Chapter 9
"That guy. Ugh," Bailey said in disgust. "He's the one who reached out to her in the first place. He's the one who gave her all the information."
"About the toxic dumping?”
Bailey nodded. "Sydney blew that whole thing wide open. She promised him anonymity. But somehow his name got out. The company took action against him. Fired him. Now he’s got this big lawsuit.
He blames Sydney. Said his life is ruined.
He's been calling and harassing her. Sending threatening messages. The guy is a total ass.”
I shared another look with JD.
"Did Patrick ever confront her in person? Or was it all over the phone and online?"
"I think he accosted her in her apartment building one night.”
“In a common area?”
“He was waiting for her in the hallway by her apartment.”
"When was that?"
"Last week, I think.”
“How’d he get into the building?”
Bailey shrugged.
“Were you working last night?" I asked.
Bailey nodded.
“What time did you get off?”
"We stop serving at 10:30 PM, but sometimes it's midnight before I get out of here.” She paused and thought about it. "I guess it was probably 11:45 PM when I left. I went home, took a shower, then met a friend for drinks at Blue Ruin.”
"I understand that you’ve been best friends since grade school," I said.
"Who told you that?”
"Judy.”
Bailey frowned. "Sydney was like a sister.
We met in kindergarten, actually. She was just so cool and so much fun.
I didn't know how much money her family had, and at that age, money doesn't matter.
Even when we got into high school, she didn't seem to care about that kind of thing.
Even though everybody else did. My parents didn't have two nickels to rub together. I started working fast food at 16. Sydney would take me on vacations with her family. She’d take me shopping and buy me dresses.
But that was never why I hung out with her.
I always told her not to do that. I think that's why we were friends for so long. I never asked her for anything. As we got older, people started wanting something from her.”
"Is there anyone else you can think of that may have wanted to harm her?”
Bailey’s mouth scrunched as she thought. "Trevor's ex-girlfriend, Marissa. Total bitch.”
I lifted a curious eyebrow.
"That rivalry goes all the way back to high school.”
"How did that start?”
Bailey gave me a flat look. "Like it always starts. Over some guy.” She laughed as the memory flashed before her eyes.
"Noah Graham. He was so hot. Marissa dated him forever, then he dumped her for Sydney. Noah was as dumb as a stump, but easy to look at.” She sighed.
“It didn't last long with Sydney. She required a little more intellectual stimulation. I think they dated for all of two weeks, then Noah moved on to Jill Wexler. Those two deserved each other," She muttered aside. "Anyway, Marissa never forgave Sydney, and they’ve been enemies ever since. Which is really kinda silly. They were friends before that, sort of.” She almost giggled. “You know what’s funny? I saw Noah a few weeks ago. Fat and bald.”
I pulled a card from my pocket and handed it to her. "Get in touch if you think of anything else that might be helpful."
She sniffled and nodded as she took the card. "I will. Do you think you'll find out who did this?”
"We've got a pretty good clearance rate, and we've got plenty of good leads to follow up on."
That put her somewhat at ease.
Bailey took a deep breath, then looked out across the floor. "I guess I should get back to my tables." She wiped her eyes again. "How do I look?"
"Great," I said.
She mustered her resolve, then marched back into the fray.
We left the restaurant, hopped into the van, and drove back to Diver Down. By that time, my stomach rumbled. We ordered dinner. I chowed down on a Baja Burger topped with cheddar and avocado with our own special zesty Baja sauce. Jack went with the steak fajitas.
We filled our bellies as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in pastel hues of pink and red.
Afterward, we met the guys in the band at Oyster Avenue, then hit a few bars. We ended up at Vibe to catch Fuzzy Logic. They were a heavy Shoegaze band that had been gaining momentum around the island. We figured they might be a good opening act for a Wild Fury show.
The place was full of leggy beauties in tight skirts. Not a bad place to be.
I took drink orders, made my way to the bar, and squeezed up to the counter. Wild Fury had played the club a number of times. Most of the bartenders knew who we were, so we got preferential treatment. I didn’t have to wait for ages like everybody else. Perks of being the band's manager.
The bartender took my order and poured the drinks.
With the precision of a seasoned professional, I scooped up five drinks and set out to deliver them.
SMASH!
I had no sooner turned around when a delightful redhead crashed into me.