Saint Death (8 page)

“First of all,” Zack began, trying his best to sound confident and playful instead of drunk, “the airport incident was my friend Dave's fault. He's a magnet for drama if I'm being honest. As far as the waitress goes, well what can I say? I was distracted by a beautiful woman. No one can blame me for that. If anything that makes this all your fault!”

She playfully punched him but her face reddened at the compliment.

“I'm Jamie,” she said, sticking her hand out. He took it in both of his and kissed it with a dramatic flair.

“Zack,” he said with a flourish. “At your service.”

“Nice to meet you Zack,” she said, locking eyes with him and flashing him a sexy smile.

“So what brings you to Cabo?” Zacked slurred.

“Me and a few of my sorority sisters were looking to blow off some steam,” she explained.

“I go to UCLA but I don't think I've ever seen you on campus before,” he prodded.

“That's because I don't go there,” she laughed.

Zack wrinkled up his face. “But you were on the same plane as us?”

“We're from UCSB. We just flew out of Los Angeles,” she explained. “I drove everyone down in my Pathfinder and left it in long term parking near LAX. Car barn I think it was called.”

“Ah... Santa Barbara,” he said, stretching out the words like they were a magic spell. “So where are your friends now?”

“Those lightweights went back to the hotel already,” she complained. “We started drinking hard at dinner but most of them can't put it away like I can. I'm part Irish so. I wasn't quite ready to call it a night so soon so I decided to stay out on my own. Looks like it payed off bumping into you though.”

“That settles it then,” Zack grinned. “You're joining us at the booth. There's no way I can let you just wander around on your own in good conscience.”

“I thought you'd never ask,” she sighed in relief. “Lead the way, sexy.”

Zack took her by the hand and pulled her back through the pulsing dance floor to the other side of the bar. He was halfway to the booth when he noticed the two dark haired local girls on either side of Dave laughing at some story he was telling them. They all looked up when Zack and Jamie arrived.

“And this is who I was telling you about,” Dave said by way of introduction. “This is my best friend Zack.”

“Hey,” Zack said, sliding into the booth. “This is Jamie. She's from UCSB.”

“Hi Jamie. I'm Dave. Pleased to meet you.”

“You're the one who got arrested at customs and managed to pop out of his handcuffs,” Jamie said wryly. “That was some show you put on.”

“Detained,” Dave protested. “I was never actually arrested.”

“It's still an impressive trick,” Jamie said. “How'd you do it?”

“A real magician never reveals his secrets!” Dave roared.

“He broke his wrist skateboarding in front of my house when he was thirteen,” Zack said. “I begged my dad to let me build a launch ramp, every day, for like a year. Eventually he gave in. First week I get the thing done this genius goes flying upside down off the thing and fucks himself all up.”

“I was trying to do a flip,” Dave grinned. “Instead I came down on my flat palm full force. I heard this weird crunching sound. When I looked down my hand was bent up at a weird angle, sitting on top of my arm. I totally freaked out!”

The girls all made a disgusted face.

“My dad was convinced your parents were going to sue him,” Zack said. “It's all he talked about for months, how any minute we were going to be sued into the poor house and it would all be my fault. He made me scrap the ramp after that too.”

“Maybe they should have sued you,” Dave teased. “My wrist never did heal right.”

“Think of all the bar bets you'd have lost,” Zack shot back. “Ever seen then he's been able to pop it out of place. Handcuffs are all but useless on him. Cops hate it when he does it though. It freaks them out.”

“All the more reason to mess with them,” Dave said.

Jamie snuggled up to Zack, wrapping her tiny hands around his left arm like she was staking her claim on him as she suspiciously eyed the two other women. They laughed into their hands in reply as Dave poured them all a fresh round of shots from the now nearly empty bottle of tequila.

“Don't you worry now Jamie,” Dave winked, sliding a fresh shot of Patron her way. “Both of these lovely ladies are already spoken for, at least for tonight.”

The one to his right kissed his cheek in reply.

“This is Yesenia,” he said. “She's got a lot of fire in her. And this is her friend Rosa. Rosa is dark and mysterious. She doesn't say much but she understands, isn't that right sweetheart?”

Rosa nodded as she glared at Jamie and Zack. Dave held up his shot and the others followed his example.

“Here's to making new friends in foreign countries,” Dave cried out like an auctioneer before slamming back his shot. Jamie gulped hers down like drinking water and poured another. Zack made a sick face as he did his best to get half of a shot down. Jamie threw back the second shot without noticing. Zack looked queasy but tried to smile through it.

“What's the matter?” Jamie asked. “You don't like tequila?”

“I'm not used to drinking so much of it at once but I got this,” Zack assured her, taking a couple deep breaths before slamming back the rest of his shot. His eyes watered as he triumphantly held up the empty glass. The girls all cheered in unison. Zack watched as Yesenia passed Dave a small brown bottle filled with white powder. Dave leaned down towards the table and put the bottle to his right nostril, taking a big hit of whatever was in it. A sick feeling shot through Zack. Dave seemed to sense it as he sat up, rubbing his nose and slyly passing the bottle back to Yesenia, who poured a little hit onto her long, bright red pinky nail and quickly sniffed it up.

She held the bottle out towards Zack and Jamie. “
Quieres?
”

Zack waved his hand, nervously looking around to make sure they weren't being watched. Jamie just laughed and reached for the bottle again. “I've got a nice buzz going,” she said with a wink, pouring herself yet another shot. “I think I'll stick to the booze.”

Jamie slammed back the third shot and sucked on a lime. Yesenia openly stared at her with a look of disdain but Jamie either didn't notice or simply didn't care. She climbed into Zack's lap and began making out with him in front of everyone. Zack couldn't believe his luck as the hot blonde sorority girl lost all inhibition and began to grope his chest and run her fingers through his hair. She tasted like citrus and alcohol but underneath that was a sweetness that reminded him of the first girl he'd ever kissed, Jackie Green, way back in junior high school. He could feel himself stiffening uncomfortably in his jeans. He gently pushed her back off him. Jamie resisted a little at first in her drunken state, but his embarrassment at pitching a tent in public eventually won out and she sat back staring dreamily at him for a while.

Rosa leaned over and whispered something fast in Spanish to Yesenia, who quickly turned and began scanning the crowd for faces.

“What's wrong?” Zack nervously asked.

Yesenia quickly turned back and slunk down in the booth.

“
Policia
,” Yesenia said, pointing behind them.

They looked out across the club to see the weed dealing snitch they'd encountered earlier at dinner talking to the bartender. He had a photo in his hands. He was looking for someone.

“Hey,” Dave said, perking up. “I recognize that guy. He tried to sell us weed.”

“He was working for the cops,” Zack said. “He set up a surfer kid who gave him some change.”

“He's a bad man,” Yesenia said at last. “
Peligroso
. Dangerous.”

Rosa looked frantic. She ducked down and spoke rapidly again in a blur of fiercely whispered Spanish.

“What is she saying?” Jamie slurred.

“We're not safe,” Yesenia said. “We need to go. Follow me.”

“Follow you where?” Dave asked.

“There is a house nearby we can party at,” Yesenia said. “My friend owns it.”

“I don't know about that baby,” Dave said, shaking his head violently back and forth. “It's never a smart idea to wander off the reservation with two ladies you just met.”

Yesenia took him by the face and turned him towards her.

“I've got more blow at the house,” she purred. “Besides, don't you want to go somewhere that we can be all alone?” Before he could answer she stood up and put her breasts in his face. Zack didn't have to wait to see the expression on his friends face to know he was a lost cause. Dave sprang up from the booth, grabbing Yesenia by the hand.

“All right then you've made a believer out of me,” Dave said eagerly. “Let's go!”

Yesenia turned back to Zack. “You can bring your little friend with you if you want,” she said, a malicious glint in her eyes.

“Good,” Jamie said, taking one last shot and polishing off the bottle. “Because I wasn't planning on letting this one out of my sight any time soon.” She kissed Zack once more with tongue before climbing back to her feet.

Yesenia lead them through the crowded club and into the off limits empty kitchen area. Rosa was waiting by a side door smoking a cigarette. She ushered them out and into the dark, hot night. They stumbled along for a while, walking behind the clubs, the silhouettes of unseen strangers dancing around them in the shadows like demons let out of hell to play on Halloween night.

“Where are we going?” Dave asked as they scurried along in the darkness.

Yesenia stopped and pointed towards the brightest star in the sky. “There,” she said, using her finger to draw a line straight down from the sky to a small house up on the hill with a light on. “That's where we are going.”

When they came to the end of the alley Yesenia pulled them into an old, burgundy Toyota Tercel with an off-white hood, pulling out a baby seat and teething toys and throwing them in the trunk. They piled in and Yesenia cranked the ignition. The engine roared to life, followed by a loud backfire as the car stalled out. Yesenia cursed in Spanish through gritted teeth as she tried again, finally getting the car started up after several attempts and headed away from the clubs and neon lights.

“Are you sure this thing will get us there?” Jamie asked, making a face at Zack. “It feels like it's about to come apart at any moment.”

“There's nothing wrong with the car,” Yesenia shot back, her eyes narrowing to angry slits. “It just needs a little patience. We're not all lucky enough to buy brand new things whenever we feel like it.”

“Sorry,” Jamie said, holding her hands up in a peace gesture. “I didn't mean anything by it.”

They drove the rest of the way in silence, passing through a small commercial area with closed shops. At the end of the street Yesenia swerved around a shirtless fisherman walking with a bucket and a rod, and turned up an unpaved road towards the houses on the top of the small hill overlooking the sprawl of the Pacific Ocean. About half way up the road was blocked by a pack of wild dogs.

They look like they've been sewn together from a bunch of mongrel breeds,
thought Zack as he watched them fight over a crow's carcass.
Like some kind of mutant dog version of Frankenstein's monster brought to life by some diabolical genius.

Yesenia laid on the car's horn as a warning then revved the engine and shot straight at them. The feral beasts scurried out of harm's way as the car sped past, kicking up a cloud of dirt that rose up against the clear night sky to ring the moon.

Jamie opened her mouth to speak but Zack beat her to the punch. “Don't say anything,” he whispered in her ear, do his best to head off a fight between the girls.

A few moments later they pulled into the long white driveway of a ranch style house with a shimmering pool and walls made of glass facing the water. Yesenia led them inside single file and turned on the lights, giving them their first view of the expensive residence. The interior was decorated with plush white rugs thrown over Spanish tile. A series of sofas broke up the flow of the house with an open kitchen and attached wet bar off to the left and a narrow hallway down to the right that presumably led back to the master bedroom. There were flat television screens on each of the clean white walls. There were also photos of beautiful, naked women posed on tropical beaches looking aroused.

Jamie dragged Zack to the window to look out over the infinity pool towards the ocean but Dave couldn't help but inspect the pictures on the walls instead.

“Who did you say this place belongs to?” he asked.

“My photographer friend, Señor Clive,” Yesenia rattled off. “He used to tour with Aerosmith and the Rolling Stones when he was younger, as a rock journalist. When he got older he switched over to shooting erotica because it pays better.”

“Judging from the looks of this place I'd say it pays very well,” Jamie said. “So where is he now?”

“He lives in Scotland and travels for work most of the year,” Yesenia said, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.

Dave held up a black and white framed photo of an older guy with spiky white hair. He had a big grin painted on his tan face and an even bigger Cuban cigar sticking out of his clenched teeth. Around his wrist was a solid loop of silver.

“And he won't mind us partying here?” Dave asked.

“He lets me stay here whenever I want, Yesenia explained. “We have an arrangement.”

Rosa laughed and Yesenia shot a dirty look at her.

“Interesting,” Dave said, setting the photo back down.

Rosa made her way into the open kitchen and pulled several bottles of alcohol from the cabinet, setting them on the counter. She filled the blender with ice from the freezer and set to work on making her concoction. Jamie watched with interest as Rosa carefully measured out several shots of tequila before dumping them over the shiny blades. A loud hiss pierced the air as she opened a bottle of ginger ale and dumped it in as well. For a final touch she slashed open three limes and squeezed their juicy pulps into the mix, discarding their sticky, desecrated hulks on the counter and absentmindedly sucking her fingers.

“Go ahead and make mine a double sweetheart,” Jamie prodded. “I've got a strong tolerance.”

Rosa simply smirked at Yesenia, as if they were sharing an inside joke, then went back to work. The blender roared to life, drowning out the sound of everything else. When she was satisfied with the results Rosa poured the drinks into blue-rimmed glasses. Yesenia rushed to the kitchen to help Rosa, blocking the others view as she dumped a healthy dose of white powder over the top of each and quickly stirred it in. Angel had told her all she would need was a small amount but she didn't want to take any chances. Rosa watched as Yesenia served up the tainted drinks to Jamie, Zack, and Dave, then poured two clean glasses for them. Jamie didn't waste any time taking a big gulp. From the look on her face Zack realized it was tarter than she'd expected.

“What's in this thing?” Dave said with a puckered expression still on his face. “It's so sore.”

Rosa just smiled in reply as she sipped her drink.

“It's called an El Diablo,” Yesenia laughed, taking her glass from Rosa and finishing it in a single gulp. “Tequila, lime juice, and ginger ale. It's best when the limes are freshly squeezed.”

“I putting in extra juices for you,” Rosa said in bad English, winking at Jamie.

“I appreciate that,” Jamie slurred, swaying from side to side. Zack grabbed her and held her up as she let out a giggle.

“It's her favorite drink,” Yesenia confided. “Go on. Tell her what you think.”

Zack took a big swig and winced. The tartness of the lime juice faded leaving a strangely medicinal aftertaste. For a moment the distinct possibility that they were being drugged raced through his mind, but it seemed too far-fetched and he laughed it off.
You're getting as bad as Dave
, he thought, pushing his fears out of his head and finishing the frozen drink.

“Do you like it?” Rosa asked, the shyness giving way as a devious smile crossed her face.

Zack began to reply but found to his surprise that in addition to his lips and tongue not working his legs were giving out. He sat down comically on the floor, one finger pointing up in the air as he tried to speak. “Tsiiitspreeeeeetysssstrooooong,” he managed, his words slurring together into an incomprehensible garble.

Jamie reached down to help him up but Zack pulled her down towards him. She came crashing down on him in a tumble, letting out a loud cackle as she did. Zack fought with his unresponsive arms and legs to roll her off of him and by the time she was laying on her back she was out cold snoring. The room lurched around his head without warning. Suddenly he couldn't keep his eyes open. He laid his face on the cold tile and tried to focus on his breath as the darkness came reaching up for him like a welcome stranger.

“You guys are just pitiful,” Dave chided, slamming back the rest of his drink and setting the glass on the counter. He looked pleasantly lit up, his cheeks blazing red with alcohol, his eyes unfocused, the hint of a smile threatening to blossom on his relaxed face. “You need to learn to handle your booze better. Phfff. Amateurs.”

“Come on baby,” Yesenia said, taking him by the arm and leading him towards the large sofa.

“Where are we going,
mamacita
?” Dave slurred, as he stumbled along with her.

“I thought we'd give you a little show before we got down to business,” Yesenia teased. She kissed Dave on the lips. Rosa brought him a fresh drink. Yesenia held it to his lips and made sure he drank, tipping the glass back until it was empty.

“It's cold,” Dave complained. “But strong. I like it.”

“There you go,” Yesenia purred. “Now sit back and get comfortable stud and let us do all the work.”

Dave slid back on the couch and began to unbutton his pants. Yesenia took off her shirt exposing her full breasts. Rosa leaned over, taking one in her hand, and sensually licked at her nipple. Yesenia let out a sexy fake moan that brought Dave to full attention. She pulled Rosa up into a sloppy kiss, their slick tongues darting sensually over one another. She was just starting to take off her pants when Dave began to loudly snore. Yesenia pushed Rosa away in disgust and pulled her shirt back on. Rosa looked hurt as she watched her friend walk back to the kitchen counter, take her cellphone out of her purse, and dial a number.

“It's done,” Yesenia announced, walking back over and nudging Zack with her foot on his thigh. A rivulet of drool escaped the corner of his mouth but he didn't stir. “Come on up and get them.”

Ten minutes passed before there was a loud knock on the door. Yesenia opened it and Angel and Hector walked in carrying two extra-large, handmade blankets.

“Who is the girl?”

“She's no one,” Yesenia quickly said. “We couldn't get her to leave so she's part of it now.”

“
Puta
,” Rosa spat.

Angel inspected Dave. “Are you sure he's still alive?” He said, turning his face back and forth in his hands.

“He has a high tolerance for drugs,” Yesenia explained. “He'll live.”

“You better hope he does,” Angel smirked. “Or you'll have to answer to Maria.”

“You said you wanted two,” Yesenia complained. “We got you two. Now pay us our fucking money.”

“Hold your horses,” Angel sneered. “You'll get what's coming to you when we're finished here.”

He signaled to Hector who brought over one of the colorful blankets and unfolded it next to the couch. Angel took a leather strap from his pocket and wound it around Dave's wrists, binding them quickly together like a cowboy hog tying a calf at a rodeo. When he was done he motioned to Hector and together they lifted Dave up and laid him in the middle of the blanket before casually rolling him up in it. When he was no longer visible they picked up either side and carried him outside to the open back of their car. They set the unconscious body inside and headed back into the house.

Wrapping Zack up in the blanket was easier, since all they had to do was roll him over onto it. Angel bound his hands as well with another leather strap. The whole process was over in less than five minutes, with both boys tucked snugly away in the belly of the car. Angel closed the trunk and began to walk towards the driver’s side door but Yesenia grabbed his arms and yanked him back. He took a wad of pesos out of his pocket and threw it at her feet. Yesenia scrambled to pick them all up as Hector and Angel got into their car to leave.

“What about the girl?” Yesenia pleaded.

“I didn't ask for a girl,” Angel said coldly. “She's your problem now. Take care of her or I will come back and take care of you.
Adios
.”

Angel sped off. Yesenia fumed as she watched the bright red tail lights of the car grow smaller and smaller as he got further away. She paced back and forth pensively for a while before turning to Rosa. “What are we going to do? I've never killed anyone before.”

“There's no need to kill her,” Rosa said comfortingly. “She's a drunk. She'll never remember.”

“I wish you were right. We can't just leave her here,” Yesenia protested. “You don't know these people like I do. No one messes with them. They kill people for fun.”

“I'll do it then,” Rosa said, running her fingers through Yesenia's hair. “I'll cut her throat while she's passed out. She'll never even know what happened.”

“You'd do that for me baby?” Yesenia said softly.

Rosa turned without another word and headed back into the house, ready to take matters into her own hands.

“We can't do it here,” Yesenia called out behind her but Rosa froze in her tracks. On the floor was an orchid hair clip and nothing more, the only sign that Jamie had ever been there.

“Where'd she go?” Rosa shrieked, her voice rising in fear. “She was just right here!”

“She's gone,” Yesenia said, “which means we are fucked. Come on! Let's find her. She couldn't have gotten far.”

“Or we could just run away,” Rosa suggested, biting her lower lip. “We've got the money. We could always start over somewhere new.”

Yesenia's eyes flashed with anger. “You know that's not possible!”

“Why not?” Rosa asked.

“Because I have a kid now,” Yesenia yelled back at her in exasperation. “I have to think about my little girl first. You know that!”

“So you bring her with us,” Rosa cajoled. “We can make a fresh start.”

“Where would we go?” Yesenia asked, ready to wind herself up for a fight but Rosa stopped her with an unexpected kiss.

“Anywhere you want
Mami
,” Rosa said at last. “I don't care where I live as long as I am with you.”