Tell me if you find this interesting and enjoyable? Or intrusive and annoying?
Here’s what’s going on – In Puerto Rico, two detectives are interviewing a witness. The witness speaks Spanish. One detective speaks Spanish, the other English.
I wrote the interview in Spanish. But because one detective doesn’t understand Spanish, the other detective has to fill him in on what was said. So you, as the reader, find out what was said a paragraph or two down the line.
It’s two pages long.
Interesting? Or Annoying?
Manny Rivera manages a filling station in Carolina, a city of 200,000, situated just to the east of the Rio Piedras section of San Juan. He’s not busy when detectives Charles and Gutierrez arrive in a rental car just after one p.m.
With Gutierrez acting as interpreter, the detectives introduce themselves and explain the purpose of their visit.
“Eddie, él jodió a mi esposa,” Manny Rivera blurts out before Gutierrez gets a chance to ask a question, and his delivery is quite animated. “Y me aborrezco sus agallas.”
“What did he say?” Charles asks Gutierrez.
“You’re going to love this,” Gutierrez says. “He said Vargas fucked his wife, and he hates his guts.”
“No shit,” Charles says. “Ask him if he knows where Vargas is.”
“¿Sabe dónde está?” Gutierrez asks Rivera.
“Con su primo,” Rivera says. “Se está quedando con su primo.”
“¿Dónde?” Gutierrez asks.
“Su primo vive en una pequeña casa,” Rivera says. “En la cima de una colina, solo, justo antes de llegar a Aceitunas.”
“¿Conoce la dirección?” Gutierrez asks.
“Es la única casa rosada en millas a la redonda,” Rivera says.
“What did he say?” Charles asks Gutierrez.
“He’s staying with a cousin,” Gutierrez says. “Right outside Aceitunas.”
“Where’s that?” Charles asks.
“Five or six miles east of Aguadilla,” Gutierrez says.
“Did you get the address?” Charles says.
“There is no address,” Gutierrez says.
“How the fuck are we going to find the place?” Charles asks.
“No sweat,” Gutierrez tells Charles. “He told me exactly where the house is, and how to find it.” Then he thanks Rivera, “Muchas gracias, Señor Rivera.”
“No hay de que,” Rivera replies.
“Pero por favor,” Gutierrez says. “No le digas que lo estamos buscando. Y por favor no le avises.”
“No te preocupes,” Rivera says. “Espero que lo atrapes y la piel de ese hijo de puta vivo.”
The detectives start to leave.
“¡Espere!” Rivera says as he grabs Gutierrez by the arm.
“¿Qué?” Gutierrez asks him.
“Cuando Eddie vivió aquí,” Rivera says, “Obligó a dos de sus hermanas a tener relaciones sexuales con él.”
“Eso es horrible,” Gutierrez says. “Lamento escuchar esto.”
“Por supuesto,” Rivera replies. “Y no solo una vez, sino por años.”
“Y una de sus hermanas fue mi novia,” Rivera says. “Y más tarde se convirtió en mi esposa.” He pauses. “Ahora es finalmente el momento de la venganza.”
Gutierrez again thanks Rivera, then shakes his hand.
The detectives walk to the rental car, get in, and start driving, with Gutierrez behind the wheel.
“Aren’t you afraid he’ll warn Vargas?” Charles asks Gutierrez.
“Not a chance in the world.”
“How can you be so sure?” Charles asks.
“I told him not to warn him.”
“And you don’t think he will?” Charles asks.
“No way.”
“Why not?” Charles says. “Wait till you hear this.”
With Gutierrez doing the driving from Carolina to the San Juan airport, Charles calls Captain Anderson to bring him up to speed.
“Well?” the captain says.
“Wait till you hear this shit,” Charles replies.
“I’m waiting.”
“To begin with,” Charles begins, “Vargas fucked Rivera’s wife, and Rivera’s been walking around with a hard-on for Vargas for years, just waiting for a chance to get even.”
“Does he know where Vargas is?” the captain asks.
“Yeah,” Charles says, “but there’s more.”
“Let’s hear it,” the captain says.
“Back when Vargas lived over here,” Charles continues, “he forced two of his sisters to have sex with him.”
“He raped his sisters?”
“Not just once,” Charles goes on. “Went on for several years. And one of the sisters was Rivera’s girlfriend, who eventually became his wife; hence his thirst for revenge.”
“You said he knows where Vargas is,” the captain says.
“Absolutely.”
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