Chapter 25
TANYA
Many people don't know this; To make money, you actually need to have it, or borrow it. . . or steal it.
That's what I did. I stole it.
Well. . . at least I stole something I can sell to get money.
As I stare at the jewelry nestled in the case in my hand, a twinge of guilt assails me. When Alicia looks for the necklace and finds out it's missing, she's going to know I took it, and then she'll flip her lid.
It's the only thing worth anything at all. A family heirloom from my great-grandmother who handed it over to her firstborn daughter. It was in turn handed over to mother who then handed it over to Alicia.
And now I've stolen it to pawn it.
I have no other option. None, whatsoever. I promise to buy something more worthwhile for her when I settle my side of the deal with Mr. Ash.
"How much do you want for this?" The man with the bushy facial hair asks, drawing me back from my reveries.
Forgive me, mum, but I've got to do this.
"Twenty thousand dollars." I cock a brow, daring him to argue. It's pure diamond after all. Ten thousand karat pure.
He collects the case from me and lifts out the necklace. Even in the dull light of the pawn shop, it shines bright. Green luminescent diamonds strung on pure gold.
With the diamond necklace still in his hand, the man gets up from behind his perch on his stool and leaves his shop. I watch as he lifts it in the air, holding it in direct sunlight and squinting at it. After a few seconds, he comes back inside and switches on a lamp on his cluttered table. The light from this lamp is pitch black. I smirk as I watch him turning the necklace round and round looking for impurities.
He'll find little or none at all.
Diamonds with little or no inclusions are the real deal, just like this one is.
When he's done, he looks up and smiles. "I'll give you fifteen thousand."
"Nineteen thousand." I lean forward and shrug. "You know. . . if I take it to another pawn shop or even a jewelry shop, I'll definitely get more for it. Wayy more than my offering price to you."
His head drops as he fingers the necklace. He knows I've cornered him. He also knows my offer is a damn good one.
After a few seconds, he looks at me and nods grudgingly. "Done!"
It takes only a few minutes, but when I walk out of his shop, I'm nineteen thousand dollars rich.
The next thing I do is book into a hotel, one that's not shabby but at the same time, classy. Immediately I check in, I take a shower and order some good food. Next on my to-do list is to figure out how to get to Mr. Ash's enemies. He told me the Russians, Asians, and even the Italians, are his enemies.
So, yeah, that's like shooting bullets at practically everyone.
I hear Mr. Ash has so many enemies he needs to drive a bulletproof car just to get around in one piece. One more reason for Alicia to stay away from him. He'll only use and dump her, anyway, and Alicia's heart is too fragile to take it. I shake my head and scroll through my phone looking for the contact that would be the game changer.
"Let's see. . .there's Dennis, the pool guy." I scroll past his name and onto the next contact. "Ah! Ray." I shake my head. Ray can't do anything for me now even though he's a wild card and would have helped. He was busted for drugs and was arrested. He's still in jail serving his term.
I keep scrolling until I get to the name Oscar, and I pause.
Oscar is a researcher. By research, I don't mean conducting experiments in a lab. If you need to get women for politicians, senators, and drug lords, he's the guy. So that goes to say if he can get women, he can also get me into wherever I want to. And where I want to go now is into the camp of the Russians.
I don't hesitate, I immediately dial his number.
It rings and rings until. . . "Hello!" He sounds tentative. He should be, he was being probed by the police as well as the DEA, at one point in time in his life.
"Hi, Oscar, it's me, Tanya." My voice is sickly sweet. There's no chance he won't remember who I am.
"Tanya? I don't know any Tanya."
It's a game we always play. Every time I call, he expects me to explain who I am. Tonight, however, I don't have the time or the patience for it.
"Cut the crap, Oscar, I know you know who I am. I don't have the time to play twenty questions to stroke your ego."
I'm met with silence so profound, I think he cut the call on me, but then I hear something. It starts small and grows in crescendo. He's laughing so hard now. "Tanya, my lost and found friend."
"You fucker! You left me on the side of the road with a corpse. Because of you, I went to juvie."
He's silent once more and just when I think he's cut the line for real, he speaks. "You're right about that, Tanya, you saved my neck that day, you-"
"I've got a criminal record because of you, Oscar."
He's silent once more. It's almost like he feels bad. "I'm not going to apologize for what happened so don't waste your breath waiting for an apology that'll never come. However, I can make it up to you another way. Name it, it's yours. I reckon you're calling me isn't to exchange pleasantries so what do you want?"
One thing I like about Oscar, he gets right down to business. I see no reason why I shouldn't tow his line. "I want in on Katva, the Russian club. I want to work there as a frontliner."
This time, he doesn't stay silent. "Geez! Tanya, I've got contacts but I'm not that amazing."
"Oh, but I trust you. You're The Oscar, remember? You can do and undo."
That seems to do the trick because he chuckles. "You're right about that. Alright, I'll see what I can do. I'll call you back tomorrow."
"And I'll be counting the hours till then," I tell him before hanging up.
After speaking to Oscar, I'm hungry again so I order some more food. After demolishing it, I play angry birds and win all the races. The night time comes around and I receive a text from Alicia telling me to stay safe and make sure I text her all the time. I'm in a happy mood so I reply and tell her I will and I also ask her how her date with Leonard went.
She doesn't reply me again so I try to get some sleep. Unfortunately, it's not just forthcoming. I toss and turn until I'm almost blue in the face then I try counting sheep, but that doesn't do anything for me either. I'm still wide awake and very much alert when my phone rings at two am.
Even before I see the caller, I know it's Oscar. "Katva, nightclub entrance, eight am sharp," and the line goes dead.