Scottsdale Heat: a romantic light-hearted murder mystery (Laura Black Mysteries Book 1)

by B A Trimmer

  The sound of Milo’s car had just faded down the road when we heard another car come into the yard. DiCenzo didn’t even have time to walk out of the office before there was the skid of tires and the slamming of car doors. There was loud shouting in that weird foreign language. I had never figured out what it was, but I hated hearing it. My stomach tightened to the point I thought I was going to throw up.

  Hearing their voices brought back all of the horrible details of a few days before. Hate and rage welled up inside of me. I thought about just grabbing a gun and shooting them both as they came in the room. OK, so maybe it wasn’t the way to solve anything, but it still sounded like a good idea.

  Smith and Jones strolled in looking smug as ever. Each had on a brown leather bomber jacket and gold-rimmed sunglasses. Jones’s nose was swollen and he had two black eyes. The brothers loudly complained that DiCenzo should have personally driven them from their hotel. They were offended that representatives of the Consortium were being treated so disrespectfully. DiCenzo gave them a clenched teeth apology and the brothers seemed temporality mollified. Jones saw me standing against the wall. Our eyes made contact and he flew into another rage.

  “What is this one doing here?” he shouted. “We will not conduct business with this slut in the building.”

  I know I should have kept quiet, but I was pissed. “What have you jerks done to Danica? Where is she?”

  “We haven’t done anything to her, yet,” Smith said, amusement now in his voice. There hasn’t been enough time to do more than to teach her a few manners.”

  He then smiled a small sick smile. “Although, my brother has told her in some detail what he will do to her when we get back. I’m afraid that after what you did to his face, he is very much in the mood to abuse an American harridan.”

  “If you two assholes hurt her, I’ll hunt you down like dogs. I’ll shoot you in places that won’t kill you, but you’ll wish the hell it had.”

  “Still you tongue, bitch,” Jones shouted. “Why do you anger over that one? She is only a filthy American whore, an unclean slut who dances naked for money. For the first time in her life she will be with a true man. I have already told her how I will use her for pleasure. If she pleases me, then she will live. If she does not, then I will cut her for the joy of watching her bleed.”

  I took a step forward. I really needed to hit someone. Max had hold of my arm and I wasn’t able to get any closer. I tried to get loose of his grip, but it was no use.

  Tony stepped between the brothers and me. “People, there ain’t no reason to act like this. I don’t give a damn if you like each other or not. We’re here for business, not to go off on each other.”

  DiCenzo turned to the brothers. “Gentlemen, this woman is here at my invitation and under my protection. I expect you to treat her with some courtesy. Miss Black,” he said turning to me. “What these men do with your friend ain’t none of my business. Any problem you have with them needs to be taken up after our business is finished.”

  DiCenzo then took a step back and smiled. It really was a friendly smile. “Now as a favor to me, and to help things go smoothly, would everybody keep their emotions in check for the next couple of hours? After that, I don’t give a fuck what you do to each other.”

  DiCenzo looked at me. I nodded my head that I would comply with his request. He then looked over to the brothers.

  Smith waved his hand impatiently. “Let us proceed,” he said in a tone filled with disgust. “That one is not important enough to waste further breath on.”

  Still wanting to hit someone, I walked over to the window and looked out at the dirt parking lot. A Town Car pulled into the lot and came to a stop. A driver got out and opened the rear door. Albert Reinhardt, the Iceman, stepped out. He was carrying a stainless steel briefcase, the kind popular with drug dealers and concert promoters. The driver got back into the car and it pulled away. Reinhardt walked into the office and Tony introduced him to the group.

  Boris pulled out a yellow CD case and handed it to Tony. “On this disk is a list of every diamond that will be exchanged,” Boris said. “You will see this list exactly matches the information that has already been provided to you.”

  Tony handed the disk to Ingrid, who put it in her computer. After a moment, a spreadsheet opened on the screen. It was the same spreadsheet I had seen in Suzie Lu’s apartment two days ago. I felt the room go still as everyone turned to look at me.

  “All right Laura Black,” Tony said. “It’s time for the diamonds.”

  I reached into the front pocket of my jeans and pulled on the bandage box. I tried three times, but I couldn’t pull the box out of my tight pants. It was wedged in and I couldn’t get a grip on the slippery metal sides. Panic began to set in as I looked up to see everyone in the room staring at me. I had an uncomfortable vision of having to unzip my pants in order to get the box out. Finally, with a sense of desperation, I gave a hard yank and the box pulled free.

  I walked to the table and slowly poured the half-pound of diamonds in a pile in the middle of the black velvet. Sunlight from the window shone down on the pile and shot thousands of bright rainbows throughout the room. It was like standing next to the world’s brightest disco ball. Gabriella let out a gasp. I also heard a collective sigh from the men in the room.

  DiCenzo walked to the table and bent over. “These things have been causing me nothing but trouble for weeks, but Jesus, they’re fuckin’ beautiful.”

  Reinhardt pulled a chair next to the table. He opened his briefcase and took out a case containing jeweler’s tools and a small box. He set the box on the table next to the scale and then opened it. Inside was a row of seven or eight diamonds. The diamond on the left was a brilliant white. Looking down the row, each diamond was a little more yellow. The diamond on the far right was a golden honey color.

  Under the watchful eyes of the Brothers and the Russians, Reinhardt took out a pair of tweezers and picked up a diamond from the top of the pile. He pulled out a small jeweler’s magnifying glass and looked at the diamond for about 20 seconds. He brought out a small light that cast a purplish glow and he held it against the diamond as he continued to look at it. He then held it close to his mouth and breathed on it for a moment. He again looked at it underneath his magnifying glass. He then compared the diamond in his tweezers with the diamonds in his box, moving it back and forth over the row of diamonds. He then put it on the scale and weighed it. He spoke to Ingrid, who then typed some numbers into her computer. She gave a nod and pointed to the spreadsheet. At this, Reinhardt brightened.

  “The first stone I have examined is a true diamond,” Reinhardt said. “It exactly matches a diamond on the list, number 247.”

  With this announcement, the tension in the room noticeably dropped. Reinhardt placed the diamond on a piece of blue paper that was on the desk in front of Ingrid. She folded the paper into a rectangular packet, about three inches wide by two inches tall. She wrote some information on the paper then put it in a long, sturdy-looking, zippered carrying case.

  Reinhardt and Ingrid repeated the operation with the next diamond. Ingrid checked off another diamond form the list and now the leather case contained two blue packets.

  Walking to Max and me, Tony said, “This is going to take about two hours, Ice is the best there is, but there’s almost 300 diamonds to look at. This is where tempers begin to flare. People don’t like to stand around doing nothing. Makes them feel too exposed.”

  Tony then nodded to Gabriella who started dropping ice cubes into a row of glasses she had lined up on the bar. The sound of the ice seemed to lighten the mood a bit. The brothers walked over to the bar and demanded Jack Daniel’s American Whisky. The Russians stayed at the table, not taking their eyes off the diamonds. Tony went to the bar and began talking to the brothers. It sounded like they were discussing golf swings.

  Max also went to the bar and talked for a minute with Tony and the Consortium brothers. He then came back to where I was standing, holdin
g a drink in his hand.

  “I thought you might need this,” he said, handing the drink to me. It was a Scotch, with one ice cube floating in it. A tingle of electricity shot up my arm as our fingers brushed against each other.

  “Scotch with one ice cube?” I asked him.

  “Surprised I remembered?”

  “No, I bet you have a very good memory.”

  “I’ve been remembering lots of things about you lately.”

  “Really? Maybe we should got together sometime and see what’s been on you mind.”

  “Maybe we should,” said Max. He then walked back over to where Tony was standing.

  Jeez, what is wrong with me? I’m at a Criminals-R-Us convention and I’m flirting with one of the hoodlums.

  I watched him walk away and for a moment I forgot all about being in a room full of diamonds, guns, and dangerous people. It was a nice distraction.

  As the Reinhardt and Ingrid continued with the inspections, I noticed there was never a point that either Max or Gabriella wasn’t within three or four feet of Tony. I also noticed whichever one was nearest Tony, they stood so they were looking past DiCenzo and into the people standing in the room. They were clearly acting as his bodyguards but they transitioned so smoothly I doubt anyone else even noticed.

  ~~~~

  After what seemed like forever but was actually less than two and a half hours, Reinhardt finished examining the last diamond. He spoke to Ingrid who typed the information into the spreadsheet. There was another brief conference between Reinhardt and Ingrid, after which the Iceman stood up.

  “Mr. DiCenzo and gentlemen, every diamond on the inventory sheet has been accounted for and is as represented. There are a total of 283 diamonds with a total weight of 1,163 carats. The remaining three diamonds have previously been accounted for.”

  DiCenzo turned his head to me and gave a nod. Max, who was seated behind DiCenzo, held up his hands and silently clapped for me.

  Damn, I’m glad I didn’t pinch one.

  Ingrid put the last of the blue packets in the leather case and zipped it up. Reinhardt took the case and placed it in his steel briefcase. Acting with utmost care, he locked the briefcase and sat it on the table, in the middle of the black velvet. With this final task completed, he gathered up his tools and tucked the scale under his arm. Ingrid turned off her computer and put it in a brown leather briefcase. They made their goodbyes to DiCenzo, the brothers, and the Russians. They both walked out of the office and a moment later, I heard cars starting up in the parking lot.

  Smith pulled out a cell phone and hit a speed dial number. When the phone was answered, he spoke five or six rapid sentences. He then passed the phone to Jones, who also spoke half a dozen quick sentences into the phone.

  DiCenzo walked over to where Max and I were standing. “The exchange will be in the form of an electronic funds transfer. Much safer than carrying cash and if done correctly won’t leave an incriminating paper trail. It will be just one business legitimately transferring money to another. Happens millions of times a day.”

  Boris pulled his cell phone out. He speed dialed a number and spoke into the phone for thirty seconds in a low murmur. There was a pause as Boris passed the information to Ivan. Ivan took the phone and listened intently for almost a minute. Ivan spoke one sentence and gave the phone back to Boris who listened for a full minute. Boris then spoke two or three sentences. Without disconnecting the phone, Boris placed it on the table. Boris and Ivan talked to each other in rapid-fire Russian and then seemed to come to a mutual agreement.

  Ivan separated from Boris in a way that made me think of a two-man military team preparing to go into combat. Boris spoke to DiCenzo in a loud voice that was meant to carry, not only to all of us in the room, but to those on the phone as well.

  “Mr. DiCenzo, there is a problem here. The electronic transfer was for two million dollars fewer than we have agreed to. Please explain the meaning of this!”

  Smith spoke up, “That is for your incompetence in losing the diamonds. It is our fee for making us hunt like dogs to get them back. You are lucky to get as much as you did, take our money and be at peace.”

  Boris pulled a semi-automatic pistol from a shoulder holster and leveled it at Smith’s head. “I must inform you we are under strictest orders to not permit you to leave until Moscow is wired the additional two million dollars.”

  Jones pulled a pistol from behind the small of his back and pointed it at Boris’ chest. “Take the diamonds,” Jones quietly said to Smith, who in turn walked over and picked up the briefcase. Ivan pulled his piece and brought it to bear on Jones.

  From behind the bar, Gabriella brought out an Uzi and leveled it at the two brothers. A smile of pleasure was lighting up her face. Max was next to Tony in an instant, pistol drawn. Smith had also pulled a piece and was pointing it at Ivan. It had quickly become a stalemate, a Mexican standoff.

  Tony and Max looked at each other. I saw volumes of information pass between them, although neither spoke a word. Tony then looked at the ground and shook his head. I heard him mutter, “I don’t fuckin’ believe it.”

  Max lifted his free hand to his mouth and quietly talked into it. He then gave Tony a slight nod. Tony seemed to relax slightly.

  “Boys,” Tony said. “This don’t help nobody. The price was agreed on weeks ago and the merchandise has been delivered as promised. So, Mr. Smith, either wire Moscow the rest of the money or this deal don’t go down at all. I’ve got a dozen men in and around this building. You ain’t gonna get even one diamond out of here unless this whole deal goes down smooth.

  “Oh, but you are wrong, filth, we can take the diamonds. We will now be allowed to walk out with the diamonds, or everybody here dies.” Jones then unzipped and opened his jacket. He was wearing a vest packed with enough explosives to blow the building apart three times over.

  “Jesus Christ!” Tony moaned, more in exasperation than from fear.

  I dove behind a desk and looked around to see if there was a way out. So, OK, guns I can sorta tolerate. Bombs I can’t.

  Gabriella stood there looking at Tony and Max for instructions. From the look of joy on her face, I could tell she was hoping for a shootout. It’s funny, but as I looked closer, I saw her look was more than just joy. She was panting and her face had taken on a light pink glow, the exact same look Sophie gets whenever she is about to be with a man. It was a look of growing erotic ecstasy.

  Wow! Go figure that one out.

  Tough Tony DiCenzo just stood there. His eyes had narrowed and he looked pissed. Max was talking into one hand. His gun was still in the other.

  The brothers started yelling in their weird language and the Russians started yelling in Russian. Neither side was doing a lot to calm the situation.

  On the back wall of the office, underneath the window, a panel approximately three feet wide by four feet high swung open, creating a small doorway to the outside. Johnny Scarpazzi’s face appeared in the opening, beckoning DiCenzo to come through.

  Moving with the grace of a cat, Gabriella moved from behind the bar and positioned herself next to this new door. Max pushed DiCenzo in her direction. I saw Max was acting as Tony’s bodyguard while Gabriella covered their escape. Max looked over and motioned for me to follow.

  We formed a line. DiCenzo was in the lead. Max was in the middle, acting as sentry. I was at the end, hoping they would both go faster. The yelling was getting louder and I didn’t think it would be very much longer until somebody started shooting.

  DiCenzo made it to the door. I saw several pairs of hands waiting to pull him to safety. Suddenly, a voice cried out. It was Smith.

  “American! You will not escape. If I am to die today, so shall you!” With that, Smith spun around and fired at DiCenzo.

  As soon as Smith turned, Max was in the air, diving in front of DiCenzo. The bullet from Smith’s gun hit Max squarely in the chest. The impact of the slug knocked him into Gabriella, who was sighting the Uzi at Smith. The arm ho
lding her Uzi was knocked upward. There was a loud Buuuuurp as a dozen bullets sprayed the ceiling. As she pulled the trigger, I saw her lips had tightened into a tight moan of ecstasy.

  Arms reached in and pulled Max through the opening. Gabriella was on her back. She was trying to get up, but the impact of Max’s body had knocked her senseless. I saw her shaking her head in an effort to clear her vision.

  Smith took aim at Tony’s head. DiCenzo just turned and stood facing the man. He didn’t try to run. I guess he’s not the type to back down, even in death.

  I was crouched along the back wall, next to the window. Jones was still in a standoff with the two Russians. Their eyes were all locked onto each other. Each was waiting for the other to flinch.

  Seeing that DiCenzo wasn’t running, Smith smiled, savoring the moment. I saw his finger tighten on the trigger. Without thinking, I lunged at Smith’s gun. I hit him against the side of his arm just as he fired. He was solidly built and I merely bounced off, but it was enough for his shot to go wild. The bullet struck the wall slightly to the left of where DiCenzo still defiantly stood.

  At the sound of the shot, Jones turned. It was just for a moment, but that was enough. Boris and Ivan each shot simultaneously. I didn’t see where Jones was hit, but I saw him start to go down. That was good enough for me.

  Gabriella had made it to her knees and was bringing the Uzi to bear on Smith, who had just turned back to fire at the Russians. Then everybody started shooting.

  I felt a hand grab me by the shoulder and DiCenzo tossed me across the room in the direction of the escape door. I landed hard and I felt my lungs empty out with an ooof. Several pairs of hands yanked me through the door.

  I stood up and turned. As if in a slow motion dream, I looked back and saw DiCenzo being pulled out of the building. Gabriella was next. She was still firing her Uzi into the building even as she was being drug out. Goons surrounded us and we all limped toward a waiting line of cars.