Catalina and Diego never got over each other after high school, but years later they meet by chance, and multi-millionaire Diego sweeps her off of her feet.
*****
Diego and Catali...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I keep my hand on Cata's back as she talks to the cop. I can tell she's nervous by the way she keeps biting her thumbnail.
"I think this all started when we were in high school," she says.
The cop gives her a stern look.
"Diego and I have known each other for that long. We were high school friends. Sweethearts," she says, quickly. I fight back a grin.
"The summer after graduation, I sent him photos of me. Naked photos." She takes a deep breath and looks at the floor. "They were supposed to be for him only, but he accidentally left his phone at work, and someone found the photos and spread them around to all the kids on the island."
The cop nodded slowly. "Okay ... and what does this have to do with today's incident?"
"I think that one of the guys who got the photos had a crush on me. Maybe he even took Diego's phone back then. I don't know. His name is Jake. He was another gamer. He asked me to a dance my freshman year, and I said no."
I broke in, not quite picking up what Cata was putting down. "He was an acquaintance in high school, but he didn't have anything to do with the photos."
The cop looked more confused than ever.
Cata's voice rises a half-octave. "He had a crush on me in high school. And now he games for Diego on the weekends."
The cop shakes his head. "You mean, games with?"
"No," I say quickly. "We play video games here for an online audience. Jake's a fill in gamer."
"You get paid for playing video games?" The cop asks, skeptical.
"Um, yeah," I mutter.
"Anyway," Cata interjects, "I think he's had my photos all this time. And I think he's jealous of Diego because of a business deal. He's really the one you should be looking at. Search his computer. You'll see."
"You think Jake would swat me?" I turn to Catalina.
"Yes," she says. "Have you told him about the deal?"
I shrug. "I mentioned something before I went to Miami. Uh, he did kind of assume he'd go with me to Miami to meet with Sahara. But when I told him you were going, he seemed fine with it. I don't know. I guess."
Cata squeezes my arm and addresses the cop. "Sometimes my boyfriend doesn't read social cues that well. Jake definitely needs to be investigated."
"Now that I think about it, he did have a lot of questions about the deal." I frown. It never occurred to me not to trust Jake. I thought he was a buddy, one of the inner circle.
"Okay, give me his details, and we'll check it out. We might be able to get him for threatening you, and definitely for filing a false police report for today's little stunt if he's responsible. That could have gotten you all killed," the cop says.
