Chapter Nineteen #3
Harlow took a deep breath. “They aren’t black widows.
” No one responded, so she continued. “I think my photograph, Frost and Venom, was the target at the Grill. I believe I inadvertently took pictures of the killer’s spider nests.
Those rocks and the small tree branches scattered on the ground in front of the barn.
The evidence was right there on Alek Donovan’s wall.
The killer had to get rid of it someway, so he threw paint over all the artwork surrounding it so undue attention wouldn’t be drawn to my work. ”
“Oh no. If you’re right, we put Guadalupe directly in his sights when we asked her to look into the property to see if we could buy it,” Stella said.
“Exactly,” Harlow agreed. “Unfortunately, I think the spiders are Sydney funnel-web spiders. The males, when looking for mates, which they would be this time of year, are at peak venom and extremely aggressive. Their bite is powerful and can even penetrate shoe leather. They have distinctive bites. Dogs get very sick but don’t die from the bites. ”
Every head was shaking, even Raine’s, although she didn’t look convinced that Harlow was wrong.
Harlow took a sip of water and forced herself to continue. She had known her theory wasn’t going to be well received. She didn’t blame anyone. The Sydney funnel-web spider was one of the deadliest spiders in the world and supposedly only found in Australia.
“There are actually three different species of the Sydney funnel-web spider,” she went on.
She figured she might as well just tell them what she was thinking and why.
“Bale spent a great deal of time in Australia. He lived there for an entire summer. There’s a program where volunteers help milk the spiders.
They produce lifesaving antivenom. Bale very well could have helped with that program. ”
“That’s true, that he did spend time in Australia,” Raine agreed.
“He actually spent a great deal of time in Australia with his mother. It shocked me that she had been born in Chile. Bale and his father despised foreigners, especially women, so much that it didn’t occur to me that all of this hatred was about his mother. ”
“I thought he loved her,” Stella admitted. “But now that I think about it, neither Bale nor his father spoke about her.”
“I only heard he would go to Australia to meet her, so I just assumed they had a good relationship,” Raine said. “That’s what I get for making assumptions instead of looking for facts.”
“The truth is, no one here would think to test for the particular toxin associated with a Sydney funnel-web spider,” Harlow said. “Why would they?”
Vienna shook her head again. “How would he smuggle them into the United States? Seriously, this is crazy. It’s even crazier that I’m considering it could be true.”
It was Raine who answered. “There is an entire black market dedicated to acquiring any animal, reptile or even arachnid someone is willing to pay money for. Most of the time they are in shipping containers coming in. It would be impossible to open every single container and inspect it. There’s no doubt that Bale, having been to Australia, could have made those contacts.
I can try looking up shipping labels, but he would never have had them sent directly to him.
Bale might be a very vicious man, but he’s cunning. ”
“People pay for spiders?” Shabina asked.
“They pay for all sorts of things, from tigers to crocodiles and deadly snakes,” Raine said. “It’s a thriving business.”
Zahra gave a delicate little shudder. “Great, now we all have to worry about these creepy spiders crawling out of our showerheads. I saw Arachnophobia. That movie was terrifying.”
“It was hilarious,” Stella countered.
Zahra shook her head. “I had nightmares for months. I couldn’t even go into a barn or look at a spider without freaking out.
I’m just getting over it, and now you’re telling me killer spiders are real and they’re right here in Knightly, thanks to a psycho killer who hates me.
” She cuddled Misty close to her. “At least my baby is safe.”
“Bale has been increasingly erratic in his behavior,” Harlow continued, ticking off her reasons for believing she was on the right track.
“He’s afraid of Rainier and Sam and Zale.
You know he is. He isn’t going to openly come after any of us.
So he crawls into his house and thinks up a revenge no one will ever tie to him. ”
“You think he owns the property we were looking to purchase,” Stella guessed.
“Yes, it fits,” Raine answered for her. “His family is one of the oldest that settled here a hundred years or more ago.”
“Would someone really think to bring spiders that are lethal into another country when we have no antidote?” Vienna asked. “When we wouldn’t even think to test for that particular toxin?”
Like Harlow, Vienna was a nurse. She’d witnessed firsthand the terrible suffering and eventual deaths they hadn’t been able to prevent. The idea that someone had deliberately caused that kind of agony was so wrong, it was almost inconceivable to either of them.
Raine took a sip of her water and then carefully closed her laptop.
“In my opinion, yes, Bale is capable of such a despicable act. He’s been deteriorating for some time now.
He’s afraid of Rainier, and with good reason.
He can’t openly threaten any of us, and he knows that.
He believes his friends have all turned their backs on him.
He believed his uncle did as well. Clearly, he has mental health issues, and no one had ever checked his behavior until Rainier stepped in.
Until Shabina got an order of protection against him.
That humiliated him. He believed he owned Knightly and could do whatever he wanted.
To have a woman, or group of women, dethrone him and take away the men who always did everything he ordered was too much for him.
That’s my opinion. I think he unraveled. ”
“I doubt he brought any females with him,” Harlow speculated. “He wouldn’t have any use for them. He had to have brought a specific number of males. I have no idea how he managed it.”
“He has far more money than any of us realized,” Raine said. “He owns quite a few properties he rents out. And if he is the owner of the property we’ve been looking into, he has a trust that most likely has other extremely lucrative businesses or properties in it as well.”
“Why would he want Giselle Gentry dead?” Zahra asked. “That’s always bothered me. If she really was the first victim, why target a very old lady?”
Harlow let Raine answer. She was still trying to figure out how best to get law enforcement to believe them enough that they would investigate Bale.
They had absolutely no real proof. If their theory sounded far-fetched to them, it certainly would to the investigators.
Regardless of their belief that Bale’s mental health was diminishing, he was still a very prominent businessman and a member of one of the founding families of Knightly.
He also had garnered quite a bit of sympathy since he was the one who had found his uncle’s body.
“Giselle Gentry was the biggest powerhouse in Knightly,” Raine explained.
“She owned the property next to Bale’s. He had bought up most of the houses in that area, but she refused to sell.
She gave him no end of harassment. You know how she was if she didn’t like you or had a beef with you.
She would throw parties there deliberately.
She didn’t reside there permanently, but she would put on lavish parties with lights shining directly into his windows.
If he called law enforcement, she just laughed if the officers showed up.
She was the one person he couldn’t intimidate or really threaten. She knew it too.”
Zahra nodded. She had known Giselle Gentry and worked with her for several years. She’d liked the woman despite how demanding, abrupt and diva-like she could be.
“How are we going to get anyone to believe us?” Harlow asked. “We have no proof. Only Stella’s nightmares and total conjecture.”
“Leave that to me,” Raine said, determination in her voice. “I have some friends in the FBI. I think I can find a way to get someone to believe us.”
—
Wedding preparations were well underway when Stella and Zahra showed up at Harlow’s door, followed closely by Vienna and Shabina.
Along with the women came their dogs, confidently bounding in together, knowing they were just as welcome as the women.
Misha greeted them enthusiastically, rolling around on the floor with Misty and Daisy, Raine’s Jack Russell.
Harlow stood at her door, holding it open as Rush carried Raine up the front steps into the house. There was the usual flurry of activity while the women made the couch comfortable for Raine. They had the routine down and established a safe spot for her in under a minute.
Rush gave them a little salute. “Ladies.” He sauntered out, leaving Harlow standing by her door, staring in shock at her friends.
“What is going on? Did I forget a bridal shower? I haven’t prepared any food whatsoever for a get-together.”
Shabina waved her concerns aside. “No worries. The food’s coming. Vaughn and Tyrone are bringing it all in the next hour. We just had news and couldn’t wait to share with you.”