Destiny was on the verge of escaping and I ran after her. She beat me to the door, turned, and threw her suitcase at me. I tried to twist out of the way, but she’d taken me by surprise and the case caught me in the chest.
I stumbled three steps back, tripped on something I couldn’t identify, and landed on a piece of burning carpet. The flames singed the hair on the back of my arms, and I swore as I began to crawl over to the door. Billowing smoke descended from the ceiling and flames shot out around me.
I was beginning to wonder if I was going to make it when I felt a whiff of fresh air from the open front door. I forced myself to crawl forward on my hands and knees and didn’t stop until I was outside. Once there, I took a deep breath of the clean air, stood, and found myself facing Destiny.
She opened her purse and fumbled for something inside, but as soon as she realized I was coming for her she turned and fled down the stairs.
I ran after Destiny and the lights next door went on. A tall, thin, bald man wearing only a pair of white boxer shorts stepped onto the porch and stared at us.
He watched Destiny run by, and turned toward me. “What the hell’s going on?” he asked.
“Call the fire department,” I shouted, without stopping.
I didn’t catch up to her until she reached the corner. When she heard my footsteps, she glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes were filled with anger, and she let out a loud, frustrated scream.
Once again she reached into her purse, and I wasn’t surprised when she pulled out Bob’s pistol. She stopped running, swung the gun in my direction, and pulled back the hammer.
I was still several steps away from her but seeing the pistol was more effective than a motivational talk. I made a record-breaking long jump. Brushing the pistol aside, I grabbed her wrist.
While I wrested the gun from her hand she kicked and scratched at me, crying out in rage.
“It’s all over, Destiny.” I stepped away and held the gun loosely pointed in her direction.
She smiled. “You don’t have the guts to shoot me, Darling.”
“I will if I have to.”
Destiny tilted her head when she heard the first sirens in the distance. She licked her lips and lowered her voice. “There’s a fortune here, Wes. We could share it. It’s a lot of money and we could have a lot of fun together.”
“Until the day you decide to take a ball bat to my head,” I said. “For some reason, I think that would be sooner rather than later.”
“I’d never do that to you, Wes. Really, I wouldn’t.” She took a tentative step toward me. “I think I’ve made it clear that I like you. And I’m a lot more fun than Tanya is, I promise.”
The sirens were getting closer and her eyes darted from my face to the gun and back again. Suddenly, she swung her purse toward the gun, but I’d been waiting for her to try something. I grabbed the purse and jerked it away from her.
“Give me that.” She kicked at me, taking aim at my balls again, but she’d used all her tricks on me before.
I turned and took the kick on the side of my leg. “You’re some piece of work, you know that?”
She kicked out again and I thought she was going to throw herself at me, but a police cruiser came skidding around the corner.
She glanced at her purse, looked back at the cop car, and yelled, “You son of a bitch,” before taking off running down the street.
I started after her, but the car slammed to a stop and a young police officer jumped out and drew his gun.
“Stay where you are and put down the gun.” His voice quivered, and I was afraid that he was going to shoot me. I hesitated for only a second before setting the pistol and the purse down on the sidewalk. As I raised my hands above my head, Destiny disappeared into the shadows.
Chapter 24
By the time Davies arrived I’d been spread-eagled, roughed up, cuffed and thrown into the back of a police cruiser. If this kept up I was liable to develop a few phobias of my own. Maybe Elvis and I could form a support group and discuss what triggered our fears. Hell, if we bonded, maybe I’d even let him read my aura. Then again, probably not.
When the officer shoved me into the back seat of his car, I pleaded with him to call Detective Davies. If I couldn’t convince her to cut me loose, I was going to spend the night in jail. Doing so could cost Tanya her life.
Tanya would be arriving home from work at any time. I was worried about what Willie would do to her when she got there. Not only was he angry enough with me to hurt her just for the hell of it, but also, he wouldn’t be able to find the diamonds because they weren’t there. I was afraid that when he couldn’t contact Frankie, he might even kill Tanya.
I decided to tell Davies pretty much everything that had happened, including most of the information I’d held back the last time we spoke. I trusted her, but I had a problem with depending on the cops. I’d done it before, and as a result, Celine Stewart was dead. True, that was the FBI, but I figured a cop was a cop was a cop.
The FBI had done everything by the book, but the book had gotten Celine killed. I couldn’t help but feel that if I’d handled it myself, she’d still be alive. Her father felt the same; after all, I’d convinced him to go to the cops.
The case had wiped out any thrill I’d once felt about being a private investigator, and any confidence I might have had in the competence of the authorities. It’s why I quit the business, and I didn’t want to be responsible for someone else getting killed, especially someone I cared for. Now, while I waited for Davies, I found myself once again in that position. I didn’t like it one bit.
I was trying to figure out how I could break out of the car when Davies drove up. She was dressed island casual; beige shorts, a white blouse, and sandals. She was still clutching her oversized purse. She spoke to the officer who had cuffed me and walked over to where I was confined.
She stopped outside of the passenger side rear door and drummed her long fingernails on the top of the cruiser. She tapped out an irritating little riff that echoed throughout the car, and then opened the door and stooped down. “You know, I haven’t had more than three hours of unbroken sleep since I met you. I’d say you’re becoming a real pain in the ass, but that would be way too much of an understatement.”
“The past few days haven’t been a vacation for me either,” I said. “Now can you quit enjoying yourself so much and get me out of here?”
“You’re kidding, right?” she asked. “Are you abrasive by nature, Darling, or do you have to work at being an asshole?”
I thought about a retort, but I didn’t have time for games. “I need your help,” I said.
Davies laughed and backed away from the door. “Get out,” she said.
I slid across the seat, swung out of the car and stretched to my full height. “Could you get me out of these?” I shook the cuffs.
She ignored my request. Leaning back on her right hip, Davies gazed at my face as if it were a road map. Without looking away she reached into her suitcase of a purse and pulled out her cigarettes. She shook one out and tucked it into the corner of her mouth. Only then did she look away from me as she dipped her hand back into the bag and rummaged for a lighter.
“Let me get this straight,” she said. “You want my help? Let me tell you Darling, you’re in no position to ask for help. In fact, you should be on your knees begging me to let you help me.” She lit the cigarette, took a deep drag and blew a stream of smoke into my face.
I coughed and turned my head away. “I’ll beg, if that’s what it takes.”
“It’s tempting, but you need to help yourself.” Davies pointed at the cop who had arrested me and at the burning house. “You need to help me understand what the hell’s going on around here.” She paused for effect, and then took another deep hit of nicotine.
