Key Weird 03; Key Witch Read online

  The old man was following every word, puffing and twitching away. Fred knew dear Harold would be getting an earful soon. This was a big move for MegaDrug, they were pulling out all the stops to raise capital for their continuing push to build more drugstores. If they pulled this off, they might even pass Jack’s Drugs as #1 in the world.

  “I’ve been working with Diane in Accounting, sir. I’m sure she can give you some more solid numbers, but it looks like the turnaround should be around six months and net an easy two hundred to three hundred million.

  “The only possible problem would be if the health department official turns up to deny sending the fax to Atlanta, which is highly unlikely, since he’s the guest of our contractors as we speak.”

  ♦

  By the time Jeremy made it back to the hotel it was getting dark. As he was riding the bike through the windy streets he’d been thinking about the new girls at the strip club. Thinking about them had been better than thinking about what Lydia was going to say to him about being gone all day.

  Several hours of drinking and ogling hadn’t helped his equilibrium any, and he crash-landed the bicycle into the side of the hotel’s garage.

  “Jeremy!”

  Jeremy’s relief at finding himself unhurt from the fall was tempered by the look on Lydia’s face. He ducked the flashlight she threw at him.

  “All the shutters on the hotel are fully secured before you come inside!” Jeremy started to protest, but held when Lydia took a step towards him. “Otherwise you’re riding out the storm hanging from that flagpole!” Jeremy knew where the flagpole was, but he looked anyway. The wind made the cable clang against the pole. Jeremy abandoned the bicycle and scurried off for a ladder.

  ♦

  “That was just Jeremy. He’s going to close the shutters on the windows.” Lydia was back inside with Josephine at Sara’s bedside. Sara was still out and Josephine was putting up an IV bag to get more fluids into her patient.

  “Th-the trip b-back in d-didn’t do her m-much good. It was p-pretty rough.”

  “She looks so different. I never would have recognized her.”

  “I’ll g-get her b-better, don’t worry.” Josephine gave her sister a smile that was supposed to be reassuring, and it worked. Lydia could see her little sister had things under control with Sara, she was taking charge of the situation, something she had rarely done in the past. Lydia was glad for the help, since there were plenty of other things she needed to be dealing with.

  ♦

  The Hurricane Watch had been upgraded to a Warning, with a forty per cent chance of it hitting Key West with winds of 135 miles per hour. This little bit of news had most of the hard-core partiers, and even locals who had been through storms in the past, heading for the exits. Or exit, in this case, since there was only one road in or out of the Keys.

  US1 was bumper-to-bumper. Cars that hadn’t been out of Key West in years joined the exodus. Keys Cruisers with hand painted scenes on their rusting bodies were leaving packed full of exotic pets and record collections. Those who hadn’t already left were doing what they could to secure their property before heading for the mainland.

  The last of the guests from the hotel were long gone, and Lydia was on the phone with the police department at the front desk. Someone there told her Consuelo should be released on her own recognizance because of the storm, so she was on hold while they tried to find out when. The wind was making a lot of noise outside and she was reaching for the remote to turn up the sound on the television when the front door burst open.

  “Howdy, Pa! I’m home from the wars!”

  Consuelo, swaggered in like a B-movie gunslinger. Lydia slammed down the phone.

  “Consuelo!”

  She ran over and gave her sister a big hug. Plenty of smiles.

  “They ain’t made a jail yet could hold me!” Consuelo was still hamming it up. “So what’s up Sis? Sure hope we got plenty of beer, doing time makes me powerful thirsty!”

  Lydia was so glad to see Consuelo. She grabbed her by the hand and started walking towards the back of the hotel.

  “What’s up, you ask? Well, let’s see. All the guests have left the hotel. There’s a category four hurricane on the way.” They heard a blood-curdling scream and a crash outside. “Jeremy’s out there closing the storm shutters. And Sara is here.” Lydia pulled her sister through the bedroom doorway.

  “Sara!”

  Consuelo stared at her emaciated sister sleeping on the bed. The usually perky blond looked with tears in her eyes at her other two sisters.

  There was a small voice from the bed. “Hey, Sis.” Sara’s eyes came open and she managed a weak smile. “What do you have to do to get a drink around here?”

  ♦

  Josephine spent the night by her sister’s bed. After Sara went back to sleep her other sisters left and I came down out of the vents and kept my lover company. She really does know a lot about taking care of people when they’re sick.

  One of her teachers showed her things about using plants in medicines and even tried to teach her how to talk to plants. The teacher told her it makes it a lot easier when you can ask a plant directly if it’s good for healing. Josephine said she hasn’t quite got the hang of that yet. She told me talking to plants sounds a little crazy.

  ∨ Key Witch ∧

  12

  Hurricane Warnings

  The wind came in like an obnoxious drunk at his own party. It got loud, told off-color jokes to those who didn’t want to hear them, and pinched the pretty sky on the ass. By the time the rain clouds showed up everyone else was leaving.

  “So what’s it going to do?” Early the next morning Consuelo was drinking coffee with Lydia at the front desk and watching the Weather Channel. They had decided to stay put and ride out the storm. They didn’t want to move Sara again, and the old hotel had been through hurricanes before.

  “Sounds like the weather geeks don’t even know. Been just sitting there for the last few hours.”

  The storm had stalled during the night. It was still very windy in Key West, with the occasional rain squall from the big storm’s outside feeder bands. None of the few people remaining on the island had had a very good night. The police had come by after dark and tried to get the sisters to evacuate, but Consuelo used her natural charm and recent reputation as an assaulter of police officers to convince them to move on.

  Lydia poured herself another coffee and switched to one of the news channels. A reporter was standing on a windy beach somewhere in the Keys getting soaked from the rain and salt spray off the huge waves. He looked miserable.

  “That’s right, Brian. If the people of Key West didn’t have enough problems already with a major hurricane threatening, now there’s a quarantine order in effect for the entire island. We’ve just learned that the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta has asked local law enforcement not to allow anyone on or off the island until reports can be confirmed concerning an outbreak of a new, possibly deadlier, strain of West Nile Virus. This reporter suspects this new strain will be called the Key West Nile Virus.”

  The soaked man on the beach looked proud of that, then almost went down from a wind gust before continuing.

  “According to the statement released earlier by the CDC, several recent deaths on the island may be attributed to the virus. While interviewing several of the storm evacuees earlier today, this reporter was told there were a number of dead birds found in the beach area. As you know Brian, a high mortality rate in birds is often the result of mosquito-borne viruses like West Nile. I’ll have more after this quick break.”

  Lydia and Consuelo sat glued to the television through eight long minutes of commercials and promos. Lydia confirmed the bird thing to her sister who had switched from coffee to beer. The station finally went back to the reporter after the news anchor did an intro. The reporter was having a hard time standing his ground in the wind and his microphone was starting to cut out.

  “That’s r…Brian, the CDC has
said that…to contact the biologist from the Key West Health Department who filed the report just yesterday, the total quarantine of the island of Key W…remain in effect. The Key West Police Department has so far been unable to reach Dr. Brad Mulberry, and has…on speculation that he may have evacuated with the majority of the islands residents.”

  The reporter had caught a few waves on the ankles during his report, but the one that got him behind the knees was a complete surprise. He went down and the waves started pulling him out to sea. A bald man wearing headphones and carrying a clipboard ran into the surf after the reporter just as the station cut to Sports.

  “Hey! They’re talking about Brad! Brad’s a biologist, and he works for the city! Holy shit, Consuelo!” Lydia was on her feet and pacing the lobby. Consuelo didn’t pay much attention to her sister, she was staring at the television.

  “How much do you think those reporters make?”

  ♦

  Josephine was feeling pretty good. She hadn’t gotten much sleep in the chair next to Sara’s bed during the night, but seeing her patient awake and looking better in the morning made her forget about the lack of sleep.

  “M-more soup?”

  Sara was sitting up in bed and finishing off her second bowl of the morning. Her other sisters had been in to see her and Lydia told them about their neighbor Brad and the quarantine.

  “Maybe a little more later on. I could get used to this treatment, you know.” Sara gave her little sister a smile. They had a lot of catching up to do, and had been at it while Consuelo monitored the television in the lobby and kept an eye on Lydia going across the street to Brad’s house. Sara was telling the story of her former lover and guru Charlie Spider.

  “When I came here I was convinced I could bring him back, and I thought I had, for a while at least.” From what her sister was saying, it sounded to Josephine like Sara had been trying to bring some old guy back from the dead. She remembered what Taco Bob had said about Sara having some odd ideas.

  “I thought if I could get him out to the little cabin in the swamp we would be happy, just the two of us. I don’t remember much of what happened after I left Key West though, I must have started getting the fever not long after I got back to the cabin. I spent days at a time in fever dreams, lost in strange worlds, looking for Charlie.”

  Sara shrugged and gave her sister a little smile. “Men. Make you do the craziest things sometimes.” She winked and Josephine reached over and gave her hand a little squeeze. She wondered if she should mention her own affair with an eight-inch alien who no one except her could see, but decided there was something more important first.

  “S-sara. I n-need to t-tell you about m-mom.”

  ♦

  When Lydia went across the street to Brad’s house the wind still howled, but the rain had let up. Before she got back to the hotel it started pouring again and she was soaked. She was drying her hair with a towel when she came back to the front desk. Consuelo was doing sit-ups and watching the television.

  “I don’t like it Sis. The place was unlocked, like usual, but there were windows open and the wind and rain were making a mess inside the house. His motorcycle is in the garage, so if he left it was with someone else. I’ve just got a bad feeling about it.” She looked at the television. “Any news on the storm?”

  ♦

  Two figures trudged slowly through the deserted streets of Key West. They leaned into the wind and rain holding hands to help keep their balance. One had a firm grip on a hat and the other a shawl as they negotiated their way towards the hotel.

  ♦

  It took a while, but Josephine finally got it all out about their mother dying over a year ago and them selling the Majestic and moving to Key West. She told Sara about their mother’s last wish that the three sisters should find their long-lost older sister. Sara listened carefully, and seemed to take the news about their mother fairly well. Then it was her turn.

  “I’m really sorry to hear about Rosa dying, Josephine, she was a kind and gentle person. From what you’ve told me, I think I know why she wanted you to find me.”

  ♦

  A particularly strong gust of wind nearly caused one of the figures to lose his footing as they came around a corner. His orange cape was flapping furiously as they neared the front door of the hotel.

  ♦

  “Well, at least we haven’t lost electricity or the phone yet. If that storm starts this way again it’s liable to be a long, dark night.” Consuelo was listening to her sister while she ran in place by the front desk and kept an eye on the television. She really wanted to go out for a run, but Lydia was adamant. Lydia was also wired, pacing back and forth in the lobby. Her pale hands dancing in the air as she talked.

  “I’m going to see how Josey and Sara are doing while you’re working out. Maybe see if I can get Jeremy out of bed.” Just as she started for the back, Josephine came in with a blank look on her face. “What is it Josey? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Josephine slowly walked to one of the couches and sat. Immediately both her sisters sat across from her.

  “We n-n-need to talk.”

  The front door banged open and Orange Dali and Ms Doris staggered into the lobby dripping water. Lydia and Consuelo jumped to their feet and stared in disbelief as the woman took off her shawl. They glanced at each other, then said in unison, “Wiola!”

  Josephine looked even paler than before. She slowly raised her hand and pointed at their teacher who was smiling mischievously and taking a small bow.

  “T-that’s our r-real m-mother!”

  ♦

  Josephine and her sisters were pretty worked up over that. Humans seem to be really into the whole parent and child thing, a lot more than where I come from. When you have a couple thousand brothers and sisters, you tend to not expect too much individual attention from your parents.

  ∨ Key Witch ∧

  13

  Mother

  Gusts of wind and stinging rain came through the islands like visiting in-law’s spoiled children on too much sugar.

  “Hurricane Zenobia is still stationary and packing winds in excess of 130 miles per hour as of the last reporting period. Air Force reconnaissance planes are expected to have an update on the storm within the next hour. At this time the Cuban government has not released information on causalities or the extent of damage from the hurricane, however two men from a local news camera crew are reported missing in the Florida Keys. In sports – ” Louie killed the sound on the television and stretched back in the only chair in the room.

  “I gotta hand it to you Gus, my man, the thing with throwing rat poison to the birds on the beach was a stroke of genius.”

  Gustov was propped up on the tiny motel room’s bed with a big smile and a bag of chips. He wasn’t about to tell his partner it was a strange twist of luck with the birds or that the same stuff worked on abusive alcoholic fathers. He really hadn’t even thought about the tie-in with the job, he just liked poisoning seagulls.

  “Yeah, the boss says our client is pretty happy with the way things are going. I just hope this fucking hurricane doesn’t actually come through here. A big storm surge flooding the whole island and drowning everyone might complicate things.” Since he had finally been briefed on the whole scam, Louie was feeling pretty good about the way the job was going himself. At least he had been until the mention of the storm surge thing.

  “Whadaya talking about here? I thought that was why you picked this crummy motel in the first place? Didn’t you say it was one of the higher places on this rock? Plus we’re on the third floor! Don’t be giving me any of your shit here, Gus!”

  Hard looks were something the big man had learned in prison. He gave his partner one.

  “Just be glad we haven’t lost cable, my little friend. I get real crazy if I don’t have cable.”

  He reached down under the bed for another bag of corn chips. There was a week’s worth of supplies under the bed. Louie wasn’t too sure
about spending several more days in the cramped little room with the man. At least he had his own room next door for getting some sleep, and unlike his partner’s room, it didn’t have a biologist tied up in the bathroom.

  ♦

  Brad was sore from lying on the hard tile floor. Like everyone else on the island, he’d had a rough night, but for a different reason. He managed to cut the duct tape holding his hands behind him on a sharp edge of the shower doors. Not all the way through, just got it started so these guys wouldn’t know what he was up to.

  He’d gotten the hang of turning on the sink faucet with his nose so he could get a drink around the gag tied in his mouth. They’d taken his pants and underwear off him so he could relieve himself at least. It wasn’t easy to do with your hands and feet tied, but it beat the alternative.

  ♦

  At the Key West Manor Hotel, there didn’t seem to be any shortage of things to talk about. After the initial period of stunned silence, the three sisters started talking at once. Still smiling, Wiola help up a hand for silence.

  “Josephine is right, or course. You must have spoken with Sara.”

  Lydia took a step forward.

  “She’s here. Josephine found her in the swamps on the mainland.”

  Wiola raised an eyebrow, and gave the youngest of her daughters an approving nod. Lydia looked bewildered, a new look for her.

  “Is it true, Wiola, that you’re our real mother? Then what about Rosa?”

  Orange Dali, overly shy at the best of times, eased unnoticed towards a chair by the wall. Consuelo noticed.

  “Hey, let’s all sit down, maybe you can explain what’s going on.” The sisters all had healthy amounts of respect and fear for their teacher. They carefully arranged themselves on the lobby couches around Wiola while Orange Dali did his best to look inconspicuous sitting against the wall hiding under his big floppy hat. A branch whipping in the wind started banging against the back of the hotel.