The Divorcee Murder Club

Veintiuno ~ 21

               Clouds of smoke float above us as Augusta leans her head back, blowing out rings from her cigarette. So far, she seems unimpressed with the plan I'm laying down, but it's not like it matters anyway since Jocelyn gave me the lowdown on what her sister plans on doing to me.

"What do you think?" I ask her.

"So, the plan is to kill the exes randomly, plant their bodies in one of Richie's warehouses, and have him get caught with them? Do I have that right?"

"The gist, yes. But there's an alternative plan, too," I explain.

"Go on." Jocelyn nods, her gaze locked on me. However, Augusta continues to blow smoke rings toward the ceiling.

"I don't know if you've ever watched the movie Gone in 60 Seconds with Nicolas Cage, but they boost a bunch of cars in one night to make it easier not to get caught. So, we would do something similar. Kill them all in one swoop, and plant Richie's drugs on them, so it traces back to him. He gets arrested—"

"Arrested?" Augusta cuts me off. "I thought you wanted to kill him?"

"I can live with him getting a life sentence. That's good enough for me," I reply, and Jocelyn's gaze slides from me to her sister.

"It could work." Augusta straightens and stubs out the cigarette. "But I want Kay involved. There are issues in your plan, and he'll straighten them out."

"I know it's not bulletproof, but—"

"Can we spare, Kay?" Jocelyn cuts me off, prompting her and Augusta to do that thing where they talk to each other as if no one else exists.

"Niko isn't ready. It has to be Kay," Augusta says.

"Niko is ready," Jocelyn counters. "It's time he stepped up."

"Niko doesn't have the same instincts as Kay. He won't be able to guide these amateurs or anticipate issues that will arise."

"We cannot spare Kay. Not with our annual dinner coming up."

"Well, if everything goes as planned, Richie Reddy will die by then. Therefore, we can spare Kay. So that's my final decision," Augusta snips, and Jocelyn's red-stained lips pull into a tight line as her gaze shifts to the sea of dancing bodies.

I guess being the little sister sucks.

Augusta returns her attention to me and lights another cigarette. If she keeps chain smoking like this, she'll find herself in an early grave. "I will give you our blessing to proceed with your plans, but on one condition."

"What's that?" I ask.

"You do what Kay says. It's the only way I'll feel comfortable since I like having eyes and ears on all business arrangements. Plus, we usually do business with seasoned professionals in their work or skill. Neither of you is, but it's a risk we're willing to take since Richie has become an issue over the last two years. We have rules, and he's been challenging them for quite some time."

"So, what you're saying is you want to control our plan," I say.

"Not control. I just don't like fuck ups, so Kay will assure me there aren't any. But the moment we sense your stupidity is jeopardizing him, we'll make sure you guys fall flat on your asses, and then we'll wash our hands of you. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Excellent. Now we just need you to sign this contract." At the snap of her fingers, one of their guards steps forward and hands her a tablet. She turns the screen towards me, and it's a document with fine print. "By signing your name, you're offering your mother as collateral if things go bad."