Chapter 7
Jesse's permanent address was listed with the DMV at Eden’s condo in the Nautilus. It was pretty obvious he was no longer living there.
He wasn't exactly squeaky clean. Jesse had a DUI, a possession charge, public intoxication, and an assault charge that stemmed from a bar fight.
I called Isabella, my contact at Cobra Company. With vast intelligence resources, she was able to track Jesse’s cell phone and pinpoint his location. With a few taps of the keys, she told me he was currently at the Trident Tower.
“While I’ve got you, can you see if any cellular devices ping the tower from Eden’s boat during the time of the murder?”
“I’ll look into it and report back.”
“You’re a doll.”
We made our way across the island to the luxury high-rise. I didn’t know which apartment Jesse was in, but I figured we could sort that out.
A quick glance at his social media feed revealed quite a few photos of Jesse partying with two beautiful blondes.
I took screen captures of the images and sent them to Isabella.
She was able to use facial recognition and ID the girls.
According to the DMV, the two roommates, Lana and Saylor, lived in #1604.
It was a good bet the two beauties kept Jesse from being homeless.
I didn’t know him, but I knew the type. He was a user and a manipulator.
Jack pulled up to the valet, and the kid hustled around to grab the door. We climbed out, and JD slipped him a few bills.
I flashed my badge at the main entrance, and the concierge buzzed us in.
We strolled across the opulent lobby, past the waterfall, past the baby grand piano, to the elevators. I hit the call button, and a moment later, we took the elevator up to 16. We strolled through the hallway, and I rang the video doorbell.
A sultry voice crackled through the speaker a few moments later. "Can I help you?"
I flashed my badge at the lens. "I need to have a word with Jesse. We’re hoping he can help us with a case.”
I tried to sound as non-threatening as possible.
The woman hesitated a moment, then said, "He's not here right now.”
"Is this Lana or Saylor?”
After a beat, “Uh, Saylor. Is he in some kind of trouble?"
I smiled. "No. We just have some routine questions. Why don't you have him come to the door? I know he's here.”
There was another long pause.
"Hang on just a second," she said.
The line disconnected, and I shared a look with Jack.
Undeterred, I rang the bell again.
There was no answer.
I put a heavy fist against the door and shouted, “Coconut County!”
There was no response.
"Jesse, I know you're in there. We just want to talk.”
Commotion inside filtered down the foyer. Voices hissed.
A moment later, footsteps approached, and the deadbolt unlatched.
Jesse pulled open the door and looked at us with concerned eyes.
He was 25 with a square jaw lined with stubble, narrow blue eyes, a long nose, and brown hair that was longer on top and shorter on the sides. At 5’11”, he had a medium build.
I displayed the badge and made introductions. "I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but…”
I gave him limited details.
His eyes rounded with surprise. His reaction seemed genuine, but he could have been a good actor. "What!? How?”
"I can't discuss the details right now.”
Jesse’s stunned expression lingered, and he hung his head, trying to process it. “Was this some kind of accident?”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed, putting it together. “She was murdered?”
“When did you break up?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Like a month ago. Why?”
Even though I already knew, I asked, “What prompted the breakup?”
His face tightened with annoyance. “What does that matter?”
“I take it the breakup wasn’t amicable?”
“Dude, do you know who she was? Do you know anything about her?”
“Why don’t you tell me?”
“I can tell you she’s a fucking whore!”
That hung there a moment.
I shared a subtle glance with Jack.
“So, you weren’t happy about her decision to pursue a world record,” I said.
Jesse sneered at me. “It wasn’t like she was going for the gold on a pommel horse. She was banging random strangers. Is that really some kind of achievement?”
“How’d that make you feel?”
“It made me feel like I wanted to dump her,” he said, his face growing redder.
"Did it make you want to do anything else?"
"Like what?"
"Seems like you're pretty mad about it.”
"I'm not mad about it. I've moved on.” He was still mad.
"How's that working out for you?"
"Great. These chicks are smoking hot, and I’m going to make them stars.”
“So, you made Eden a star?”
“We’re going to make way more money than Eden ever thought about, without the drama.”
"Tell me about the drama.”
His brow wrinkled, and he huffed. “Where do I start?”
"How about you start with her drug use?”
Jesse frowned. “That’s another reason we broke up. She started using that junk. She was trying to self-medicate, but all it did was seriously mess her up.”
“Who got her started on drugs?” I said with accusing eyes.
A guilty frown pulled at his mouth, though he’d never admit it.
“Tell me about Crosby King. Did she owe him money?”
“How should I know?” He paused. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Shit was going downhill for her. Last I heard, she was having money problems.”
"Because her account got banned?”
"Yeah. I told her she needed to be saving more and investing.
But she just couldn't. She blew it all. That girl had a serious shopping addiction. Terrible with money. She bought all these stupid meme coins that went to zero. She hired this accountant, and he ran off with a ton of money before she figured out what was happening. Idiot. Then there was the shit with her dad.”
“Tell me about that.”
“I heard he was suing her.”
That piqued my curiosity. “Why?”