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MARCHING POWDER

you?’ He was a good actor, but there was something in the way he moved his eyes that told me he was lying.

‘You’ve got three seconds,’ I growled, putting my hands on his shoulder so that he couldn’t get up. Lucho and Cartagena moved in closer to block the guards’ view. The inmate Camacho had been talking with stood up and left.

‘What are you talking about?’ Camacho protested weakly.

‘I think you and I need to have a little chat,’ I said, nodding for my men to take him to my room. ‘In private.’

Lucho took one elbow and Cartagena took the other. They led Camacho through the courtyard and up to my room. Camacho knew better than to make a scene. Once we reached my room, he realised that he was completely on his own. He kept his cool, though. After we searched his pockets and found nothing, I began to doubt whether he had done it. I might have been wrong, but I couldn’t afford to show any weakness, especially not in front of my men. I punched him in the stomach and he cried out, struggling to get free of Lucho and Cartagena.

‘You’re making a big mistake, inglés,’ he said.

I hit him again.

‘You’ll pay for this, you black cunt.’

I punched him in the stomach again.

When he recovered his breath, he spat on me and swore loudly.

‘Listen!’ I cupped my hand to my ear. ‘No one can hear you up here.’ Then I slapped it across his face. We placed him on the metal chair and strapped him to it with electrical tape. Camacho still refused to confess.

‘You can’t kill me,’ he said, gritting his teeth. ‘People know where I am. You’re going to pay for this, black cunt.’

Camacho was tough. Even with his mouth taped up, he managed to scare Lucho and Cartagena with his eyes. He looked at them as if to say, ‘And that goes for you two as well.’ It worked. Lucho and Cartagena called me into the kitchen where he couldn’t hear us.

‘You’d better be sure about this, Thomas,’ said Cartagena. Falsely accusing someone was an extremely serious offence in San Pedro.

‘The g ruso said the money doesn’t matter,’ I explained to them. ‘He just wants his credit cards back.’

‘How much?’ asked Lucho. I told him the amount and he nodded thoughtfully. I could see him trying to divide one thousand by three