“Thursday night. I went over there with … a friend. And I talked to another housekeeper. Jazmin told her mother that a white guy, another hotel employee, was sexually harassing her. She complained to somebody in management, but obviously nobody did anything. This other housekeeper told me she was harassed too. And she gave me the guy’s name. Not long after Jazmin was killed, this guy mysteriously quit the hotel. Or got fired, the girl didn’t say.” She got up and filled a glass with ice cubes and water and drank it rapidly.

“And get this. It’s the same girl who discovered Jazmin’s body.”

“Did Zee talk to this person?” Ben asked.

“Yes, but at that point she was scared to tell him everything she knew. She didn’t want to make waves. After the grandmother hired Dad to file suit, the hotel management called a staff meeting to tell the employees that if the hotel had to settle a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, the hotel would have to close up and all the employees would lose their jobs.”

“Real subtle way to make sure people kept their mouths shut,” Jonah said.

“Still doesn’t mean the firm has a legit action against Gulf Vista,” Ben said, wiping his hands on a paper napkin. “The girl was on the clock. Like it or not, it’s a worker’s comp case.”

Jonah shrugged. “The man has a point, Drue.”

Ben pushed his chair away from the table. “You don’t have a case. But you do have, I believe, a car that will start. Want to see?”

“More than anything,” Drue said.

Ben slid behind the steering wheel. With a ridiculously dramatic flourish, he stuck the key in the ignition and turned.

The Bronco’s engine roared to life.

“Hallelujah!” Drue exulted. “OJ has come back from the dead!”

Ben gave it some gas and the motor, miraculously, did not cut off. He got out of the car and Drue impulsively threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

“My hero!”

Ben looked at Jonah, who shrugged. “Looks like our work here is done, Batman.” He picked up his toolbox and headed for Ben’s car.

“Wait,” Drue said. “I need to pay you for the starter. And lunch.”

“Forget it,” Ben said. “I’ll let you take me to dinner one night instead.”

“Just name the night,” Drue said, following him to his Honda.

25

March 1976

The two women turned heads as they walked into Mastry’s Bar, and not just because they were in their work uniforms—white polyester dresses, white hose, white shoes. Both Colleen Boardman Hicks and Vera Cochran were stunners, Colleen with her blond hair, deep tan and short skirt, and Vera with her luscious curves and Cupid’s bow smile.