"Maybe... or she's relevant somehow."
"I haven't Googled her," I said.
"Maybe we should," Quinn said.
"I have my laptop over here," Serafine said. "I was doing some online PR... I'll grab it and we'll look her up. What's her name?" she asked as she put the laptop on the table next to the tarot cards. The combination of technology and magic made me grin: nothing like a little twenty-first century divination.
"Evelyn Crowley," I told her, and she typed it in.
"Does she live in Illinois?"
"No... Houston."
"Hmm. I'm getting a hit for an Evelyn Crowley in Peoria. Won the lottery two years ago."
"Wait... what?"
"It's right here," she said, turning the computer so I could see. "She won three million dollars in the Illinois lottery, two days before Christmas."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"Didn't Mitch win the lottery, too?" Quinn asked.
"He did," I confirmed.
She Googled Mitch's name. "Sure enough. He won five million dollars on December 23 in Florida, three years ago."
"Wait... they both won the lottery, and on the same day?"
"Different states," Quinn pointed out.
"Still. There's coincidence, and then there's coincidence."
"You think it was rigged?" Serafine asked.
I pointed to the wheel of fortune card. "And José said something about games."
"Think he was talking about the lottery?"
"How would they be able to do that, though?" I asked.
"Maybe someone they knew worked for the lottery."
"Let's look," I said. We Googled Mitch and Evelyn, but no connections came up other than their win. "Besides," I said, "isn't it impossible to win the lottery if you work for the lottery?"
We were quiet for a minute. "Bug didn't win the lottery," Quinn said.
"But he's connected to both Mitch and Eva," I agreed. "Let's look him up. His real name is Jerome."
Serafine Googled his name, but the only thing that came up employment-wise was the company I'd brought up the other day. "He was with them for ten years," I said, "but I have no idea what they do. Google the name of the company and lottery," I suggested.
She did. "Nothing on the first few pages," she said, scrolling through. And then she stopped. "Wait," she said. "The Ohio Lottery Commission was a client of theirs."
"What did the company do for them?"
"Software," she said, and looked up at me. "Number generation."
"So, Bug fixed the lottery for them," I said.
"It's a good guess," Serafine said.
"But why kill him?" I asked. "It doesn't make sense."
"Maybe he was going to out them," Quinn suggested.
"But if he's the one who fixed it, wouldn't he be the one who would end up going to jail?" I asked. "We're missing something here." I looked back down at the cards. "Five of swords," I said, pointing at one of the cards. "What does that mean, again?"
"Deception. Something hidden," Serafine said.
"That could apply to the lottery scam, assuming that was what was going on," Quinn said.
"I think that's a pretty good assumption," I said. As I stared at the cards, I wondered what I was doing, taking my lead from a tarot card reading. On the other hand, it had been pretty helpful so far. "Here's the thing: Mitch and Evelyn profited from the lottery, but it looked like Bug was in charge of the ranch. Who owned the title?"
"We can check that, too," Serafine said. "I'll look up the address and run it through the appraisal district website." She typed for a moment, then clicked the mouse with a flourish and sat back. "Owner: Jerome Wharton. Appraised Value, $3,500,000."
"That's a lot of money," I said. "And I heard he paid in cash."
"Almost like he won the lottery," Quinn quipped. "Or some close friends shared their winnings."
"What do you think José knew?" I asked. "Obviously someone wanted to keep him quiet."
"Maybe he overheard something," Serafine suggested. "Or maybe he saw something." She did some more Googling.
"Whoever it was seemed to have some medical knowledge. Both times, the weapon was chemical."
"Evelyn was in medicine; I think she said she was a nurse practitioner," I said.
"Really?" Serafine asked, and typed in her name. "You’re right. She was in the oncology department at a hospital in Peoria."
I looked down at the cards. "Why would she want to kill him?"
"Maybe she ran out of money," Quinn suggested.
"Her house wasn't superposh," I agreed. "And she did have an argument with him that ended with a cattle prod to the family jewels."
"Think maybe she was in line to inherit something?" Serafine asked.
"I'll bet I can find out," I said.
"How?"
"I've got a friend in Houston who's good at ferreting that stuff out. Mind if I make a quick phone call?"
"Go for it," Serafine said. They waited as I made a quick call to an old reporter friend of mine. "She's going to see what she can find out," I told them when I hung up. "It might turn out to be a story for her, anyway; I don't feel so bad about asking."
"So, what do we do now?" Quinn asked.
"Whoever poisoned José must have had access to the trailer during the day before he was poisoned,” I said. "Assuming it was the Splenda that caused the trouble.”
"Any word on that?"
"I'll check in again this afternoon," I told them. "I'd love to find a way to get back to the ranch to see if anyone remembers someone hanging around the trailer that afternoon."
"Jed's there," Quinn said in a tense voice.
"He is," I said. "So, I think you probably shouldn't join me."
"I don't want to go either," Serafine said. "I'm out on bail, but I'm still a suspect."
"You might call Tobias," Quinn suggested.
"That's just what I was thinking," I said, and picked up my phone.
19
"What are we looking for again?" Tobias asked as we bumped up the driveway to the game ranch.
"Anything we can find," I said. "Someone set fire to my place to scare me off—I'm almost sure of it. I'm wondering if anyone saw Bug's ex-girlfriend around."
"So, you're thinking it's her?"
I told him what we'd discovered about the lottery that afternoon—and the fact that she'd worked as a nurse. I felt a little awkward talking about the cards, though, so I left that bit out. "If someone saw her around the ranch the night before José was poisoned, that'd be pretty close to a smoking gun."
"You went and visited her, too. Do you think she might have been the one to start your place on fire? To warn you off?"
"Or kill me," I added. "It's hard to know; I saw a face, but between the shadows and the heat distortion, I couldn't tell who it was. I don't even know if it was a man or a woman."
"Well, we'll see what we can find out," he said as he pulled up next to the burned husk of the trailer.
He parked the truck, and we both got out. "What are we officially here to do?" I asked as we ambled toward the kangaroo pen.
"Check in on the new arrivals," he said. "First, I think we need to talk to someone." A wiry man with dark hair and a plaid shirt was mucking out stalls in a building nearby. "I think we'll start there," he said.
"Hello!" he called in a cheery voice as he approached the worker.
The man ducked his head and continued to work. "We're here to look at the kangaroos," Tobias said.
The man gave him a blank look.
"Habla español?" Tobias asked.
The man smiled and nodded. "Sí."
My elementary Spanish wasn't enough to follow the conversation that sprang up between the men, but I did hear the word señora a couple of times. A few minutes later, Tobias nodded, looking satisfied, and put a hand on my elbow. "Let's go look at the kangaroos," he said, steering me away from the worker.
"What was that all about?" I asked.
; "His name is Santos, and he's worked here since the ranch opened. Evelyn was here," he said. "The night before José was poisoned.”
"Did he see her?"
"He said the señora—he didn't know her name—from Houston drove in. She and Mitch argued about something, and she peeled out."
"How does he know?"
"He was working late," Tobias said. "With Bug gone, it's been kind of chaotic."
"Does he know anything about José?"
"He didn't want to talk about him," Tobias told me. "I got the impression he was protecting him."
"If there was something in the trailer that would have incriminated José, maybe Santos burned it down to protect him."
"So, are you thinking a different person set the fire at Dewberry Farm?"
"It's possible," I said. "But why would he want to protect José?"
"Good question," Tobias said as we walked over to the kangaroos. "Maybe he was paying the help extra, or knew about something the workers were doing and let them off the hook."
"Like what?"
"José didn't want us hanging out around that barn." Tobias pointed to the small, ramshackle building about fifty feet from the kangaroo pen.
"Maybe we should check it out," I said. Together, we walked over to the weathered building. It had wood walls, a rusted metal roof, and no windows. Just a large barn door with a padlock. "What do you think it is?"
"Storage, would be my guess," he said. "Too bad it's locked." He grabbed the padlock and gave it a tug; to my surprise, it opened. "We're in luck; it isn't latched."
"Shall we?" I asked, and we stepped inside. When Tobias pulled the door shut behind us, it was as if someone had turned off the lights. Some narrow shafts of sunlight leaked through the boards on the walls, but it was very dark, particularly after the brightness outside, and there was a strong gamy smell. "I've got a flashlight on my phone," I said, flipping it on.
"Storage," Tobias confirmed as the beam swept over piles of boxes and old equipment to the right side of the door.
"Smells pretty bad for storage," I said. I swung the beam to the left and stifled a scream.
"What the..." Tobias trailed off.
"Is that a tiger?" I asked.
"It's not just one tiger," he said. "It's two. And a lion."
"They're in such small cages... and they're muzzled!"
"No wonder he didn't want us near this place," Tobias said. "I'll bet these animals are here illegally."
"José knew about it, too," I told him. "Do you think that's why someone tried to kill him? They were afraid he was going to say something to someone?"
"It sure explains why someone might have burned down the trailer," Tobias said. "Records." He took a step toward the cages; one of the tigers let out a low growl as he approached. "Easy," he crooned in a soothing voice. "Just taking a look. I won't hurt you."
"Are they sick?" I asked.
"A little malnourished, but they look okay."
"Why do they have them here?" I asked.
"Probably so people can hunt them," he said. "It's illegal. Some ranches hook hunters up with folks in Africa, but you can't legally do it here."
"No wonder José didn't want us in here," I said. "He didn't want us to find these guys. Maybe that's why someone tried to kill him."
"Because he was going to spread the word?"
As he spoke, a humming sound came from the corner of the room. I flashed the light over to it; it was coming from one of two chest freezers.
"I'm kind of afraid to look in those," I said.
"I'll do it," he said. I trailed behind him, wincing as he opened it.
"What's in it?"
"Deer," he said.
"Exotic?"
"Nope. Local white-tailed," he told me. "They haven't really been processed."
"It's not deer season, though, is it?"
"Not until November," he said. "And these don't look like they've been here for long. Someone poached them."
"Poor things," I murmured. "But why shoot and store deer when you've got exotics all over the place?"
Tobias looked over at the cages, and I shone my light on them. "They've got to eat," he said.
I shuddered. "There are two empty cages over there." I gestured to the corner were two were stacked on top of each other. "Do you think they had inhabitants?"
"Looks like it," he said, pointing to a tuft of orange fur in the cage.
"I don't want to think about where they are now."
He gave me a look. "I have an idea," he said.
"So do I," I said, running my light over the cats in the cages. "Let's get out of here."
"Good idea," he said. "I want to have a chat with Rooster about this. It's not illegal to have tigers as long as you have a permit, but it's illegal to hunt them."
"How do we prove it?"
"I don't know about that," he said. "But the ranch is supposed to have a permit for these animals, and I'm willing to bet they don't. And these conditions are just horrible for these poor animals."
"Let's get out of here," I said and took a step toward the door. Before we could get any farther, the door swung open.
Tobias and I shielded our eyes from the bright light as Jed surveyed us. "What are y'all doin' in here?"
"We were just leaving, actually," Tobias said.
"No," Jed said slowly. "I don't think you are." Before we could do anything else, he slammed the door shut. As Tobias and I sprinted toward it, we heard the snick of the padlock.
"Jed," Tobias called. "Let us out!"
No answer; he was gone.
"Crap," I said to Tobias. "What do we do now?"
"Find a way out of here was my first thought."
"I like the way you think. Any ideas on how?"
"No."
"Me neither," I said, pushing against the door. "For old wood, this is holding pretty well."
"Someone reinforced it recently," Tobias said, pointing to the fresh two-by-fours holding it together.
"Is there a hammer in here somewhere, or a crowbar? Maybe we can pull off those boards and weaken the door."
"Or go after the walls," Tobias suggested, pressing against a weak board.
I shone the light at the boards, then realized what I had in my hand. "You know, this flashlight doubles as a cell phone. Maybe I should use it."
"You call. I'll try to kick our way out of here."
As he kicked against the wall, I dialed Quinn. I was down to one bar on my phone; the reception was spotty at best. She wasn't answering; I left a quick message, then hung up and dialed Peter, and then Seraphine. Nobody picked up, so I left messages.
"Umm... have you considered 911?" Tobias suggested as he gave a board a swift kick that splintered it.
I dialed, and the dispatcher picked up.
"What is your emergency?"
"Someone locked us in a barn," I told her.
"What? I'm sorry, you're breaking up."
"A barn."
"A farm."
"No. A barn!" I said, slowly.
"A barn? Is there a window?"
"No," I said. "That's why I'm calling; we can't get out. There are tigers in here, too."
"Fires?"
"Tigers!"
"Tigers?"
"Yes."
"Look. I don't have time for prank calls."
"This isn't a prank call."
She let out a weary sigh. "Fine. What's your location?"
"We're at the Safari Exotic Game Ranch."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, you're breaking up. Where?"
As I repeated what I'd told her, the phone beeped three times. The connection was lost.
"What happened?"
"The connection died," I said, just as there was a click and the barn door opened.
20
It was Mitch, with Jed a few feet behind him. In his hand was a gun; I couldn't tell what kind, but it looked very businesslike. "What are y'all doin' in here?"
"We took a wrong turn," Tobias said. "And then your
helper here," he added, jabbing a finger at Jed, "locked us in."
"Sorry about that," Mitch said, but made no move to unblock the doorway. "He was just following instructions."
"Why are there tigers in here?" Tobias asked. "They could probably use a little more room than they've got."
"It's legal to have tigers in Texas," Mitch said.
"If you have a permit for them," Tobias pointed out. "Plus, they need more space than these tiny cages."
"It's in process," Mitch told him.
"I'll be happy to check them out for you," the vet said, as if we were here on a routine visit and Mitch wasn't holding a gun. "I'll probably have to tranquilize them first, though."
"I don't remember calling for you to come out here today," Mitch said.
"I didn't get a chance to finish taking a look at the kangaroos," Tobias said smoothly, "so I decided to stop by. I'm sorry about José; you've had some bad luck here at the ranch lately, it seems."
"Yeah, well, you could say that. Now, why don't you tell me why you were really here in this barn?"
"I told you, we took a wrong turn," Tobias said.
"Forgive me if I don't believe you," Mitch said, and turned to look at me. "You've been hangin' around here a lot recently. I heard you went and paid a visit to a friend of mine in Houston, too."
"I thought she might be able to help figure out what happened to your brother," I said honestly. "Now, please let us get back to the truck. We've got things to do."
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," he said. "Why don't you come with me?"
"I have things to do this afternoon," I said. "Thanks for unlocking the door. It never should have been locked in the first place." I stared hard at Jed.
"I don't think we're done here yet," he said.
"I think we are," Tobias replied.
"I don't know what you have in mind," I told him, "but people know we're here. If something happens to us, suspicion will fall on you."
"Maybe," he said. "Maybe not. Jed, get the keys from Dr. Brandt."
"No," Tobias said.
Mitch leveled the gun at him, then turned it to me. "You might want to rethink that. No one will think twice about a gunshot on the ranch. We've got a practice range not far from here."
Tobias hesitated, then dug in his pocket and handed over the key to Jed.
Deadly Brew: A Dewberry Farm Mystery Page 17
