Emily Kimelman - Sydney Rye 03 - Insatiable (23 page)

I looked at the word friends and wondered if that’s what they were. I crossed it out and wrote soldiers. That seemed absolutely ridiculous so I crossed it out and wrote: Easy and Dan. I cleared my empty plate to the kitchen while I considered my next item. I found a beer in the fridge and returned to my spot with it.

Item number two: Find Out What Ana Maria Told Police. I wanted to know exactly how she was setting me up. Would she tell them I was Joy? Would she tell them about the website? Would they know about Easy et all? Izel?

I took a sip of the beer. It was cold and bubbly just the way it’s supposed to be. It was possible, I thought, as I sat looking at my list, that she would tell them about Izel. It was quite possible we needed to get out of there. I stood and went to the window. The street below was quiet except for an old man walking his small white dog. I watched them progress slowly down the block until they turned the corner. The sun was rising above the houses across the street. The top of it cast a warm yellow light onto me. I took another sip of beer and squinted against the light.

Turning back into the room I approached my list. I wrote a 3 and circled it. I remember reading somewhere that you should only put three things on any to do list because it makes the list seem more accomplishable. If you put thirty things on it you won’t ever get any of them done because it is so overwhelming.

I wrote: Come up with Brilliant Plan to get us out of this one. I sat back looking at my list. I took another sip of the beer. It was almost empty so I had to block my vision with the can as I sipped. Looking back down at the list, I smiled. Sure, real accomplishable.

WORKING ON THAT LIST

I picked up the phone and looked at the keypad. It was one of those phones attached to the base by a curlicue cord that reminds me of pasta. I wrapped it around my finger. It was so tight it made my skin bulge and change color. The dial tone was consistent. I put my untied hand on the key pad but didn’t dial. I looked over at my list. Then at Blue. He wagged his tail, sweeping it across the floor.

I stood up taking the phone with me and walked to the window. The sun was hovering a couple of inches above the buildings across the street and the low hum of early commuter traffic floated up from the street. I put the handset back on the phone and then immediately picked it up again. I dialed the number. Closing my eyes, I listed to ringing on the other end.

Mulberry picked up quickly.

“It’s me,” I said. “Is this line safe?”

“Yeah. Where are you? Are you OK?”

“I’m fine.” I looked down at my wrist where a nice rash formed an outline of the duct tape. “I learned I’m allergic to certain adhesives.” I tried not to think about the itching on my face.

“This is no time for jokes.”

“That wasn’t a joke. I’ve spent the last couple days as a prisoner, bound by tape it turns out I’m allergic to.” I turned away from the window and stared into the room. “What’s going on Mulberry?” A lump caught in my throat as I realized how scared I really was, how incredibly well Ana Maria had fucked me. I swallowed.

“Who killed Juanita and Pedro?”

“It was Ana Maria.”

“The girl?”

“Yeah, the girl.” I walked over to the couch and sat down. “She’s crazy.” I put my feet up on the coffee table and looked at my toes.

“What happened?”

“You know, Mulberry, I don’t even know anymore. This has gotten so out of hand.”

“Where are you?”

I looked around the sweet little apartment. The bookshelves filled with paperbacks, the kitchen, small but neat. Izel’s world was so pretty and taken care of. “I can’t tell you that.”

“Come on, Joy!”

“Don’t fucking call me that!” I sat up, my feet hitting the floor.

“You need my help. I can help you.”

“Really,” I stood up, “how Mulberry? How are you going to help me?”

“Look, if she’s guilty we can fix this.” He lowered his tone and sighed at the end of his sentence.
 

“How can this be fixed?” I waved the phone base in the air. “She’s the victim of a horrible kidnapping murder plot and I, Sydney Rye, don’t even really exist. And if anyone figured out who I really was, they’d just ship me back to New York.”

I turned around and saw Izel standing in the hall. Her eyes were heavy with sleep and she smiled at me. “Sorry,” I whispered. She shook her head and waved a hand of dismissal at my apology. Then she turned and went into the bathroom.

“Who are you talking to?”

“No one.”

“I know you’ve got contacts in Mexico City. Jimmy told me.”

“Jimmy was working for you.”

“I was trying to find you.”

“He tried to beat the shit out of me.”

“Well, that was stupid.”

“Yeah it was.” I paused for a moment and stared out the window. A rain was moving in and I could see the clouds headed towards me. “What about Easy and Dan? Are they OK?”

“Sure, sure they are.”

“What do you mean sure?”

“Dan had some burns but he’ll be fine and as far as I know Easy came out of it with barely a scratch.”

“Where are they?” The sky darkened and suddenly rain arrived. Big droplets splattered onto the street below. I watched a mother run to her car carrying a kid tall enough to walk. She opened the door and the little boy climbed in. The mother ran around to the driver’s side. Her hair was plastered to her forehead and her shirt clung to her body.

“I don’t know. It’s not like Jimmy hung around. He was shot.”

“Right. How is he?” I watched the car drive away. Turning away from the window I paced the floor, being wary of the coffee table.

“He’s OK. He’ll be fine. But I don’t think he will be taking any more jobs from me.” Mulberry laughed into the phone.

“What should I do Mulberry?”

“We’ve got to find a way to prove she’s guilty.” He took a deep breath. “We can do this, Joy.”

“Don’t call me that. The whole reason I’m in this mess is because I was trying to kill her off. Have you talked to Bobby?”

I flopped down onto the couch and cradled the phone to my ear with my shoulder.

“He is as confused as us.”

“Do me a favor and stop talking to that Jack Ass. Seriously, why are you still in contact with that guy?”

“You’re not giving him enough credit. He’s not all bad.”

“You’re nuts. This whole mess is his fault.”

“I’m telling you he has no idea what is going on. You think he was a part of the plot to kill Pedro? That just doesn’t make any sense.”

“Who knows Mulberry? With that guy…”

“Sydney, you can’t seriously think he could convince Ana Maria to murder her parents, do you?”

That did seem far-fetched but when it came to Bobby Maxim, I was not going to underestimate him. “Just tell me where you are,” Mulberry said. “I can be in Mexico City by tomorrow night.”

“All right. I’ll call you back.” I hung up the phone while he was trying to say something.

Izel came out of the bathroom as I was replacing the receiver on the base. She smiled at me. “How did you sleep?” she asked.

“Fine, thanks.” She nodded and moved into the kitchen. I watched her put coffee into the coffee maker and turn it on. Then she pulled down two mugs. “Izel,” I said. She turned to look at me. “I’m very grateful. You saved my life.”

Her face turned crimson and she turned away. “De nada, you’re welcome.”

“Izel, I’m worried.”

She turned back to me again.

“See, Ana Maria isn’t who we thought she was. I mean, she wants to do me harm and I’m afraid she might want to hurt you, too.” Izel cocked her head in confusion. Why am I talking to her like she’s a child? “Izel, last night Ana Maria murdered her parents and she is trying to set me up for it.”

Izel frowned and furrowed her brow. “I don’t understand.”

“Basically, Ana Maria is crazy. I don’t know what her personal reasons were for killing her parents, she implied that they forced her into it. But I imagine the hundreds of millions she stands to inherit were a contributing factor. At least, that’s why Blane is helping her.”

“Blane?”

“Blane and Ana Maria are lovers, they plan on getting married.” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at that one. The coffee machine began to sputter and Izel turned to look at it. “The point is that you need to go somewhere safe. You need to hide until all this blows over. We need to tell Malina, too. Ana Maria knew you guys were helping me and it won’t take her long to figure out where you live.” A siren wailed outside and I hurried to the window. An ambulance raced by, spraying water in its wake.

I turned back to Izel who was looking past me out the windows. “You are probably right. She will find this place before long,” Izel said.

“So you’ve got to get out of here.” I took a step toward Izel, she turned to pour the coffee.

“I’ll go with you.”

I stopped walking. “No, no, Izel, I want you to go somewhere safe.”

“Where would I be safer but with you?”

I thought about the last people to follow me. Easy and Dan ended up in an exploded alley. “Izel, you can’t come with me.”

She turned to me, a coffee cup in each hand. She smiled. “I want to. You’ll see, I can be a great help to you.”

“It’s not that I don’t think you’d be helpful-”

“So then we are decided.”

“No, Izel, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Her face darkened. “I don’t think you can say that now. I am already in harm’s way. If you will not let me help you, at least let me save myself.” I started to speak but she cut me off. “The best way for me to survive is to help you stop her. That is what I will do.”

She crossed the room and pushed one of the cups into my hands. Her eyes were glowing. What could I say? “Thanks.”

Malina was as much of a pain in the ass. I called her as Izel started packing up her life. I sat on the couch. Malina picked up on the second ring. “Hola,” she said. I could hear the TV in the background.

“Hola, Malina.”

“Sydney?”

“Yes, it’s me,” I said.

“How are you?”

“I’m alive but in deep trouble.”

“Si, the TV is full of speculation. What is happening?”

I sighed before repeating the horrible events of the night before. Izel stepped out of her bedroom and leaned against the wall listening. Tears glistened in her eyes by the time I was done. Malina was silent so long if it weren’t for the murmur of the TV in the background, I’d have thought that I’d lost the connection.

“Malina?” I said.

“Si,” she whispered.

“We know that Ana Maria knows about you. I’m afraid she will tell the police. I think you need to get some place safe.”

“No.”

I rolled my eyes and looked over at Izel. She was staring back at me. “You sound just like Izel,” I said.

“I want to help. You helped me when no one else would and now I am getting the chance to repay the favor. Where are you?”

“Malina, think about the women working for you, what will happen to them?”

“Do not play with me, Sydney, I am not some little girl. I know what I am getting into. I am not afraid.”

“Jesus,” I muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing. Fine. I’m not going to fight with you.”

“Good. Call me tomorrow. I will be ready to go.”

“Where are we going?” Izel asked as I hung up.

I looked over at her and felt the weight of my responsibility to these women. I promised them that they could make a difference and now I was going to have to do it.

Izel and I checked into a hotel so cheap that they didn’t even ask for Izel’s ID. Leaving Blue in the room we went out to a bar to get a bite to eat. I wore a big brimmed hat and a baggy sweatshirt. The night was cool after the day’s rain and I pulled the fabric tight around me as we walked down the street.

Izel carried a small bag. She had her ID, a change of clothes, and her most precious belongings. As we’d left her apartment she’d looked back at it, and I could tell she didn’t think she was ever coming back. “Izel,” I said to her, “we will win this; you will be able to go home.” She smiled at me and told me it was OK.

I looked over at her as we walked toward the warm glow of the local cantina. She was thin and had an intelligent face. Izel was a couple inches shorter than me. Her face was long and her nose tiny. She was ordinary looking. I thought that was good. Ordinary was good in this game.

The cantina was quiet. About five people leaned against the bar. A couple who stood very close and three single men. All of them were watching the small TV mounted in the corner of the room. Izel and I sat at a table. A waitress in her teens took our order.

She came back with two beers and then disappeared through swinging doors to the kitchen. The TV program switched from a game show to the news. The attention of our fellow patrons fell from the screen while Izel and I both leaned forward.

Footage of Ana Maria, her face red and tear streaked, being loaded into an ambulance filled the screen. Izel translated for me. The anchor was talking too fast for me to understand. “They are saying that she has suffered a great trauma. That her captor kept her for many days. That she was blindfolded and bound. They did not feed her.” The footage of Ana Maria turned to footage of Alejandro’s body being pulled from the ocean. “They are talking about how it began with the death of her beloved cousin in front of her eyes.”