The Spanish Connection by Nick Carter

Author:Nick Carter [Unknown]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: det_espionage

Ten

The snow swirled about us for a long moment and neither of us moved a muscle. It was getting colder and colder.

"Well?" he said, leaning closer, trying to see my face.

I gripped the Luger under my windbreaker, just in case. "How can I be sure?" I asked him. "First you tell me you're Barry Parson, and now you say you're Rico Corelli."

He laughed. "Come on. It must be obvious! I'm here, and who would be here but Rico Corelli?"

"Anybody could be here, to answer your question. Anybody who knew about the meeting."

"Who but Rico Corelli and the kid who was killed?" he asked.

"The Mosquito. He might know."

"You think I'm The Mosquito?" Parson asked with a laugh.

"He'd be the only one who could know Corelli was meeting me here."

"Be sensible! I'm not the Mosquito!"

"You say so, but I don't know."

"If I were The Mosquito, what would I be doing here?"

"Trying to locate Corelli and kill him."

"But I'm Corelli."

It was getting to be a comedy routine. I shook my head resignedly. "Let's assume you are Corelli. I'm cold as hell. Let's get in my car and talk."

He smiled. "Okay." I led him around the front to the Renault.

"Nice little job," he said.

"Runs good," I said. "When you rent you can get the very best."

I opened the door with my key and got in, then reached over and opened the passenger door for him. He climbed in and slammed the door shut. The car rocked. It was still warm inside.

"Let me tell you about Basillio di Vanessi," he said after a moment of silence. "The substitution. They've been trying to get me for months."

"They?"

"Someone in the top rank of the Mafiosi," Parson said. I could not help it; I still thought of him as Barry Parson, and not as Rico Corelli.

"But how do you know that for sure?"

"I have friends there, too. In the top. The Capo of Capos wanted me out of the chain. He wanted me totaled."

"What's his name?"

He smiled. "Forget it. Just believe me."

"All right. So the Capo of Capos wanted you out."

"Wanted me dead. Tried to tell me twice already. Once in Corsica. Once in Naples. I was down there on a delivery."

"Naples? That's where The Mosquito comes from."

He looked at me sharply. "You get around."

"I was told."

"By whom?"

"Never mind."

"When the second hit failed…"

"The one at your villa in Corsica?"

He frowned at me. "Yes." He waited. Then: "When that one failed, I decided to get out of the business. That's when I came to you people."

I nodded. "I know all about that." I did not. But there was no use listening to his story. I would have no way of knowing whether it was true or false.

"Good. When we started from Corsica on the yacht, I brought along Vanessi."

"To take your place?"

"Yes. When we got to Valencia, we stayed in port for a day, and I stayed ashore when they left."

"The Lysistrata sailed on without you?"

"Exactly. Vanessi played Rico Corelli."

"And when they landed at Malaga, Vanessi was still playing Corelli?"

"Yes.

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