Page 61 of Frost and Venom

“Not true when it comes to the serial killer theory,” Harlow found herself admitting. “I don’t know why, but I’ve had a gut feeling all along that something isn’t right. Maybe it isn’t a serial killer like we’re used to, but if someone is experimenting on snakes or they’re injecting strangers to see if their venom kills and how quickly, to me, that’s still a serial killer. And weirdly, out of the blue, Alek mentioned the possibility. So we aren’t the only ones.”

“I’m on the fence,” Zahra admitted. “I don’t want it to be a serial killer again. Especially if it’s someone we know. Are we magnets for murder?”

For some unexplained reason, Zahra’s last inquiry made Harlow want to laugh hysterically. The woman could say the most outrageous things and still make some kind of sense. She also always lightened the mood when they were veering toward darkness.

“I’ve been searching for experiments, even obscure ones that haven’t seen the light of day,” Raine said. “Military, medical labs, not just in the United States, but all over the world. So far, I haven’t turned up much. There was some speculation in India and China about mixing snakes to create a hybrid, but the actual experiments weren’t successful. That was some years ago. It doesn’t mean an individual got ahold of their discarded papers, theorized and decided to try for themselves.”

Harlow sighed. “There are plenty of people who would try just to say they did, let alone use the product as a weapon of destruction.”

“I’ll keep digging because, honestly, my gut is telling me Harlow is right. I don’t know who is killing or why, or even how, but this feels like it’s been orchestrated, not just randomly occurring,” Raine said.

Vienna waited for Vaughn to set drinks in front of those who didn’t have them and leave before she made her concession. “I’m all about odds and numbers. I have to tell you, odds are coming down on the side of this entire thing being orchestrated. I didn’t want to believe it, because we’ve had enough drama in Knightly, but I fear we’re really in for a difficult ride.”

“I believe, along with Stella, Harlow and Vienna, that we’ve all gone to the dark side,” Raine said. “Shabina and Zahra are on the fence.”

She didn’t add “as usual,” but her tone implied it.

“Someone has to play devil’s advocate, and I do so very, very well,” Zahra said. “It’s my superpower.”

“One of your many superpowers,” Raine corrected. “We need that from you to keep us grounded. And Shabina is our thoughtful one. She thinks things through entirely before she makes any kind of judgment, and we need that as well.”

“That sounds so much better than sitting on a fence,” Shabina said. “I do take more time because I try to look at it from every angle. I play my own devil’s advocate when I come up with theories.” She flashed them a small, self-deprecatory smile. “I had to learn to think that way when I was a teen, and it’s so ingrained in me I can’t seem to stop.”

“That’s a good thing,” Raine said.

Harlow nodded in agreement. “A very good thing.”

“Rainier says that as well. He never hurries me when we’re having a discussion. It isn’t that my mind doesn’t think fast—it does,” Shabina explained. “It’s just that I want to have the best response before I speak.”

“Babe.” Stella leaned toward her. “Your opinion is very valued for that reason. We all think differently. We come at problems from different angles. That’s what makes us good at what we do when we’re together.”

“Well, the truth is, as much as some of the victims don’t make sense, I think someone is behind the attacks. Lawyer, Helen and Ms. Gentry were longtime residents. Lawyer was in the security business. He knew practically everyone in town, and I have no idea what he saw on the security screens, but I’m sure not all of it was good. Ms. Gentry was into everyone’s business and made no apologies for it. Helen kept to herself for the most part, but she knew everyone as well. Like Zahra, many people went to her for help with training their dogs, particularly those with farms or ranches. As for the fourth victim, Edith Shumaker, I believe the target was Chelsey Sarten, and Edith just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

That made sense to Harlow, but…“And the latest victims?”

Shabina shrugged. “I don’t know enough about them yet to say how they fit. For all we know, the killer might have targeted them just to throw off the investigators.”

Raine sighed as she looked at her watch and then ate a few bites of Shabina’s famous fried zucchini sticks. “We have to move on to Guadalupe. I’m running out of time. Trust me, even if we’re not finished, Rush will just swoop in, gather me up, laptop and all, and walk out with me without saying a word. He’s so annoying.”

Harlow would have agreed with her assessment of Rush but she heard the note of exhaustion in Raine’s voice. She was pale, her freckles standing out like a dusting of strawberry gold, and perspiration formed in little beads along her hairline, making her damp enough for her hair to start going wild.

“Did you find anything on Guadalupe?”

“Well, she hasn’t visited your mailbox since our luncheon, which is a good sign,” Raine said. “I’ve monitored her movements closely. She’s spending quite a bit of time showing property, but her main focus has been digging into the ownership of the place we’re looking at. The property was placed in an old family trust that was later put into an LLC. She’s been trying to find the owner of that corporation. That corporation pays the taxes on it. She’s been making inquiries, so sooner or later, someone will answer her.”

“Are we really thinking of buying the property?” Zahra asked. “I thought that was a ruse just so Guadalupe wouldn’t be suspicious.”

“I like the property,” Stella said. “I think we could develop it under the right circumstances. Water, electricity, ability to rent it as an Airbnb when we’re not using it. Things like that. It’s a great location for wildlife, and it has two amazing boulders that few could ever climb if they didn’t have permission and access to the property.”

“Kind of like what we’ve been doing already,” Harlow said.

Stella laughed. “Exactly. Back to what you found out about Guadalupe.”

“I believe she was trafficked, and her husband was part of a coalition on this side of the border. Border officials, law enforcement and several of the very prominent ranchers and landowners were part of the ring, along with the Delgotto Cartel. There was some speculation that Guadalupe’s husband fell out of favor with the cartel and was killed. The fire was used as a cover-up. Those investigating originally wrote that in their reports—the detectives, the fire marshal and the local ME. Those reports were buried. The new reports all said the same thing—it was an accidental fire. A terrible tragedy. There was no mention of Guadalupe’s husband’s head injury in the later reports.”

“Was there any evidence that Mr. Brown abused his wife?”

“Over the years, yes. They often went to charitable functions, and every time she was seen laughing, dancing or speaking to another man, he would lose it and chastise her publicly, sometimes verbally and other times physically. When it was physical, he was so brutal that several of his friends would interfere and try to stop him. Many witnesses reported that it seemed as though he would instruct Guadalupe to interact with the men, speak to them or dance with them, and then he’d be angry with her for doing as he insisted.”