Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 129571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Her grin widened. “Yes. Times were hard back then. Thank God she met you. Everything’s going much better.”
Were times hard? Why would your electricity go out, if you and your sons controlled South End’s drug market? Something isn’t adding up.
“Did Jasmine pay your bills a lot?” I asked.
“Almost monthly.”
“Times were hard?”
“And it was her task. We all have to give back. You can’t just eat, leave my house, and move on. There’s always a debt.”
“The electricity bill was the debt?”
“No just a reminder to take care of home.”
The stewardess brought over a small glass of brown liquid filled to the rim with ice. I grabbed it immediately and gulped the hard stuff. My tongue stung. My throat burned, yet I welcomed the pain.
“Thank you,” I said to the stewardess as she rested a glass of red wine in front of Sophia.
“We have a long trip.” She lifted her glass. “Feel free to ask me as many questions as you have. I’m in a giving mood this evening.”
Giving mood? Your daughter is with a serial killer and you’re sipping wine and feeling fine?
“According to Benny’s madman diary, you had some odd jobs in South End that would’ve provided you with a decent income.”
“That’s not a question.” She sipped her wine.
“Did Jasmine really have to pay the electricity bill?” I asked.
“No, but I already told you that in the end, it was a reminder of her debt.”
“Did she know this?”
“I tell people what they need to know at the time they need to know it.”
“So now I need to know these things?”
“Maybe. Benny’s filled your head from that journal. I might as well say what I have to say to steady the balance.”
“He thinks you’re an architect of deception.”
“That’s what he said?”
“Yes.”
“And did he provide evidence?”
“Several journals of it.”
“And now you have questions?”
“Yes, but this is good.”
“Why?” she asked.
I took a chance and simply told her, “Now you can stop pretending to be someone else.”
Silence passed as she crossed her legs and tapped her foot into the air. “Ask away. This should be interesting.”
“After we came back from France, did you know that Jasmine would ask me to pay for your electricity bill?”
“No way.” She laughed. “And she didn’t ask you to pay, did she? I would be surprised if she did. But you, I knew you would find out. You can’t just date a woman and give her privacy. Benny claimed you liked to watch your girlfriends on a 24/7 camera feed.”
“So you knew a lot about me, before I met Jasmine?”
“I found out everything I could, once the last chick of yours died. Figured it was time to do some matchmaking.”
So now we’re really done with pretending? How much do you think I’ve read about Benny?
My mouth went dry. “That’s impossible. There’s no way you could’ve gotten Jasmine and I together. I met her at Equinox’s Garden Party. My corporation hosted the entire event.”
“So then how did Jasmine get invited to your event?” She took another sip and hummed at the taste. “This is really good stuff.”
How did Jasmine get invited?
I set my glass down. “If I remember correctly, her best friend was invited. Vivian.”
“Why would Benny’s daughter be invited to the event?” Sophia signaled for the stewardess to come back over.
She rushed to Sophia. “Yes, Mrs. Montgomery?”
“Do you have any more of those chocolate, nut-covered strawberries?”
“Yes, Mrs. Montgomery.”
“Thanks for getting me some.” She displayed a bold smile. The stewardess rushed off, and my future mother-in-law returned to her wine. “So how did Vivian and Jasmine get invited to the party?”
“I don’t know. Lucy did the list, but you don’t know her.” I stirred in my seat.
“Benny had an invitation. He complained about it all night, claiming you were being an asshole and that you knew he wouldn’t come, just for the simple fact that his seating put him right across from you.”
“How did he know where he would be sitting?”
“He’d stormed to Lucy’s office, yelled about it, and then asked her how far would he be from you? She admitted that Benny would be at the head table.” Sophia traced her finger around the glass’s rim. “What made him so mad was that the event was supposed to be showcasing all of the high-end restaurants in Willow Park. It promised tons of food and wine tasting. He’d planned on taking Jasmine and the other, himself.”
“The other?”
“The white girl. His other daughter.”
“Uh, okay.”
“Then Lucy explained that you would be present and at his table.”
“Lucy never told me all of this.”
“Doesn’t matter. Benny refused to go. Lucy set a place for him anyway. Benny was pissed. He didn’t want you so close to Jasmine, which gave me a bunch of ideas.”
“What ideas?”
“Sun Tzu said many things, but in the end he was a big believer in seizing any opportunity that came. He believed once they were seized, they multiplied.”