Gabrielle slumped, sobered by the truth in Sebastian’s words. She’d hoped that all the craziness with Damian and Quattro was behind her. “Right. So, you think Remi can help lead us to who left the bloody message for me at the beach cottage?”
“It’s the best lead I have so far,” Sebastian said, then leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose.
“Fine. Let’s go check things out.” Gabrielle looped an arm in Sebastian’s as they walked along the path until an industrial warehouse came into view.
Shrill bleating filled the air as a group of men dressed in rubber overalls, heavy boots, gloves and goggles, ushered a herd of goats through a series of metal railings inside. The animals moved methodically, hooves beating loudly against the straw covered concrete floor, toward a series of hoses dangling from the ceiling. Another set of men worked feverishly to wash mud and grime from their coats with heavy streams of steaming hot water. The smell of excrement and blood caused her to gag.
“You okay?” Sebastian asked, rubbing a palm against her back. “You want to wait outside while I talk to Remi?”
“No. I’m fine.” Gabrielle insisted. The last thing she wanted was to leave Sebastian alone with Remi Spade. Remi was an old friend of Ike’s from when he was a teenager. The only girl allowed in his crew, probably because she was drop dead gorgeous.
Sebastian slipped his hand in hers and led her through the muck to a woman standing near the back of the warehouse. When she turned, Gabrielle cursed under her breath. A gust of wind blew through the warehouse, sending wispy strands of thick brown hair across Remi’s face. Time had been very kind to her. It didn’t matter that she was dressed in dusty denim overalls stained with mud and dirt, oversized rubber boots and a long-sleeved cotton shirt. She was more gorgeous now than she had been back then. Remi would look fabulous in a trash bag.
“Well, look at you, Gabrielle King. All grown up,” Remi said, giving her a warm smile.
“Surprised you remember me.” Gabrielle leaned into Sebastian. She gave Remi what she hoped was a sweet smile, even though jealousy pricked at her skin.
“Of course I remember you. Ike is so proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished with your Emerge Anew website.” Remi leaned against an unmoving conveyor belt covered with shaved goat hair.
“Have you talked to my brother lately?” Gabrielle asked, remembering that he still hadn’t returned her calls.
“No, not since the plane disappearance,” Remi said. “But I try to check out your videos from time to time. You’re pretty inspiring.”
“Thanks,” Gabrielle said, then noticed the wedding ring on Remi’s finger. “You and Everett got married? Ike didn’t tell me. Congratulations.”
Sebastian groaned and gripped her tighter.
The smile left Remi’s face.
“What?” Gabrielle asked, looking from Remi to Sebastian, then back to Remi.
“I’m married to Bobby,” Remi said, then cleared her throat. “Well, I know the two of you didn’t island hop to catch up on the past. What’s going on?”
Sebastian spoke up. “A threatening message was left for Gabrielle after she moved back to the Palmchat Islands.”
“Are you serious?” Concern clouded Remi’s light brown eyes. She peeled her muddy gloves from her hands and tossed them onto the conveyor belt. “Is this different than the incident at the airport that was all over the news? The mix-up between the cops and airport security that spooked you. I didn’t remember them saying anything about threatening messages.”
“Completely unrelated to the airport thing,” Gabrielle confirmed, then said, “Serena convinced law enforcement that it was in everyone’s best interest to not let what happened get out to the press. The case is being investigated by a specialized task force out of the St. X police department. It was sickening. They used bloody goat hearts and smeared the message on the wall of our beach cottage.”
“But you know the guys and I have a much better shot of getting to the truth faster than the cops,” Sebastian said.
Remi raised an eyebrow. “The guys?”
Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck and looked uncomfortable. “Just Everett so far, but I might need Adonis and Bobby to pitch in at some point. Kane and Lachlan are out of town. Anyway, I’m trying to get a lead on who did it by tracking down the source of fresh goat hearts.”
“We’re the only goat farm on the islands that sell fresh goat hearts,” Remi confirmed.
“That’s what I thought,” Sebastian said. “Have you noticed any missing inventory? Anything unusual?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact.” Remi wore a serious expression as she glanced around the warehouse. She beckoned for them to step further into a corner, away from the workers. “We have one buyer of the fresh goat hearts, the Pourciau family. They buy everything we produce and insist that the goat hearts are delivered fresh daily. We heard they use it in various exotic meals for their pets. So, a couple days before Gabrielle got back to the islands, one of our trucks broke down on Mountain Road 22 that cuts through the mango groves toward Crescent Moon Bay. The driver had to hike back to the ranch, leaving it on the side of the road for hours. The truck contained the goat hearts we were taking to the marina for the Pourciaus.”
“That’s more than enough time for someone to steal goat hearts from the truck,” Gabrielle said, glancing at Sebastian. The look on his face told her he’d come to the same conclusion.
“Could you tell if any had been taken?” Sebastian asked.
“Honestly, we didn’t check. The Pourciaus pay a daily rate regardless of how many goat hearts we deliver. If someone took a cooler or two from the back, we didn’t notice,” Remi explained. “But that’s not the weirdest part.”
“What else?” Sebastian asked.
