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“Okay, okay, you’re right.” I put both of my hands in front of me to ward off any further attacks. Julia was petite, so her punches didn’t pack any weight to them, but her temper was fierce when she was riled up.
“I wonder if the police will let us see Annisa tomorrow,” I said, trying to change topics.
Julia’s glare switched to a determined stare. “I’m going to call first thing in the morning, and I hope they’ll let us talk with her,” she said and pressed her lips together.
“Me, too, and I know that Aiden will make sure that she’ll be okay,” I said, but Julia heard the doubt in my voice.
“What are you thinking?” she asked hesitantly.
“I don’t think Annisa had anything to do with Trevor’s death, at least not directly, but I feel like she’s leaving something out. I mean, it was surprising that she got certified on the spur of the moment.”
“I thought she got her certification because she wanted to go diving with you guys.”
“That’s what she said, but I don’t buy it. She has never shown interest in scuba diving, but all of a sudden, she wants to go?” I said, giving them a suspicious look.
Julia looked doubtful and asked, “So, what are you saying?”
I shook my head and said, “I don’t know, but I also think Annisa was lying when she told us that she only went out with Trevor once.”
“From what you said about how attractive he was, it does seem out of character for Annisa to ignore his attention. Of course, I’m sure he wasn’t as cute as you are,” Julia said, giving her husband a bright smile.
Tristan’s face lit up at Julia’s compliment. I rolled my eyes, but fortunately, the sight of Fratelli’s blue and white awning up ahead saved me from the newlyweds’ affectionate banter.
“Mmm…” I sighed when I smelled the clams in the air and pictured myself digging into the hearty soup.
“I’m so hungry!” Julia patted her stomach as it gave a small dainty rumble.
Tristan opened the door and stood aside as we entered the small and cozy restaurant. “This place is as cute as I remembered,” I said, looking at the shiplap-whitewashed walls. With the blue and white checkered tablecloths that matched the awning outside, the eatery leaned into the nautical decor.
“I hope the food is just as good,” Julia said.
“I do, too, but if it tastes anything like it smells, I’m sure it will be,” I said, making eye contact with a server.
“You can grab a table wherever you’d like, and I’ll be right over,” the woman said, and when she smiled at us, I could see that she had braces on her teeth that made her look younger than she initially appeared.
We grabbed a table by the bay window. There were plastic laminated menus stashed in a wire caddy with some condiments, but we didn’t need them to know what we wanted to order.
“Hi, I’m Danny. Can I get you guys something to drink?” the waitress asked when she arrived at our table. She had short-cropped brown hair that framed her makeup free face. With her haircut and youthfulness, she looked like a woodland pixie.
“I’ll take some water,” I said, and Julia and Tristan nodded that they wanted the same.
“And we’ll take three clam chowders in sourdough bread bowls,” Julia added, quickly ordering for the three of us.
“That sounds good.” The waitress tapped her pen against her notepad in emphasis. She gave us another smile before walking away.
With the soups ordered, my mind wandered back to Aiden and Annisa. Inhaling deeply as I looked out the window, I tried to push away the nagging feeling I had about Aiden spending time with Annisa.
Chapter Sixteen
“Ugh!” I groaned, trying to wake up from the nightmare that I was having. In my dream, I was caught in a sea kelp bed, and a sea lion was zooming around, squawking and trying to eat me. However, it wasn’t a sea lion making noises but the sound of my phone buzzing on a table next to the bed, and Grumpy licking my face.
“Grumpy, stop!” I commanded to no avail. My eyes wouldn’t open. Julia and Tristan dropped me off at the apartment around eleven, and I had a hard time falling asleep after they left because I kept thinking about Annisa trying to flirt with Aiden
“Okay, Okay!” I grumbled, and I gave Grumpy a little push away from my face. I still had my eyes closed, but I opened them slightly so I could read the time on the Swarovski clock on the wall. “What? It’s nine o’clock already? It can’t be.” Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I reached out to grab the phone and brought it a few inches from my face.
“Oh, no, it really is nine!” I looked at Grumpy, who was giving me a pitiful look. “You must be hungry, and you probably need to go potty.” Grumpy wagged his tail as though he understood what I’d said. I patted his head before I shifted to the edge. My head was groggy, and my mouth was parched.
“But first, I need coffee,” I mumbled and stood up to stretch. “Okay, Grumps, let’s go,” I said, padding out to the kitchen.
