Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 122440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 612(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 612(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
Shabina’s eyes turned liquid, and she hastily looked down at the tabletop. “He did. He closed us down for a day and had inspectors come through. I don’t know what they were looking for, poison maybe. But those people’s deaths weren’t consistent with food poisoning.”
“What people?” Harlow asked.
“Definitely wasn’t food poisoning,” Vienna confirmed.
“I’ve looked into each one who died,” Raine said. “Rainier asked me to the moment the sheriff made it public that the only connection each of the victims had was that they all had eaten here at some point.”
“Everyone eats at the Sunrise Café,” Stella said. “Seriously? Rafferty tried to imply that Shabina’s café had something to do with their deaths?”
“Bale Landry is Rafferty’s nephew,” Shabina informed them, as if they didn’t know or wouldn’t remember. “He once called the cops and accused me of trying to poison him. Maybe it’s a family thing.”
“I want to hear about the dead bodies,” Harlow insisted. “I feel like I’ve got half the story and it isn’t making sense.”
Shabina wiped discreetly at her eyes and then sat up straight, squaring her shoulders. “Apparently, four people died within forty-eight hours of one another. Strangely, two were involved in single-car accidents and two were camping. One of the campers was found in his car.”
“Why in the world would Rafferty get the idea to connect the deaths?” Stella asked. “Single-car accidents happen on these roads often.”
“Actually, there is a connection between the deaths, Stella, and it isn’t Shabina’s café. Rafferty knew that, but he’s a vengeful man, and Rainier made him look small. He and Bale had always been close, but after the altercation in Shabina’s café, Bale blamed him for not getting him out of trouble. Bale’s mother was angry with Rafferty. She doesn’t live here, but Bale complained to her, and she contacted Rafferty and let him know how unhappy she was with him.”
“She wasn’t so unhappy that she came to visit Bale,” Stella muttered.
“No, from what I gathered in her emails to both Bale and Rafferty, she despises the country and isn’t ever going to set foot here again. I don’t just mean the Eastern Sierra. Bale’s mother is living in Chile.”
“She’s living in Chile?” Vienna echoed. “For some reason, I thought she lived in Australia. Why did I think Australia?”
“She did live there with Bale,” Raine explained. “It was during the summers when she had visitation. Bale’s father had primary custody, and his mother traveled all over the world. She took him on holidays and during the summer. Her main residence is in Chile. It turns out she holds dual citizenship. She was born in Chile. She had taken him to Chile when he was a teen, and he apparently despised being there, so she stuck with Australia in the summers. I know this from the exchanges in court between lawyers.”
Harlow was stunned. It had never occurred to her that Bale’s mother wasn’t born and bred in the United States. Bale was far too prejudiced against women, especially women who might not be native. Shabina and Zahra were his constant targets, although Shabina had been born in Houston. Her father’s family went back generations in Texas. Bale hadn’t cared. He was determined to drive her out of town. To find out that his mother was born in Chile was a real shock. As far as she knew, Bale had a decent relationship with his mother.
“Would you explain the real connection these deaths have?” Harlow asked.
“The first to die was Malone Armstrong. He was twenty-seven and an avid backpacker. He’d come alone to Yosemite for a two-week backpacking trip and was found dead in his car. No record. He worked for a construction company in San Francisco. He died from some kind of toxin or venom. The same way Lawyer and Helen died,” Raine said. “That’s the connection. Each of these deaths can be attributed to the same venom. Ray and Doug Camello were climbers. They were driving back to their camp near the hot springs when they suddenly veered off the road. One witness said it appeared both men were having violent seizures.”
“Both of them were having seizures? At the same time? In their car?” Harlow frowned, trying to think. Two men. “Brothers? They could have had epilepsy or been violently allergic to something.”
“They didn’t,” Vienna said. “I was on shift when they were brought in. They didn’t have any illness that would cause seizures. They presented as if they were bitten by a very toxic, very venomous snake. One, Doug, had two distinct puncture wounds on the back of his neck. There wasn’t swelling at that site, and we almost missed it. We were desperately trying to stop the continual seizures.”
“Lawyer had seizures toward the end,” Harlow said. “Did you find a bite mark on the other one? Ray?”
“We didn’t,” Vienna admitted.