In a Cold Sweat (15 page)

“Its okay,” I told him, and pushed the barrel of his gun down. “He’s all right.”

As soon as he felt it was safe to do so, Esmond rushed up and threw his big arms around me. “It’s good to see you again, Black.”

“It’s good to see you too my friend.”

“The minute me hear you come, me fix conch chowder for you.”

“I haven’t had any conch since the last time you made some for me and Cassandra.”

“I want to say how sorry I was to hear ’bout the lady,” Esmond said, referring to Cassandra. “You know me love her like she me own flesh and blood.”

“She loved you too.”

“I miss her as I know you do,” Esmond said and hugged me again. “You let me know when you ready for some conch.” Esmond let me go and returned to his kitchen. “Maybe while you're here, we can get up a game.
 
Since you been gone there’s no one to challenge me at chess.”

“Why don’t you bring me a big bowl and set up the board,” I said and he smiled. Esmond loved to play chess and we had played many games and I had lost plenty of them because of careless mistakes.
If I could just live my life without making careless mistakes.

Once I had gone though the place and met all the new employees, I settled down with a big bowl of conch chowder and wondered just exactly what I was doin’ there. I mean, I did want to check out the place, but I wasn’t pressed about it. To be honest, I was there for no other reason than to see Jacara, and I wondered why.

Okay, Jacara did have the type of body that made me want to play with it, so naturally I wanted to fuck her. But I had much more important things that I needed to be doing. The people responsible for Cassandra's death were still alive and thinkin’ that they got away with it. And on top of that, somebody had tried to kill me and I have no clue what that’s about.

The second that I finished my chowder, Esmond brought the chessboard over and began settin’ it up. I hadn’t played since I left the island, so I was looking forward to playing even though I knew I’d lose. The game wore on and I tried to stay focused, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something just wasn’t right. That something bad was about to happen.

I had just moved my queen’s bishop to king rook two when Jacara walked in to the paradise wearing a light blue sundress that hugged every delicious inch of her body. I watched her as she stood by the door and scanned the club looking for me. “Check,” Esmond said.

I looked at the board, and sure as shit, he had me in check and had left me with few options. “Shit. Didn’t see that,” I said, realizing that I had made one of those careless mistakes.

By that time, the hostess had told Jacara where to find me and she was moving in my direction. When she saw me sitting there, her beautiful smile broadened. I stood up to greet her and so did Esmond.

“Well, hello, Mr. Black. How are you on the beautiful island day?”

“I’m good. Jacara Delbridge. This is Esmond,” I pointed at the smiling chef.

“I must say that it is an honor to meet you, Miss Delbridge. I have seen your show and loved it, and have seen you in here many times.” Esmond paused and pulled out a chair for Jacara to join us. “You might go as far to say that me a fan of both your voice and your beauty.”

“Well, thank you very much,” Jacara said graciously and sat down. “I don’t mean to interrupt your game.” She picked up a menu.

“That is all right, pretty lady. It is not going to last much longer,” Esmond laughed while I studied the board trying to find a way to move out of check.

A waitress came to our table and placed a drink in front of me before turning her attention to Jacara. “Can I get you a cocktail from the bar?”

“Yes, I’ll have a Sea Breeze with a twist of lime,” Jacara answered.

What I needed now was to not only get myself out of check, but form a plan to turn this game around, mount some offense and win this game. I had planned to be done with the game before Jacara got there. But now there she was, and I had no intention of losing in front of her. But I heard somewhere that roads are paved with good intentions and three moves later I heard Esmond say, “Checkmate.”

Esmond stood up and collected the board and the pieces, while I sat there and wondered how I lost so badly again. “Can I fix you someting special? It would be an honor to prepare a meal for you,” Edmond said to Jacara before he headed off.

Jacara picked up the menu again and began flipping though it, deciding what she wanted to eat. “Bahamian crawfish with peas n' rice sounds tasty.”

“I will make it with love, my dear,” Esmond promised and turned toward the kitchen.

“You’re not having anything handsome?” she asked me.

I smiled. “He knows what I like. It’s sort of a tradition we have. He puts it in front of me and I eat what he cooks.”

“Isn’t that sort of risky? I mean, suppose you don’t like what he cooks?” Jacara asked and leaned forward, giving me a spectacular view of her cleavage. I couldn’t tell if she was wearing a bra, but I hoped she wasn’t.

“He has never let me down yet.”

“I just don’t know if I could do that,” Jacara smiled and touched my hand.

“Sure you can. Just think back to the days when your mother cooked for you. You ate whatever she put in front of you, no questions asked.”

“If you didn’t, you’d get beat and then have to go to bed hungry,” Jacara laughed and I enjoyed watching her titties bounce.

“Exactly.”

“Still, I would really have to trust your cooking.”

“He’s a great cook. That’s why I hired him.”

“And that’s another thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Why didn’t you say that this was your place?”

“I thought you knew and that’s why you wanted to meet here.”

“No, I wanted to meet here because I like the atmosphere of this place and the food is good.”

“So you didn’t know this was my place and you didn’t know the name of it.”

“You know, as many time as I’ve been here, I never realized that the name of the place is Black’s Paradise. Everybody on the rock just calls it The Paradise.”

“Maybe I had you wrong, Jacara.
 
Maybe you are just another pretty face.”

“Since I am having a blonde moment, I’ll take the pretty face thing as a compliment.”

“It was meant to be one,” I said to Jacara, thinking that she was as pretty as Cassandra and Mystique; if not prettier.
  

Not too long after that,
Esmond
and a waitress came out of the kitchen carrying two plates. “Bahamian crawfish with peas n' rice made with love for the beautiful lady,” he said and placed the food in front of Jacara.

“Thank you, Esmond. It looks and smells delicious. I know I’m going to enjoy it.” Jacara turned to the waitress who had just put my food down and a drink in front of me. “Can you bring me another Sea Breeze, please?”

“No problem,” she said and went about her duties.

“Excuse me, Esmond, but what is Mr. Black having?” Jacara asked.

“Me fix curried Rock Lobster with peas n' rice for him, beautiful lady. Made with the same love as yours.”

“That’s not on the menu,” Jacara protested. “If it was I would have ordered that.”

“Me make it special for him,” Esmond said.

“Ownership has its privileges,” I said, and began eating my food.

“I tell you what, beautiful lady. I make you the same deal me have wit’ him. When you come in, I fix someting special for you, just as me do Black.”
 

“I’ll have to let you know about that,” Jacara told Esmond, who bowed graciously and disappeared back to his kitchen.

After we ate our food, I invited Jacara to join me upstairs on the observation deck.
 
“I’ve never been up here before,” Jacara said as we walked upstairs. “What's in there?” she asked pointing to the door at the top of the stairs.

“An office and a small apartment that my wife and I used to stay in sometimes when we didn’t feel like goin’ home.” Which I hadn’t gone in and don’t think I’m gonna. Too many Cassandra memories in there.

“I didn’t know you were married,” Jacara said nervously like she expected Cassandra to bust though the door and bitch slap her.

“Don’t look like that. She was murdered not too long ago.”

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

“How could you? When you didn’t ask.” I started to say, ‘Don’t be sorry for me. Be sorry for the mutha fuckas that were behind it, ’cause I’m gonna kill all of them, just as soon as I find them.’ While it was the truth, why
be
a drag on the day?

When we got out on the deck, the view of the beach and the Caribbean Sea took Jacara’s breath away. “This is an absolutely beautiful view. I didn’t know this was up here.” She moved to the rail and looked out in all directions. I was enjoying Jacara’s company.

We spent the rest of the day out on that deck, just as Cassandra and I had done many times, talking and looking at the horizon until the sun disappeared from the sky. Since neither of us seemed to like answering questions, we agreed, no questions. She didn’t ask me
any more
about who I was or what I did, and I knew all I really wanted to know about her.

When it was time for her to go, I walked her to her car. She took a step closer to me. “I enjoyed my day with you, Mr. Black, Mike Black.” Jacara said in a way that reminded me a little too much of Cassandra.

“I enjoyed you,” I said, ’cause I did. Mystique and I don’t really talk much, so I enjoyed just talkin’ to Jacara. But that’s where things always get complicated. “Goodnight, Jacara.” I gave her what amounted to a brotherly hug, you know, a pat on the back and an appropriate amount of space between us. But that wasn’t enough for her.

Jacara wrapped her arms around me and I felt her lips against mine and pulled her closer to me. I liked the way her body felt against mine, but I knew I would. With my eyes closed, I could see Jacara naked, sliding up and down on top of me.

“I liked that,” Jacara said.

I felt her body tremble a little in my arms. “Did you?” Jacara stepped away from me.

“Maybe we could continue this later?” Jacara stepped to my chest. “I’m at the Sheridan tonight. No big stage show or anything like last night at the Port. It’ll just me in the lounge singing old standards with a piano player. But stop by tonight, late,” Jacara said and kissed me on the cheek this time. “If you’re not busy, of course.”

“Maybe I will.”

“If you do, I’ll sing
Girl from
Ipanema
accapella
for you. You did say that was one of your favorites?” Jacara said and got in her car. I watched her drive off before I told Jamaica's men that I was ready to go. And I mean I was really ready to go.

As we drove, I thought about Mystique. I liked her, which is why I don’t allow her to get close to me. It could be no different with Jacara. She was funny, intelligent, and very playful. She was fun to be with and I know I could get to like her too.

And would that really be all that bad?

Wanda tells me all the time that Cassandra wouldn’t want me to be alone for the rest of my life. And for a second, I considered staying a while on the island. But I felt like I dishonored her memory being there on the island with Jacara. I was on a plane back to New York first thing the next morning.