Page 7 of Deep Tide

Anyone ever tell you you’re very persistent?

Yes.

She pictured his sexy half smile as he’d waited for her to succumb to his charm and go have a drink with him, which would have turned into an invitation back to his place. He didn’t get turned down a lot—of that, she felt sure.

Leyla reached for the door, and a movement in the alley caught her eye. She stepped toward it, then jumped back as a large black bird flapped toward her.

She caught her breath and stepped forward, peering into the shadowy alley beside the surf shop. The breeze kicked up, and a stench hit her. There was something dead there. An animal or...

She lurched back, gasping.

Not an animal but a person.

Leyla’s heart seized. She recognized the hair, the shirt, the chunky silver rings on the outstretched hand.

“No. No no no no.”

Leyla’s breath came in short, shallow gasps as she fumbled with her phone and switched on the flashlight feature. She shined the light into the alley, hoping hoping hoping she was just asleep or passed out.

Leyla’s chest squeezed as the beam of light fell over the woman’s face. A line of ants marched into her lifeless mouth.

•••

Nicole Lawson gazed down at the woman seated on the curb in front of Surf’s Up. She had black nail polish and a cigarette between her fingers—which were shaking, either from nerves or nicotine or a combination of both.

“Okay, and do you typically park your bike at the rack in front?” Nicole asked, giving her a variation of the question she’d asked twice already.

“It depends,” the young store manager said. “I parked in front today because I rode here from my boyfriend’s. He lives south.”

“And are you sure you didn’t see any people or vehicles in the alley when you arrived?”

“Yes. But it was, like, five thirty when I got here. Still pretty dark.”

Nicole tamped down her frustration. This woman kept shifting her timeline. A few minutes ago it had been like, five fifteen when she arrived early at the shop to unpack the load of new inventory that had just come in. Luckily, she mentioned she had clocked in with a time card, so Nicole would probably be able to pin it down with more certainty.

She jotted a reminder in her spiral notebook to follow up with the woman’s time card.

“Okay, and, Olivia, you said the coffee shop was dark when you arrived?”

“That’s right.”

“No lights on at all?”

“No.”

“Outdoor lights?”

She glanced up, clearly exasperated to be asked about this yet again. “No. None.” She blew out a stream of smoke and flicked her ash onto the pavement.

“All right.” Nicole made a few final notes and tugged out one of the business cards she kept clipped to the back of her notepad. “Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you remember anything else that might help us.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “I can go?”

“For now, yes. We’ll definitely be in touch, probably later today. You said you guys close at six?”

“Yeah.” She jumped to her feet.

“In the meantime, don’t hesitate to call.”

---