Key Lime Blues (21 page)

I scooped one out of the box for myself and asked, “What do you think?”

“They’re good.” My mother finished off the first one and reached for another. She pointed with it across the square. “Do people really pay to go in there?”

Tanya and I looked over to the shipwreck museum. “Sure,” Tanya said. “It’s what Key West used to be about. We’ve got lots of reefs and shallow water. Throw in all the tropical storms and hurricanes that hit the area and you’ve got a wreck magnet. Of course everything has changed with modern navigation, but boats are still lost on a regular basis.”

“Mel Fisher found the Spanish galleon,
Atocha
, not far from here,” I said.

“One of many,” Tanya said. “Wrecks were the biggest business on the island from the early eighteen hundreds until shortly after World War One when the wreckage courts were closed. They say that during the age of sail, a hundred ships a day passed through the Keys. In any given week a ship would wreck off the coast. The tourist tower over there is sixty-five feet tall. Some of the wrecker’s towers were over ninety feet tall.”

My mother picked up the last fritter. When I stood and carried the cardboard tray over to the trashcan she turned to Tanya. “How do you know about all of this?”

“I think I’ve been in every museum on the island a half dozen times each. School trips, family and friends visiting, even a few dates.”

I wandered back over to where they were seated. “Greenfield Village in Dearborn was where we took a lot of our field trips when I was a kid. If it rained, we toured the museum. Nice weather meant the Village. I always preferred the Village over the museum.”

“My favorite has always been the Hemmingway house.” Tanya said. “When I was young, I wanted to be a writer.”

“It seems to me that being a writer would be a lot more fulfilling than running a bar,” my mother said. She held out her hand for me to help her up, and added, “You must meet a lot of unsavory characters in your business.”

“Mother,” I said. I was prepared to run interference for Tanya but she reached out, touched my arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Your mother’s right Wes. I’ll bet I meet almost as many lowlifes as you do in the detective business.”

I stood between the two women, closed my eyes, and waited for what I was sure would be a heated response. Instead, to my surprise, my mother started laughing.

“I like this girl, Wes.” She turned to Tanya and added, “I’ve enjoyed this. Like I said last night, we need to get together, just the two of us.”

“Mother.”

She looked at her watch. “Oh don’t worry, I’m not going to give away any of your secrets. And I don’t have any naked baby pictures on me. Now, I’ve got to go get the car. I’ve got an appointment with your Detective Davies.”

“She’s not my detective.”

“Yes. Well, she didn’t seem all that fond of you either. Now you two have a nice afternoon, and I’ll talk to you later, dear.” Without another word, she spun around and headed back toward her hotel.

Chapter 20

“Your mother’s an opinionated woman, isn’t she?” Tanya said, while we watched my mother disappear around the corner.

“That would be an understatement.” I let out a sigh. “She’s determined that I’m going to take over the agency when she retires. Nothing I say or do seems to convince her it’s not going to happen. But enough about my problems, what’s on your agenda for the rest of the day?”

“I’ve got to get over to Alvin’s. I’ve got a liquor order to place, and I’ve got some bookwork to catch up on. What about you?”

“I’m gonna pay Elvis another visit, but not until a little later. I’m hoping to get a lead on Destiny’s whereabouts. How about if I walk you to the bar?”

She nodded and started off across the lot. I grabbed her arm and steered her toward the waterfront. “Let’s take the back way. I don’t want to experience an unexpected run in with Frankie or Willie.”

“What are the chances we’ll walk into them?” she asked.

“It’s a small island. As long as we’re together I’d like to avoid them at all costs.”

“Fine,” she said. “Besides, there’s nothing more enjoyable than a walk along the water.”

I put my arm around her and pulled her to me. “Nothing?”

She laughed. “Nothing we can do in public.”

I looked around and decided we were definitely in the public eye. The square was filling with tourists from a cruise ship that had docked earlier that afternoon. We walked in silence for several minutes before I asked, “Do you sail? You know, I’ve worked for you for six weeks and I don’t even know if you like being out on the water.”

“Love it. I dated a guy who owned a small sailboat and I went out a few times with him. Dad had a powerboat. He sold it when he got sick. I’ve spent plenty of time on the water. It’s almost a prerequisite to growing up in the Keys. How long have you been sailing?”

“My grandfather owned a thirty-foot sloop and I sailed a lot when I was younger. When he died, my mother sold the boat. She felt I wasted too much time sailing and she wanted me to concentrate on learning the business.”

We walked along in silence and when we passed the Ocean Key House Resort, Tanya gave my hand a little tug and we headed up Duval.

As we turned onto Caroline Street, Tanya slowed her pace. “When people discover you work for the family business, they think you’ve got it made. In reality, it’s like being swallowed by a giant Venus flytrap. It engulfs you and sucks out all your energy. You don’t even realize what’s happening until it’s too late.”

“Why don’t you sell the place?” I asked. “I can tell you from my own experience—it’s not easy giving up security, but the rewards are immense.”

Tanya dropped my hand and shrugged. “Maybe it was easy for you, but it’s not for me. My dad didn’t have very good health insurance when he took ill. There was some life insurance, but the hospital bills sucked up a bunch of the equity in the bar and the house. Besides, I’ve got a college degree in English, there’s not a whole lot you can do with that unless you want to teach. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about myself, it’s that I don’t have the slightest desire to babysit a classroom full of kids.”

“You could always go back to your dream and give writing a chance,” I said, remembering her comment about the Hemmingway house.

“I gave it some serious thought before Dad died, but all the research I’ve done suggests it’s not an easy way to make a living. Most writers make less than ten thousand dollars a year.”

We’d reached the bar and I stood at the door for a moment, staring at her. “No one said life was supposed to be easy.”

Tanya opened the door and I followed her inside. “I’ll think about it,” she said.
 
Her tone lightened and she added, “Of course I have to remind myself that this advice comes from a man who tends bar for a living.”

“Ouch,” I said. “You’ve got to remember that I worked for my mother from the time I was fourteen and could help out around the office. Now that I’ve quit, I still haven’t decided what I want to be when I grow up.”

“Like that’s ever going to happen.” She gave me a wistful smile. “Like I said, I’ll think about it. In the meantime, let’s get you a drink.”

Most of the locals had not gotten off work yet and the bar was almost empty. There was a young couple sitting at a table, holding hands and whispering back and forth and an old gent I’d seen there before. He kept his long, thin gray hair tied back in a ponytail, his beard was wild and bushy, and he walked with the help of a cane, which he leaned against the bar.

The woman behind the bar, Eve, was in her forties and had a puckered face and thick stubby hands. Her naturally white hair flowed down past her shoulders, and she wore tight fitting jeans and an Alvin’s tee shirt that tugged at her middle.

I’d met Eve a couple of times, but she was usually gone by the time I came on duty. The daytime crowd was far different from the night crowd, and Eve was the antithesis of the women who worked the bar at night.

When we approached the bar she nodded.

“Eve, would you fix Wes up with whatever he wants? It’s on me." Tanya nodded in my direction and headed toward the back room. “I’m going to get changed, and then I’ll be out to relieve you.”

I took the end seat at the bar while Eve gave me the evil eye. “What’ll it be?” she asked.

“I’ll take a Miller
Lite
.”

Eve walked over to the cooler, made a show of drawing out a dripping bottle, wiped the sweat with her apron, and twisted the cap off with her bare hand before moving back to stand in front of me. She set it down, a little harder than necessary. “Tanya’s like a daughter to me.”

I picked up my beer and took a long sip. It was cold and it tasted good. I set the bottle down and looked across the bar at Eve. I figured she’d get around to what was bothering her when she was ready.

“Tanya has always made it a habit not to date her employees,” she said.

“Who said we’re dating.”

“I can see it in both your eyes.”

“We’re good friends,” I said. Her stare made me feel uncomfortable and I began to swivel my stool back and forth. “If you have any questions about our relationship, you should ask Tanya.”

“I’ve worked here for ten years and I’ve grown pretty fond of that girl. I don’t want to see her hurt.”

I figured it was Tanya’s business how much, if anything, she wanted to tell the other employees about what was going on between us. I was never one to kiss and tell, but I was glad Eve was concerned about Tanya. I might have even blushed as I gave her my most sincere look. “I have no intentions of hurting Tanya. Do you give everyone she brings around the third degree?”

“No.” She reached out, slid my beer bottle out of the way, and leaned across the bar. “Just the ones who have assholes looking for them.”

My heart sped up and I swung around and scanned the room. There was no doubt in my mind her visitor had been Willie. After all, how many assholes did I know? I gave her his description to be sure.

“That’s him,” she said.

“How do you know he was looking for me?”

“He gave me your name and asked if you were working tonight. When I told him I didn’t know, he threatened to twist my nipples off if I didn’t find out for him.”

“Sorry you had to deal with him,” I said. “I hope he didn’t scare you too badly.”

Eve shrugged. “I’ve been working bars since I was a teenager. I’ve been threatened, spit on, pushed, sworn at and even hit with a broken beer bottle.” She pointed to a faded scar on her cheek. “Eight stitches.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That I’d been told you had a death in the family and were taking a couple of days off. As far as I knew you hadn’t been in since Thursday.”

“He believed you?”

She nodded. “Slipped me a twenty and gave me a number to call if you showed up.”

I slid off the stool. “He can’t know that Tanya and I are friends.”

She picked up on the concern in my voice and smiled for the first time. “I wouldn’t call the little weasel for a twenty,” she said. “Now if we were talking a hundred, it might be different story.”

“You can’t…” I began, but she lifted her hands and stopped me.

“It was a joke,” she said. “I wouldn’t do anything to put Tanya in danger. But it’s possible he could come back in.”

I looked toward the door Tanya had disappeared behind a few minutes earlier and considered going to her, but decided against it. “I think I’d better get going,” I said.

“I’ll explain what happened to Tanya. Are you sure this guy doesn’t know about you and her?”

“Not unless Gail told him.”

“Shit,” Eve slapped her hand on the counter top and I jumped.

“What?” I asked.

“I never did like that girl. She’s trouble and I don’t trust her.”

“Well she seems to be buddy-buddy with Tanya,” I said. “I’ll get going now. Tell Tanya I’ll see her at her place after work.”

Eve raised her eyebrows. “Her place.”

It was my turn to smile. “Like I said earlier, if you want to know about us you’re going to have to ask Tanya.”

“Don’t think I won’t,” Eve said.

I nodded, turned to leave, and hesitated. I shot a quick glance back at Eve and said, “Thanks. I owe you one.”

Eve nodded, and I walked away from the bar and out the door.

Chapter 21

I looked up and down the street and felt a rush of relief when I didn’t see Willie. I was concerned for Tanya’s safety. I didn’t know whether Destiny had told Frankie about her, but it didn’t matter. As long as he was looking for me, there was a chance he’d learn that I was staying at Tanya’s house. I was convinced Frankie would not hesitate to use her to get to me. I didn’t have what he wanted, and I was afraid he’d hurt Tanya in order to motivate me to find the diamonds.

I headed straight to Elvis’s house. I wanted to get there while it was still light and check out the place.

The way I figured it, if he had a phobia about going out in the dark, he hadn’t been the one to kill Bob or Billy. It didn’t mean he wasn’t involved. I was prepared to drag him out of his house once it got dark and scare the hell out of him. It wasn’t the way I would have liked to do things, but people were dying and I didn’t want to join the funeral crowd.