2 Lady Luck Runs Out (18 page)

His face darkened. A strong wave of anger emanated from him. It caught me off guard. I'd never felt anger from him before. He stabbed into his salad with a vengeance. "Alba Balderas. She shouldn't have died. Very suspicious. I think your paranoia may be rubbing off on me." He looked up, giving me a soft smile.

I wanted to point out to him that I'm not paranoid but I stuffed my mouth with salad instead and let him talk.

"To the public it looks like a cut and dry case of an amateur snake collector not taking the necessary precautions, right? She was transporting the snake, didn't secure the container, it got out and bit her. Case closed." He shook his head. "But the thing is, she wasn't an amateur snake collector."

"What was she?" I asked, taking a sip of wine.

He stared at me and I could tell he was struggling with his answer. Finally his chin dropped. "I can't say yet." He reached over and squeezed my hand. "I promise, though, I'll tell you everything about this case when it's closed. It's a strange one."

"Okay." We ate in silence for a moment and then I couldn't help myself. "Hey, there's a woman who lives in those condos who's in pretty tight with the local snake collectors. In fact, she's Bernard Grayson's girlfriend. Her name is Nova Diaz. You might want to check her out."

Will suddenly started choking and coughing, grabbing for his water. I jumped up and patted his back. "Are you okay? Will? Say something!" I had heard someone with a blocked airway wouldn't be able to speak so you should make sure they can talk to you.

He held up his hand and squeaked out an, "I'm okay." I sat back down warily as he cleared his throat. He didn't look okay. His eyes were watering. His face was blotchy. He took a deep breath, stared at me and then drained his wine glass. Then stared at me again.

I was starting to feel like I did something wrong. "Will? What's wrong?"

He stood up, retrieved the wine bottle, filled his glass and topped mine off.  My stomach was beginning to knot up. I played with a piece of lettuce in my bowl. "Did I do something wrong?"

He took a long swig from his glass and then turned in the chair so he was facing me. "No. You just... surprised me, Darwin. How did you know her?"

"Nova Diaz?" He nodded. "I met her at Bernard Grayson's house the night I went to the Masquerade Ball with Zach. Though, she seemed off somehow. There are some things about her that don't add up." Should I tell him about the gun? Or about her threatening me and Zach?

His brows furrowed. "Listen, I've been thinking about this whole psychic thing with you and I have a theory. I think that you are just hyper observant. You know, like you unconsciously pick up on all these clues about people and it feels like a sixth sense."

My heart sank. He really couldn't accept the truth about me. "Right. A sixth sense based on observed facts." Facts were king in his world. It wasn't his fault, really. He'd held a certain belief all his life about psychics. I couldn't expect him to change that belief overnight. Just for me. "You're probably right." Better he thought this about me than think I was a freak. Only I was a freak. So I was back to hiding who I am from him.

"Hey." He reached out and took both my hands. "You look like I just ran over your dog. I'm trying to understand, Darwin. I mean, this is a compliment. Detectives would kill to have your observational abilities. What you picked up about... Nova Diaz, that's spot on."

I was busy trying to keep the tears at bay so I couldn't respond. Which made Will feel like he needed to keep trying to make me feel better. Which was just making me feel worse.

"Okay, I'm going to share some information with you that I shouldn't. You cannot let it this leave the room. Promise?"

I nodded half-heartedly. "Sure. Promise."

"Okay. You were right about Nova Diaz. She was hiding something. That wasn't her real name. Her real name was Alba Balderas." He paused and let that sink in.

"Alba? But," I gasped, "then it was Nova... I mean, the woman I knew as Nova... who was bitten and died?"

"Yes."

"Holy..." It was my turn to take a large swig of wine. I thought about the last time I saw Nova... er, Alba, sitting there cleaning her gun in her sundress.
She was dead?
Oh, heavens. Well, I could take her off the suspect list. Small comfort. "This can't be a coincidence, Will." I shook my head. "A second snake bite victim in St. Pete in a month?"

I wondered how Bernard had taken the news. He must be devastated. No matter how shady the guy may be, he was definitely smitten with her. I couldn't imagine him being involved in her death. Did someone who had access to his snake house steal a Jararaca from him? Or were they trying to frame him by using the same type of poisonous snake he owned?

"There's something else," Will said. "She wasn't just a snake collector. She was a special agent with the U.S. fish and wildlife service."

"What?!" You could have knocked me out of my chair with a feather. My mind was reeling with the implications of this news. "Why?" Well, that would explain her having a gun.
So, she was one of the good guys?
Her warning to be careful wasn't a threat at all, then. She really was telling me and Zach to be careful. My head was spinning. "Why was she using a different name?"

"She was working undercover. Her meeting Bernard Grayson was a set-up from the beginning to investigate an anonymous tip Fish and Wildlife received about him, and some illegal reptile dealings. They got a search warrant for Grayson's home last night but found nothing. All his snakes were legal and properly labeled and chipped." He shook his head. "You see why I know she didn't just get careless with securing the container? Something is fishy here. There's no evidence. Short of a taped confession, I don’t know how we’re going to prove someone besides the snake was responsible for her death." He smiled wryly at me. "And that wasn't a challenge for you to get involved in this."

I knew he was only trying to lighten the mood, but I was already involved. He just refused to accept why. "So, how did Bernard take the news that his girlfriend was an undercover agent?"

"Apparently he was devastated and very cooperative."

I thought about how happy he seemed with her. I couldn't believe she was gone. So sad. "When I was at his house, he told me he had one of those snakes, the Jararaca."

Will nodded. "Okay, I'll check the reports from last night and see if that snake was still accounted for."

"There's another person you might want to talk to. His name's Jet Jamison. He apparently caught a few wild rattlesnakes and one supposedly got loose right before Rose Faraday was killed."

"Where did you get that information?"

"From Sammy Harris. I was trying to figure out how the rattler that bit Rose was so close to a neighborhood. Then I talked to Jet Jamison and he wouldn't confirm or deny it having a rattler get loose. Just kind of threatened us to leave it alone."

Will sighed. "Us?"

I cringed inwardly. "Me and Zach."

 "You're not very good at leaving the investigating to the investigators, are you?"

Ouch.
"Well, no one was investigating Rose's death and Zach deserves to find out what really happened to his mother."

  "It was considered an accidental death."

"But now that Nova, I mean, Alba has died the same way, you will investigate Rose's death as murder, right?"

"Can't really interrogate a rattlesnake, Darwin."

He was frustrated. I could see that, but I couldn't tell if it was with the case or me. "But you can interrogate the person who cut the lanai screen and slipped the snake into Rose's condo."

His eyes narrowed. "Did you see something that night you're not telling me about?"

Oh heavens, I did it again. "Yes." I shook my head. "I mean no. Not
see
the way you mean. I told you, I get visions from animals and the night we found Lucky, when I touched her, I saw a person in a black hooded jacket slipping the snake into the lanai." There, full disclosure. What he did with the information was up to him. "Maybe you could check out Jet Jamison's alibi for that night?"

Will ran a hand roughly through his hair and blew out a long sigh. "You know what? I've discussed too much with you already. You shouldn't be involved and..." He pushed his chair back. "I don't know what you want me to say. I mean, if you weren't physically there to see a person in a black jacket by her lanai that night, then it's just fantasy, Darwin. It's not evidence. I can't go accusing people of murder if I don't have real evidence."

I saw him wince when the words came out, instantly regretted them. Still, they stung. I swallowed the lump in my throat and turned away.

I felt his frustration like a desert heat wave. "I'm sorry," he offered. "I shouldn't have said that. I should go."

I stood up with him, carrying our bowls to the kitchen just to have something to do. I felt numb. Lucky stared up at me from the back of the sofa as I passed with a look that bordered on pity. I put the dishes in the sink and then rooted through my straw bag as Will went to the door.

"It's okay." I swiped at a warm tear that had escaped as I approached him. "Better I know now how you feel." I put the ring box in his hand. "It shouldn't be this hard, right?"

He closed his fist around the box, his eyes shut. Mallory came home at that moment. When she saw my face, her smile faded and she moved quietly to the kitchen.

"Darwin..." Will's voice was husky with emotion.

I shook my head. "It's okay. You should go."

His eyes fell to the floor, he nodded and then left.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

I stood on the porch where it had all begun. Rose's condo. I had to marvel for a moment at the serendipity of life. If my sister hadn't shown up and decided she wanted to take the ghost tour, we would never have found Lucky. Or, more accurately, she wouldn't have found us. I wouldn't have had the vision of the person in the black jacket slipping the rattlesnake into Rose's lanai, and Rose's death would have been just an unfortunate accident. And the murderer would have forever gone free. A part of me wished that's the way it had happened. But, it didn't. So, here I was.

I shook my head and raised my hand to knock. The door opened before I could touch it. Zach—or more accurately, his tall frame and broad shoulders—took up the bulk of the doorway, his dark hair wet and glistening, like his eyes. His shirt was unbuttoned and a towel was slung over his shoulder.

"Sorry," I stammered, mentally kicking myself for letting my gaze slip down his bare chest to the tattoo across his ribcage: symbols with dark, slashing lines that looked like a word in a foreign language. "Bad time? I can come back."

He stepped back, an amused smile pulling at his mouth. "Never a bad time for you. Come in."

I followed him into the living room, clutching my straw bag close to my body as I took in the condo. The walls had been painted a dark green satin finish; thick burgundy curtains with tassels adorned the windows; a gold chandelier and spun gold tapestry hung heavy in the room. The fireplace mantel held a myriad of photos in ornate frames and various statues, and the place was saturated with the scent of jasmine. Goosebumps formed on my arms. The air conditioner was on full blast, and it was freezing.

As I sat down on the edge of the leather sofa, I noted curiously that it didn't match the rest of the cream velour furniture. Zach tossed aside a satin plum throw pillow and lowered himself onto the loveseat across from me, thankfully buttoning up his shirt.

"So," I began, clearing my throat, "I talked to Will last night and I have some new information for you."

"Go on."

I had thought long and hard on the way over here about whether I should tell Zach about this. After all, I had promised Will this information wouldn't leave my townhouse. But, in the end, this was bigger than me and Will's relationship and bigger than one person's promise. This was about stopping a murderer. I just hoped I could live with the guilt.

I took a deep breath. Now or never. "So, it turns out that Nova Diaz was the woman who died from the snakebite in the Beachside parking lot. Her real name was Alba Balderas and she was an undercover agent for U.S. Fish and Wildlife."

Zach stared at me for a moment as the information sank in. "Really?" He finally shifted in his seat.  "U.S. Fish and Wildlife? So, she was investigating Bernard Grayson, I assume?"

I nodded. "Apparently there was an anonymous tip about illegal reptile dealings. But, Will said they searched his place last night and didn't find anything."

"Seems a bit extreme, putting in an undercover agent just because of one anonymous tip." Zach rubbed his hair with the towel. "I didn't even know they had undercover agents."

I stared at the crystal ball on the coffee table. I wondered if Zach used it. "You're right. Will probably just didn't give me the whole story." That thought made me flush. It hadn't occurred to me until that moment. I felt the distance between me and Will expand. I guess he was right in not trusting me with more information. After all, I did just betray his confidence. What kind of person was I turning into? When I glanced up, Zach was staring at me thoughtfully.

"You told Will about your vision of the person slipping the rattler onto the lanai?"

Was I that transparent?
I sighed. "Yes."

"And he didn't take it seriously?"

"No. He thinks I'm just hyper observant or something. Oh, and the fact that I wasn't physically there to see the person slip the snake into the lanai, that makes it a fantasy."

"Ouch," Zach said. "Well, he may just need time to process, Darwin. Humans are...well, human. They don't like their beliefs about how the world works shaken up."

I smiled at his attempt to cheer me up. "Thanks. I hope you're right. But, in the meantime, it's up to us to come up with some hard evidence against your mother's and Alba's murderer. Any ideas?"

 He stared behind me for a moment. "Well, Bernard is sounding more and more like our guy, especially if he was being investigated by the authorities. And now that he knows he's being investigated, we don't have much time."