She texted him a thumbs-up emoji. Just before the light changed she glanced to her right. The blocks along that section of Central were lined with antiques and vintage shops, and she loved “window-shopping” during her commute home. Today, on the sidewalk in front of a shop that specialized in mid-century modern, she noticed a glamorous glass-topped rattan dining table with four matching chairs arrayed around it. The seat cushions were covered in a wild jungle-print fabric.

It was love at first sight. The set would be right at home in the dining room at Coquina Cottage. How much? she wondered. The car behind her gave a warning beep and she looked up to see that the light had turned green. Reluctantly, she drove on.

Her plan to finish fixing up and furnishing the cottage had been put on hold for weeks now, due to her growing obsession over the Jazmin Mayes case. In the meantime, the bright blue tarp on her roof had faded and cracked in the relentless May sun, and the water stains on the ceilings were growing by the day. And just that morning, she’d found a legal-looking notice from the city hanging on her front door, warning her that the tarp’s continued placement on her roof was a violation of city building code. The notice gave her thirty days to remove the tarp.

She had to at least get the roof patched, if not totally replaced. And oh, how she longed for air-conditioning. Drue had placed box fans on either side of her bedroom and in the kitchen, but mostly they just stirred up the hot, damp air streaming in through her open windows.

Ever since receiving her first CCK paycheck she’d placed herself on a strict budget, but her bank balance was still pathetically lean. Air-conditioning would have to wait, because a patch job on the roof was now priority one.

And that gorgeous rattan dining room set? Just moved to the end of the wish list.

Corey was well into his workout by the time she arrived at the Land’s End pool. She sat on the side of the pool, dangling her legs in the water, watching, with envy, as his long, lean body cut effortlessly through the turquoise water. He wore swim goggles, and his bald head shone in the late-afternoon sun.

Drue slipped into the water and began the warm-up routine he’d taught her, starting out slowly, clinging to the side of the pool, doing leg stretches, then marching in place, pumping her arms, gradually lifting her knees higher. She walked back and forth across the shallow end, watching Corey’s progress to avoid a collision in his lane. Finally, she went back to the side of the pool and did several repetitions of knee lifts, knee-to-chest stretches and flutter kicking.