Davies had been curt on the phone and I couldn’t imagine what might have pissed her off, unless she’d just gotten off the phone with my mother. That might do it, especially if Davies told my mother she couldn’t claim Nick’s body. Mother was used to having her own way. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had taken their anger with my mother out on me.
This time Davies wasn’t outside when I arrived. When I entered the building the officer at the desk looked up from the book he was reading. I told him my name and who I was there to see. He stood and looked me up and down before asking, “You armed.”
“No.” For a moment I thought he was going to come around the desk and frisk me, but instead he turned toward the door to the back offices.
“Follow me.” He led me back to the same office where I’d met Davies the day before. When he left he added, “Linda will be with you in a few minutes.”
It was the first time I’d heard her first name, and I realized she had never mentioned it. I suspected she had done it on purpose, her way of keeping our relationship professional. I thought about the implications, and wondered once again if she suspected me in Nick’s death. Maybe I’ll ask her, I thought while I sat back to wait for her to appear. She kept me waiting for nearly twenty minutes.
“I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me,” I said when she finally walked in. She was much more casually dressed than the first two times I’d seen her; jeans, neatly pressed, and a light blue blouse. She still carried the huge purse slung over her shoulder, and she was carrying another file folder, which she tossed in front of an empty chair.
“Mister Darling, I’m glad you could make it. When you didn’t answer my earlier call, I thought maybe you were avoiding me.”
“What earlier call?” I asked, and then I remembered the call I’d received when I was with Elvis.
“It’s not important.” She sat down across from me. “What’s important is that you’re here now.” She leaned forward and I caught a hint of her perfume, something heady and exciting. It almost made me want to forget about this woman’s pock-marked face. “You don’t mind looking at a few other pictures, do you, Wes?”
I shook my head no. She leaned back and picked up the file folder. She never took her eyes off my face as she opened the file, took out an eight-by-ten publicity photo and slid it across the table to me. I tried to prepare myself for another look at Nick. I hesitated, picked up the picture, and glanced at it before tossing it back to Davies.
“That’s not Nick,” I said.
“No shit Sherlock. You really are a detective aren’t you? You do know who it is though?”
“His name is Billy. He works at Dirty Alvin’s. He was there last night in fact. What happened to him, and what does he have to do with Nick?” She had succeeded in surprising me, and I almost told her that I knew him and Destiny, but I held back. I wasn’t ready to let her in on my investigation. I didn’t like the implications. Billy was Destiny’s boyfriend, and Nick was looking for Destiny. It was a little too much to be a coincidence.
“His given name’s William Bodine,” she said, still watching my face. “He’s got a record. He has a temper, and we’ve received several complaints about him. We found him in his apartment this morning. He’d been shot in the head like your friend. By the way, Wes, where were you last night?”
My mouth went dry and I fought not to show any emotion on my face. Thanks for small favors, I thought. If I hadn’t let Destiny talk me into staying at Tanya’s I’d probably be in jail today. I could account for my time, but I wondered exactly when Destiny left Tanya’s house. I didn’t want to believe she was a murderer, but I wasn’t going to rule out the possibility. I also wasn’t ready to turn her over to the cops as a suspect.
“I asked where you were last night, Wes.” Davies’ voice hardened. “I want an answer, now.”
“I was at the bar until close. After I left Alvin’s I spent the night with friends.”
Davies nodded and pulled a notebook from her pocket. “The only reason you’re sitting here talking to me instead of behind bars is because I had a little talk with your boss, Tanya Robertson, before calling you. She told me you spent last night at her place. I’m not sure I buy it. Maybe she’s lying for you. Maybe you’re both in on this.”
“Why would I want to kill Billy? I hardly knew the guy. We talked a couple of times in the bar, nothing more. And I can’t even begin to imagine why Tanya would want him dead.”
“It could be any number of things,” she said. “It could be jealousy. Maybe he was hitting on the owner and you wanted her for yourself. Maybe the two of you were drinking and got into an argument. If you had a fight and it was self-defense, you could even get off without doing any jail time.”
“More bullshit,” I said. “From the sound of your voice, I don’t even think you believe the fantasy you laid out for me.”
“All right.” She sighed, and offered up another possibility. “Maybe you killed Billy because you found out he killed your friend, Nick.”
“I didn’t kill anyone,” I said. “And I find it hard to believe Billy killed Nick.” I’d watched the way Billy backed down from Bob and I couldn’t see how he would have gotten the drop on Nick, let alone killed him.
“Why not? We found a gun in the apartment. It’s the same caliber as the one used to kill Hastings; we’re waiting for a match from ballistics to confirm whether the bullets are the same. We also found a pistol registered to your buddy, Nick, under Billy’s bed. Hastings had a shoulder holster on him when his body was found, but the gun was missing. I figure Bodine killed Hastings and took the gun. The question is, who killed Bodine, and why? Vengeance is a strong motivator, Wes.”
She had a good point. Of course I possessed information Davies didn’t. I could only speculate about Bob. I wondered if he’d somehow tracked Billy down. If Billy wouldn’t or couldn’t tell him where Destiny was, I knew Bob was capable of killing him. I wondered if maybe Bob killed Nick and made it look like Billy did it. The trouble was, I couldn’t figure out a motivation. After all, Nick was trying to find the girl for them and I didn’t think he would hesitate to turn her over to them once he’d located her. He would have figured he was doing the job he was paid to do.
“Why would Billy kill Nick?” I asked. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Davies leaned across the table again and I was hit with her perfume one more time. There should be a law against cops wearing something so enticing.
“I was sort of hoping you could give me the answer,” she said.
“As far as I know, Nick and Billy never met. To be honest, I don’t know what the hell’s going on.”
“Call me a skeptic,” Davies said. “I don’t think you’ve told me the truth since I met you. “Get the hell out of here, but keep in touch. I still like you for Bodine’s death. You’ve got the motive, and if you didn’t have a strong alibi I’d arrest you right now. I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Darling.”
***
While I walked back to Tanya’s house all I could think about was Nick. When I’d done something wrong as a kid, he’d often run interference with my mother. He’d bought me my first baseball glove. Offered me advice before my first date. Given me my first Playboy magazine. I had an empty space inside of me, and it wasn’t going away anytime soon. When I thought about Nick’s death I realized I was going to have to make amends with my mother. Life was too short to carry grudges.
Tanya was sitting on the porch swing drinking coffee and talking on her cell phone when I arrived. She appeared agitated and I hated to interrupt. I stood and watched her through the slats until she closed the phone, then I lifted the latch and opened the gate. Startled, she looked up and then smiled. Damn, I thought, even wearing old jeans and a Key West t-shirt two sizes too big for her, she looked good.
“Hey.” She set her cup down on the floor, laid her phone next to the cup, and jumped up.
“Hey yourself.” I took the steps two at a time and met her halfway across the porch. She reached out as if she were going to hug me, thought better of it, and instead took my hand.
“I’ve got a lot to tell you.” Tanya led me back to the swing and we sat down next to each other. “Just after you left this morning, a cop paid a visit. She told me Billy’s dead-murdered. For some reason she suspects you. I told her you stayed here last night. She had a thousand questions. Things like how well did you know Billy, and did the two of you get along.”
“Woman by the name of Davies?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s working on Nick’s murder too. Seems a little uptight, but likable enough.”
“Likable? She practically came right out and told me she thinks you killed Billy.”
“I think she knows I didn’t do it. I was here, remember?”
“I know, I…” Tanya’s phone began to ring and she looked over, hesitated, and grabbed for it. “Sorry, I’ve got to take this. I’ve been on the phone since Detective Davies left. I’m trying to find a replacement for Billy.”
She answered it before I could reply, and then stood and walked across the porch out of earshot. When she returned, she refused to meet my gaze.
“I know it must seem a little callous to you,” she said.
I reached out and touched the back of her hand. “You’ve got a business to run. Find someone?”
“I’ve got a local guy who does karaoke for the next two nights, and I booked an oldies band from Marathon for the next week. Beyond that, I’ll have to see what happens.” She reached for her coffee cup. “So tell me how your morning went.”
I gathered my thoughts before launching into a condensed version of my visit with Elvis. I told her he’d denied knowing anything about the diamonds, but didn’t mention Celine. I didn’t feel like going through the entire story again. I also left out my coffee break with Brenda. When I finished, she took a final gulp of her coffee and set the cup back down.
“I wish we were sitting here under different circumstances,” she said. “I never cared much for Billy, but I’d never wish him dead. And I’m worried about Gail.”
“With good cause. I don’t think either of the twins will hesitate to kill her if they don’t get those diamonds back.”
“So now what?” she asked.
“Now I keep looking for Destiny.”
“I almost forgot.” Tanya leaned toward me. She smelled of apples and vanilla and the scent made me want to smile. “Gail’s called looking for you. When I told her you’d be coming back here, she asked me to let you know she’s made arrangements to pick up the diamonds tonight. She said she’d stop in at the bar around closing. She wants you to meet her there.”
“Did she leave a phone number?” I asked.
“I’ve got her cell number.” Tanya opened her phone and waited until I got mine out before reading the number to me. I punched it in, hit send and waited while Destiny’s phone rang. When it switched over to her voice mail I left a message asking her to call me, repeated my number twice, and hung up.
“I don’t trust her.” I jumped up and began pacing back and forth along the width of the porch. “She’s already taken me for a couple of grand. I need to find her before tonight. I suspect she’s stalling. For all I know she’s already got the diamonds and is on her way out of town.”
“It would be like her to leave her mess for someone else to clean up,” Tanya said. “You know what they say, like mother, like daughter.”
I crossed the porch and sat back down. “I thought it was like father, like son.”
“Same difference,” she said.
Sitting here with Tanya made me want to forget about work. I looked around, rested my elbows on my knees, and took a deep whiff of paradise. Key West is a mixed bouquet of scents and sensations. Flowers bloom year round, saltwater, diesel fuel and fresh rainwater permeate the air, and the wind disperses the fragrance throughout the island. A guy could get used to this, I realized. Especially if there was a good-looking woman around to share the experience.
I shook off those thoughts and forced my mind back to the subject at hand. “Exactly how well do you know Destiny? I’m not quite sure I understand your relationship with her.”
Tanya’s eyes took on a faraway look. As I shifted my body to get a little more comfortable, our arms brushed, sending a shiver through both of us.
“I think I told you my father and her mother were an item for awhile, didn’t I?” Tanya chewed on her lower lip, something she seemed to do whenever she was bothered or worried.
“You did.”
“Gail and I were in seventh grade when Dad moved them in here with us. I’m pretty sure he really loved Shelly. She was a beauty, but she had a haunted look about her. She was pretty messed up. Dad once referred to her as his broken angel.”
“Shelly is Gail’s mother?”
“Right.”
“And she was a stripper?”
“Yeah. She was into drugs and she was turning tricks.” The tips of Tanya’s teeth worked her lip furiously as she chose her words. “Dad never told me about those things, of course. But I overheard enough arguments to figure out what was going on.”
“Did Gail know her mother was an addict and a whore?”
Tanya shrugged. “Hard to say. We shared a room. She heard the same arguments. But I think she was in denial. What girl wants to admit those things about her mother?”
“How long did they live with you?”
“About two years. I think Dad figured if he loved Shelly enough he could get her to stop the drugs. When he refused to give her money to buy drugs, she started selling herself. Dad told me years later why he finally kicked her out of the house. He didn’t want me being exposed to the drugs and the lies.”
“What happened to Destiny?”
“She went with her mother. Dad offered to let her stay, but Shelly wouldn’t have it. After she left, Shelly drifted from man to man. I think Gail may have blamed me for the whole thing.”
“Why blame you?”
“About that time I started getting a little wild. I began hanging out with Gail and her friends. My grades went down and one night Dad came home from work and caught me smoking pot with this guy, Bennie Hall. I thought Dad was going to kill him. The next day he told Shelly she was going to have to leave.”
“Sounds to me like he did the right thing.”
“Yeah. But Gail always figured if I hadn’t gotten caught, Dad never would have thrown them out.”
“What do you think?”
“Dad told me my getting high was the icing on the cake. He was considering telling Shelly to leave anyway, but he felt if he waited any longer it might be too late for me.”
I digested what she’d said, but didn’t see how it could help me find Destiny.
“Could she have gone to stay with her mother?”
Tanya shook her head. “Shelly died from an overdose a few months before we graduated. I’ve always wondered if I should have tried to convince my dad to let them stay. Maybe he did kick them out because he caught me with the pot.”
“Where’d you get the pot?” I asked
“Gail stole it from her mother’s purse.”
I put my arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Then I guess she’s really the one to blame for what happened, isn’t she? Besides, it wasn’t your decision to make. You were a child. Your father did what he thought was best for you.”
“I guess, but somehow I feel responsible.”
I knew the feeling well and wasn’t sure I could say anything to ease her pain, so I turned the conversation back to Destiny. “What happened after her mother died?”
“Like I told you, she won a scholarship to Michigan State. I don’t know how she managed it living with Shelly. Dad was happy. He figured she was going to make something of herself. But Gail tried to make a buck and she screwed up. She ended up back here stripping, just like her mother. Things don’t look good for her, do they?”
“No they don’t.” I was afraid that when this was all over, Destiny might very well be dead. I was going to have to get damn lucky in order to keep her alive, or myself for that matter.