by B A Trimmer
The door opened and the interior lights came on. Max got in and as he did I could see him looking at me.
When faced with a crying woman, most men handle it badly. I was expecting him to attempt some words of comfort or maybe even offer me a hug. Instead, he just gave me a small nod and closed the door. For some reason that simple nod of understanding made me feel better than if he had tried to comfort me.
He put the car in gear and we became enveloped in the hum of the engine and the glow of the dashboard lights. After a full minute of silence, he spoke.
“You did pretty well in there with Tony. He brought you in because of your abilities, but now he respects you. Actually, I think you charmed him.”
“I charmed Tough Tony DiCenzo? How can you know that?”
“I’ve been with him for years. Most people either fawn over him or try to act tough. You treated him with respect, but also as a friend. He values that more than anything. Of course, this diamond business is serious. It’s about the worst thing that’s happened in the last four or five years. Charming or not, if this doesn’t work out, we’re all in some very deep shit.”
I let that last sink in for a minute.
“Who was the woman in the corner table?” I asked. “The scary one in the leather.”
“That’s Gabriella.”
“What does she do?”
“She’s for emergencies.”
“Emergencies?”
“I don’t think you don’t want to know.”
We rode in silence for another minute. My mind was racing in a dozen different directions at once.
“What was Tony talking about when he said something’s wrong in the city? It seemed to bother him as much as the missing diamonds.”
“That is a big mystery. Some people have gone missing. Some payments haven’t been made. Some shipments never arrived. And we have no idea who’s behind it.”
“No idea?”
“Just a possible name, Valentino. Ever heard of him?”
“No, but everything that’s happened tonight has been new to me. If I do hear anything I’ll let you know.”
“Anything else?”
“Tony said you were the one who shot up the Russian’s car when they were about to grab me. Thanks for doing that. It pulled me out of a tight spot.”
He gave a short bark of a laugh. “No problem. It’s just lucky for you I was there. Those Russians aren’t nice guys.”
“Some things about the shooting still bother me.”
“Like what?”
“Why were you there in the first place? Do you normally follow women around and shoot at people who bother them?”
“After Alex took out our two guys, I thought I’d fill in for a while. No one knew where Alex was, so I followed you. I figured you’d run into him eventually. We hadn’t yet put together that Danica was a close girlfriend or else we could have found him sooner.”
“How did you know where I was?”
“We put a tracking device on your car.”
“It figures. Do you always carry around an assault rifle?”
“Not always.”
“I’m a little upset you shot my car. I just got it paid off and up until last week it didn’t have a scratch.”
“Sorry gorgeous, that couldn’t be helped. The Russians had to see that both cars were getting hit. Otherwise they might have decided to stick around and have a war. I didn’t want anybody getting killed, I just wanted them gone. Besides, from what I’ve seen of your car, no one will even notice a bullet hole.”
I took the opportunity to slug his arm. It felt like hitting a brick wall. He turned his head and smiled at me.
“Last question, we’re almost there” he said.
“Why did you kiss me the other day?”
He didn’t answer right away. I could sense him thinking about it. At last he said: “I don’t know why I did that. It’s out of character for me to kiss a woman I don’t know. I usually wait until I’m at least introduced to her. There was just something about the way you were looking at me.”
“And how was I looking at you?”
“It was like I had opened the door to my bedroom and unexpectedly found you lying naked on my bed. It was a look that said: Make passionate love to me now, or go away and close the door. You’re letting in a draft.”
“Oh.”
The car glided into my parking lot. Max found a space and pulled in, but left the motor running. He got out then walked around and opened my door. I got out and faced him.
He pulled a card out of his shirt pocket and held it out. “Here’s my cell phone number. I keep it on 24/7. If you find the diamonds or need me for anything else, give me call.”
As I took the card, our fingers touched. It sent a warm tingle up my arm.
“Are you married?” I asked.
“No, not married.”
“You have a steady girlfriend?”
“No, but I’ve been having some very naughty thoughts about a woman I met a few days ago.”
“Hmmm, lucky girl,” I said, as I felt a flood of warmth go through my body. He was standing so close I could feel the heat from his body. I was hoping he’d want to kiss me again. Who knows, maybe this time he would even finish what he started with the first kiss? Maybe he’d like to go up to my apartment and make a night of it?
God help me, I’m such a bad girl.
“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way,” I said. “But, as a rule, I don’t get romantically involved with organized crime figures.”
“I figured that, you seem like a nice girl. But, I’m not going anywhere and there’s always a first time for everything.”
Yikes!
~~~~
I went up to my apartment, checked to make sure no one was hiding anywhere, and fell into bed. Although I went to sleep within minutes, I tossed and turned all night. I had dreams about Reno holding me while I sank my face against his chest. I had dreams about when I first saw Danica and Alex at the dance club. I had dreams about Max and the kiss. Mostly, I had dreams about Tony DiCenzo and the missing bag. In the last dream, DiCenzo appeared in my bedroom. He was standing over my bed, talking in his soft voice: “Trust me, Laura Black, you don’t want to be in the middle of one of my problems.”
I woke up with a start and looked at the clock, 5:42. My heart was beating fast and I knew sleep was over for the night.
I went in the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. Marlowe came in and looked up at me, wondering why I was up so early.
I fixed us both a big breakfast. Partly because it was something to do and partly because I had a killer headache. The headache mostly coming from stress rather than from the Scotch I drank in the club the night before. I almost never get a hangover with the good stuff.
As we ate, I told Marlowe about Junior Brown’s and my meeting with Tough Tony. Marlowe is always a great listener but not much in the way of an advisor. In talking with Marlowe, I decided that after my meeting with DiCenzo, I most likely had everything I needed to solve this puzzle. I just needed to put the pieces together.
I took a hot shower and put on a black T-shirt, black parachute pants, and black stomper boots. I put my hair up in a ponytail and only put on enough make-up to cover up the bags under my eyes. I felt like a commando going into enemy territory and I wanted to look the part.
I went to the kitchen table and made a list of every place that was relevant in the case. I was determined to go to each one and see if I could turn up anything new, or at least find something that would jog my memory. Then I called Sophie and asked her to meet me at the office. She was still in bed and not happy to be woken up on a Sunday morning, but said she would meet me there in an hour.
While driving to the office I called Gina. She was also still in bed, but woke up immediately. I gave her the basics of my meeting with DiCenzo the night before.
“So it was Alex who switched the bag,” Gina said. “That would explain why DiCenzo wanted you to be on the assignment. His gran
dmother had already given you permission to snoop into Alex’s private life.”
“Do you think I should go to the police and let them know the Russians have Alex?” I asked.
“Tough call,” she said. “But I would say no. You don’t know where they are holding him and it seems likely he’ll be safe, at least until the diamonds are found. Besides, if the police start questioning everybody about the Russians, Tony DiCenzo will know where the information came from. Not a good position to put yourself in.”
“Anything new with the bag hunt?” I asked.
“The hotel sent over security tapes from every available camera angle during the time period when the bag was switched. The tapes are on my desk, but they didn’t seem to show anything new. I’ve almost completed the interviews with everyone who was working in or around the lobby at the time of the switch, but I haven’t come up with anything helpful. I have more two more interviews scheduled today, one at 10:00 and at 2:00.”
~~~~
I made it to the office and started reviewing the tapes Gina had on her desk. Gina was right they didn’t show anything new. I could only find Alex on one camera angle other than the one we had already reviewed in Lenny’s office. That camera showed him walking from the back lobby into the main lobby. He was carrying the empty black bag and disappeared from camera view as he crossed into the main lobby to meet the Russians. I made a mental note to check which parts of the hotel he would have to pass through to come in from that angle.
I then read Gina’s notes of the interviews she had made with the people working in or near the lobby that day. There was a checklist of twenty-eight names and twenty-two had been checked off. The names not checked off had notations that the person was either out sick, on vacation, or not scheduled to return to work until next week. Two of the names had times written next to them. Gina would be interviewing these people today.
From Gina’s notes, several people remembered seeing the Russians, but nobody had remembered seeing either Alex or the bag switch. Several of the men remembered the brunette and how she had lost her bikini top, some going into amazing detail about the woman and the event, but again, there was nothing helpful.
Sophie came into the office holding a big cup of coffee she had bought at a convenience store. Her hair was a mess and she didn’t have on a lot of make-up.
“This had better be important,” Sophie said. “I only had about four hours of sleep before you woke me up.”
“How was dancing at Maya?” I asked.
“We had such a great time. Girl, why didn’t you come over? I was hoping you would. We had a cabana near the pool and everything. I even had a guy lined up for you. He was single and had money. He was real disappointed you didn’t show up after I told him how skinny and sexy you were. Where were you anyway?”
“Oh, I had a shitty night.”
“Again? Really? What happened? Somebody smash up your car again? Somebody shoot at you again? Somebody handcuff you to a bed again?”
“Two of DiCenzo’s goons invited me to a meeting with Tough Tony. DiCenzo said Alex was the one who made the bag switch. He also said from now on I’m personally responsible for finding the bag. If I don’t, then I’m in it deep.”
“No shit? You got to meet Tough Tony DiCenzo? What’s he like? Is he as creepy in person as he sounds over the phone? Did he shoot anybody while you were there? From what I hear he orders people dead all the time.”
How do I explain I was the one giving out the death sentences last night?
“Nope, nobody killed, but I still didn’t have a lot of fun. Now I need to find the bag and I need your help.”
“You need me to ride along with you again? Should I bring my gun?”
“You shouldn’t need a gun. I just need someone to help me look around for things I might have missed. I’ve looked through the tapes and read Gina’s notes, but they don’t help a lot. We’re going to have to check out a few places.”
“OK, you’ve got me until 4 o’clock. My cousin’s getting married tonight and the family will disown me if I don’t show up. You should come too. It’ll be fun. They’ve hired the band Dog Farts for the reception.”
“Thanks, but Alex and this gym bag thing is going to keep me busy full time.”
“I figured. Speaking of those tapes, you should have seen the guy who brought them over. His name was Milo and he is gorgeous. I like my men big and solid. It’s too bad he didn’t know how much I like to be hugged and kissed in the office, like when that guy kissed you.”
“I’ve met Milo. Next time I see him I’ll let him know about your needs.”
~~~~
The first place we went to was Alex’s apartment. Crime scene tape was still on the door, but there was nobody watching and Danica had given me a key. We slipped in and started searching. Although some of the clutter had been rearranged, the place was still a mess. Somebody had cleaned up the kitchen, throwing away the perishable food that had been thrown on the floor. I guess the police thought rotting peas and French fries weren’t going to help in the investigation.
Sophie searched the kitchen and the living room. I searched the bathroom and the bedroom. I didn’t find anything useful in the bathroom, but the bedroom looked more promising.
In the corner of the bedroom was a desk. I remembered it as having a computer, along with several stacks of papers. The computer was gone, presumably still in the crime lab, but the papers were still there. The piles had been rearranged but everything was still as I remembered it. I sat down and started on the first pile. It seemed to consist mainly of old bills. Unfortunately, as I went through the stacks I didn’t find anything helpful.
I had just finished the last stack when Sophie came into the bedroom holding a small key.
“I found this in a drawer in the kitchen,” She said. “Looks like a mailbox key.”
While Sophie searched the living room, I went down and used the key in Alex’s mailbox. There were two flyers from Wal-Mart, a catalogue from Land’s End, and a couple of pre-approved offers for credit cards. There was also a letter from Catalina’s, a high-end jewelry store in downtown Scottsdale.
I took the letter and went back up to the apartment. Opening it, I saw it contained two diamond appraisals dated four days before Alex disappeared. The first stated the object being appraised was a 4.21-carat diamond. There were a lot of numbers and letters describing the diamond, but my eyes went to the bottom of the page. The appraised value was listed as $33,500 per carat for a total value of $141,000. The second was an appraisal for another diamond. This one was valued at $31,700 per carat for a total value of $147,000.
I took the appraisals and put them in my purse. Sophie didn’t find anything in the living room except for a handful of hundred-dollar bills, which had been hidden in the pages of an old Bible. I wondered how the people who ransacked the apartment could have missed it. Maybe they weren’t looking for money.
“You know, it’s a damn shame we don’t know if Alex is dead or not,” Sophie said. “If he were dead, he wouldn’t need this money. As it is, I have to put it back. If I took money from his Bible and he was still alive, I’d probably burn in Hell. Maybe even La Llorona would come for me.”
“Who is La Llorona?” I asked.
“La Llorona is the weeping woman of the river. A long time ago she drowned her children in a river, in order to keep a man. I guess he hated kids. Then she killed herself out of grief over what she had done to her children. Her spirit still roams lakes and rivers, looking for her kids. Since now she is so old and blind, she can’t tell if you are one of her children or not. If she finds you, she just grabs you and pulls you under the water.”
“Then you’re probably right to leave the money there,” I said.
~~~~
The next stop on our list was Scottsdale Audi. Sophie stayed in the showroom looking at the new cars while I went in and found William Martin. Even though it was Sunday morning, he was energetic and seemed happy to see me.
“On t
he Tuesday before he quit, was Alex at the Scottsdale Blue Palms?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “But, I can find out in just a second.”
He turned to his computer and typed for several minutes on the keyboard. At last he looked up.
“Yes, that Tuesday, Alex delivered a new TT Roadster to a client who was staying at the Scottsdale Blue Palms. Is it important?”
“I don’t know. I’m just checking out a story I heard. I’ll let you know if I come up with anything.”
I stood up to leave. He again gave me the thumb and forefinger gunslinger’s salute.
~~~~
Next we drove over to the Scottsdale Tropical Paradise. Ingrid wasn’t working the art gallery. Instead there was a pushy older man who kept telling us he could arrange financing on any piece in the gallery. We left without making a purchase and without finding out anything new.
~~~~
From the Tropical Paradise, we made a stop at the Scottsdale Blue Palms, and the scene of the bag switch. Sophie and I walked around the main lobby then into the back lobby. The tape from the hotel security camera showed that Alex had come into the main lobby from this semi-hidden back lobby.
As we explored, we found there was nothing in the back lobby but a few shops and a rear entrance. Sophie decided to look around in a shop that sold high-end, shoes, purses, and dresses. I went out to see what was beyond the back entrance.
I opened the door and went into the warm Arizona sunshine. I followed the path from the back lobby and saw it wound down to a parking lot and the main pool area. I assumed Alex had come up this way to make a quieter entrance into the lobby.
I turned and climbed back up the path to the rear lobby. Sophie had moved to a souvenir shop. She was holding up a paperweight of a dead scorpion encased in clear plastic.
“Isn’t this the nastiest thing you’ve ever seen in your whole life?” Sophie said. “I hate scorpions. Just looking at it makes me want to throw it on the floor and stomp on it.”
“So, go ahead. Buy it and stomp on it.”
“Nah,” she said, now holding the paperweight up and looking at it from the side. “You know what I’m gonna do instead? I’m gonna buy it. But then I think I’ll keep it on my desk. It’ll be sorta like having the world’s ugliest pet. The best thing about this kind of pet is I never have to feed it, or walk it, or pick up its crap from the carpet. Then, if I ever do get tired of it, I’ll take it out and stomp it. Maybe I’ll even run it over with my car.”
