Page 12 of Vistaria Has Fallen
Calli took a bite. The cream and salsa, which had a fruity flavor, dulled the fire of the meat and vegetables. She could enjoy the flavor and chew before swallowing. She still reached for the tomato, though.
“Why are you doing this, Calli?” Minnie asked, as she unrolled a tortilla of her own and added the fillings. “Robert wasted the first half of your life. Why let him destroy the rest of itby holding a grudge that stops you from enjoying yourself?”
Calli avoided answering. She took another bite of her tortilla. This time, she enjoyed the sharp flavor of the spices. She’d had Mexican food before. These spices were different. Fresh or green, or something. After mulling over the differences, she took another sip of her drink, then said to Minnie, “Tell me about the Red Leopard.”
Minnie pursed her lips, then sighed. “Okay. Serves me right.” She ran her hands through her short hair, ruffling it and patting it into order again. “I don’t know who he is.”
“You said—” Calli began.
“I said,” Minnie overrode her, “that I don’t know who he is. I don’t. I do know all about him, though.”
“Give. Why does Duardo admire him? Why does that mean Duardo can’t be a rebel?” She shookher head. “The Red Leopard,” she quoted. “Isn’t it a bit ridiculous? The name? Who outside the movies goes around with a name like that?”
“He doesn’t call himself that. The soldiers that like him do because that’s what he is. A leopard.”
“He’s in the army?”
“Don’t think so. I think that’s part of why they like him. He’s no man’s servant and master of none. He has no official position yet hehas influence. Power. He gets things done. He is everywhere at once. Watching them, keeping them on their toes. He’s sharp, doesn’t miss anything.”
“It still sounds like a fairytale.”
“Yeah, it does a bit, only Duardo didn’t say he was a myth. He’s seen him a few times and wanted to see him again. That’s why he hurried to the police station. By the time he got there,el leopardohad gone—poof!He’d prowled in and slinked out.”
Calli almost knocked her drink over as Minnie spoke. She gripped Minnie’s arm. “He was there last night?” She rubbed her temple, trying to recall the muttered Spanish she’d heard just before she’d whirled to confront the man with the red hair.“What did you call him?”
“El leopardo?”
“Yes. That’s ‘the leopard’. Red, though...” She dived for her newly purchaseddictionary.
“Rojo,” Minnie supplied. “El leopardo rojo.”
Calli laughed. “Rojo...Roger.That’swhat they said last night. I thought they were calling him Roger.”
Minnie’s eyes shone. “You met him? The Red Leopard?”
Another bubble of mirth welled up inside her. “No wonder the soldier at the desk retrieved my bag. He didn’t want Uncle Josh to bring the Red Leopard down on him again. Iknewtheguy had power. I just didn’t suspect...”
“So whoishe?” Minnie begged. “Duardo wouldn’t tell me. They say it’s a mark of respect to not speak of his real identity, even though they all know. He wouldn’t tell me no matter how much I asked. You will, though. Tell me who he is.”
Calli shrugged. “I don’t know. He didn’t tell me either. He refused.”
Minnie banged the table with her tiny fist. “Damn!This thing is driving me crazy. I’ve been trying to find out who he is for days. All the soldiers are the same. El zippo on his real name.”
“How many soldiers have you been talking to about this?” Calli asked, alarmed.
“A few. Any of them that would talk to me.”
“You can’t go around bugging them about this. If this Red Leopard man wants his identity kept quiet, then they won’t appreciate you,an American, trying to dig it up. Promise me you won’t do it anymore.”
“Don’t be silly. It’s just casual chat.”
“To you. Not to them. Promise me,” Calli insisted.
Minnie studied her, trying to judge how serious she was. She sighed and dropped her napkin on the table. “Oh, all right. No more questions.” She planted her chin on her fist and pouted for a moment. Calli knew the pout was more foreffect than a genuine sulkiness. Minnie was too even-tempered to ever truly sulk. Pouting was how she teased Calli for being, in Minnie’s opinion, a stick-in-the-mud. True to form, Minnie brightened and sat up. “We’ll be surrounded by the military tonight,” she said. “Maybe we won’t have to ask. Maybe we can just keep our ears pinned back and we’ll hear something.”
“In that mashed Spanish theyuse?” Calli pointed out.
“Okay,seesomething then,” Minnie amended. “Come on, let’s go get that dress we saw. It’s just the thing for tonight.” She pulled the big Vistarian bills out of her bag, counted off enough to cover the drinks and dropped them on the table.