The waitress came back with the drinks.
If there was any fairness in the world, everyone would be able to have salsa from Las Delicias. Crisp, fresh onion, just enough cilantro. After a few margaritas, Ally and I could even make a case for salsa from Las Delicias bringing peace to the Middle East.
I picked up a chip and scooped a healthy serving of salsa.
“What’s gonna happen to Teddy?”
“If he’s smart, he’ll skip town,” Lee said, scooping his own chip.
“Is he smart?”
“Not really. Coxy had two smart guys, Rick and Pete, though in the end, apparently not that smart. Rick’s dead, Pete’s in jail facing kidnapping, assault and possibly murder, two of those against a cop’s daughter. They’ll want to give him his shoelaces but they’ll do everything by the book and be thorough to make sure he gets nailed. Pete’s f**ked.”
I grabbed another chip and broke it in half, the better to scoop the salsa. I didn’t have a lot of time to spare Pete, who I suspected was the guy I called Sandy. Pete had tied me to a chair and shot at me, twice. I didn’t know what Lee was talking about with regards to shoelaces but I had no problem that he was f**ked.
“Who do you think has the diamonds?” I asked Lee.
“I have the diamonds.”
“What?”
Okay, I shouted it. The other diners turned to stare. But, what the f**k?
“Keep your voice down,” Lee warned.
“Did you just tell me you have the diamonds?”
Lee nodded, still turned toward me, eating his chips and salsa with his right hand, his left arm fencing me in on the back of the booth.
“You better explain before I start plotting your murder.”
His eyes crinkled. “You’d never get away with it.”
“At this point, I don’t mind doing time.”
Lee took a tug on his iced tea then said, “I found the diamonds at Duke’s the morning after Rosie left my condo. I have you to thank for that. Duke knows I have them, my contacts in Sturgis told him when they found him.”
“Your contacts?”
“I farmed out the job to other PIs and bounty hunters in places I thought Duke would go. They looked around, asked a few questions, picked up his trail and the boys in South Dakota tracked him down.”
“If you cost five hundred dollars an hour, what did that cost?”
“Let’s just say you’re not a cheap date.”
My eyes narrowed. “You’re getting paid for this, remember?”
“I’ve got three jobs involved with this mess and one of them was finding the diamonds.
I found them the first day. Making sure Duke was alive and safely home in Evergreen was something I did for you.”
Even though I was pissed off, my chest fluttered. “I’ll pay you back.”
His hand went to my hair and he wrapped a lock around his finger.
“You don’t have to pay me back.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I said, “Thank you.”