She knew instantly why Avis had sent an SUV instead of a van. Vans didn’t come with child lock doors. How stupid she was. She should have known that. Then again, how could she, since she didn’t have children? She absolved herself. She wasn’t stupid, after all.
Pilar finished her coffee and headed back to her bedroom so she could shower and dress. Her heart was beating so fast, she thought it would burst right out of her chest. She used every ounce of willpower in her body not to turn around and look at the box on the table.
Forty minutes later, Pilar was showered, dressed, and made up. She was dressed casually in a plum-colored pantsuit with a cream-colored blouse. She wore flat-heeled shoes and carried her pricey Chanel bag. A white leather duffel bag sat by the door. She’d packed it at midnight. Two pairs of black slacks, three sequined, sparkly tops, and three dressy blouses, along with her granny flannel nightgown, underwear, and makeup. Not too heavy, and she planned to carry it, not check it in baggage. She looked around to see if she’d forgotten anything. Nothing that jumped out at her.
The last thing she did was open Gabe’s sock drawer. She rummaged for the only pair of argyle socks he owned, and unrolled them to reveal five thousand dollars rolled into a very tight cylinder. More than enough to get her to Florida, where she could buy whatever she needed in case she had forgotten something. She dropped it into her purse and covered it with several tissues. Done.
Pilar walked out into the living room, reached down, and pulled the plug to the television set out of the outlet. She hated the roar of outrage she heard, but that didn’t deter her. She picked up her jacket and slipped it on. She carried the duffel to the front door and dropped it, along with her purse! She ran into the kitchen for the FedEx box and thrust it into the baboon’s hands. She didn’t care that he was texting his boss.
She opened the door to leave, but he grabbed her arm. She lashed out with her foot and gave him a good crack on his shinbone. She looked down at the text on the baboon’s phone. Stay where you are. Stay with the plan.
Instead of saying something to the baboon, Pilar pulled her own phone from her jacket pocket and pressed in Delgado’s number. The moment she heard his voice, she went into her spiel. “Do not tell me what to do and when to do it. I am leaving now. The baboon can come, or he can stay. It doesn’t matter to me. Tell him if he even looks at me crossways, I will scream rape at the top of my lungs. I have a good set of lungs, just so you know. It’s time you showed me some respect.”
She shoved the phone into the baboon’s hand. He was smart enough to bring it up to his ear as he leered at her. She listened to his side of the conversation, not understanding a word he was saying. Nor did she care. She did care, though, when he threw the phone at her. She was lucky and caught it before it smashed on the tile floor in the foyer. She didn’t hesitate even for a second before kicking him square in the family jewels. As he doubled over, Pilar reached down for the Chanel purse with the heavy double gold chain. She wound up like a discus thrower and rapped him in the head. He toppled over, and for good measure, she kicked him in the ribs. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard a satisfying sharp noise. She hoped she had cracked a rib. Or two. Maybe three.
Duffel in one arm, her handbag on her shoulder, the FedEx box under her other arm, Pilar sprinted for the elevator, where a white-haired elderly gentleman was holding the elevator door for her. He looked curiously over her shoulder at the baboon, who was limping down the hall and cursing in Spanish. Pilar smiled and shrugged. She was careful to position herself on the opposite side of the white-haired gentleman. She almost laughed out loud when she noticed the man sniffing and wrinkling his nose.
“What floor, young lady?” he asked genially.
“The garage level. By any chance, sir, are you going to the lobby?”
“I am. I’m taking my morning constitution. Why?”
“Would you mind dropping this box off at the desk? That way I can go straight to the garage. I have a plane to catch.”
“Of course I don’t mind.” He reached for the box just as the elevator stopped at the garage level. Pilar smiled and waved as she quickly left the elevator, the baboon right behind her. Her eyes raked the parked cars. The white BMW SUV was right where Carlie had said it would be.
She walked toward it, reached under the fender, and withdrew the magnetic box and pulled out the key. She walked around to the passenger side and pressed the remote that would open the door. She took her time walking back around to the driver’s side, where she fiddled with the key fob. The baboon was smart enough not to get into the car until her side opened. She had one leg up and was about to slide onto the seat when she heard the passenger-side door slam shut. Quicker than lightning, she was off the seat, the door slamming shut behind her. She ran then, dodging between cars until she found her own car. She was in and peeling rubber in seconds when she heard what she thought was the sound of a gunshot.
Damn. That was the one thing she hadn’t thought of, that he could shoot his way out of the car. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Gabe would have thought of that.
She quickly pressed in the digits for 911. She reported a robbery in progress and said, “He has a gun, and a knife strapped to his leg. I think his name is Santos, and I suspect he’s illegal.” Pilar hung up before the operator could ask her any questions.
The garage came alive with sound, horns blaring, early morning risers screaming and yelling as they tried to figure out what was going on. Like she cared. She was out now and blasting down the road on her way to the airport.
She did it! She’d outwitted him! Now all she had to do was get to the airport, and it would be clear sailing. Or flying, as the case may be. She was safe. At least until she landed in Florida and met up with Zuma Delgado. She did wonder, though, if the baboon would have time to call Delgado before the police arrived.
Ninety minutes later, Pilar was thirty thousand feet in the air. She couldn’t help but wonder if Santos would give up Delgado to save his own neck and what was going to go down in Florida. She leaned back and closed her eyes. She was asleep in seconds.
Chapter Twenty-two
Four o’clock at the Pink Pelican was happy hour. But then most of the guests said every hour was happy hour, especially at the tiki salad bars up and down the beach. The boys were gathered at little tables. It was hard for an observer to tell if they were all together or they were just being friendly in a relaxed atmosphere. Every table in the bar was full, and every table held dishes of salad, chips, and salsa, along with exotic-looking drinks with little umbrellas and longneck beer bottles. Chatter was loud and lively. No one paid attention to anyone else, or so it seemed.
“The Sanders woman arrived earlier, and this might surprise you, but she changed hotels. She is now staying at the Ritz-Carlton. The dancers are staying at the Mandarin Oriental, where the pageant is being held. The guys arrived around two and are in their hotel rooms, or at least somewhere on the premises. Avery said that Mia is with Toby.
“Hana, who was surveilling Ms. Sanders, said a ruckus went down in the garage, and the police were called. Three cars in total. They took her watchdog out in handcuffs. She said she saw it with her own eyes. Somehow, she managed to outwit the thug, then took a flight to here. Originally, she was supposed to drive the van with all the gear. Abner hacked into her phone and computer and found out what she was up to. Her business manager, Carlie Fisher, is now en route to Miami with all the costumes and gear. She will also be staying at the Mandarin Oriental.”
“That’s it?” Ted said.
“Anything on Mr. Sanders?” Jack asked.
“Not a thing.”
“That’s it? A dry well?” Jack persisted.
“Pretty much. The only other point of interest is every salad bar on this stretch of the beach received their salad deliveries. Double orders, I’m told. I can see why they do such a brisk business. These vegetables are so crisp and crunchy, they feel like firecrackers in your mouth. That salsa is also the best I’ve ever eate
n anywhere, and I have been everywhere.”
“I don’t think anyone has given any of us a second look since we’ve been here. What do you want us to do going forward, Avery?”
“Nothing. Just be vigilant. I’m expecting some fireworks when Delgado meets up with Ms. Sanders. I’m still trying to figure out what she’s up to. That was a pretty gutsy stunt she pulled in the garage back in D.C. Locked him in a vehicle that has childproof doors. It pains me to say this, but I don’t think I would have come up with that even on my best day. And the woman doesn’t even have kids. Like I said, gutsy. The idiot shot his way out, but the cops got there in time.
“He’s under lock and key. He might try to cut a deal and give up his boss, but I doubt it. Still, Delgado has to be worried about that. We all need to be extra alert. I’ve put more men on him and his people. It’s a veritable parade whenever he makes a move.”
“Where is he right now? Do you know?” Charles asked.
“My people tell me he is trying to find Ms. Sanders. He’s been at the Mandarin Oriental, talking to the dancers. They are all clueless, so they have nothing to give up.”
“Sounds to me like the Sanders woman is taking charge. Something must have happened. I’m wondering if somehow her husband has gotten in touch and she feels emboldened somehow. Or she got sick and tired of being told what to do by Delgado, and that thug who moved in with her might have taken a toll on her. Her payback in regard to him almost confirms it,” Charles said.
Harry suddenly stood up. Dennis right behind him. Customers moved quickly as a group of men in garish beachwear entered the seating area. Delgado and his people. No one looked at anyone as they left money on the table and headed toward the beach. Dennis was the only one to stay behind. While he wasn’t exactly bilingual, he understood and could converse in Spanish comfortably. He held his longneck Bud up for a refill and settled down to peck at his cell phone by sending text messages to himself. When he realized how stupid that was, he sent off a text message to Toby to let him know what was going on and to ask if he had any information. There was no immediate response, so Dennis continued to fiddle with his cell phone. He sent off messages to Maggie and to Bert Navarro, just to stay in touch.
He knew he was hitting all the wrong keys because he was concentrating on what the men were saying. Eight men, plus Delgado, who was trying to reassure them that even though Santos had been arrested, he would not give them up. The others cursed and called him a fool for believing such crap. Someone wanted to know where the woman was. Delgado said he didn’t know. More curses and more name-calling. What kind of leader was he that he couldn’t control one woman? Someone snapped. All of a sudden, Dennis felt like all the oxygen in the area had been sucked away. Delgado was on his feet as the men at the table continued to babble about how this would never have happened under Dito Chilo, who always controlled the trade and would never let a gringa get the upper hand.
Dennis started to get nervous as he wondered if the brouhaha would lead to gunplay. He wanted to leave but knew he couldn’t. Instead, he gulped at the contents of the longneck beer bottle. Then, to show his complete indifference to what was going on around him, he pulled one of the chairs closer and propped up his feet. He continued to peck away at his cell phone.
“Decide now. In or out. I have no time for this stupidity.”
“Me either,” Dennis wanted to say, but his vote didn’t count. Hardly daring to breathe, he waited to see what the outcome would be.
When all nine men got up and walked out without paying their bill, Dennis knew that greed had won out. But none of them had touched the food they’d ordered. He waited ten minutes until he felt that it was safe to leave. He literally ran down the beach to the next tiki bar, where he knew the others would be. He was breathless when he repeated what he’d overheard. “He doesn’t know where Ms. Sanders is. He’s hopping mad, too. You don’t think he’ll hurt her, do you?”
“He needs her,” Charles said. “She knows that. That’s why she’s gotten so bold. I can’t be certain, but I think before long, once she gets her ducks in a row, she’ll be calling him.”
“What do we do now?” Espinosa asked.
“Find a way to meet up with Toby so as not to draw attention to ourselves. Dennis, see what you can do. He’s got Mia with him, so we can pretend we know her rather than Toby. Some bar later tonight where no one pays attention to anyone else. That kind of place. We should split up now. Maybe a swim, then to our rooms for a nap. That’s what people on vacation do,” Ted said.
A whirlwind of activity followed as everyone hurried to do what Ted had suggested. Dennis just walked away and headed toward his room. A nap sounded really good.
He was almost asleep when his phone chirped. He read Toby’s text. Pilar is on her way here for a meeting with all of us. She sounds . . . different. More later.
Well, there was different, and there was different. Dennis rolled over and went to sleep.
It was eight o’clock when Dennis woke to his phone chirping and a loud knocking on his door. He ran to the door to see Ted and Espinosa. He ushered them into the room, where they sat down on the bed. He read off the incoming text message from Toby. “Meet us at the Dipsey Doodle. It’s right around the corner from the Pink Pelican. Nine o’clock. Something crazy is going on.”
Dennis showed the message to Ted and Espinosa, then forwarded it to the rest of the team. He flapped his arms in the air. “What should we do?”
“We do what he says. We meet up at the Dipsey Doodle. We’ll go now and get a table for all of us,” Ted said.
“I’ll meet you there. I need to take a shower and change. Do you think it’s wise for all of us to be seated together?”
“Probably not, but we’re going to do it, anyway,” Ted said. “Take your time. You have a whole hour, and he said it’s just around the corner.”
Later, as Dennis lathered up in the shower, his journalistic mind wondered why Delgado was heading north with the drugs instead of to Key West and open water. If he was a drug dealer, that was what he would do. But since he wasn’t a drug dealer, the point was moot.
He exited the shower, dressed in a pair of yellow plaid shorts with a white Izod T-shirt. He slipped his feet into flip-flops and was out the door twenty minutes behind Ted and Espinosa.
The team trickled in, one after the other, with Toby and Mia the last to arrive.
“We were not followed. I made sure. We’re clean,” Mia said. “But we need to get down to business right away, and then Toby and I are going back to party at the hotel with the other dancers, per Ms. Sanders’s orders. Ten o’clock is our witching hour.”
“What happened?” Charles asked.
“First of all, Pilar met with me one-on-one,” Toby said. “She gave me my check for being crowned Mr. December and told me to deposit it first thing in the morning. I said okay. Then she sat me down and told me how proud of me she’s always been, how she always tried to do right by all the dancers. I just listened. She handed me an envelope, and in it was the printed-out itinerary for all our airline flights. For tomorrow afternoon, after our rehearsal. I asked her what was going on, but she wouldn’t tell me. Then I asked her where Gabe was. She said he’d left her, and the reasons were not important. She said she was trying to make things right. She would not elaborate. She was trying not to cry.”
“So there’s no contest?” Jack said.
Toby grimaced. “If we’re all on a plane to wherever the hell she booked us, then I think it’s safe to say there will not be a pageant. Oh, one other thing. She gave me checks for each of the guys. Fifteen thousand dollars each.”
“Toby misspoke,” Mia said. “When he asked her if the pageant was off, she more or less did say yes, but then she said that after the rehearsal, they always hold a contest for wannabe dancers. She said she thought this would be a good chance for the wannabes to see if they could cut it up on a stage. She said it was a sold-out house, and she had to give the ticket holders their money’s worth.”<
br />
“I assume you haven’t told the others yet, right?” Charles said.
“We’re all going out to dinner. Pilar arranged it. I’ll do it then. By the way, she is not staying at our hotel. She’s at the Ritz-Carlton. In case you don’t know,” Toby said.
He went on. “Listen, we have to get back. I know this probably won’t mean anything to any of you, but she hugged me before she left and wished me luck. She hugged Mia, too, and told her she made a good choice when she picked me. Then she winked at me and said she forgives me. So I took that to mean she’s known all along that she was being watched. See you all tomorrow at the rehearsal. I can’t wait to see you guys perform.” And then they were gone.
“Whoa. Hold on here. What did he mean when he said he can’t wait to see us perform? Perform what?” Harry bellowed.
“Oh, you know, a little dance routine, a little jiggle here or there,” Jack said, then ran for his life out of the Dipsey Doodle, Cyrus on his heels, Harry leaping over tables and jostling people out of the way. Once they hit the beach, it was a standoff.
“I can’t dance,” Harry said.
“I can’t, either,” Jack said.
Cyrus whined and yelped. Both men ignored him.
“Do you want to know what we’re going to wear?” Jack asked craftily.
“Yeah.”
“Ninja outfits!” Jack said dramatically. “We get to carry those spike things that throw off smoke. The suits are rip-off Velcro. You rip between the legs, at the crotch, and the whole damn thing just comes apart. It’s like magic, Harry.”
“Uh-huh.”
Jack ran for his life.
* * *
The doors to the rehearsal room were locked, but the chatter and the sound of shuffling feet could be heard clearly as Pilar’s dancers went through their last routine. There were only two people seated where the audience sat, Pilar Sanders and Zuma Delgado. Pilar looked serene, and Zuma looked like a black thundercloud. When the dancers wound down and walked off the stage, Pilar turned to her drug-dealing partner.
High Stakes Page 24