Mike Jastrzebski - Key Lime Blues

I thought for a moment she was going to physically attack me, but then the fight drained from her. She moved over to the chair where Tanya had been tied, sat down, and began to play with the ends of her hair.

“What am I supposed to tell the chief? The mayor is going to be all over this.”

“Tell them the truth,” I said.

“I’d like to do that, Darling, but I don’t think you’ve told me the truth since I met you.” She shook her head and cast an evil smile in my direction. “I think I can rectify that. I’ve got a guy locked up right now who’s a mean drunk. Ted Baxter gets drunk two, maybe three times a month. We keep him segregated from the other prisoners since he put one of them in the hospital last time he visited us. Maybe I’ll throw you in the tank with him and forget about you for a couple of days. I’ll bet you’ll be willing to talk to me then.”

“I’m willing to talk with you now,” I said.

“You’ve told me that before.”

“Ask me anything you want and if I know the answer, I’ll tell you.”

And so, Davies spent the next hour cross-examining me. When she ran out of questions she went and found Tanya. Davies spent almost as long questioning her. In the end, there was no one for her to arrest.

Destiny had admitted to Elvis that she killed not only Bob and Frankie, but also Billy. Both Elvis and Tanya saw her kill Dom, and I could attest to the fact that Tanya shot Destiny when she was trying to kill me.

Davies threatened to charge me with Willie’s death, but Willie had a gun and I killed him with a sword I’d found on the premises. This, coupled with the fact that Willie had helped kidnap Tanya, saved my ass.

Still, it was after six a.m. by the time all of the officials cleared out of the house. I nodded in agreement when Davies warned me not to take any trips for a few days, and then followed her to the door. I locked up behind her and listened as she walked down the steps. After that, I wandered through the house turning off lights and opening blinds before stopping in front of Tanya’s door.

I knocked once, heard nothing, and rapped again. Either she was already asleep, or she didn’t want to talk to me. I knew she must be drained. She had been held against her will for over twenty-four hours by a woman she thought of as a friend. I would have been willing to bet she hadn’t slept much during that time. I knew I hadn’t. Add in the fact she had been forced to kill her friend, and it was enough to knock the wind out of anybody.

Finally, I got the message and made my way down the hallway to Alvin’s room. I fell asleep hoping she’d be feeling better by the time I woke up.

***

When I got out of bed that morning I could hear Tanya in the kitchen. We had a lot to talk about, but first I needed a shower and a shave. I made a little noise so she would know I was up, and ten minutes later I joined her in the kitchen.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

She was seated at the table, sipping coffee and paging through the morning newspaper. She looked up and said, “Better. I still can’t believe I killed Gail.”

“I’m sorry it had to happen.” I walked over to the counter, took down a cup and poured myself some coffee before sitting down across from her.

She refused to look at me as she folded the paper and laid it on the table. “I wasn’t very appreciative last night.”

“There was a hell of a lot going on at the time.” I reached out to touch her hand. She pulled it away.

She kept her head down and I could see a sad smile on her face. “You know,” she said, “I don’t blame you for what happened. But I’m having a hard time accepting everything. My head tells me it was all Gail’s fault.”

“But that’s not what your heart tells you.”

She shrugged. “I can’t help but feel none of this would have happened if I had never met you, or hired you to work in the bar. You wouldn’t have known where to find Gail. You might not even have been around town when your friend was killed. Gail would have left Key West. Everything would have been fine.”

She was wrong. I would have gone looking for Nick’s killer because I owed it to him. I knew my telling her that wouldn’t ease her pain. I knew because plenty of people had assured me Celine Stewart’s disappearance wasn’t my fault. A year later I was still having nightmares about her. I thought about what I could do to make things easier for Tanya. Finally, I decided to tell her the only thing that might relieve her anxieties.

“I’ll get my stuff together and move into a motel until I get the boat cleaned up.”

“You don’t have to.” She spoke the words she thought she should say, but I could read the relief on her face and I thought her shoulders lifted a little.

“I think it’s for the best.” I searched for the right way to broach another subject that was eating at me. Finally, I just jumped in.

“When I found out you had been kidnapped, I went through your room,” I said.

“I noticed someone had gone through my things, I thought it was Gail or Willie.”

“It was me,” I said. “I was looking for your gun. When I went through your desk I couldn’t help but notice that you have quite a few past due bills. I’m in a position where I could lend you some money if you…”

This time she reached out and touched my hand, but when she realized what she had done, she pulled it away.

“That’s sweet of you,” she said. “But it’s not really a problem. I’m waiting on a check. My father had enough life insurance for me to pay off most of the hospital bills and catch up on everything else. There won’t be anything left, but I won’t have to sell the bar or the house.”

“I’m glad.” I carried my cup over to the sink and rinsed it out. “I guess I’d better get packed.”

Tanya looked uncomfortable. She jumped up and rushed over to the back door. “I’ve got to go to the bar. I’m lucky to have such good help. When they couldn’t get hold of me they went ahead and held the fort, but if I don’t get in there and place some orders, I will be out of business. Would you mind locking up when you leave?”

We looked at each other. I nodded and she opened the door and headed out.

With a heavy heart I walked over to the door and watched her get into her car and drive off.

I waited for several minutes thinking about what might have been and then I grabbed a spoon from the sink. I headed outside and made my way across the yard to where I’d buried the diamonds.

I suppose, technically, they belonged to Frankie’s estate, but after all that had happened I figured it was finders, keepers. I knelt down, dug out the plastic container, and shook the dirt from it as I got up off my knees. Once I was back inside I tucked them into the bottom of the paper bag I was using for a suitcase and went home to my boat.

One month later

It was my first sail since moving back on board Rough Draft. It was early morning, the sky was cloudless, and the wind was kicking up at about fifteen knots. The water took on a slight chop when we turned out of the shipping channel. I pointed the boat into the wind and set the autopilot. “I could use a hand getting the sails up,” I called down below.

“Aye, aye skipper.” Brenda ran up the steps and sat down next to the starboard winch where she started loosening the jib sheets. She smiled at me and added, “I wanted to get the coffee started.”

I took a moment to appreciate the leopard print bikini she wore. She had spent a lot of time in the sun since the last time I’d seen her. Climbing out of the cockpit I made my way to the center of the boat. Every three or four seconds a wave broke over the bow spraying a fine mist of salt water across the deck. The warmth of the early morning sun felt great.