Hot Lava (24 page)

The X was now several inches farther down and, lo and fucking behold, several drawers lined the now-visible interior. Jackpot. “Thanks, Liko,” I whispered, pulling each of the hidden containers out. “Empty.” Groan. “Empty.” Groan. “Empty.” Deep, pitiful groan. “Full.” Big, joyful, relieved sigh.

I pulled the plastic interior out. A pouch. Sealed from the water. I shoved the contents, a piece of paper, inside my sarong, stuffed the drawers back, figured out how to bring the X back to its spot, and tiptoed back to the bedroom.

“Ta da!” I silently shouted, arms raised up high, butt sadly soggy.

He glanced my way, his palm red from slapping, a look of disgust cast from ear to pierced ear. He twirled his fingers in the air, mouthing, “About fucking time.”

I shrugged and walked over to the bed, setting the cock sheath on high. Yamasuka’s grin widened, his skin tone going from pale white to off-pink. His body quaked. His back arched. And he erupted a split second later, dousing himself in a spray of pungent come. (Amazingly, it didn’t even make our top-ten most nauseating events list. Sad but true.)

We removed the sheath and the blindfold. He smiled and nodded at us. “You clean now,” he told us.

We forced smiles on our faces and went searching for the bathroom. I kept my back turned away from him, so he couldn’t see the wet spot. Then, across the wide expanse of his bedroom, we spotted a door and went inside. The bathroom was huge, stark, and blindingly white. We found a towel and wet it. In cold water. Let the fucker freeze for all we cared. Then we returned.

We stopped, dead, as it were, in our tracks.

“Wh...what’s that for?” I stammered, staring down the barrel of a jet-black gun.

“Wr...wrong towel?” Brandon managed.

Apparently, our little ruse didn’t go over as planned. Yamasuka laughed. Guy had a sense of humor after all. Too little, too late, I figured. Too late for us, that is. The point was driven home when the bedroom door open and in stepped the one man we never expected to see.

Again.

Alive, that is.

“Jed?” I squeaked out.

He nodded, a sinister smile spreading across his nasty face. “Resourceful little bitches, ain’t you?”

And that we were. But not this time. Maybe not ever again.

Chapter 10

Justice Served

“But how?” I managed. (Given that he was theoretically dead and all, it was amazing that I got that much out.)

He smiled, a wicked, crooked grin, as he waved the gun at me and Brandon and Yamasuka. I stared at the hole in his shirt, at the massive circle of blood that had dyed it a deep, dark red, and I began to wonder if perhaps those stories of zombies were only stories. “Come on now, give me some credit,” he replied. “Powerful people are after me. Do you think I’d go
unprotected
?” And then, lifting his shirt up, he revealed the protection he was referring to: namely, a bullet-proof vest.

“But we saw you dead on the floor back at the ranger cabin,” Brandon said. “And you were covered in blood.”

Jed shook his head. “Oh, I was on the floor, all right. That’s because I needed them to think I was shot and killed. And the blood? Just red dye packs.
Boom
,
boom
, and then
splat
,
squish
. Worked like a charm.” He paused and stared at us. “Still, there’s something I don’t get. After you left, I followed you, which certainly wasn’t easy, and waited to see what you’d do next, to make sure what you told me was true, that you were just after Lenny’s killer. So I ask you, why the fuck are you here? Yamasuka had nothing to do with Lenny’s death. Oh, I’m sure he’s responsible for Liko’s, that makes sense. And my supposed death, well, I was just a not-so-innocent bystander, which this gentleman and I will discuss after I dispose of the two of you. But not Lenny. Meaning, you bitches are lying something fierce.”

The gun was raised and pointed our way, his finger twitching on the trigger.

“You’re wrong,” I hollered.

“Nice try,” he said. “Now, bye-bye.”

“Lenny worked for Yamasuka,” Brandon hollered.

Now that caught his attention, causing Jed to lower the gun by an inch or so. “You’ve got one minute. Explain.”

I gulped, trying my darnedest to prevent myself from hyperventilating. “Okay, first, did Lenny ever, um, trick with Yamasuka, through you, before, um, before you two started dating?”

The gun went another inch downward. “As a matter of fact, yes. But how did you know that?”

Good guess on my part. Still, it made sense. “Doesn’t matter. What matters is that Yamasuka needed to find out what Liko knew about him. Yamasuka knew that you were dating Lenny and hired Lenny to get information out of Liko, figuring Lenny’s connection to you would be good bait. That’s why Lenny started dating Liko in the first place. In the end, Lenny probably knew too much, and, well...”

Jed sighed and lowered the gun. “Fuckin’ A. Stupid Lenny. Got in way over his head on that one. I always gave him enough money. He didn’t need to get any more from this creep.” He nodded over to Yamsuka, who had remained quiet and still throughout the whole encounter. Strangely, Jed then began to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“This mess,” he replied. “And the irony of it all.”

It was then I got it, understood why he was suddenly chuckling -- the sound was like nails raked across a chalkboard. “Yamasuka hires Lenny to get information out of Liko,” I began, my breathing growing stable again. (I prayed I had a few more breaths remaining, all things considered.) “Lenny gets the information and a second boyfriend to boot. You’re none too happy about that and set up Lenny to take the fall for Makani, who works for Edward Beles, who, in turn, is out to kill you because he thinks you set him up, even though it was Liko that set you up.” I paused, staring at our captor, who wasn’t saying I wrong about anything. Then I added the cherry to the sundae. “And the reason you’re laughing, I can only guess now, is because the reason you were setting up Lenny to take the fall for Makani is because Yamasuka asked you to. Because Beles’ boss is Yamasuka. Right?”

The laughter abruptly stopped. “Like I said,” he said. “Smart bitches.” He nodded and again raised the gun. “Seems like all roads lead back here, after all. Un-fucking-believable.”

And then
bang, bang, bang
. Three ear-splitting shots were fired in our direction. My eyes shut tight, I fell to the floor, hearing Brandon do the same. We were dead meat for sure. I screamed, my hand roaming my body, searching for wounds. Strangely, I couldn’t find any. I popped my eyes open and looked around. Brandon was by my side, apparently alive and well.

Yamasuka, of course, was a big, dead mess.

“Now what do I do with the two of you?” Jed asked, the gun still out, still smoking.

“Buy us a drink,” tried Brandon. Inappropriate, yes, but when staring into the face of death, perhaps it’s better to snicker than to sob.

Again Jed laughed. “You really were just trying to find Lenny’s killer, weren’t you?”

“Just like we said,” I said. “And it was Yamasuka, through some hired thugs, who killed your boyfriend.” I left the police thing out it. No need for him to know everything we knew. At least not yet.

He shook his head. “Poor Lenny. I did love him, you know. In my own way. Still, why come here? You obviously don’t have guns on you, so you weren’t planning on killing Yamasuka. Were you working for him, too?” He paused, staring intently at us. “I mean, seems like everyone else was.” Again the gun went up, pointed once more at us two poor, defenseless, hooker drag queens.

“We were looking for information, that’s all,” I blurted out. “We knew that Yamasuka was standing trial in a couple of days. With Liko dead, there would be no one to testify against him. Lenny’s killer would go free. All our work would be for nothing.”

He aimed, his finger again on the trigger. “And what did you find out?”

“Oh, um, nothing,” Brandon lied.

Jed took three fast strides our way, the gun now pointing to the side of Brandon’s wig. “You’ve been smart until now, bitch. Why not stay that way?”

“Fine,” I shouted, reaching into my sarong. “Here.” I handed him the paper I’d found in the koi pond.

He grabbed it and backed away, quickly unfolding it as he once more pointed the gun at us.

“What’s it say?” I couldn’t help asking.

“It’s in Japanese,” he replied. “Give me a minute, my interpretation skills are rusty.”

“Take your time,” my he/she friend coughed out. “Hell, take a year, or two, or ten.”

Jed chuckled at the apparent joke, then shot a hole in the floor by our feet. “Shut the fuck up,” he bellowed. Naturally, we did, after we first let go with two girly screams. (And perhaps just a little bit of tinkle in my panties.) “Now, let’s see.” He squinted and slowly scanned the paper before looking back down at us. “Not it,” he said.

“What?” I asked. “Are we playing tag now?”

He kicked me, eliciting a pained groan. “No. The paper. It’s not what you two were looking for. It’s got nothing to do with the trial. Yamasuka is up on charges for a land development scam. The Japanese have been buying up Hawaii for years, Yamasuka especially. Only he’s been selling back some of the land using overvalued appraisals. He is, or he
was
, I mean, making a fortune on crap land that’s nothing more than old lava beds. Still, with just about everyone in his pocket, and no evidence to tie him directly to the sales because he uses intermediaries, and with Liko dead, he would’ve gotten off scot free.”

“So what’s on that paper?” I asked.

“Everyone in his pocket. Me, Liko, the cops, city officials. It’s a long list. And all with payouts. Illegal stuff, to be sure, but nothing directly associated with the trial. No mention of his holding companies or the land purchases and subsequent sales. It’s a dead end, ladies. Literally.”

“Wait,” I shouted, hand over head, offering no real protection. “What good would it do to kill us? Like we said, we’re not after you.”

Again he laughed. “Nah,” he nahed. “I ain’t gonna kill you two. I meant Yamasuka was a
dead
end. If he set up Lenny, and I’m sure he did, and he had Lenny and Liko killed, then I’m certain I was somewhere on his hit list. I mean, Beles wants me dead, so who does he go to to have that taken care of?”

“Yamasuka.” I said. “His boss.”

“Yep. Besides, I got too much dirt on Yamasuka myself. I’m sure he would’ve taken care of me eventually. This way it’s him instead of me. Fair enough, don’t you think?”

“Um, sure,” I said, slowly starting to stand up and pulling Brandon/Liza along with me. “So we can just, um, go? Go free, I mean?”

He stuck the gun inside his pants and folded the paper inside his wallet. “Go, yes. Free, no.”

Always a catch, right? “Um, what’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“You were working for Liko, right? I mean, before his
untimely
death,” he asked.

“Let me guess,” I guessed. “We’re working for you now?”

“See, smart girl. Just like I said. And I need smart girls working for me. Besides, I think it’s best if I keep an eye out on the two of you, seeing as you both stir up a heap of shit. Plus, if you ever try and report any of this to the cops, I’ll know where to find you. Get it?”

“Got it,” we replied.

“Good,” he said, leading us outside, where we found Yamasuka’s guards, two gaping knife wounds in each of their chests, the weapon still on the ground. “See, ladies, it’s not good to get in my way.”

We cringed and looked away from the gruesome spectacle, the sight of death never getting any easier to take in. I suppose that’s a good thing. “No problem,” I said. “You’re the boss.”

“Exactly. Now give me your cell phone numbers. I’ll call you in a day or two, give you some work,” he told us.

Oh, fuck, not what we wanted to hear. Cell phone numbers are probably traceable, if you have the means. And Jed clearly had lots of means. But what choice did I have? So I pulled out a pen and a piece of paper from my purse and wrote them down. Sort of. “Here you go,” I said. “Just one more question, though.”

He scowled but nodded. “What is it?”

“The reason you couldn’t pick up Liko on your own,” I said. “The reason you needed us to bring him to you. Was that because you knew Yamasuka would be after him and would want to get to him first?”

He grinned. “Smart bitches. Damn smart. Yep, I knew Liko was giving evidence against Yamasuka. See, that Lenny thing worked both ways. I knew what Liko was up to and he knew what I was up to, too. Lenny was cute, but he had a big fucking mouth. Still, for both Liko and myself, it seemed smart to keep Lenny around. We both knew what the other was up to, but kept out of the other one’s business. All in all, it was a good working relationship.”

I nodded. “But if he should turn up at your door, looking for trouble...”

“Then what choice would I have, right? Yamasuka couldn’t hold that against me, could he?” he laughed, one final, awful time, retrieved his bloodied knife, and then was off, yelling over his shoulder, “Have a nice day, ladies. Talk to you bitches soon enough.”

And then he was gone, running around the side of the house, quickly disappearing from sight. Good riddance to bad rubbish. We turned the opposite corner, away from all the corpses.

“Fuck,” I groaned, plopping my ass down on a garden chair.

“You can say that again,” Brandon agreed, sitting down on a chair facing me.

“Fuck,” I echoed. Clearly, it warranted repeating. This was soon followed, of course, by the oft-repeated, “
Now what
?”

And then, as if on cue, “Oh, thank God.” It was Will, followed closely behind by Briana and Koni, turning the same corner we’d just come around from.

“Yeah, we can try to thank him,” I quipped, “but it doesn’t seem like he’s listening much anymore.”

They ran over, and Briana offered, “Well, you are both still alive.”

I giggled -- a nervous giggle, of course. “I said, he’s not listening
much
.”

“Man, I’m so sorry we couldn’t get here sooner to help,” Will apologized, the look of concern still evident on his handsome face. “We were following you, but the cab blew a tire. And no spare. We had to wait for another cab to come get us. We heard some gunshots echoing way down the road. When we got here, we found...”

“Yeah,” I interrupted. “We know what you found. Don’t worry, though; we’re fine. And, wonder of all wonders, still gainfully employed.”

They looked at me quizzically; Brandon and I filled them in. “Fuck,” Briana said.

“Yeah,” Brandon told her. “Been there, done that.”

“And, once again,
now what
?” asked I. “Yamasuka is dead. The trial will be canceled. No one to bring to justice. And still no evidence, even if we could present any.”

“Wrong koi pond,” added Brandon, miserably.

“Maybe,” Will said, standing behind me and offering up a much needed back rub.

Brandon frowned. “I don’t like the sound of that
maybe
.”

And neither did I, but here’s how it went down anyway.

***

We discussed what we needed to do as we quickly moved away from the house. If our friends had heard the gunshots from far down the road, the police would soon be on their way. Needless to say, we weren’t ready for their involvement just yet.

And it was at that very moment, with my brain simply concentrating on getting us to safety, that my subconscious sent out a delayed message --
This just in
, it said.
There’s another koi pond you guys know about.

“Wait!” I shouted, causing our group to come to a screeching halt. “There’s another koi pond we know about!”

“Oh, God,” moaned Brandon. “Not another one.”

I kept moving, the others following me. “Tell me,” I said to Brandon as we rapidly walked down the hill, or as rapidly as our heels would allow. “Where did we always meet Liko?”

He thought about it, then snapped his fingers and replied, “The International Marketplace.”

“And what’s right out in front of there?” asked I, just as we reached the road behind Yamasuka’s house, Will’s cab thankfully waiting for us.

“A fucking koi pond,” replied Brandon as we all piled in.

“Pray it’s the right one this time,” I said, the cab speeding away, passing three sets of cop cars a mile down the road. “Pray for a whole lot of things while you’re at it,” I added. “Better to hedge our bets.”