The Greatest of These by Greg Wendleton (booksvooks txt) 📕

Conrad exited the front door, while Jackie locked up and met him at the kitchen door. With the Escalade parked behind the tiny house and their belongings removed, the kitchen door was locked and the house was secure.

Jackie finally asked, “Who is this man?”

“He is a friend. An old colleague of mine from the CIA.”

“And you trust him?”

“With my life.”

The two house guests slept until late morning, only waking because of the aroma of strong coffee and something that Manuel was cooking up in the kitchen. “Good morning, mi amigos. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, thank you Manuel. That coffee smells wonderful.”

“Please, help yourself. I’m whipping up my specialty for us to eat. It will be ready very soon.”

Jackie looked at the pan on the stove top and said, “What is it?”

“Eggs and other stuff. The less you know, the better it will taste.” Manuel laughed as he scooped a large spoonful onto a plate and handed it to Jackie. “There are fresh tortillas on the table, please, sit and eat.”

No additional questions were asked as the three men sat and devoured Manuel’s specialty, the fresh flour tortillas and the strong coffee. The day passed into evening with Manuel minding his own business and doing chores around his home. Jackie brooded most of the day, staying in the back room pacing and alternately lying on the bed.

All three men turned in early, as Conrad and Jackie would be leaving at sunrise. Conrad slept peacefully and never heard Jackie slip out of his bed in the early hours of Monday, March 8. Jackie had crept into the neighboring bedroom, where Manuel was also sleeping soundly, to silence the man for eternity.

When Conrad woke just before dawn and cleaned up in the bathroom, Jackie was dressed and was already sitting in the kitchen. Conrad entered the kitchen with his gear and looked at Jackie, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, I have taken care of business and I’m ready to leave.”

Conrad cocked his head, looking intently into Jackie’s eyes, “What does that mean?”

“I have left no loose ends. Manuel is in his truck. We need to burn it with him inside.”

“You bastard! He was my friend and could be trusted. Son of a bitch! If we are going to be partners, you can’t be killing my friends.”

“My priority is my survival. I have one of the most dangerous organizations in the world looking for me and I will not leave loose ends.”

“And the FBI is looking for both of us and there is no reason to leave a trail of bodies in our wake.”

“Coming from the man who vaporized two of his mercenaries?”

“Yes, well, those two idiots would have turned on me without a second thought. Not Manuel.”

“We need to leave here now and leave no evidence of our being here.” Jackie looked directly at Conrad with determination in his eyes, and added, “I will take care of it. You pull the Escalade around the front.”

Conrad did as commanded, and waited in the running SUV as Jackie made whatever preparations he was planning. Within a few minutes he walked around the house and approached the Escalade from the rear. He slid into the passenger’s seat and buckled his seatbelt. Conrad stared at him, awaiting some indication he was ready to go. “Calmly, drive away. Let’s go.”

As the two men rode in silence, they heard an explosion and a fireball erupted, shooting red hot flames into the sky. Jackie adjusted in his seat and stated, “A shame, his oven exploded.”

CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

Sunday dawned in San Antonio bright and warm, promising a beautiful day. Fonda had not slept well and had kept Chief between her and I. I wasn’t sure what I had done to cause her sudden change in attitude, but I was confident it was my fault.

When I lumbered out of bed, Fonda was up and clanking dishes in the kitchen. I pulled on my jeans and a tee shirt and walked into the kitchen. “Morning”, I said.

“Yes, it is. It’s going to be a hectic day, so I suggest you get cleaned up while I finish making breakfast. We have a showing scheduled at one o’clock and we need to have the house looking great. So go, take a shower and get dressed.”

I did as directed, not questioning the authority that Fonda was exerting. After I showered, and hung up my towel, I made the bed, for good measure. When I reentered the kitchen, Fonda was placing a plate of scrambled eggs, toast and hash browns on the table. Next to the plate, was a steaming cup of Southern Pecan Coffee from HEB. The aroma was distinctive and the flavor was even better.

Fonda sat down in front of her own plate of food and began eating. “Sit down and eat while it’s hot.”

I again followed her instructions, not daring to question what was going on this morning. Fonda looked directly into my eyes and stated, “I’ve been thinking. If we are going to start fresh on Maui, then instead of moving all our furniture, we should sell it and buy new furnishings there. We can afford to do that, right?”

With no option other than to agree, I said, “Absolutely. I was thinking the same thing. The cost to ship our furniture would probably be more than it’s worth. It heavy, dark and getting kind of old. Probably not appropriate for the airy, sun-soaked house on Maui.”

“Good, I’m glad we agree on that. Now hurry up and eat, we have things that we need to do.”

We left the house before one o’clock, taking Chief over to his real home and letting him play in the fenced in backyard. Fonda and I stayed inside their house and looked around to make sure it was ready for the Wilhites return tomorrow. Fonda made a short list of things that they needed, while I emptied the milk and a few vegetables out of their refrigerator. A fresh box of baking soda would be needed