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“Did the diver, Trevor, come with a group?” Aiden asked, and he reached down to hold my hand to lead me toward the coffee food truck.
“Sometimes, but he mostly came with one other person,” the guy said and snapped his gum. Then he added, “One time, I saw him with another person from your dive group.”
I stepped closer to the window to hear him better. He was chomping on his gum, so it was hard to focus on what he was saying. “Can you describe the person?” I asked.
“Oh, sure. She was wearing a bright pink wetsuit. I’ve never seen anyone wear a suit like that,” he said. His awed expression echoed Aiden’s and mine when we initially saw Annisa wearing it.
“Did you notice anything unusual about their dive other than the wetsuit?” Aiden asked.
“Nah, I can’t say that I did.” The man popped his gum. “Actually, now that I think about it, the young lady seemed upset when they came out of the water.”
“Could you hear what they were saying?” Aiden’s calm expression didn’t hint at the fact that he already knew why Annisa was upset.
“No, but when they came to buy a cup of coffee before they left the beach, I heard the guy tell the woman that he’ll take care of everything,” the coffee vendor said and gave a small shrug.
“I appreciate you telling us this,” I said and smiled in gratitude at this information, but my mind was working in full gear. My irritation with Annisa started to rise again. Instead of giving us the complete picture, Annisa only revealed her side of the story when we uncovered the truth. I rubbed my temples because I was starting to get a dull headache.
I stepped back from the open window, but before I could walk away, the guy said, “No problem.” Then he lifted up an empty cup and asked, “Do you or your boyfriend want some coffee? I’m closing up soon, and I’m going to toss out the coffee unless you guys want some.”
Aiden glanced at me to see if I wanted any.
“Sure, why not?” I realized that Annisa’s deception wasn’t the only reason for my headache. It was almost dinnertime, and I hadn’t had my afternoon caffeine fix.
I took the cup that the guy offered. “Thanks!” I said and took a sip of the gourmet coffee. “This is really good!”
“It is!” Aiden agreed when he took a sip from his cup.
I lifted my cup in gratitude as we walked toward the shopping area. The guy lifted his hand and waved back.
“You know when we first saw him, I thought he looked unfriendly,” I said, wondering why my first impression of the man was off.
“I remember you said that he was giving us a weird look,” Aiden said, referring to the memory.
“I’m not sure why he was giving us the stink eye, but after talking with him, I don’t think he’s unfriendly. It was interesting he mentioned that he saw Trevor and Annisa together,” I mused and took another sip of the coffee.
“What are you thinking?” Aiden asked when I pressed my lips together.
“I just remembered that there was a coffee cup near Trevor’s body.” I stopped when we got to the bathroom. Without saying anything, Aiden went behind the building.
The area was cleaned up, and any trace of spilled coffee was gone. “I wonder if the forensic team picked the cup before they cleared the crime scene.” Aiden crouched down to check if anything was missed.
“Is this something we can ask the police?” I asked hopefully.
“We can always ask, but I’m not sure that they will provide an answer.” Aiden brushed the sand from his knees and got up.
“I feel like we’re missing something,” Aiden said, looking around the parking lot. He blew out a breath. “We need to talk to Annisa again after we talk to Sully. I think she left some details out about her and Trevor.”
“I was thinking along the same lines as you. Didn’t you find it odd that Annisa confessed what was going on only after we confronted her about something or told her that she had to tell the authorities?”
“Now that you mentioned it, yeah, it does seem as though she is making up excuses along the way,” Aiden said, letting out an exasperated sigh.
Chapter Thirty
There were more people in Cannery Row than when Julia and I visited earlier in the day, and the tourists were browsing through the trinkets displayed outside the storefronts. Despite being overpriced, people were snapping up the souvenirs. As I passed a woman grabbing a coffee cup that said Monterey, California, with a cute sea otter on it, it reminded me that Trevor was killed when he was drinking coffee. The cup had long been disposed of, but it made me wonder if the police had found additional evidence.
“How long do you think the police will take to tell us how Trevor was killed?” I asked, remembering that I hadn’t seen any wounds on his body. He was lying face down, so it was possible that his injuries were covered by his body.
“I don’t know. To be honest, it depends on the situation. If his death is connected to a larger case, they might not tell us anything until they charge a suspect. And even then, we might have to wait until the trial to hear the evidence unfold,” Aiden said, to my disappointment and shock. I hadn’t considered the possibility that Trevor’s murder was a result of something more serious.
