Chapter 3 third chapter

I walked through the Pimon and Benin passes, with the Saint-Gaugoni Mountains on the left and the towering Saint-Jean-Letos Mountain on the right. We have a rule that if we use a company car for business trips, we charge our customers fifteen cents per mile, and the odometer is running like crazy, I don’t know how ugly Baisha and our customers will be in the future. Betha always wants me to keep my expenses down because it's not good for the company.Driving to Calexico is equivalent to taking the 350 yuan deposit paid by the client to drive the mileage of a large leaky company car, plus my personal board and lodging.

The northern foot of San Ginger Ratio is more than two miles above sea level, so there is still snow, but in the valley, it is hot, and after I passed Indio, the road was below sea level all the way down.The weather was uncomfortably hot.Baisha never listened to me, and installed air-conditioning on the company car. She said that our company car is only used for urban transportation, and installing air-conditioning will do nothing but shorten the life of the car. I haven't contacted Baisha yet, where am I?doing what?I knew that I told her that I couldn't leave.But going to Calexico City is currently the only clue.

I arrived in the city of Calexico rather late in the afternoon. Calexico and Mexico Cali are twin urban areas.Calexico is to the north and Mexicali is to the south.The barbed wire fence on the US-Mexico border is the only dividing line between the two cities. I stopped to think again. Nan Shi doesn't have a car, she came here by bus.Obviously, there are not many banknotes around.Of course, she couldn't afford to live in a luxurious hotel like Dianza.In fact, whether she has arrived in Calexico is still a question.The only clue was that all the letters would go to the General Post Office here, and she would pick them up herself.Besides, she might have crossed the border and lived on the Mexican side.That is Mexicali.

I know, the errands are about to start again. I made an envelope that lures a snake out of its hole.The address is the General Post Office of this city, leave it to Hao Nanshi.I put it in the mailbox. The Post Office never discloses customer information except to federal officials.The method of luring the snake out of the hole I invented is very effective against the post office in such a small place. I have used it in several cases, and some readers may also use this method. (It was used, for example, in the published case of Scheming.) The so-called envelopes that lure snakes out of their holes have to be made by yourself.It's too big to fit in a pocket or woman's purse.The surface of the envelope is red and green, and anyone who holds it in his hand will obviously protrude like someone wearing a tie with a big red flower during the public sacrifice.The way to lure the snake out of the hole is that you send the letter according to the address, sit in the car and guard the door of the post office, especially after the letter arrives, you only need to look at the people coming in and out, and you will see the person you want come out.

The person you want, get this letter at the drop-box, he's a man, there's no way to put it in a pocket; I found that such a thing was too dazzling to hold in my hand, and I was eager to open it to see what it was. The envelope should contain something, reasonably a real estate advertisement, with a map and photos so that it does not arouse suspicion. The person guarding the door can take a good look at who the other party is, and then decide whether to follow. After I mailed the envelope, I drove a street, a street, and wrote down the phone numbers and addresses of every motel and room rental.Although this work is time-consuming and must be done, I don't hold out much hope this time, because I have a feeling in my heart that she has already transited to live in Mexico, but keeps coming back to Calexico to collect letters.

After making a list of motels, I exchanged a pile of coins, entered a phone booth and started making calls. I say to everyone: This is the No. 1 credit counseling service.I would like to ask if there is a woman staying at the hotel. She doesn't have a car and came by taxi.Her name is Wang Xiaofeng.What number does she live in? In this way, the answer is no all the way, as if hitting a wall. Suddenly, there was a Maple Leaf Motel, and I won an unexpected prize. We have a woman exactly as you describe it.The other party said: She came by taxi and brought two boxes, but her name was not Wang Xiaofeng.

What house number?Excuse me.I said. House Twelve. I said: The person I am looking for is about sixty-two years old.Come from the east.Has a New York accent.About five feet six inches, very thin No, no, the other party's voice immediately stopped my speech: No, the person I'm talking about is about twenty-six years old.Brown hair, average height, good build. That's not the guy I'm looking for.I said: The one I'm looking for must be in his early sixties and very thin. Sorry, there is no one you want here. Thank you very much.I said, hang up the phone. I drove to the Maple Leaf Motel, checked in, and checked into house number seven.

This is a pretty good motel.There is an inner courtyard, a swimming pool, and beach chairs by the pool. It is quite late.Two children were playing by the pool under the watchful eye of a woman. I changed into my swimming trunks and came to the pool, hesitating whether to enter the water, and finally decided to rest on the beach chair, taking a position where I could observe Room 12. Nothing came of it. It was getting dark.I became the only guest at the pool.The weather was getting a little cold, so I went back to my room and changed my clothes, got into the car parked in front of my house, and continued to monitor house No. 12.

When it was less than twenty minutes past nine, the person I was waiting for came back. I knew it must be her before she went to house number twelve.She was good-looking, had come by taxi, but looked depressed. After I saw that she was walking towards No. 12, I started the company car and caught up with the taxi she took, and saw that it was heading towards the border.I pass the taxi and wave to it to pull over. The driver was an alert Mexican. Is this a taxi with a Mexican license plate?I asked. He nodded. I want to go across the border, I said: but I don't want to drive my own car.Can I park here and take your car over there?

Sir, it's your first time in a border city.In order to attract Americans to visit, the Mexican government does not set up checkpoints in the twin cities on the border, and they are free to travel back and forth.Twelve miles further to the south is required for a passport and customs inspection.But the United States is too strict with our metered driving regulations.I am not allowed to take passengers on the return trip.He said. You have a terrible memory.I said: I am the one who came by your car from Mexicali, did you forget? A dim light from the instrument panel illuminated his teeth.Yes, I remembered.Come in, let's go back!

I parked the car, locked it, and got in the back of the taxi. We're going to take a detour back to Mexico.He said: Just don't charge you more money.Where are you going, sir? I presented a five-dollar bill from behind, and he looked at me strangely. You bring a young lady to the Maple Leaf Motel and I say: where did she get in the car? Oh, he said: Detective! I smiled slightly at him and said: It's just a lonely gentleman protecting flowers.I have long admired that woman.But she is special, and the usual methods don't work. She got on the bus at the Monte Carlo restaurant in Mexicali.He said. You just take me to the Monte Carlo restaurant.I said. His teeth bared happily again.Xixi, Xi Niu.He said. (Note: Yes in Spanish, sir.) People on foot can go straight across the border from Calexico to Mexicali.However, those who use cars must take a detour, walk along a street parallel to the border, walk to a north-south intersection, obey the command to stop, and then turn right into Mexico. This instead gave me a little time to chat with the Mexican driver. Can you Mexican drivers cross the border and bring guests to the US?I asked. Yes, Xi Niu.He said: You American taxi drivers can also bring passengers to our Mexicali.However, both sides are not allowed to bring scalpers on the return trip, it is against the law.Today I will take you to find out, and there will be trouble. I had a feeling that he would please me, so I didn't say anything. After a while, he said: That woman who went to the Maple Leaf Motel was a little weird. oh.I said. Yes.He said. There was another silence. This time I said nothing, and neither did he.His method was very correct, and I sent another five yuan over. He took it quickly and said: I have too many family members, I have four children, and another one is about to be born.The standard of living is getting higher and higher. The standard of living is also high for me.I said: What's wrong with that woman? She doesn't speak Spanish.He said: "The restaurant waiter came and called me for her.The waiter said he had a passenger he wanted me to take to America.The waiter, who I knew, said the girl came into the restaurant and ordered a drink.She waited and waited and waited and waited.Waited and waited, and ordered another drink.Waiting and waiting, and then she asked for a meal and ate western cattle very slowly. She was waiting for someone who didn't come.Does this work for you, Xi Niu? Maybe it's of some use.I said. He stopped suddenly and said: I want you to get off the car here, and please walk down a street by yourself and pass the border.I'll wait for you at the intersection ahead and take you to the restaurant.I think it's better not to make trouble. I got out of the car and walked down the street, past the border, thinking that the taxi would probably slip away, so I was surprised when he was actually waiting for me.He took me four more blocks to Monte Carlo. This is a very, very large restaurant.But the place where you enter the door is just a storefront.There is a bar on the front of the store, a door into a large room with many tables, and another door into another larger room with many tables.There are also doors, and rooms, and tables.There are as many guests as crucian carp crossing the river. This is a very prestigious, classy, ​​old colonial restaurant.Although there are many people, it is very quiet.Many family meals are held here.The aroma of the food whets the appetite unconsciously, and I ordered a full meal. While waiting for my meal, I found a phone and called Betha a number that wasn't in the phone book. Tang Nuo, grandma's.Baisha gasped and said: You don't have to contact so urgently, you can be missing for a while longer!Where did you go now?Mexico? mexicali.I said: how do you know? Mexicali!She yelled: What are you doing there? Chasing a clue, chasing the one who came here. You'll use up all your deposit.she complained. I've used it quite a bit. You are so bad.You spend money like money is falling from the sky.Why not report it? I have nothing to report. Hey!Our client is biting his nails and eating his arm. You see him again. did i see himHe came here once and called three times.He was on the phone with me half an hour ago.He said if you had a report before midnight, make sure to let him know.I will give you his phone number now.It would make sense for you to call him immediately for me. I said: I found a clue, and I chased and chased and crossed the border.I can only report this little bit.You called him on my behalf and said that my lead was solid.Besides, if he is sincere, you should charge him another hundred and fifty dollars. It is right that he is sincere, Baisha said: However, he does not seem to be very sincere and want to be generous, he is in an anxious state of mind.You better call.Six seven six two three zero two. OK, I'll call, I want to live in Mexicali.I have a clue.Results will be available tomorrow. Are the clues reliable? quite reliable. Fifteen cents a mile.Baisha said. At fifteen cents a mile, we got along pretty well.I remind her. Expenditure from the deposit is not necessarily.Baisha said: It doesn't hurt that the customer pays fifty yuan for a business trip a day, but the business trip fee of fifteen cents a mile for a car hurts a lot. All right!I said: This case is much more complicated than we imagined.Expenses also vary, of course. Tang Nuo, where will you be tonight, and where will you be going? There's a Maple Leaf Motel in Calexico, and I live in house number seven.I believe the man we are looking for will appear within twenty-four hours.I will call you as soon as I have good news. You can contact our customers directly.Baisha said: He paced up and down and almost worn out the carpet. OK, I'll just call.I promised her: I don't want him to join in making trouble. Don't forget to call now.Baisha said: I promised him that if I knew where you were before midnight, I would let him know.Do you have a phone number?Six seven six two three zero two.Be careful, make him happy, and we'll make him pay. I told her not to worry.I will do as he wants.Just hang up the phone. I tried the phone number Baisha gave me. Mr. Gu's voice came harshly from the phone line.Hello!who? Lai Tangnuo. Oh, I think it's about time.he cried. What time is it? It's almost time for your report. You asked us not to do a report, I said: you want us to find someone. did you find it? No. Where are you? Now in Mexico. Mexico! Yes. what are you doing in mexico Find the person you want us to find. You can't find him in Mexico! can you be sure He hesitated, and I took the opportunity to say: I was just following possible clues. What kind of clue? his girlfriend.I said. His what? his girlfriend. who? I don't want to say people's names on the phone.But she used to live very close to the man you're looking for.She also moved around the same time You found his girlfriend? I found it. That's great. What's the matter?I asked: does it matter? Of course, of course, Lai.His voice suddenly became friendly, and he said: You used the right clues.Is she near you now? Yes. Where? I'm calling from a public phone booth now.I said: In the south of the national border, I don't want to describe it carefully. Damn it!rely.He said, his voice pierced and high-pitched: I'm in charge, I'm your employer.tell me where is she I said: She is on the US side of the border between the two countries.Calexico. Where is Calexico? In a motel. What's the name of the motel? I hesitated and said: Maple Leaf.She is in house number twelve.But the person we want will not meet her there, the meeting point is south of the border. Do you know why? I do not know right now.I had a hard time finding her.She tried to cover all the back roads.And she used a fake name all the way. what name?he asks. I said firmly: I don't want to tell you on this phone call.Why are you so interested in this girl?It's not her you want us to find. I'm interested in what you're doing with my money.Since I paid for it, I wondered what I got. I said: What switchboard, how did the switchboard cut off the switchboard. I put the phone back gently.Go back and enjoy my dinner. Dinner was fantastic.California, Bayer's sweet meat lobster, with special hot sauce.It's not the chili bean sauce in the Mexican store in Los Angeles, but a considerable amount of lean meat in the red chili oil. Even if there is no lobster, eating macaroni with this chili sauce is still a must. I ate a lot of cornbread and string beans. Just as I was finishing my dinner, a man approached the manager at the checkout counter, just behind where I was sitting. I agreed to meet someone here, and he said: But I was delayed along the way.Is there any letter or message for me? What's your last name? Shu. No, the manager shook his head: Xiniushu. The man looked around the restaurant again helplessly. The manager said: There is a Sinula (note: Spanish lady), an American Sinula, who waited and waited here, finally had dinner, called a taxi and left. No message left?he asks. Sorry, Xi Niu.No news, Xi Niu. The man goes out. I picked up the bill, took enough money, put it on the counter, and hurried to the door without waiting for the bill.I may have run too hastily, my waiter grabbed me.Pay up, Xi Niu!You haven't paid yet. paid.I told him: the money and the bill are on the counter. No invoice, no payment, Xi Niu. What doesn't make sense in Mexico just doesn't make sense.In this way, the precious opportunity disappeared. When I finally proved that there was no problem, I ignored Xi Niu's apology and hurried to the street.There was no trace of the man.He must have turned the corner.But what about that street corner?I picked the east side, but it wasn't right.Now I know that it was raining outside while we were eating. At dusk, there were indeed dark clouds.There are very few chances of rain in the desert, so I think there will be clouds and no rain.Now it seems that the rain is constantly falling, and there is no intention of stopping yet. In the area around the Emperor's River Valley, when it rains, it is a very troublesome event. The harvest on the fertile land here depends entirely on the water obtained by artificial irrigation.Farms here also don't need water.The soil here is all deposited by the Colorado River in prehistoric times, and it is as sticky as paint.Car tires splatter it onto sidewalks and roads, where it's like skating on ice. I walk back to the restaurant. I asked the manager: That man said he was going to meet someone here, do you know him? I don't know you, Xi Niu.I haven't seen it before. Can you find me a taxi, please hurry up.I said. He walked out of the door, looked up at the sky, looked up and down the street, shook his head and said: Tonight is not good, Xi Niu.It's not like crossing the border in America.We usually have a taxi here, and it's raining tonight, but it's not raining. Mexico is a very interesting country, but there are some things they don't understand, or don't want to understand.Our word "urgent" means nothing to them. The man I'm looking for has slipped through my hands, but I've seen him carefully, and I won't forget him. I had to go back to where I parked the company car because it was a rainy night in Mexicali and I had only one way. Even on foot, the distance is not too far, I buttoned up my jacket, turned up my collar, and made the best use of the buildings, under the walkway, and the sun canopy.Start walking quickly towards the border. In front is a long convoy, waiting for the inspection of the US Customs in Calexico. What a long, long convoy. Overworked Immigration and Customs officers, operating far ahead of checkpoints.One by one, they were asking the people who entered the country what nationality they were, whether they had bought anything taxable in Mexico, and whether they had brought more than the prescribed amount of Mexican alcohol.Occasionally someone will be given a sticker on the windshield to drive over to the front for a more detailed inspection.But most of the cars are easy to pass after a simple questioning. I've heard of smuggling, and the statistics show that tons of marijuana crosses the Mexican border into California, often with a lot of heroin or other prohibited imports in it. The customs officers are surprisingly capable of observing the faces of passengers passing through the customs, but the number of thousands of passengers overwhelms them. Which is the most visited city in the world?Rome?Paris?Cairo?Guess again.In fact, it is Tewana on the border of California and Mexico.The vehicles in Mexicali here are not as good as Tiewana, but there are still a lot of them. Now in front of me is a long convoy of drivers with their engines running impatiently waiting.The wipers scraped the windows in a monotonous, rhythmic, boring manner. I saw a minivan, towed a trailer, and put a boat house on the trailer, and the situation aroused my curiosity. Many people who are keen on boating use a trailer to drag the boat through Mexicali, and then go south for 120 miles to the fishing port of San Feli, where adventure, sports, diving, and sea fishing are all very ideal. Also a well paved road. Those who are more adventurous will travel more than 50 miles south to San Feli to Potisitto.Potisitto is the quintessence of the bay, with small rentals, trailer spots, everything.The sea over there is calm and blue all year round. A houseboat is always something new anyway. This one is a little shorter than the ones I've seen.It stands on a pair of flat-bottomed boat frames and is powered by two outboard boat steering motors.The minivan in the front, four-wheel drive, if you are interested in playing boats, you can definitely drive all the way to Bodesito have a good time. My eyes glanced over at the drive of the pickup truck, and suddenly I became alert.He's the man I'm looking for.It's the guy I just met at the Monte Carlo restaurant.The person who told the restaurant manager that he had an appointment to meet but was running late. I also understood right away why he was late.If he was going up from San Feli, the well-paved road was once mud-splashed, and a trailer with a double-cradle boathouse was the inevitable consequence of being late. I kept walking forward, at a speed roughly similar to the speed of the convoy.While carefully observing the driver of the pickup truck. Now I see that my target is not alone in the car, he has a companion.It's a man.I couldn't see his face clearly, because he was sitting on the far side, and the car was very dark. I myself have arrived at the crossing point.I declared my nationality and stated that I did not buy anything in Mexico. I tried again, can I find a taxi, no.I walked quickly to the side of the road where the company car was parked.Take the company car and go back to the intersection leading to the border.The pickup truck and boat house trailer were gone, although of course I had already noted the license plate numbers of the pickup truck and trailer.I'm sure I can find this man again.The only difficulty is that this person is not at all what our client described and asked us to find. Of course, there was another person in the van that I didn't see clearly.Could this be the person I'm looking for? Things have come to this point, there is no better way than to keep an eye on this clue. I'm completely soaked.Kai shuddered. I drove back to the Maple Leaf Hotel, took a small bottle of whiskey out of the trunk and drank a couple of sips.Took a hot bath and went to bed.