Two days after his probation ended he dug up the money from the bank robbery six years earlier and headed to Tampa for supplies. Then Key West for more research, more planning, and more rehearsals. But he did it. God damn it, he really did pull it off!
Back inside, the discussion continued.
“Well, whoever done it, they’re probably gone by now. I bet they’re sitting on one of those topless beaches down-island where there’s naked boobs just bouncing around everywhere you look.”
“Arnie, in the twenty years I’ve known you, I don’t think you’ve ever gone more than ten minutes without mentioning titties.”
“What’s wrong with that? You going to tell me you don’t like titties now? Ron, gimme another beer, will ya?”
“Sure, Arnie. You asked me, though, I’d say there’s a good chance the guys and the treasure are still right here in Key West. You know the cops are watching the airport, and I heard they been pulling suspicious cars over along US1 leaving Key West. And from right here we all seen the Coasties and water cops running around stopping boats.”
Which is exactly why Lucky was still washing glasses, rolling kegs, and wiping tables. All of his planning had centered around pulling off the heist and what he’d do for the next few days afterwards. Getting away hadn’t been given much thought. He figured all along that would be a good problem to have, since it would mean he was not only sitting on an incredible collection of extremely valuable Spanish treasure, but famous. Caught or not, he was already famous.
But that was nothing. His night with the amazing blonde had also awakened a creative and playful aspect of his personality that he thought he’d lost years ago.
The museum heist might be getting some media attention now, but Lucky wasn’t through yet. There were things to do as soon as it got dark.
∨ Key Lucky ∧
6
Cemetery
“Taco, you up?”
“Yeah, come on in Slip. There’s coffee in the galley.”
“Don’t mind if I do.”
“What’s up?”
“Here’s the paper, check it out.”
But before Taco Bob could read more than a few lines, Slip filled him in. “They found some of the treasure last night. Somebody on one of those Haunted Key West tours found a couple of the coins by a fresh grave in the cemetery.”
“Says here folks from the museum are going to take a look at the coins today to make sure they came from the heist.”
“Cop spokesman on a Miami TV station this morning said for everyone to stay away from the cemetery.”
Taco Bob looked up from the newspaper at an eager Slip Hanson. “So I suppose you want to go take a look around the cemetery.”
“Me? Shoot no! Those places give me the creeps. Plus there’s about a million people already there, most of ‘em cops trying to seal off the area.”
“So, you been by there this morning.”
“It was kinda on my way.”
Taco Bob decided to let that one slide. “How’d your fishing trip with Skunk go?”
Slip rolled his eyes. “You should have warned me about your friend.”
“I think acquaintance might be a better word.”
“He had me stop and pick up a twelve pack on the way. By the time we got out in the yak he was throwing down beers and going on about digging up ants for a living. Before we even got to the spot he’d finished all the beer by himself. I told him to keep an eye open for bonefish tailing and he said he didn’t feel so good. Before I could get to a mangrove island he’d barfed all over my boat and passed out.”
“So, what you’re saying is, he yaked in your yak.”
“It ain’t funny, Taco.”
“I’m thinking I already know, but I’ll go ahead and ask what you did with Skunk.”
“I left him passed out on a mangrove island.”
“Did you take his pants?”
“His pants? What kind of sick question is that?”
“Seen him since?”
“Well, no. It was low water, so I figure either the incoming tide or fiddler crabs woke him up eventually.”
There were more important things on Taco Bob’s mind. “You seen Consuelo?”
“Uh, no.”
“If you know something, give it up.”
Slip looked pained. “I run into Fish Daddy on his way to Pirate Jim’s a little while ago. He’d had breakfast with Sara and she said Con was out all night and going on this morning about some guy.”
“That it?”
Slip thought hard. “Just Fish’s damn bird. Tried to bite me.”
“Those Eclectus parrots like most folks. Capt. Tom doesn’t seem to care for you much, though.”
“The feeling’s mutual. What’s Trish up to? I haven’t seen her since y’all got back from your nature cruise.”
It was Taco Bob’s turn to feel a little pained, but he tried not to let it show. “Oh, she’s busy with the restaurant. She’s a real hard working gal.”
“I thought that was why you took her off for a week, so she’d relax some.”
“Well, she did, mostly. She had the cell phone withdrawals real bad.”
“I heard that’s some bad shit.”
“It is.”
“She stay clean the whole week?”
Taco Bob sighed. “I heard her in the head one night talking to her cook. She must have smuggled one aboard somehow. I headed out towards the Marquesas in the morning so we’d be out of range.”
“That’s tough, partner.”
“Yeah, I don’t really want to talk about it.” The phone on the table picked that moment to ring. “That’s probably her now.”
“I need to use the facilities.”
A few minutes later Slip was back in the lounge. Taco Bob had topped off his coffee after the phone call.
“Anything interesting?”
“Fish Daddy looking for you. Said to tell you they just found more treasure coins over on Fleming where the electric company’s been digging up the sidewalk.”
“That so? I was thinking about stopping by the bookstore anyway. Care to tag along?”
“You go on. I got some work to do on the Wilbur. Damn float switch on the bilge pump is sticking.”
∨ Key Lucky ∧
7
Sisters
Hectic day at the bar, but Lucky didn’t mind, he felt better than he’d ever felt in his life. He was on top of the world.
After a busy late afternoon and evening putting coins in some interesting places, he’d gotten a solid eight hours sleep for the first time in weeks.
But not before he took everything out from under his bed again for a good, long look. The coins listed on the museum’s sales website started at over a thousand each. And he still had several hundred silver and gold coins. Not to mention the emeralds, gold bars, gold chains, and various other gold artifacts. And the Cross.
He even had a silver bar. Don’t know how that got in there. Oh well, these kinds of things can happen when you’re in a dark, smoky, blown-up room and get in too much of a hurry cleaning out a safe. Lucky smiled.
“Yo, Lucky! Bud’s dry.”
Ron’s day off, Joel pointing at the tap.
“Okay, Joel.”
Needed to tell Judy when she came in later to check the keg order. Only two kegs of Coors left. Maybe if he started acting more responsible he could get a raise. That made him smile too.
Check the Bud tap. Yep, good to go now. Place was really busy.
“Lucky, I’m really swamped here. Be a dear and take care of those two down at the end.”
A couple of the regulars.
“Can I get you gentlemen something?”
“Meyers and Coke, no ice, and a Rolling Rock.”
“Hold the Rock. Gimme a Michelob.”
“A Mic? You feeling okay, Arnie?”
“Hey, I’m feeling lucky. I’m thinking I might know where those guys hid that treasure.”
“You? Gimme a break.”
/> “Here’s your drinks, gentlemen.”
“Take it outta this.”
Lucky put the change on the bar in front of Arnie.
“Thanks, kid. Yeah, me. I got it all figured out.” Lucky stayed close, this ought to be good. “They said on the TV at lunch one of the guys had a handtruck, right?”
Lucky looked up. “A handtruck?”
“Yeah, kid. One of those things like you use to move major appliances and heavy stuff, you know, a hand truck.” Arnie took a long pull off his beer. “The cops got some witness saw a guy dressed like a pirate leaving the area with a handtruck loaded down with something.”
Lucky didn’t like this one bit.
“Lucky?” Joel pointing at another tap. Better check the cooler again while he’s at it.
Lucky headed for the back to get the keg and another case of Bud. He was almost through the doorway when he happened to look back and see a familiar blonde head bobbing through the crowd, heading for the bar. That brought a smile. He hadn’t seen her since their big night.
Lucky started to walk over to tell Consuelo he’d be right back when he noticed she wasn’t alone. There were two other women with her. He froze in place. Something about the way the three women moved together made him more than a little apprehensive. He was about to slip into the backroom when Consuelo spotted him.
“Lucky! Darling!”
She ran around the bar and threw herself in his arms and started kissing him and groping him like crazy. The sturdy young woman was giving him plenty of tongue and about to pull his clothes off. He’d forgotten how strong she was.
“Lucky, my love, how are you?” Consuelo looked back at the other women and almost seemed to be posing. She spoke loud enough for them to easily hear her over the bar noise. “These are two of my sisters I brought for you to meet. They’re just old spinsters who couldn’t get a man with a gun, but I love them all the same.”
He was already pretty sure from a distance, but after being almost literally dragged over in front of them there was no doubt they were two of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen.
“This is one of my older sisters, Lydia.” A little taller with brown hair and eyes, not quite as pretty as Consuelo, but almost. She looked smart, and slightly amused. Lydia smiled with one corner of her mouth like she was in on a joke she shared with him. Very nice.
“You must be Lucky, Consuelo has told us so much about you.”
“She has?”
A nudge in the ribs.
“And this is the baby of the family, Josephine.”
This one maybe twenty and built like a goddess wearing shorts and a bikini top. Lucky noticed several men in the bar staring at her. Arnie looked about to fall off his barstool. Her dark hair, pouting lips, and slightly olive skin made him think of a movie star – a young Rachel Welch, or maybe Elvira. Her eyes were big, dark, and very strange. They were like black pools of soft velvet that made him want to just…
“Hello? Anybody there?” Consuelo snapping fingers in front of his face. “Don’t look at her eyes too long, okay? Trust me on this.”
“Nice to meet you, ladies. You are all so beautiful.”
Josephine cocked her head and put an ear towards her outstanding chest. She seemed to listen for a couple of seconds, then put her hand to her mouth to cover a laugh. Consuelo leaned closer and dropped her voice.
“Josey has a little imaginary friend who she says rides around between her ‘pillows’ as she calls them.” Consuelo ran a finger in a circle slowly around her ear on the side away from her sister. “Just humor her, she’s harmless. Well, as long as you don’t look at her eyes too long.”
Josephine had obviously heard, and was giving Consuelo a look that made Lucky gasp and take a step back. Consuelo hooked an arm through his.
“Don’t worry, Sweetie! I won’t let the bad old witch get you.”
“Witch?”
“Uh, figure of speech?” She put both arms around him and squeezed so hard he could barely breathe. “Hey, why don’t you tell my sisters about the great time we had over at your place the other night?”
“Uh.”
“Lucky here is my kind of man and I’m his kind of woman, right, lover?”
He could hardly draw a breath. “Uh, yeah.”
“See?” She stuck her tongue out at her sisters, who gave her bored looks back. “Don’t pay any attention to them, dearest. They’re just jealous because they’re both so hideous they could never have a normal relationship with a real man.”
To prove her point, Consuelo started groping and kissing him passionately again. There was a distracting and probing hand down the back of his pants, but Lucky still managed to see the two sisters rolling their eyes.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder.
“Lucky, I hate to interrupt, but we’re out of Bud bottles, Busch, Miller, and Corona. And three of the taps are dry.”
Joel, thankfully. Consuelo turned him loose and after a couple of welcomed gulps of air he was able to stagger towards the storeroom, Consuelo calling to him and waving. “Till we meet again, my love!”
Lucky managed a weak wave at the grinning blonde before collapsing onto a stack of beer cases.
“What the hell was that all about?”
He’d thoroughly enjoyed his night with Consuelo. It had been a combination of many prison fantasies come true, but he’d had some misgivings afterwards. Her odd behavior in the bar just then added to the misgivings.
When he was able to stand again he peeked out and saw the sisters were gone. He reached behind a shelf and pulled out a dusty bottle of cheap brandy and had a good hit. He closed his eyes and shook his head to clear it. When he opened his eyes, Lydia was standing in front of him. He jumped back and bumped his head on the shelf.
“Jeez! You scared me!”
She was looking him over. “Consuelo said you were a little slow, but you’re not, are you?” She smiled at his confusion, then shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. A lot of people in Key West are running some kind of game.” She took a step back and glanced down at her hands. Her hands looked very delicate. Consuelo’s hands were calloused and scarred, the only part of her that wasn’t perfect. He’d meant to ask her about that.
“Look, Lucky, or whoever you are.” He got a slow wink. “Don’t let yourself get hurt by my sister. I think she might be using you to get back at somebody else, this older guy she’s been after for a while. It’s someone we know and she probably wants it to get back to him through us.”
“Well, I thought it might be something like that. Thanks for telling me though.”
She touched his hand and looked into his eyes. Her hand was incredibly soft. “Good luck. Whatever you’re up to, I think you’re going to need it.”
She started for the doorway.
“Hey, how did you slip in here like that?”
That got him a coy smile.
“Oh, it’s just something I do.” Another wink. “I’m a magician.”
He watched her go, thinking, smiling, then took a slow sip of brandy.
“LUCKY!”
Oh, shit! Joel!
It took him most of the rest of the shift to get the bar stocked again. But he finally had some time to think about the visit from the three sisters.
What a bunch.
One, a sexual dynamo, one, stone crazy but incredibly hot, and one…Well, Lydia made him remember there were some really decent people out there. After too many years of running with his own sister’s husband and that band of white-trash lowlifes, and too many years in prison, he’d forgotten there were women like Lydia.
But now he’d done it, done what he planned so hard for so long. He was set for life financially. He could do what so many talked about but few ever did: he could make a new start and do anything he wanted to. And with a real woman – someone smart, witty, and with a good heart. Someone like, well, Lydia. Sure would like to pursue that pleasant thought.
“Lucky, could you take care of those two for me again? Th
anks, babe.”
“Gentlemen?”
Both were glued to the television watching the news, but one finally waved a hand over their drinks.
“Another round.”
“Coming up.”
Lucky got the drinks and held the thought. Who knows, maybe even have kids someday. Kids. Wow. He wondered why he never really thought about that before.
“Here you go, gentlemen.”
“I got this one.”
There was a commercial just ending. New cars.
“Ain’t that some shit, Arnie?”
“Sure is. I bet that blows the case wide open. Okay, here it is again.”
Lucky set the change on the bar and looked up. There was a live shot of a black woman reporter in a blazer standing across the street from about a mile of yellow police tape wrapped around the back of the bank building.
∨ Key Lucky ∧
8
Research
“Taco, that you?”
Skunk wasn’t sure. There was a pair of feet sticking out of a hatch in the deck. He’d gone looking for the Wilbur when there wasn’t anyone at home on the old houseboat, The Sandy Bottomed Girl.
“Yeah, it’s me. Hold on a minute, Skunk.”
There was a thud and a muffled curse. Taco Bob wiggled out of the tight compartment in the boat deck and concentrated on holding the knuckles of his right hand.
“Wrench slip on you, Taco?”
That got him a hard look.
“Actually, I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I’m glad to see you, Skunk.”
Skunk fired up a big smile. It wasn’t exactly something he heard a lot of from anyone. Taco glanced up, then stared right at him.
“Since you got more teeth than usual, and a lot of them are shining with a gleam not normally found in nature, I’d say you got some falsies.”
“Yep. Got a good deal on the internet. I had ‘em out for Fantasy Fest and all so I wouldn’t lose ‘em.”
“You got false teeth on the net? Do they fit?”
“They take a while to get broke in.”
“I’ll bet. But I am glad you’re here. This damn float switch on the bilge pump is way in the back and I can’t quite reach it. You’re smaller than me, you could probably get to it just fine.”
Key Lucky Page 3
