by Joan Rylen
“We can search his house for them at the party Friday night,” Vivian said. “If they haven’t arrested me by then.”
“Viv, you don’t want to run,” Kate said. “It will look like you’re guilty. We’d probably be picked up by the Coast Guard anyways, and you don’t want to bring this mess home with you.”
Lucy backed Kate up. “She’s right, Viv. You didn’t kill Jon and have nothing to hide.”
Vivian let out a big sigh. “I know, but between Al, Shorty and Ponytail, my head is spinning. Our passports are with the cops, and I’m getting nervous.”
Wendy reached over the seat and squeezed her shoulders. “Calm down, Viv. This is going to work out. Let’s do what we talked about earlier and go to the Purple Peacock and Club Caliente and ask around. Maybe the bartenders or the waitresses know something.”
Wendy. Always level-headed.
“It’s not like me to freak out like this but I am overwhelmed with the facts,” Vivian said. “Fact one: Someone besides me killed Jon. Fact two: Ponytail is somehow connected to Detective Vega and he chased after us today — what was that about? Fact three: Shorty and Al are somehow connected. Al seems like a nice guy, but he may be connected with the mob and now he’s calling Shorty. I’m starting to sound like Lucy!”
Wendy let go of her shoulders. “Hang in there, Viv. You’ll get cleared of this, and we’re going to help with that, starting now. Hang on to your ‘oh-shit’ handles ladies. Kate, get us over to the Purple Peacock pronto!”
Kate, a.k.a. Mario Andretti, got to the Purple Peacock in no time flat. The chase earlier must have given her a new lease on driving.
The girls grabbed four swings at the bar and Vivian ordered a round of beers from the same bartender who waited on them two nights ago. Hunkalicious recognized them and called Vivian “birthday girl.”
Lucy took on the role of Detective Vega, asking him a slew of questions.
“Do you remember the crazy girl in here the other night? She had a black spider tattoo on her back.”
The bartender stopped cleaning glasses and put down his towel. “Ah, the lady who cry. She drinking Sangria margaritas, many many.” He held his arms wide for emphasis. “Muchas.”
Hunk thought she paid cash but couldn’t remember, didn’t know what hotel she was staying in, and thought she came in alone. The only time he remembered her talking to anyone was when she made the big production with Jon. “That girl es loco,” he concluded.
No help.
“What about the short guy with the two ladies?” Kate piped up. “Do you know anything about him?”
“Julio? He es party animal y get in fights. He have two girlfriends,” he raised his eyebrows on “girlfriends” then continued, “Sells tequila, that all I know.”
“Fights with who?” Wendy asked.
The bartender shrugged. “Guys in de bar. Cinco en dos meses.”
Some customers grabbed a swing across the bar and he walked off to serve them.
“That’s five in two months,” Wendy translated.
“Damn,” Lucy said. “What a hothead.”
Vivian hoped Stella would walk in. They needed to find this girl.
They swung for about an hour waiting to see if Stella would show, but the Loco lady did not come in. They decided it was time to high tail it over to Club Caliente. Though they never actually saw Stella there, she had sent Jon/Dominik a drink, so they knew she had been there somewhere.
The girls drove back to the hotel in silence. Arturo waved them quickly into “special parking,” then went back to his post. They walked to the club from there and Vivian felt like everyone they passed on the street was looking at her funny. Locals and tourist alike had heard about the Canadian who was killed and the blonde, female, American suspect. One couple even purposefully crossed to the other side of the street as Vivian approached.
Kate kept turning around to see if they were being followed. “All clear,” she reported every so often. At least it was only a five-minute walk.
The same bartender from the night before was working and they ordered a round of Tiempo Loco margaritas. Vivian tried to recreate what Lucy had done at the Peacock.
He spoke good English, but didn’t have much information. He remembered the woman who ordered a gin martini straight up, then had it delivered somewhere, but he didn’t know where or to whom.
“Not the typical drink around here, but she paid cash and tipped well.”
“Is the waitress here?”
“Si.” He pointed toward the balcony.
They made their way outside and picked a table. Cooler air!
They already had margaritas, but the waitress came over anyway. It was still early for a night club, and she must have been bored.
“Hola. Mas margaritas?”
“Habla Ingles?” Vivian asked.
“Yes, some.”
“We were here last night with a group inside and you brought a drink to our friend.”
“He was very fair skinned, blanco,” Wendy threw out.
“Anyway, you brought him a martini that someone bought for him. A señorita.”
“Si.”
“Do you remember what she looked like?”
“Black hair, green eyes.”
“Did you notice if she had a tattoo.”
“Si, la araña aqui,” she said and pointed to her back.
“That means spider,” Wendy said. “Muchas gracias.”
She nodded and walked off, leaving Vivian in a somber mood.
“So there,” she said. “We officially know that it was crazy Stella who ordered the drink. We have got to find this lady.”
Wendy took a sip of her margarita. “It does help a little to confirm she’s the one who sent the drink, but we pretty much already knew that. Now the question is, what was she doing in the hibiscus by the pool last night?”
“She had to have been spying on Jon and me,” Vivian said. “Did she kill Jon, or did she see who did?”
Lucy swirled her straw around. “Maybe she thought Dominik was cheating on his soap opera wife and it pissed her off?”
“That’s jacked up,” Wendy said. “She kills Jon because she thinks he’s really Dominik, returned from the dead, and cheating on his soap opera wife. It’s a stretch.”
Kate shrugged. “She clearly isn’t the brightest bulb in the pack.”
Vivian sucked on her straw, getting the last bit of margarita. “I’d say she’s a three-watt.”
CHAPTER 34
AFTER NOT seeing loony toons, a.k.a. Stella, at Club Caliente, they headed back to the hotel. Vivian felt a bit dejected in general and not finding Stella added to it. That nobody seemed to know anything more about the woman. Apparently she had no friends, paid cash and kept to herself. She could be long gone.
The girls had to walk around to the far side of the hotel to avoid the ever-growing crowd of paparazzi. Evidently word had traveled fast about the previously semi-famous, now infamous, soap star.
They ran into Adrienne and Al in the lobby, who were going to the poolside bar. Though Vivian wasn’t really feeling up to it, Al convinced her she needed to pretend it was happy hour, on him! She did love happy hour.
Al ordered them a round of margaritas and Adrienne asked for an update.
Vivian gave her and Al the lowdown on going back to the Purple Peacock and Club Caliente. She conveniently didn’t tell them they spoke with Shorty. Vivian didn’t know what the connection was with Al, but she figured it was best to not bring it up.
“Nobody seemed to know anything,” Vivian said.
“When that’s the case, you can bet someone knows something,” Al said.
“What do you mean?” Wendy asked.
“Someone always notices something, whether they realize it or not,” Al said. “You’ve gotta find the right person and ask the right questions. Sometimes, you gotta apply the right pressure.”
Al’s shirt buzzed and he excused himself.
He was only six feet from the
bar when the vultures, (three horny men), descended on the girls and Adrienne.
“Hey, girls, can we buy you a drink?” This from a guy in a tangerine orange see-through shirt. Cheesy!
Lucy felt game and was apparently in need of another drink. “Margaritas are always welcome. Or tequila shots.”
“Done. And what’s your name?” He turned his full attention to Lucy. The other two guys flanked him and turned toward Vivian, Kate and Wendy.
Vivian rolled her eyes. She was in no mood, so she threw out their bar names, secretly signaling her dis-interest to the girls.
“I’m Roxy, this is Rita (pointing to Wendy), Consuela (pointing to Lucy), and Maria,” (pointing to Kate).
“And I’m Portia.” Adrienne stuck out her left hand and flashed her ginormous rock. She gave Vivian a wink.
“And what are you lovely ladies up to tonight?” Cheese-a-rama flashed a car salesman-y grin, showing off his crooked teeth. He should have saved the money from these margaritas and put it towards braces.
Nobody got to answer because Al walked up at that point and used his girth to move the cheese balls out of the way.
“You fellas got a lot of conojas talking to these ladies. Trust me — if you know what’s good for ya, you’ll steer clear of them. They tend to have a deadly effect on shmucks. Especially ol’ blondie.”
With that, the girls and Adrienne smiled innocently at them.
“Oh, you’re those ladies,” the head cheese said and took a step back. “Margaritas are on their way. Have a good night.”
Their reputation preceded them. Came in handy this time!
Vivian turned to Al. “Thanks for that. Those guys were dorks.” She wanted to ask if he was talking to Shorty but she clearly couldn’t just throw that out there.
Suddenly they were interrupted by the female reporter who had been out front when they returned from the police station earlier. Guess they’d been spotted on their return from Club Caliente despite efforts to lay low.
“Are you Vivian Taylor?” the woman asked, holding a steno notebook and pen.
Vivian didn’t answer.
“My name is Lupe Mendoza with Escándalos. I’d like to ask you a few questions about your involvement in Jon Tournay’s death.”
“Absolutely not!” Wendy yelled and jumped between them.
Vivian peeked around Wendy’s shoulder. “No comment.” She gave a little smile.
“She has nothing to say. Are you even allowed in here?” Wendy said to Lupe, then turned to the bartender. He gave a shrug.
Al stepped up. “Get the hell outta here. She’s got nothing to say.”
The reporter looked around, for what, who knows.
“Beat it, bitch,” Adrienne yelled.
The woman turned and walked out.
“Thanks y’all, for running her off,” Kate said.
Al shook his head. “She’s gone for now, but you can bet she’ll be back, and there will be ten more just like her.”
Vivian sucked down her ’rita. She was pooped, not to mention buzzed.
“I’ve had all I can take tonight,” Vivian said and stood up. “Al, thanks so much for the help and the margarita. I’m going to bed.”
“You sure? We’re going out,” Adrienne said.
The girls all agreed that bed sounded best, so they finished up their drinks and headed to the room.
On their way up the stairs Kate said, “Viv, I think we ought to talk to Pierre about what we saw at the marina today. Let him know there’s something going on between Detective Vega and Ponytail.”
“Good idea,” Wendy and Lucy said in unison.
Vivian thought about it for a minute. “Yeah, you’re right. We should keep him informed.”
“And let’s check his room for bugs,” Wendy added.
Always thinking, that one.
“We should invite him to Shorty’s party,” Kate said.
“He can rescue us when Shorty tries to either seduce us or kill us,” Lucy smirked.
Vivian knocked several times on Pierre’s door but no answer. She dug in her purse and pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen. She wrote a short note asking him to call or come by their room in the morning.
It was officially time to end the very long day, so they went to their room, did a quick bug sweep, their usual bedtime rituals and slipped into bed.
CHAPTER 35
Day 4
VIVIAN WOKE with a start the next morning. She had a bad dream about being on vacation and suspected of murder. Then her memory clicked. That was no dream, it was a nightmare. Unfortunately it was also reality.
She got out of bed quietly and tiptoed to the balcony. The sun was just coming up on a beautiful morning. She melted into a chair, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting the sun shine on her face. She stayed like that for a few minutes, listening to the waves crash on the beach, then opened her eyes and looked at the sparking water.
The scene reminded her of a cruise she and Rick had taken a few years ago. They went to the Caribbean and hit all the great islands, St. Lucia, St. Croix, St. Maarten, Barbados.
They woke early one morning, made love and went to the upper deck to watch the sun come up. Rick kept his arm around Vivian’s shoulders because she was cool. The air was a little damp and it was breezy as they sailed along. They sat there for a long time, not talking, just watching the way the sun slowly lifted up off the water and hid itself behind the clouds. One big, bright ray poured out of the bottom of the clouds and seemed to reflect off the water straight to them and only them. She thought it was magical.
Vivian heard the sliding glass door open and Lucy stuck her head out.
“Hey lady,” she said emerging from the door. “You’re up awfully early. You okay?”
“No, not really, but I’m trying to distract myself with this beautiful sunrise. It brings back a wonderful memory of a cruise Rick and I went on.”
“Oh, you mean the cruise where you wanted to throw him overboard because he was such a dud?”
Lucy brought Vivian back to reality. She had ended up hating that cruise.
“God, how could I forget? I wanted to maim him before it was all over! He wouldn’t dance with me, had to be practically dragged from the cabin for dinner, and we couldn’t agree on any of the excursions.”
Lucy sat down next to Vivian and put her feet up on the railing. She stretched her toes, inspecting her Bogota Berry painted toenails for chips.
“Yeah, he sucked as a cruise companion,” she said.
“But we had some good times too.”
“I know ya did, Viv. Otherwise you wouldn’t have married the guy.”
“But I did vow after that experience to never go on a cruise without a large group. That’s the one good thing that came out of our cruise!” She paused for a moment. “Well, that and the twins!”
Lucy nodded her head.
“So what’s up with Steve?” Vivian asked. “Do you miss him?”
“Not really. I mean, I guess I do sometimes, and I still see him pretty often. We go to dinner a few times a week, and I talk to him almost every day. I just don’t live with him right now.”
“Do you think this will be permanent?”
“I don’t know yet. He’s so unemotional. It drives me crazy. The man never gets excited about anything. I tell him I want a separation and I’m moving out, and you think he’d react in some kind of way. I got nothing. Even when we’re in counseling he’s so freakin’ rational about everything. I just want to shake him to get him angry or something.”
“Lucy, he’s always been that way,” Vivian said. “He’s a rational guy. He takes time to make his decisions and doesn’t jump feet first into anything without knowing the consequences. If you remember, that’s one of the things that drew you to him. You, like me, are a non-planner. He kinda balances you that way.”
“I know, but I’m just not sure it’s something I can be around for the rest of my life. We’re going to counseling and haven’t given up ye
t. At this point, though, I don’t know how things are going to end up.”
Vivian looked her in the eyes. “You know we support any decision you make. We just want you to be okay.”
“I know. Thanks, Viv.”
They both leaned back in their chairs, enjoying the morning sun.
Lucy reached out and put her hand on Vivian’s arm. “You’re going to be okay, you know. We’re going to help the police find out who killed Jon so you can go home.”
Tears welled up in Vivian’s eyes, she was trying really hard not to ruin the sunrise with thoughts of Jon’s death.
“I just can’t believe that he’s gone,” she said, trying to hold back the sobs that were threatening to let loose.
“I know, Viv. None of us can.”
“He was so sweet and caring,” Vivian said, as her voice broke. She doubled over, her head in her hands, and sobbed.
Lucy started crying too, emotions overwhelming her. She wrapped her arms around Vivian’s shoulders. They stayed like that for a few minutes, letting the torrent of tears out.
Vivian felt drained and let out a ragged breath. “I guess I needed to get that out.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Morning, ladies,” Kate said, sounding chipper, and joined them on the balcony. She had made herself a cup of coffee from the one-cup coffee maker. She could not get going without a cup of joe.
She slid the door closed and looked at the two girls. It was obvious they had been crying. She gave them a half-hearted smile and tried to sound upbeat. “The sunrise is bringing tears to your eyes, I see.”
They give her half-hearted smiles in return.
Kate gave Vivian a comforting shoulder squeeze, then sat down and balanced her cup on the railing. “Wow, it’s beautiful out here.”
“Umm hmm,” Vivian said, sucking in the salty air.
Kate got serious. “Okay, this may sound weird, but I was thinking we should try to find out more about Al.” She blew on her coffee, took a sip and continued, “Who is he and what’s he into?”
