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“What do you mean?” I asked, puzzled by the thought that Annisa could act in another way.
“She used to be a lot like you,” Julia said to my utter amazement. She pulled out her wallet from her purse and took out a small photo. “Here, look,” she said and handed me the picture.
I blinked several times because I couldn’t believe that the Asian girl in the picture with Julia was Annisa. She was dressed in an oversized tie-dye sweatshirt, but what was astonishing was the fact that Annisa’s face looked completely different.
“Did Annisa get plastic surgery?” I asked.
Julia nodded and said, “She didn’t tell me beforehand that she was going to do it, but when she came back from Korea, her body was thinner, and it looked like she had eyelid surgery.”
“Wow…” my voice trailed off. I was speechless because I always thought Annisa was pretty, and it never occurred to me to think that she didn’t think so. Shaking my head, I asked, “Even though she didn’t tell you that she was going to get plastic surgery, did you guys ever talk about it when she came back?”
“Not really, I knew that Annisa wanted to look more like the Korean beauty influencers that she followed on social media. So, when she came back happy about the way she looked, I just let her be,” Julia said.
“In addition to getting surgery, did Annisa change the way she dressed after she came back from Korea?” I asked.
“Yes, she did!” Julia exclaimed. “She always dressed casually, but when I picked her up at the airport, she was wearing a black cashmere sweater over skintight black leather pants. Her all-black ensemble was striking enough, but she was also wearing these black platform combat boots, and she had on a pair of black Versace sunglasses. I remember thinking that she looked like she was on a reality show. I was going to tease her about it, but she was so full of excitement about her trip that I didn’t have the heart to burst her bubble.”
“When she gave you all those gifts for your engagement and wedding, you didn’t wonder how she could have afforded them?”
“Maybe I should have, but I was flattered that she gave me the expensive gifts. And I was preoccupied by other things.” Tears welled up in the corners of Julia’s eyes.
“It’s alright. I’m sure you would’ve said something if you had seen what she was hiding in her closet.”
“Do you want something hot to drink?” Tristan asked when he saw Julia give a small shudder.
I knew that Tristan shared reservations about Annisa like I did, but he was concerned for his wife’s well-being.
“Good idea. Let’s grab some coffee,” I said and pointed to the food truck that had been here since Aiden and I were supposed to go on our dive.
The same coffee vendor as before was leaning out of his food truck, and he eyed us as we walked toward him, trying to place where he had seen us.
“Weren’t you here before asking about the scuba diver who died a few days ago?” he asked when he figured out where he recognized me.
Julia and Tristan looked curiously at the coffee vendor.
“Yes, I was here.” Then, it was my turn to ask him some questions.
“I was here with a friend of mine, and you told us that you saw the victim with another person. Could you tell me more about that?”
Julia raised one eyebrow, and I muttered under my breath, “Aiden and I talked to him when we were trying to get ahold of Sully.” She nodded in understanding.
The coffee vendor looked annoyed. “Are you going to buy some coffee?”
“Of course. I’ll take a small black coffee. What about you guys?” I asked, turning around to see what they wanted. I chuckled when Tristan raised his hand after Julia raised hers. It was cute how he wanted to be agreeable with his wife.
The coffee vendor was mollified by our order. “Well, like I told you and your friend before, I saw the diver and a woman here a few weeks ago. She looked upset.” The man handed me the first cup, which I passed to Julia.
“Could you hear what they were saying?” I handed the next cup to Tristan.
“Nope. They were too far away. But I’ve seen the dead guy before,” the coffee vendor casually remarked. I almost lost the cup in the hand off because his comment caught me off-guard.
“Are you okay?” the vendor asked me when I brought up my hand to my mouth to cool off the hot coffee that splashed on my skin.
“I’m fine,” I said hastily. “Can you tell me more about the times that you saw the diver?”
He narrowed his eyes and asked, “Are you with the police?”
“No,” I confessed. My cheeks reddened as I realized how persistent my questioning was becoming, so I said, “But, I think our friend was one of the people you saw the victim with here, and she was murdered.”
