Murder, Ye Bones

by Rachael Stapleton

  “Oh, my God, you can’t think that Oliveira…” Penny’s voice trailed off, but her horror was written all over her face.

  Cody nodded. “He’s a local.”

  “Yep, so he knows the area, the tides, how to fool forensics—and all the stories. And even some of the other cops are starting to talk,” Daemon told her.

  “Plus, he’s seeing Cat Nascimento,” Penny said thoughtfully.

  “That—or he wants people to think he’s seeing her, setting up an alibi. Better to be an adulterer than a murderer,” Cody said.

  “As soon as we’re done with our drink, I say we visit Danior.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  _____________

  E milion opened the cabin’s door when they arrived.

  “Cody,” he said warmly. “Nice to see you, man. How are things at the Manor? Nana miss us yet?”

  Cody laughed. “One of you at the very least—the prettier one.”

  “So, me then?” Emilion joked.

  And Penny and Daemon,” he added giving me a hug.

  Daemon stepped past Emilion while we chatted and went over to Danior, who was sitting up on the sofa and seemed to be just fine. But she looked at Daemon guardedly as he sat down across from her.

  “What’s going on at the cemetery?” Danior demanded, as Emilion sat down beside her. “And don’t tell us that you don’t know. We heard you were there.”

  “They’ve found Bianca Santos,” Daemon said.

  “Dead?” Danior asked, wide-eyed.

  “I’m afraid so,” Daemon said.

  “Oh, God.” Danior shrank back, as if she could become one with the sofa. “You guys were the ones who found her, weren’t you?”

  “Actually, yes,” I said, sitting down in an empty chair.

  Danior’s double take was almost humorous. “How? You just decided to go digging in the cemetery?”

  “Cody and I went on the Brewing up History Tour,” I told her.

  “You went on a ghost tour? You don’t even believe in ghosts, do you?” Emilion said incredulously.

  “I needed a fresh perspective,” I said, and shrugged.

  Daemon was still studying Danior.

  “Danior, are you sure that you were attacked last night? That you didn’t simply fall? Just how loaded were you?” he asked.

  Danior flushed. “Loaded enough to black out, I guess. To be honest, I don’t even remember drinking all that much. But no, I’m not sure of anything. They said at the hospital that I had been attacked, so I figured…”

  “And you told the police you saw Lise before whatever happened, happened?” he pressed.

  She flushed again. “I saw someone who looked like her, I think, coming toward me. I do remember that. I’m not imagining it.”

  “Okay, and while you were out last night, who else did you see?” Daemon asked.

  She stared back at him, her face wrinkled in puzzlement. “I saw all of you, obviously—Izzy, Adriano, the two of you, Emilion. And then, later on, at the Creoula Ilhabela—or maybe it was when I got to… I don’t know—I saw…I saw all kinds of people. Adriano and the guys from his crew were there, a group of tourists who had been at the Plantation before—”

  “You saw Cat Nascimento, too, didn’t you?” I interrupted. “She came to see me at the resort to apologize for letting you leave on your own.”

  “Yeah, I saw Cat. She can sure drink. I think that’s where I messed up. Maybe I was trying to keep up with her and, well, I’m not exactly used to alcohol,” Danior said.

  “Yes,” I said frowning. “I hate to lecture but I’m pretty sure your family is not going to be very happy with you and me about this.”

  “Why would they be upset with you?”

  “Well, because I should be keeping my eye on you. Your underage, Danior. I’m older and I’m a friend of your family. I’m not doing a very good job of chaperoning you. I have half a mind to haul you home now. That’s if Nana isn’t already on her way down here.”

  “I’m sorry, Pen. I promise, I won’t drink anymore while I’m here.”

  I leaned in and gave her a hug. “Good, ‘cause you really scared us.”

  “Sorry to interrupt your moment but what about Oliveira?” Daemon asked. “Did you see him anywhere when you were out?”

  Danior squinted in thought, then shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Okay, Danior, this is really important, so please, think hard. Do you remember any details at all of what happened after you left the Creoula Ilhabela?” Daemon asked her.

  She let out a sigh. “Just what I’ve told people already. I saw the ghost coming toward me, or maybe it was just a girl who looked an awful lot like Lise. I called out her name and chased after her. That’s when someone hit me, or maybe I did just pass out, only everybody is suspicious because…there’s a killer out there. I just don’t know!” she practically wailed.

  “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Emilion said reassuringly, putting an arm around her.

  “It’s all right. We’re leaving. Get some rest, Danior. And thanks,” Daemon told her.

  Cody and I gave her a goodbye kiss on the cheek, and then Emilion saw us out, locking the door behind us.

  “I want to check out the bars she mentioned and see if anyone remembers what she was up to last night,” Daemon said.

  “Then let’s go.” Cody replied.

  I gave him a stern look. “I thought you were on vacation.”

  “I am but someone hurt Danior and I guess that feels a little personal at the moment.”

  I smiled. I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist for long.

  I was surprised to discover that Daemon was carrying a picture of Alexandra Newirth on him, along with shots of Lise, Danior, Bianca and Oliveira, the last out of uniform.

  We hit pay dirt almost immediately with one of the bartenders at the Creoula Ilhabela, who came over and looked at the pictures. He remembered Danior but couldn’t give us much aside from what we already knew, but then he focused on Dr. Alexandra Newirth and Bianca Santos. “These two…I kind of think I do remember them…. This is the lady who was just found in the car in the ocean, right?”

  “Yes. Did you ever see them in here together?” Daemon asked.

  “No. No, the older woman was alone—we got talking about our favorite local restaurants. And the girl…”

  “Bianca.” I clarified.

  “Yeah, Bianca, she came in alone, too, at the same time I think, but she was the friendly type, talked to a lot of people. She was talking to that couple from the south. Oh, what is their name? They’re related to that family that killed those girls back in the seventies.”

  “Are you saying the Rigdons still have family who still live here?”

  “Yeah, they don’t live here all the time. I think they’re from North Carolina but they come and go—they’re descendants of the Confederados, so they have family north of São Paulo, around Americana.”

  “Whitaker.” I suggested.

  “Yeah, that’s them. Willie and…what’s her name?”

  “Sammy-Jo,” I finished for him.

  “Yeah, you know them? They were buying Bianca shots. She looked pretty blitzed when she left, too. This lady,” he pointed to Alexandra Newirth,” she left right after her, said she was going to get the girl into a cab.”

  Daemon thanked him, and we moved on. We were all quiet as we walked. We’d have to get Cody’s car tomorrow.

  Then Daemon turned to us out of the blue.

  “So, who is that couple the bartender mentioned. You two seemed to know them.”

  “Yeah, we had the pleasure today. They’re obnoxious, but they seemed harmless at the time.” I replied. “Apparently, they’re related to our Voodoo Queen, though, so perhaps we’d better take a closer look.”

  Daemon nodded. “Okay, so let’s look at what we know. The Voodoo Queen—the original Voodoo Queen—had a book, and she and Leo Rigdon used it as part of their MO when they were killing girls back in the day. Now
someone, maybe a descendant, has found that book and they’re using it and killing people, too—killing them just like the Voodoo Queen and Rigdon did. Bianca Santos was drinking at the Creoula Ilhabela, and most likely someone spiked her drink. Alexandra Newirth tried to help her and was killed for her pains, only they decided to make her death appear to be an accident, in case she was ever found. At some point, the killer took Jane Doe, but for some reason, he, she or they dug up her body, then threw it in the ocean. My guess is they intended to do the same with Bianca Santos’s body, except that you found it first. Last night, one of two things happened. Either Danior fell, or someone drugged and attacked her.”

  “Possibly the Whitakers,” I suggested.

  “Right, but they didn’t get a chance to snatch her because they were interrupted and some good samaritan came by and messed up their plan.”

  “We’ll know soon enough if Danior was drugged, won’t we?” Cody asked.

  Daemon nodded, “Yeah. The doctors are testing Danior’s blood for drugs—including Ayahuasca.”

  “I think we should look into other murders.” I turned to Cody, “Do you think you could pull some strings and find out if there’s been any other similar murders in São Paulo and North Carolina. Perhaps the Whitakers take their killing spree on the road at times.”

  Cody nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Chapter Forty

  _____________

  T he following night Cody dropped me off a half-dozen steps from the front doors of the Plantation House, as if I could manage to get in trouble between him and the entryway. I wasn’t sure if I ought to be insulted six feet was as far as he trusted me or grateful that someone loved me that much.

  “Shift ends in six hours.” I kissed his cheek. “I’ll walk back with Danior and Emilion. What are you going to do in town?”

  “Stuff,” he said vaguely. “Got your phone?”

  “Yes, Dad.” I patted my cross-body purse. “I have bandages in case of boo-boos too.”

  “Good girl.” He let my sarcasm slide right off him and twisted his mouth up into a smile that promised nothing but trouble. “Have fun.”

  “Was that Cody?” She craned to see over my shoulder.

  “He’s on his way into town, so he gave me a ride.”

  Her nose crinkled. “How literal are we talking?”

  I grinned. Danior and I had grown up practically sisters. And as such, we were allowed to say inappropriate things to each other.

  Voices drifted down the hall from the room where Yasmin was helping everyone with their costumes, hair and makeup. Danior led the way, and we started pulling on our costumes. Her gown was buttery yellow and with her golden-blonde hair pinned in a corona around her head, she embodied a sun goddess. The matching parasol in her hand might as well have a scepter.

  The room bustled with the other female guides prepping for the shift ahead. Tonight was Halloween and as such we would be giving haunted tours of the plantation and its grounds. I’d offered to help out to keep an eye on Danior.

  We expected the plantation would be buzzing after the recent discovery of bones and it was. People loved to be scared on Halloween.

  I’d just finished pinning my hair when I bumped into Izzy. I was surprised to see she wasn’t dressed yet. She was usually dressed to the nines when I saw her.

  “It’s called a Mongolian mark.”

  “Huh? I looked around to see what I was missing?”

  “My birthmark,” she said, without breaking a stride. “I usually wear heavy foundation and concealer to hide it. It’s hereditary. It grows even more red and angry when I’m flushed or drinking.”

  I nodded, now noticing the faint red patch on her forehead. “Do you know where I set my parasol?” I asked. “I lost it already.”

  “You really didn’t notice? Most people gawk and point it out.” She stared at me, unflinching.

  “It’s a birthmark, that’s pretty common, actually… now a nipple in the shape of a heart, I would love to see. Totally uncommon. You got one of those?”

  “No.” She chuckled under her breath. “I do have a tattoo on my left butt cheek though.”

  “Oh, bummer, that’s also common… at least where I come from. Small town and all that.”

  She smiled, “Come on, let’s find that parasol of yours.”

  After three hours and our fourth tour of the grounds, I heard the words “Excuse me, miss,” in an all-too-innocent drawl behind me. “I’m a last-minute addition to your tour. Here’s my ticket.”

  I stopped walking and started counting backwards from ten. “Cody, what do you think you’re doing? My shift is not over.”

  “Yasmin called.” He pressed a torn stub into my hand. “She was thrilled to sell me a ticket.” He rubbed his hands together. “Let’s see what you got.”

  “I expect you to behave.”

  “I’m a paying customer.” He slapped his palm over his heart. “Whatever happened to the customer’s always right? Don’t make me get you fired, little lady.”

  “That only counts for actual customers and not annoying over protective cop boyfriends.”

  With a twist of my wrist, I stuck out the parasol swished my skirt and followed Danior. We tried to mix it up so we didn’t get bored but she was mainly the one doing all the talking. After all, what did I know of the plantation’s ghosts? Actually, come to think of it, a lot more now, after my fourth tour.

  A prickling sense of unease swept over me as we neared the haunted maze, and I slowed my pace.

  “Keep walking, Pen.” Cody waited for me to catch up to him. “He won’t make a move in front of so many witnesses.”

  He? A man in the back met my gaze and winked at me. “What’s Willie Whitaker doing here?”

  “Don’t panic. That’s why I’m here. Daemon and I had a feeling he might show. I got a call back from the department. You were correct on your hunch. There’s been a trail of dead girls in their wake over the years, although not as many lately.”

  “What are the odds of this not ending in a shoot-out?” I whispered out of the side of my mouth while smiling back at my tour guests, hoping they believed the lie they saw written on my face and ignored the clanging of their inner warning bells.

  “Don’t worry. Everyone’s safe. There’s safety in numbers. Daemon’s reached out to the Inspector and we’re working on a plan.”

  “You’re using us as bait. Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “I’m telling you now and we’re not using you as bait. We’re working on another plan.”

  “Well, why not use me as bait?” Now I was offended. Protecting me was one thing. Coddling me was another.

  “We don’t know that he wants you. It could be Danior that he’s after next.”

  “Oh right. That makes more sense, I guess.” I continued on. Though my skin crawled when I turned my back on the man, I trusted Cody to save us from becoming one of his failed zombie attempts.

  The group shuffled, eager to keep moving around the grounds. I sensed a few of them were ready for this to end so they could go back to the party inside. We breezed through two stops when the crowd remained listless.

  We reached the front steps of the plantation, and the crowd dispersed in an eager rush. Cody ushered Danior and me inside. Wasting no time, he handed us over to Yasmin.

  “You’re going out the back.” Yasmin hauled us toward the rear exit. “Cody is distracting Whitaker.”

  “But…we’re working.”

  “It’s all good. We’re well staffed for tonight’s event.” Emilion swaggered in and struck a pose in the hallway. The stovepipe hat he doffed in our direction completed the ensemble. “I got this.”

  I let Yasmin drag us a few more steps then I stopped—like the mule that I was. “We don’t have to leave. I know martial arts, for heaven’s sake. I’m hardly afraid of a middle-aged man and his polite-as-pie wife.”

  “Well, good. You can get me the hell out of here then ‘cause I’m spooked as all hell.”
Danior choked out. “I talked to Nana before I came in today and she’s worried about us. She says there’s death in the cards.” Danior shoved up my skirt in the front, untied the bow cinching the hoop skirt in at my waist and shoved the frame down around my feet like a coiled Slinky. “There.” She drew back and inspected me. “That’ll do. This way we’ll fit in the car.”

  Caving to Danior’s sense of urgency, I followed her out the rear exit. “Where are we going?” I climbed in her car and waited for her to join me.

  “Yasmin said to go back to the carriage house where Daemon’s staying. Adriano’s waiting for us there.”

  My phone pinged with a text as she cranked the engine then sped down the gravel trail, hands white-knuckled on the wheel.

  It was Eve. I chuckled to myself.

  “What?” Danior asked.

  “Oh, it’s dingbat… Eve,” I clarified, “She says to tell you to eat more cake.”

  Danior frowned. “What is that a metaphor for living life to the fullest or something? There’s a killer on the loose and she’s worried about my confectionary consumption.”

  My phone pinged again and I laughed harder, “Oh, this makes more sense now. She says you’ll be harder to kidnap.”

  Danior smiled and shook her head. “Here we are. And there’s Adriano, waiting on the porch.”

  I finished reading the remainder of Eve’s text which basically told me she’d found some interesting things on the blog to do with voodoo and that she was working with a hacker at the moment to break into Lise’s email. She said to give her ten minutes or so and she’d call. Well, Eve may have been silly but she was always reliable.

  “Don’t you all look gorgeous,” Adriano said as we reached him. “I heard what happened. You two okay?”

  “We’re fine Adriano, thanks. I could use a drink, though.”

  “I’ll see if Daemon’s got anything.”

  As I walked into the miniature version of the main house, Adriano headed for the kitchen at the back of the house and my cell phone rang. I rummaged in my purse—reticule—and saw that it was Izzy.