Page 89 of Frost and Venom

They all turned to Raine. She sent Harlow a mischievous grin. “Well, that depends on whether you’re Bale Landry or not. And whether you believe in karma, which I do.”

“This is about Bale? Were we right? Was he arrested? Did they catch him?” She fired off the questions excitedly.

They had relied on Raine to get their theory into the right hands as quickly as possible. If venomous spiders had been brought into the country, they needed to know how many and eradicate them as fast as possible. In Australia, it was rare for a death to occur after being bitten because antivenom was readily available. The spiders were milked and the venom used, not only to create an antivenom, but scientists were finding other beneficial uses for the toxin as well. Unfortunately, no other country had a protocol in place should the spider suddenly appear. It was imperative that the spider couldn’t accidentally or intentionally be transported to other countries.

“Bale’s house was raided early this morning,” Raine said. “It was kept under strict secrecy so no information could get out ahead of time. I can’t imagine how they got a judge to sign off on a warrant, but they ensured everything was aboveboard. They were very aware Bale has friends in high places.”

“Please tell me they caught him red-handed and he can’t get out of the charges. Is it possible to charge him with murder? Was there enough evidence?” Harlow asked. She wanted the man to be held responsible for the horrifying deaths that had occurred. Nine of them. Nine innocent people lost their lives because a deranged man wanted revenge.

“There was definitely enough evidence,” Raine said. “They’re still collecting evidence. They even found a hit list. We’re all on it, by the way.”

“Do you have it?”

Raine raised an eyebrow. “I will get in so much trouble if any of you ever tell you saw this before it’s made public.” She turned her screen around to show the list. It was mostly typed and very neat at the top, but the names of the four strangers Bale had been responsible for killing were handwritten. Harlow figured the fact that the names were in Bale’s own handwriting would seal the case against him.

“Let me see that,” Vienna said. “Sheesh. He really had a thing for killing, didn’t he? Giselle Gentry, Lawyer Collins, Edward Fenton. Sean Watson.” She looked up. “His best friends? Edward and Sean were his friends from kindergarten. Wow.”

Stella took up the list. “Helen McKay and Chelsey Sarten. And look, every single one of us is on here, along with Rainier. Sam didn’t make it. He’ll be so disappointed. But Bale’s uncle, Paul Rafferty, is here. The last five are handwritten. The four he had a fight with in the Blue Heron and Guadalupe. There are eighteen in total.”

“We were lucky he didn’t manage to get one of us,” Harlow said. “Now they have to determine how many spiders were brought in and if any were female.”

“Bale’s dead,” Raine announced. “When they raided his house, they found him on the floor beside a broken container. Four spiders were crawling on him. Clearly, he’d been bitten several times. He had numerous bite marks on him. Those spiders were vicious with him. He must have done something to make them so aggressive toward him. Maybe when he dropped their travel container. He had such a temper, he might have been stomping on them too,” Raine added. “They did find some squished, dead ones.”

Harlow didn’t know how she was supposed to feel. Bale deserved whatever happened to him. He’d created the situation, but it was a painful way to go.

“He did have a record of how many spiders he brought in. He didn’t list females, only twenty-five males. He had nine victims, so we can account for those and know where to look for them. We know he released at least one into Guadalupe’s flower bed. They’ll look for it or others there. They’ll be able to determine how many were still with Bale, and hopefully, in the locations where the victims were bitten, they can find the others.”

“They have to check at Chelsey’s little house,” Harlow reminded.

Raine nodded. “They have a list and they’re working on that right now. But it’s over other than the roundup of spiders. He’s dead, and he can’t keep killing anyone he doesn’t like.”

“I feel a little sad for him,” Shabina said. “He didn’t start out this way, and somewhere along the line he derailed. We all saw it happening to him, but there didn’t seem to be anything we could do.”

Harlow loved Shabina even more for her compassion. She was just very happy that the nightmare was over and they’d helped to catch a killer.

“Since we’re all here and Shabina’s crew is bringing food,” Stella said, “let’s get back to the wedding plans.”

Chapter Twenty

Shabina’s garden had been transformed into a lush jungle setting, with orchids climbing up trees and hundreds of flowers lining either side of the path leading to the flowing fountain. An archway, dripping with flowers and vines in every shade of green, led into the opulent backdrop.

Harlow hadn’t expected to find it so romantic. She’d never thought of herself as a romantic person, but the entire environment Shabina and the other women had created in the huge garden was fit for royalty. A soft breeze gently lifted flower petals, releasing fragrant scents to add to the illusion of a jungle.

Harlow had always loved peonies. They were her favorite flower, but she hadn’t known any of her friends were aware of it. She wanted to peek out of the dressing room to see the man she was going to marry. He had been the one to uncover her secret, just through observation. In the center of the table in their living room was a huge bouquet of peonies that were forever flowers, lasting a year. A gift from her man.

Her love of the flowers must have been conveyed to the wedding planner because there were extraordinary amounts of peonies throughout the garden. Benches and chairs were designed of fancy white filigree, adding to the beauty of the setup. She particularly liked the way the various types of vines crept from trees, fencing, the archway and dozens of other pillars that were scattered throughout the garden.

“Are you ready for this, Harlow?” Sam’s low voice brought Harlow out of her thoughts and back to the reality of the moment.

“Yes.” She was nervous, but not because she was getting married. She wanted to be Wilder’s wife. His family. The one for him. She was absolutely certain of her decision. She didn’t like being the center of attention, and brides, on their wedding day, definitely were in the spotlight.

As if Sam knew why, he wrapped an arm around her. “Every person out there is your friend. We only invited a select few. Stella was very careful with the guest list, and word didn’t get out that you were getting married,” he assured.

“It feels wrong to be happy when I just lost my parents,” she confided. “I was at odds with my mother, but I always thought she would be here with me on this day.”

“You have every right to be happy,” Sam declared. “I’ll be right with you until we reach Wilder. He’ll take over when I put your hand in his.”

“I feel safe here, Sam. I want to marry him.”