Chapter 166

word count 1088

Manny fished around in the drawer, his grubby fingers bumping into tubes of girly whatnots. He picked up a handful of batteries, and upon spotting a vibrator, lifted it to survey its length and thickness. He felt his own manliness getting hard just thinking of the sexy Boa playing with her “toys.”

“MANNY!” Mr. Big waited in the other room for the squirrelly Latino to bring him the jewel. He was sitting there looking at the dead body of Boa, as her crimson blood made a Rorschach on the carpet. If he were a believer in such notions, he'd say the red blotch looked like a heart. The big man shifted uneasily on the seat, quietly acknowledging to himself on some level he'd loved Boa...but this wasn't the time or the place.

Manny appeared in the doorway clutching the gem. He held it out for the boss to see. The humongous jewel glistened, reflecting light every which way but Friday. “Here it is, Mr. Big!” He said it with pride, like he'd found a lost pirate's treasure. In a sense, he had.

“Good boy, Manny! Now we need to get it fenced. I've got the police busy, buzzing around one of their own, that cop I set up.” He chuckled. “Buzzing, ha, ha! I wonder if Buzz is 'buzzing' around his pal. That Miller is such a pain in the ass.”

He paused, coughing and wheezing. Between cigars and his considerable girth, Mr. Big's heart and lungs were far from healthy. After sputtering and spitting, he continued. “They'll be preoccupied at least until we get that ring to Mr. Yoo in Chinatown so he can unload it for us.” The big man shot Manny a serious eye. “This is just between the two of us, Manny. You understand? Take it to Mr. Yoo, and then come back to me. Don't talk to no one. And don't breathe a word of this gem. We'll both be rich, eh?”

Manny shook his head in the affirmative, bouncing like a happy puppy.

* * *

Gil paced like a restless tiger. What the fuck! The police report on the murdered nurse was like reading fiction as far as he was concerned. He didn't murder her. Hell, he didn't even know the chick. He lifted a fifth of Jack and gulped the liquid straight from the bottle. As the potent liquid rushed down his throat, burning all the way, the reality hit. He had empty spots in his head. He couldn't tell you what he did once he'd left the recovery room. It was all blank, except for a brief conversation in the van with a stranger in the dark, he had no clue where he'd been or what he did.

His heart started somersaulting out of control. What if he did it? Or at the least, what if he was a hapless accomplice? What if he was forced to and then shot up with something to make him blank out? It was possible, if someone wanted to mess with him. An enemy? He probably had plenty of them being a cop for all these years.

Now he was getting truly hysterical. Why was he doubting himself? He looked at the bottle of Jack Daniels and frustration rushed him like an errant wind. He hurled the bottle against the wall. It crashed and sprayed brown liquid everywhere. The world was pounding down on his head. Clenching his fists he gritted his teeth and fought to find control. He felt light-headed. Hysterics were building in his chest. He needed to break loose and scream.

A knock at the door centered him. It was a sound that bumped into the room carrying sanity with it. Life was going on in the same old way out there despite his problems, and now it was knocking at the door announcing its mundane existence in a couple hard thumps.

“Gil, you in there, buddy!” Buzz's hearty voice echoed through from the hallway.

Gil rushed to the door in giant strides. He didn't know if he should under the circumstances but he trusted the big guy. As his hand went to the door knob, he paused. What if Buzz was coming to arrest him? What if he was here with a warrant? What if they found evidence to nail him. Hell, even he wasn't certain what happened. He froze. He looked away in disgust as the thought came to the fore there wasn't much he could do about it anyway. He opened the door. Buzz pushed in without a second thought, like it was any other day, not one when his friend was on a suspect list for murder.

“I'm glad I found you here. I know Hank talked to you.”

 “Yes, he did! I didn't kill that nurse! At least not that I know of...”

“I know, Gil.  I know. The ballistics report came back. The bullet that killed Gina O'Houlihan wasn't from your gun.”

* * *
Mrs. Dunn and Algernon sipped tea, ensconced in a tiny restaurant in Chinatown. They figured the faraway little neighborhood was one place in the busy city they could meet and no one would know them. Buzz and the others still had no idea of their connection or purpose in attempting to procure the Princess Diamond. Mrs. Dunn wiped a tear from her cheek with a lacy white hanky.

“Oh, Algie. I'm certain Priscilla has suffered the worst fate possible.” She sniffed. “She wasn't my favorite person in the world, but she deserved to live long and have a happy life.” She blew her nose into the white hanky, soiling its pristine beauty.

“Yes, I'm sure you're right, Winnie. And that fellow, Frank, has disappeared into thin air, as well. I didn't know him well, but I feel bad for the man anyway. I fear he has suffered a similar fate.”

“These are dangerous people we are dealing with, Algie.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Algie, maybe this is too big for us. Maybe we should join forces with the local police and together we can get it back. At least if it is returned to the Royal family, that is better than in some American thugs' hands. We wouldn't have it, but at least it would be back in England where it belongs.”

“Admit defeat, Winnie?”

“Yes, we've already lost at least one of our own. How many lives is that silly stone worth anyway? Let's join forces with the others and get it back...for England!”