Key Lime Blues

by Mike Jastrzebski

  I shook my head. “I don’t smoke.”

  “I quit, you know.” Davies held a cigarette under her nose and sniffed it. She gave me a knowing smile. “Eight times last month alone.” She lit up and for a moment she looked younger as she took a drag, but the years came racing back when she exhaled through her nose. “What haven’t you told me?”

  “You know everything I do.” I didn’t want to lie to her, but I needed to get out of there and try to catch Tanya at the bar. If I could warn her off I’d tell Davies the rest. If not, I needed to handle it myself. I knew if I told her about Willie, I’d be out of the loop. I wasn’t going to let that happen.

  Davies looked over at the smoldering ruins and seemed lost in thought. “Why do I get the feeling you’re holding something back from me.”

  “I have no reason to lie to you.”

  She let out a little snort and shook her head. “You haven’t had a reason to lie since I met you, but it hasn’t stopped you.”

  “I haven’t lied to you.”

  Davies stubbed out her cigarette and set the butt upright on the roof of the car. She focused her attention on the short white pillar, and then reached out and flicked her finger, sending the butt flying across the cold metal surface.

  “Yeah you have. You’ve lied to me and you’ve gotten in the way of this investigation. At least one person, this Frankie guy, might still be alive if you had come forward from the start.”

  “Look I…”

  She leaned toward me and asked, “Did I say I was finished?”

  She waited as if daring me to speak. I clenched my fists and ground my teeth together in an effort to reign in my irritation. I was afraid anything I said might land me back in cuffs. That wouldn’t help Tanya. I ate crow and said, “Sorry.”

  She shook her head. “No you’re not. I’ve met two kinds of private detectives. Neither one of them are worth a damn as far as I’m concerned.”

  I took a step forward and moved my face up close to hers. She didn’t like me invading her space, but she didn’t back down. Her breath smelled of tobacco and something unpleasant left over from dinner. I wasn’t about to back down so I put up with the stench and waited.

  After what seemed like an hour, I asked, “Are you going to educate me on the different types of detective, or can I go?”

  “First, you’ve got your cop wannabes. They can’t make it as a real cop, so they pretend. They screw up because they can’t get anything right.”

  “I never wanted to be a cop,” I said.

  “No, you’re the loner type. Those are the ones who don’t play well with others. That would describe you, don’t you think?”

  “I told you I’m not a P.I. anymore. Now if you’re done chastising me how about cutting me loose.”

  Davies let out a big sigh and backed out of the way. “Go ahead. I don’t want to go through the paperwork involved in arresting you. But don’t leave town and keep your phone handy. If I can’t get hold of you, I’ll enjoy having you picked up.”

  I didn’t thank her. I was afraid that if I said anything, she might come up with a reason to change her mind. As soon as she walked away, I grabbed my phone. I dialed Tanya’s cell first, then the bar. When Tanya didn’t answer either phone, I started running down the street.

  This was a working class section of Key West. The houses were shabbier, the cars parked along the street were older, and most of the owners couldn’t afford to put in exotic landscaping. It wasn’t until I crossed Truman and turned onto Olivia that the area brightened and took on a more sculpted look.

  I pulled up four houses from Tanya’s to catch my breath. I wished now that I had a gun. If Willie was waiting at the house, I didn’t think he’d hesitate to kill me.

  Chapter 25

  I crept from house to house keeping to the dark areas until I was standing behind a small palm tree in front of Tanya’s neighbor’s house. I waited at the base of the palm for a good ten minutes watching and listening while I tried to decide on the best approach. It was almost four-thirty in the morning. Tanya should have arrived home a minimum of an hour earlier. Since the house was dark, I assumed Willie had already confronted Tanya and left.

  My stomach churned and my imagination was operating on overdrive as I considered all the possibilities. Either Tanya was dead, or she was Willie’s prisoner. Either way I couldn’t risk barging in when there was still a chance Willie was inside. The problem was that if Tanya was still alive, my rushing in and getting killed was going to make things much worse for her.

  My first thought was to cut through the neighbor’s yard and approach from the rear of the house, but a high wooden fence surrounded the yard. Even if I managed to get over the fence I had no idea what obstacles I’d encounter on the other side.

  The other problem with an all out approach was the brightness of the moon. The last thing I needed was for someone to get up, look out their window, see me skulking about their yard, and call the cops. I was pretty sure Davies wouldn’t let me skate again. I decided on a frontal approach.

  A full moon shone over the island and the night air was a comfortable seventy degrees. A fresh breeze rattled the palm fronds up and down the street and carried the tangy scent of the ocean across the island. I couldn’t stand around waiting much longer, so I bent forward and made my way along the fence surrounding Tanya’s property.

  The house was dark, and the gate stood ajar. I didn’t know what to expect. Questions raced through my mind. Was Willie still there? Had Tanya made it home from work? Had something fortuitously detained her? Was Tanya even still alive? All these thoughts fanned my anger at Destiny. She might not feel she owed me anything, but she could have taken the time to call Tanya before she left the bar and warned her about Willie.

  I took a moment to clear my mind while I glanced up and down the street. When I was sure I was alone I dropped to my knees and edged around the gate. Half-a-dozen shadowy figures rushed at me with reckless abandon. Startled, I jumped to my feet and had to stifle a nervous laugh when the shadows shifted and I realized that my opponents were nothing more than shrubs and plants activated by moonlight and wind. I was wound way too tight, so I forced myself to take several deep breaths in an effort to calm down.

  As I waited for my adrenaline rush to subside and my heartbeat to slow, I cast a final look up and down the street. It was way past time for me to get my ass in gear. Dead or alive, I needed to know if Tanya was inside the house. Using my shoulders, I nudged the gate open wide enough for me to squeeze though.

  In the distance a Harley thundered to life. The roar of the engine built to a crescendo, and the night went quiet as the motor’s echo faded. Shadows played along the edge of the yard while the white stone path sparkled like a lit runway. For the first time in my life I cursed the full moon.

  Once again I dropped into a crouch and pushed my body close to the ground. Keeping as near to the fence as the shrubbery allowed, I duck-walked along the murky trail.

  As I edged toward the back of the yard my muscles began to cramp and hidden thorns added to my torture, plucking at my shirt and shorts like a hundred tiny knives. By the time I reached the back of the house I was sweating, despite the cool night breeze. Rivulets of blood ran down my arms and legs where the thistles had found bare skin. I didn’t care. The tiny bursts of pain seemed to make me more alert and I was aware of every sound around me. The scurrying of a small animal. The call of a night bird. The whistle of the wind through the trees. Nothing seemed remotely human.

  When I reached the back of the house, I stood and stretched and worked out the cramps before creeping over to Tanya’s room. The window was wide open. The faint scent of her perfume wafted from within. A nightlight was plugged into a socket near the open door and I could see the room was empty. I stood silently looking in and listening.

  I heard nothing that seemed out of place inside of the house, just the creak of settling timbers and the whir of a ceiling fan. The hallway beyond the bedroom was dark. If someone w
as waiting, they were intent on remaining as quiet as I was. Unfortunately if someone was here, they had the advantage. They didn’t need to go anywhere while I needed to get inside. I slid out from beneath the window and began to look for something to cut the screen.

  There were no tools lying about but there were plenty of stones. It only took me a minute to find a flat rock about the size of my fist with a sharp edge on one side.

  Stepping back to the window I reached up and drew the edge of the stone from the top to the bottom of the screen, leaving a two-foot flap. The ripping sound it made was not very loud, but it seemed to vibrate throughout the still night. I stood for a full minute, listening and waiting for some sound from within.

  When no one jumped out at me, I grabbed the loose end of the screen and pulled. At the same time I made two horizontal slashes with the stone and tossed it onto the ground before climbing into the room.

  Tanya’s presence was everywhere. I half expected her to climb out of the bed and greet me. My feelings distracted me and I kicked something on the floor and sent it skidding across the room and into the wall.

  It sounded like an alarm had gone off. I ran to the door and stood behind it listening. Again, I heard nothing. I was beginning to believe I was alone in the house.

  It took a few minutes to search the entire house. Neither Tanya nor Willie was there. Tired, smelling of smoke, covered with blood and dirt, I’d have given anything for a hot shower and good night's sleep. Instead, I reached for my phone and tried the bar. I let it ring ten times, and then I hung up and dialed Tanya’s cell phone. To my surprise the phone connected, but the other end remained silent.

  “Tanya, can you hear me?” I asked.

  “Hello, Darling.” I recognized the voice and my stomach did a little heave while I looked around to make sure no one was watching me.

  “What do you want, Destiny?”

  “I want my diamonds.”

  “The police are looking for you,” I said.

  “You’d better hope they don’t find me.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Here, let me have someone else explain it to you,” she said.

  She spoke to someone in the background, and then Tanya was crying on the other end. “Give them the diamonds,” she said. “Gail’s crazy. She’s going to kill me if you don’t give them to her.”

  “Where are you, Tanya?” I asked. Instead of an answer, she let out a scream, and Destiny came back on the phone.

  “Willie likes Tanya,” Destiny said. “I promised him that if we don’t get the diamonds, he can have her.”

  I brushed my fingertips across the bridge of my nose and tried to keep from saying something I’d regret. “How in the hell did you hook up with Willie?”

  “It was quite easy, Darling. After you killed Frankie and I escaped, I went straight to Tanya’s house and told Willie what happened.”

  I had to admit that Destiny had a flair for lying. I wondered if she was even capable of telling the truth. “What do you think Willie’s going to do when he realizes it was really you who killed Frankie?” I asked.

  She laughed. “I hope you’re not too jealous Wes, but Willie and I have bonded. And I’m afraid now that we’re so intimately involved; I had to break my promise to you.”

  “What promise?” I asked.

  “You know-the Bob thing. I couldn’t very well have a relationship with Willie, and not tell him that you admitted to me you killed his brother.”

  I moved the phone away from my ear and twisted and stretched my neck until I felt it pop near the spine. This woman was the most conniving bitch I’d ever met, and I realized that if I didn’t watch my step Tanya and I were both going to end up dead.

  I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t have the diamonds. I had already turned them over to Davies and I didn’t think she’d respond very well to a call from me asking for them back.

  Even if I could convince her it was the only way to save Tanya’s life, she was going to be pissed as hell that I’d lied to her. I suspected that would be an automatic invitation to visit the jailhouse. It didn’t take a genius to figure out I had only one option. I had to tell her what she wanted to hear.

  “All right. I’ve got the diamonds and you’ve got Tanya. Do you want me to meet you at Tanya’s house?”

  “I’m not as stupid as you think I am, Darling. We’re not at the house. Did you think we were going to wait there for you to tell the cops about us?”

  “I didn’t tell the cops about anything,” I said.

  “It doesn’t matter. Keep your phone handy and I’ll call you with directions on where to meet us,” Destiny said. “It won’t be until tonight.”

  “How do I know Tanya will be okay?” I asked. Instead of answering, she disconnected and the phone went dead.

  Chapter 26

  I spent the next hour pacing back and forth along the hallway between Alvin’s room and Tanya’s. Try as I might, I couldn’t come up with a plan to help her. Destiny held all the cards. I’d have to wait until she called and wing it. Since I couldn’t do anything at the moment for Tanya, I settled for a shower and a shave.

  The hot shower eased the pain of the scratches and my aching muscles, but it did nothing to ease my concerns. If anything, it gave me time to ruminate on everything bad that could happen. Worst-case scenario, they’d killed Tanya as soon as I hung up. I didn’t want to think about that option.

  Since the last time I’d put someone’s life in another’s hands they died, I tended to dwell on that possibility with Tanya. It was why I’d gotten out of the detective business in the first place. I was not happy to find myself back in the position of being responsible for an innocent girl’s death. I didn’t want that god damned responsibility again. I couldn’t hand my problem off to someone else either. If Tanya died because I acted, or didn’t act, I’d never be able to forgive myself for dragging her into this mess.

  I took my time shaving, and then searched around until I found a box of bandages and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. After cleaning the wounds I could reach, and bandaging the worst cuts, I wandered back to Alvin’s room and changed into a clean pair of shorts and t-shirt. When my stomach began to growl I realized I was damn hungry.

  Since starving myself topped the list of things that wouldn’t help me find Tanya, I headed for the kitchen. I had done this kind of work long enough to know that a clear mind and a full stomach often meant the difference between success and failure. Although it was hard, I willed myself to stop worrying about the things I couldn’t do anything about, and concentrated on taking care of the things I could.

  I found a takeout box with two fried chicken legs, and a half-empty container of coleslaw in the refrigerator. I had no clue how long any of it had been sitting there, but at the moment I didn’t care. They both passed the sniff test, and that would have to do. I balanced the containers in my left hand, grabbed Tanya’s last bottle of Corona in my right, and carried them over to the table.

  The chicken was dry, the slaw bland, but it washed down fine with the beer. It was five in the morning and I hadn’t eaten since the previous afternoon. My hunger sated, I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. I felt myself drifting off, shook my head, pushed myself out of the chair and headed off to bed.

  ***

  My cell woke me a little after ten. My mouth tasted sour and felt like it was stuffed with a bag of rotting cotton balls. My eyes were dry, my head ached, my stomach burned, and a nasty kink was developing in my neck. My night hadn’t gone much better than the previous day.

  I didn’t remember undressing, but I was lying in bed naked. It took me a moment to find the phone among my clothes piled next to the bed. I didn’t recognize the number, but I hoped it was Destiny.

  “Darling here,” I said.

  There was a little giggle on the other end. “Well, Darling, this is Cat. Don’t you return your calls? I left three messages for you last night.”

  “It was a real bad night,” I said as I tr
ied to place her. “You’re Elvis’s assistant or something?”

  “Something like that,” she said. “Elvis asked me to call you. He said he needs to see you, sooner rather than later.”

  “I don’t need my fortune told.” I climbed out of the bed and tried to stretch the kink out of my neck and hold onto the phone at the same time. It wasn’t easy.

  “He warned me you wouldn’t want to come,” she said.

  “If that’s one of his predictions, he’s right.”

  She didn’t say anything for a moment and her tone was short and clipped when she continued. “Elvis wanted me to tell you that Gail visited him last night, and again this morning. He wanted me to tell you she’s going to try to kill you.”

  “I don’t need a psychic to know that. She’s the reason for my bad night.”

  “Look, Mister Darling, I’m just the messenger. As far as I’m concerned, you can drop dead, but Elvis says he needs to talk to you. I understand that you don’t believe in psychics, but what’s it going to hurt for you to stop by and listen to what he has to say? Are you afraid of him, or are you so closed minded that anything he says will be wasted on you.”

  I found her reasoning hard to resist. I didn’t believe Elvis had any earth shattering predictions for me, but if Destiny had gone to see Elvis the previous night and that morning, it was possible she’d let some information slip about where Tanya was. I couldn’t afford to ignore his call.

  I stopped stretching and walked over to the window. The sky was gray and a fine misty rain was falling over the yard. This was the first time it had rained during the day since I’d arrived in the Keys, and I already missed the sun.

  “When does he want to see me?” I asked

  “He said you set a time, he’ll see you. This must be important, Darling. He told me to cancel his appointments this morning so he’d be free to see you. He’s never done that before.”

  I looked at my watch. The first night I had been here, Tanya told me she owned a gun. I calculated how long it would take me to search the house. “Tell him I’ll be there at noon.”