Sunset Beach(44)

“Any idea when she complained?”

“I can’t remember. It’s all a jumble in my mind now.”

“What about her friends at work? Did Jazmin tell them about this man bothering her?”

“The only friend I met was Neesa,” Yvonne said. “I don’t know what Jazmin told her.”

“That’s Neesa Vincent?”

“Mmm-hmm. She come to Jazmin’s funeral and brought me real nice flowers.”

“I’ve read our investigator’s notes about the case. He was never able to contact Neesa. Did you know that the hotel fired her? Shortly after Jazmin’s murder?”

“No. I didn’t know that happened to her.”

“Any chance you know how to reach her?” Drue asked hopefully.

“No.” Yvonne shook her head sadly. “That’s been two years.”

“When was the last time you talked to the police about Jazmin’s case?”

“Oh, I talk to Rae pretty regular. She calls to check in, let me know if there’s anything new going on.”

“Rae?”

“That’s Rae Hernandez. With the police. I talked to her after I left your daddy’s office last week. She thinks I got a bad deal with those hotel people. And your daddy,” Yvonne added pointedly.

“Have there been any new developments in the case?”

Yvonne sighed and mopped at her face with a paper towel. “I think they looked at a guest who stayed in a room Jaz cleaned that night. But Rae, last week, said it wasn’t him.”

“Grandmama?”

Both women looked up. Aliyah stood in the kitchen doorway, her blanket wrapped around her neck like a muffler. Her pink nightie was too short, revealing a pair of long, toothpick-like legs.

“I’m hungry, Grandmama,” the child said. Her dark eyes registered a glimmer of recognition when she saw Drue.

“You’re the lady who gave me markers,” she said, offering the same shy smile.

“Hi, Aliyah,” Drue said. “I’m sorry you’ve been sick.” She reached into her backpack and brought out a Little Mermaid coloring book and glitter markers she’d bought at Target.

“These are for you.”

A huge smile lit up the girl’s face. “Oooh.” She pressed the art supplies to her chest.

“What do we say to Miss Drue?” Yvonne prompted.

“Thank you.”

Yvonne opened her arms wide and enveloped her granddaughter in a hug. “This girl here was real brave today. Let the doctor give her a shot and a breathing treatment.”

“Can I have some soup? And some Goldfish?” Aliyah asked.

“You sure can. Grandmama’s gonna fix you your supper right now,” Yvonne said, rising.

Drue stood too. “Thanks for talking to me. I appreciate your time.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Yvonne said, leading her through the living room. She looked out the window at the group of young men standing across the street.

“I don’t see no car out there,” she said.

Drue took out her phone and swiped over to the Lyft app. “I used a ride service to get here.”

She held up the phone. “See? A car will be here in five minutes.”

“Huh,” Yvonne said. She motioned toward the street. “You best stay right inside here until that car gets here. Them thugs over there, ain’t no telling what they might do if they see a girl like you standing alone outside.”

Drue had a thought. “Did any of those guys ever bother her?”

“They wadn’t living here when Jazmin got killed,” Yvonne said. “There was a nice young family living over there, but they moved away. That’s how it is here. All the nice people move off. That’s what Jazmin wanted, for her and for me and Aliyah. She wanted something better.”





20


After the driver dropped her off at the cottage, Drue went inside, stripped and put on a bathing suit. She called Corey.

“Hey, I was wondering if it would be okay if I came down and used the pool at your complex,” she said, as soon as he answered.

“Oh hi, Drue. I’m headed home right now, and I was actually planning on swimming laps tonight, so yeah, perfect timing. Meet you there in twenty minutes?”



* * *



As soon as she waded into the pool, Drue felt her tensions begin to melt away. She floated on her back and closed her eyes, willing herself to relax. She heard a splash from the far end of the pool, and watched while Corey swam toward her.

“Water feels great, right?” he said, emerging at the shallow end where she was clinging to the side of the pool.

“It feels amazing,” she said. “I can’t even tell you how much I’ve missed this.”

“Feel like doing some stretches?”

For thirty minutes he patiently put her through a routine of exercises designed to strengthen her still-mending knee. “Stop if it starts to really hurt,” he instructed. “You don’t want to do too much too fast.”

Finally, she waved the white flag. “Okay, I think that’s probably enough,” she admitted.

“I’ve gotta get my laps in, but if you want, just hang around and do some really easy pedaling like I showed you,” he said.