AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jack’s gaze swept the endless beach. “You bet I will.”
“You sure you want the short sail?” asked Eli. “I give you the long sail for jis’ fifty dollars more.”
The bright side was that finding the historic site of the mass gibbeting wasn’t the main point of Jack’s visit to the Bahamas. Not even close.
“Short sail,” said Jack. “Got a meeting at noon I can’t miss.”
Eli had him back at the Nassau pier in plenty of time. Jack caught a taxi outside the marina and rode into the city.
“Over the hill, mon,” said the driver.
Jack wasn’t getting any younger, but the appellation seemed better suited for his father than for him. “You mean me?” he asked.
“No. Where you goin’. Literally, over the East Street Hill. Can be rough there.”
It was starting to sound like one of those trips that Jack took only with Theo at his side. “So I’ve heard,” said Jack.
The ride was uphill and then downhill, as promised, taking Jack well away from the glitz of Paradise Island, past the colonial mansions and estates along the coast, and into the hardscrabble neighborhoods of old clapboard houses and the occasional shack constructed from random timbers and sheets of corrugated steel. Basic white was not a popular house paint among residents “over the hill.” Coats of bright yellow, blue, and every other hue in the rainbow made the old houses as colorful as the hibiscus flowers growing along the street. Even in the lowest-income areas, Bahamians took pride in their neighborhood and gardens.
The taxi stopped outside a one-story, teal-colored house. Jack checked the address and confirmed he was in the right place.
“Don’t stay after dark,” the driver told him advisedly. “Good people here. But the gangs... not good.”
Jack thanked him, followed the stepping-stones to the front porch, and knocked on the screen door. An elderly woman answered. Jack knew from Tyler McCormick’s obituary that her name was Ramona.
“Mrs. McCormick?” he said through the screen. “I’m Jack Swyteck. The lawyer from Miami who called to talk about your son.”
“I told you I didn’t want to talk to you.”
“I was hoping I could change your mind.”
“Why should I?”
“Because I want to help,” said Jack. “I sincerely want to help find whoever it was who really killed your son. Because it was not my client.”
She thought it over and then opened the door. Jack entered and followed her into the kitchen. She filled two glasses of iced tea and brought them to the table, where they sat opposite one another. Jack opened the conversation by talking about his client, keeping it light.
“Believe it or not, I hardly knew anything about Imani before she hired me to be her lawyer.”
“Hmm. Which rock do you live under?” she asked.
“My wife had the same question.”
Ramona smiled a little, which Jack saw as a good start. He continued.
“First time I met Imani was at a private concert,” said Jack. “A very wealthy man on Miami Beach hired her to perform in his backyard. Most people aren’t aware that big pop stars do those kind of private events.”
“Oh, I’m well aware,” she said.
“Are you?” Jack said, a little surprised.
“Sure,” she said. “That’s how Tyler first met Imani.”
Jack’s response was on a couple of seconds delay, as if Ramona’s words didn’t quite register. “Tyler was invited to one of Imani’s private concerts?”
“No, no,” she said, chuckling at the suggestion. “He worked it. Tyler was a bartender.”
“When was this?”
