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Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Evie around since Derrick had disappeared. Previously, that didn’t bother Chess at all because generally, Evie wasn’t the most reliable employee. She was prone to missing work because of hangovers or for personal events. Besides, the more incompetent Evie was, the less a threat she was to Chess.
But now Chess had to wonder if Eve’s absence had something to do with Derrick.
Eyes wide with shock, Chess asked, “Was something going on between them?”
“That’s confidential.” Ortega changed the subject before Chess could ask for more information. “Have you ever been to Altoria Harbor Marina?”
Chess was so stunned by the whole Evie-Derrick relationship thing that she had to shake her head slightly and take a deep breath before answering, “Umm… yes. I’ve been there, but not recently.”
Ortega asked, “When were you last there?”
“A year… maybe a year and a half ago.” Chess wondered what her visiting the marina had to do with Derrick but she explained anyway, “A friend threw her retirement party on a boat there and I attended.”
“And you’ve never been there after that?”
“No.” Chess winced. “I’m not a fan of large water bodies.”
After that, the detectives mostly just asked questions they’d already asked before. As the interview was ending, Chess tried to get them to tell her if they had any idea where the rest of Derrick was, but they were very cagey and only gave her non-answers. By the time they let her go, she was more distressed than when she’d come in.
On her way out, she and Mark crossed paths. A uniformed officer was taking him to the interrogation room that she’d just exited. Neither she nor Mark acknowledged the other. On Chess’s part, it was because she couldn’t eliminate him from her suspect list.
Mark had the motive to hurt Derrick. If Derrick had spilled the beans on their shenanigans, HR would’ve had to take action. Mark would’ve possibly been kicked out of the competition. Knowing Mark, that possibility could’ve driven him to do even worse things than what he’d already done.
He could be the culprit.
And for that reason, Chess wasn’t interested in being chummy with him. If anything, seeing him left a bad taste in her mouth.
When she got to the waiting room, she found a pleasant surprise waiting for her.
“Tazeem!” She gasped. “What are you doing here? I told you you didn’t need to come.”
When the police had asked her to come in, her first thought had been to call Tazeem. Even though he’d just been in her life for a few months now, he’d become a vital part of her support system. Whenever something happened to her, she thought of him first. When she laughed, she wanted to laugh with him. When she cried, she wanted to be held by him. He wasthatimportant now, and it was hard for her to even remember a time when he wasn’t.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.” He crossed the room to hug her. “I was worried.”
“You didn’t need to worry.” She forced a smile. “I’m a big girl.”
As they walked out of the station hand-in-hand, he asked, “What did they want to talk about?”
“Derrick!” Mentioning his name was enough to send fresh sadness pulsing through her. “It’s his hand.”
Tazeem’s steps halted, and he sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“So am I.” Chess felt her tears start to fall again.
Most people would think that her constant crying for Derrick was absurd given how he’d betrayed her. But the betrayal didn’t matter to her any longer. All she could think about was the good times they’d had. She moaned the man who’d helped her become who she was even if it wasn’t with the best of motives.
“I know I should call Kendall,” Chess said once the tears were gone and she was in Tazeem’s car. “But I just don’t know what to say. Actually, I don’t even know if she knows yet.”
“I’m sure the police would’ve told her by now,” Tazeem said as he started the car.
“I think I’ll drop by her house this evening,” Chess said.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Tazeem frowned. “Her brother and his husband are still there with her and Frankie, right?”
“They are,” Chess confirmed.
Usually, she and Kendall’s extended family got along fine. But after they’d heard about the email accusing Chess of having an affair with Derrick, they’d distanced themselves. Kendall’s brother, Scott, had even hung up on Chess when she called to find out how Kendall was really doing since Kendall kept insisting that she was fine.
