“Anyway, because she traveled so much—and met with so many people—she wasn’t missed right away. But once we knew who she was, we managed to trace her last known meeting to South Florida. She had lunch with three women down at Bayside, talking about boating wear.”
“And that’s the last that anyone is known to have seen her?” Axel asked.
Nigel nodded gravely. “She was driving. She kept a condo here, but officers at her building say people weren’t very helpful. Seems people just come and go—and don’t really notice their neighbors. When shown her picture, most of them knew she lived there and had seen her around, but they had no idea when.”
“Where was her home base?” Andrew asked.
“Orlando. Like I said, she was all over. An outgoing and friendly individual, full of spice when defending a friend, well-liked by everyone who knew her.”
“Not everyone,” Axel murmured. “Though...”
“What?” Nigel asked.
“I don’t think it matters. I don’t think these murders are personal. I think people are being executed for something they may have done, and whatever it is, it ties them all together. We really need to find whatever it is and fast.”
“The murders were spread out,” Andrew reminded him. “And who knows? There might be a copycat involved here, too.”
“Maybe. And maybe there are more we don’t know about yet.”
“Let’s hope not,” Axel said.
They talked awhile longer, all agreeing they would have their agencies discover everything they could about all four victims. They’d dig deeper.
And they’d meet again the next day.
Axel rose, nodding, glancing at his watch.
“Hot date tonight?” Nigel asked him.
Axel looked at him with surprise. “A benefit for a children’s facility—”
“Oh, yeah, I know about that. Jeremy is going,” Andrew said.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, Jeremy Gray. He’s a member of the council now and, of course, both the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes will be involved, but the land just about borders reservation land so he wanted to be there to represent what we can do.” He shrugged. “You’re aware there are areas of the country where the tribal police and the county police butt heads. So far, we’re lucky out here. All going for the best possible outcome. But you never know, so it’s always best to be represented.”
“Yep,” Axel agreed.
“Some ranking cops are going to be there, too,” Nigel told them. “I take it you’ve received a special invitation? It wasn’t closed to the public or anything. But tickets sold out long ago.”
“I inveigled a special invitation,” Axel said.
Andrew looked at Nigel. “Hot date!”
“It’s not a date. We all know whoever is doing this knows the Everglades. And many of the attendees will be people who know the area well,” Axel said.
Nigel looked at Andrew. “Hot date.”
“Seriously, Raina Hamish has been incredibly helpful,” Axel said.
“Seriously, the air drips with pheromones when you’re together.”
Axel merely arched a brow to the two of them. “Whoever is doing this has a plan and an agenda. And they know the Everglades. As you said, Jeremy Gray is going. Rangers will go, and rich people who like to play in the Everglades will go. It’s a chance to see how people are reacting to what’s going on.”
“Sure,” Andrew said.
Nigel shook his head, his smile fading. “And we could be barking up the wrong tree. God knows. These murders might have been committed by someone over in Naples or Fort Myers, someone we haven’t even begun to suspect yet.”
“Well, we haven’t suspected anyone yet. It would be nice to have a roster of suspects,” Axel said. “At worst, I’ll go donate to a good cause.”
“At worst,” Nigel said, grinning at Andrew again.
“Hey, my friend,” Andrew said to Axel, “what’s wrong with that? Think of it. Which of us has much luck when it comes to relationships? We see too much—too much that’s far too difficult to explain to others.”
“It all comes from the pirate ship,” Nigel said quietly. “We saw the damned pirate ship.”
“We’ll meet again tomorrow,” Axel said, leaving the two of them at last.
* * *
Axel wasn’t late to the fundraiser, but he was among the last to arrive. Raina had to admit to herself she’d been afraid he wouldn’t come.
She wasn’t sure why. He had asked her for the invitation.
And it was a little alarming, feeling that rush of fever that was becoming more and more prominent within her each time she saw him.
She had been talking about the proposed plans for the children’s facility with her brother, Tate Fielding and Lucia when she saw him come into the country club.
He cleaned up very nicely. Dark hair combed back and shimmering from a shower, shoulders filling out the blue suit. She watched his face, loving the contours, as he looked around the room.
“Raina?”
Her brother was frowning. He’d apparently spoken to her.
And she hadn’t replied.
“Robert, Axel just got here,” she said. “I guess I should greet him. I doubt if he knows many people here.”
“Ah, sure. Yeah. Bring him over,” Robert said.
As she headed toward the entry, she saw that Axel did know people there—Jeremy Gray, one of the Miccosukee council members attending, had greeted him. He turned to her as she reached them, smiling and asking her if she remembered Jeremy.
She assured him she did. “Mr. Gray, you are an incredible speaker and gave us all so much on the culture, history and geography of the area. I loved being out there. It’s a pleasure to see you again. We did meet, but I imagine you’ve been through so many school groups that—”
“Miss Hamish, it’s hard to forget a student truly interested in all that was said,” he told her. “A pleasure to see you here—and a delight to know you’re involved with helping.”
“Thank you,” she said. She smiled. “I think the lectures and walks and history and culture you bring to all young people are wonderful. I’m glad we’re involved. I’m an animal trainer, but I must admit, I don’t know much about alligators except to keep away during mating season!”
“And that’s a good thing to know,” he assured her.
“I see your brother,” Axel said to Raina. “Jeremy, will you excuse us? We’re going to head over and talk to Robert.”
“Looking forward to your performance, Raina,” Jeremy said.
Raina smiled. She was very aware Axel had taken her arm as they moved across the room. By the time they reached Robert, he was surrounded by her old friends.
“Hey, all,” she said as they joined the group. “I don’t know if you remember back when we all met—”
“Axel Tiger!” Tate said, reaching out a hand. Tate had grown into a good-looking man. He was a lawyer, already moving up in his father’s firm. Sandy-haired and blue-eyed, he had a charming smile and an easy way about him. Lucia liked to tease that he made the perfect lawyer—he was snakelike. “Tate Fielding,” Tate continued, offering his hand. “And yes, you told some damned good stories.”
“I was there, too,” Jordan Rivera said, offering his hand, as well. He and Tate had been friends through grade school, high school, and they’d gone off to Gainesville together for law school. Jordan also worked for Tate’s father, specializing in civil suits.
“And my tent-mates that trip,” Raina said, presenting Lucia, Mya and Elly.
They all greeted Axel, smiling like Cheshire cats.
“Oh, and this is my husband, Len Smith,” Mya said quickly, introducing the man at her side. Len Smith was with the police department for Perrine, one of the many municipalities making up the county. He greeted Axel warmly,
as well.
“Cop—and FBI,” he said, explaining his position to Axel.
Since Len had grown up in Orlando, Raina assumed they’d been talking about Axel since she’d gone to greet him.
“It’s so cool you’re here,” Lucia said.
“Very cool,” Mya agreed, but then frowned. “But you’re down from the DC area. We have FBI here, don’t we? And cops.” She paused, laughing softly. “We have lots of cops! City of Miami, City of Perrine, City of North Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Miami Springs and literally a few dozen more. But I guess it’s good to have an agent come in from outside the area.”
“He’s here because he grew up in the area and knows the Everglades like few others, I’d imagine,” Len said, smiling at Axel.
“Because of the recent murders?” Tate asked. “I’d have thought it would fall to the county or maybe even the Miccosukee police?”
“I just go where they send me,” Axel told him.
“And Axel has come down before,” Robert said. Her brother liked Axel. He respected him, Raina knew.
“Well, I can see where you’d be helpful,” Tate said. “You know the terrain. Except the terrain may have nothing to do with it.”
“A date gone bad?” Jordan suggested.
“Drugs?” Mya asked, wide-eyed.
“Still under investigation,” Axel said easily. He looked around the group. “You all know just how hard it is. Especially with the terrain. Leave a body. If any of the bigger beasts don’t get it, the little ones will. Flies, mosquitoes, you name it.”
“Too true,” Elly said. “I know you guys all love it out there, and the Miccosukee restaurant makes the most delicious pumpkin bread known to man, but for me, yuck! Too many mosquitoes. And in summer, the heat is drenching.”
“The birds we saw were gorgeous,” Mya said. “Herons, cranes, egrets—”
“There’s an egret sitting on my car almost every morning when I head out to work,” Elly said. “He’s a cutie, but I can enjoy watching him from my window. In the air-conditioning.”
“I guess you love it or hate it,” Axel said lightly.
“Well, I suppose it’s fun now and then to take the Trail across to Naples. You know, stop for pumpkin bread and maybe take a break at the ranger station. But now that Alligator Alley is part of I-75 and you have more than two lanes all the way. Oh! And you can stop at the Seminole village up there! That’s fun!” Elly added, clearly excited.
“And there are the casinos, too,” Tate mentioned. “Poker is just as good at either—Miccosukee or Seminole.”
“Ah, but the Seminoles now have the Hard Rock with the giant guitar in the air,” Mya said. “I mean—”
“Axel is part Seminole, too,” Tate put in.
“A little bit of everything,” Axel replied lightly.
“Oh!” Elly said suddenly. “I have to announce seating for dinner. Raina, where’s Titan?”
“Titan is ready. He’s in the lounge with Clive the Clown. The two of them bonded when they met. He told me he would stay with Titan. When we’re seated and you’ve started speaking, I’ll go back and get him ready to come out,” Raina assured her.
“You left Titan?” her brother teased.
“I trained two of Clive’s cats once,” Raina told him. “Beautiful animals. He has the two cutest, furriest rescues you ever want to see. He’s a great guy. Titan is in good hands. Trust me. Titan is a great judge of people.”
“Dogs usually are,” Axel said lightly.
A small podium had been set up in the ballroom where they were gathered. Elly gave them a brief and awkward smile and hurried toward it. A mic was already positioned for her, and she quickly welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming, for the purchase of their tickets and for their generous donations.
She announced dinner.
Raina took Axel’s hand, doing it so quickly she didn’t realize her own motion until it was completed. She flushed slightly.
“I have you up with us. I’m where I can head back to Titan in a second.”
“Sounds great,” he told her.
“I’m near your table,” Tate Fielding said. “And I think one of our old chaperones is there, too. You might remember her, Axel. Loretta Oster. In fact, you might remember her way better than any of us. She and Frank Peters have chaperoned students for years and years.”
“I do remember her,” Axel said. “I believe those two still chaperone some of the school trips out into the Everglades.” He smiled at Raina, his hand now easily wrapped around hers. “I guess we should go in?”
They joined the throng entering the dining room. Raina noted Frank Peters and Loretta Oster entering together. They were old friends.
As they reached their table, Loretta was ahead of them. She turned and saw them both, looking at Axel with surprise and then pleasure. “Axel Tiger! How wonderful to see you!”
“Thank you, Loretta. Great to see you, too.”
“What are you doing down here?” she asked. “Aren’t you some federal bigwig now?”
“No bigwig. Just FBI.”
“An FBI agent from Washington. You will have to tell me all about it!”
Raina found the chair with her name tag, speaking to Loretta as she took her seat. “He’s down here working on the murders in the Everglades.”
Raina was glad to see she was next to Elly, and Axel was next to her. There was an empty chair by Elly’s seat, but it was filled when Robert came around, smiling at Raina as he did, almost as if assuring her they had the situation handled.
“He can’t talk about active murder cases,” he said cheerfully. “Come on, Loretta, you know that. And tonight is for happy thoughts. All good things to be done for children.”
As he spoke, they were joined by Jeremy Gray, who introduced them to his companion, a striking older man with fine features and a very straight stance—Larry Stillwater, representing the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
Lucia suddenly slid into the seat next to him, casually introducing herself.
Raina smiled and arched a curious brow at the same time.
“They oversold my table and Elly was supposed to be here. She’s just going to float.” Lucia made a face. “Lawyers. Bigwigs. Big contributors!” she said. “I was happy to give up my seat and to get to be with you lovely people. It’s so wonderful. Mr. Stillwater, maybe you can help me. I’m still trying to figure out how everyone was a Seminole, and now we have two tribes.”
Loretta wagged a finger at her. “Young lady, you weren’t listening at camp!”
Lucia laughed good-naturedly. “I was too busy chasing boys back then. And, of course, Axel. We all had this major crush on you!”
Robert piped in. “Hey, you were supposed to have crushes on me—your friend’s sexy big brother.”
“Oh, we had minor crushes on you, too. And Tate, and Jordan. We were teenage girls!” She laughed. “Please, let’s move on. Let’s talk about the present, what’s going on with all of us. And can someone explain how the Seminole tribes work?”
“With the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, we are part of one of the officially recognized Seminole tribes. As the Miccosukee tribe, we were officially recognized in 1962,” Jeremy said.
“We were recognized in 1957. When the Indians began fleeing south into Florida, they all became known as Seminole. During the Seminole Wars, white soldiers considered all Indians they were fighting to be Seminoles,” Larry Stillwater explained. “At that time, most fleeing here were loose members of the Creek Confederation. But some spoke different variations of the Creek language and, eventually, through different families traveling in different directions, they became separate between those groups. Now, we all speak English, and we have to focus on our children learning our Native language. Some—today’s Miccosukee—fled deep south into the Everglades. Some were establis
hed a bit farther north. We’re proud to say those of us who remain here are the descendants of those who fought for our freedom and would not be removed. Naturally,” he added with a smile, “we are close with our brethren in Oklahoma.”
“I think I’ve got it now,” Lucia said. “Thanks. I’m grateful for the little lesson!”
A waitress came around with salads.
Onstage, Elly started to make announcements. And it was time for Raina to move back to the “green room” since Titan would not like being alone once Clive the Clown came out.
She excused herself. “Time to check on Titan,” she said.
“Break a leg!” Lucia told her, and then looked around the table. “I mean, not really, but you know what I mean.”
Raina smiled. “I’ll be careful.”
She couldn’t help but notice the light in Axel’s eyes and the slight twist to his smile. He gave her a thumbs-up.
Break a leg...
Yes, that was the expression.
Lucia had said the words meaning the best. That night, they sat with her oddly. And she had the strangest feeling someone who might not wish her well was watching as she quickly slid around the side of the stage to reach the wings and the green room.
That was ridiculous.
Jennifer Lowry, the poor dead woman, certainly had no intention of causing her any harm. She...she just wanted a friend in her strange place in the world of the in between.
She had to forget it all. Titan sensed her moods. She wanted to be her best so that Titan would be his best.
And like it or not, she was nervous. She wanted to be entertaining.
She wanted to impress Axel.
Because he was such an impressive man.
She paused just before she curled around the stage to reach the wings and looked back. Her table seemed to be enjoying themselves. Each person was leaning forward in conversation. Only Jeremy Gray and Larry Stillwater seemed to sit straight with dignity bred into their every movement and nonmovement.
She glanced over to the next table where her friends were sitting—Tate, Jordan, Mya and her husband, Tate’s father and mother, a middle-aged woman and Frank Peters.
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