Prey For Me Ch. 12

"OK, let's go. And no talking dirty. This is serious business."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's hit the road, Jack."

Thirty minutes later they walked in the doors of Lindo Michoacan and were greeted warmly by the owner Jorge Gonzalez. It was obvious to Jack that Jorge recognized Kim immediately when he hugged her warmly. And then Jack was sure when Jorge said, "Senorita Wright, I'm so happy to see you again. You look absolutely stunning as usual." His face was all broad smiles.

"Hello, Jorge," Kim replied, "and would you please call me Kim. We are here to meet Nobura Isaka. Do you know him? Is he here yet?"

"Yes, Kim," Jorge responded with a look of consternation, "I know him. No, he is not here yet." Jorge led them to a table in a secluded spot of the restaurant. "I'll bring you some fresh guacamole."

"Don't forget the tequila, Jorge," Kim requested.

"Jorge is from the Mexican state of Michoacan," Kim explained, "hence the name of this place. Michoacan derives from the Nahuatl language and means 'fishermen's place.' Jorge was born in the Capital Morelia which was founded in 1541 by the first viceroy of New Spain, Antonio de Mendoza. The city was originally named Valladolid, after Mendoza's birthplace in Spain, but the name was changed after the independence of Mexico."

Kim continued, "Jorge learned the culinary arts at a monastery in Michoacan. The Mother Superior was his mentor. He has told me the story a hundred times. One thing is for damn sure. He is a master chef. Especially with the fish. Try the Filete Relleno. Orange roughy filet, stuffed with shrimp and octopus. Deep fried and smothered with Jorge's own secret Michoacan sauce. I love to eat here! Scrumptious."

Jack chuckled and Kim looked at him quizzically. "What the hell is so funny, Jack?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about something. Are you on the menu, Kim?"

"Don't be a pig, Jack. You already had, well, you know, and not that long ago."

"How could I forget?" Jack continued to laugh uncontrollably.

"C'mon, Jack, share the joke. You are laughing about something you are not telling me about."

"Oh, OK, what the hell. I told you about a young Hispanic lady named Carmelita Sanchez who told me the story of two of the women who mysteriously disappeared, her friends Candace Pike Martin and Roxanne 'Blue Duck' Alexander. I met Carmelita at Kady's Coffee Shop at the Riviera you will recall. What I didn't tell you was that Carmelita went under the table and gave me head right in the place. When you said 'I love to eat hear' it just reminded me of that episode. Sorry."

Kim looked indignant but Jack could tell she was feigning annoyance. "Well, Jack, you certainly are sorry and I'll go under the table and do that for you if you insist. But I already sucked you off once today, you pig!" Kim began giggling at her own sarcastic humor.

Just then Jorge arrived with the guacamole and prepared it before them using fresh hass avocados, jalepeno chiles, tomatoes, onions, cilantro and fresh lime. "Here's the tequila. Don't mind the water bottle. I don't serve liquor here," Jorge cackled. "It's Jose Cuervo." Jack began to laugh again.

"What now, Jack? You are a very silly boy. Tell Kim what your problem is."

"It's just that Caitlin sang Jose Cuervo in a restaurant not long ago."

"Kim sings too!" Jorge exclaimed. "Let me go get my guitar."

"Oh, shit. Thanks, Jack. Jorge will never let me off the hook now."

Jorge was back in moments with the guitar and began to strum. "Jack, this is my favorite song. It's called Michaocan naturally and was made popular by Kris Kristofferson. Sing Kim!" She did, reluctantly, and Jack was in awe of her beautiful voice, as he was with Caitlin's.

"Woke up this morning the border was burning my mind. Things that I seen that I couldn't be leaving behind. Down in this hole in the ground there ain't nothin' to see. But down in Michocan paradise waits for me.

North of the border the bodies are bought and they're sold. Me and a brother was caught turning green into gold. I'm gonna pay for my crime till the day I'm free. But down in Michoacan paradise waits for me.

A rusty car rode across the border I was inside. I had two dogs, my red guitar and my teenage bride. We took a look at a shot in the dark and we found a home. Where the flowers bloom in Michoacan.

A rusty car rode across the border I was inside. I had two dogs, my red guitar and my teenage bride. I gotta clean up my act and go back to where I belong. Where the flowers bloom in Michoacan."

Just then Nobura Isaka walked in, escorted to the table by Jorge's wife, Marguerita. Two yakuza bodyguards accompanied Isaka. He motioned for them to sit at a table nearby.

"Senor Isaka, welcome," Jorge muttered hesitantly. Jack stood up, introduced Kim and asked the senior advisor to the oyabun to sit.

"Here is your sake, Senor Isaka. Sharaku, your favorite." Jorge poured from the bottle into a sake cup.

"Thank you, Jorge," the yakuza spoke softly. Isaka looked directly at Kim. "Sharaku is named for a famous ukiyoe painter who mysterious disappeared, much like the women you and Mr. Davis are looking for. Would you like to try some sake, Ms. Wright?"

"Certainly, Mr. Isaka. Please give Mr. Davis some too. I don't want to be the only one who gets trashed. What's the alcohol content in this stuff?"

"About 17%. Actually, sake is more like a beer than a wine, being fermented from a grain, specifically rice. But it is not carbonated and thus flavor-wise is closer to wine than beer, although distinctly different in taste than either. Sake has been around since the 3rd century and was originally called 'kuchikami no sake' or 'chewing-in-the-mouth sake.' Rice, millet and chesnuts were chewed up by the members of a particular village and spat into a tub and left to ferment. It was an important ritual in our Shinto religious festivals."

"Hey, not too bad, Mr. Isaka," Kim commented as she tasted the beverage. "But let us get right to the point. Where did you get the Golden Wedge of Ophir?"

Jack was taken aback by her abruptness but said nothing. He just stared nonchalantly at Nobura Isaka and glanced over at his men menacingly.

"Ah, Ms. Wright, now why should I tell you anything?" Isaka smiled but seemed unsure of where this conversation was headed.

Kim told him why. She told him she would make sure articles were published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and elsewhere regarding the yakuza involvement in this and other sordid affairs. "Mr. Isaka, I'm sure you remember my other articles in the paper about the yakuza. I'm just getting warmed up. I no longer work for the paper so I therefore have no master and therefore I have no censors, if you get my drift. If the Review-Journal won't publish my articles, although I'll bet the farm they will, other publications will jump on this story. No matter how much influence you think you have you will never keep the lid on this if I get the ball rolling."

"Mr. Isaka," Jack added, "what happened to your word, the word you gave me that you would help find the killer of your close friend, Miyuki Huang?"

"Yes, Mr. Davis, I did give you my word. I will keep my word. I did not lie to you. I let you uncover this conspiracy for yourself. There were matters of which I was not certain. Better to let you make up your own mind. I also agreed to provide you with whatever assistance you desire. That promise I also will honor. You need only ask, or encourage Ms. Wright to continue to blackmail me. Miyuki Huang and myself acted only as an intermediary in this matter. I am sure you know we act as an intermediary in the matter of money laundering and other transactions for various parties. That is what we were doing in the matter of this Golden Wedge of Ophir. We agreed to arrange this transaction in exchange for $10 million worth of cocaine."

"What?" Kim exclaimed. "If you got $10 million in merchandise what is that thing worth?"

"It is priceless, Ms. Wright. Priceless. Jorge, come here! Jorge knows the details, perhaps better than I do. Jorge, tell them everything. Tell them everything you know."

"Si, Senor Isaka."

The yakuza rose and beckoned his bodyguards. He glanced back at Jack and Kim. "Whatever it is you want or need of the yakuza, you know how to find me."

To Be Continued...