“Drunk, I don’t know…” sighed Ginger, looking over at her friend.
“I tell you what. Do you two remember Al and Evelyn, that married couple that rode in with us from the airport?”
Recognition filled Ginger’s face. “Oh, yes. We bumped into Evelyn and a friend of hers having lunch yesterday up in the dining room.” She pointed at her head and looked at Gladys. “Remember, Gladys? Evelyn was the one wearing the pink visor on the airport shuttle.”
Gladys bobbed her head. “Oh yes, I remember her.”
“They seemed like nice people, didn’t they?” I asked, feeling more and more like an “as-seen-on-TV” salesman. But wait, there’s more! If you act now, I’ll throw in the nice old couple from the airport shuttle…
“Yes, they seemed like a lovely couple,” agreed Ginger.
“They’re from Nebraska. Al owned an implement dealership there. Nicest people you’ll ever meet. These fellas I’m talking about happen to be a couple of his buddies. I’ll bet I could convince Al and his wife to go along, you know, make it a triple date. Just so you feel safe and all. You have my personal guarantee that Big Eddie and Gary are going to be on their best behavior.”
They looked at each other, both of them smiling from ear to ear, but each of them afraid to speak first.
“Oh, come on,” I prodded. “You only live once. Whaddaya say, ladies?”
“Well, if Evelyn and her husband are going to be there, I guess I don’t see the harm. Do you, Gladys? I mean, we have to eat.”
Gladys shook her head. “I don’t see the harm. We won’t be leaving the resort property, will we?”
“Oh, no, no, no! You’ll stay here,” I said. “You can either dine in the clubhouse or at the buffet. Whichever you prefer. Tomorrow for lunch. Are we all in?”
Gladys nodded. “We’re in. Aren’t you sweet, making love matches. Is this what you do for a living?”
I laughed. “Hardly! I can’t seem to find a nice girl to save my life.” Or a psycho, throat-punching one for that matter.
34
Thursday, February 22, 2018
“Drunk, you can’t be serious. But how can I go with you if I’m stuck on Big Eddie’s date?” complained Al the next afternoon in his cottage.
“Listen, we gotta do what we can to keep Big Eddie happy. We still don’t know what those things are that Jimmie stashed in my bag.” I pulled out the suitcase I’d left in Al’s closet and set it on his coffee table once again.
Al raised his eyebrows as his hands splayed out in front of him. “But he got that app installed on Jimmie’s phone.”
I nodded slowly as I unzipped my bag. “Yes, exactly. And we made him a deal. We get the GPS location and he gets a date.”
“We didn’t promise him Evie and I would go on a date with him!”
“No, I understand that wasn’t part of the original deal, but the women didn’t want to go out with a couple of strangers. Apparently they’ve met Evelyn and they felt like if she and her husband went along, it would be safe.” I didn’t want to add that if Al was tied up for the afternoon, there was zero chance of him getting shot on a daredevil mission to find Nicolette Dominion and the Aussie brigade.
Al hung his head. “But, Drunk, you can’t go looking for these guys alone. Something really bad could happen! Why can’t you just wait for me?”
“It’s just better this way, Al. If something bad is going to happen to me, it’s better if you’re here and not there. Then I’ve got someone to alert Sergeant Gibson when I go missing.” I sighed as I dug through the suitcase, looking for my running sneakers. “Listen, Al, I know you wanted to do this with me, but I really think it’s best if you stay here and keep Eddie happy. Maybe after your lunch date, the two of you will be able to put a little more time into figuring out what those things are, and you can call me with the intel. Okay?”
Al grimaced. “I don’t like this one little bit, Drunk. Partners don’t leave each high and dry like this. That woman pulled a gun on you, and you saw those two men with guns. And here you are bringing a pretty face and some abs to a gun show. I don’t see how this is gonna end well.”
I sat down on Al’s sofa and slid my feet into my sneakers. I lifted one foot onto the edge of the coffee table and tied the laces while looking at Al. “I don’t have a choice, buddy. I don’t have a gun. I’m just going to have to rely on my wit to get by.”
Al curled his lip. “Forgive me if I’m not a believer.” He shook his head. “Maybe Gary can help us out with a gun. I’ll give him a call.”
I looked at my watch. “You better hurry. I’m supposed to be up at the resort to catch my ride in ten, and you’re supposed to be on your double date soon too.”
Al took out his cell phone and then stepped outside to dial Gary while I turned my phone to silent. I couldn’t very well have someone calling while I was on a stakeout. As I adjusted the volume, a call came in. I didn’t recognize the number, but I recognized the area code. It was from back home.
“Hello?”
“Danny? Oh my God, I’m so glad I finally got ahold of you! I’ve been so worried!”
My mouth went dry and the blood drained from my face. “Pam?”
“Yeah, sweetie. It’s me.”
My head dropped forward into my hand. “Why in the hell are you calling me, Pam? I don’t wanna talk to you.”
“Where are you, Danny? I’ve been calling your parents a—”
“Stop calling my folks, Pam. I mean it.”
“I’m sorry. I only called them because Mikey won’t tell me anything.”
“Shit, Pam. Quit fucking calling Mikey.”
“But you didn’t tell me where you went. I’ve been—”
“I don’t have to tell you where I went. That’s what happens when you break up.”
“B-but you don’t want to break up for good, do you, Danny? You just need some time to cool off, right?”
I could hear the pleading in her voice. I’d heard it before. And to her credit, there had been a point when Pam pleading with me for something, anything, meant I’d give in. I’d have done anything she wanted, whether it was making a fool of myself on a dance floor, or going to church and then out to brunch with her and her mother, or taking her to see the dumbest chick flick on the planet.
But not now.
Now I felt my wall going up.
I wasn’t falling for it, and I had a job to do. I lifted my head. “Pam. Stop calling me. We’re done. Alright? You made your choice.”
“It didn’t mean anything. I-I was just saying goodbye to the single life.”
“You’ve got a hell of a way of saying goodbye. But you know what? I have a better way. Goodbye, Pam.” I hung up the phone and blocked the number she’d called from. With mixed emotions lying heavily on my heart and in my mind, I sighed when Al reentered the house.
He had a big smile on his face. “Great news. Gary’s got a gun and handcuffs. He said you can use them both.”
Resignation covered my face as I nodded. “That’s good.”
He looked at me and then looked at the phone in my hands. “Who squashed your grapes?”
“No one.”
“Oh, come on, kid. I know squashed grapes when I see them. A second ago you were on an adrenaline high. I come back and you look like someone killed your dog. What happened?”
“Pam called.”
Al made an O with his lips and raised his bushy white brows. He shuffled closer to me and patted my shoulder. “Bring back old feelings, did she?”
I stood up. “Hell no! I don’t have any feelings for her.” The extra-deep tone in my voice made me wonder if I was trying to convince Al or myself.
“It’s alright if you do, you know. You were supposed to get married. I’m sure you loved each other.”
I looked down at him, peering into the watery aquamarine abyss of his eyes. He was a smart old man. He’d been through a lot in his life. He didn’t have to tell me that for me to know it. I could see it swimming around in
there. But I wasn’t in the mood to talk. My face was taut and my voice firm when I muttered, “You got a point in there somewhere?”
Al swatted the air with his gnarled hand. “Oh, fine. So be it. You don’t wanna talk about it. Then we won’t.”
“Good.”
He nodded. “Good.” Then he turned on his heel and shuffled towards the front door, waving for me to follow. “Come on. Gary’s got a gun. He’s gonna meet us in the lobby. Lock the door, will ya?”
“Perfect.” I followed Al, locking up his cottage behind me. I half-wondered if I wouldn’t be better off going gunless. Maybe everything that had happened to me was God’s way of saying I was a prick that didn’t deserve to be on the planet anymore. Maybe it was my time to go. And if that was the case, in that moment, I felt like I had no cause to argue.
35
With Al, Eddie, Gary, and the ladies all at lunch together and Gary’s Glock G17 tucked away in a concealed-carry appendix holster beneath my tank top, the hotel shuttle driver pulled away from the resort. It was the same man and the same car that had driven Al and me to the police station earlier in the week. He was a stocky man with cropped black hair and a patchy beard. He was quiet and didn’t speak unless spoken to, but when he did speak, he was very friendly.
As the car drove down the resort’s long driveway, my eyes immediately swung down to the GPS locator app on my phone. The little red flashing light on the map had moved from where it had been the day before when someone had unintentionally installed the app. That, in and of itself, had been faster than any of us had anticipated. No sooner had Big Eddie sent the message than someone had clicked the hard-to-resist link. Minutes later, Eddie, Al, the guys, and I were all staring with astounded smiles at a red blip on the computer monitor. Al and I had been happy to see that the blip was nowhere near the island’s police station, meaning it was more than likely in the hands of the men who’d killed Jimmie and not in the possession of Sergeant Gibson.
But now that it was a day later and the signal had moved, I couldn’t help but wonder if the phone was still with Jimmie’s killers. I also wondered whether or not Nicolette Dominion was still following them. Would I actually manage to find her? Or would I only find trouble?
“Take a right, Akoni,” I said to the driver, scooting forward in my seat. No sooner had we driven off the resort property than the little blipping light on my app stopped blipping and a white screen popped up that read Service Unavailable. I rolled down my window and held the phone out with one hand, searching for a signal, to no avail.
“What’s with the internet on this island?”
“It is very limited, sir,” he said. “On the resort property, you are connected to the Seacoast Majestic’s wireless internet, but away from the resort, it is very difficult to get a signal.”
I curled my lip as I looked down at my phone. “I see that.” How in the world was I supposed to track Jimmie’s cell phone without the internet? “Isn’t that annoying?”
His onyx eyes glanced up to meet mine in his rearview mirror. “It is very annoying. Where would you like to go, sir?”
“Honestly, I’m really not sure. The place I wanted to go was on the map on my phone, and now my map isn’t working.”
“The island is not large. I do not require a map. You can just provide me with an address.”
I stared at the blank screen. I had no address, and I couldn’t even show him a map with where the little blippy dot had been. “Unfortunately, I don’t even have an address without the internet. Isn’t there somewhere else that has good Wi-Fi on the island?”
Akoni nodded. “Yes, sir. I will take you there.”
“Thank you.” With the window open, I leaned back and let the refreshing island air hit me in the face. It felt good to breathe it in and let it clear my head. I felt my shoulders start to relax slightly as my eyes closed.
I hadn’t slept well at all that night. Unsure if those Aussie men would make an encore appearance, I’d once again slept on Al’s sofa. Not only had Mrs. Al cranked the air conditioning up and nearly frozen me out, but I’d slept curled in a ball since, fully unfurled, my body was about twice as long as their sofa. Now every muscle in my body ached. I reminded myself that I should just be thankful that I didn’t have a bullet hole in my head, and I tried to forget about my dull aches and pains.
With that out of my mind, the next time I opened my eyes, we were in the dusty parking lot of a large, nondescript dilapidated building. The vertically paneled siding was painted olive green, making it blend in with the vegetation skirting the parking lot. There was a long porch on the street side with a corrugated tin roof protecting a row of picnic tables from the sun.
“Where are we?” I mumbled, barely able to open my eyes. The sleep felt too good to want to leave it.
“Greasy’s Taco,” said Akoni. “Best Wi-Fi on the island. Best tacos too.”
I lifted my head. It was heavy and didn’t want to move, but I knew I had to press forward if I ever wanted to relax again. The spicy smell of taco meat wafted in through the open window and made my stomach churn. I was decidedly hungry. I adjusted my posture, sitting up straighter, and looked at my phone again. I found the Wi-Fi signal available and unprotected. After connecting to the Wi-Fi and refreshing the app, the little blippy light reappeared on my screen. I showed the map to Akoni. “Can you take me there?”
He looked it over and then nodded. “Yes, sir.”
I took off my hat and scratched the top of my head. “Just call me Drunk, Akoni, please? Being called sir makes me uncomfortable.”
“Yes, si—Drunk. We will go there now.”
I nodded, pleased, and then held out a hand to stop him. “Wait! Can we go through the drive-through first? I’m starving.”
Ten minutes later, we drove away with three hard-shell tacos and a fountain Dr. Pepper for me and a pair of chicken fajita burritos, extra sour cream, for Akoni. “Thank you, Mr. Drunk.”
“My pleasure,” I said through loud bites of the best damn crunchy taco I’d ever eaten. I blew through my entire meal in less than the seven minutes it took for Akoni to drive me to the location of the blip on my phone app.
“This is it, Mr. Drunk,” he said, pulling over to the side of the road.
One glance out the window had me hanging my head and sighing. It was an impound lot. Now there was exactly zero chance that I was going to find the Aussies or Nicolette. “Shit,” I muttered. “You’re sure this is the place?”
Akoni nodded. “Yes. I am sure.”
I took one more sip from my straw and handed my cup to him. “Hold this for me? And don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
He took the cup from me and put it in his center console’s cup holder. “No problem, Mr. Drunk.” He grabbed the lunch I’d bought him from the passenger’s seat and got comfortable.
The small impound lot was backed by a steep rock wall and surrounded on the other three sides by a chain-link fence with curled barbed wire on top. The front gate of the impound lot was swung wide open. I didn’t see any security guarding the entrance, so I took it upon myself to go poking around the lot. Almost immediately, the sight of fog lights fixed to a roll bar caught my eye. I walked around the first row of cars to the second and stood up tall, with my hands on my hips.
“Well, I’ll be,” I muttered as I saw the black Chevy Silverado parked ten cars down. My brows lifted and my bottom lip plumped out. “Aww, get your truck taken away, did ya, fellas?”
I looked around. There still didn’t seem to be anyone around, so I walked down to the truck. After the lax security at the entrance, I wasn’t surprised to find the truck unlocked. I opened the door, and a handful of Greasy’s Taco wrappers tumbled out onto the ground. “Ah. So you guys are fans of Greasy’s too,” I said, climbing into the truck. “I don’t blame you. Best tacos ever.” The first thing I found was Jimmie’s phone, shoved between the seat cushions on the passenger side. I pushed a button to wake it from its slumber. It lit up, but I
quickly discovered it had been wiped clean of any contact information and incoming or outgoing messages or calls.
I slid down and opened the glove compartment. I rifled through it, hoping to find a registration with a name and address. Anything to give me a clue as to where to go next. A small sheet of paper buoyed my spirits. I grabbed hold of it, just as I heard a voice call out.
“Hey!”
I looked up over the dash to see a tubby man in a white t-shirt, dirty jeans, and a baseball cap standing at the hood of the truck, staring at me.
“Hey! You can’t just come on in here without checking into the office.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, pocketing Jimmie’s phone. “This is my truck. I came to get it out of impound.”
He made a face. “Oh, this is your truck? Well that was sure fast. We only impounded it last night.”
I shrugged. “What can I say? I’m fast.”
“Cops said it was stolen.”
Dammit. That meant that the name and address on the registration I was holding would do me no good. But I had to play along anyway or risk getting myself impounded. “Yup. Stolen right out from underneath me!” I shook my head. “Damn kids. Parents don’t teach their kids right from wrong anymore.”
The man held a hand up over his face and squinted at me. “You live on the island?”
“Of course I do. If I was a tourist, you think I’d have a truck?”
He gave me the kind of look that said he knew I was full of shit, but he wasn’t sure that he cared enough to call me out. “You just don’t look or talk like an islander. What did you say your name was?”
Drunk on a Plane Page 16
