The Florida Caper

Flora Gonzalez leads a dangerous life in that she’s the personal attorney of a major drug lord living offshore. She makes some missteps which compound themselves as the story moves along. In this episode she is looking for some financial help in resolving a legal problem.

After the phone call Flora still grappled with her dilemma. Her closest friends outside of the Rivera’s either did not have enough money to lend her or were in similar straits as she was. That left her with only one way she could turn – to Greg and his uncle. Greg agreed to meet her at Nick’s at the Marina in West Palm Beach later on that afternoon.

As she prepared to leave her office the phone rang.

“Are you Miss Gonzalez, the lawyer?” the caller said.

“Yes.”

There was a short interlude. Then the caller said, “As I recall you are really good looking, aren’t you.”

“Who’s calling?”

After another interlude the caller said, “I need to see you right away.”

“I’m just leaving for the day. Call me tomorrow or make an appointment…”

“I need to see you right away,” the caller said interrupting. “Tomorrow will be too late.”

“What is it you need to see me about?” Flora was becoming annoyed but curiosity drove her forward.

Another brief interlude, then he said, “I need to see you -- all of you, every tasty bite of you…”

Flora hung up the phone. She hesitated wondering if the caller could be close by. Then she picked up her handbag and hustled out of her office. She carefully panned the parking lot in the vicinity of her car before she left the building. Then she got into her car and drove away up U.S. 1 toward the Palm Beaches. After driving for twenty minutes she realized she was being followed. Keeping her nerve she continued to West Palm Beach. Without making any effort to elude whoever was following her she calmly drove to the Palm Beach Mall and parked her car in the parking lot. Like any other shopper she grabbed her handbag, locked the car door, and went on inside.

Once inside Flora walked up and down window shopping and ducking inside certain stores that carried only women’s fashions. At each stop she would look around her to see if she could identify whoever was following her. After a few stops she noticed that a tall man with long dark hair wrapped into a ponytail was not far away acting non-chalant every time she stopped. She took an extended look at him and recognized him as “Neckscar” who worked for Edmundo.

She walked back into the store she just came out of and went over to the lingerie section. With her eyes looking toward the entrance she took her cell phone slowly out of her handbag and dialed Edmundo’s apartment number.

“Edmundo, listen to me,” she said with her voice muffled to avoid drawing anyone’s attention. “Somebody’s following me?”

“Following you? What’s going on? Where are you?”

“The tall guy with the scar on his neck has followed me all the way up to West Palm Beach. He’s your man, Edmundo.”

“Ah, you mean Uribe – Uribe Mendoza?”

“I don’t care what his frigging name is you tell him to get off my tail.”

“I didn’t put him on your tail. What makes you think I need one of my guys to track you? If I need you for something, I can always find you myself.”

“What damn good is it calling you anyway.” Flora almost pushed the disconnect button.

“Wait a minute,” Edmundo said. “Where are you now?”

“I’m at the Palm Beach Mall.”

“Stay there. I’ll be there in an hour but just stay in there. Something’s going on here that I know nothing about.”

“I can’t wait that long.”

“I’ll be there just as soon as I can get there.”

“I need to get that son-of-a-bitch off my tail!” Flora said. Then she ended the call and called a taxi.

Flora left her spot in the boutique and gravitated towards the mall’s main entrance. She gazed through another store’s window until she noticed that her cab had pulled up in front. In a blink of an eye she whisked through the mall’s entrance and jumped into the cab. She told the driver to follow the access road down to the end of the mall and turn onto Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard.

As the cab pulled away Flora checked behind her to see if Uribe was in pursuit. Indeed he was as she saw him running full speed back to where he had parked near where Flora had left her car.

Flora pulled a $20 bill out of her purse. “When you reach the end of the mall,” she told the driver, “turn left and go around to the other mall entrance.” When the taxi reached the other entrance she handed the driver the $20 and said, “I’m getting out here. Go directly down to the end of this parking lot and out into the street. Go onto the freeway heading south just as if I were still in the car. After a few exits you can get off and look for another fare.”

“Is there something wrong?” the driver said.

“Somebody might be following you.”

Flora went through the mall again only this time she went out to where her car was parked. After checking for any sign of Uribe she got in and drove down to Nick’s at the Marina where she was expecting to meet Greg.

She pulled into the parking lot at Nick’s then noticed Greg’s car with an empty parking space next to it a row over from her. She wheeled her car around to the next row only to be stopped by a van that pulled out of its parking place blocking the way. The van’s sliding door opened up and two men jumped out. In a mild panic she began to back up but another car screeched to a halt behind her. She saw Uribe get out.