“The next day, the cops called him asking why he never showed up. He said he never called the cops. He told them his phone had been stolen the night before.” Dwyer dropped his eyes, his hands shaking. “Then they doubled our rent. Can you fucking believe that? They call it ‘rent,’ as if they have a legal right to the money.”
“There seems to be a lot of Jamaicans on the Island. How do you know who’s part of the extortion?” Sin asked.
“We don’t. I think that’s what has everyone on edge. Every time I see a black guy, especially if he has a Jamaican accent, my pulse races, and I feel like I’m gonna throw up. You just don’t know.”
“How do you know who to give the money to?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Dwyer said. “The glove. They always wear a black glove on their left hand if they’ve come for the rent. They don’t even need to say a word. If someone shows up wearing the glove, we just hand over the money.”
“Jesus,” Spanky groaned.
Sin sat back, deep in thought, biting her lower lip. “What about tattoos? Have you noticed any matching ink, maybe gang tats these guys might have?”
“I can’t say I have, but they’re usually dressed in jeans and long sleeve t-shirts.”
“How do you know it’s not someone just trying to make a few bucks? You know, just come in wearing a black glove, grab the money, and take off.”
Dwyer laughed. “No one would be stupid enough to do that.”
“Why not?” Troy said.
“I’ve heard the leader of the Black 6 gang is ruthless. That’s what they call themselves, the Black 6. There are stories of him cutting off someone’s finger and making the poor son-of-a-bitch eat it for stealing from him. After the guy did it, the bastard killed him anyway.”
“Any idea what this boy scout looks like?” Sin asked.
He shook his head. “No, no one does.” Dwyer looked toward the clock on the wall. “It’s almost seven, I need to go set up for the day.”
“Most gang names come from people outside the gang. I get the black part of the name,” Sin said, “any idea where the 6 came from?”
“I heard the leader of the Black 6 referred to as The Priest and that he has the numbers 666 tattooed across his back. The locals seem to think it came from that.”
“One more question, Jim, before you go,” Sin said. “Do the members have a local hang out? Someplace they like to go other than the little Jamaican joint down by Mallory?”
“There’s a hookah bar and kava joint up by the southernmost point, the Key West Kava Kafe. That’s where you can usually find the Jamaicans hanging out during the day, but I don’t know who’s part of the Black 6 and who isn’t.”
Sin stood and shook Dwyer’s hand. “Jim, I want to thank you for coming and meeting with us. It was a brave thing to do.”
Jim nodded. “Just catch these bastards and get them off our island.”
Sin waited until he left and Spanky went back to work before addressing Troy and Tiffany. “Tiff, I want you to go back to the hotel and see if you can find Savio. Stubbs, see if you can dig up any dirt on this guy. We’ll meet at the Key West Café at noon.”
16
Sin’s skin glistened in a sheen of fine sweat as she pulled her bike into the parking lot of the café. It was barely noon and the Key West sun sat high in a cloudless blue sky scorching all who dared enter its domain. Wiping her brow, she eyed the parking lot. Troy’s truck was among the cache of others, some she deemed local by their plates, but most either rentals or out-of-state tourists.
Christ, she thought, the spring-breakers have multiplied since just yesterday.
Swinging her leg over her saddle, she felt her stomach drop when she realized Tiffany’s jeep was nowhere to be found. Her pulse quickened as she checked her phone. No messages. She strode into the restaurant, hoping Troy had heard from Tiffany. He hadn’t. After fifteen long minutes Sin was about to leave and check the hotel when she caught a glimpse of Tiffany walking in.
“Sorry I’m late, but I have a good excuse,” Tiffany said, taking a seat.
“You better,” Sin said.
“I found Savio.”
Sin glanced at Troy. “Third-grade teacher or not, she’s still the tenacious investigative reporter I grew to love in Miami.”
“She might be late, but I think she has you trumped.” Troy said.
“You might be right, Stubbs,” Sin said, her eyes back on Tiffany. “What did you find out, Tiff?”
“I was hanging out at the pool keeping an eye out. About an hour ago, I saw him enter his room. He could barely walk and looked like he’d been up all night. I waited a few minutes to see if he was gonna leave again, but he didn’t. I made my way to his room. He didn’t answer the door, so I knocked again. He yelled for me to go away, but I was persistent. I told him I was a friend of Pia’s.”
“You what?” Sin said, her voice barely a whisper yet sounding like a yell.
Tiffany raised her arms in subjugation. “I know it was a risk, but I was running out of ideas and time. Besides,” she smiled, “it worked. Savio grumbled for me to wait a minute.” She put her arms down and leaned forward, folding her hands on the table. “It took him a bit, but he finally made it to the door. I heard him slide the chain in the lock just before he opened the door a crack.
“He asked me how I knew his cousin, so I told him we met at an off-campus party.” Tiffany took a sip of her Diet Coke before continuing. “I kinda panicked because I didn’t
