Smugglers 4 - South Beach Heat

by Gerald McCallum

  John went back to talking about Rita, and with that, Nikki made a decision, a five hundred thousand dollar decision. Then she freshened up their drinks, and John and she talked about the last two days. When the drinks were done she made them more, but when she got back, John was fast asleep, never to wake again.

  “Now I won’t have to hear you harping about Rita anymore,” she told him.

  Nikki waited for dark to set in, put on dive gear, and took John to the front door, pushing him in the water between the houseboat and the dock. Then she slipped in the water next to him with some half inch nylon. As she pulled him under water he started to convulse from the salt water going into his lungs. She tied his legs together at the ankles, and tied his hands to each side of her money bags. He just floated there in space, like some kind of Macy’s Day Parade float. She put him there out of harm’s way, to be retrieved later. Then she got out of the water and went to her apartment to shower and change.

  With a fresh drink in hand, she made her way to Rita’s.

  “Is John here?” Nikki asked, her face all innocence and filled with mild concern. After a bit of chit-chat, Nikki left and went back to her apartment. At this point, Nikki didn’t know what she would tell people about John or where he might have gone. She just knew that she was glad to be rid of him and have his half of the money, not to mention the fact that she was free to see Mark now.

  In the morning she made sure that she asked everyone on the dock if they had seen John. Later that day she took what little clothes she had of his to her car for disposal in town. John would be no problem, as long as she got his body out to sea without being seen. During the next week things were routine, and she always asked if anyone had seen John.

  She was invited to a barbeque on the dock for Memorial Day, a potluck thing. About twenty-five or thirty people were on the dock partying and carrying on. Rita would not be there until after four, or so, because she was still asleep. However, Mark was there, as well as all the other people from the dock, and some people from next door.

  As Nikki sat at one of the tables, Rick sat down next to her and started to talk to her about Criss, the purse, and what it was full of. Not what everyone was told, but what was actually in it. In between hitting on her, he tried to promise her half of the contents of the purse by becoming partners, with benefits.

  The more she listened, the more he talked. One thing was clear to Nikki, the purse was really full of jewels, not insurance papers as everyone else thought. She decided to lead Rick on, to get more information on the contents of the purse. With that decision she told him to come to her place about midnight, or as soon as he could get away by himself, then left him to mingle with the others.

  Nikki went home about eleven or so, and Rick and Criss had been gone for an hour. She had not been home more than five minutes when there was a knock at the door; it was Rick. She made them both a drink and they sat on the sofa. Nikki started by asking point blank what the real contents of the purse were. He said, “Two and a half million dollars in diamonds.”

  “Where did she get two and one half million dollars?” Nikki asked.

  “Her inheritance; she spent it on diamonds, all of it,” he replied.

  “Are you sure that there are diamonds in the purse?” she inquired.

  “It’s full,” he insisted.

  “Okay,” she said, “let me sleep on it. I’ll give you my answer tomorrow.”

  “We should seal this deal with something,” Rick said.

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself, I may turn this deal down, then there would be no happy ending for you. Here, let’s finish the drinks and kiss goodbye for now. See you tomorrow,” she replied.

  The next day went by uneventfully. Nikki told Rick she was in, and to be at her place that night about midnight. When he arrived at her apartment she asked once again, “You’re sure the purse is full of diamonds?”

  “Sure,” he confirmed, then he moved in on her and gave her a kiss, which she reciprocated.

  When they stopped kissing, Nikki made drinks and broke out the toot. “Let’s do a line and then settle the deal.”

  When Rick heard that, he could hardly control himself. He started kissing her and taking off their clothes. She all but laughed because it was so easy to be in control. At this point he would do whatever Nikki said.

  When she went to do another line Rick fell to his knees and started to kiss her one free leg. Nikki stood him up and made him do another line, then led him to her bedroom. He was with her in bed three or four minutes, then he was done.

  ‘God,’ she thought, ‘he wasn’t kidding. He hasn’t had any sex for years.’

  As they lay in bed, with him panting and her thinking, she said, “The only way this will work is if we do it the day you’re scheduled to leave. You can send her down here about six in the morning, to pay up your bill and say goodbye, but she won’t come back to your boat. Is that okay with you? Then you must pull out, and I will meet you at a GPS heading with your half of the purse. Okay?”

  “Alright,” replied Rick.

  The next ten days passed rather quickly, except for Rick’s constant drinking and trying to get more ass from Nikki before the deal was done. Finally the day came, and Criss showed up at Nikki’s office at the scheduled time. As they talked and settled up the bill, Nikki slipped knockout drops in Criss’ coffee. In a few minutes, Criss passed out.

  Nikki ran around her desk, grabbed and opened the purse. Rick was right. It was full of diamonds and other jewels. She threw the purse aside and pulled Criss to the floor, tying her feet together.

  Nikki had to work quickly now, as it was getting light. So she dragged Criss to the front door and put her over the side, in the water between the houseboat and the dock. She could hear Rick pulling out right on time.

  She quickly went inside for her mask and fins, then jumped in the water next to Criss, who was convulsing. Then Nikki pulled her under water, tying her body right under John. The fish had eaten most of his face, eyes, and fingers by now and were working on his legs and arms. Criss would look like that in two to three weeks.

  It reminded Nikki of a totem pole. Now, both their arms were outstretched, like they were begging her to come to them.

  Nikki turned her back on them and returned to her apartment where she changed before going out in her boat to meet Rick.

  When she got to the appointed location, she pulled her boat up next to his and handed him the purse. As Rick sat down and opened the purse to go over the contents, he looked up to see Nikki pointing a silver, silenced, nine at him from four or five feet away. Then he heard and felt the sting of two bullets entering his chest. He fell over onto the purse, which was empty.

  Nikki stepped from boat to boat and bound his feet together. She then tied a rope to them, which was tied to two concrete blocks in her boat. Jumping back, Nikki threw the blocks overboard. As the rope tightened it pulled Rick into the water. She noticed that he was alive, but was paralyzed.

  “The water here is one mile deep,” she called out to him. “Enjoy the view.’ Then she went to work cleaning up his boat before cutting it loose, letting it drift off.

  Nikki returned to the marina where Mark and Don were having coffee on Don’s boat. Nikki went aboard.

  Don asked, “Where were you so early?”

  “Oh, Rick and Criss forgot two letters. So I went out to catch them quick before they hit the bridge.”

  “Did you catch them?” he inquired.

  “Of course,” Nikki said with an innocent smile.

  Rita was just getting home, and Mark said, “She pulled an all-nighter.”

  As they watched, a tall black dancer showed up and went into Rita’s place.

  After coffee, Nikki went back to her apartment and called Rita, but there was no answer. After a Bloody Mary she tried her number again, but there was still no answer, so she walked over, knocking lightly on Rita’s door.

  The door opened, with Rita standing there in her silky, sexy, robe,
smiling, “Oh, what a pleasant surprise, come on in.”

  Upon stepping in, Nikki saw that the door to Rita’s bedroom was closed. “You look like you’re having fun. Hope I didn’t interrupt you, but I can’t stay, even though I would like to. Besides you have a guest to attend to.

  “Her name’s Isabelle.”

  “She’s hot,” Nikki said. “I just wanted to tell you that I’ll see you tonight after work.”

  She went on her way down the dock to Cynthia’s boat. She and Tim were up and having coffee on the weather deck.

  “Hey, can I come aboard?” Nikki called out. “What’s going on anyway?”

  “Well, if you came here for seconds, it’s too late. I just took yours, but if you give him some OJ and wait thirty minutes, he’ll be ready to go again,” Cynthia said, looking at Tim. “Have you heard anything from John or Mike?”

  “Not a word,” said Nikki.

  “I bet they’re on the Sportfish drinking coffee right now having the time of their lives,” Cynthia said.

  Tim went downstairs to get something. While he was gone Nikki asked Cynthia, “How are you two getting along?”

  “Well, to tell you the truth, he bores me. If it wasn’t for the sex, I wouldn’t have him on my boat. In fact, if he goes back to Key West this weekend, I won’t be sad.” They broke into laughter.

  “With that said, maybe I’ll take him for a week, if you want, on Monday.”

  “Deal,” said Cynthia. When Tim came up from downstairs, Cynthia told him about the deal. “You move in with Nikki for a week, on Monday.”

  Tim looked at Nikki and said, “I need my own bedroom and coffee by seven in the morning. Plus I have some dietary needs that need to be fulfilled on a daily basis.” Nikki and Cynthia broke into laughter again.

  “First, Tim, it’s a one bedroom apartment, and second I have your dietary needs with me at all times.” They laughed again. “Well, since that’s settled, I have some dock work.” Nikki left.

  On the way to her office she saw Chief Joe pull up. He told her the next pickup was next Wednesday night, but they needed their own boat. After a minute or two he left and Nikki wondered where she’d get a partner and boat by next Wednesday. She had to talk to Rita as soon as possible.

  Nikki wondered if Rita and Isabelle were done. She knew it was too early for them to be up, but she thought she would knock anyway.

  Rita’s door opened. It was Isabelle. She was even taller than Rita, but very pretty, and her hair was cut short, framing her face perfectly.

  “Hi, I’m Nikki; is Rita here?”

  “Very nice to meet you, and even nicer to see you; I’m Isabelle. Rita’s in the shower. Come in, she’ll be out in five.”

  Nikki went in and Isabelle came back from the kitchen with two coffees. She had on a shiny nightgown with no underclothes. They sat and talked for a few minutes. Nikki could tell she was smart and had her shit together. Besides being tall, thin, and black, she didn’t have any of the drawbacks that Rita had.

  Soon Rita came out of the bedroom to get a glass of water. Freshly showered, body oiled, and totally nude, she didn’t know anybody was there. When Rita saw Nikki sitting on the sofa, she gave a startled squeal and made a vain attempt to cover up. Then she walked to the fridge to get some water. “I see you two have met.” she said.

  “Not completely,” answered Nikki, looking at Isabelle. “Where have you been hiding this wonderful woman? In your room, I bet.”

  “She just started to dance, and we just got to know each other this morning,” Rita answered.

  Rita walked up to Nikki, stood in front of her, looked over her glass and asked, “So where have you been hiding yourself? I haven’t seen you since you were here looking for John. Did he ever come back?”

  “Nope, I don’t think you’ll ever see him again. In fact I don’t think anybody will ever see him again.” Nikki smiled at both the women.

  CHAPTER 26

  “When you get dressed, can we talk over at my office for a few moments?” Nikki asked.

  “I’ll be there,” Rita answered.

  Nikki left, but not before telling Isabelle, “I hope I’ll see you again.”

  When Rita got to Nikki’s apartment, Nikki said that she hadn’t told Joe that John was gone. If they wanted to keep the money they had and stay alive, Rita had to make the next trip with her.

  Rita put up a fight at first because she would miss work. Nikki likened it to Rita jumping over dollars to pick up dimes. “So you would forego making a million dollars in four or five hours, to keep a titty bar job that pays twenty-five dollars an hour? Is that what you’re telling me?” asked Nikki.

  “No, I’m just worried about getting caught and not having a job to count on,” Rita answered.

  “Believe me, if we get caught, a job will be the least of your worries.”

  “Okay, okay, I’ll go. I guess at this point with what we’ve done it doesn’t matter, but at five million I’m out. Three more trips max,” said Rita.

  “Okay, that’s a deal,” Nikki agreed.

  “How long until the next trip,” Rita asked.

  “Two, or three weeks. So how long have you been keeping Isabelle for yourself? God, she’s pretty. Is she interesting? Are you going to share?”

  When Nikki got no answer, she pulled on Rita’s arm. “Are you going to be piggy or share? Don’t just stare down the dock, answer my question.”

  Then Nikki saw what Rita was looking at. The Chief with two of his men were walking down the dock straight for them.

  “Rita,” the Chief said without introduction, “we need to take you in for some questions.”

  “About what? Rita asked.

  “The guy who turned up missing told one of the other dancers he was meeting you the night he vanished, so we would just like to ask you some questions. Can you come downtown for a couple of hours?”

  “I have to think about it,” Rita said.

  “Rita, don’t make me change your status from a person of interest to a suspect,” said the Chief.

  “If I’m a person of interest, what are the two bodyguards for?” asked Rita.

  “They are here to guard your body, of course, and to keep me out of trouble. Rita, get what you need and then hop in the back seat of my car,” the Chief instructed her before heading to the cop cars.

  Nikki waited for Rita to get her purse, then walked to the cop car, reassuring Rita that things would be okay. “I’ll pick you up in two hours.”

  As she turned to go back to the dock, the Chief caught up to her. He spoke under his breath. “She told that asshole, and he told his stripper girlfriend that he was going with Rita to pick up a load of coke, and he would have big money from now on. Luckily, he told her no more, and I got the word first. Believe me, Rita must go before she gets picked up for real by the DEA. I’ll take care of this, and you can pick her up in two hours. But Nikki, I never want to see her again.”

  Nikki started to argue when the Chief interrupted her. “Nikki, act like your life depends on it, because it does.”

  Nikki went back to her apartment and tried to grasp this new turn of events. She was beside herself about Rita; she was really fond of her, perhaps more than fond. So what was she going to do?

  Then she thought of her two million dollars under the dock, plus the half million she just made on the run. The answer was clear. She could survive, plus pick up two and a half million dollars, which was rightly hers, anyway.

  The more she sat and thought about Rita, the angrier she got at her friend for telling that asshole from the titty bar about their deal. She’d gotten them both in this fix. The Chief was right; Rita had to go! She would go now, or down the road, but she had to go before she told anyone else.

  Nikki had an hour before she had to pick up Rita, so she sat at her desk and thought. When she came up with an idea, she got everything ready and in place for Rita. She remembered that Sam liked to shark fish, so Nikki found his stuff and took out the biggest shark hook and a three
meter wire leader.

  A big shark hook is about eight inches long and made from solid iron, which meant that it will eventually rust and fall out. The wire leader is a one hundred pound test, strong enough that shark can’t bite through it.

  Nikki drove to the Chief’s office, where she found Rita waiting at the curb.

  “Boy, what a nightmare!” Rita said after she got into the car.

  “So did they grill you?” Nikki asked.

  “There wasn’t an interrogation. Just me and the Chief in his office, and he knows all. Luckily that jack-off didn’t tell Candy, the dancer, everything. Thank God he’s gone, too, but the Chief doesn’t know how far gone he is. He thinks he ran off.”

  “Are there any more surprises? Are you sure you didn’t say anything to anybody else? You’re sure?” asked Nikki.

  “Only him, no one else, but I still want to leave here, tonight. I need my money,” she said. “I’ll pack and see if my old car starts. I haven’t driven it in five or six months. As soon as I get to Miami, I’ll get a new one and keep going.”

  “Okay,” Nikki agreed. “You pack and I’ll get the money.” They parted on the dock.

  Nikki went to her office to think. She was sad about having to get rid of her good friend. She wondered how to proceed.

  Luckily it was getting dark on the dock. Nikki put on her wetsuit for cover and went across to Rita’s apartment. When she went in, Rita was still packing.

  “Did you get the money?” Rita asked, seeing Nikki’s wetsuit.

  “I was about to, but I need your help to get it when you get done packing. I’ll get the rest of my stuff and be back in five,” Nikki said. She went to the dock where she connected the shark hook to two concrete blocks.

  When Rita joined her on the dock, Nikki said, “Set down your suitcases and help me get into this.”

  When Rita bent over to pick up the BC, the buoyancy compensator, a vest, and tank, déjà vu came over her at the sight of the concrete blocks. With fear widening her eyes, she looked over her shoulder to see Nikki stepping closer, holding the shark hook over her head. Rita had no time to react as Nikki plunged it into the back of Rita’s shoulder blades. In a flash, Nikki kicked the blocks in the water. Before Rita could even yell out or feel the pain of the hook, she was pulled from the dock and into the water, following the blocks to the bottom.