by Maeve Hart
“Will you need a lawyer?” asked my mother.
“I hope not. Don’t say things like that. He’s just going to repeat what he told me this morning. At least, that’s what he said.”
“And you trust him?” Granny asked, her eyes wide.
“I don’t know.”
“I’ll drive you there,” Aunt Flora said.
“No, it’s okay. I can get a taxi.”
“Nonsense. You can’t go spending all your money on taxis.”
“It’s cheaper for me than getting a car,” I pointed out.
“I’ll drive you. Come along.”
“Thank you.”
I walked up the stairs of the station and had to wait in the seating area for around ten minutes before the detective came to get me.
Once in his office, he told me nothing had changed and, like he’d mentioned earlier, he was giving me an ‘official update.’ I was relieved that I wasn’t being arrested.
“Any news of who bought the snake venom yet?” I asked.
“It’ll take a few days at least to compile the list.”
I nodded. Police work seemed to be very slow. I walked down the steps at the police station and saw Maggie and Peter at the bottom of the stairs. I wanted to tell Maggie how sorry I was for everything. She would have to be suffering with Jennifer accused of her son’s murder.
Just as I opened my mouth to speak to them, Maggie turned away from me and so did Peter. That got me angry and I lunged in front of them so they’d have no choice but to speak with me. “Hello, Maggie. Hello, Peter.”
Maggie stared at me. “I hope you’re happy now.”
“What would I be happy about?”
“It seems you were after his money after all.”
“What are you talking about, Maggie? I don’t have any of his money. He didn’t leave any money to me in the will.”
“Where has it gone then?”
I scratched the side of my face. “I was told he had nearly one million dollars. I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“He should’ve had three million. Where’s the other two, Destiny?”
“I never had anything to do with his finances and I never knew how much money he had. I wasn’t interested in his money. Get the police to check my bank account if you don’t believe me.”
“Do you have more than one?” Peter asked.
“I have two.”
Maggie looked at Peter as if she didn’t believe me. It seems they both thought I stole money from Don. I sighed. “Make a police report if you want to get them to check me out thoroughly.”
“You should’ve said that about his murder. You didn’t seem so confident about that. You must’ve hid the money pretty well.”
“Maggie, it’s your daughter who’s accused of his murder, not me.” With that, I walked away, no longer feeling sorry for the woman.
I headed back to the loft and when I got back, Jacques was still there. I told him everything that had happened.
“I feel like I’m in a nightmare that I’m never going to wake up from. It’s dragging on and on and on.”
“It’s not. It’s only been a few weeks. It hasn’t even been a month yet since he was killed. You would have to expect things to drag out because they’re trying to find who killed him and make all the pieces fit together. It’s only normal under the circumstances.”
I nodded. “Okay.” I looked at his face, noticing it was drawn and pale.
“What are you going to do about your problems with the security leak?”
“I have to give it a great deal of thought. I need to make sure that I’ve got the right person before I act.”
“Do you think there might be more than one person?”
“I don’t know that either. Don was lying about having security information from the compound. It sounded like he had a code for an alarm system, but as you know the security at the compound is multilayered.”
“Is there any way we can find out who Don was working for?” I asked.
“I’ve already got people working on it, and hopefully, I’ll have an answer back soon.”
“Do you do background checks on people who work for you?”
“Only the standard ones that any business would use. It’s not like he was in a position of power. He was only in sales. I hadn’t invited him to the compound or anything like that.”
“What about the phone records? Can you get anything like that?
“I could get his phone records and his bank records.”
“Who do you think took his money? It’s a lot of money.”
“Maybe he gave it away to someone for safekeeping.”
“The Don I knew would never do that through fear of someone not giving it back.”
“It seems the detectives have their work cut out for them. They have two murderers and two million dollars missing.”
Chapter 11
Jacques left that night to stay in his penthouse. Even if the police were watching us they wouldn’t know how serious our relationship was.
Early the next morning, I got a call from Detective Andrews.
“I’m going to need you to come to the station, Destiny. I’ve got some distressing news.”
“What is it?” I wished he could tell me then and there. I didn’t want to have to go and see him again.
“It’s to do with the snake venom.”
I held my breath, hoping he wasn’t going to mention my grandmother’s name. “I’ll come down now.”
I ended the call and headed down to the station.
Twenty minutes later, I was sitting opposite him.
“One of the snake venom suppliers was killed in the early hours of this morning.”
“No.”
“Yes, I’m afraid so. He was killed and all his records have gone.” He looked directly into my eyes. “You were the only one who knew we were investigating the dealers.”
I had to think fast. “I don’t think that’s quite right. You said you had half your force working on it.”
“That’s true, I did, but the thing that occurred to me, Destiny, is that you could’ve poisoned your boyfriend with the snake venom and then disappeared on your camping trip knowing you’d find him dead when you got home. You would’ve assumed the venom would go undetected.”
“Detective, I told you I had nothing to do with his death. We just got engaged.”
“There’s also the matter of his money disappearing. His mother told me that he’s got an extraordinary amount of money missing.”
“Don’t you think the same person who stole the money from him might have killed him?”
“We’re exploring each and every avenue, I can assure you of that.”
“Two million can’t just disappear. Look in my bank accounts. I’ve got two of them and there’s barely any money in either. I can show you online now if you’d like.”
“You’re aware of how much money Donald had?”
“I knew he was wealthy, but I thought it was his mother’s money. I just considered he was comfortable. I only found out about the missing money when I saw his mother as I was leaving the station yesterday.”
“Over two million dollars would give someone a lot of comfort. He wasn’t an attractive man—not that I’m a great judge—and he was older than you. What was the attraction to him?”
I remembered the horrid beard Don had started to grow. He was right about Don not being too attractive, especially when he snarled every time he was angry with me. “Looks are only surface. I didn’t fall in love with Don because of his looks.”
He ignored me completely and continued, “You reportedly had many arguments with the deceased, according to your neighbors.”
Those damn neighbors again. I couldn’t wait to get back to the compound where there were no nosy neighbors.
“We got along great at the start and later we did have our problems, but every relationship comes with problems, doesn’t it?”
“This is about you and your rela
tionship, Ms. Stephens.”
Our friendship had ended, it seemed, since he was back to calling me Ms. Stephens.
“I had nothing to do with Donald’s death.” That was something I never thought I would hear myself say. Besides that, I’d never given much thought to snake venom dealers. Visions ran through my head of men with cut-off sleeves wrestling snakes and holding them at the back of their heads while milking the venom into a bottle, and then releasing the snake back into its cage. I wondered if that was how it worked. What kind of person would make a living doing that? Maybe the venom was sold to produce antivenom. That had to be it.
“Are you still with me, Ms. Stephens?”
“Yes, I’m sorry. I was thinking about something else.”
“Am I boring you?”
“No. But I can’t help you with your investigation.”
“Maybe you can.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “How so?”
“After I talked about the snake venom, I had you followed and you went directly to your grandmother’s house.”
I’d had the feeling I was being watched. “Yes, my grandmother is a source of comfort to me and she’s the person I turn to.”
“Did you discuss what I’d told you with your grandmother?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Even though I asked you not to mention it to anyone?”
“She’s only my grandmother. I didn’t think it would hurt. She wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“I know your grandmother is a practicing witch. Would she have cause to purchase snake venom?”
My heart thumped hard. “No, not at all. She only uses herbs and things like that as far as I know.” I knew there was no use denying that she was a witch, and besides, being a professional witch and doing spells was not against the law. Neither was it something punishable by burning at the stake.
“I find it very interesting your grandmother is a witch.”
I shrugged. “I’ve never been interested. How did the man die? The snake venom dealer?”
“Bitten by a snake.”
“Suicide?”
“We don’t know.”
“That’s hardly suspicious.”
“We would have thought that too, except that his online sales system crashed and all his computers and hardware were missing.”
“Well, it doesn’t sound like murder. Wouldn’t someone have had to handle the snake? Whoever had let the snake out would be at risk of being bitten themselves.”
An officer knocked on the door and called the detective away.
I didn’t think my grandmother knew anything about snakes. Jacques hadn’t been with me the night before, but anyway, it would be unlikely he’d do his own dirty work. For that matter, my grandmother could’ve had someone else do it. There was always the possibility that someone completely different—not related to me in any way—could’ve done it.
“Sorry about that, Destiny.” He sat down behind his desk.
“I’m sorry, I can’t be of any help to you.”
“Can’t, or won’t?”
“I’ve tried to help you in every way I can. I want to find out who murdered Don just as much as you.”
“Are you saying you don’t think it was Jennifer?”
“I’m not saying that at all. I wouldn’t know if it was or wasn’t Jennifer. You’ve got all the evidence to say she was there. But you tell me there was someone else who tried to kill him with the snake venom. I’m just going by what you said. And I don’t know who the other person could be unless Jennifer doubled up on her options.”
“It is unlikely that she would do that. He would’ve died from one or the other. There was no point in her doubling up.”
I had to get out of there. “I’m afraid I can’t help you, but if I hear anything that might be of help I can let you know.”
“I’ll get back to you with the questions surrounding the missing money.”
“I had nothing at all to do with Don’s finances.”
He pulled out a sheet of paper and looking at it, he said, “But you did make credit card purchases on his card?”
“Only when he’d tell me to buy things like clothes, but he gave me a specific limit and I never went over it.”
“I can see purchases here from a women’s clothing store a year ago. Was that the last time you purchased anything on his card?”
“Yes, I believe so. And then I passed the credit card back to him. I wasn’t living off him.”
The truth was Don was living in my one bedroom apartment most of the time because it was closer to his work. He never gave me money for the utility bills. I was more supporting him than he was supporting me. I didn’t tell the detective any of that because I didn’t think it mattered and it would seem like I was being petty.
I held my head, distressed by everything.
“Are you okay?”
“No. It’s just too much. Is that all I’m needed for?”
He stared at me.
“Can I go?”
“Yes, you can. Thank you once again for coming in.”
After I left his office, I hurried out of the police station. All I wanted to do was run off all the angst I felt building in my system. I had to get back to the woods. The first thing I did was reach for my cell phone and called Jacques.
“I need to see you.”
“You sound dreadful.”
“I’m not too good.”
“Where are you? I’ll come and get you.”
I told him I was outside the police station after speaking with Andrews. He hung up quickly.
Fifteen minutes later, I was in his car and I told him all that the detective had said. He agreed we should go back to the compound. We headed for his penthouse and he called for the helicopter to be waiting for us.
I was starting to get used to the helicopter. We had our own pod behind the pilot and Jacques was able to turn off the intercom so the pilot couldn’t hear what we were saying.
“I wonder if Granny knows anything about snakes.”
“Has she ever said anything to you about them?”
“No. All I can remember is that she had a statue of a woman holding a snake up in the air. It was on her table with all her statues of gods and deities.”
“That’s a start. You can find out what that statue means.”
“Do you think it’s somehow related?”
He shook his head. “It’s hard to know, but you’ve got to start somewhere.”
I looked out the window at the sun setting. The whole sky was different shades of oranges and pinks. “Everything looks so beautiful from up here.”
He looked below him. “It’s going to be a good night tonight.”
“I’m looking forward to it. I feel like we haven’t been into the woods in months. I don’t think I could ever live in the city permanently.”
He looked over at me. “You’ll never have to.”
I smiled back at him. “How long can we stay at the compound?”
“I think with all the heat on you at the moment, we should come back Sunday night.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“How are you going to find out about the snake statue?”
“I don’t want to go back to Granny’s and ask too many questions. I think I’ll visit my mother and try to find out what she knows.”
“That’s something we can worry about later. Don’t think about it until we get back to the city or you’ll drive yourself crazy.”
I nodded. It would be easier said than done, but for Jacques’ sake I didn’t want to be continually weighed down by worries. He wasn’t seeing the real me, the person who could be light-hearted and have fun. I didn’t know what he saw in me most of the time.
Chapter 12
When we walked into the main living area of Jacques’ home in the middle of his compound, I felt like I was coming home. I knew this was where I belonged—with Jacques and the other shifters. Everyone was smiling and happy to see us. We sat down on the
nearest couch. Someone took Jacques’ attention while Celia came over and sat down next to me.
The runs were what I now looked forward to in life. When I was bounding through the woods I wasn’t afraid, I was powerful, and the invincibility was intoxicating. My body turned from a slightly overweight female in her early thirties to a strong wolf who could leap and run for miles without panting, who could smell and see things long distances away. I was immortal and would never have to concern myself with the whole aging process. That was a whole lot better than being a witch, trying to bend natural events and circumstances to one’s own will. I’m not saying my family’s spells weren’t successful because I’d seen them work, but being a shifter was a better fit for me, and more freeing.
“How are you settling in?” Celia asked.
“Good, I think. It’ll be hard to adjust when I’m still coming and going. Hopefully soon I’ll be here for good.”
“We’re all looking forward to that.”
“That’s nice to hear. I’m not used to being around so many people.”
“Neither was I before I got here. I always felt different from other people. I never fitted in.”
“I know what you mean.”
She stood up. “You want a drink or something?”
“Um, I might have a soda, thanks.”
She leaned over me, tapped Jacques on the shoulder and asked if he wanted a drink, and then she headed to the bar.
I guessed everybody wanted me to like them because I was the Alpha’s mate, but I sensed Celia was genuine. It’d take me a while but I was beginning to trust my gut instincts because they’d been right up until now. My big mistake in my life was staying with Don for so long, but all I could do was learn from that and put it behind me.
Jacques nudged my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m glad to be here. It feels like home.”
“That’s good, because it is your home now.”
Celia brought the drinks back and handed them to us before she sat back down next to me. “Some of us are going for a run tonight. You coming?”
“Yes, and I’m looking forward to it.”
“There’s nothing like it in the world,” she said with her eyes lit up.