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I looked into his brown eyes and murmured, “You’re too sweet!”
Chapter Forty-Two
The lights from the Golden Gate Bridge created a picturesque scene. We were sitting cross-legged on the floor surrounded by stacked boxes.
Julia and Tristan were moving into their new apartment in a few days, and I was helping Julia pack up the belongings at her place. With Grumpy lying down next to us, I stared out of the window for a few minutes before a yawn escaped, causing me to snap out of the daze that I was in.
“What time is it?” I yawned again and stretched my arms over my head. “I could use some caffeine.”
Looking around the room, the apartment’s disheveled state reminded me of Bay Area Divers. But while the apartment’s messiness was temporary, Sully’s shop was not.
“It’s sad that after thirty years in the scuba diving business, it had to end the way it did,” I said, thinking about what Sully told me as I looked at our reflection. Even through the glass window, I could see the shadows under Julia’s eyes.
“What happened?” Julia asked dully.
“Sully confessed to telling Trevor’s business partner that Trevor was double-crossing him.” I relayed what Aiden had told me after he talked to Officer Shin.
“Did Aiden find out how Trevor died?” It was eerie how emotionless Julia’s question was, and I was starting to worry about her.
“He did. Officer Shin said that Trevor died from a drug overdose,” I said, causing Julia to stiffen up.
“Drug overdose?”
“Yes. Trevor’s partner knew that he liked to get coffee from the food truck when they met at Breakwater Beach, so he paid the coffee guy to slip the drug into his coffee. It wasn’t until the lab report showed the contents in Trevor’s stomach that the police had the evidence to question the coffee truck vendor. And when the police interrogated the man, he confessed that he was paid one thousand dollars to drop a pill into the cup.”
“What kind of pill was it? Did they say?” Julia asked, leaning toward me.
“It’s a drug called grey death. I don’t know much about it, but apparently it can be fatal even in small doses.”
“But the coffee guy was so friendly and helpful when we talked to him,” Julia said, shaking her head.
“Well, he didn’t know that the pill would kill Trevor. Trevor’s partner told the guy that he was playing a prank, and the pill was supposed to make Trevor go to the bathroom.”
“Oh, geez!” Julia slapped a palm to her forehead.
“I know. Anyway, the coffee vendor didn’t want to explain his involvement to the police, so he was trying to fish for information to see if he was going to get arrested.”
Julia’s jaw dropped, hearing the outlandish tale. “It sounds like it could be from a cable TV show.”
“Oh, and get this?—”
“There’s more?” Her eyes widened at the thought that things could be worse.
“Unfortunately, there is. Sully also admitted that he told Trevor’s partner that Annisa was keeping the equipment at her place. I guess whoever searched her apartment killed her because she came in while he was taking the scuba gear from her closet along with the other stuff. The police think that the person trashed the place so that it would look like a home invasion.”
Seeing Julia’s stunned face, I said, “Please don’t mention this to Tristan. Aiden got all of this information unofficially from Officer Shin.”
Julia nodded because she knew that the Monterey police officer had liked Annisa. Then, she let out a small yelp. “Sully only knew that Annisa had the gear because we told him.” She looked horrified that she might’ve done something to have caused her friend’s death.
“That’s not true. Sully pretended he didn’t know, but the truth was that Trevor told Sully that a former student was storing his stuff. He put two and two together. We didn’t have anything to do with Annisa’s murder,” I said, relaying more information that Aiden had found out.
Julia stared out the window. “I should’ve stayed with her.”
“Then you might’ve been killed, too.” I realized that I sounded harsh, so in a gentler tone, I added, “It’s not your fault.”
She nodded, but she didn’t look convinced. She crossed her hands over her chest and rubbed her arms.
When I saw her shivering, I said, “I’m going to make you a warm coffee drink. Where’s the new espresso maker that you got as a wedding present?
