“There’s something I was going to talk to you about-” Em shifted in her seat and didn’t say anything else.
“What?”
“Tomorrow, when this thing is over, we need to discuss a couple of things.”
“Don’t do this, Em. You know my imagination will make up all kinds of stories and it’s better if you tell me now.” She pressed the same buttons with me that I pressed with her.
“No. I shouldn’t have said anything. Tomorrow, I promise. Get some sleep.”
Parked on the street, we watched the occasional car drive by, but traffic was almost nonexistent on this side of town. No restaurants, bars, or any sign of social life. James called about twelve-thirty just to make sure we were still there.
“Are you going to tell Jackie?” I asked her.
“Do you think I should?”
“Somebody should. She’s involved even though she doesn’t know.”
“Yeah. I wish I had some coffee.”
“You’d just have to pee in half an hour.”
“How do cops do it? Stakeouts and thermoses of coffee?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they piss in the thermos when it’s empty.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Pretty small target for a female cop, don’t you think?”
I hadn’t thought about it. How would I know?
The sharp knock on the window scared the hell out of both of us.
“Jesus!”
A bright white light shot into the car, blinding me. “Who the hell are you?”
“Roll down your window, please.” A heavy Spanish accent.
“Em, start the car.”
She turned the key and the engine roared to life.
“Ma’am, I’m a police officer. Please turn off the vehicle and roll down the window.”
“Let me see some ID.”
He shone the light on an official looking silver badge. Em looked at me for approval, and I shrugged my shoulders. She cautiously rolled the window down about a third of the way.
“Is there a reason the two of you are parked here on the street at this time in the morning?”
We turned and looked at each other. Em glanced back at the shadow outside her car window.
“We were making out.”
“Ma’am?”
“Making out. He was trying to talk me into something beyond just kissing.”
“Move on. I don’t want to see the two of you here again. Understand?”
She shifted into drive and slowly pulled away.
“Was that a cop?”
She inched ahead, not making a lot of progress.
“Well, was it?”
“Shut up. I’m watching the rearview mirror. I want to see what he does.”
I shut up as she inched ahead, turning at the next street and coasting down the avenue until she came to the alley. She pulled in, driving behind the parking lot with the two Chevys, and she stopped just before she reached the two-story building.
We could see beyond the front of the building, where the cop had been. There was no sign of any police car and no sign of the man.
“Shit. I was hoping we’d see where he went.”
My cell phone played “Born in the USA” and I grabbed it. Let it ring for twelve seconds and I swear I pay for another two or three minutes. I’ve got to get another cell plan.
“Hello.”
“Somebody just went into the rear entrance.” James was parked up about fifty feet.
“Into?”
“Into.”
“James, where did they come out of?”
“I have no idea. They went into the rear entrance. My guess is they pulled up in front.”
Emily gave me a look, questioning my half of the conversation.
“James says someone walked into the rear of the building, but he didn’t see them come out of that entrance.”
“What did he look like?”
“What did he look like?”
James hesitated. “Well, he was pulling off a cap, but he was too far away to really get a good look.”
Em watched, eager for information.
“James says he was pulling off a cap. Could be the cop.”
“Or not.”
“Not?”
“I don’t think he was a cop. It could be someone who is guarding the building. A security guard.”
“He said he was a cop. I’m pretty sure he was. He showed us his badge.”
“Badges are a dime a dozen. I don’t think it was a real cop.”
I digested the idea. Security guards wore uniforms and displayed bright shiny badges. If Vic Maitlin was being kept hostage here, someone had to be watching him.
“We had a cop come up to the car and tell us to keep moving.”
“No shit? A cop?” After all that had happened this day, James still sounded surprised. Hell, we shouldn’t have been surprised at anything.
“Em doesn’t think it’s a cop. She thinks it’s some guy in a uniform with a fake badge.”
He was quiet.
“James?”
“So someone is already onto us?”
“God, I hope not.”
“Skip, I’ve got ten digits and I’d like to hang on to every one of them.”
“James, it was your idea to get involved.”
Em frowned. “I think it’s a little late for the blame game, Eugene. Tell your friend we’re going to drive around the block and find another place to park. Maybe he should watch the alley from a little farther up.”
I passed on the information and we pulled out of the alley, went up two streets, cut back, and ended up on a side street where we could still see the front of the building. I could make out a row of concrete tables lining the sidewalk where old men played dominoes from early morning till the sun went down.
“Em, what do we have to talk about tomorrow?”
“There are times I wish I smoked.” She gazed out the window.
“What?”
“It gives you something to do. Purpose. Taking a drag on a cigarette, playing with the smoke, letting it stream out of your mouth. Blowing rings and tapping the ashes, it’s more the ritual than the actual smoking, isn’t it?”
“You wish you smoked so you could do all that and not talk about whatever it is you want to discuss.”
“Yeah.”
“Serious?”
“Could be.”
“Are you thinking about us not seeing each other any more?” I thought about it a lot. She was too good for me, and I’m sure it crossed her mind from time to time.
In the dim light I could see her smile as she leaned over and gave me a kiss on the lips. “No. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
I leaned back and drifted off. I had just hit sleep mode and was lazily watching a fishing stream with trout and bass that became our muddy ditch, and James was casting this huge garbage can lure into the brackish water when the world exploded.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I HEARD IT, I FELT IT, and I saw it as my eyes flew open. The upstairs windows exploded in a blast of shattered glass as a ball of fire roared out of the building. In less than a second the street in front was blazing with orange chunks of flame thrown from the stucco and brick building, and we watched spellbound as a brilliant blaze shot into the black Miami sky, the inferno engulfing the structure.
Em started the car and peeled out.
“Where the hell are we going?” Talk about feeling the heat. I was sweating from fear and the intense fire from half a block away.
“Anywhere. We’ve got to get out of this.”
James. “Jesus, James was back in the alley.” I frantically dialed his cell phone. No answer.
It rang and rang. Finally voice mail.
“The person you have called is unavailable at the moment. Please leave a message and-” I hung up. I dialed again. Same thing.
“Em, we’ve got to check out the alley.”
“Skip, are you crazy? That fire is roaring back there.”
She was three blocks down, moving at a good clip, and had run one stop sign already.
“Em-”
“Shit!” She spun the wheel, making a sharp U-turn in the middle of the deserted street. “Call 911.”
“Yeah.” I did.
She raced back the way we came, squealing to a stop as we saw the parking lot. The two Chevys were swallowed in flames. One had exploded and flaming pieces littered the melting blacktop. I jumped from the car and ran toward the alley, tasting the thick smoke and holding my arm across my face, trying to keep from filling my lungs with the fumes from that noxious cloud. The fierce heat cooked my skin and I thought for a moment I might pass out. I hit the back alley on the run and stopped short, peering into the haze. White-hot flame spewed from the vehicle, more black smoke pouring into the alley. There was nothing I could do.