Orchid Beach (Holly Barker 1)

“What do you mean, special?”

“How about the building with all the antennas?”

“Oh, we didn’t go out there. They have their own security.”

“What are they protecting?”

“What do you mean?”

“What goes on there that they need their own security?”

“I don’t know, really. The place is called the com center, so I assume it’s for communications.”

“Communications with whom?”

“Jesus, I don’t know. They don’t tell me that stuff.”

“Who is Barney’s boss?”

“The general manager, Mr. Diego, I guess.”

“What’s his first name?”

“I don’t know. Barney just calls him Diego.”

“What does he look like?”

“About forty-five, I’d guess; five-ten, a hundred and seventy-five, black hair going gray, has a mustache. He’s Mexican or something, has a light accent.”

“I want to know his first name, Cracker.”

“Wait a minute, let me think. That’s his first name, Diego. His last name is something like…Romeo.”

“A Spanish name?”

“Yeah.”

“Come on, think.”

“I’m trying. It’s Ramos, or Ramero, or something like that. Ramirez! That’s it, Ramirez.”

“Diego Ramirez—good boy, Cracker. Now who else works for Ramirez?”

“Well, everybody—the club manager, the shop managers, the people in the accounting office, the maintenance manager, the airport manager—they all report to him.”

“Where is the accounting office located?”

“It’s in the village, next door to the security station.”

“And who runs that?”

“A woman named Miriam something…uh, like Talbot.”

“Is that it, Talbot?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Description?”