Imperfect Justice_ Prosecuting Casey Anthony - Jeff Ashton [43]
In an odd twist of fate, Casey coincidentally ran into Jeff Hopkins that night at Waterford Lake Alehouse in Orlando. As investigators later learned from Jeff, he and Casey had been acquaintances in middle school and high school, but since then the two hadn’t remained in contact. At the Alehouse, they’d exchanged phone numbers, but except for an e-mail blast about a gathering at Fusian Ultra Lounge, Jeff hadn’t heard from her again. Not only were they not in contact, but Jeff, it turned out, had no children, no trust fund, no dead wife, didn’t live in Jacksonville, wasn’t interested in her, had never meet Caylee Anthony, and couldn’t provide any information about Caylee’s supposed babysitter, Zenaida.
On Thursday, July 3, Casey got her tattoo, the words “Bella Vita,” Italian for “beautiful life,” inked on her left shoulder. The tattoo artist told the police that the wording was popular among other younger customers he’d seen, as it was an expression of the desire to live the good life. Her choice had made sense to him. Since she seemed happy when he met her, he assumed she was living a bella vita. She made an appointment to return for another tattoo and even told the tattoo artist about her daughter, who was with her nanny, saying she would bring her along the next time.
Meanwhile, Cindy’s anger was growing. She was on a singular mission to see her granddaughter, trying Casey’s phone seven times that night and the next morning, without getting an answer. Eventually, Casey took a call and told her mother that Caylee was at Universal Studios, enjoying a day of fun at an event designed for the children of employees. Casey would have loved to invite Cindy, but unfortunately it was for employees only. Cindy drove there anyway, and called Casey from the parking lot, assuming that Caylee and Casey would have to come out sooner or later. Casey had been giving her the runaround about where she was for too long, and Cindy didn’t trust her anymore. Before Casey had left with Caylee in June, Cindy and she had been arguing about Casey’s lifestyle. Now Cindy felt she finally had Casey cornered.
Or so she thought. When Casey answered her mother’s call and learned that she was in the Universal parking lot, she realized she was trapped, and altered the story again—this time putting enough physical distance in the lie so that her mother couldn’t stake her out. Telling Cindy there had been a change of plans, Casey explained that Jeff Hopkins had invited her and Caylee to go to Jacksonville with him and his son. They were already en route.
After Casey hung up, George tried to call her, but he got no answer. Completely frustrated, Cindy recruited Lee to look for his sister at the clubs downtown. First, he attempted to locate Casey through the places mentioned on MySpace postings by friends. He went to one spot, but missed her by minutes. She had gotten word that he was coming and left before he arrived. He tried calling her cell phone, but she didn’t answer. He then enlisted his girlfriend to call, thinking Casey would pick up for her. They spoke briefly before the girlfriend passed the phone to Lee. Casey was nasty to her brother, blew him off, and hung up.
When Cindy heard this, she had her son create a MySpace page for her so that she could post a lengthy paragraph about hurt and betrayal for Casey to discover. Her subject line was “My Caylee is missing,” and she posted her mood as “distraught.” The seventeen-line entry was filled with sadness and anger: “What does the mother get for giving her daughter all of these chances? A broken heart. . . .” Cindy ended her indirect message to Casey with thoughts about Caylee. “Who is now watching out for the little angel?”
CASEY SPENT THE FOURTH OF July holiday shopping and celebrating. When she finally responded to Cindy’s MySpace post, Casey told her mother to leave her alone. Elaborating further