Did he actually care about Summer’s safety, or was this just an act? “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” She watched one wrestler pin another down, prompting more shouts and obscenities.
“Jasmine had a real mom who’s been sick, and a half sister, Gabrielle, who showed up at her place two days before she was shot,” Wesley remarked.
Casey turned and saw sweat fall from the tip of his nose. “Jasmine told you that?”
“Yep, she came over Sunday night with her boy.” He wiped the back of his neck. “The half sister told her to stay away from the family. So, if the sister stayed in town and followed Jasmine around, she would have seen her friends and known where some of us live.”
“How would Gabrielle know about the guns in your closet? Did you show them to Jasmine that night?”
“Why would I? Someone at work could have tipped off the broad.”
Unlikely. Two more guys strutted past Casey. She kept her focus on Wesley. “Did you notice a change in Jasmine’s mood that night?”
“She was griping about family shit and how her apartment sucked.”
“Really? I thought Jasmine had it made there. She could keep as many pets as she wanted and had a babysitter close by.”
“She wanted to be near her mom.”
“Gabrielle wouldn’t have liked that.”
“Jasmine wouldn’t give a crap.”
“True.”
The combatants in the ring threw themselves at each other with a ferocity that made Casey cringe.
“What if Noel really can walk?” Wesley asked. “What if he could reach the top shelf in my closet?”
“I’ve wondered about that as well.” Casey slung her purse strap over her shoulder. “Noel and Jasmine were just friends, though, weren’t they? Like you and Jasmine.”
“No, not like me and Jasmine,” he shot back. “Noel asked her to marry him. She showed me the ring Sunday night. Wanted to know what I thought.”
Whoa. Neither Noel nor Marie had thought to mention this. “What did you think?”
“That it was a bad idea. She didn’t love him. She planned to give it back.”
Noel had told Casey he and Jasmine argued Monday night. What else had the guy kept from her? “Why did Jasmine even take the ring?”
“She said she’d been too shocked to say anything.” He rubbed his hair. “I think she wanted to use it to make de Luca jealous.”
“Did she show Roberto the ring?”
“Don’t know, ask him.”
Two spectators began yelling and shoving each other. A third man tried to break them up. Casey moved to the door.
“Could you still help?” Wesley followed her. “I wouldn’t blab it around like that mouthpiece you work with.”
No, she couldn’t, but to tell him on his own turf without appearing to think it over wouldn’t be smart.
“I’ll let you know. Have you ever taken photographs of Jasmine?” She should probably let it go, but that picture of a sleeping Jasmine still bothered her.
“Casey, in all the years we’ve worked at MPT, have you ever seen me with a camera or even talk about stupid photography?”
“It’s just that I saw snapshots of Jasmine and Jeremy in her locker. The one of Jasmine was taken in her bedroom, and she looked like she was asleep.”
Wesley scowled. “Ask de Luca about it.”
She already had. Why wasn’t anyone admitting they’d snapped a picture of Jasmine at a vulnerable moment? Maybe Noel hadn’t been honest about that either.
FOURTEEN
RELUCTANT TO ATTRACT ATTENTION, CASEY slipped into Mainland’s admin building and hurried upstairs to the security department. Between this morning’s disturbing chat with Wesley and yesterday’s phone threat, she felt as vulnerable on Mainland property as she did anywhere else, and increasingly suspicious of coworkers. Roberto had lied about his alibi, Wesley owned the weapon that killed Jasmine, and Marie was desperate to exonerate her brother. Then there was the VP’s puzzling behavior.
First, a solemn David Eisler had come to her home asking about Jasmine’s gravesite, but later he didn’t want her name mentioned at work. Worse, he’d been harassing Jasmine. No wonder Mainland Public Transport felt more like a landmine-filled war zone than the safe, cheerful place she’d enjoyed and respected.
As for Noel, she understood why he’d kept his proposal to Jasmine a secret, but she sure as hell didn’t like it. Did Corporal Lundy know about it? Did Marie?
And what else had Roberto lied about? She was so disappointed in him. She knew he craved female company, but to string Jasmine along so he wouldn’t be alone was disgusting. His New Westminster apartment was only a fifteen-minute drive from Jasmine’s place in Coquitlam. Had Jasmine threatened to make his life a living hell if he didn’t commit to her?
Casey entered the long rectangular room. Mercifully, it looked like everyone had left for lunch. She removed a Post-it note stuck to her computer screen. “Timesheets by 2:00 PM today! No excuses! ASS.” Amy Sarah Sparrow had struck again.
“Good, you’re here.” Marie entered the room, carrying a coffee and muffin.
“Just to do my timesheet.”
“Is Summer okay? How’s your head?”
“She’s fine; my head is sore.”
“Maybe you should call Noel to let him know you’ve quit the team.”
Team? Is that what she called it? “Why can’t you tell him?”
“I thought you’d want to tell him yourself. Noel said you and he hit it off.”
Meaning what? That they were best buds now? “You can tell him.” She removed a notepad from her purse and flipped to the page of recorded hours.
“Look, I know you’re afraid for Summer but, as a courtesy, you really should call him.”
“Courtesy, huh?” Casey stood. “Why didn’t you or Noel tell me he’d proposed to Jasmine? That would have been courteous, Marie.”
Marie frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“Jasmine showed someone the engagement ring from your brother, and told the friend she was giving it back.”
Two cherry patches spread over Marie’s cheeks. Behind her, a couple of clerks strolled into the room. They nodded to Casey and wandered past them.
“Noel said that he and Jasmine fought the night before she died,” Casey added, lowering her voice. “He skipped the part about proposing to her.”
“That’s because it didn’t happen. Who told you this crap?”
“Talk to Noel. As I said, I’m not investigating Jasmine’s murder anymore.” Casey sat and turned to her computer screen.
“It can’t be,” Marie murmured. “Noel and I have always been close. He never mentioned being in love, and Jasmine was my best friend. She told me everything.”
“Obviously not.” Casey opened the template. “Since Jasmine turned him down, maybe you were the last person she wanted to discuss this with.” Casey looked up. “Did Jasmine ever say anything about moving to Parksville?”
“No, why?”
“No reason.” She turned back to the screen. Wesley seemed to know more about Jasmine’s life than Marie did. Maybe the friendship between the two women was more one-sided than Marie wanted people to think.
“Did Roberto tell you all this garbage?”
“I have to get this done, Marie.”
Through the palms and dracaena dividing security from the other departments, Casey spotted the accounting staff going about their business more quietly than usual.
“Wesley told you, right?” Marie asked. “He was really into Jasmine. Probably wants to divert the blame from him, seeing as how it was his gun that killed her.”
Casey caught the employees’ stares. Great, everyone at Mainland would know before the day was over. “How do you know about the gun?”