*
As the late afternoon light filtered through the window, the taxi wove down to a casino situated in a little traveled, dark part of town. This wasn’t a safe place for women to come to, and she asked the cab to wait for her to be sure to have a ride back. Cindy’d been to dangerous parts of the island before and had worked her way through them. She was amazed by the agility she’d developed to weave in and out of rough spaces, with or without Mattheus at her side.
Cindy leaned back on the seat and rested as she watched the streets narrow through the window of the cab. Finally, the taxi screeched to a halt.
“Back there,” the driver motioned through a clump of trees to a dip in the road.
“Thanks,” said Cindy, getting ready to get out.
“Be careful, miss,” he added. “I’ll be waiting here.”
*
The casino was long, flat, and half empty when Cindy pulled open the huge, brass doors. People were sitting at machines, pulling the levers, and staring straight ahead of them. Cindy walked around a bit, drifting here and there, waiting to spot someone who looked like they would know who Santos was. A bunch of tough guys huddled at different tables, and didn’t bother to look over at Cindy at all.
Finally, a middle-aged woman with bleached blonde hair, dressed in a silvery dress that fit too tight in all the wrong places, ambled over.
“Looking for someone, honey?” she asked.
“I’m here to see Santos,” Cindy remarked.
The woman ran her hands up over neck and across her thick silver necklace that made her outfit complete. “I thought so,” she said.
Cindy wondered how she knew. Had Abe possibly called ahead giving them a heads-up? Did someone else?
“I’m Holly, follow me,” said the woman swiftly, putting her hand on Cindy’s arm and leading her. Cindy noticed her long, purple fingernails that were perfectly manicured and wondered what her role was here.
“You know Santos well?” Cindy quickly asked as they wove their way through the center of the casino to a dingy section in the rear.
“Everyone knows Santos well.” Holly winked, obviously taking a liking to Cindy. “You from the police department?”
Cindy was startled, wondering what made her think that. “Why do you say that?” she asked.
Holly smiled, her face lighting up. “The way you dress, honey,” she answered.
“Nobody else looks like this in St. Lucia on a beautiful day. It’s okay, we’re used to it. The cops send people down to check up on us every few months. It’s nothing.”
Cindy liked her very much. Something about Holly was refreshing. “What do they check up on?” Cindy asked.
“Everything, you name it. And we got it covered. We got the right answers. They come down, they check, and then they leave us alone.”
“You got it all figured out,” Cindy commented.
Holly liked that. “Yeah, Santos does, to the last drop.”
Clearly the police made routine, spot checks down here and then left them alone to do as they pleased. Holly thought that was what was going on now. Cindy decided to play along.
“We had to come down now after you know what happened,” Cindy spoke in an overly confidential manner, hoping to get some response.
“You mean what happened with Tomas?” asked Holly,
Cindy had no idea what she was talking about, but pretended to anyway. “Yeah, yeah,” she continued, “Tomas, and other things.”
“I get it,” Holly whispered. “They’re idiots, all of them.”
“Sure are,” Cindy agreed.
“We’re almost there.” Holly turned and looked at Cindy, and her tone grew hushed.
“Don’t say anything to Santos about Tomas,” she warned. “He doesn’t like it one bit.”
“Okay, okay,” Cindy promised as they approached a little, dark room.
“He’s in there,” she whispered to Cindy then, pulling her closer. “Make it quick this time, please, honey. Santos is a busy man, and he’s a little on edge today.”
“Of course, of course, I understand,” said Cindy, smiling at her as if Holly were an old friend.
“Holly,” a loud voice suddenly boomed from inside the room.
Holly jumped. “He’s calling for me.” She looked back at Cindy as she leapt toward his door. “I’m right here, right here,” she called back to him.
“What are you doing?” the voice continued booming. “Why are you here?”
“They sent someone down.” Holly walked over to the door and without opening it, shouted back in.
“Who’s they?” the voice called back.
Holly pushed the door open, slipped inside, and disappeared as if into a deep cavern.
In a few seconds she emerged.
“Go on in, honey.” She pushed Cindy by the shoulders. “I told him you’re here and that you’ll make it quick. You’re lucky he’ll see you. He wasn’t expecting anyone.”
“Thanks,” said Cindy, giving her a quick hug. “You’ve been great, thank you.”