Luxury and Larceny, Part 2 Read online

  “You want to know why?” Cinco grabbed the back of her neck and walked her around to the trunk of the car she was driving. He popped it, and China gasped as she covered her mouth and closed her eyes.

  The real Jamie was tied up, naked and bloody, in the trunk.

  “Is she dead?” China asked, distraught. She tried to turn away, but Cinco wouldn’t let her.

  “I can’t have the real nurse showing up at Sandoza’s door, now can I?” Cinco asked.

  Cinco grabbed the back of her neck and muscled her down so that her face was inches away from the dead body. China closed her eyes as the smell of blood filled her nose. It smelled like metal. Like pennies. The scent overwhelmed her, made her sick. She fought against Cinco, and he didn’t give much resistance as he let her up. The contents of her stomach spewed out as she bent over. The entire situation was sickening.

  Cinco slammed the trunk. “Now, what did Sandoza say?”

  China stood, sniffing as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Tears streamed down her face. “Your father wants me to start tomorrow!” she spat.

  “Good. Get your ass in the car,” Cinco said as he turned to his own vehicle.

  “I’m not driving that car,” she whispered as she eyed the trunk wearily. “Please…”

  Cinco nodded to the passenger side of his vehicle and then got into the car. China climbed inside.

  “What about her?” China said.

  “Clean-up crew will come through and take care of the body and the prints inside the car. If you don’t want to end up just like her, you better stay focused. That pretty face might have gotten you through the door, but Sandoza can smell bullshit from a mile away. You have to be on point.”

  China stared out the window as she replied, “So the end game is to kill Sandoza? You might as well admit it. Say it out loud so we both know what we’re getting into.” China paused as she closed her eyes. She was in over her head. “Just answer this one question. Why do you want your own father dead? He has Alzheimer’s disease. He is going to deteriorate slowly anyway. Why not just take over after he’s gone? Why does this have to be so violent?”

  Cinco didn’t respond. The news slapped him in the face like a lover scorned. Alzheimer’s? Damn, he thought. He had admired his father’s every move for as long as he could remember. It was Sandoza’s cunning wit that had allowed him to dominate Tijuana’s cocaine trade for so many decades. He couldn’t imagine Sandoza weak and incompetent. God had cursed Sandoza with his very worst fear, the loss of his mind. Cinco wished that things could be different. He wasn’t as indifferent to this murder plot as he liked to let on, but his father had never treated him with respect. It was his right to inherit his father’s legacy, but instead he had chosen Iman. Sandoza hadn’t made his decision public yet. The only people who knew were he and Iman. If Cinco could execute Sandoza before he put out the word to the five families, then he could slide right into his father’s seat. The other Mexican cartel heads would never approve Iman stepping up without Sandoza’s nod. Sandoza’s death had to be unexpected and, more importantly, it had to look like an accident. If China could pull this off before Sandoza introduced Iman to the five families, Cinco would be able to take over. Time was of the essence. The heads of the five families would practically want to hand over Sandoza’s seat to him as a way to express their condolences.

  “Don’t ask questions,” he said. “Just stick to the plan, and at the end of it all you will walk away with your life.”

  Chapter 7

  I don’t know what I’m doing. What if he needs real medical attention? What am I supposed to do? Am I really thinking about killing Lisbon Sandoza? I’m not built for this. I can’t do this. China’s thoughts ran rampant in her mind as she stood in front of the mirror fidgeting with the nurse’s scrubs she wore. Yes, she was premed at UCLA, but she had no real experience. She hadn’t even begun her intern year yet. She had never practiced medicine on anyone. It was all textbooks and curriculum, but now things had gotten real. She was in over her head, and she was terrified. The sound of Cinco entering the room behind her caused her to turn towards the door. She hated him. The sight of him made her stomach turn.

  He walked over to her and pulled out his cell phone. He held the screen up to her face. “Remember what’s at stake here,” Cinco said. A video of her mother cooking in her home played before her. Tears accumulated in China’s eyes. Cinco had goons on her unsuspecting mother. Her father had already been harmed because of her. She didn’t want her mother to come to the same fate.

  “Please…”

  “Don’t beg, just do your part. As long as you do what you supposed to do, your sweet, dear old mother will remain clueless that it’s killers at her door,” Cinco said. “If you even think about running or calling to warn her, she’s dead. Now let’s go. The nurse’s car is outside.”

  China hesitated as fear filled her eyes. Cinco chuckled.

  “Relax. The trunk has been cleaned out,” he said, with a sickening look of amusement.

  Once inside the car, notions of running filled her mind. Fight or flight. It was instinctive. She wanted to save herself. It’s a big world. I can go somewhere far, where Cinco will never even think to find me, she thought. The love she had for her mother prevented her from being so selfish, however. She wouldn’t run, and Cinco knew it. He would never have given her access to a vehicle if he thought she would. She was stuck at his mercy. The GPS took her directly back to Sandoza’s estate, and this time the guard buzzed her through the gate without question. Sandoza stood waiting for her at the top of the driveway. He was suave as always, hands tucked in the pockets of his designer slacks, a serious expression on his face but a look of gratitude in his eyes. China cut the engine and stepped out of the car.

  “Welcome, and thank you for taking me up on my offer,” Sandoza said as she approached him. She carried only one bag.

  “You pack light,” Sandoza noted.

  “This is all I have,” she replied. “I don’t come from much.”

  Sandoza nodded in understanding but quickly changed the subject. “This way. Let me show you where you will be sleeping.”

  He led her down the east wing of the massive mansion and into a large bedroom with en suite marble bath. The space spared no amenity and was decorated in modern style. “Wow,” she whispered. It was pure luxury. From the sheets to the heated wood floors, it was all fit for royalty.

  “I hope this is suitable,” he said.

  “It’s more than I expected,” she replied. “Thank you.”

  An awkward silence filled the room, and Sandoza took that as his cue to leave. He turned for the door. He stopped, adding, “I took the liberty of equipping a doctor’s office for you on the first floor. You should have everything you need right here to keep my health in order for as long as possible.” He paused, as if in deep thought.

  “Mr. Sandoza?” China called, uncertainly.

  “Please, call me Lisbon,” he said, erasing the formalities between them. “I’ll let you get settled in,” he said. “Dinner will be served at six P.M. I would like for you to join me so that we can go over a few things.”

  She nodded. “Sure. See you then,” she answered.

  When Sandoza was gone, China flopped down onto the bed. Overwhelmed and filled with uncertainty, she couldn’t stop the tears from sliding down her cheeks. What she wouldn’t give to go back to when her life was her own to live. Her choices would be different. The allure of fast cash wouldn’t have pulled her in so easily. She had gotten herself wrapped up in a world where she didn’t belong … a world where she was prey to the predators around her. Now she was trapped, and although she had the key to her freedom in her hands, she was afraid to use it.

  * * *

  The only sound in the room was the metal fork hitting the plate as China ate in silence. She was seated at one end of the long dining table while Sandoza observed her from the other.

  “Why am I here?” she asked. “Inside your home, I mean? I
have heard stories about you. About how you don’t trust anyone. About how you are ruthless and guarded. You don’t even know me.”

  “The stories you have heard are true,” Lisbon said. “So true, in fact, that I have pushed everyone away. I’m a dying man on borrowed time. I have a disease that there is no cure for. One that is going to make me depend on my loved ones. Only problem is, there is no one left to love me. I am going to become a burden to everyone around me. My death will be slow. It will be agonizing. I will forget more and more each day. It is too late to right my past wrongs. You are not only here for my health concerns. I am paying for companionship. I am hoping for friendship as I slowly lose my wits. Do you know how terrifying it is for a man of my position to lose his mind? To know that my mental sharpness is dulling with every second that ticks away at the clock?”

  “I can’t imagine,” China said.

  His words tugged at her heartstrings. Guilt filled her. Cinco was a cruel man. His father was battling Alzheimer’s and would die eventually anyway, yet Cinco still wanted to kill him. All over what? The throne to a kingdom that appeared to be a burden anyway? China felt like shit. Here this powerful man was exposing his weakness to her and she was there to prey on it. She couldn’t imagine this kind man in front of her being as ruthless as his reputation claimed. She couldn’t even imagine a man like Sandoza fathering an evil man like Cinco.

  “I’m sorry that you are going through this,” she said sincerely. “You seem like a good man.”

  Sandoza chuckled as he drank from the wine glass in front of him. “I am not a good man. If I were, my house would be full of children and grandchildren. They would be seated around this table, but instead I only have you. I’m divulging myself to a young woman I barely know. I have a daughter not much older than you. If I were a good man, she would be here caring for me. No,” he sighed and paused for a brief moment as his thoughts wandered. “I’m a bad man. I’ve lived my life wrong. My son wants to live the life I’ve lived, but he doesn’t know the burdens that you carry into your old age. I don’t want that for him. I’d never leave that to him. I’m going to die. Alone,” he concluded.

  A sadness filled his eyes, and China stood and picked up her plate, walking around the table until she was seated in the chair nearest him. She placed her food down and took a seat. “Well then, I guess I better make sure I’m damned good company,” she said.

  He laughed hard at that and raised his glass in acknowledgement. She smiled and clinked her glass to his before resuming eating.

  They ate the rest of the meal in silence, but China could tell that her words had comforted him. After the dinner was cleared, Sandoza pulled out her chair as she stood.

  “I’d like to show you the exam room. You can tell me if there is anything that you need that I do not have here,” he said. Nervous jitters filled her; this was the part that would be challenging. Despite the fact that she had been enrolled in premed at UCLA, she wasn’t ready for this. She was just beginning her education. She was a far cry from a real physician, or even a registered nurse. The sterile room mimicked a doctor’s office. But she didn’t know what the hell she needed. She couldn’t fake this funk. She could play her part and be the companion he needed, but she couldn’t play doctor. Sandoza sat on the hospital bed and China nervously removed her jacket.

  “Umm, can you unbutton your shirt please?” she said as she grabbed a stethoscope off the wall. What the hell am I doing? she thought as she went to the sink and washed her hands. They were shaking so badly that she had to clasp them together momentarily to steady her nerves. She closed her eyes and inhaled. Shaking her head, she opened them and then turned around and stood in front of him. She placed the tool in her ears and then placed the dome over his hairy chest. He was exceptionally fit for a man of a certain age. At fifty-seven, Sandoza didn’t wear his years like an older man.

  “In,” she instructed, not really knowing what the hell she was doing. He inhaled.

  “Out,” she said. He exhaled.

  “One more time for me,” she said. Sandoza followed the instructions and China listened, but she wouldn’t know if his breathing sounded normal or not. She was just going through the motions to avoid arousing suspicions.

  She wrapped the blood-pressure monitor around his arm and read numbers she didn’t even know the meaning of. “Everything looks fine,” she said. “Honestly. Alzheimer’s is a mental deterioration. I can monitor your vitals all day. If you really want to keep your mind strong, we should read. Do mental stimulation. Get into books and literature.”

  “I can’t remember the last time I’ve had the luxury of reading a book,” Sandoza said.

  “You have a bookshelf full of them in your office. First editions of classic novels. You’ve never read them?” she asked, shocked.

  “They belonged to my late wife,” he informed her.

  “I noticed them when you interviewed me,” China said. “She must have been a smart lady. We’ll start tomorrow if that’s okay,” she suggested.

  “Books,” he commented. “Okay.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief as she gave a reassuring smile. “Okay.” She backed out of the room. “Have a good night.” She headed down the hall.

  “Thank you, Jamie. You as well,” he replied.

  China couldn’t get to her room fast enough. She had weaseled her way out of giving him any real medical advice and she wanted to keep it that way. She only hoped that this “book therapy” crap she had come up with was enough to distract him until she could figure out how to get the job done. Cinco had made it clear that the death had to look accidental or natural. She had no idea how she was going to pull it off, and Sandoza was so pleasant that she really didn’t want to. However, her hand was forced. It was either Sandoza or her, and when it came down to it, she would always choose herself. Self-preservation was the name of the game. She had always been a self-serving bitch.

  Chapter 8

  The sun shining through the venetian blinds stirred China from her sleep. For the first time in weeks, she felt refreshed. She had slept in a safe bed without having to keep one eye open. It was a false sense of security under the circumstances, but still she was grateful. Her mixed emotions tugged at her. She actually respected Sandoza and wished that she could save herself without sacrificing him, but there seemed no other alternative. The plan that had been put in motion was like a car going downhill without brakes. It was too late to stop it. She just had to let the situation crash and burn. She prayed she would survive the impact.

  She quickly dressed and crept out of her room. China felt out of place in the massive home. As she went in search for Sandoza, she couldn’t help but feel like a snake. She found him in his study, staring out of the floor-to-ceiling windows. He seemed so lost in thought that she didn’t want to disturb him. She knocked on the side of the door, announcing her presence.

  He turned towards her. His face was set in deep contemplation and he stared long and hard.

  “Good morning…” He paused and frowned, as if he couldn’t quite make the dots in his head connect.

  “Jamie,” China finished for him.

  It was like they hadn’t even spoken the night before.

  “Forgive me. My head is a bit foggy this morning,” Sandoza said. “I know who you are and why you’re here. Names seem to get stuck on the tip of my tongue lately.”

  “No worries,” she said with a reassuring smile. “Are you hungry?” she asked.

  “I could eat,” Sandoza said.

  China nodded and then left the study to find the kitchen, where she prepared a meal for him.

  I could just end all of this right now. I could put something in his food, she thought, as she stopped mixing the pancake batter that she was holding. She looked cautiously down the hall, and then down at the bowl in her hands. Her heart picked up its pace, suddenly racing as the possibility of her ordeal being over became clear. What if Cinco doesn’t keep his end of the bargain? After Sandoza’s dead, what’s to sto
p him from just killing me too? She weighed the pros and cons in her mind, over and over. Still she was conflicted. China had a feeling that she was living out her last days. As soon as I do this for him, he no longer needs me. Then her mother’s face flashed before her eyes. China shook off her reservations and placed the bowl on the counter before creeping to the medical exam room. She scanned the medications in there, hoping to find something that would do the job. “Come on,” she whispered, as she frequently checked over her shoulder. There was nothing she could use to poison Sandoza with. She gritted her teeth and cursed herself before hurrying back to the kitchen. To her surprise, Sandoza was standing over the food she had prepped.

  She stopped in her tracks, feeling as if her guilt was written on her forehead like a scarlet letter.

  “It looks like you know your way around a kitchen,” Sandoza said.

  China shrugged. “I’ll let you be the judge of that.” Knowing that now was not the time to act, she moved around the kitchen like an expert as she prepared Sandoza a nice meal.

  When she placed the plate in front of him, he nodded, impressed. “Thank you.”

  “Not a problem,” she replied. “Its what I’m here for.” She turned.

  “You’re not eating,” he said. It was an observation, not a question, and China could see the suspicions of a cautious man bubbling to the surface.

  “I’m going to fix myself a plate right now,” she reassured him. She sighed, slightly relieved that she hadn’t poisoned his food. She didn’t know if he was on to her or not, but it felt like each interaction with him was a test. “Let me just get one thing first,” she said as she hurried down the hall. She reappeared moments later, holding one of the books from his bookshelf.

  “I thought we could get started,” she said.

  “I haven’t had a woman running around my home in quite a while. I forgot that there is no place that is off limits,” he said, with a hint of humor in his eyes. No one had ever stepped foot inside his study without his permission. He found her intrusion quite amusing. He had no idea that she wasn’t as innocent as she seemed.