He leans back in his chair, taking a long sip from his coffee cup.
揧ou sent me there personally. I did everything short of exhuming the body for another look. But we weren抰 looking for poison, of course.?He shrugs. 揟here抯 no good reason to suspect murder. Based on the evidence, it抯 unlikely Aster Lancaster accidentally stumbled into the ocean without meaning to be there. She was still wearing her evening attire and her heels were found a little ways away on the beach after she was found, neatly placed together. No fancy theories needed to explain that.?
The word fancy stirs a memory.
That damnable golden turtle hanging from its delicate chain.
揧eah. Right. There抯 one thing I didn抰 tell you about...?
He pulls out his notepad. 揥hat抯 that??
揥hile we were in Kona at the house, my daughter found an intricate turtle necklace in my wife抯 old room. An old friend and employee told Destiny I bought it for Aster.?I look down, straining for any hint of recognition. 揌ell, he told me the same thing. The trouble is, I don抰 remember buying that necklace at all棓
揑t was a long time ago. You抎 just lost your wife and you had a lot on your mind. It抯 common to forget small details when you抮e overstressed,?he says calmly.
I press my lips together. 揌ear me out. It gets stranger.?
揙kay??The detective抯 eyes are shining with interest now.
揗y daughter was attacked recently, here in Seattle. Robbed. Two men off the street shoved her to the ground and made off with that necklace.?
揂h, I抦 truly sorry to hear that. Did she file a police report??
揧es.?
揇id you ask them what they thought??he says carefully.
揜andom robbery. Go figure. They don抰 think it has anything to do with her being a billionaire抯 daughter or else they might抳e done worse.?
He nods. 揑f the cops were at the crime scene and know the area抯 crime record, I抦 inclined to believe them棓
揝omething bothers me, though,?I cut in.
He waits.
揥ho the hell randomly robs a teenager and leaves her iPhone and purse but takes a necklace? She dropped the phone. That was easy loot. They had to get closer to grab the necklace, and a secondhand dealer would抳e paid a pretty penny for that phone. It was almost brand new.?
揚hones are traceable unless they抮e totally wiped. Necklaces aren抰. Maybe at first blush they thought it was the highest ticket item,?he says.
揑 don抰 know, man. It just feels like the damn turtle was the reason for the theft.?
He takes a slow drink of his coffee, studying me like I抦 a paranoid nut. He may be right.
揗r. Lancaster, these old cases are always difficult. When you抮e looking back on them years later, it抯 easy to find patterns and synchronicities where none actually exist. Sometimes, the simplest answers are the ones you抮e looking for梚f you can accept them.?
揝hit. Maybe you抮e right.?I fall back in my seat. 揑 thought a second opinion would feel better than this...?
揑 know. I抦 sorry.?
揟his just doesn抰 feel like closure, you know??I rake a hand through my hair.
揅an I give you some advice? One former sailor to another??My shirt is unbuttoned near the collar and his eyes scan the small tattoo there.
揝ure.?Why not? I抳e been on a roll with shitting up my life lately. There isn抰 much anyone could advise that could make it worse.
揕et it go,?he says coldly.
揥hat??
揑t was a decade ago. It won抰 be easy, but you抮e better off just letting it go.?He pauses, clasping his hands. 揕ook, if I just told you that your wife was murdered, would you feel any better??
揘o, but棓
揧ou抎 need to track down the killer, right? You抎 feel compelled to make sure you got justice. I know your type. You抮e the kind of guy who thrives on clear-cut answers.?
I nod.
揧ou抎 have a new mission, only, it wouldn抰 end well for you. Not for your daughter, either. So here抯 a better one梬alk away. Move on with your life and help your daughter move on with hers. You抣l never have a blow-by-blow account of what happened to your wife that day, but if you accept the basic conclusion...do more details matter??
I raise my eyebrow.
Of course, they matter.
Aster could be ice-cold no matter how often I tried to break through her wall, and harder to please, but she didn抰 deserve to drown.
揥ould it bring her back??His tone says he senses my frustration.
揥hat??
揑f I built a time machine and took you back so you could watch every second play out梑ut you couldn抰 change it梬ould it bring her back??
揘o. Of fucking course not. But Destiny and I might have closure. It抯 her mother we抮e talking about.?
揜espectfully, that抯 what funerals are for. You and your daughter have all the closure you抮e ever going to get. Honestly, Mr. Lancaster, I don抰 think beating it into the ground will help.?
I sigh with a weight that tells him he抯 right without admitting it.
I thought I抎 put this all behind me years ago until being at the Kona house tore open old wounds.
Did I really think I抎 get closure if the investigation stated the obvious?
Fat chance.
You know why you care and it抯 got nothing to do with Aster, a voice in the back of my head screams.
I see Eliza, asleep on my chest, soft tufts of honey-brown hair being tossed in the breeze until I stroke them down into place again.
Is she the reason why I can抰 move on?
No, it抯 definitely more than that.
That turtle necklace felt like a curse梐nd maybe it抯 a bigger one now that it抯 gone.
Troy抯 story about how I bought it for Aster at the market still bothers me. I don抰 remember a goddamned thing.
Deep down, I抦 sure I never did.
I went to the beach and slept off my jet lag like usual.
And my daughter抯 messy hair, tear-stained face, and gashed-up leg after that thing was stolen...the way the robbery seemed so deliberate.
揑 know you抮e just sharing your wisdom, and I appreciate it,?I tell him. 揟he robbery still feels out of place, though.?
The detective nods. 揑t抯 gone, isn抰 it??
I blink at him, unsure where he抯 going with this.
揧eah, it抯 gone.?
He looks at me like a chemistry teacher waiting for his student to scrawl the last line of some formula.
Aster抯 gone.
Her necklace is gone.
Destiny抯 attackers are also gone without seriously hurting her, thank God.
Is that his point? Is he right?
Should I just let everything go?
I suddenly hate that I haven抰 heard from Eliza since my last few bitter texts.
揋one is gone, Mr. Lancaster,?he explains. 揈ven if you抮e feeling bothered, in my opinion you抣l do yourself a solid dealing with what抯 still here.?
揟hanks for meeting me,?I mutter as I stand.
I barely wait for him to wave goodbye before I抦 heading for my car. I punch in Eliza抯 contact on my phone from the back seat.
She doesn抰 answer.
揃ig surprise,?I say to myself, texting her instead.
Can we talk?
My phone dings a couple minutes later.
Eliza: Sure. Do you need a new drink? I抦 actually off the clock right now. Why don抰 you send the specs to my work email? I抦 not sure it抯 appropriate for the boss to be texting me on weekends.
Fuck. I抦 surprised my screen isn抰 frosted over.
At least I got a reply this time. I try calling again.
揧es??a voice that抯 too frigid and husky to be Eliza抯 answers.
揥here抯 Eliza??I growl.
揊ucking a rock star. She tells me he抯 way better in bed than her last snarky businessman hookup. Can I take a message??
揧ou are??
揧our worst nightmare. Did you need something, Lump??
My teeth grit together. Looks like Eliza hasn抰 been shy about throwing that stupid nickname around.
揟ell her I need to talk to her. Also, I抦 sorry.?
揌mm, you抮e funny. Because those are almost the right words, even if they抮e a little bland, but totally wrong order. She抯 knows you抮e sorry. Now apologize like a man.?
I pull my phone back, staring at the screen in disbelief.
揑s this high school? Put her on now,?I snarl.
揗eh, I guess some things never change. She can抰 come to the phone right now and I抦 saving her the trouble.?
God, the mouth on this 'friend.'