The Chinese Connection – Part Two
When I arrived back at my hotel, my diminishing enthusiasm for Jamaican nightlife lifted when I found the bar open. I heard music coming from the space at the back of the lounge; a late-night group of chics were shaping the dancefloor with a splattering of hotel guests. The silhouettes swayed in the soft red light.Despite my promise to Dizzy, to stay clean, I needed alcohol and lots of it; the trouble on the street had taken its toll, and my jangled nerves screamed for self-medication.”What’ll it be, Mike? Usual?””Yes, please, buddy, make it a double, and get one for yourself.”Sitting on a barstool, I quickly downed my shot of rum; the warm liquid easing my scrambled mind.I hurriedly lined up a second when a dame appeared out of the shadows. I was a little surprised when she headed my way. I wasn’t exactly putting out the welcome mat. Her face was like she’d gone a round or two with Muhammad Ali, but the rest of her stacked up really well. I recognized her as she approached. She was in the photo with Jade and the Latino guys. She wasn’t your regular type of hustler either; she was more up-market than the other whores I’d met recently. I laughed to myself when I saw her innocent smile. Like, butter wouldn’t melt between her thighs.”Want some company, babe?” she huskily sighed in that filthy way.”Sure!” I said, “knock yourself out.”I’d sussed her. It wasn’t hard; a freelance hooker is still a hooker. She slid onto the stool next to mine. Her strong perfume smacked my senses, thick and sickly.”You look like a nice guy – I’ve got an insight into these things.” She raised her eyebrows at the barman, and a vodka martini appeared like magic. “It’s usually fifteen dollars for a blow and thirty for the whole works, but a cute guy like you gets a twenty-dollar special.” She chinked her glass against mine, “Here’s to us, sugar.”Her cold blue eyes, the colour of the Jamaican skies twinkled with mischief. And man, she had a lot of mischief going on. When she crossed her legs her skirt rode higher than the golden gate bridge. She was pushy too; in the way that bad girls usually are. I pulled out a twenty; Jades covering my expenses after all. “What’s your name, honey?””You can call me Roxy.” She smiled, tucking the money inside the top of her bra. “Let’s go to your room, shall we?””No. let’s not?” I replied without moving. I had to admit. I was tempted; but right now, I fancied the taste of alcohol more than the taste of pussy. “Is it okay if we chat for a while? Maybe have a couple of drinks?””Sure babe. But I got-ta-tell-ya, the boyfriend experience runs a little more expensive. Another twenty should cover it. I’ll sleep over for an extra ten?”This chic had more tricks than a circus pony and was hotter than a wrestler’s jockstrap. To misquote Bogart: She had stuff that dreams were, made of – wet ones. I laid another ten on the bar.”Let’s see how the night progresses, shall we?”She smiled and slipped the bill into her heaving cleavage, where Mr Hamilton joined Mr Franklin. I could have sworn I saw a smile on the old President’s face. Roxy lifted her hair out of the way and tucked her face into my neck. “I saw you on the street a short while ago,” she whispered, her breath tickling the hairs on my neck. “You were very impressive; I like tough guys. Those poor boys didn’t stand a chance.” Her hand slipped along my thigh, the tips of her fingers making contact with the goods. “You know they work for Jade Chung, right? – Then again, we all work for Jade Chung in one way or another; Including you, I understand.”I angrily pushed her hand away and stared into her face. She instantly knew; she had crossed the line. Smoothing down her skirt, she casually tried to back away, but I quickly grabbed her wrist, and she lost her confident smile. Unconsciously, she fingered the swelling over her right eye.”Don’t worry babe. I don’t hit women, that’s not my style,” I said, pulling her back onto the bar stool. “But if your intention is to blackmail me, I’d think again if I was you. You’d be better off selling your tail. I reckon you’re really good at that.”A pout appeared on her face. Like a lot of broads, she’s big on pouting. Then she spits her reply into my face. “You got me all wrong Mister Mace. I’m just trying to earn a bit of money that’s all. If you don’t want the best fuck you’ve ever had, that’s your choice honey!”She snatched her arm away with deceptive power and quickly disappeared into the shadows. I couldn’t be bothered to chase after her. I’d had enough shit for one night. After another drink, I realized we’d barely said two words to each other, but somehow, she knew my name. Something stinks in this town and I reckon the smell leads all the way back to Chinatown.+++I heard a gentle tapping on my door, had room service organised another bottle of rum? or was I dreaming? I looked at my watch. 7.25 am. Wow! a half-bottle of rum certainly makes for a good sedative. The next knock on the door was a little more insistent, and I pull Misters Smith and Wesson from under my pillow and check the peephole.What the fuck! sex izle I said to myself. Opening the door, I step back; I guess wearing just my underwear won’t matter much to this guest.She glided in, looking like an everyday chic. The big hair and glossed lips had disappeared. Instead, her hair was pulled into a ponytail, and the red skirt and satin blouse was replaced with jeans, sunglasses, and a tight white T.”Are you stalking me, Roxy? Or offering me a refund on the best fuck I never had?” She completely ignored my attempt at humour.”Mike, I need your help… I think I’ve killed someone.”I laughed, thinking it was a joke, even after I’d seen the panic in her eyes. “In my experience, killing is pretty much an absolute – either you have, or you haven’t killed someone?”She bit hard on my sarcastic words. “Fuck you! Of all people, you should know that’s not always the truth,” She points at my gun. “I don’t think you need that unless you intend to shoot me in the leg too.”Why do I always end up arguing with angry women? Maybe, I have a disease? Bad-chic-osis.I laid the gun on my bedside table but kept it within arms reach. She sat on my bed looking vulnerable and sexy, and I couldn’t help wondering what she’d look like naked. A lot better than most, I imagined.”Okay, spill the beans, babe; tell me all about it,””After I left you at the hotel bar, I went to my apartment, and Leroy turned up. I didn’t want to let him in, but he kept kicking at the door, harder and harder until – well, you get the picture. He was stoned, as usual, and we got into a fight. I ran into the kitchen and grabbed a knife. The next thing I know, I’m waking up with a banging head, and there’s a pool of blood on the floor, and Leroys got a gaping hole in his neck.”She was pleading to be understood, but I wasn’t taken in by her helpless female act; her voice made all the right noises – but after last night in the bar, I had no reason to trust her.”And Leroy is?””He works for Jade, sometimes we are a couple, and sometimes we aren’t if you get what I mean?”I knew what she meant; she could have been singing from my hymn sheet. I thought I was Christi Powell’s man, but I had royally fucked that one up. I looked into Roxy’s face. I wanted to believe her, but she didn’t make it easy, she had a liar stamped on her forehead.”And your hasty retreat brought you straight to my door? Why’s that, babe?””Well, I walked around the streets trying to clear my head, and then I just ended up here.””Look, I’m going to be straight with you. I’m not buying any of this bullshit! It all sounds a bit too convenient for my liking – last night, you couldn’t get away from me quick enough, and now you want my help!””I know it sounds bad, but I didn’t have anywhere else to go. I ain’t got a lot of friends in Jamaica, and I need to get away; I reckon we could help each other; we are both up to our necks in….””Jesus! Are you insane? Help each other? I barely know you. Look, sister! You’ve got blood on your hands – literally.” I nodded towards her blood-stained fingers. “You don’t need a detective. You need a fucking priest.”I could see the anger building on her face, and it was good. At least it was real emotion.”Look, Mike. Without trying to make this too fucking obvious, I reckon it’ll be a while before the body is found. And guess what? The local feds are a little busy, round-about now; looking for some white man; who blew a hole in a black guy’s leg. That ring any bells with you?”I didn’t need reminding I’d fucked up last night. This bitch was as feisty as hell, which strangely, makes her even sexier in my eyes.She walked towards the window and lifted the drapes as if she expected to see somebody outside. Then she turned and said, “The thing is, Mike, I don’t care if you believe me or not, but I have to tell you; the dead guy at my apartment has been telling anyone who cared to listen that he threw an American guy out of his bar a couple of days ago because he was drunk and carrying a gun. Now, I reckon the feds would want to interview that American guy. Don’t you?”For a second, I didn’t get the implication. Then the realisation hit me like a hammer. “You mean the barman at the Cheetah is the dead guy in your apartment?”Her slow nod tells me, all I needed to know. “Oh shit!” This changed things, and not in a good way. “So, why’d you kill him?”She didn’t say anything – she didn’t have to. She lifted her sunglasses, and her beaten face said it all.”Mike, there’s a ferry leaving in about two hours for the Florida Keys, it’s a long haul by boat, but they won’t be, expecting us to travel that route. But first I need to go to my apartment to get my stuff. Would you come with me – I don’t fancy being alone with his body.””Woo, slow down there, sister! There is no us, okay! – I don’t need your help, and I certainly don’t need a boat to get back home. I’ve got an American passport and an open ticket; I can get a flight out of here anytime I want.””Really?… Well, good luck with that, Mike. For a detective, you’re not so smart, are you?… Where are fransız porno the cops going to be hanging out if they want to stop their prime suspect from leaving Jamaica?”The arrogance of this doll was starting to piss me off, but she was right. The airport would be crawling with cops. I guess it didn’t matter how I got back to the States. Just as long as I got out of this fucking place.+++I sent her on ahead; I didn’t want to be seen, with miss goldilocks. I told her to keep to the side streets and that I’d meet her at her apartment in twenty minutes. I quickly showered and got dressed before I holstered my gun, and packed a bag.I walked past the front desk on the way out of the hotel, when the receptionist called me over. I expected him to say something about having a hooker in my room.”Excuse me, Mister Mace? A fax arrived for you late last night from America.”He handed me the folded sheet, and I read it as I stepped into the morning sunlight. ‘Hey, Boss. I rang the hotel at midnight, but you weren’t around. Enjoying the nightlife, I guess. One of my scouts found out that a girl matching Lu’s description was seen in Chinatown about five months ago, having lunch with N.G. I bet that made for an interesting meal.I read it twice more and slipped the fax into my jacket pocket. I found Roxy, or whatever her real name was, waiting by the elevator. The fax from Dizzy was happily bouncing around my head when another bit of luck caught my eye. Things were starting to swing in my favour at long last.When we arrived at her fourteenth-floor apartment, her hands were trembling like mad. It was hard to tell if it was fear or just plain old bullshit. She looked at me nervously when she couldn’t get the key in the lock.”Do you want me to open the door and go in first?” I said, which is just what she wanted me to say, I guess.She nodded; I pulled my gun and puffed out my cheeks, “Wait here, okay.”I slowly crept along the hall. A few minutes later, I walked back with a confused frown.“What? – What’s the matter?” she asked.”You better hold onto your pearls sister…There’s no dead body, and there’s no sign of any blood either?””No…You’re wrong!… there must be. I saw Leroy lying there!” She barged past me throwing her purse on the hall stand, and headed for the kitchen. She ran from room to room; as if somehow I had missed seeing a three-hundred-pound, dead man.”I don’t know what’s happening, Mike. I swear to God he was there.”I wanted to believe her, but this chic’s got more sides than a Rubik’s cube, and every side, was wrong. “The problem is honey… there are too many unanswered questions in the air, and unfortunately, you’re right in the middle of all this crap.”She does her well-polished angry face again. I was starting to feel sorry for her boyfriend. I think; I would have preferred to be dead too; being her boyfriend. “What are you going to do, Mike? Feed me to the Feds?”I shake my head, “Nah – that’s not how I work. Besides, what will I tell them? ‘Well, officer, there was a dead body, but now, it’s disappeared.’ They already want me for shooting a guy! Without adding insanity to my rap sheet…Look, sister, we should get on the ferry as planned. I know I could certainly do with a change of scenery. You grab a shower, wash away the blood, then get your shit together, and we’ll take it from there.”I needed some time alone to think; this babe is halfway crazy but as sexy as hell. I couldn’t make up my mind if I wanted to fuck her or shoot her. +++I checked out the kitchen; it smelt of bleach and was too clean. If she had stabbed the guy, there would have been blood splatters all over the place. The walls and surfaces were spotless. Whoever had done the job in the kitchen was a real pro, I had seen enough cleaned-up murder scenes to know. I also know people make mistakes.I checked the walls and the floor; no blood. Except there was a small dark stain under a cupboard base plate. I opened the drawers, looking for a screwdriver to remove the kickboard; amongst the cutlery, I saw something familiar; my third break in an hour. At last, things were starting to go my way.I walked back into the hall and saw her purse on the hallstand. I sneaked a look inside. There was a healthy amount of cash and a passport too. If the passport was legit, her name was Kim Kowalski. I flipped through the pages. There were plenty of entry stamps from Texas immigration and even more from Florida, Jamaica, and Cuba.For a local hooker, this chic’s travelled around the Gulf of Mexico a hell of a lot.A few moments later, she walks back from the bathroom looking fabulous in a dark green skin-tight trouser suit. She could turn heads at the Beverly Wilshire and probably has on many occasions.I pointed to the kitchen. “Look, we got a little time to spare before the ferry leaves, and the less time we’re on the street, the better.”She quietly nodded and grabbed a seat at the table. Looking up at the kitchen clock, she lights a cigarette.I sat across from her; instinct told me she was ready to do some talking. teen porno “I hope you’re in a chatty mood; I’m desperate for help here… I want to believe you about the body, by the way. There’s a small trace of blood in the kitchen, and it’s pretty fresh.”Her eyes flashed with seduction, she’s really clever at that. “Thanks, Mike. I thought I was going mad.”I changed tack quickly, trying to unsettle her. I didn’t want her queueing up her answers, like before. “Can I ask you what your real name is? I can’t keep calling you Roxy.””Kate – Kate Mathews,” she smiles and plays with the zipper at the front of her jumpsuit, revealing the perfect amount of cleavage with just a hint of nipple. It’s as if she’s reminding me that the zip goes down to her pussy. Just in case I hadn’t noticed, which of course I had,”I know whatcha thinking; makes me sound like a shopkeeper’s wife… right?”I return her smile. She’s a crap liar but hotter than a Brooklyn Rolex.”Yeh, I guess so. Not a hooker’s name, that’s for sure.”“To be honest, I’m really not much of a hooker; I fall in love too easily. When I get home to America, I might buy a little clothes shop and get myself a cute assistant too. I seriously need a career change.”I wanted to say something about the oldest profession in the world but decided against it. “And what about Leroy – what’s the score with him?”For an ex-girlfriend, her expression doesn’t change at the mention of his name. I have a feeling that wasn’t the first dead body she’d ever seen.”He started working for Jade about eighteen months ago, ran the bar, and locked up when Jade wasn’t around. He looked after the hookers too and kept them safe. All the girls liked him at first. Then six months ago, he started doing brown sugar, and he changed – he became violent and always needed more money to feed his habit. Jade fell out with him. She reckoned he was going back to the bar after closing time and helping himself to the cash. She asked me to keep an eye on him. That’s when I saw you outside the bar.” I nodded, it would explain Jade’s missing money.I wanted to keep her talking, so I pulled out the flick knife I’d found in the kitchen drawer and released the blade. I placed it on the table in front of her. “Have you ever seen this before?”She shook her head, “Nah… never.””Are you sure; pick it up; take a good look.”She picked up the blade; and uncomfortably slid the handle into her other hand.”Is this important?” she said.I watched her; she had an awkward grip and wasn’t used to holding a knife. “It’s not important to me, but it might throw some light on a very dark situation. I found it in your kitchen drawer; it’s not the kind of knife you’d use for preparing food; is it?”Her hand starts to shake again, and she drops the knife back on the table. “My god, is this the knife that killed Leroy?”Oh, she’s good – ‘And the winner for best actress in a crime thriller goes to…’I changed direction again. “How long have you known Jade?”Her face tells me she’s glad to change the subject, “Well, we’ve been friends for nearly twenty years; we met at a high school in Frisco, Jade arrived from China with her dad; her father isn’t a nice guy – do you know him?”I lied and shook my head.”You don’t want to, either! My background was the same as Jade’s. My dad had beaten my mum to death and was serving time; we had a lot in common; we were close – real close. As soon as we graduated, we ran away from home. Jade had squirrelled a bit of dirty money away. We worked the streets and set ourselves up as escorts. Jade never had trouble attracting the guys, if you know what I mean?”She waited, for a moment, hoping I’d say something, to relieve the pressure on her; but this was my show, and I wasn’t about to let her off the hook that easy. For a second or two, her face took on that angry look, that was hard to ignore. Was she capable of murder? You bet your ass she was.Then, just as quickly, her composure returned. “Jade started making friends with some important guys, soon we were employing more and more girls. The trouble was, I was never good at choosing men, always ended up with the shit ones. Jade looked out for me and bailed me out a few times; then, one day, we had to move quickly. She’d pissed off the wrong people. I don’t know what happened, but her dad was involved, and he’s not someone, you fuck with.”She checked the clock; her eyes danced around the room. She was buzzed up. I’d met enough cokeheads in my line of work to know one when I saw one.”We went to Texas for a while and then onto Cuba; not a great place for Americans around that time, so we ended up here, in Jamaica, and opened a bar… for, a few years, it was perfect, we made plenty of dough, and we had a good time. Whilst we were in Texas, Jade met some high roller and fell for him big-time, she and the guy formed a partnership; running drugs from Colombia to Jamaica, then on to Texas; he opened loads of doors for her, and she made some big money.“What’s his name, this guy?”She checked out the clock again. “I don’t remember – Jade reckoned he was cheating on her, and she blew him off. I didn’t get involved in the heavy stuff; too dangerous for my liking, I kept out of it, stayed in Jamaica.”I thought about all those stamps in her passport and smiled; this chic could lie smoother than a British politician.