off with Tate, and I guess in Jefferson’s mind, no one does that to his son. Tate and I remained friends. His dad can’t seem to accept that.” She looked at him and grinned. “I’m grateful you were ready to rush to my defense, but seriously? He’s just an ass, and not worth the trouble!”
He grinned at her, and then his grin faded.
“We’ve got to get back to the dentist’s office,” he said.
Eighteen
They left downtown and headed back toward South Miami and the dentist’s office.
As they drove, Raina sighed. “Poor Tate.”
Axel glanced her way, lifting a brow. “Poor Tate? His dad will have him made partner in a matter of a few years. He’s a very handsome young man, pretty much has the world at his feet. But poor Tate?”
“He was ready to help us. His dad is a jerk.” She was quiet. Then she spoke softly. “Jefferson Fielding himself was around that day, thirteen years ago, and he was no kid at the time. He even followed Tate out to the campground, making sure it was safe for his son. I know he embarrassed Tate a lot, always making it sound as if he was elite, being groomed to be an incredible attorney and maybe politician. Tate was okay on his own. Like you said—good-looking, charming. He managed just fine.”
“He’s also grown now. Out of college, well over twenty-one. He could leave, if he chose.”
“I can’t imagine that kind of pressure. My parents were more like belated flower children. They wanted me to do whatever would make me happy,” Raina said.
He shrugged, and then smiled. “Mine were pretty good. They wanted me to know the culture of both the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes, which was fair. According to my dad, the Seminole is a little more liberal and the Miccosukee is a little more determined to hang on to history—and whatever the rest of my mixed-up background might have been. They were great. Belated flower children, too, believing we were all entitled to grow up to be whatever we wanted to be, as well. I guess you’re right. I knew what I wanted from a young age, and they did nothing but encourage me. Maybe it is ‘poor Tate.’ Anyway, he tried to help us. And I saw the ‘JL’ and the note Jordan left. It could prove to be very important.”
Raina gazed out the window as they drove. They were soon back in her general neighborhood, South Miami, and about to park by the dentist’s office.
“Wong seemed truly beloved,” Raina said. “Patients and staff seem to be crazy about him. Do you think it could be true someone was harassing her? It seems the only time she went out was with her friends from work.”
He didn’t answer right away. They’d pulled into a parking spot on the street near the office and his phone was ringing. He glanced her way apologetically and answered it.
He talked for a minute and then hung up, looking at her thoughtfully.
“What?”
“That was Jon. He and Kylie saw Melissa Scarborough, who is about to become Melissa Newton. She was very well dressed and she had them meet her at an upscale restaurant. She was, in Jon’s opinion, determined to help them in any way she could. Too determined. Very nice, crying over Peter, and claiming while they’d been split up, she still loved him, of course. She’d never imagined such a terrible thing. They both thought she was trying too hard. She hadn’t wanted him down in South Florida—too many criminal elements. He was a nice guy, but if he drank too much at a bar, he was prone to get into fights. She was afraid he finally managed to anger the wrong person.”
“Angela checked out all her records, right? She never did come to Florida?” Raina asked.
“We can’t find any records that suggest she came to Florida anywhere near the time he disappeared and was then found. But about a year before they split up, they were here as a couple, vacationing. They spent time in Miami and then over in Naples. Which meant they went through the Everglades, driving from east to west.”
“You said they met at an upscale restaurant and she was very well dressed?” Raina asked.
“Kylie said her clothing was designer and very expensive.”
“But they had been people who made moderate incomes.”
“Right. I’m going to call Angela and tell her there has to be a money trail somewhere,” Axel said.
She was quiet. “If she hired someone to kill Peter Scarborough,