“I know. I checked. But I need to talk to everybody who knew Jazmin back then, who’d worked at the resort. Did you know that Jazmin’s mother tried to sue the hotel for criminal negligence? The hotel claimed she was working that night, so my father had to settle it as a worker’s comp case. The money will be in a trust for Aliyah, but it will only be a hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars, which Yvonne can’t touch, not even for Aliyah’s medical expenses.”

“That’s all?” Jorge’s face registered his disgust. “You know, I tried to get Jaz to quit that place. The management, they didn’t care about back-of-house staff. Jaz applied for a job here, but there weren’t any openings at the time. And then … it was too late.”

“That’s the kind of thing I want to discuss with you,” Drue said. “So, what about it? Can we talk when you take your break?”

“I guess. Can you come back around eleven?”

She winced. Tomorrow was a workday. “No sooner than that?”

He pulled up a screen on his computer and ran a finger down the listings. “Looks like I only have one late check-in. It’s pretty slow tonight.” He slid a business card across the Formica countertop to her. “Call me in an hour. If it stays quiet, you can come back and we’ll talk. Unless I get a check-in.”

Remembering her mother’s long-ago advice that it was always better to beg forgiveness than ask for permission, Drue bought two coffees at the Starbucks a few blocks away and arrived back at the Silver Sands thirty minutes later.

She waited while Jorge handed a packet of keys and a hotel brochure to a young couple with a sleeping infant draped over the mother’s shoulder. When they’d headed out of the lobby, she presented him with the coffee.

“Is now a good time?”

“Okay,” he relented. “Those folks were my late check-ins. The phones are quiet.” He pointed across the lobby at a pair of armchairs. “We can talk over there.”

Drue showed Jorge her cell phone. “I’m going to tape this, if that’s okay with you.”

“I have no problem with that,” Jorge said. “But first, tell me about Aliyah. Is she okay?”

“I guess you know Yvonne is raising her?”

“I figured. You know, I only met Aliyah once or twice, and I never met Jaz’s mom. I didn’t want us to be a secret, but Jaz said her mom would never accept her dating a Latino.” Jorge looked down at his hands. For the first time, Drue noticed he wore a gold wedding band.