almost okay

SEVERAL DEATHS IN
THE FAMILY
Chapter Eighteen: Nip? Tuck? Bang!

I sat in the wounded HHR for an hour before I picked up my cell phone.

Eyes closed, I daydreamed idly about being in my little brick bungalow back in Detroit, maybe napping in the basement. It seemed as though it had been a lifetime of hotel rooms and beatings since I was home last.

During that hour I also kept wondering how I could have allowed myself to get into such a fucked up situation as this in the first place, allowed myself to become an unwilling murderer in the name of vengeance and the Almighty Dollar. How in the world could goddamned Lady Luck finally drop someone right into my lap who I could stand to be with and who could stand to be with me, only to force me to watch her die right in front of my eyes? Felina. She'd died because I had stubbornly refused to give up my plan of revenge on the Gonzalez gang and head home right after this whole Dallas thing went down.

She died because I had allowed her to come with me to San Antonio.

It was my fault she was dead, and it was eating away at me.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“Hello, Lee Masters speaking.”

“Hey, Lee...Amelie,” I said. “It's Marty.”

“Marty?”

“Say, I'm sorry to bother you at work, but Felina asked me to call,” I said. “She's not feeling well and wondered if you could come home and take a look at her then maybe call your doctor and see if you can get her in to see him. Maybe get him to call her in some antibiotics or something.”

“Felina's sick?” Lee's tone of voice displayed genuine concern.

“Yeah, she woke up feeling bad this morning,” I went on. “She's been in and out of the bathroom.”

“Let me talk to her,” said Lee.

“She just fell back to sleep, Lee. I think it's better if she just rested. We were planning on getting out of here tomorrow morning. I hate to impose even more, but can you just come home and see her?”

“I have a ten-thirty appointment,” he said. “Let me see if I can move that and I'll be there in about twenty minutes.”

“Great,” I said. “Thanks a lot, Lee.”

After I hung up my cell phone, I looked out the window across the parking lot towards the building where Lee Masters worked. I didn't know where his car was parked, but I figured I couldn't miss Lee once he'd come out of the building. He cut a dashing figure.

About ten minutes later, Lee strolled out through the revolving door wearing a beige linen suit and dark blue sunglasses. He headed for the east side of the parking lot, glowing in the full morning sun. I grabbed Hector's 9mm and angled towards him as he walked, ducking between the cars to avoid being seen. By the time Lee had unlocked the doors with his remote, I was squatting in front of the car parked on the passenger side next to Lee's black Audi.

As Lee slid behind the wheel, I opened the passenger door and hopped in next to him, shoved the pistol under his chin.

“What the...?!” Lee sputtered.

“Just shut the fuck up and listen to me, Lee. Or I swear on my mother's soul I'll blow your brains all over the roof of this sweet ride of yours.” He looked at me, sized me up. I could tell he was wondering if he could take me. “I know what you're thinking, Lee, and I'd strongly suggest you don't do it. I've had one fucked up day already and it's not even noon yet. I just don't see how it could possibly get any worse by shooting your pathetic ass.”

Lee's muscles seemed to relax a little. “Where's Felina?” he asked.

“Fair question,” I said. “First, though, I want you to put your hands very slowly on the wheel. Ten o'clock and two o'clock. Nice and slow.” Lee looked at me and complied. “Felina's dead.”

“You son of a bitch!” he yelled and started to turn towards me. I smashed him in the nose with the butt of the gun. Lee squealed and grabbed at his face as the blood began to rush from a gash across the bridge.

“I didn't do it, Lee. You did.”

“What?”

“Listen, you can save the routine. I figured out you must have contacted the Gonzalez people somehow and offered us up on a fucking silver platter. We were on our way to San Antonio this morning and they caught up to us before we'd gone a block. They pulled right up next to us at the light and shot Felina before I could get to my shotgun and kill them.” Lee looked shocked, but I could tell he believed me.

“They knew we were staying at your place, Lee. And I know you knew they knew. Because you told them.”

That's when he broke down and told me the whole story...

Once he'd found out why we were in trouble, he'd put two and two together, then put the word out on the street that he knew where we were. Word got to the Gonzalez gang of course, and they got back to him. He said they promised him that they just wanted me and that they weren't after Felina. “They offered me a lot of money,” he blubbered. “More than I've seen in a long time.” According to Lee the real estate game hadn't been going well since the subprime mortgage lending scandal and he was hard pressed to make the extra money he needed for a sex-change operation.

“You gotta be kidding me,” I said.

“No, it's true! I swear! I've been seeing a psychiatrist and he's approved it and everything.”

“Lee, whatever shrink told you that you'd make a passable woman should have his license revoked.”

Lee's hands were back on the wheel as he looked at me red-eyed, tears streaming down his cheeks. I dropped the gun from under his chin and pointed it towards his crotch.

“Now I have a question, Lee,” I said. “And I'm going to again suggest rather strongly that you tell me the truth. I can smell lies.” He looked at me. I pressed the barrel of the 9mm into his bladder.

“Did it ever occur to you that what you decided to do by turning me in could also easily jeopardize Felina's health? Maybe even get her killed? In other words, did you really trust these murdering criminals to their word, or did you figure the money was more important... now listen to me very carefully... more important than the possibility that Felina might get hurt?”

“It was a lot of money!” Lee blubbered. My conscience eased for a second. It felt like a weight had been lifted from me and I was free to mete out the Lord's punishment.

“Well, Lee, that's not really a very good answer.” I looked at him. “But I thank you for your honesty. I think I can save a lot of that money for you, though.” I pressed the pistol harder and pointed it down at his cock.

“No! No! Please, No!”

I pulled the trigger.

Lee screamed.