reeling to the bathroom and almost headfirst into the toilet. The noise was unpleasant to say the least and when he was purged of everything down to his toes, he sat back on the cold tile floor and groaned in agony.

The shower was hard to reach but he managed to haul himself up and get the taps on then he sagged against the wall while icy water pinged his skin like BB shot. Half an hour later he was back in the world with only a mildly queasy stomach and minimal nicks from a blurry shave. He pocketed his belongings and headed, on wobbly legs, down for some black coffee and aspirin.

He chose a window table with his back to the door and placed his order. The waitress gave him a sad smile and hurried back with the aspirin and a thermos of hot, black coffee. Hoyte swallowed the pills, scalding the roof of his mouth and then took inventory of his whereabouts. When he saw the young man eating a monstrous plate of sausage and eggs, toast, jam, coffee and a large fruit salad bowl with a ladle for helping yourself, he froze. It couldn't be! He sipped the boiling coffee again and rubbed his eyes. It was! It was Terry Aldridge! Son-of-a-bitch! Was he wrong about Darcy? Did Graeme-Hughes and he get the money after all? He looked around but Terry was alone and oblivious to his surroundings. This required careful, professional investigating.

Hoyte paid his bill and went to the front desk and confirmed that Mr. Aldridge had checked in and was staying for three nights. Hoyte asked if Mr. Graeme-Hughes was here as well and was surprised to hear that he wasn't. He took up a post in the lobby and waited. He would follow Aldridge and see where it took him.

*****

Elora continued with her telephone calls asking for both Miss Twilly and Miss Keyes with no success. She was beginning to worry that Miss Ebony Keyes might have found a secure bolthole and may never be found.

On a hunch she tried the airport hotel and asked about people arriving from her home over the last few days. She explained she was an officer of an international adoption agency and was trying to track down the birth mother of a little girl left with her office. There were too many to cover so she cut the odds by explaining the woman was black and likely traveling alone. After several minutes she got a hit and sat upright in shocked surprise. A young woman answering that description passed through customs two days ago but she wasn't alone, a local citizen accompanied her. They wouldn't release any names and no matter what Elora tried they wouldn't budge. She found out the plane arrived in the evening and she mused over the fact that they might have stayed at the airport, choosing to drive to the city fresh in the morning.

Another call, this time as a child services representative hunting a delinquent mother, and another bullseye! The gentleman's name was Mr. Hector Estavan and the helpful clerk wished Elora all the luck in the world in getting the mother to pay for her behaviour. Elora assured her she would... very much. Her next problem was finding where Mr. Estavan lived or worked. She got dressed, put on her bad girl skirt and t-shirt and in case she needed more ammunition to get information, her red, very bad girl, heels.

After a breakfast of cereal, and coffee and several not very subtle busboys hovering around her table, she learned where the library was and decided that she might find what she need there. The National Library was north of the city near the ocean and she quickly found a taxi to take her there.

*****

Graeme-Hughes and Darcy rode the taxi into downtown Buenos Aires and both got out in front of the Casa Rosada, the Executive Office Building. They split the fare as discussed and then Darcy asked where Wilfred was staying.

"I haven't picked a place yet. I'm doing some research first. I may have to be out of town, I don't know yet."

"Do you know Buenos Aires at all? Can you recommend a reasonable place to stay? I don't have a lot of money."

"What are you down here for anyway?" Wilfred asked as they found a low wall to sit on near the building.

Darcy stared at his hands for a minute without answering. He was certain that Wilfred didn't have the money and that he was down here for the same reason he was, to find out just who did have it. Could he strike a deal, or would he get struck instead. What would his partner do?

"Hey, you don't have to say if you don't want to."

"No, it's nothing like that." He pinched his lip between his teeth and took a deep breath. "I know who you are."

"Hello, I told you that in the restaurant, old boy."

"I mean about you and the trust."

Wilfred held his eyes and his face grew taught and pale. "I think we need to take this a little further." He grabbed Darcy's arm and led him across the square to a small café and seated them both in a corner on the patio. "Okay Mr. Wiggens, talk."

It took Darcy two halting, nervous hours to reveal his involvement in the trust business and in the end he just sat waiting as if Wilfred could pass some kind of legal judgement on him.

"I had no idea so many crooks were cooking in the same pot." Wilfred almost laughed when he learned that Darcy, Hoyte and Elora were partners in one group and that Darcy and Hoyte had planned on cutting her out, instead, Darcy tried to cut them both out and lost out himself. He wondered if Elora and Jeantrine had planned the same thing except they were looking to screw Hoyte and Darcy and himself. It became even funnier when he realized that he was doing the same thing to Terry and Jeantrine. "I wonder who wound up with the money."

"I still think Hoyte got it. He had the technical know how."

"My money's on Jeantrine. She had the actual account number the minute I got it from the lawyers. They found a small camera hidden in the room when I was- when I left."

Darcy stood and massaged his backside from the hard stone wall. He wasn't about to tell Graeme-Hughs that he had the number at the same time. "You must think she's down here then, right?"

"Same as you think your buddy Hoyte is here. Maybe those two got together somehow."

"You know," Darcy said, thinking back. "When I was in the elevator at the airport hotel a man and a woman got on and she looked at me and I felt that something connected. I don't mean romance or anything like that but something familiar."

"Describe her." Wilfred listened intently as Darcy described the woman and the man with her. "That was Jeantrine, now calling herself, Ebony Keyes. I'll be damned, we were all there together and now we've lost her."

Darcy spun his hat and centred it on his head. "Get me a web connection and I'll find her. We know where she stayed and we can find out who with."

"You can do that?"

Darcy gave him a sympathetic look and Wilfred had the courtesy to blush.