The rain poured down. Not like Glasgow rain, real tropical rain, raindrops like big wet warm pebbles. I enlisted the barman, who seemed to have a beef with Hose and his crew. After a fair bit of money (well i just became $10k richer so i could afford it) it turns out there are some freaks up country who have a thing for red hair, so they've been kidnapping redheads for years. Hose was just a middleman. The barman reckoned he saw her first but Hose got the money (abut 2 years wages it turned out) so he too had an incentive to track her down.
The bus to Merida was 18 hours. The air conditioner leaked drips onto me every 30 seconds, and the movie had a sound and light that was just bright and noisy enough to keep me awake all night. i figured to think positive, this would give me time to think....
Wildlife paradise and outdoor adventure heaven. Could have fooled me. It was a poor looking little city, although by the time i arrived, i hit the first hotel i found - i could sleep through the schreech of cars driven by blind drunk locals scraped againts the high pavements, and the intermitent gunshots that rang through the nights, as drunk revelers let off steam, and settled old scores.
In the morning i made a beeline to one contact id found on the internet. As it was saturday i met him at his house. Markus was a nice enough guy. The old German had been up here for years. Professor of Divinty at the university of the Andes, he had his old spectacles into quite a few local goings on. he had a glint in his eye and i bet quite a few stories to tell....his wife, a pert little local girl half his age was fine enough and im sure kept his roving eye in line. 'So my young freind, quite a predicament we have here ya' his German accent still strong as ever, he started as we sat down for coffee in his pleasant dining room overlooking the city. 'the Culto Chica Rijoa' or the 'Rijoa' as its locally called - it has a long long story. They say the saint Hernandez had a beautiful daughter via immaculate conception, with one daughter of an indian chief, down in El Derado region. The daughter had red hair and blue eyes. Something never before seen there, and so she was worshipped as a God. Anyway, seems a few creeps gave her the Marylin Munroe treatment - she was killed and preserved, and 'worshipped' in a very different way, while the general populace still worship Red hair to this day. Anyway, seems they kept a taste for this red hair thing, so they regularly take them when they find them - they pay a fair bit too, so what you said about the waiter cetainly rings true.
Its likely they took her up to their place away south in Los Rauros, theres a quite remote region down there where theyll basically spoil her and worship her as a God for some time, butter her up, massage her ego, then when she doesnt suspect it, kill her and i think you dont want to know the rest. But be warned, these guys are the law down there - this is Venezuala my freind, its a poor country and the Rijos are very rich and powerful men. The good thing is you have time. She will be well treated until she is killed, which may be two or three weeks depending how quickly she is brainwashed. As soon as she starts beleiving she is a God, then its wham, they kill her, and the hunt will be on for the next one while these beasts satisfy their necrofile lust until she rots and her arms and legs begin to fall off.
I must have been sweating. What the hell had we got ourselves into? At least there was a chance of finding X unharmed. i didnt want to think of the other consequences but at least i had some 'stick' as well as 'carrot'....
'Will you help me Markus' I blurted it out. Why not. I'll need to go down there. Im right in thinking that i wont have any help from the law, so i suppose ill have to take it into my own hands.
' I cant come with you Y. Forgive me. I have a young son by Margarita here, and to be honest. These guys frighten me. I've heard of even crazier things going on down there. They dont just worship red hair, there is somthing more sinister going on, im sure of it. When they kill you its maybe a good thing, when they keep you alive.....well. Some men are truly evil Y. You are a young man, i understand you are in love with X. But please consider carefully if you will go after her. You will almost certainly meet a fate worse than hers. She will lead a happy two weeks then die suddenly. You will see hear and feel Hell for a long time before you die.....
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