Los Angeles Noir - Denise Hamilton [25]
“That bitch was gonna cut me in,” Monster P replied.
“Bennita put you up to this?”
“Bennita? Hell naw. Some other bitch—” Monster P said.
“Other bitch?” Vargas said.
“—called herself Belle. Said we was gonna be rich, and we was gonna live in a fabulous house. Anyway, she knew I was pissed ’cause that old man tried to fade me. Fade me, Monster P!”
“Calzone dissed you so you killed him?” Vargas said.
“He called me Twinkletoes,” Monster P said, genuinely hurt.
Cravitz drove home in a funk.
He remembered something Yippie had said that morning: She had on a mask, but I recognized her. I don’t think she saw me. Suddenly his blunder hit him. He couldn’t believe what a fool he’d been. He got on the phone to Vargas.
Arriving at the Château, he bounded up the back steps. Three minutes later he was knocking on the door of suite 313.
Athena Powers was smiling when she opened the door.
Esmeralda sparkled in her pretty hands.
The light in the suite was dim, but Cravitz could see that Athena had her suitcases out.
“Going somewhere?”
“Afraid so, boo. Sorry I can’t take you.”
“So you’re the bitch assassin? Don’t they pay you enough at Ebony?” Cravitz said.
“Everything I’ve told you was a lie. All except the pillow talk. When you were fucking me. I told you the truth about that, sweetboy. Anyway, bitch is a little harsh, don’t you think? I prefer … Belle.”
“Belle Starr, the outlaw queen. Nice touch,” Cravitz said, handing her his Berretta and walking into the suite.
“I try,” Athena Powers replied.
Luggage and bricks of yellow opium were strewn across the bed. Bennita Bangs was tied up at a desk with duct tape over her mouth. Her pretty topaz eyes flashed terror. She’d been beaten and there were nylon cords around her wrists.
“Nice knots,” Cravitz said.
“I was a Camp Fire Girl, didn’t Jordan tell you?”
4.
Cravitz got comfortable on the bed and pulled out a fresh cigar. “You kill Bingbong?”
“Had to,” Athena Powers said.
“So you work for that Vegas pig—Paco Santiago?”
“Yeah, Paco bought a little piece of my time. My Bloomingdale’s bill is a bitch.”
“So, you and Paco …?”
“That’s right. He’s like you—a pussy freak. It didn’t take long for him to realize I was irresistible. But this butter deal is big. And when Ernie stole his shit, Paco sent me down here to kill him.”
“So now you stiffin’ him?”
“I’m afraid this cowgirl has outgrown little Paco.”
“Paco is not a forgiving guy,” Cravitz said.
“Believe me, I didn’t plan this. I just came down here to do my job: kill Bennita and that dickhead Ernie, grab the smack, and haul back to Vegas for my payday. I didn’t figure on falling in love with you,” Athena Powers said.
Those deep brown eyes that once seemed so warm, so welcoming, now seemed aflame, cruel.
“Where did the Flo Boyz come in?”
“Just stupid kids,” Athena Powers said. “I laid out a couple of lines of butter, promised them a cut of the profits, and voilà, instant killers. Anyway, they were already pissed off with your boy Calzone. When Paco called and told me that he had word from his L.A.P.D. snitches that a broke-down cop named Calzone might be on to me, I realized he had to be stopped. I didn’t have a clue how to find him. That’s where you came in. The Boyz followed you right to his hideaway.” She looked at her watch. “Oh where does the time go? I’ve got to catch my jet.”
“I’m gonna let the girl go,” Cravitz said, and got up. He untied Bennita Bangs and tore off the duct tape.
“Such a gentleman. I wish I didn’t have to kill you both.”
“Bennita too?”
“I could have used her. She’s the prettiest mule on the West Coast. I tried to talk her into double-crossing Ernest, told her we could split the spoils—it was a lie, of course—but she betrayed me … and what did she get for her troubles? Tell him, baby.”
“After she killed Ernie, she beat me with that ugly gun,” Bennita Bangs said, shuddering at the memory.
“And all for this junk?” Cravitz asked, lifting one of the yellow bricks.
“Dope is power. Love will only take you so far,” Athena Powers smiled. Esmeralda sparkled in her steady hand. As she stepped