April woke up alone in Trish's bed. She heard voices outside the bedroom door, and assumed Trish and Jasmine were already up. Finding her clothes in a neat pile, on a chair near the bed, she jumped in the shower.
Fifteen minutes later, she walked into Trish's kitchen to find her and Jasmine finishing their brunch. Trish gave her a smile and handed her a plate of food. Jasmine didn't even look at her.
She took a seat at the end of the table, putting Jasmine between her and Trish. She ate in silence while Trish and Jasmine chatted away. Trish's eyes kept darting back and forth between her and Jasmine while they talked, but Jasmine acted like she wasn't even there. Halfway through her meal, Jasmine stood up and announced she was leaving. Trish walked her to the door, they hugged, and April stared at Jasmine's back as she disappeared down the hall. The sound of Trish's voice jerked her back to the present.
"I'm sorry April. She tried to leave this morning, while you were still sleeping. I finally talked her into staying; so I thought she was willing to talk to you, maybe work things out, but..." her voice trailed off.
No, Jasmine had decided to stay just long enough to bury a knife in her heart, and then give it a good twist. It hurt. It hurt like hell. She just sat there, staring at the door, feeling like she'd just been sucker punched. Eventually, though, her Irish temper kicked in, pushing out the pain.
"Fine, Jasmine," she thought. "We're even. Even and done."
Fueled by temper, she thanked Trish and said goodbye, drove back to her hotel, took another shower, changed clothes and checked out. She headed back to New Orleans, making the hour and a half trip in an hour flat. It was temper that had her practically kicking her own door in. She threw her bags on the bed and marched out to the balcony. Hands gripping the top of the railing, she stared out over her little piece of The Quarter, lost in thought.
First, she imagined knocking Jasmine on her arrogant little ass. Then her mind started replaying last night. After that, her mind drifted to the first time they had made love, and their first kiss in front of the drug store, over three months ago. She felt tears welling up in her eyes and marched back inside, shaking them off. She stood in the middle of her apartment trying to gain control of her emotions.
She needed a game plan. She always felt better if she mapped out a course of action. She stared at her bed, marshalling her thoughts into some kind of order. She needed to call John, give him an update. Maybe he would know why Jade had chosen the name Lee Anne. Then she needed to find Jade and haul her ass back home. She'd hog tie her and throw her in the trunk of her car, if she had to. After that, she was getting as far away from this city as humanly possible, and then forgetting she had ever heard the name Dupree. Feeling calmer, she snatched up her phone and put a call in to John.
##
April eased the phone back into its cradle, actually feeling a little optimistic. John had given her a last name, St. Clair. Apparently, Lee Anne St. Clair was the sisters' mother's maiden name. It made sense, knowing Jade as she did, for her to decide to take that as her new identity. Spurred on by this new piece of information, she found her laptop and went to work.
##
Two hours later, she had a headache, sore eyes and nothing new. She couldn't find any new listings, anywhere, for a Lee Anne St. Clair in Baton Rogue. She had tried to find some information about the private club Jade was now working at, and had come up empty there, as well.
She needed a hacker. Mason had done a fantastic job for her last time, but it was now fall, Halloween was just a few weeks away, and he was back in school. She was sure he'd be happy to help her, but his time would be limited, and April didn't want to wait around. Snatching the phone back up, she called her old friend Mike from back home, hoping he could recommend someone else.
It turned out Mike had several names for her. The best one, though, was going to be hard to find. Her name was Alyshia, no last name, and Mike swore she was the best hacker on the planet. That, in April's mind, was high praise. Unfortunately, this master hacker wasn't easy to locate. Whoever she was, she kept a very low profile, communicating only through e-mail, and was usually so busy, she turned down a lot of jobs. Mike had promised to contact this woman for her, hoping she might be more willing to accept a job offer from a fellow hacker, but there was no guarantee. April decided to give it 24 hours. After that, she was moving on to the next name on her list.
The following afternoon, Mike called April back. "You're in luck. She accepted."
"Great! Thanks Mike, I owe you one."
"Yes, you do, but I'll just add this one to your tab," Mike said, chuckling.
"Ha ha. Ok, so what do I do next?"
"Pick her up at the airport. She was already on the road and emailed me that she was headed to New Orleans."
"That works. When does her flight come in?"
"Four o'clock this afternoon."
"Shit! Mike! It's 3:45. Jeez," April frantically looked around her apartment for a pen and paper. "Ok, what's the flight number?"
April scribbled the information down on the back of a pizza takeout menu and rushed out the door. She mentally crossed her fingers hoping Alyshia didn't get mad and leave before she made it to the airport.
##
Almost an hour later, April rushed into the airport, frantically checking the signs. She couldn't find the flight number posted anywhere and checked at the desk. The woman there pointed out a lounge area and explained that that was the most likely place for Alyshia to wait, unless she had gone into one of the restaurants. April sped off towards the lounge area and found a young, petite blonde woman sitting in a seat off in the corner, surrounded by several pieces of luggage. April hurried over to her.
"Alyshia?" She asked, uncertain. When the woman nodded yes, April let out a sigh of relief.
"I am so sorry for being late. By the time Mike got back to me with your flight information, your plane was probably already landing, and traffic was murder getting over here." Alyshia just nodded and started gathering her bags.
"Here, let me help you with those." April took the larger pieces. Alyshia didn't look like she'd weigh 100 pounds, soaking wet. They walked to April's illegally parked car in silence and April silently groaned. "Great," she thought, "she's angry that it took me so long to show up." She really needed this woman's help and was kicking herself for getting off on the wrong foot.
Finding the car, April loaded up the trunk while Alyshia climbed into the passenger seat. April jumped in behind the driver's wheel just as a traffic cop was about to write her a ticket. She waved, and made a show of pulling out and the cop was nice enough to wave her off, letting her go without a ticket.
