Mike Jastrzebski - Key Lime Blues

“You could always go back to your dream and give writing a chance,” I said, remembering her comment about the Hemmingway house.

“I gave it some serious thought before Dad died, but all the research I’ve done suggests it’s not an easy way to make a living. Most writers make less than ten thousand dollars a year.”

We’d reached the bar and I stood at the door for a moment, staring at her. “No one said life was supposed to be easy.”

Tanya opened the door and I followed her inside. “I’ll think about it,” she said. Her tone lightened and she added, “Of course I have to remind myself that this advice comes from a man who tends bar for a living.”

“Ouch,” I said. “You’ve got to remember that I worked for my mother from the time I was fourteen and could help out around the office. Now that I’ve quit, I still haven’t decided what I want to be when I grow up.”

“Like that’s ever going to happen.” She gave me a wistful smile. “Like I said, I’ll think about it. In the meantime, let’s get you a drink.”

Most of the locals had not gotten off work yet and the bar was almost empty. There was a young couple sitting at a table, holding hands and whispering back and forth and an old gent I’d seen there before. He kept his long, thin gray hair tied back in a ponytail, his beard was wild and bushy, and he walked with the help of a cane, which he leaned against the bar.

The woman behind the bar, Eve, was in her forties and had a puckered face and thick stubby hands. Her naturally white hair flowed down past her shoulders, and she wore tight fitting jeans and an Alvin’s tee shirt that tugged at her middle.

I’d met Eve a couple of times, but she was usually gone by the time I came on duty. The daytime crowd was far different from the night crowd, and Eve was the antithesis of the women who worked the bar at night.

When we approached the bar she nodded.

“Eve, would you fix Wes up with whatever he wants? It’s on me." Tanya nodded in my direction and headed toward the back room. “I’m going to get changed, and then I’ll be out to relieve you.”

I took the end seat at the bar while Eve gave me the evil eye. “What’ll it be?” she asked.

“I’ll take a Miller Lite.”

Eve walked over to the cooler, made a show of drawing out a dripping bottle, wiped the sweat with her apron, and twisted the cap off with her bare hand before moving back to stand in front of me. She set it down, a little harder than necessary. “Tanya’s like a daughter to me.”

I picked up my beer and took a long sip. It was cold and it tasted good. I set the bottle down and looked across the bar at Eve. I figured she’d get around to what was bothering her when she was ready.

“Tanya has always made it a habit not to date her employees,” she said.

“Who said we’re dating.”

“I can see it in both your eyes.”

“We’re good friends,” I said. Her stare made me feel uncomfortable and I began to swivel my stool back and forth. “If you have any questions about our relationship, you should ask Tanya.”

“I’ve worked here for ten years and I’ve grown pretty fond of that girl. I don’t want to see her hurt.”

I figured it was Tanya’s business how much, if anything, she wanted to tell the other employees about what was going on between us. I was never one to kiss and tell, but I was glad Eve was concerned about Tanya. I might have even blushed as I gave her my most sincere look. “I have no intentions of hurting Tanya. Do you give everyone she brings around the third degree?”

“No.” She reached out, slid my beer bottle out of the way, and leaned across the bar. “Just the ones who have assholes looking for them.”

My heart sped up and I swung around and scanned the room. There was no doubt in my mind her visitor had been Willie. After all, how many assholes did I know? I gave her his description to be sure.

“That’s him,” she said.

“How do you know he was looking for me?”

“He gave me your name and asked if you were working tonight. When I told him I didn’t know, he threatened to twist my nipples off if I didn’t find out for him.”

“Sorry you had to deal with him,” I said. “I hope he didn’t scare you too badly.”

Eve shrugged. “I’ve been working bars since I was a teenager. I’ve been threatened, spit on, pushed, sworn at and even hit with a broken beer bottle.” She pointed to a faded scar on her cheek. “Eight stitches.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That I’d been told you had a death in the family and were taking a couple of days off. As far as I knew you hadn’t been in since Thursday.”

“He believed you?”

She nodded. “Slipped me a twenty and gave me a number to call if you showed up.”

I slid off the stool. “He can’t know that Tanya and I are friends.”

She picked up on the concern in my voice and smiled for the first time. “I wouldn’t call the little weasel for a twenty,” she said. “Now if we were talking a hundred, it might be different story.”

“You can’t…” I began, but she lifted her hands and stopped me.

“It was a joke,” she said. “I wouldn’t do anything to put Tanya in danger. But it’s possible he could come back in.”

I looked toward the door Tanya had disappeared behind a few minutes earlier and considered going to her, but decided against it. “I think I’d better get going,” I said.

“I’ll explain what happened to Tanya. Are you sure this guy doesn’t know about you and her?”

“Not unless Gail told him.”

“Shit,” Eve slapped her hand on the counter top and I jumped.

“What?” I asked.

“I never did like that girl. She’s trouble and I don’t trust her.”

“Well she seems to be buddy-buddy with Tanya,” I said. “I’ll get going now. Tell Tanya I’ll see her at her place after work.”

Eve raised her eyebrows. “Her place.”

It was my turn to smile. “Like I said earlier, if you want to know about us you’re going to have to ask Tanya.”

“Don’t think I won’t,” Eve said.

I nodded, turned to leave, and hesitated. I shot a quick glance back at Eve and said, “Thanks. I owe you one.”

Eve nodded, and I walked away from the bar and out the door.

I looked up and down the street and felt a rush of relief when I didn’t see Willie. I was concerned for Tanya’s safety. I didn’t know whether Destiny had told Frankie about her, but it didn’t matter. As long as he was looking for me, there was a chance he’d learn that I was staying at Tanya’s house. I was convinced Frankie would not hesitate to use her to get to me. I didn’t have what he wanted, and I was afraid he’d hurt Tanya in order to motivate me to find the diamonds.

I headed straight to Elvis’s house. I wanted to get there while it was still light and check out the place.

The way I figured it, if he had a phobia about going out in the dark, he hadn’t been the one to kill Bob or Billy. It didn’t mean he wasn’t involved. I was prepared to drag him out of his house once it got dark and scare the hell out of him. It wasn’t the way I would have liked to do things, but people were dying and I didn’t want to join the funeral crowd.

Although I was prepared to play on Elvis’s fears to persuade him to tell me the truth, I was also willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I no longer believed anything Destiny told me, but I wanted to make it damn hard for Elvis to lie to me.

There was a small bar across the street and kitty-corner from Elvis’s house called Parrot Island. It was hokey even by Key West standards. The waiters wore pirate outfits, complete with eye patches and stuffed parrots attached to the shoulder of their jackets. I took a seat outside and watched while a whole lot of nothing happened. After what seemed like a long wait, a waiter scooted out of the door and stopped in front of me. He was chatty, couldn’t take his eyes off me, and touched my arm several times while he took my order. When I ignored his overtures, he left with a scowl.