“Yes. Do you know a Margie Dalton?”
“Yeah, Margie’s a good friend of Jasmine’s. Why?”
Bile churned in his stomach. If Jasmine could do that to her friend, what would she do to someone she considered an enemy? “How good of a friend?”
“They were best friends. Margie used to go out to dinner and play cards with us, and they always went shopping together. She’s human, and she doesn’t know what Jasmine is, but they’re extremely close.”
A couple of the puzzle pieces fell into place. “Are they close enough to go on a cruise together?”
“Oh, yeah. They used to talk about going on one all the time, but they never got around to it.”
So, there was no one to report Margie missing because they all thought she was on a cruise with her best friend. Her work and friends wouldn’t start to worry about her until her vacation ended.
“Why are you asking about Margie?” Preston inquired.
Choosing to ignore Preston’s question, he asked another one of his own. “How long have they been friends?”
“Jasmine told me she’d lived in the building for a few years. They bumped into each other when Jasmine was carrying in boxes, and Margie helped her. They’ve been friends ever since. Is Margie okay?”
Dante had no idea what caused Jasmine to snap like this. It couldn’t be the fact Preston dumped her if she started acting crazy while they were still together.
“Dan, is Margie okay?”
Dante didn’t know how to break it to him easy, so he ripped the Band-Aid off. “She’s dead.”
Preston sucked in a breath. “What happened?”
“Jasmine killed her.”
“No!” Preston blurted. “She wouldn’t do that! She loved Margie. They were like sisters, except they never fought. Margie was a good person; she was sweet and kind and… how do you know it was Jasmine?”
Dante glanced around to make sure he was still alone before filling Preston in on what he discovered in Margie’s apartment and what he believed happened. When he finished, stunned silence followed his words.
“What happened to her?” Preston finally whispered. “Jasmine wasn’t like this.”
“She is now, and she still has Julie. I’m pretty sure Julie’s still alive, or I would have found her body in the apartment. Can you think of anywhere she would go?”
“No.”
“This is to get back at you for whatever reason she’s concocted in her twisted brain. Is there anywhere the two of you went that you would consider a special place?”
“We went to the Cape a couple of times, to New Hampshire, Foxwoods, the Jersey shore—”
“It would have to be somewhere close. Even if she is controlling Julie’s mind, she wouldn’t be able to take her far. Where did you meet?”
“At one of Opal’s parties. It was in an old warehouse down by the waterfront.”
“Did it have the same kind of soundproofing as the party last night?”
“Yes.”
“Where exactly is it?”
More rustling sounded on the other end before Preston spoke again. “I’m coming with you.”
“No. Tell me where it is.”
“I’m coming with you. If Jasmine is like this because of me or doing thisbecauseof me, then I’m coming with you.”
