In The Spur of Heath (The Spur Series Book 1) (24 page)

We left from Coco Lounge and were on our way home. Away from Jake, Kai, Joey, Kin and this entire crazy night. Spring break was supposed to be my time for freedom and now I just felt even more trapped. What the hell was wrong with Jake? He really outdid himself. As if fucking me over and leaving me multiple times wasn’t good enough. He was so full of shit and mind games.
Ugh! I was so over him!

I stared out the window as our car bolted down the highway. Heath’s eyes lingered on me as I did. “Reese?” He broke me away from my daze and I faced him. “Are you alright?” He asked.

“I’m fine, Heath.” I forced a smile and snuggled up to him. He wrapped his arms around me and placed his chin at the top of my head. “For what it’s worth, I had a splendid time, even if we didn’t party ‘til as late as we planned.” He comforted me.

Back at Coco Lounge, Jake pulled Kai and Joey aside, his face slightly red from the slap. “What the fuck just happened? Kai?” He asked angrily.

“Jake, I swear bro, I didn’t even realise Reese was the same girl you hooked up with…”

“We didn’t hook up! She was my girlfriend.” Jake interjected.

“Sorry, man. Look, nothing happened between us though, we just kissed and she pulled away.” Kai explained apologetically.

“It’s time you told her.” Joey interrupted.

“I can’t, Joe.” Jake sighed.

“Jake, I think Reese would understand, she doesn’t seem like the kind of girl to be upset over something like that.” Kai said.

“You make it sound so trivial.” Jake raised a brow.

“I didn’t mean it like that. What I meant is that she would most likely be more upset that you kept this from her and had her thinking that you broke her heart for your ex. The latter seems worse to me.”

“Kai’s right, Jake.” Joey agreed and Jake sighed. “Shit, here comes Kin.”

They all pretended to be unaware of her oncoming presence. “Wah all ah you boys talk ‘bout?” She grinned as she sipped on a drink.

“Our upcoming weddings plans.” Jake smiled and Kai nearly choked on his drink. Joey hit him with his elbow and Kin sized them.

“Look, cut de shit. I nuh no fool likkle bwoy and ah know you dumbasses bring that lil Trini ho here. I want to know why!” She shouted.

“Kin, no one brought her here, she is with her boyfriend, she is from here, and you’re the one that asked us to come here.” Jake reassured her. She paused, her face relaxing a little as his words registered. “Fine. But just remember, if you in anything with dis bitch… she dead!”

“I know, Kin.” Jake stared at her. “I told you, I love you, I’m over Reese.”

“Good.” She smiled and kissed him. Joey and Kai glanced at each other with a faint smirk, the plan was in motion! They were about to murder Kin and make it look like an accident – The perfect crime.

My eyes shot open at the sound of Adrien knocking on my door, calling out to us. I turned my head to the side to see a naked Heath lying on his stomach exposing his bare ass. His head was buried under the pillow, groaning at the annoying banging sounds.

“Heath.” I shook him awake and smacked him on the ass. His head popped up from under the pillow.

“Huh?” He exclaimed.

“Time to get up.” I got up from the bed, wrapping the bedsheet around my nude body, and opened the bedroom door slightly, peeking through at Adrien. “Hey, what’s up?” I asked.

“Beach, girl. Yuh forget?” Adrien replied.

“Shit! Okay, okay. We gonna organise now.” I shut my door and spun around to Heath. 

I woke him up and began packing our bags for the beach trip.

In a few moments, we were dressed and ready to go. I was clad in my black and mint green coloured bikini and a pair of short shorts. Heath was dressed in an armless jersey and a pair of plaid ¾ cargo pants. Heath and I hopped in the back seat of the car as Salimah sat in the front seat and Adrien drove. She had on her pink bikini and a matching saran wrap around her waist while Adrien wore a ¾ jeans and vest.

We were on our way to Maracas Bay, a beach on the North side of our island that takes about an hour’s mountainous drive from Port-of-Spain. Heath was in awe at the miles of green land, open water and mountainous views on our journey to the beach. It truly was a magnificent site.

We stopped at one of the lookouts where vendors sold snacks, sweets, and lots of Trinidadian delicacies. Heath looked over as the deep blue waters splashed against the rocks of the coast down below. “Wow.” He pulled his phone out of the pocket of his pants and snapped a few photos of the view. “Pieces?” He called out and then pulled me into him, his arm draped across the base of my neck, and his chin resting on top of my head. He switched the camera on his phone and took a couple selfies of us. I handed him a bag of pineapple chow.

“You remember this?” I asked as he took the bag of chow.

“Yes, I remember when you made this. The yummy fruit thing right?”

“Jeez, Heath. Ch-ow!”

“Leave me, Reese. I’ll call it what I want.” He looked at me sharply at the corner of his eyes and I shoved him playfully.

Chow was a Caribbean delicacy; fruit seasoned with garlic, salt, black pepper, hot pepper and cilantro with a little water.

He then took a bite and hissed at the burn of the pepper. His face turned red and his eyes flooded with tears. “Oh, that’s hot.” He stuck his tongue out. “But I want more.” He stuck his finger back into the bag to get another pineapple. “What is with you Caribbean people and pepper?” He joked.

“Ready?” Sal asked as she watched Heath with amusement. The way he downed that chow, it was comical to say the least. We got back into the car and drove for a few more minutes until we finally came down to the beach area. The smell of burnt rubber and salt water strong. That scent was common due to the constant braking of cars when heading down to Maracas.

We got a park at the parking lot on the right hand side of the road where a few street vendors were selling more delicacies.

Near the parking lot, there was a huge food place that sold bake and shark – one of our highly anticipated beach foods – and we ordered four to go, dressing them with all the vegies and condiments provided.  We then crossed the road. Heath and Adrien held onto either end of the cooler while Salimah and I carried the bags, beach mats and food. We stepped onto the hot white sand. “Oh, that sand feels amazing.” Heath smiled as he dug his toes into it, gripping on the cooler as he and Adrien led the way. We set down our things under a coconut tree and rented four beach chairs, placing them beside our belongings,

There were a lot of small huts around the beach selling different stuff; some food, some were bars, some were Caribbean souvenirs or beach items. “Wow” Heath kept gasping at the beauty of it all. A beautiful blend of people of multicultural and multi-ethnic backgrounds were on beach mats lounging around taking in the sun.

“That guy looks like a cherry, thank heavens I loaded up on sunscreen.” Heath joked, pointing out at a really fat Caucasian man that looked almost red.

“Oh please, Heath, you know damn well you don’t get like that.” We laughed.

The water was blue, glistening brilliantly in the sun, and the waves climbed higher and higher. Kids were running about on shore while vendors passed by with snacks, lollies, cotton candy, or beach items. There were a couple of boats out on the water, and a helicopter hovering around in the sky. The wind blew wildly, sending our hair in a dangling frenzy as we reclined onto the beach chairs, drinking our beers and eating our bake and shark sandwiches.

“Reese, this is what you came to Cali to leave behind? You are nuts!” He said as he took a very satisfied mouthful of his bake and shark. “Food is amazing, the people, the different cultures and the scenery. I’m in love.” He smiled.

We both stared off into the water as the waves crashed onto the surface causing a ruction of foam and sand. The sun hung high near pillowy clouds, burning bright making the water glisten. The waves came in one after another, swelling bigger and bigger with each passing moment.

Swoosh!
The noise of the water breaking, the scent of the salt water, the squawking of the seagulls and the swaying of trees in the wind, the laughter of children and even adults running around and playing, it was like a movie scene. It was then that I realised how much I missed home.

“Reese, we taking a walk.” Sal interrupted my dazed admiration of my homeland. I turned to her and nodded. She and Adrien then got up, clasping their hands together, and left, walking along the shore.

Back in Jamaica, Kai and Joey were back at Joey’s place, preparing themselves and packing their bags with the tools and items needed to mess up the brakes of Kin’s car. As far as Kin was concerned, they were still in Trinidad, so they could do the dirty work for Jake while he was at her mother’s home for the family thanksgiving, solidifying his alibi.

“So how long have you been doing this shit?” Joey asked picking up a suction pump from Kai’s mini duffle bag.

“Longer than you think.” He grinned maliciously.

“This doesn’t, at all, seem unrealistic to you, though? How are you supposed to kill her by tampering with her brakes? I mean, won’t she see the warning lights? Or the leaking oil?”

“My dear friend,” Kai began, taking the suction pump from Joey’s hand and placing his arm on his shoulder. “I’m so crafted and skilled in this shit – u.o.e.n.o. We have advantages. Jake knows Kin to a Tee. He knows the speeds she drives, he knows her reactions to things. The car he rented has a faulty warning light system. It keeps blinking regardless. We mapped this shit out to avoid error. So even when that light really starts blinking, she gonna ignore that shit.”

“Damn, cold blooded.” He laughed.

“And as far as the oil, this is why I’ve got these.” He held up the suction pump, hose and wire. “I’m gonna remove the brake fluid from the reservoir and replace it with oil. I already calculated the number of revolutions the axle would make to the point of mal-function, the diameter of the shaft and the length of wire I need to wrap that number of revolutions. I’m gonna fasten one end of wire to a brake hose, and the other to the axle shaft. As she drives, the wire winds around the shaft until taught and then – bam – yanks off the brake hose.”

“That’s some sick shit, Malakai. Can’t you just loosen the screws of her tyre? Jeez!”

“Where’s the creativity in that?” He deadpanned. “Plus, the distance it would take to drive from Kingston to her mother’s place, that tyre would give out before she even gets there. When that brake hose pops and that pedal goes all the way down, she’s gonna panic the fuck out, pull on her hand brakes and plunge over the cliff. Easy peasy.”

“One thing? If they investigate the car in the aftermath, won’t they find the wire?”

“Joey, it’s Jake we’re dealing with here. He’s a ninja.” Kai joked. “He will get to the crash site and get rid of it – duh.” Kai’s watch alarmed and he looked at it. “It’s time, let’s get it done. Kin would be at Hi-Lo Supermarket in a couple minutes.”

Kin parked her car in a relatively secluded area near the supermarket. Joey pulled up beside her car, acting as a barrier as Kai sneaked out with his duffle bag towards it. He popped the hood of the car, pumped the brake fluid out of the reservoir and replaced it with water. He then slipped under the car, pulled out the roll of wire and began connecting it to both the axle shaft and brake hose, keeping in mind his calculations in order to perfectly execute the murder. After he was done, he crept over to Joey’s car and got in, leaving no evidence of him or what he had done. Joey then drove away from Kin’s car, moving across the road, still keeping tabs on her car from afar.

Kin jumped into her car and started it up. The warning light blinking. “Dis rassclat light only blink, blink, blink. Fed up!” She kissed her teeth in anger. She paused for a moment, a look of suspicion on her face. She then shook her head and drove out onto the road, accelerating her car as she continued pursuing her destination back to her parents’ house. They lived in a hilly area so the drive to there had a few sharp bends and twenty-foot drop cliffs.

She called Jake as she made her way up the hilly area, her speed limit almost at its peak. “Kin?” Jake answered. “I got the stuff you wanted. I nearly there, so see you soon.” She informed him.

“Okay, I love you.” He responded, his face clearly telling a different story as he sat outside in the garden of her parents’ place.

“You too.” She responded and pushed her foot down on the brake a little but it just went straight down with no response. “What the fuck! Jake!”

“Kin, are you alright?” Jake asked with faux-concern. “Kin, baby, talk to me. What’s wrong?” He asked.

“My brakes, Jake! My brakes gone!” She cried as she helplessly tried to mash the brake pedal. “Oh my God.” She screamed in fear. “Help me!” Her eyes filled with tears as she panicked. She continued screaming and Jake’s face became sincerely saddened as he listened to her screams. He looked as though he was getting second thoughts; feelings of guilt.

“Kin! Pull the hand brakes! Try and keep the car moving on grass and pull it.”

“The cliffs, Jake. What if I go over?” She cried.

“Kin.” He wailed. Her family took notice of his hysterical state and came towards him. But it was too late. Kin pulled on the hand brakes and tried to control the steering and it began to spin wildly out of control. It hit a concrete sign, preventing the car from going over, and sent her through the windshield, careening into the air. She landed a few feet away from her car, blood coming through her mouth and nose, and forehead where a shard of glass was sticking out of it. Her eyes flickered a bit before she went out.