I crept from house to house keeping to the dark areas until I was standing behind a small palm tree in front of Tanya’s neighbor’s house. I waited at the base of the palm for a good ten minutes watching and listening while I tried to decide on the best approach. It was almost four-thirty in the morning. Tanya should have arrived home a minimum of an hour earlier. Since the house was dark, I assumed Willie had already confronted Tanya and left.
My stomach churned and my imagination was operating on overdrive as I considered all the possibilities. Either Tanya was dead, or she was Willie’s prisoner. Either way I couldn’t risk barging in when there was still a chance Willie was inside. The problem was that if Tanya was still alive, my rushing in and getting killed was going to make things much worse for her.
My first thought was to cut through the neighbor’s yard and approach from the rear of the house, but a high wooden fence surrounded the yard. Even if I managed to get over the fence I had no idea what obstacles I’d encounter on the other side.
The other problem with an all out approach was the brightness of the moon. The last thing I needed was for someone to get up, look out their window, see me skulking about their yard, and call the cops. I was pretty sure Davies wouldn’t let me skate again. I decided on a frontal approach.
A full moon shone over the island and the night air was a comfortable seventy degrees. A fresh breeze rattled the palm fronds up and down the street and carried the tangy scent of the ocean across the island. I couldn’t stand around waiting much longer, so I bent forward and made my way along the fence surrounding Tanya’s property.
The house was dark, and the gate stood ajar. I didn’t know what to expect. Questions raced through my mind. Was Willie still there? Had Tanya made it home from work? Had something fortuitously detained her? Was Tanya even still alive? All these thoughts fanned my anger at Destiny. She might not feel she owed me anything, but she could have taken the time to call Tanya before she left the bar and warned her about Willie.
I took a moment to clear my mind while I glanced up and down the street. When I was sure I was alone I dropped to my knees and edged around the gate. Half-a-dozen shadowy figures rushed at me with reckless abandon. Startled, I jumped to my feet and had to stifle a nervous laugh when the shadows shifted and I realized that my opponents were nothing more than shrubs and plants activated by moonlight and wind. I was wound way too tight, so I forced myself to take several deep breaths in an effort to calm down.
As I waited for my adrenaline rush to subside and my heartbeat to slow, I cast a final look up and down the street. It was way past time for me to get my ass in gear. Dead or alive, I needed to know if Tanya was inside the house. Using my shoulders, I nudged the gate open wide enough for me to squeeze though.
In the distance a Harley thundered to life. The roar of the engine built to a crescendo, and the night went quiet as the motor’s echo faded. Shadows played along the edge of the yard while the white stone path sparkled like a lit runway. For the first time in my life I cursed the full moon.
Once again I dropped into a crouch and pushed my body close to the ground. Keeping as near to the fence as the shrubbery allowed, I duck-walked along the murky trail.
As I edged toward the back of the yard my muscles began to cramp and hidden thorns added to my torture, plucking at my shirt and shorts like a hundred tiny knives. By the time I reached the back of the house I was sweating, despite the cool night breeze. Rivulets of blood ran down my arms and legs where the thistles had found bare skin. I didn’t care. The tiny bursts of pain seemed to make me more alert and I was aware of every sound around me. The scurrying of a small animal. The call of a night bird. The whistle of the wind through the trees. Nothing seemed remotely human.
When I reached the back of the house, I stood and stretched and worked out the cramps before creeping over to Tanya’s room. The window was wide open. The faint scent of her perfume wafted from within. A nightlight was plugged into a socket near the open door and I could see the room was empty. I stood silently looking in and listening.
I heard nothing that seemed out of place inside of the house, just the creak of settling timbers and the whir of a ceiling fan. The hallway beyond the bedroom was dark. If someone was waiting, they were intent on remaining as quiet as I was. Unfortunately if someone was here, they had the advantage. They didn’t need to go anywhere while I needed to get inside. I slid out from beneath the window and began to look for something to cut the screen.
There were no tools lying about but there were plenty of stones. It only took me a minute to find a flat rock about the size of my fist with a sharp edge on one side.
Stepping back to the window I reached up and drew the edge of the stone from the top to the bottom of the screen, leaving a two-foot flap. The ripping sound it made was not very loud, but it seemed to vibrate throughout the still night. I stood for a full minute, listening and waiting for some sound from within.
When no one jumped out at me, I grabbed the loose end of the screen and pulled. At the same time I made two horizontal slashes with the stone and tossed it onto the ground before climbing into the room.
Tanya’s presence was everywhere. I half expected her to climb out of the bed and greet me. My feelings distracted me and I kicked something on the floor and sent it skidding across the room and into the wall.
It sounded like an alarm had gone off. I ran to the door and stood behind it listening. Again, I heard nothing. I was beginning to believe I was alone in the house.
It took a few minutes to search the entire house. Neither Tanya nor Willie was there. Tired, smelling of smoke, covered with blood and dirt, I’d have given anything for a hot shower and good night's sleep. Instead, I reached for my phone and tried the bar. I let it ring ten times, and then I hung up and dialed Tanya’s cell phone. To my surprise the phone connected, but the other end remained silent.
“Tanya, can you hear me?” I asked.
“Hello, Darling.” I recognized the voice and my stomach did a little heave while I looked around to make sure no one was watching me.
“What do you want, Destiny?”
“I want my diamonds.”
“The police are looking for you,” I said.
“You’d better hope they don’t find me.”
“Why’s that?”
“Here, let me have someone else explain it to you,” she said.
She spoke to someone in the background, and then Tanya was crying on the other end. “Give them the diamonds,” she said. “Gail’s crazy. She’s going to kill me if you don’t give them to her.”
“Where are you, Tanya?” I asked. Instead of an answer, she let out a scream, and Destiny came back on the phone.
“Willie likes Tanya,” Destiny said. “I promised him that if we don’t get the diamonds, he can have her.”
I brushed my fingertips across the bridge of my nose and tried to keep from saying something I’d regret. “How in the hell did you hook up with Willie?”
“It was quite easy, Darling. After you killed Frankie and I escaped, I went straight to Tanya’s house and told Willie what happened.”
I had to admit that Destiny had a flair for lying. I wondered if she was even capable of telling the truth. “What do you think Willie’s going to do when he realizes it was really you who killed Frankie?” I asked.
She laughed. “I hope you’re not too jealous Wes, but Willie and I have bonded. And I’m afraid now that we’re so intimately involved; I had to break my promise to you.”
“What promise?” I asked.
“You know-the Bob thing. I couldn’t very well have a relationship with Willie, and not tell him that you admitted to me you killed his brother.”
I moved the phone away from my ear and twisted and stretched my neck until I felt it pop near the spine. This woman was the most conniving bitch I’d ever met, and I realized that if I didn’t watch my step Tanya and I were both going to end up dead.
I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t have the diamonds. I had already turned them over to Davies and I didn’t think she’d respond very well to a call from me asking for them back.
Even if I could convince her it was the only way to save Tanya’s life, she was going to be pissed as hell that I’d lied to her. I suspected that would be an automatic invitation to visit the jailhouse. It didn’t take a genius to figure out I had only one option. I had to tell her what she wanted to hear.
“All right. I’ve got the diamonds and you’ve got Tanya. Do you want me to meet you at Tanya’s house?”
“I’m not as stupid as you think I am, Darling. We’re not at the house. Did you think we were going to wait there for you to tell the cops about us?”
“I didn’t tell the cops about anything,” I said.
“It doesn’t matter. Keep your phone handy and I’ll call you with directions on where to meet us,” Destiny said. “It won’t be until tonight.”
“How do I know Tanya will be okay?” I asked. Instead of answering, she disconnected and the phone went dead.