Mike Jastrzebski - Key Lime Blues

There was a part of me that wanted to climb back into bed, curl up, and sleep all my troubles away. I had not wanted to take this case. Now, I’d have to face my mother with the fact that I’d lost the entire fee. Come to think of it, what I wanted was to find Destiny, take her over my knee and give her a good spanking. I figured the second choice would be more satisfying, so I put on a fake smile and headed for the kitchen.

Tanya looked up from the stove when I stopped in the kitchen doorway. Despite my bad mood, I couldn’t help but notice she looked damn good even though she was wearing an old pair of gray shorts and a ragged Alvin’s t-shirt. I should have been ecstatic to wake up and find a beautiful woman fixing me breakfast. Loosing twenty-five hundred dollars of company money made my stomach churn and started my mind whirling. I did not want to think about what this was going to do to my already strained relationship with my mother. She was upset enough about Nick, without adding this to her troubles. The agency was successful, but I knew a twenty-five hundred dollar loss would put a bite on the budget.

“Where’s Destiny?” I asked.

Tanya’s face clouded. “I went out and got you a toothbrush this morning,” she said, ignoring my question. “And there’s a new disposable razor and some shaving cream on the sink if you want to shave. If you want to take a shower, towels are in the closet next to the sink. Breakfast will be ready by the time you finish.”

I slammed the flat of my hand against the wall near where I was standing, “I asked you, where’s Destiny?”

Tanya jumped when my hand connected with the wall, but she ignored me and began taking pieces of bacon out of the pan.

“Are you going to tell me where she is or not?”

“I don’t know where she is,” Tanya said. “She told me she was going out for a couple of hours. She promised to be back by the time you got up. And you could be a little more courteous, you are my guest after all.”

“Damn.” I stomped over to the table.

My move startled her and Tanya dropped her spatula into the pan. She looked like she was going to cry. I felt a little tug of remorse, but I gave her a dirty look and stood there, arms folded in front of me, waiting for her to say something

“You’re putting me into the position of choosing sides and I don’t think it’s fair of you,” she said after awhile. “Gail’s been my friend since junior high school. I’ve only known you for less than two months. It’s not my job to keep you posted on her comings and goings. Besides, let’s not forget you’re my guest. I’d appreciate it if you would act accordingly.”

She was right of course. I felt myself flush, and shifted my gaze to the table. There were three plates set out. It was obvious she was expecting three of us for breakfast. I forced myself to calm down. “I don’t think we can count on Destiny being here for breakfast.”

Tanya raised her eyebrows and waited for me to continue.

“She stole twenty-five hundred dollars from me before she left.”

“Somehow, it doesn’t surprise me,” she said.

“Why?”

She shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t want to be in the middle of this.”

“I need to find her.”

Tanya picked up the plate of bacon, set it on the table, and gave it an angry spin before shoving it toward me. “I’m pissed at her because she took off and left me to take the heat from you. I’m telling you though, Wes, if you keep pushing I’m going to get just as pissed at you. I don’t think you want that-do you?”

I slumped into the nearest chair and let out a deep breath. “No.”

“Good.” She nodded toward a covered yellow bowl in the center of the table. “Eggs are in the bowl. I hope you like scrambled.”

“Scrambled is fine.” I took four strips of bacon, slid them onto my plate and when I reached for the eggs I chose my words with care. “I’m not the person you should be worried about protecting Destiny from. In fact, I may be the only thing standing between her and a bullet.”

“What do you mean?”

“Her troubles are related to the case I’m working on for my mother. It turns out she stole something from the guy who hired us. It’s possible this guy had Nick killed too.”

“That’s worse than I thought,” she said. “Although I don’t doubt she stole something from you, and from him. She’s always liked the idea of easy money. Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“No,” I said. “The less you know the better for you.”

She looked at me as if trying to decide whether I was serious or not. Finally, she gave in. “Gail and I argued when she took off this morning. I told her she should stick around until you got up. She refused. She swore she was going out to take care of the trouble she’d gotten herself into. She said she didn’t want to involve you anymore. I didn’t know anything about your money. Why were you carrying twenty-five hundred dollars in cash anyway?”

I shook my head and let out a sigh. “It’s a long story. I guess I should be glad all she took was the money and the gun. At least she left my wallet and credit cards.”

“I think I have a right to know what the hell’s going on between you and Gail. And I want to know why she thinks she needs a gun.”

I wasn’t quite sure what I should tell her, but if I was going to have any chance of finding Destiny, I needed her help. I decided the best way to get her on my side was to scare the hell out of her about her friend’s situation. So I laid it all out to her. I told her about the stolen diamonds, Frank Szymanski, and Bob and Willie. When I finished, I shut up and waited for her response.

Refusing to meet my gaze, she picked up her coffee cup and walked over to the window. She stood there for several minutes staring outside, then she moved back to the sink, picked up a half-empty coffee pot and asked, “You want coffee?”

I nodded and she grabbed an empty cup, filled it, and carried it over to the table. When she sat down she handed the cup over to me and spoke so softly I was forced to lean forward to hear her. “I guess nothing Gail does surprises me anymore. She’s always been involved with one wild scheme after another. To hear her talk, every one of them was going to make her rich.”

She picked up a piece of toast, tore it in half, but tossed it back onto her plate without taking a bite. “To tell you the truth, it doesn’t surprise me she got involved with gangsters. But I would have thought she was smart enough not to steal from them. She’s a member of Mensa. She even won a scholarship to Michigan State University.”

“She acts and speaks like a ditz.”

Tanya laughed. “She’s been using that shtick on men since she was fourteen.

“Still, she wasn’t smart enough to keep from being expelled for prostitution,” I said.

Tanya blew on her coffee. “It was an escort service. All she did was arrange for some of her fellow students to have a date with good-looking women. She may be a stripper, but it doesn’t make her a whore.”

“It’s a matter of semantics, isn’t it? She was charged with prostitution.”

Tanya nodded. “True. I guess I want to believe the best of her. Like I said, we grew up together.”

“Were the two of you close?”

“When we were teenagers.”

“Tell me about her.” I leaned back in my chair. “The better I understand her, the better chance I have of finding her again. I’m a little surprised she doesn’t seem concerned about a killer wandering around out there looking for her. Probably one or two others I haven’t met yet.”

“Do you think they’d hurt her?”

“Hell yes,” I said. “I’m afraid of Frankie Szymanski right now, and I didn’t steal any diamonds from him. All I did was make it a little harder for him to get them back.”