Mike Jastrzebski - Key Lime Blues

I figured she was making things up as she went along, but I tried to reason with her anyway. “Frankie still wants his diamonds,” I said. “And on top of everything else, he’s pissed about Bob. Turns out Bob was his nephew.”

Destiny stubbed out her cigarette, placed the ashtray on the bureau, and sat down next to me on the bed, her hip butting up against mine. She reached out and took my hand and said, “So what do we do, Wes. You told me you’d help me.”

“And I will. Right now I think things have gone way past the point where we can call Frankie and return the diamonds. We need to turn them over to the cops and let them handle Frankie.”

“I don’t know if I can do what you’re asking, Wes. I don’t want to end up in jail for stealing the diamonds.”

“Somehow, I don’t think Frankie’s gonna press charges.”

“Why can’t we keep them? He’s going to be mad either way.”

I looked over at Destiny. Her eyes were bright and alive, but the rest of her face had a cold, sculpted look to it. “Because if we tell Frankie the diamonds are in police custody, he’ll know we don’t have them. He’ll be pissed, and he might still want to hurt us, but I’m betting on the cops. If they’re watching him, I think he’ll cut his losses and go back home. Either that, or he’ll be busy trying to convince the cops the diamonds belong to him.”

“All right, Wes.” Destiny gave my hand a squeeze and jumped up. “I’ll get the diamonds for you. Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

She was whistling when she walked out of the room, I was sweating. This woman was a little crazy, and no doubt more dangerous than a black widow spider. A few more minutes of her stroking my hand and strutting around half-naked and I would have rolled over on my back and begged her to rub my tummy.

The light went on in the kitchen and I heard her opening drawers and shuffling around before the light went back out and she headed off to the room she had shared with Tanya.

She was gone a good ten minutes, and I was about to go looking for her when I heard her footsteps in the hallway. When she walked into the room she was dressed in a pair of tight jeans and a sweatshirt. She was also holding Bob’s gun in one hand and a roll of duct tape in the other.

“What’s going on?” I tried to keep my voice steady, but wasn’t sure I succeeded.

“Sorry Wes. I know you’re only trying to help, but I’m not giving up the diamonds. Not to Frankie, and after all I’ve been through, I’m sure as hell not turning them over to the cops.”

“Frankie won’t let you keep them.”

She shrugged. “He has to catch me first.”

“Why take the chance?”

“Have you ever been poor, Wes? I don’t mean tight, I mean don’t know where the next meal is coming from poor?”

I shook my head and she continued. “Well I have. After Alvin kicked us out my mother had a hard time making ends meet. She was too old to be stripping and eventually too old to be turning tricks.”

“You’re not your mother,” I reminded her.

“No, I’m not. And I can make some pretty good money stripping for another couple of years. But the younger girls are already getting the prime customers. I saw the diamonds as my way out and I still do.”

“You don’t have to do this,” I said.

Destiny cocked the revolver like she’d done it a hundred times before. “Don’t make me shoot you Wes. Now take your shorts back off.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

Moisture began to bead on my forehead, and I considered jumping her. She must have sensed something in my demeanor, because before I could move she raised the gun and pointed it at my chest.

“Take them off,” she repeated. “Now. One of my mother’s boyfriends was a cop. He taught me how to shoot a pistol. After that, he took me back to my mother’s apartment and while she was off turning tricks, he taught me all sorts of other things.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“You don’t have to be. He wasn’t the first, or the last for that matter. Actually, he was pretty nice to me when he wasn’t pawing me. Now, I’m not going to tell you again. Take your damn clothes off.”

I looked at the gun, studied the determination in her face, and stripped off my shorts. After I dropped them on the floor, she tossed the roll of duct tape in my direction.

I caught it, and she said, “Wrap it three times around your right wrist.” I followed her directions and when I’d finished she added, “Now turn around, face the bed and put your hands behind your back.”

She moved up behind me and placed the muzzle of the gun against the back of my head. “I don’t want to shoot, Darling. But I will if you make me. Right now I’m going to tape your hands and feet, and then I’m going to take my diamonds and get out of here.”

“Frankie will find you,” I said, while she ran the tape around my wrists. “It’s still not too late to go to the cops.”

She tapped my head lightly with the barrel of the gun. “Shut up, Wes. You’re beginning to piss me off. Now roll over onto your back.”

I did what she asked, and she kneeled on the bed, pointed the gun between my legs, and said, “Lift your legs and hold them real steady. We don’t want the pistol going off now, do we?”

My body was covered with a fine layer of sweat by the time she finished taping my ankles. She ripped the rest of the roll from the tape, tossed it across the room and slid over alongside of me.

“Things could have been much more pleasant than this if only you’d stayed in bed in the first place,” she said

“I guess I made a mistake.”

“Big time.” She lay the gun down on the bed, reached out and touched my cheek, and then she bent forward and gave me a soft lingering kiss. While I caught my breath, she reached out and ran her fingertips along my stomach.

I quivered, and despite the awkwardness of the situation, I felt myself stir. This seemed to amuse her and she let out a bawdy laugh.

“Well at least I know you’re not gay,” she said. Climbing off the bed she picked up the gun and walked over to the door. “You take care now, Darling,” she added, before walking out the door.

I struggled for several minutes after Destiny left, but all I did was work up a nice sweat. This woman was pissing me off. It was obvious she had been lying to me from the start. Like an idiot I’d let my good intentions and her good looks cloud my judgment. Along with the lies, she’d set me up with Frankie. If I wasn’t careful, the next body Detective Davies came across was going to be mine. All of this reinforced my decision to leave the agency for good. It was becoming clearer by the day that I wasn’t cut out to be a detective.

The only good thing about meeting Destiny was that she’d brought me closer to Tanya. Of course, because of her I’d lost all interest in lending a helping hand to defenseless females. I swore right then and there that the next time my mother tried to guilt me into helping her with a case, I was going to hang up the phone and change my number again.

It was about ten minutes later when the front door opened and I called out, “I hope it’s you Tanya.”

“You were expecting someone else?”

I left the question unanswered for the moment. I was very aware of the muted sound of her feet moving through the house and I wondered how Tanya would respond to my situation. I could feel my face turning red, and a band of sweat formed across my forehead when I realized she was heading for the bedroom.

When Tanya stepped through the doorway her eyes widened, a look of horror swept across her face, and her jaw dropped as she took in my plight. For a moment I was afraid she was going to turn and flee. Instead, she stood there shaking her head in disbelief.