“Why not?”
“Had a date that night.”
This was a possible avenue to explore. The Shady Lady was downtown, famous for its dollar-fifty “shot and a wash”—a shot of generic liquor and a glass of terrible beer. “Thanks. We’ll check that out.”
I was out of questions and feeling ridiculous. What else could we do? Diego had given us little to go on, and how could we verify his alibi, other than possibly asking the owner of Cheesy Does It if anyone on staff remembered him as a customer that day?
“Well, I guess we’ll be going.” Jack rose and looked at me. I climbed to my feet. Maybe he had some ideas on how to proceed.
“What did you say your name was again?” Diego walked to the door.
“Jack. I’m a criminology professor at University of Miami. I’m a friend of Maggie and Vera’s and writing a book on serial killers.”
I anticipated Diego to comment on the serial killer book, but instead he looked at me with a flinty expression.
“Maggie? Vera? The Andrews sisters? Gator Queens?”
“That’s us.”
“I’ve heard about you two. Your family’s kind of famous around here.”
“Don’t get any ideas. We don’t mistreat alligators. We try to relocate them back to the wild as much as possible.”
He nodded slowly. “And your uncle’s gator sanctuary? What’s up with that?”
“We do take some gators there, the big ones. But he treats them well. I promise you. He’d never sell or hurt a gator.”
“That’s what I’ve heard around town and in animal rights circles. But you need to know that I’m monitoring you. Gator Queens is on FETA’s watch list.” He opened the door. “I know you’re not as stupid as Gene, and you won’t let me tag along on a gator call. But I have other methods of surveillance. Consider yourself warned.”
His words stopped me in my tracks. It was the second time I’d been threatened this week. This kid irked me, even though I knew his heart was probably in the right place.
“I have nothing to hide, and neither does my sister. If you want to come along on a call, just ask. You’re welcome anytime.”
I turned and stomped down the hall, Jack racing to catch up with me.
Chapter Ten
Many hours later, I was slipping on a red embroidered blouse with flowy sleeves when Vera opened the door to my room. With her hand on the knob, she paused to study my outfit.
“Hot. I approve.” She had far better fashion sense than me.
I reached for a tube of lip gloss, the only one I owned. “How was everything today? I created a spreadsheet system for our inventory. We just need a few more titles and we’re fully stocked.”
“Where are you going? I thought we were having movie night.”
I groaned. “Oh, Vera. I’m sorry. I have a...” My voice trailed off. I hated lying to her. “Date. I have a date.”
Her face fell and my stomach sank in tandem. I was a terrible sister.
She plunked down on my bed and Catsy rolled over to swat her hip with her paw. “With Jack?”
“Mmm-hmm.” I swiped on the red lip gloss and felt like Ronald McDonald.
“Wow. That was fast. But I knew you two would get along. Did you go kayaking today with him?”
I shook my head. “We had coffee together and then went into town for a little while. Stopped at Target. Poked around a few places on Main Street. Then he had writing to do, and I wanted to work on the inventory.”
None of that was a lie.
