Chapter Thirteen #2
“Everyone eats at the Sunrise Café,” Stella said. “Seriously? Rafferty tried to imply that Shabina’s café had something to do with their deaths?”
“Bale Landry is Rafferty’s nephew,” Shabina informed them, as if they didn’t know or wouldn’t remember. “He once called the cops and accused me of trying to poison him. Maybe it’s a family thing.”
“I want to hear about the dead bodies,” Harlow insisted. “I feel like I’ve got half the story and it isn’t making sense.”
Shabina wiped discreetly at her eyes and then sat up straight, squaring her shoulders. “Apparently, four people died within forty-eight hours of one another. Strangely, two were involved in single-car accidents and two were camping. One of the campers was found in his car.”
“Why in the world would Rafferty get the idea to connect the deaths?” Stella asked. “Single-car accidents happen on these roads often.”
“Actually, there is a connection between the deaths, Stella, and it isn’t Shabina’s café.
Rafferty knew that, but he’s a vengeful man, and Rainier made him look small.
He and Bale had always been close, but after the altercation in Shabina’s café, Bale blamed him for not getting him out of trouble.
Bale’s mother was angry with Rafferty. She doesn’t live here, but Bale complained to her, and she contacted Rafferty and let him know how unhappy she was with him. ”
“She wasn’t so unhappy that she came to visit Bale,” Stella muttered.
“No, from what I gathered in her emails to both Bale and Rafferty, she despises the country and isn’t ever going to set foot here again. I don’t just mean the Eastern Sierra. Bale’s mother is living in Chile.”
“She’s living in Chile?” Vienna echoed. “For some reason, I thought she lived in Australia. Why did I think Australia?”
“She did live there with Bale,” Raine explained.
“It was during the summers when she had visitation. Bale’s father had primary custody, and his mother traveled all over the world.
She took him on holidays and during the summer.
Her main residence is in Chile. It turns out she holds dual citizenship.
She was born in Chile. She had taken him to Chile when he was a teen, and he apparently despised being there, so she stuck with Australia in the summers.
I know this from the exchanges in court between lawyers. ”
Harlow was stunned. It had never occurred to her that Bale’s mother wasn’t born and bred in the United States.
Bale was far too prejudiced against women, especially women who might not be native.
Shabina and Zahra were his constant targets, although Shabina had been born in Houston.
Her father’s family went back generations in Texas.
Bale hadn’t cared. He was determined to drive her out of town.
To find out that his mother was born in Chile was a real shock.
As far as she knew, Bale had a decent relationship with his mother.
“Would you explain the real connection these deaths have?” Harlow asked.
“The first to die was Malone Armstrong. He was twenty-seven and an avid backpacker. He’d come alone to Yosemite for a two-week backpacking trip and was found dead in his car.
No record. He worked for a construction company in San Francisco.
He died from some kind of toxin or venom.
The same way Lawyer and Helen died,” Raine said.
“That’s the connection. Each of these deaths can be attributed to the same venom.
Ray and Doug Camello were climbers. They were driving back to their camp near the hot springs when they suddenly veered off the road.
One witness said it appeared both men were having violent seizures. ”
“Both of them were having seizures? At the same time? In their car?” Harlow frowned, trying to think. Two men. “Brothers? They could have had epilepsy or been violently allergic to something.”
“They didn’t,” Vienna said. “I was on shift when they were brought in. They didn’t have any illness that would cause seizures.
They presented as if they were bitten by a very toxic, very venomous snake.
One, Doug, had two distinct puncture wounds on the back of his neck.
There wasn’t swelling at that site, and we almost missed it.
We were desperately trying to stop the continual seizures. ”
“Lawyer had seizures toward the end,” Harlow said. “Did you find a bite mark on the other one? Ray?”
“We didn’t,” Vienna admitted.
“Martha, the medical examiner, did find what appeared to be a bite mark under Ray’s arm,” Raine said.
“It looked suspicious to her, although she couldn’t easily identify the punctures as a snakebite.
As always, she did a toxicology report on Doug, Ray and Malone and the fourth victim, Tammy Dailly.
So far, she’s run into the same thing she did when Lawyer, Helen and the others died.
She couldn’t find what caused the toxin in their bodies. ”
“And the last victim? Tammy? How did she die?” Harlow prompted. That bad feeling she had returned with a vengeance. Something was very off in the town of Knightly.
“She was twenty-six and was meeting her fiancé in Yosemite. Her fiancé, Tim, thought the camping trip was some kind of test for him to see how he did camping and hiking. She was avid about both pursuits and had been introducing him to the things she loved most. She told him she couldn’t do without a regular visit to Yosemite twice a year to reset.
Tim had to work until early yesterday morning.
He drove straight to the campground and found her,” Raine reported.
“Something is really off,” Stella said. “How can that many people die of the same thing, but we can’t figure out the cause? I’m beginning to think a lab experiment gone wrong or a hybrid snake might really be a thing.” She paused and lowered her voice even more. “Or a serial killer.”
“Rafferty knew those deaths had nothing to do with Shabina’s café,” Zahra said. “He was trying to make amends to Bale. His sister must have a lot of clout with him.”
“But does she with Bale?” Raine wondered aloud. “His reaction to women he perceives as being from other countries says something different.”
“I’ve had enough therapy for a hundred people,” Shabina said. “Raine’s right. The fact that Bale targets every woman that he even thinks might be from another country would say he has mommy issues.”
“Who would have thought?” Vienna said.
“But what about Rafferty? Why would he bend over backward for his sister when he didn’t for Bale? He knows he’s being looked at by the FBI,” Zahra pointed out. “Yet for his sister, who doesn’t even live in this country, he takes that risk.”
“I didn’t read the ME’s private notes. She has an online journal where she writes down her thoughts and speculations if she thinks her victim was murdered.
I thought it better if we first came up with our own theories.
We seem to do better that way,” Raine said.
“And Shabina, stop worrying. I did damage control immediately on the internet and somehow old negative articles written on the sheriff surfaced all over again.”
Shabina made a face. “I just don’t understand what the point was. He eats here all the time. Does he think I’m going to welcome him?”
“A better question is,” Raine said quietly, “does he think Rainier won’t retaliate?”
Shabina slumped back in her chair. “Great. Now I have to worry about my man getting in trouble with local law enforcement.”
“Your man would never be seen or identified,” Raine said, “and you know it. You just don’t always agree with his methods of protecting you.”
Shabina sighed. “I’m kind of annoyed at Rafferty for putting me in a position where I have to confront my husband and let him know I’m not down with his idea of protection. It’s so time-consuming.”
They all looked at her. “No, it is. If we don’t agree, the rule is, we have to talk it out. I thought that was a great rule at first because Rainier doesn’t like to talk. I thought for certain I would run circles around him with arguments. I’m very inventive.”
Raine burst out laughing. “I know exactly what you’re talking about. Rush is the strong, silent type. When we’re at odds over something I can only pray he’ll remain silent.”
“Rainier suddenly decides he’s some kind of statesman and waxes lyrical for hours on end. He can come up with more arguments than you could possibly conceive of. It’s insane how good he is at debating.” Shabina put her head on the table, looking very much like Zahra for a moment. “That man.”
Harlow had to smile. Even when Shabina issued her soft “that man,” as if she was so exasperated, she spoke in the most loving tone imaginable.
“He’d better not be walking on you,” Zahra said. “We talked about this. You told me if something really meant a lot to you, he backed off.”
“He always backs off, unless it’s a matter of health or safety. Then we discuss. This, unfortunately, would come under the heading of safety. At least he thinks so.”
“He’s right,” Raine said. “And I don’t back him lightly.
Unfortunately, Rush has decided he needed to move in with me to ensure his hard work on my leg isn’t compromised.
He’s just like Rainier. I argue with him just for the practice most of the time because when it comes to my health, he’s right.
Just don’t ever let him know I admitted that. ”
“So, just asking,” Stella said. “Harlow brought up the possibility that there is another serial killer in Knightly. We all kind of believed the odds were astronomical against it. And no one was in the car with the latest victims, but hear me out. Could they have been injected with something? If the person used a device that looked like a snakebite, could they be killed right in front of witnesses? The killer creates an accident, is there on scene, and injects his victims with the toxin that will kill them.”