Chapter 8
Icalled Bailey.
It went to voicemail. I left a message, then sent her a text.
She messaged me back a moment later. [I'm at work. What’s going on?]
[It's about Sydney. Do you have a minute to talk?]
[I'm pretty slammed right now. Is everything okay?]
[It's better if we have this conversation face-to-face.]
[That doesn't sound good.]
[It's not.]
[What happened?]
[Where do you work?]
[Fish.]
It was an upscale seafood restaurant.
[We’ll be there in a few minutes. We'll talk more then.] I didn’t want to go into much detail over text.
We drove across the island to the posh restaurant. I pulled up to the valet, hopped out, and handed the guy a few bills. I flashed the badge and said, “We won’t be long.”
Inside, the restaurant was packed. People queued up, waiting for a table. It had just opened up a few months ago and was the talk of the island. Forks clinked against plates, and the murmur of conversation filled the air. The smell of grilled seafood wafted. Chill music filtered through speakers.
I bypassed the line at the hostess stand and flashed my badge. "I need to talk to Bailey Caldwell. Is your manager around?”
Concern filled the cute brunette’s eyes.
She had no idea what this was about. I'm sure she thought the worst. "Yeah," she stammered, glancing around.
"There's Adam." She continued to survey the floor.
"That's Bailey," she said, pointing to a perky blonde with a pixie cut taking an order from a table of gentlemen.
"Tell Adam I need a few minutes to speak with Bailey. He might want to get someone to cover her tables.”
The hostess nodded and darted across the restaurant to find him.
JD and I weaved through the tables toward Bailey. I flashed my badge as we approached, and her face tightened with concern.
"Bailey, I'm Tyson Wild. This is Deputy Jack Donovan.”
"Okay. Just tell me,” she said, bracing herself. “What is it? Is she dead?”
I nodded. "I’m sorry for your loss."
Bailey tried to hold it together as she processed the information.
She was a cute girl with coffee eyes and a bubbly persona, but there was nothing bubbly about this conversation.
She spun around and darted into the kitchen. It was all too much for her.
Our interaction drew a few curious stares from nearby tables, but that didn't last long.
I shared a look with Jack, then we followed Bailey into the kitchen. She stood off to the side with her hand covering her eyes as she sobbed, trying to hold it all together.
We gave her a little space.
Finally, she stifled her emotions. Bailey sniffled and wiped her eyes with her fingers. Then she turned to face us.
I said, "I feel terrible springing this on you, but we have some important questions. Time is of the essence in these matters."
She nodded and sniffled again as kitchen staff scurried about. The grill sizzled, and pots and pans clinked.
"I was going to find out sooner or later," she said. Bailey frowned and shook her head. "I just knew something bad had happened. I sent Sydney a few text messages, but she never got back to me. She was always good about that kind of thing. I’ve got some friends who will take days to text back, but Sydney was always prompt. Can you tell me what exactly happened?”
"I can't go into specifics, but she was assaulted in her apartment."
Bailey cringed. "What do you mean assaulted?"
"I’d rather not say."
Bailey got the message. “You're looking into Fletcher, aren't you?"
"That's one of the names on our list. What can you tell me about their relationship?"
Anger tensed her jaw. "I can tell you Fletcher is a narcissistic, egotistical asshole.
I warned her. I told her to be careful. I knew that son-of-a-bitch was going to do something after she broke up.
He just couldn't stand the thought of her being with somebody else.
She was like a possession to him. He didn't really care about her.
I don't think Fletcher is capable of caring about anyone but himself.”
"Did he ever get violent with her?"
She nodded. "Fletcher had a short fuse. He would just go off. I think it's all the steroids he’s on. I don't know if he ever hit her, but she told me he could get physical.”
I shared a look with Jack.
"He would freak out if anybody even looked at Sydney. I mean, what's the big deal? Take it as a compliment. Your girlfriend's beautiful. Other men are going to look at her. But he just couldn’t handle that kind of thing. He’d take it out on her.”
“Is that when he’d get physical?”
“Called her all kinds of names. I think he shoved her once.
I don't know why she stuck with him for so long.
But Sydney had a kind heart. She liked to see the best in people.
I mean, don't get me wrong, Fletcher is good-looking.
He's got money, he's ambitious, and driven. Checks off a lot of boxes. But…” She shook her head.
"I always knew one day he was going to snap and kill her. "
"Does he know about Trevor?"
"Yeah. He saw them out one night and confronted them. Almost came to blows with Trevor, but Trevor is not a small guy. I think Fletcher thought twice about messing with him. Anyway, the bouncer at the club broke it up before anything happened.”
"Did she start seeing Trevor before she broke up with Fletcher?”
Bailey shook her head. "She was still with Fletcher when they met. But Sydney was not that type of girl. She broke it off completely before she started dating Trevor.”
"Who's Patrick?" I asked.
Bailey stifled an eye-roll.