by Linda Verji
“I’ll explain later,” Jasmine hedged. “Where’s my mom?”
“Guest room.” Kenny snorted. “When I told her that you said not to set it up, she said that she’ll do it herself.”
Oh, Mother! Jasmine dragged in a deep breath before heading to the guest room. She found Yolanda lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
“Really?” Jasmine closed the door behind her then glared at her mother. “You ran away?”
“What are you doing here?” Yolanda sat up in the bed.
“What do you think I’m doing here?” When Jasmine spotted her mother’s bag propped beside the bed, she crossed the room and grabbed it. “Let’s go home.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Yolanda said sulkily. “You probably don’t want me there anyway to ruin your time with that… that… that boy.”
“Stop being ridiculous.” Jasmine propped her fist on her hip. “Let’s go home.”
Yolanda stayed on the bed. Folding her arms over her chest, she asked, “Are you going to date him again?”
Jasmine thought of lying. But she’d never really been a good liar, and her mother could read her anyway. So, she revealed, “Yes, I’ll date him again.”
“What? Wha… what?” Yolanda blustered as she stared at Jasmine like she’d lost all her marbles. “You’re going to date him again?”
“Yes.” Jasmine’s tone was unrepentant. “I am.”
“You… You… You’re just…gah!” Yolanda’s shoulders rose and fell heavily. She pulled in a deep breath as if to steady her nerves before determinedly announcing, “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Seriously! Jasmine stared at her mother with unrestrained irritation. She was really going to be like this? Jasmine was tempted to go get Lucas so they could forcefully carry her mother out. But she knew Yolanda. The woman would beat them all up with her bag before treading over their bodies and getting back into the house.
The only solution was to talk her into leaving on her own.
Jasmine set the bag down on the floor before coming to sit on the bed next to her mother. Yolanda immediately turned her head away so she wouldn’t have to face Jasmine.
“Mom.” Jasmine tapped her leg. “Mom, look at me.”
Yolanda doggedly ignored her.
“Mommy,” Jasmine wheedled. “Look at me.”
Yolanda kissed her teeth before whirling around to cut her eyes at her daughter. “Don’t call me like that.”
“Why not?” Jasmine hid a smile as she shifted closer to her mother. “Mommy.”
“Don’t come closer,” Yolanda warned.
“Why, Mommy?” Jasmine shifted even closer until she could take her mom’s hand.
“You know why.” Yolanda snatched her hand away and tucked it into the opposite armpit.
This time Jasmine couldn’t hide her smile.
“You’re smiling?” An irritated Yolanda glowered at her. “After everything you’ve done?”
“What have I done? Huh?” Jasmine turned serious. “You know I’m too old for you to be trying to control my love life, right?”
“You think I want to be involved in your love life?” Yolanda turned to face her completely. “Do you think I’m doing this because I don’t have other things to do? I have better things to do with my time. If you were better at running your love life, I wouldn’t be doing this. But you’re not. Look at what you’re doing, huh? Running around like a headless chicken, getting involved with busters… Jazzy!”
“Mom, I’ve never been involved as busters,” Jasmine said. Before her mother could mention Lucas, she swiftly cut in with, “And no… Lucas isn’t one. You know that even if you don’t want to admit it.”
“I don’t know what he is,” Yolanda insisted stubbornly. “I haven’t seen him for over thirteen years so how am I supposed to know him?”
“But I do,” Jasmine said. “And I know that he’s a good man. If you took some time to get to know him, you’d realize that.”
“That’s not going to happen!” Yolanda scoffed. Irritation pulsing in her gaze, she asked, “Why him though? There are so many men who are better.” She grabbed Jasmine’s hand. “You don’t have to settle for him just because of your past. I know so many people who are better. I can introduce you. You remember Pearl’s nephew, the doct-”
“I’m not settling for Lucas. I’m choosing him,” Jasmine said gently. “There’s a difference.”
“Well, I don’t see it. He’s not good enough for you, baby,” Yolanda coaxed. “You deserve better. You deserve a man who can take care of you. With him, you’re the one who’ll be taking care of him.”
“You’re wrong about that.” Jasmine explained, “Money isn’t the only way to take care of someone. Lucas has his own way of taking care of me.”
“Taking care of you? Please!” Yolanda harrumphed. “All he knows is how to be a bad influence.”
“What are you talking about? Lucas has never been a bad influence,” Jasmine protested. The disbelieving look her mother gave her was enough to make her add, “Really! He’s never been. When was he a bad influence?”
“Maybe he’s different now. But don’t you remember how he was in high-school?” Yolanda sneered. “Smoking, hanging around with those skater kids, ditching class, that long hair… ugh!”
“Yeah, he did all those things,” Jasmine admitted. “But he never tried to get me to do them. He accepted me as the nerdy, no fashion-sense girl I was. He never tried to get me to go to the skate-park with him. If anything, he came with me to the library. He never smoked in front of me, never tried to get me to ditch class-”
“He got you to have sex,” Yolanda cut in.
“No, I got him to have sex,” Jasmine informed her mother. At her mother’s startled look, she shrugged. “What? I was curious.”
Yolanda didn’t have anything to say to that. She just stared at Jasmine in open-mouthed shock.
Jasmine continued, “Lucas has always tried his best to take care of me, treated me as well as he could. I’m the one who was always asking him not to be so careful with me.”
Her mother didn’t look convinced.
Jasmine tried again. “You remember the employee I told you about…”
She went on to explain everything that had happened after York’s death. How Lucas has started investigating just because she’d insisted on it. How she’d been attacked and he’d done everything to make sure the person who did it was caught. How he’d spent cold nights outside Kenny’s home and hers so he could protect her.
“He’s always looking out for me,” Jasmine finished. “Sure he’s not a doctor or lawyer like you want, but he’s the only man I trust to take care of me.”
Yolanda only snorted.
“Mom, I know you only did what you did because you love me. I know you’re only being like this because you want me to have the best.” Jasmine coaxed, “But I wish you’d see that I already have the best. I really do. Lucas is a much better person than you think. And if I let him go, I know that I’ll regret it.”
Yolanda snorted again. But the lack of a verbal put-down gave Jasmine hope that maybe she was coming around.
“You know how you used to tell me that you didn’t pick Dad because he was perfect but because he always tried to come as close to it as he could?” Jasmine reminded her. “Well, Lucas is the same way. He’s not a perfect man, but he tries his best. Can’t you give him a chance?”
Yolanda didn’t say anything. But she didn’t snort either.
“Please, Mom.” Jasmine took her mother’s hand. “Give him a chance. A real one this time. And if he messes it up, then you can treat him as badly as you want.”
“As badly as I want?” Yolanda asked. The unholy light in her eyes left no doubt that she was imagining and relishing all the ways she’d hurt Lucas if he hurt Jasmine.
“As badly as you want,” Jasmine confirmed with a grin. Of course she knew that she and Lucas would likely have their ups and downs. And of course she was
n’t going to let her mother rip him apart during those times. But this wasn’t the time to break the news to her. Right now she just needed to get the older woman to back down. She prodded. “Do we have a deal?”
Yolanda took a long time to answer. She stared at Jasmine for quite a while before she sighed. “Fine.”
“Thank you.” Jasmine smiled in relief and leaned forward to hug her mother.
“Whatever!” Yolanda responded caustically, but she still accepted the embrace and patted her daughter’s back. Jasmine’s smile widened.
“Okay? Can we go home now?” Jasmine asked as she pulled away. When her mother nodded, she quickly stood and picked her bags before the woman could change her mind.
Yolanda stood too. “Is your cab still waiting outside?”
“No.” Jasmine started for the door. “Lucas brought me. He’s waiting for us outside.”
“He’s outside?” The horror in Yolanda’s voice was enough to make Jasmine burst into laughter.
CHAPTER 24
“Did you guys get to the airport on time?” Lucas propped his phone on his shoulder as he spoke into it and typed at the same time.
“Yeah,” Jasmine said. He could hear the smile in her voice as she added, “Why is it that her flight just took off but it feels like I’m the one who’s flying? Whoo!”
Lucas chuckled. “That’s your mom you’re talking about, Angel.”
Shane, who was blatantly eavesdropping on the conversation, raised his eyebrows and mimed, ‘Angel?’.
Lucas ignored him.
“Hah!” Jasmine guffawed. “If you knew how many times she tried to convince me to dump you in the last two days, you wouldn’t be defending her.”
To say he was surprised that Yolanda had backed down would be an understatement. The whole time she was in town, he’d expected her to corner him and demand that he get away from Jasmine, but she hadn’t. Their only hostile encounter had been when she’d found him in the living room when he’d dropped off Jasmine the previous day. Even then all she’d said was that he should take good care of Jasmine, or else…
He hadn’t asked ‘or else what?’ because frankly, he was too scared to find out.
“So…” Jasmine’s voice now held a note of seductiveness. “Will you spend the night at my place today? We have the house all to ourselves.”
“I’d love that.” He smiled. “But how about a date first?”
A date? Shane mimed as his hand flew to his throat and his eyes widened in mock shock.
Lucas shot him a threatening look and mimed, ‘Shut up’.
On the phone, Jasmine asked, “A date?”
“Yeah.” He sat back in his seat. For some reason he felt nervous as he added, “You said that you wanted us to get to know each other better. Wouldn’t a date be good for that?”
“I guess.” She paused a moment. “Okay, a date. What kind though?”
“Dinner?” he offered.
“That sounds good.” Jasmine added, “But can I choose the location? I know this place that will absolutely kill you. It’s called Grandpa’s Gate. Kenny’s boyfriend, Geoff, runs it.”
“Where’s the place?” Lucas grabbed his notepad and pen so he could note the address down. Once Jasmine gave it to him, he said, “Okay, I’ll be there. What time is good for you?”
“I’ll be at the salon until around seven-thirty,” she said. “We can meet up then.”
“Seven-thirty. Okay.” He asked, “Where’s this salon? I can pick you up.”
“No, thanks.” Jasmine chuckled. “The salon is just a block or so away from Grandpa’s Gate. I can walk there.”
“Still, it will be at night.” Lucas frowned. “I don’t want you walking alone at night.”
“I’m not a child, Luc. Besides, I still have all those moves you taught me. And that street is really busy even up to one a.m.” Her voice softened as she added, “Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
“Fine,” he surrendered reluctantly. “Seven-thirty, right?”
“Seven-thirty,” she agreed. “I’ll wait for you.”
“Not if I get there first,” Lucas said. Ignoring Shane who was miming that he wanted to talk to Jasmine, he ended the call, “Bye, Angel.”
“I wanted to talk to her,” Shane whined when Lucas tossed his phone on the desk.
Lucas gave him a narrow-eyed look. “Why would you want to talk to my girlfriend?”
“Girlfriend? Did you just say girlfriend?” Shane grabbed his chest and flopped back in his seat and groaned. “Oh! Ow! Ow! Save me. Help me!”
Lucas eyed him. “What is wrong with you?”
“I’m having a heart attack. You know the thing that happens when you’re in shock.” His eyes wide, Shane leaned forward. “I never expected to hear the word girlfriend come out of your lips.”
“Get used to it.” Lucas knew that he should be embarrassed about his partner’s teasing. But he wasn’t. He was too happy to be embarrassed. “You’ll be hearing it for a long time.”
“Sorceress.” Shane gasped. “She’s a sorceress.”
“She might be.” Lucas smiled. “It certainly feels like magic.”
“Ugh!” Shane winced and folded his hands in a fist. Raising his still fisted hands so Lucas could see, he said, “Look what you did. This is how corny that sounded like. I cringed so hard that my fingers are now glued in place.”
Lucas laughed. “Don’t you have anything better to with your time than eavesdrop on my conversations?”
“No… ah, yes.” Shane rocketed to his feet as if he’d remembered something important. “I need to go to Michael Walcott’s club.”
“What for?” Lucas sat up and his tone became more serious as he went into business mode. “They’re not talking.”
“I told you. I’ve been working on one of the valets there. ” Shane grabbed his jacket. “I’m going to meet him right now. He might tell me something. You coming?”
Lucas thought over it then shook his head. “No, I think I’ll go by Teddy’s place again. Look around and see if I can find hints about where the video he was talking about might be.”
“You won’t find it there,” Shane said. “CSI picked that place apart. They even went by his office and couldn’t find a trace of that video. The killer probably took it with him on the hard-drive.”
“You might be right,” Lucas agreed. “But I still want to check again.”
“Go ahead.” Shane snorted. “It’s your time you’re wasting, not mine.”
Twenty minutes later, Lucas was crossing the hall to Teddy’s apartment. Though the CSIs had already searched the place, it was still sealed from the public and there was an officer guarding the door. Lucas greeted the uniform before ducking beneath the yellow tape and getting into the house.
The apartment was the same as before except there was no dead body and all the pills had been cleared off the table along with their bottles. After putting on gloves, Lucas got to work. He started with the bookshelf, thumbing through the books to see if there was anything hidden within their pages. He found nothing.
He checked every drawer in the room then tapped their bottoms to see if there were any false bottoms. There were none. He checked the window the killer had gone through to see if there might be blood or torn fabric there. There was none. He even checked beneath the area rug. It was dusty, but there was nothing there that could even pass as evidence.
With a sigh, he moved on to the kitchen. CHPD’s CSIs were so thorough that he knew that he was probably doing useless work. But he couldn’t help himself. It was frustrating that their case was practically at a standstill even though they knew who was behind York and Teddy’s deaths. He needed to find something… anything that could tie Michael or August to their deaths. If that meant picking apart every thread in this apartment again, then that’s what he’d do.
The kitchen was as clean as the living room.
Next up was Teddy’s bedroom. Lucas started with the man’s closet. It was filled with suits and
shirts. He searched their pockets, pressed their seams to make sure nothing had been sewed in there. He came up blank. Again. Even the suitcases piled on the very top shelf had nothing of interest. There was nothing below the mattress either.
Lucas was about to give up on the bedroom when he spotted the duffel bag propped between Teddy’s dresser and the wall. It was obviously a gym bag given that it had the gym’s full name emblazoned on its side. Caspian Health & Fitness. Lucas crouched down to open the duffel bag. Immediately, the pungent odor of sweat that had stayed too long along with the nauseating scent of mold hit him. Wincing, he arched his neck backwards, but the smell was just as intense. Shielding his nose with his left arm, he gingerly picked up the black t-shirt there. The t-shirt was clean… well, clean in the sense that there was nothing inside it. Still, it smelled like a teenage boy’s bedroom.
He tossed the t-shirt to the floor then picked up the shorts and shook them a little. Nothing. Touched the seams. Nothing. He tossed them to the floor. Apart from the t-shirt and shorts, all he found in there was a pair of dirty socks and an opened pack of condoms. Why would anyone need condoms at a gym? Obviously Lucas wasn’t working out the right way. He turned the duffel bag over and shook it, but there was nothing there. There was nothing in the side-pockets either.
Lucas was about to give up on the gym bag when he noticed a little pocket-like compartment right at the bottom of the duffel bag. The compartment was so tiny that most people would miss it. When Lucas touched it, he felt a little bump, like something was in there. His heart bumped in excitement. Quickly, he unzipped the pocket only to be met with disappointment. He expected to find a flash drive in there, but all he found was a small key with a black plastic top.
Key? He cocked his head as he held it up to study it. What does it open?
If this was a gym bag, then the key probably had something to do with the gym. A locker there?
As far as Lucas had heard, the CSI hadn’t mentioned checking the gym Teddy went to. Maybe he had a locker there, and maybe a copy of the video was there. Maybe? Sounded like too many maybes, but what the hell… it was worth a try. Shrugging, he put the key into an evidence bag then tucked it into the pocket of his pants.