The Pallbearers

Chapter 54

"Where the hell did you go?" Alexa demanded as I walked through the door. "I've been worried sick."

"Look who I found," I said.

Sabas walked into the Pinto Suite behind me. All of the women, including Alexa, hugged him.

We gathered in the suite over room-service coffee and studied a site map of the resort that I'd found in the leather-bound folder on the writing desk. Sabas pointed to the spot where he had followed Calabro. A small cluster of three bungalows were indicated halfway dow n the tenth fairway.

"Why don't we all sign up for golf," Alexa suggested. "Rent carts, go to the tenth fairway. Try and see inside."

It was a good plan, so we callcd and got an early tee time at 8:30 A. M. Next we arranged for club and shoe rentals. At the appointed hour, we signed in at the pro shop, got our equipment, and took off in two carts. I drove one, Sabas the other.

Once we were out of sight of the first tee and the clubhouse, using a course map we'd picked up at the pro shop, we drove across the third and sixth fairways and shot off the cart path, through the rough, passing several other foursomes ahead of us.

The hot desert sun was making a slow climb in the clear blue sky. It was low enough so I could feel it shooting under the cart awning, heating the back of my neck and shoulders.

When we reached the tenth tee, we parked and waited. Nobody was coming up behind us, so we headed our carts on down the tenth fairway and pulled to a stop next to each other across from the bungalow Sabas had pointed out.

"You two guys have already been burned," Alexa said. She pulled a club out of her bag, dropped a ball, and sliced it over by the bungalow where Sabas had told us the fight team from NHB was staying. Then Alexa, Vicki, and Seriana walked toward the house and into the rough where they began searching for Alexa's ball. Sabas and I were backup, watching from twenty yards away.

Alexa moved toward the back fence of the target bungalow and began walking along the east side of the house. Then she turned and came back again.

"Not here," she called out to Vicki. "Try around to your right."

They continued to search, looking into the windows of the house from time to time as they traversed the back fence. Five minutes later they all turned and came quickly back to the carts. I could tell something was wrong.

Alexa got into my cart as Sabas pulled alongside with Vicki and Seriana. Each woman wore a tight, strained expression.

"She's there," Vicki said angrily.

"You saw Diamond?" Sabas said.

"Yeah," Vicki said. "She's swimming in the pool. What kinda hostage gets to take a morning dip in the fucking pool? I was worried when jack said she showed up here asking for O'Shea. I think this makes it pretty obvious the bitch is in on it!"

I looked at Alexa, who nodded.

"I don't get it," I said. "If she's one of them, then why didn't she tell O'Shea I was a cop?"

"Let's not deal with it now," Alexa said. "Let's just get out of here."

Sabas and I floored the little electric carts and, without another word, whizzed off down the fairway.