Sunset Beach(90)

“Three years after his wife disappeared, Allen Hicks got a Mexican divorce. He remarried, got divorced again and then married a third time.” She looked up at Corey. “Clearly the guy wasn’t exactly distraught over losing his wife.”

She clicked on the next story link and skimmed it quickly. “Allen Hicks retired to North Carolina and died in 2009.”

“Which still leaves the question of whatever happened to Colleen,” Corey said. “Is she dead or alive?”

“And what, if any, is the connection to my dad?”

“Why don’t you just ask him?”

“I did. He denied that there was any real connection.”

“Just level with him,” Corey said, shaking his head impatiently. “Tell him you found the old police files up in the attic—in a box of his stuff.”

“I can’t,” Drue insisted. “He’s not just my dad, he’s also my boss. It would be like I was accusing him of something dishonest at best and criminal at worst. I can’t say anything to him. Not until I have some kind of proof.”

“Proof of what? That he had something to do with this Colleen Hicks person?”

“Both that and whatever was going on at the Gulf Vista,” Drue said. “Look, we know that the female housekeepers at that hotel were the victims of sexual harassment. We’re pretty sure that whoever killed Jazmin was someone who knew her. If we could just figure out who killed her, then maybe we’d be able to get to the bottom of this whole thing. I can’t help but wonder if my dad or somebody at the law firm took a payoff or something.”

“And what happens if you discover your dad, and the law firm, is completely innocent? No cover-up, no bribe, but also no money for Jazmin’s mom?”

“Then I’ll let it go,” Drue vowed.

Corey cocked a dubious eyebrow.

“I will. I swear it.”

When she was alone again, Drue considered the flip side of the question Corey had asked.

What if she actually uncovered evidence that her father or somebody at the law firm had betrayed their client? Or worse—that Brice was involved in Colleen Hicks’ disappearance. What would she do then? How far was she prepared to take this quest for justice? She had no answer.





42


After Corey left, Drue took a glass of wine and walked down to the beach to watch the sunset. The damp sand felt cool beneath her feet, and the breeze off the water ruffled the sea oats on the dune that separated her backyard from the abbreviated seawall. At the last minute, deep-purple-tinged clouds drifted across the horizon, obscuring her view. She glanced up and down the beach, looking for “her” blue heron, but the only birds in sight were a group of sanderlings, skimming in and out of the shallow wavelets lapping at the shore.

She turned around and headed home, for a shower and then bed. All evening she’d kept her cell phone close at hand, hoping for a callback from Rae Hernandez at the sheriff’s department, but the only call she got came as a complete surprise.

When UNKNOWN CALLER flashed across the phone’s display screen, she didn’t pick up, but let it go to voice mail.

“Uh, hey, Drue. It’s Jonah. From work?”

She grabbed the phone and tapped Connect.

“Hi Jonah. It’s Drue. What’s up?”

“I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t pick up,” he blurted.

“Then why did you call?”

He sighed. “Remember that do-over I asked for? I was thinking maybe we could try it on Saturday night?”

She felt the color rise in her cheeks. He was asking her out. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had asked her out on a date. It had to be pre-Trey.

Yes, definitely pre-him. Her six-year off-and-on relationship with Trey had been a long segue from hanging out to living together; now that she thought about it, she realized Trey never had formally asked her out. One night, after a long day of kiteboarding, he’d sat next to her at a bar and bought her drinks. The next night, when their group of friends had drifted off the beach and out to a restaurant, Trey had picked up the dinner check. And the next night, they’d met up at a concert and he’d gone home with her and stayed over for the next week.

“Drue? You there?”

“I’m here. Okay, I’d be up for that,” she said cautiously.

“So just to be clear, that’s a yes?”

“Yes, Jonah,” she said, rolling her eyes. “That is a yes. What did you have in mind?”

“Drinks and dinner? There’s a new place downtown, near the Vinoy, that I’ve heard good stuff about.”

“That sounds nice,” Drue said. “Tell me the address and I’ll meet you there.”

“Huh? I mean, I thought I’d pick you up at your place. That’s okay, isn’t it?”

“Yes. I just wasn’t sure if you’d want to drive all the way out to Sunset Beach and back.”

He laughed. “God, this is the most incredibly awkward phone call I have ever had with a woman. Does it feel awkward to you too?”

“Incredibly so,” she agreed. “Painfully awkward.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” he said. “But the worst part is over, right? I asked, you said yes. We have a plan. I’ll pick you up, we’ll have a nice dinner. No stress.”