“You know the old saying—what do you give someone who’s got everything?”
Casey didn’t want to think about Christmas. Not yet. It would be her second without Reuben and Omar. Not nearly long enough to get through the holidays without trauma and a good bout of depression.
She changed the subject. “So now that I’m going to be staying in one place I won’t be nearly so interesting, right? You can go on your way?”
“You’re kidding. You think I’m going to leave without seeing how this turns out?”
“It was just a thought…”
They traveled in silence the rest of the way back to the Flamingo. Casey parked the car and used the phone on Maria’s desk to call the rental company to pick it up. She waited until they arrived, saw them off, and watched as a shiny black Harley-Davidson pulled into a parking space in the nearest row. The rider pulled off his helmet, and Casey saw that it was Del, the man she’d met in the weight room the day before. He eased off the bike, took a briefcase out of the saddlebag, and walked toward her.
“Hey. You’re still here?” He smiled, softening his words.
“Got the job.”
“Wow, that was fast. But then, Sissy doesn’t exactly—” He stopped.
Casey laughed. “I know. She’s not the most cautious employer.”
“I’m not worried. I’m sure you’ll do a great job. I told you I had a feeling about you.” He opened the door, and Casey went inside, lugging her bags.
Del took the biggest duffel and slung it over his shoulder like it weighed nothing.
“I don’t suppose you need me, though, do you?” Casey said. “I didn’t see your name on the personal training schedule.”
“I’m always happy to learn new things, if you’ve got ‘em.”
They walked together through the lobby, toward the stairs. This time she opened the door for him.
Del started up the flight. “So what apartment did they give you?”
“Second floor. Same as the last guy.” She led him to her door, and opened it.
He set her bag on the empty table. “Nice room.” He meandered over to the balcony door. “Nice view.”
“Yeah, I like it.” Together they looked down at the pool, where she saw Laurie talking with a group of seniors. It looked like she was giving them swimming pointers. Also in the pool, swimming strong laps from end to end, was the woman Casey had seen in the lobby. Her dark skin made it easy to pick her out from the other swimmers, but even more noticeable than that was her efficiency and strength in the water. She pulled up at the end of a lap and shook the water from her hair. Her head swung up, and her eyes landed on Casey. They looked at each other for several seconds before the woman turned and dove back under.
Casey was ready to ask Del who she was when he shifted on his feet. Casey followed his eyes to a couple of women walking out to the pool. It was the two most memorable members of the early class. The nice woman and the hottie.
“I suppose you met them this morning,” Del said. “Andrea and Krystal.”
“The Land of the Dead.”
“What?” Del gave a little laugh.
“That’s what they call themselves. That early class. Because they’re basically sleepwalking.”
“Right. Brandon especially liked that class.”
“Brandon, the last instructor?”
“Yeah. But he liked the senior classes, too. Gullible widows, and all.”
“He was a real piece of work, wasn’t he?”
“You’re telling me. Made it hard for the rest of us guys.” He grinned, and again Casey noticed the gap between his front teeth that gave him such a youthful look.
“Do you know who the women were that Brandon took advantage of?”
“In what way? Cleaning out their bank accounts, or breaking their hearts?”
“Or both?”
“In some cases, yeah.” He shook his head. “He played things pretty closely, but he tended to go for the women who needed attention.”
“So not Krystal.”
He laughed. “I think even Brandon was a little afraid of her. Well, I’d better get going. I’ve got a dinner date tonight, and I don’t want to be late.”
“Going someplace special?”
“The best food around.”
“And where would that be?”
“My apartment.”
Casey smiled. “Really? You’re a cook?”
“Trained at the Orlando Culinary Academy for two years.”
“But you don’t work as a chef?”
“Nope. I got sucked into corporate life, and now I know what the money’s like, it’s hard to back out. I’ve been working on details to start my own restaurant, but you need more money than I’ve got to dump into something