| |
I OPENED MY EYES TO the sun barely over the horizon and a tint of orange in the sky. Without a blanket, I felt the chill of the morning and realized I had my same clothes from just a few hours before.
I’m not sure I was fully awake as I stepped down off the boat. I grabbed my chair and set it down on the dock. I sat and wished I could’ve gone down below to my own bed. But Alex and Raz were down there. So I sat and enjoyed the quiet. It had only been three hours since we’d gotten back to my boat. And I was exhausted. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
It seemed like a second later a hand touched my shoulder. I turned and looked behind me.
Alex stood with a smile, the sun up behind her. “You sleep out here all night?”
Still trying to clear the cobwebs wrapped around my brain. I shook my head and jumped up from the chair. I looked at my watch. Two hours had gone by.
“You were snoring,” she said. “You should be careful...lucky you didn’t fall in.”
I wiped my face with both hands and looked out toward the bright sun. I folded up the chair and put it back up on the boat. “I’m starving.”
“I have to walk Raz, if you want to come? Then maybe get some breakfast somewhere?” She looked down at Raz as he plopped down on the dock at her feet.
“There’s a little breakfast place down in San Marco. Beach Diner. Got some tables outside...I’ve seen dogs there before.”
“San Marco?”
I nodded. “We need to go see Michelle.”
––––––––
WE HEADED DOWN 17, crossed the Main Street Bridge and straight into San Marco. “I still have to go by Billy’s. We’ll head over there after.”
Alex’s phone rang as soon as we turned onto Atlantic Boulevard.
“It’s Mike,” she said, but didn’t pick it up right away.
“Aren’t you going to answer it?”
She nodded as she stared at the screen for another moment. “Hi Mike. Yeah, everything’s okay. Yes.” She listened. “Uh huh.” She turned and gave me a look. “I’m with him right now.”
I watched her and by the look on her face I knew something was up, and it was more than just a social call.
“Raz and I stayed on Henry’s boat. Yes, I will. Thanks Mike.” She hung up and turned to me. “He has the life insurance policy you told him you were meeting Kayla for.”
“Shit,” I said.
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“It is if he lets me take a look at it.”
“That’s why he called. He said you were the one looking for it.” She looked ahead toward the road, then turned to me. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this, but Mike’s not a bad guy. He’s just as interested in the truth as you are.”
––––––––
OUR WAITRESS AT THE Beach Diner came up to our outdoor table and flashed what looked like a forced smile. She was young and pretty with long brown hair and big eyes. But when I looked closer, I noticed those big eyes were red. She’d been crying.
“Good morning,” she said as her voice cracked. “My name’s Cary.”
I pulled my sunglasses down from my eyes. “I’m sorry if this is none of my business, but is everything all right?”
She wiped a tear with her hand down the side of her face, then straightened the smock around her waist. “I’m so sorry. It’s really not a good morning for me. But I’ll try to be cheery.” She cracked half a smile and looked down at Raz. “Your dog’s cute.”
I said, “Hey, we’re cool...if you need to get something off your chest? We don’t mind.”
She looked back and forth from me to Alex. “That’s nice of you, but...”
I put up my hands, surrender-like. “I’m sorry for butting-in...” I looked down at the menu. “I guess I’ll just have a coffee for now. Black.”
Alex ordered tea and as Cary walked away she said, “Poor thing looks so upset. I wonder what’s wrong.”
“Maybe she just hates her job,” I said. “Or her boss is an ass.”
Cary came right out with a tray and placed our drinks down on the table. She still had tears in her eyes.
Alex said, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She nodded and wiped her eye with the back of her hand. “I really am sorry about this. I just found out a friend of mine died last night.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I said as I glanced across the table at Alex.
“You might’ve heard it on the news...she lives over in those new apartments by the St. Johns Town Center.”
I thought for a moment. “Do you mean, The Jax?”
She looked down at me and nodded.
“Are you talking about Kayla Morton?”
Alex and I gave each other a look.
Cary’s eyes went wide, the expression on her face dropped as she nodded up and down. “Yes. Do you know Kayla?”
I nodded as I straightened out in my seat. “Yes.”
Cary’s eyes moved toward the ground. “I didn’t see her as much as I used to. Life gets busy...you know? Then something like this happens. I...I just wish we’d spent more time together.” She wiped her cheek then turned and nodded toward an empty table just a few feet from us. “Last time she was here...it was kind of weird, the way she was acting. But I guess she didn’t know I worked here.” She forced a smile. “I had a different job before this that didn’t work out, but...”
“When was she here?” I said. “Recently?”
Cary nodded. “She was with this older guy. He wasn’t an old man, but he was a lot older than her. I didn’t say anything to her, but he seemed like a real jerk. Sounded angry...the way he was talking to her. In fact I even called her after she left, just to make sure she was okay. But she never called me back.”
I pulled out my phone and tapped the screen. I turned it toward Cary. “Is this who she was with?” I showed her a picture of John Thompson.
Cary looked at the picture and shook her head. “That’s John Thompson.” She turned and looked out toward the street.
“You know him?” I said.
“I know him, but that’s not who she was with.”
“Are you sure?”
She hesitated then nodded. “But he was...” Kayla stopped.
“He was what?” I said.
“He was, I don’t know...not really her boyfriend, but...” She looked backed toward the door to the inside of the restaurant. “They were sleeping together.”
I looked across the table at Alex, shaking my head. “I knew it.”
“My other friends and I, well—I feel bad about it now—but we’d joke about how Kayla made all this money...how she’d gotten promoted so fast. And that place where she lived, The Jax, it’s pretty expensive.”
She turned and glanced toward the restaurant. “I should probably take your order before it gets busy. The crowds pick up around this time.”
I leaned forward on the table and took a sip of the coffee. “So you’re sure it wasn’t John Thompson she came here with?”
She shook her head. “I know a lot of the people who come in here, but I never saw him before. He was a big man...white hair.” She looked down for a moment. “I remember, he had a bit of a limp. I don’t think they were together or anything. I mean, romantically, if you know what I mean?” She shrugged. “But you never know with Kayla.”
I nodded toward Alex. “You have a picture of Roy Mason?”
She pulled out her phone, tapped the screen and turned it toward Cary. “Is this him?”
She nodded with a bit of enthusiasm. “Did you say Roy Mason? That sounds right. Now that you mention it, I remember seeing his name on his credit card.”