Tangled Threat ; Suspicious

by Heather Graham

  “You have to wait for an attendant,” he told her. “I’ll let Hugh know you’re leaving.”

  “Sure. Thanks.”

  The place was busy, the wait for an attendant long. She was ready to leave her winnings for some lucky stranger, she was so antsy, but she didn’t know whether she was being watched. By the time they actually left, she fumed silently, the men might well be right behind them.

  Finally, money stuffed into her bag, Lorena hurried past the slots and found Jesse waiting for her at the end of the row.

  She quickly checked to make sure that the three men from the alligator farm were still at their tables.

  They were.

  “Sure you want to go?” Jesse inquired.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  As they turned to leave, he set his palm against the small of her back, nothing more than a polite gesture. Even so, she felt that touch as if she had connected with a live electric current.

  Outside, Jesse didn’t speak as he politely seated her on the passenger side and slid behind the wheel.

  She felt the silence.

  “Thanks for taking me back,” she said nervously.

  “Not a problem.”

  Again there was silence. Uncomfortable silence. It should have been a casual drive. It wasn’t. It felt as if the air between them was combustible.

  “Is our casino a little too tame for you?” he asked at last.

  “No. Honestly, I liked it a lot. All I ever play is slots, anyway. I don’t understand craps, so it doesn’t matter to me if there’s a table or not. I guess I’m just not that much of a gambler.”

  “I’d say you were.”

  “Pardon?”

  He glanced at her sharply. “Oh, you take chances. Racing out here like the wind. Working at Harry’s. Going out with three men you’ve barely met. Especially when there have just been two truly gruesome murders in the area.” His tone was amazingly matter-of-fact.

  “I hardly think I’m in danger with my co-workers.”

  He didn’t say any more until they had taken the turn into Harry’s. She was digging in her purse for the pass that would open the door after hours when he startled her by leaning over and gripping her shoulder. The force was electric, and when she looked at him, she was certain she had guilt written all over her features.

  “I really don’t understand why you’re lying to me. Or what makes you think I’m such a fool that I believe you. What are you doing here?” he demanded roughly.

  “Working!”

  “You know I’ll have you checked out by morning,” he said.

  She prayed that he couldn’t feel the trembling that was suddenly racing through her.

  “Go right ahead. Check me out. I’m an RN. You’ll find that to be a fact.” She reached for the door handle.

  “You’re playing with fire.”

  “I’m working. Earning a living.”

  “Two people, shot. I’d bet everything I have that the killer or killers didn’t even know them. It was cold-blooded murder, as cold as it gets.”

  “Look, I know you’re going to check me out. Believe me, you won’t find a criminal record. I’m out here to work.”

  “Right.” The green of his eyes was sharp, even in the dim light. “You’ve come down here to start over, start a new life, that’s all.”

  “May I get out of the car now?”

  He released her. The sudden loss of his touch created a chill.

  Tell him the truth!

  But she couldn’t. She had nothing to go on. And he couldn’t help, not if she couldn’t offer him some kind of proof. And, anyway, could she be certain, absolutely certain, that he wasn’t in any way involved?

  Actually, yes. Somewhere deep inside, based on instinct, she simply knew the man was completely ethical.

  But she didn’t dare speak. He would send her packing.

  “I’ll tell you what you’re not,” he said softly.

  “Oh?”

  “A very good liar. So whatever you’re up to, God help you.”

  She stared straight at him. “I am a registered nurse.”

  “And what else?”

  “I dabbled in psychology, but a lot of those classes went toward the nursing degree.”

  “So you came down here to bandage knees and psychoanalyze the great American alligator?” he inquired dryly. “What else should I know about you?”

  “There’s this—I’m really tired,” she told him.

  “And stubborn as hell. You’ve barely arrived and everything has gone insane. So I’m going to hope that you’re not dangerously stupid—or carelessly reckless.”

  She wondered how he could simply look at her and be able to read everything about her. Or was she that transparent to everyone?

  It’s just him, she thought with annoyance. Even when he wasn’t touching her, it somehow felt as if he was. And even when he grilled her, she was tempted to lean closer to him, to do anything just to touch him, feel a sense of warmth. Even with so much at stake, no matter how she tried to control her mind, it kept running to thoughts of what it would be like just to lie beside him....

  “May I get out of the car now?” she asked again, once more feeling drawn to tell him that she actually wanted to stay. Put her head on his shoulders. Tell him the whole truth. But she didn’t dare.

  “Well, I can’t arrest you. At the moment.” He turned away from her, shaking his dark head. “Good night, Ms. Fortier. And lock your door,” he said.

  “I intend to,” she assured him, then exited the car as quickly as she could. Her fingers slipped on the little plastic ID entry card. She had to work it three times.

  At last the door opened.

  Jesse waited until she was inside, then drove away.

  When he was gone, she didn’t bother heading toward her own room. She walked straight to Michael Preston’s lab. With no one around, she surprised herself with her ability to quickly pick the lock.

  She knew it was dangerously stupid as she checked the big wall clock over the door, but she didn’t stop. The hatchlings began to squeal the minute she entered the room.

  Almost as if they sensed prey.

  She ignored the sound and started with the desk drawers, then the computer. She knew that she would need a password to access his important files, but she hoped to study his general entries and discover whether he was involved or not.

  The clock ticked as she worked. She read and read, keeping an eye on the clock.

  Almost an hour since she had left the casino.

  Regretfully, she turned off the computer and made a last survey to assure herself she’d left nothing out of order.

  Then she left the room, quietly closing the door behind her. She listened for the lock to automatically slip into place.

  Just in time. As she hurried down the hall, she heard voices. She quickly turned the corner, out of sight.

  “If you’re not bright enough to ask that woman out on a real date, I will.”

  Lorena recognized the voice. It was Hugh.

  Michael answered, laughing dryly, “Yeah, well, I kind of thought that she was interested. But she lit out like a bat out of hell once Jesse arrived.”

  “She’s not a poker player. One of us should have stayed with her.”

  “Is that it?” Michael said dryly. “Women have been known to find Jesse appealing.”

  “Yeah, and then they find out that they’re lusting after the unobtainable.”

  “He won’t be grieving forever,” Michael said. “And either she went with him because she wanted to, or...”

  “Or what?” Hugh demanded sharply.

  “Or she wanted to get back here without the three of us.”

  She heard the rattle of the lab doorknob then. “Locked,” he murmured.

  “I’m asking her o
ut,” Hugh said. “For an airboat ride. That’s innocent enough.”

  “Hey, every man for himself, huh?” Michael said.

  Hugh laughed. “Yep, every man for himself.”

  She heard the lab door open and shut. Not knowing if Hugh had joined Michael or would be heading on down the hallway, Lorena fled.

  As soon as she reached her own room, she thought of Jesse’s warning and made sure her own door was locked.

  Then she dragged a chair in front of it, wedging it tightly beneath the knob.

  Still, it was a long time before she slept.

  * * *

  JESSE SAT OUTSIDE the alligator farm complex, watching.

  He’d left, parked on the embankment, and waited.

  Once he’d seen Preston’s car return, he’d counted the seconds carefully, then slipped his car back into gear to follow.

  Just in the shadows, off the drive near the main entrance, he parked.

  He spent the night in the car, his senses on alert.

  The grunts of the gators, loud in the night, sounded now and then, sometimes just one or two, sometimes a cacophony.

  Strange creatures. He’d been around them all his life. They were an amazing species, having survived longer than almost any other creature to have walked the earth.

  Their calls and cries could be eerie, though.

  He stayed until daybreak, waiting, though for what, he wasn’t certain. Something. Some sign of danger.

  Dawn broke. Light came softly, filling the horizon with pastels. There was a breeze. Birds cried and soared overhead.

  He began to feel like a fool.

  Then he heard the scream.

  Chapter Six

  Lorena bolted out of the bed, stunned and disoriented. The first sharp, staccato shriek that had awakened her had been followed by other screams and cries.

  She threw on a robe and went flying out of her room, down the hall, and then burst out back to the ponds, the area from which the sounds of distress were still coming.

  Then she heard the distant sound of sirens.

  It was far too early for the gates to have opened to tourists, and she couldn’t imagine what had happened. Her heart was thundering as she saw that most of the employees had gathered around the deep trench pond where Old Elijah was kept.

  The biggest, meanest alligator in the place.

  At first she stood on the periphery of the crowd, trying to ascertain what had happened, listening to the shouts that rose around her.

  “How in hell did he fall in?” one of the waitresses asked, incredulous.

  “Roger has been a guard here from the beginning...what would make him lean far enough over to fall in?” asked one of the ticket-takers.

  “Jesse’s in there now. He’ll get him out,” a feminine voice said.

  Lorena swung around to see that Sally Dickerson was there, threading her fingers through her long red hair. She turned to stare at Lorena. Where everyone else seemed to have eyes filled with concern, Sally’s had a gleam. She was enjoying the excitement.

  “What?” Lorena said.

  “Jesse’s gone in. He’ll get Roger out.”

  Lorena wasn’t sure who she pushed out of the way then, but she rushed to the concrete rim of the great dipped pond and natural habitat that held Old Elijah.

  There was a man on the ground, next to the concrete wall. Jack Pine and Hugh Humphrey were there at the side of the wall, maneuvering some kind of rope-rigged gurney down to the fallen guard, who was apparently unconscious.

  There was Jesse.

  And there was Old Elijah.

  The way the habitat was set up, there was the concrete wall and rim, a pond area, and then a re-creation of a wetland hummock.

  The great alligator had so far remained on the other side of the water. He watched with ancient black eyes as Jesse Crane moved with care to manipulate the body of the fallen guard with the greatest care possible onto the gurney.

  Jesse was no fool. He kept his eye on the alligator the whole time.

  “Where the hell is Harry with that tranq gun?” Jack demanded hoarsely.

  “Got him!” Jesse shouted. “Haul him up, haul him up!”

  Tense, giving directions to one another as they brought up the gurney, the men were careful to raise it without unbalancing the unconscious figure held in place by buckled straps. Jesse helped guide the gurney until it was over his head.

  And all the time, Old Elijah watched.

  Motionless, still as death, only the eyes alive.

  Others jumped in to help as the gurney rose. Jesse reached for the rope ladder that he’d come down and started up.

  And then Old Elijah moved.

  He was like a bullet, a streak of lightning. Someone screamed.

  The massive jaws opened.

  They snapped shut.

  They caught the tail end of the rope ladder, and the great head of the beast began to thrash back and forth.

  Jesse, nearing the top, teetered dangerously. A collective cry rose; then he caught the rim of the concrete barrier and hauled himself over.

  At the same time, they heard the whistle of a shot.

  Harry had arrived, holding a huge tranquilizer gun on his shoulder.

  The dart struck Old Elijah on the shoulder.

  At first, it was as if a fly had landed on his back, nothing more.

  The gator backed away, drawing the remnants of the rope ladder with him. Then, as if he were some type of blow-up toy with the air seeping from him, Old Elijah fell. The eyes that had blazed with such an ancient predatory fervor went blank.

  The crowd was cheering Jesse; med techs were racing up, and more officers had arrived to control the space and let the emergency techs work.

  Jack slammed a hand on Jesse’s shoulder. Hugh shook his head and fell back against the barrier, relieved.

  Jesse looked down into the enclosure, shaking his head as he stared at Old Elijah. Then his gaze rose, almost instinctively, and met Lorena’s.

  She stared back, oddly frightened to see the way his eyes narrowed as he regarded her, filled with suspicion. His mouth was hard. She flushed; he didn’t look away.

  Someone caught his attention, and he turned.

  “Damn, Harry, it took you long enough to get that gun,” Jack called, shaking his head.

  “Jack Pine, you’re the damned handler, so get a handle on what happened here,” Harry shouted back.

  “Calm down. We’re going to have an inquiry,” Jesse said.

  “Inquiry?” Harry snorted. “Roger was out here by himself. What the fool was doing leaning over the concrete, I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait until he’s regained consciousness to find out.”

  “Yeah, if he regains consciousness,” Jack snorted. He was tense, and his features were hard as he stared at Harry.

  “Hell of a thing—” Harry began, and then realized that he had an audience, more than a dozen employees hanging around. He stopped speaking and shook his head again. “This show’s over, folks. Back to work, everybody back to work.” Then he turned to Jesse. “Hell, Jesse, what kind of questions could anybody have?”

  “That will come later. I’m getting in the ambulance copter with Roger,” Jesse said, brushing past Harry.

  He stared at Lorena again then. His features remained taut and grim, and his eyes now held...

  A warning?

  He hesitated, speaking to a couple of officers who had arrived along with the med techs, then hurried after the stretcher.

  A man in one of the Miccosukee force uniforms spoke up, his voice calm and reassuring, yet filled with authority. “Go ahead, folks, get going. We’ll be speaking with you all one by one.”

  The crowd slowly began to disperse. Harry was complaining to the officer. “I don’t get it. What could your questions be? For some fool
reason, Roger got stupid and leaned too far over the barrier. No one else was out here. Security was his job.”

  “Harry, we have to ask questions,” the officer said. “Hey, if there were an outsider in here, giving Roger or anyone a problem, you’d want to know, right?”

  “Well, yeah,” Harry said, as if the idea had just occurred to him. “You boys go right ahead. Question everyone. Damned right, I’d want to know.”

  He turned to walk away, then saw that several of his employees hadn’t left.

  “Get going, folks. It’s a workday, and this isn’t a charity. So get to work. And everyone, give these officers your fullest cooperation.” Then he walked away himself, followed by one of the officers.

  Lorena nearly jumped a mile when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She swung around. Michael was there, looking sleepy, concerned but foggy, also clad in a robe.

  “What the hell happened?”

  She explained.

  He shook his head. “Well, that’s about as weird as it gets. Roger has been here forever. He should have known better.”

  “Would that alligator... Old Elijah...would he have eaten the man, do you think?” Lorena queried softly.

  “He’s really well fed, so...who knows,” Michael said. “Eaten him? Maybe. More likely he just would have gotten angry, taken a bite, tossed him around, drowned him. Who knows. I don’t question Old Elijah. There’s only one thing I can say with certainty about alligators.”

  “And that is?”

  Michael’s eyes met hers directly. “That you’ll never really know anything about them,” he said flatly. “You’ll never know what goes on behind the evil in those eyes.”

  * * *

  JESSE SAT IN the back of the emergency helicopter, doing his best to keep out of the way of the men desperately working to save Roger’s life. He didn’t need to ask questions, not that they would be heard above the roar of the blades, not from where he sat. A glance at the med tech who had taken the man’s vitals and affixed his IV line told him that Roger had not regained consciousness.

  As soon as they reached the hospital, Jesse paced the emergency room waiting lounge. Hell of a place. He knew the hospital was good; one of the best in the nation for trauma. But it was also the place where those without insurance came for help, and the place was thick with the ill, the injured and those who had brought them.