Yew to a Kill

by Kim Smith

  He tucked his hurt arm in for protection and off we went.

  When we got to the nurse’s station, one of them detached from the computer she was putting information into and stopped us.

  “You have to be taken down by a nurse,” she said.

  I nodded. “Okay, can we hurry though? I left my car in the discharge drive.”

  She wrinkled her nose and came over to do the job herself. In a few moments, we got to the rental. Dwayne asked why I was driving the truck.

  I swallowed hard and managed a quick smile. “Betsy got stolen yesterday.”

  “What? You’re freakin’ kiddin me, right?”

  “Nope. Snatched. Taken. I don’t know what I’ll do now. I really can’t afford a car note.”

  “Well, I ain’t supposed to drive for a few days, I guess you can wheel me around in the ‘stang.”

  I patted his shoulder. “Thanks, Dee.”

  The nurse let him move out of the chair before bidding us goodbye. I opened the passenger door for him, helped him get his seatbelt on, then ran around and got in.

  As we waited for traffic to clear on Greenman Road, he told me about a male nurse who had come in during the night.

  “You just never know when you will get blessed with the best,” he said.

  “Did you get his number?”

  “Does a kangaroo jump?”

  “Y’all didn’t, you know, play doctor or anything did you?”

  “Naw. I wouldn’t do that. He was working.”

  Silence stretched between us while I drove. Finally, to break the quiet, I asked, “Did you ever get a chance to let Carrie know we paid her way into the contest?”

  “Oh yeah. She was thrilled. She’s going to call us when she gets somethin’ together and we can all have a hand in creatin’ the spread.” He made a disgusted face. “Like I wanna do that.”

  “You were Bubba’s friend. You should help make his last dream come true.”

  “Naw, I helped make his livin’ dreams come true. Whatever,” he said, making the word sound like a bad one. “Is havin’ your car stolen the reason why you’re not spewin’ out information and news and suggestions today? What’s up? You’re really quiet.”

  “I’m trying to keep my emotions under control for your sake.”

  “Eff that. You can scream and cry all you want to. If I lost my car, I’d do worse.”

  I shook my head. “No. It’s not changing anything. I think I’ll just keep cool this time.”

  “Where did it happen?”

  “At the apartment, right out of the lot.”

  “Who did it?”

  I frowned at him. “How would I know?”

  “Who’ve you pissed off lately?”

  I shrugged. His question was impossible. I didn’t go out of my way to make enemies. Sometimes people didn’t like me, but I didn’t have enemies per se. At least I didn’t think I did.

  I turned into the trailer park and we drove down Rafe’s street. As we passed his trailer, I couldn’t help but look around.

  “Wait!” Dwayne shouted. “Look!”

  I saw it. I didn’t believe it, but I saw it.

  Betsy was parked in Rafe’s driveway. Maybe I did make an enemy or two along the way after all.

  I stomped on the gas and jetted past.

  “Whoa! What are you doin’ Wall-ass? You gotta go back and get your car!”

  “No,” I replied through gritted teeth. “No, not this time. This time the cops can handle it.”

  “Are you as nutty as a runned over squirrel? We can take him.”

  I swerved into Dwayne’s parking slot and threw it into park. My breath heaved, and I swallowed hard trying to control myself. “Sure we can. Let’s see, you’re real able-bodied today, aren’t you? Don’t be silly, Dwayne. He’d probably kill both of us. It isn’t worth all that.”

  He stared at me, reading me like only he could. “Why did he take your car, Shannon? You know somethin’ and you ain’t tellin’.”

  He had me. No point in lying. “Yeah. I do. This is all a get-back. I sort of took something of his, too.”

  Dwayne pulled on the door handle and maneuvered himself out of the truck.

  “Well, you better figure out what story you are gonna tell, Lucy Ricardo, ‘cause Sal ain’t gonna like this.”

  I propelled myself out of the other side and came around to help him inside.

  “Ah, don’t worry about it, Dee. I think I know what to do.”

  Once we were in his trailer, and I’d seen to his comfort and caught my breath, I dialed Sal.

  “Ramirez,” he growled into the phone.

  “Hi, it’s me. You remember that item you borrowed the other day, the item in exchange for donuts? I need it back.”

  “No, I don’t believe I do,” he said innocently. “What item would that be?”

  I coughed and turned my back to Dwayne. He flipped the television on and turned the sound up. Thank goodness he wanted no part of my troubles.

  “Sal, it’s serious. I need that book. I found my car at your cousin’s place, but he won’t give it to me unless we swap fair and square. I have to have that book.”

  “Your car is at Rafe’s?”

  I wanted to smile at the change that came over his voice. He wasn’t quite as cutesy as before.

  “Yes. Now can you help me?”

  “I’ll do better than that. I’ll drive you home in it.”

  The line went dead. I turned to look at Dwayne who stared at me with a knowing look in his eyes.

  “You better hurry. My gun’s in the bathroom hamper.”

  Chapter Ten

  I didn’t take Dwayne’s gun, but I did rush out of his trailer and jog down the street. I hoped by cutting through backyards and side streets I could get there faster than Sal. I had to stop for a moment and catch my breath once I reached Rafe’s street.

  I really needed to exercise more. My life and the dangers it seemed to bring home were good enough reasons to take up regular aerobic conditioning. As I slowed to a walk, inhaling heavily through my nose, I turned the corner and saw Sal’s Taurus parked in front of the trailer.

  My heart fell to my knees. How the hell did he do that?

  I hurried forward. Just as I neared the end of his car, he came busting out of Rafe’s trailer, with his cousin in cuffs. He looked hot, mad, and determined.

  Rafe was bleeding from his nose and his cheek was going to be a terrible bruise by nightfall.

  I started forward, but Sal held up his hand, stopping me. “No. I’m taking him down. You need to leave your car here, I’ve called it in, and they’ll want to take prints.”

  “But...” I let the words die. Rafe turned and glared at me, eyes hollow and blank, like pictures I’d seen on television of serial killers. Sal shoved him in the back seat. Suddenly, I was glad he was in custody.

  Sal shut the door, raked his hand through his hair, and paused before climbing in the front. “By the way, I spoke with Scott. He’s checking on the caskets. It’s an inventory thing. Anyway, I’ve got a lot facing me now, so I’m gone. Dan Justice should be here soon with the others.”

  He climbed in the driver’s seat, and I watched as he roared off, his tail lights disappearing in a cloud of dust. Tomorrow’s headlines flashed in my mind. Bradley Thames’ Killer Apprehended. Then, a more unsettling realization set in. Tonight Sal would be calling on me about a tiny omission on my part about a break-in at Rafe’s trailer, or my name wasn’t Shannon Wallace.

  Because if I were Raphael Ramirez faced with the ire of his cousin, I would be singing like a canary.

  Plopping down on Dwayne’s grungy sofa later, I tried to understand how the hell I could find myself faced with so many dilemmas on a damn Thursday afternoon. I hadn’t had this much going on since the events of last summer. In the span of one hot, hurtful week, I had gone from each end of the spectrum of emotions. Loss, fear, and anger, and back to loss. Now I found myself once again feeling as though the world was out to get me.
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br />   I opened a cola for Dwayne and drank half of one of his cold Evian waters as I walked over to hand it to him.

  “My Granny would say you’re thirsty as sin.”

  “She’d have the sin part right,” I agreed.

  “What happened, and don’t leave nothin’ out.”

  I related the scene at Rafe’s. “Then I walked back over here, too dazed and confused to do anything else.”

  “Damn. He’s into some bad shit. I just know it. This whole deal can’t be because he’s been hangin’ with my crew.”

  “If it is, then you know something you haven’t told me,” I said, pointing my bottled water at him.

  “I don’t know shit, girl. Dude has gone off the deep end if he’s in with those freaks runnin’ around stealin’ caskets. And since he was back there the first night we went out there, and the next time we went the boxes were out there, it’s hard not to think so. Why’s he stealin’, period? First caskets, then your car. Cars and caskets? Damn, I’m curious what he’s into.”

  “Sal said he has Jason checking his casket inventory to see if he is even missing any.”

  “And ain’t that too weird? If he has a clean inventory, what’s that mean? Somebody’s reusing them? Gross. That’s just too nasty to even think about. Rafe didn’t strike me as the kind to go for freaky stuff like that, neither.”

  “You should see his collection of porn.”

  Dwayne frowned and shook his head in confusion.

  I went on. “Oh yeah, he has some. I found it. Well, let me just fill you in on some stuff. I sort of broke into his place. I say sort of because I used a key he kept under his door mat. But I wasn’t supposed to be there, so technically, it was illegal entry.”

  He sat up straighter and grunted as he rearranged his arm. “And you’re telling me this why?”

  “I can’t tell anyone else. I need your input.”

  He nodded, and I went on. “I found his little black book and stole it. I was going to try and find out who he’s involved with by checking out the people in it. Before I could do that though, Sal visited my apartment, found the book, and got the wrong idea. He thought it was mine.”

  “Uh oh. What did you tell him?”

  “I finally had to tell him the truth. I couldn’t just let him think I had that many boyfriends.”

  Dwayne started laughing. “He thought you was Miss Popular Pants, huh?”

  “Stop. Yes, he did. I cleared it up for him, though, and we had an argument. He ended up leaving and the book went with him. I didn’t know it was missing until later.”

  “So, that’s what the call was about? You thought if he gave it back to you, you could get Rafe to give you your car?”

  “Well, yeah. Rafe only took my car when he found out I was in his place. See, I had to talk to his neighbor, and she seemed a little nosy. I guess she gave him a good description of me.”

  “Oh, I’m getting the picture now, Shuttle Discovery. The nosy neighbor talked all about you and he figured out you was there? So his stealin’ your car was not a crime as much as a get-back?”

  I nodded, draining the bottle of water. “Probably didn’t take him long to put two and two together. How he found my apartment across town, well, that’s a horse of another color. I guess he found me on Facebook or something.”

  “You and I are in business. He could’ve used common joint connections to find you. In fact, I have likely mentioned you to him sometime. He ain’t no dumb bunny.” He paused to consider what I had told him. “Ain’t that something? And come to think of it, what’re you gonna do?”

  “Now Sal’s got Rafe at the station, the cops have Rafe’s prints all over my car, and I guess that means he’ll be going to lockup. He’ll tell Sal I broke into his trailer. I might even be asked to come down to the station myself. What if I get busted for B&E?”

  Dwayne scooted to the edge of the chair he was sitting in, held his hurt arm with the opposite hand, and then stood. “Doubt Rafe will tell them about all that. He’s one of those kinds who deals with his trouble his own way. You better be worried if he gets bailed out.”

  “Am I in danger?”

  He licked his lips. “I’d say it’s a good possibility.”

  “Great.”

  “The best defense is a good offense, Wall-ass. Maybe you oughta go see Sal first, before he calls?”

  I stood and grabbed my purse. “Well, just in case things go to hell in a hickory basket, here,” I handed him the check reorder form from my wallet. “Get whatever info on Rafe you can out of this. He’s been making large deposits. More than his little salary could bring.”

  He smiled. “Damn girl, you really are somethin’, aren’t you?”

  Oh yeah. I was certainly something. Mostly in trouble.

  “Can you follow me to the car rental place and then loan me your car?”

  “Anything to keep your ass off a slab.”

  ###

  After dropping the rental off, and giving Dwayne a ride back to his trailer, I made a side trip to my apartment for food. I needed sustenance if I was going to go toe-to-toe with Salvador Ramirez and risk seeing his cousin again. I knew I was stalling, but it worked for me.

  Halfway through a ham sandwich on wheat with lots of pepper and mayo, my cell rang. I hurriedly swallowed milk to shove the food down. The caller ID said it was Sal. Why was I not surprised?

  So much for stalling.

  “Hello?”

  “You at home?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ve got your car.”

  “You coming here?”

  “Yeah. You okay with that?”

  “As long as you don’t steal anything else.”

  I heard a snort as the screen went dark.

  When he rapped a few minutes later, I opened the door wide and waved him in. I didn’t say anything, instead reserving my strength in case he got tough. I had no idea how much Rafe had shared with him, but I was pretty sure I was about to find out.

  When he stood silently, tapping his fingers against his crossed arms as though waiting for me to say something, I beat a quick retreat to my kitchen.

  What can I say? Food comforts me.

  I poured more milk and this time brought out a box of individually wrapped cupcakes to go with it. I couldn’t possibly talk with a mouth stuffed full of chocolate cake and white filling.

  He joined me in the kitchen and slowly helped himself to one of the cakes. Then he walked to where I kept glasses and poured milk into one. He glanced at me as if I might rescind his privileges. I suddenly thought it was odd how he practically knew his way around my kitchen as well as I did.

  Only the sound of chewing, swallowing, and cellophane crinkling filled the air. Finally, I couldn’t stand the suspense. I gulped my milk like a cowboy in a cantina finishing off whiskey and asked, “You got my keys?”

  He nodded and pulled them out of his back pocket along with some papers folded in half longwise. He never stopped chewing. Just the sight of my keys sent waves of happiness through me. I wiped my hands on a paper towel and started to read the papers.

  About the second paragraph, he cleared his throat. “You got a problem with Rafe?”

  I looked up, hoping my face didn’t look too relieved. I really wanted this over with.

  “No, not at all. Other than he was seen running with someone out of the back of the cemetery. The same place where caskets were piled up and then suddenly went missing. No problem at all. I think he is involved somehow, but that doesn’t make him a problem—”

  He interrupted. “You chased him, you went to see his mother, you went to his house, broke into it, in fact, stole some personal property, and left yourself wide open to a little revenge. I think that means you have a problem with my cousin.”

  I walked to the end of the table, flopped the papers down, and sat, my chin propped up on my hands. I studied him. No way he could know I swiped that reorder form. All he knew about was the address book. He knew I had been there though, and he was
letting me know he knew. At least the cat was out of the bag now.

  “Okay, maybe I wasn’t Miss Think-It-Through. I needed some personal info on him to get clearer on his possible involvement. I just did what first came to mind. Sorry it wasn’t the best-laid plan.”

  He walked to the other end of the table and joined me. “You can either sign that statement and go to court to prosecute, or, well...”

  “Or what? Let him off the hook since we basically are both even? I guess that means you gave him his address book back?”

  He nodded.

  I sighed. Rafe and I zeroed each other out. I guessed pressing charges would only get me a bigger black eye when he caught up to me, and fear of being mugged by Raphael Ramirez made my hands sweat.

  “Is he going to be looking for me now that this has happened?” I asked.

  “No way. He knows if he tried that, he’d be in real trouble next time I have to haul him in.”

  “Will you handle it? The letting him off the hook stuff?”

  He nodded and for the first time his shoulders slumped a little. Being a crook’s cousin is pretty stressful, too.

  “I think since you are so hell-bent to find out what’s going on with Rafe, maybe we should work together,” he suggested, looking at his hands before turning his dark chocolate eyes on me.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “I’m waiting on the autopsy results on the Thames case. We sent it down to Jackson and those things go along at a snail’s pace. Have more on my plate besides. I can’t be everywhere at all times.”

  “But you think I can? Sheesh. Why do you need my help?” The first flutter of suspicion kicked in.

  “Simple. You’re Brown’s sidekick, and that guy knows everything about everybody.”

  “Like what does he know that you need to hear? Come on, Sal, work with me here. You’re asking a lot.”

  He smiled. “Okay. This is the deal. Back during the Christmas holidays, a kid named William Taylor, aka Billy the Kid, died from a drug overdose shot straight to his heart through his neck. Not the usual place for users to go to, eh?”

  “Murder?”

  “Exactly. The drug of choice was heroin, pure as pure can be. Then two months ago, an undercover cop was killed by one of his newsboys, an informant, you know?”