Mike Jastrzebski - Key Lime Blues

“Are you telling me you killed Nick?”

“Of course not. Billy killed him. He was jealous as hell and when he found Nick and me talking on the beach at four in the morning, he went ape shit.”

“What were you and Nick doing on the beach?”

“Nick was following me after work. At first I thought it was a customer stalking me, they do that sometimes, so I called Billy to come get me. When we got to the beach Nick came up to me and told me he had been hired to find me. I knew it had to be Frankie and I made him the same deal I offered you, ten percent. That’s when Billy got there. I didn’t know he owned a gun, and I swear I didn’t expect him to kill your friend.”

It took me a minute to digest what Destiny was telling me. “Why’d you kill Billy?” I asked.

“The son of a bitch left me standing there the other night with Bob pointing a gun at me.”

“And Bob?”

“I called Frankie and told him you’d be at the docks and he promised to send someone to get you. I figured if I killed whoever he sent, he’d blame you. I wasn’t prepared to find two Bob’s. I knew I could kill one of them, but I was afraid the other one would shoot me.”

“And you waited around until they brought me back?”

She nodded. “I found a good hiding place and I hoped I could get both of them before they knew what hit them. But you were all gone for such a long time that I thought maybe they’d killed you. I was getting ready to leave when I heard the dinghy coming back. I was pretty relieved when there was only one Bob.”

“And after you killed him, you tried to kill me.”

“Actually, I’m quite a good shot.” Destiny, completely at ease without clothes, turned away from me and headed over to the sideboard. She picked up a blue ceramic vase that was filled with silk flowers. “The shots at you were a distraction. I didn’t want you coming after me. As long as you were out there and alive, Frankie would spin his wheels looking for you.”

She pulled out the silk flowers, and I noticed that the stems were cut short. She then raised the vase in my direction as if making a toast, and tossed the flowers onto the growing pile on the floor.

“My retirement.” She poured a dozen or so diamonds onto the cabinet. Reaching down, she plucked one from the pile, and held it out for me to see. “And these are only half of them.”

“Where are the others?”

“I’ll keep that my little secret.” She opened a drawer, took out a small cloth bag and began to fill it with the diamonds.

“So you didn’t trust Elvis enough to give him all the diamonds?”

“I suppose it doesn’t matter if you know now.” Destiny pulled the drawstring on the bag tight and set it on the table across from me. “Elvis never had them. When I leave here, I’m going to get the rest of the diamonds. Then I’m getting out of Dodge.” She smiled, sashayed past me, and headed down the hall toward the back of the bungalow.

I waited until she was out of sight, then I went to work on my bonds. Willie had been either in a hurry or just plain careless. Within a couple of minutes I could feel the ropes loosening. About the time I thought I might be able to slip my hand out of the bindings, I heard Destiny coming back up the hall.

I needed a few more minutes to work myself free, but I stopped struggling as soon as I heard her. She was proving to be a tough opponent who would do whatever she deemed necessary to get her way. I had no doubt that if she thought I might get free, she wouldn’t hesitate to use the baseball bat on me.

Destiny had changed into a pair of low cut black jeans and a white baby doll halter-top. She was carrying a large leather purse and a small suitcase. She set the suitcase down on the table and picked up the bag of diamonds.

“This should take care of all my troubles.” She tossed the bag up into the air, caught it, and tucked it into her purse.

“What about me?” I asked.

“I’ve given this some careful thought, Wes.” She stepped around me and went into the kitchen. As I slid my hand from the ropes, I heard the back door open.

Reaching down, I began tugging at the ropes holding my legs, but I stopped struggling when the door slammed shut. I picked up the rope that had fallen from my hands, twisted it around one wrist and shoved my hands behind my back a moment before she stepped back into the room.

She carried a rusted can of barbeque lighter fluid and a long necked lighter. With a quick pat to the shoulder, she scooted around me, and stopped next to Frankie’s body. While I watched in horror, she popped the cap and began squirting lighter fluid around the room.

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked.

“I don’t need you around anymore, Wes. Now that Frankie’s dead, you’ll just be in the way. Besides, you’re the only witness to what I’ve done. I can’t very well let you walk out of here, now can I?”

While she spoke, Destiny drenched the front of Frankie’s shirt with fluid. When she was satisfied, she walked over to the couch and emptied the rest of the can over the cushions. Finally, she tossed the can into the corner where she’d thrown the bat, her dress, and the flowers.

“You can’t do this, Destiny,” I said. “I’ve been looking after you since Bob first found you.” Even though I’d watched her kill Frankie, and listened to her while she told me about the others she’d killed, I was finding it hard to believe what she was about to do. This woman was much more cold-hearted than I had suspected.

“Of course I can,” Destiny said. “Do you see anyone standing around here that can stop me?” She picked up her suitcase, held out the lighter and flicked it. As she lowered it toward Frankie she added, “Sorry, Darling. But I gotta go.”

I had an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. For the first time since meeting Destiny I was afraid of her. Death was breathing down my neck and it wasn’t a good feeling. Anyone who says they’re not afraid of the Grim Reaper is a liar.

On top of my own problems I was worried about what might happen to Tanya. She was an innocent bystander who looked upon Destiny as a friend. Now Willie was on the way over to her house and Tanya didn’t even know she was in danger.

“What about Tanya?” I asked.

Destiny straightened up and slithered toward me. Pointing the tip of the lighter in my direction, she let out a deep laugh. “She’s why you kicked me out of bed the other night, isn’t she? You’re sleeping with her.”

I ignored her question. “The least you could do is call and warn her about Willie. She doesn’t deserve what’s going to happen to her if she walks in on him.”

Destiny’s eyes hardened. “Why should I give a damn what happens to Tanya?”

“Tanya wasn’t a part of all this.” I wanted to keep Destiny talking. Even though my feet were still bound, I figured if I could get her to step a little closer, I might be able to grab her and keep her from setting the place on fire.

“From what I’ve seen, all she’s ever done was try to help you. She told me she once thought of you as a sister.”

“Is that what she told you?”

I nodded and she inched closer. For a moment, her eyes were filled with indecision. I could tell she wanted to believe me, but then she frowned and shut back down.

“That’s a lie.” Using the lighter as a pointer, Destiny swung it around the room. “You see how I live? Well this is like the TajMahal compared to how my mother and I were forced to live after Alvin kicked us out.”

“None of it was Tanya’s fault.”

“Bull shit.” She stomped her feet and edged a little closer. “The bitch convinced her father to throw us out. He loved my mother and would have let us stay if not for Tanya. She told him lies and he believed her.”