Chapter 12
With her wet hair draped over the towel around her shoulders, Paradise sat on the floor in front of the fire crackling in
the fireplace with all the kittens on her lap. The aroma of her plumeria shampoo had replaced the stink of pond water. She’d
finally stopped shivering and warmth crept through her muscles. Blake, Jenna, and Drew had listened in silence as she went
through what had happened out at the pond.
Blake settled beside her and showed her the pet collar in his hands. “Someone put this on the bridge to lure you out.”
Drew paced the floor beside them. “While you were taking a shower, I went out there. I retrieved some of the boards. The bridge
was sabotaged to collapse when you got out there. This was no accident.”
Paradise flinched. “I could have broken a leg.”
“Or worse,” Blake said. “That gator could have kept on coming.” He pointed to a small button of plastic. “There’s a tracking
device on this collar too. It connects to someone’s smartphone.”
“Did you try easing away from the leopard once you saw it?” Drew asked.
She nodded. “Every time I tried to move a few inches, the leopard’s tail lashed even more. I kept an eye on him but didn’t challenge him with direct eye contact. I’d used the board I had on the gator, and I wasn’t close enough to any tree limbs to arm myself that way. I knew you’d come.”
A lump formed in her throat at those minutes of terror. She would never be at ease around big cats, especially jaguars. She
wasn’t frozen in fear now, but she had a healthy fear and respect for them in the wild.
She rose and headed for the kitchen. “I’m going to make coffee. I don’t think I’ll be going to sleep anytime soon. Anyone
else want a cup?”
“Me,” the men chorused behind her.
Blake followed her and crossed the kitchen to the fridge. “Mom made brownies too.”
She nodded and got the coffee going. “Someone seems determined to frighten me.” She turned at Drew’s footsteps.
He took down three mugs and set them by the coffeepot. “I’m the catalyst that started it all, Sis. The killer knows he’s in
the bull’s-eye of our investigation. He’s afraid the truth is going to come out. Whoever killed your parents—and my father—is
still out there. He lives nearby and has been able to observe everything we’re doing to get to the truth.”
The word sis on his lips brought a lump to her throat. This wasn’t only for her to figure out. They were all in this together—Blake, Jenna,
Drew, even Abby and her cousins. The truth would have to come out when faced with such a formidable force as all of them bound
by love.
Blake set the plate of brownies on the counter and whipped out his phone.
“Let’s make a plan of attack. Trisha and Wes were helpful.
We need to talk to Donald Phillips, the HR manager who used to work with your mom at Tupelo Grove University.
We could go see him tomorrow after the governor’s aide leaves. ”
Drew snagged a brownie. “I’d like to talk to the detectives on the original case. I know the lead investigator died, but others
would have been working it too. I’ll talk to Jane Dixon tomorrow while you’re with the governor’s aide.”
“And we have the family picnic on Sunday,” Blake said. “That might give us some new leads.”
“We need to track down neighbors who lived on the street back then,” Drew said.
“One of them works here,” Paradise said. “Evan lived on the block. He was in his teens then. I’ve talked to him, but you’re
trained at interrogation. He might remember something he didn’t tell me.”
She took a brownie and bit into it. The soft, chewy chocolate taste was heaven after swallowing too much pond water. She kept
remembering the leopard’s blue eyes fixed on her and the way its tail lashed. “I just thought of something. What if the leopard
belongs to Creed? If he had a pet lemur, he could have a pet leopard. I think we need to check out his premises.”
“He’d never let us on the property,” Blake said. “But we could have Mason send a drone over it.”
Their teenage volunteer at the park was obsessed with his drones. “That’s a great idea,” Paradise said.
Drew pulled a notepad from his shirt pocket and scribbled in it. “You remember anyone else who lived nearby?”
“Doris Martinez lived next door to us. I don’t know where she is now though.”
Jenna came through the doorway, her dark brown bob tousled and her blue eyes sleepy.
“Doris lives at an independent-living place in Pelican Harbor. I didn’t remember she was your neighbor, Paradise.
And I know her well. We can all go visit her when we can.
And interrogate me. Maybe I’ll remember something I’ve forgotten.
” Jenna yawned. “But not tonight. I heard you all talking and was afraid I was missing something. Seven will arrive before we know it. You should all go to bed. Coffee at midnight is a terrible idea.”
But the aroma was more than Paradise could resist. “We’ll quiet down so you can sleep. The boys will be crawling in bed with
you before you know it.”
“I won’t get much sleep on the sofa anyway,” Blake said.
Paradise was sleeping with Levi tonight, and he tended to sprawl crossways. She was wired enough not to sleep even without
coffee. In spite of the close call tonight, she had hope they might get to the bottom of all this.
Blake raised the pot in his hand toward the governor’s aide, Angela Burns, seated on the sofa in the park’s reception room.
“Coffee?”
She’d arrived promptly at nine in a short-sleeved navy dress with sensible pumps. He knew she was in her mid-fifties, but
she looked younger and her arms were toned and muscular. Her soft white hair accentuated her angular features and youthful
skin. She must have gone gray early.
Angela crossed her ankles and smiled. “I’d love some, thank you.” Her shrewd blue eyes narrowed on Paradise, who carried a
plate of brownies toward her. “I’m glad you could join us, Ms. Alden. I didn’t get a chance to talk to you last time, but
the governor is very interested in your role here at the park.”
Paradise set the brownies on the coffee table in front of the sofa and took a seat in a chair opposite the governor’s aide. “I was trained in exotic animal veterinary science, and I’m privileged to take care of the many animals here at the refuge.”
Angela reached for her cup of coffee and thanked Blake. “I hear you’re originally from this area and returned after many years
away. Where did you live?”
“In Nova Cambridge, four miles away across the Kate Norris Bridge. I left when I was fifteen.”
Blake caught Paradise’s haunted expression. “She’s been a terrific asset. She knows so much about all the animals, from the
lemurs to the snakes.”
Angela shuddered. “I abhor snakes. A run-in with a copperhead is what finally drove me inside to the gym instead of running
along trails. Terrible creatures.”
Paradise shot Blake a smile of thanks. “Most people hate snakes. I find the boas fascinating.”
“I’ll let you deal with them.”
Blake glanced at his watch. “When would Governor George like to come to The Sanctuary, and what does she want to do while
here?”
Burns smiled. “Keeping us on topic, I see. We’d like to come in two weeks. The governor would like to have a special tour
with the tigers with details about their majesty and strength. We’ll have media here to record the animals in the background
while she talks about her determination to fight for high-paying jobs and adequate housing in Alabama. Since her first visit,
supporters have been calling her ‘the Tigress.’ Seeing the big cats in their natural habitats will enhance her messages about
fighting for constituents. She’s happy about the exposure her ad will give to the park, but even though her presence will
lift up The Sanctuary, she’s donating a hundred thousand dollars to the park and will present that check while the reporters
are here.”
Blake exchanged an excited glance with Paradise. “That’s very generous, and we’re happy to assist the governor.”
Burns took a final sip of her coffee and rose to gather her handbag. “I’ll let Governor George know. She and I will arrive
with the crew at 8:00 a.m., and we plan to begin shooting at nine. We’ll start with video of the big cats in their dens or
whatever you call where they sleep. That will be used for clips about housing. I think we should be done by lunch or a little
after.”
Blake walked her to the door and opened it. “Thank you again, Ms. Burns.” He shut the door behind her and did a fist pump
before picking up Paradise and twirling her in his arms. “A hundred grand! We can expand some of the habitats. I’d especially
like to enlarge the range for the big cats.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on. “I can’t believe how quickly things have changed. A month ago we were in
danger of losing everything, even ownership and what you and your mom invested. God is good.”
“He’s good all the time, even when things look bleak. Even if we lost it all, he’s still good.” He set her back on the ground
and kissed her, lingering over the softness of her lips and the sweet scent of her breath. “Someone sneaked a brownie when
no one was looking,” he teased. “I think this is cause for a celebration and I’ll have one myself.”
He kept possession of her hand, and they walked to the plate of brownies where he snagged the largest piece. He ate the sweet
chocolate reward with thankfulness welling in his chest. It was like Paradise had said—their circumstances had changed so
quickly it almost gave him whiplash.
Paradise reached for her coffee. “I liked Angela. She seemed genuinely engrossed in what we do here. I wonder if her initial interest is what led the governor to come here in the first place. Had she ever visited before she brought Governor George here?”
“She looked familiar, so maybe she came with her family. I should have asked her. People tell people who tell people, and
the cycle continues.”
The door opened and his mother entered. “How’d it go?”
He grinned at the hopefulness in her voice. “The governor is going to use the park as a backdrop for some of her new campaign
ads. They’re calling her ‘the Tigress’ now.” He held up his hand when his mother clapped her hands. “That’s not all. She’s
donating a hundred thousand dollars to the park!”
His mom put her hand to her mouth and her eyes filled with tears. “Blake, you have to be kidding me.”
“No joke, Mom. I wouldn’t do that to you. I’m already planning how to spend it.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I’m so thankful. Wait until I tell Frank.”
“I can’t wait to tell Drew. He’s heading this way.” Paradise motioned through the window for her brother to join them.
Drew entered a few moments later. “You’re all smiling so I assume it went well.”
“It couldn’t have been better.” Paradise told him what had happened. “Did you talk to Jane Dixon?”
“I did. There’s one other officer around who might know something about the case. He lives out on Fort Morgan Road. I called
him and arranged for us to talk to him tonight after dinner if you want to come along.”
Blake’s spirits soared even more at the hope in Paradise’s face, but he worried that solving the murders might prove harder
than saving The Sanctuary.