AGAINST THE WIND (Book Two of The Miami Crime Trilogy) (26 page)

Silvana

Miami,
Florida

Friday,
April 20, 2012

1:05
PM

T
HE VACANT
LOT ALONG THE MIAMI RIVER
had its heyday long ago as a baseball field, dirt outlines
of the basepaths and the area around home plate still visible. Once, young boys
played here, harboring aspirations of the Major Leagues, looking to hone their
skills for Little League, high school, and beyond. Now, however, instead of
holding dreams, it held broken bottles, fast food bags, and a rusting
refrigerator turned on its side. Other junk was strewn around here and there,
and the lock on the chain link gate dangled from its chain, cut long ago by vandals
with some powerful tool.

The trashy look of the place stood in sharp relief to the clean,
medium-priced homes sitting on the other side of the river on shady Northwest
North River Drive, close to its edge. Boats behind these homes rocked lazily in
their slips, waiting to be taken out into the ocean on this fine spring
afternoon.

This side of the river, however, was far less placid. Squat commercial
buildings sitting in the sun, mixed with low-rent apartment complexes, lined
both sides of the street. Cars and trucks ran up and down the street, past the
squad car parked by the vacant lot.

Silvana and Vargas pulled up next to the black-and-white. They made their
way across the lot toward the two uniforms who stood guard over a pile of old
tires.

"All right, Patrolman. What do we have?"

What they had was a blackened corpse, a lot of it eaten away by maggots
and other insects. Looked like it might've been a woman, only because of the
height, not more than five-two or three.

The patrolman spoke in a deep, serious voice. "The call came in from
a neighbor. His kids were playing kickball with some other neighborhood kids
and they found the body sticking out from under these tires."

Silvana said, "What can you tell us?"

"Hispanic female, Sergeant. Although you can't tell by looking at
her. She's been here too long. Cause of death appears to be two gunshot wounds
to the head. But the ME's on his way now. He'll give you the definitive cause.
There is no weapon, no purse, no valuables on her person. But we found her
driver's license — we're assuming it's hers — in the back pocket of
her slacks. Name on the license is Evalena María Díaz, DOB 10/7/88, height and
weight appear to match that of the victim …"

He went through the required data while Silvana and Vargas examined the
scene. Taking the information from the patrolman and finding nothing at the
scene to move the investigation forward, they walked back to their car. Vargas
fired the engine up and the air conditioning cooled them down, although the
temperature outside was relatively pleasant. They sat in the idling car,
looking at each other.

Silvana opened. "This means there were two people in that Nissan
that pulled out of the Sea & Sand Motel. Diamond here, and her killer. Who
was obviously Bob Harvey's killer also."

Vargas said, "Diamond set him up, brought the killer with her, and
he pops Harvey. Then does her, too, probably right after they left."

Silvana shook her head. "She didn't set Harvey up. Why would she
want him out of the way? He was fucking her on a regular basis, paying her two
grand for an hour or two every time out. No way she wanted him dead."

"Well, what then? Who could've done it?"

"Remember when we talked to Maxie last week? He said — how did
he put it? — we can find plenty of reason to like Phil Harvey for his
brother's killing. Remember?"

Vargas nodded. "So you're saying if he did his brother, then he did
this whore, too."

"Right, Bobby."

"But he's got an ironclad alibi for the Sea & Sand. We checked
it out. Solid as a chunk of granite."

Silvana said, "Yeah, I know. I'm not saying he was the trigger man.
I don't think he's got that in him. But he could have easily hired it
out."

"And whoever he hired it out to …"

"Killed Diamond as well," Silvana said. "To shut her up."

"So you think he went to Maxie Méndez and arranged for all
this?" Vargas asked.

"No. Maxie wouldn't have wasted Bob Harvey. No way. He was Maxie's
gateway into the shopping center deal. It was Bob Harvey who guaranteed Maxie
points in the project. Brother Phil thinks Maxie's a degenerate gangster and
probably wants him out altogether."

Vargas scrunched his face up into a question. "Who then?"

"Who's the only link between this whore and the Harvey
brothers?"

He thought for a second. Then, "Sofía Ramos!"

"Let's go," she said. "Brickell Bay Drive."

Silvana

Miami,
Florida

Friday,
April 20, 2012

1:55
PM

S
OFIA RAMOS
TOOK A LONG TIME
to answer. Vargas had used the cop thud twice, and was about to do it a
third time when she came to the door.

"Who is it?" she said through the closed door.

Vargas replied, "Police officers. Open up."

She cracked the door open. "Oh," she said. "What do you
two want?"

The cops pushed the door all the way open and shoved past her into the
apartment over her futile objections.

Unlike their last visit, her hair was far from perfect, shocks hanging
over her forehead and down one side. Her white silk blouse was not tucked
inside her slacks and seemed unusually wrinkled, and she was barefoot. This
disheveled appearance was not lost on Silvana, who had long thought Sofía the
very picture of perfection in every way.

Silvana glimpsed the living room. The pieces she had broken on her last
visit had been replaced by pieces that looked decidedly more expensive. The
lamp on the end table was now a Tiffany knockoff, itself probably costing a
couple of hundred dollars, and the flimsy coffee table she smashed had given
way to a heavy wood and metal number, more designer-looking and definitely
providing a much-needed upgrade to the apartment's appearance.

Two nearly-empty drink glasses sat on the coffee table along with an
ashtray. The unmistakable odor of weed was present, even though the window
looking out on the building next door had been opened. A couple of throw
pillows, which were on the sofa the last time, lay askew on the floor, along
with a pair of black stilettos with red soles and a couple of articles of
clothing.

"What do you want?" she said in a slightly raised voice.

"What we want," Silvana said, "is for you to tell us who
killed Bob Harvey and Evalena Díaz."

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"We're not fucking around here, Sofía," Silvana said.
"Tell us what you know."

"Wait … did you say Eval — Diamond — is dead?
Killed?"

Silvana nodded. "Her body was found today. Dead for quite a while.
Like maybe since the day three weeks ago when Bob Harvey got it."

"I — I didn't know she … How could she be … be
dead
?"

Vargas moved into her space. He said, "She can be dead because
someone you know put two bullets in her head. The same person you sent with her
to meet Harvey at the Sea & Sand on March 30."

Sofía sat down on the couch. A few light sobs, then tears. Her head went
into her hands, tears in full flow.

"Don't give me any of that crying shit!" Vargas said in a
raised voice, heading toward the sofa.

At that moment, the door to the bedroom opened and a woman stepped out.
Like Sofía, her hair was messy and her clothing was rumpled. Silvana's heart
flew into her throat. Sofía … and a
woman
!
She never suspected! And that was most unusual, because she always prided
herself on being able to tell the lesbians from all others. Sofía as a lesbian
never entered her mind. Totally off the radar!

My God! Sofía! So many times
I dreamed of it. I would have given myself to you gladly. Would you have taken
me? Would you have allowed me to come to your bed? Sofía! Sofía!

Silvana looked the woman over. Very, very nice. Slender build, Cuban,
walks like she owns the place. Probably about Sofía's age, but she looks more …
more worldly. Like she's been around the track a few more times than Sofía has.
Well dressed, too. Those shoes alone, also with red soles, probably cost a
grand or more.

Sofía, is this what you
wanted? Someone with flashy clothes? Someone who can turn heads when you walk
into a room with her? I guess, then, you wouldn't have wanted me. That's okay,
though. Because that's the kind of woman I want, too. A woman like you, Sofía.
You turned
my
head. How many nights did I dream of you,
my beautiful Sofía? How many long, lonely nights?

The woman said, "Sofía, Sofía. Are you okay? What's wrong?" She
looked at the cops. "What's going on here?"

"Police officers," Vargas said. "Back off."

"What are you doing here? Did you hurt her? Sofía, did they hit
you?" She moved toward Sofía and fondled her lovely face, examining it for
bruises or cuts.

"Who are you, ma'am?" Silvana said.

"I'm a friend of Sofía's," she said. "I was just here
visiting."

"Your name, please?" Silvana pulled out her note pad.

"Alicia López."

"Do you work with Miss Ramos?"

"No, I don't. We're old friends. I'm not involved in her business at
all. Or any business like it."

"What
do
you do for a
living?" Vargas asked.

"I'm in the computer business. Retail. Now why are you here?"

"Police business, Miss López. I think it would be best if you left
now."

The glare in Silvana's eyes made its point. Alicia López gathered up her
purse and her cell phone and told Sofía, "Call me if you need anything,
okay?"

Sofía nodded and the woman left.

Silvana took a seat on the couch next to Sofía, softening her body
language. She now regarding this girl in a whole new light. "Okay, Sofía.
It's just the three of us. You want to tell us what we want to know?" she
asked in a mellow but firm voice.

Sofía's tears had stopped, but they had reddened her usually-perfect face
which now looked drawn and worn. It made her look much older than the
thirty-three Silvana knew her to be. She looked up at Silvana, then toward the
front door through which the López woman had just left.

Sofía had composed herself somewhat, and Silvana held her hand. Sofía
gave it an involuntary squeeze. The tingle grazed Silvana's spine. She felt the
hair bristling on her arms.

"Tell me,
mi amiga
,"
she said. "Tell me who did this awful thing to Diamond."

With a faraway gaze aimed out the window, Sofía said, "He told me
she would be safe." Her voice was hoarse, phlegm-y. She cleared her
throat, but it didn't do any good. "He promised me nothing would happen to
her."

"Who promised you, Sofía? Who?"

"He said he was going to put her on a plane to Tampa. She has family
there, you know." Her stare remained fixed out the window at nothing
particular.

"Who said that? Who did this?"

More tears. Her head re-buried itself in her hands. Silvana saw Vargas
getting impatient. She gave him the "keep calm" gesture. Another
minute went by.

She said through streaming eyes, "She — Diamond — never
hurt anybody. She was the sweetest little girl you … you'd ever want to … to
meet. I made him promise me not to hurt her, to see, to see she got safe … out
of town … away from all this." More tears.

"He broke his promise, Sofía," Silvana said. "He hurt her
bad. He murdered her. Cold-blooded murder. Tell us who he is, and we'll see he
gets justice."

"I can't! I can't! You don't understand!" She reached for a
Kleenex on the table.

Silvana's voice remained level. She continued to hold Sofía's hand,
quickening her pulse and the rising goosebumps on her arms. "Yes you can,
Sofía, honey. You can. And you must. For Diamond's sake."

Her eyes, red and puffy, came back from wherever they were. She turned
them straight into Silvana's own eyes and said through a sniffle, "My
brother. Desi Ramos." Sobbing now, full steam.

Silvana glanced up at Vargas, standing close by with raised eyebrows. He
said, "Desi Ramos went to the Sea & Sand with Diamond? Harvey was only
expecting her, but got the two of them instead?"

Sofía nodded.

Silvana leaned into her ear. She inhaled exquisite perfume and whispered,
"Who put them up to it? Was it Phil Harvey?"

Sofía nodded again.

Although Silvana's heart was pounding at the scent which had invaded her
senses, she kept a cool front. "How did it come about?" she asked.
"Why did he want his brother dead?"

"I don't know why he did it. I can't imagine anyone killing their
own brother."

Silvana had to hold back a smirk which threatened to attack her face.
Sofía clearly did not realize she had just sentenced her own brother to death.

"How did it happen?" she asked. "How did you get
involved?"

"He called me one day. I thought he was going to make another date
with Diamond. He was one of her regulars, you know. His brother Bob, too."

"We know," Silvana said.

"Well, instead of making the date, he says he wants to take me out
to lunch. Says he's got something very important to talk over with me. Says it
can't wait."

"So you went to lunch with him?"

"Yes," Sofía said. "The next day. A delightful little
place down in Coconut Grove."

"What did he say to you there?"

"He asked if I knew of anyone who could, you know, who could kill
somebody for him."

"And what did you say?"

"At first, I was horrified. I told him I didn't do that kind of
thing. He didn't want to hear it. He said with the business I was in, he said I
must occasionally rub up against some bad people. You know, I asked him flat
out why he didn't do it himself."

Right question at the right
time
,
Silvana thought. "How did he answer that one?"

"He said he couldn't do it because he needed an alibi for when it
happened. That everybody would suspect him right off so he had to be able to
account for his whereabouts."

"Of course," Silvana said. "So what happened next?"

"He told me if I could find someone, he would pay me forty thousand
dollars. He also said he didn't want to know who it was, just that it should be
done on his brother's next date with Diamond."

"Forty thousand? Did he pay you?"

"Yes," Sofía said. "The day after … after it
happened."

"How much did you give Desi?" Silvana asked.

"I gave him half, of course! I wouldn't cheat him out of
anything!"

"Why did you call on your brother," Vargas asked. "He
wasn't a professional killer. Or was he?"

"No," she said. "But he is a rough, brawling kind of guy.
He was the only one I knew who I thought could do the job and be trusted not to
tell anyone."

Silvana said, "When you asked him to do this, what was his
response?"

"He seemed pretty nonchalant about it, you know what I mean? I mean,
if somebody asked me to kill somebody, I'd freak out right then and there. But
Desi, he was pretty cool about it. Talked about it like it was totally normal.
Like he'd done it before. Although I'm sure he hadn't."

"Was he eager to take it on?"

Sofía said, "Well, he didn't start drooling over it, if that's what
you mean. But he did say he could use the money. Said he had a lot of expenses.
For that matter, the money came in handy for me, too."

Silvana said, "Do you know how your brother earns his living?"

Sofía's eyes dropped. "He's a drug dealer. But he's small time! Oh,
I know it's awful and I've tried to tell him not to do that, not to sink into
that dreadful world. It's dangerous and he could get killed!"

Once again, Silvana marveled at the irony on display.
Here's this girl in the prostitution racket
up to her fucking eyeballs and she's on her brother's case about "sinking
into the dreadful drug world". But I could've saved her from all this. If
only …

Silvana got hold of herself and reminded herself why she and Vargas were
there. She injected a matronly quality into her voice. "Now, this is very
important, Sofía. Did Phil Harvey mention why he wanted to kill his brother? Or
if there was anyone else in on this with him?"

"If there was anyone else," Sofía said, "he didn't tell
me. And as for why, I asked him why he would want to do that to his own brother
and he just shrugged his shoulders and said it was only business."

Vargas said, "He didn't go into it any deeper? Didn't say what
business it related to?"

Sofía shook her head. "No … No, wait! Business. He did say
something. I kept pressing him, you know, on why he would do such a thing and
he said something about financing. He said he had just gotten new financing for
some shopping center, I think. I wasn't really following all of it, but I think
that might have had something to do with it."

"All right, Sofía," Silvana said. "You're coming with us.
We're placing you under arrest for conspiracy to commit capital murder."

Shock covered Sofía's face. "Mur — conspir —" She
gasped a couple of times, then said, "How
could
you? I told you that in confidence! How could you do
this?"

Vargas reeled off her Miranda rights while Silvana put the cuffs on her.
They hauled her away while she was pleading with them to let her straighten up
her apartment before they left.