Find Them Dead

52 Tuesday 14 May

Under blazing hot, cloudless sunshine in Guayaquil’s Seminario Park, Laura knelt, smiling happily, beside a large iguana, as Cassie took a video. They had both been a little subdued after thinking they might have had their drinks spiked last night. Two very sleazy guys had been hitting on them in a bar, and they had both felt very drunk after just two small beers. They’d asked the barman to call them a taxi, and drunk a lot of water, at Cassie’s suggestion — she’d read about it somewhere — when they got back to their room. But Laura perked up at the sight of the camera.

‘Hey, everybody!’ Laura said to the camera. ‘When I marry, I’m going to marry an iguana! Aren’t they beautiful? Did you know, here’s an interesting fact for you... they have two penises.’ She paused. ‘It’s true!’

Cassie snorted and ended the video laughing. ‘Seriously?’

‘Seriously!’ Laura replied. ‘They’re called hemipenises. One works with the left testicle and the other with the right. It gives them two shots at impregnating the female.’

‘Are you sure it’s not so the female has a choice of sizes? I mean, how cool would that be?’ She put on an affected accent. ‘Eow, Rodders, I think tonight I’ll go for the big one.’

Laura laughed. ‘And if he can’t raise one, well, hell, he’s got backup!’

The crazy-paved paths through the small park in the centre of the busy city were teeming with iguanas of every size, a sanctuary the creatures had made their own. Tourists, many backpackers like themselves, were posing with them and the iguanas seemed quite happy.

Suddenly, Cassie looked serious. ‘Let’s go and sit down.’ She pointed to an empty bench.

They eased their heavy backpacks off their shoulders and sat, placing them on the ground in front of them, watching the interaction between the people in the park and the prehistoric-looking creatures in silence for some moments. Both of them took several photographs. Then, still holding her phone up and without looking at Laura, Cassie said, quietly, ‘Someone is following us.’

Laura replied, ‘Oh yes? Is he fit?’

‘I’m serious.’

Laura gave her a sideways look. Her friend wasn’t smiling. ‘One of the guys from last night?’

Cassie shook her head. ‘No, but I’ve got a feeling I’ve seen him before. Creepy. Don’t look now, he’s on that bench, the far side of the tree in the middle of the path, with the turquoise building behind him.’

Laura waited a few seconds, then with her head still tilted towards her friend, her eyes safely concealed behind her sunglasses, glanced in the direction Cassie said. A man, maybe in his forties though it was hard to tell his age from this distance, wearing a blue baseball cap, sunglasses, T-shirt and jeans was sitting alone on a bench, seemingly absorbing the atmosphere. A camera with a long lens lay on his lap.

‘Blue cap?’ she queried.

‘Maybe I’m being paranoid, but I swear I’ve seen him before. And more than once. I wasn’t going to say anything, but it’s very weird that now he’s here.’

‘We’re following a pretty common tourist route, C. Maybe he’s just in sync with us?’

‘Maybe,’ Cassie said, dubiously.

‘Maybe he has two penises?’

Cassie grinned. ‘Now, that would make him more interesting!’

‘Shall I go over to him and ask him how many he has?’

‘No way!’ She hesitated. ‘Oh, shit.’

‘What?’

‘Don’t look. He’s taking a photograph of us.’