Blake inwardly groaned at the upcoming confrontation. Things had settled down for a while, and he hated to see the vendetta continued. Creed wouldn’t let this affront go.
It wasn’t too late to call Rod. Paradise washed and dried her hands after examining the lemur, then dug the phone out of her purse.
Rod answered on the first ring. “Hey, Paradise, how are you feeling?”
“The headache is improving. I think I’ll live. Hey, Rod, my brother is here. He’s eager to meet you and the rest of the family.”
“That’s great! How long will he be around?”
“About a month. We’re going to look into my parents’ murders.”
“If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.”
“I will, thanks. Listen, there’s another reason for my call. I have a sticky situation.” She told him about the call from Elowen. “We have the lemur here, and he shows clear signs of neglect. His paws are abraded from trying to escape the cage he’s been kept in.Primates shouldn’t be caged like that. He’s obese and has diabetes and heart disease, probably caused by an improper diet. I want to get him well and assimilate him into the group here. The problem is, his owner is Creed Greene, who is out of town. Creed left the lemur in the care of his brother and his wife, and the lemur attacked their little girl.”
“Wow, I was not expecting that. I didn’t know he had a lemur.”
“Elowen thinks he won it in a card game a few weeks ago, so the lemur’s health problems started a long time ago.”
“Do what you have to do, and I’ll handle it on my end when Creed gets back. He should have known better than to keep a primate caged. Even I know that’s not okay.”
What a relief Rod was being agreeable. “I appreciate that more than you know, Rod. Lemurs need socialization. They don’t do well in isolation, and this one is very sick. Even if Creed knew how to care for King Julien properly, he couldn’t fix the community issue.”
“I know you’ll take good care of him. I’ll talk to Mom about when we can get the family together to meet Drew.”
Paradise thanked him and ended the call. She checked one final time on King Julien in his solitary enclosure. She would let him get used to roaming around it before she integrated him with the other lemurs. He’d be able to see them, smell them, and hear them in the next enclosure over, which would help. She locked the door of the medical building and went to find Blake and Drew. Isaac and Levi would be in bed by now.
The murmur of male voices from the back patio mingled with the low hum of the bug zapper that also gave off a soft glow. Blake and Drew seemed relaxed with each other, and happiness zinged through her.Family.That’s what it was all about. Something she’d never really had before. This place and thesepeople had crept into her soul and become as necessary to her as breathing.
Blake spotted her when she moved again, and his expression went soft. “How’s the king?”
“Not great. Diabetes and heart disease. Hopefully a better diet will change things, along with more exercise.” She climbed the steps to the deck. “I talked to Rod. He says to do what we need to and he’ll deal with Creed.”
Blake kissed the top of her head. “That’s my girl. I wasn’t sure Rod would go up against Creed like that, but if anyone could make him see the truth, it’s you. How’s Julien acting?”
“He’s roaming the enclosure and marking his scent, of course. I think he likes it.”
Blake laced his fingers with hers. “Hungry? We’ve got popcorn.” He gestured at a bowl on the table by the chairs.
“Don’t mind if I do.” She scooped up a handful, then dropped into the chair by her brother. “You should be in bed, Drew. You had a long drive.”
His amber eyes, so like her own, were bright and alert. “I was reviewing the contents of the tub Evan gave you.” Drew gestured to the tub by his chair.
Evan Hopkins now owned the house where she’d grown up. He’d found a tub of her mother’s belongings in the attic, which was how Paradise discovered she had a brother she didn’t know about. She and Drew had gone through the things together, but there hadn’t been any surprises. “And?”
He held up a black onyx cuff link. “This was caught in the baby blanket. Did you see it when you first examined the contents?”
She took it and rolled it around in her fingers. “No.” She studied the cuff link. “It’s beautiful and very distinctive withthat fancyCon it. Maybe your dad’s last name begins with aC, though that doesn’t help much.”
“It’s a start.”
“Why would only one be in the baby blanket?”
“Maybe my father lost it, and our mom found it and kept it? Or maybe it came from the man she was having the affair with before she died.”
“Could have belonged to my father. Let’s examine this together.” He lifted out the old jewelry box, a packet of letters tied with pink ribbon, a baby book, and infant clothing, as well as several pieces of maternity clothing.
She touched the iconicLVmonogram top in green canvas on the jewelry box. The gleaming brass latches and lock added beautiful bling, and it had a leather handle at the front. “Blake checked the current price of this Louis Vuitton, and it was six thousand dollars. We didn’t discover its original price.”
