"That’s the problem," Hector said, his hand tightening on the grip of his pistol. "The past doesn't like being cleaned. It wants to be remembered."
Hector lowered his gun. "Keep your secrets," he said, turning toward the exit. "But remember: eventually, even the ghosts have to go home." BelascoarГЎn PI
His latest case wasn't about a missing person or a cheating spouse. It was about a shadow. "That’s the problem," Hector said, his hand tightening
The man finally looked at him. His eyes were flat, like polished stone. "What do you want, Hector? I’m just a man cleaning up the past." "Keep your secrets," he said, turning toward the exit
Hector Belascoarán Shayne sat in his cramped office on Calle Independencia, the smoke from his cigarette curling around the ancient, rotary phone like a ghost. He wasn't just a Private Investigator; he was a "detective independent," a title that in Mexico City often felt like a fancy way of saying "professional target."
He spent the next three days walking the streets, a ghost among ghosts. He talked to the shoe-shiners in the Zócalo, the taco vendors in Tepito, and the tired clerks in the city archives. He didn't ask for the man’s name; he asked for his habits. He learned the Gray Ghost liked his coffee black at Café La Habana and that he always carried a briefcase that looked heavier than it should.
"You're late, Belascoarán," the man said without looking up. His voice was as dry as the dust on the floor. "I expected you yesterday."