The Tao of the Viper: A Kate Pomeroy Mystery (The Kate Pomeroy Gothic Mystery Series Book 2)

by Linda Watkins

  I took a deep breath and nodded. “I will.”

  “Good, now show me the sugar bowl and the bottle of pills.”

  I complied with her request and she carefully packaged the items to take back to the mainland for examination.

  “Anything else?” she asked.

  “Yes. There was another prescription bottle that I gave to Agent Haskell. They were, I believed, mild anti-depressants. However, last time I took one, I had a very strong reaction. I suspect that the pills prescribed were switched for something stronger. Haskell was going to take them to the lab.”

  Agent Watson nodded. “I’ll look into it when I get back.”

  Not long after this conversation, her team returned from the tunnels and, without comment, left the Carriage House. Agent Watson thanked me for my help, gave me her card, and said she would be in touch. I thanked her, shook her hand, and watched as they left.

  Later that evening, Watson called.

  “The sugar bowl held trace elements of opium,” she said. “The previous testing didn’t pick it up because it wasn’t precise enough. Your perp did a good job of cleaning the bowl and replacing its contents, but not good enough. The Oxy, however, is going to be hard to trace, but we’ll try.”

  “What about the other pills?”

  Agent Watson sighed. “I’m working on that. Agent Haskell hasn’t been very forthcoming. I’ll let you know what I find when I find it. Okay?”

  “Okay,” I replied, feeling slightly relieved. Watson has just told me there was hard evidence that I wasn’t going bonkers and I, finally, had someone in authority in my corner.

  “What happens now?” I asked.

  “The team in the tunnels found three other discarded candy bar wrappers. So, we’re pretty damn sure your perp has been down there. I had Sokolov’s former roomie at the pen interviewed and he confirms that the Russian was a Milky Way addict. So, we’re pretty sure Sokolov’s the guy we’re after.

  “And, since the tunnels lead to the four mansions on the island, I’ve reached out to the owners who aren’t currently in residence. The Palmers said that they would call their caretaker, a Horace Hatchett, and give him the go ahead to let us inside. I’m still waiting to hear back from Mr. Levine, who is currently overseas. It’s my theory that the perp, Sokolov, is hiding in one of those empty houses.”

  “But how is he getting access to my place?”

  “An accomplice, like I said. Perhaps a transient, not a resident. Someone who gained access to your purse at the clinic. If we don’t catch Sokolov at one of the manor houses, we’ll undertake a door-to-door search. And, I’ve asked your local constable, Stubble, to do several drive-bys of your house every evening until we catch the guy.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “I feel safer with the chain locks on and my boyfriend’s brother is going to install an alarm system.”

  “Good. You have my office number already, but I’m going to give you my direct line. If anything happens, no matter how insignificant, call me day or night.”

  The agent gave me her number, which I put immediately into my phone contacts. I thanked her again and hung up.

  Jeremy, who was listening to my end of the conversation, asked me to fill him in, which I did.

  “I need to let Matt know what’s happening,” I said as I picked up my phone and dialed.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Matt,” I replied. “It’s me.”

  “Hi. I was hoping I’d hear from you. What happened with the FBI?”

  I told him everything that had occurred that day.

  “And, that’s it for now. They’re going to search the Palmer and Levine residences. If Vlad doesn’t turn up there, they’re going to search the whole island.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “What about that other something you wanted to talk to me about?”

  Matt sighed. “I’m working on it. I don’t want to give you incorrect information. Give me a day or two. And, keep me informed on any updates about the Russian.”

  “Okay,” I said, a bit perplexed. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  I put the phone back into its charger and joined Jeremy on the couch. We talked a bit more about the events of the day, then changed the subject to Christmas and our upcoming trip to visit his parents.

  “We’ll leave on the twenty-fourth, early,” said Jeremy. “It’s only a three-hour drive.”

  “Okay, we have the Morrison party on the twenty-second and the office party on the twenty-third.”

  “Yeah, I think we can handle that. We’ll be back from my folks on the twenty-ninth in plenty of time for New Year’s.”

  “And, what are we doing for New Year’s Eve?”

  “I thought we’d stay here. Get dressed up and go to the Whistle and ring in the New Year with the locals. But, if you want to do something posher, we can do that, too.”

  I smiled. “No, I like the idea of staying here.”

  At the clinic, we put up a small tree and, the next morning when I arrived, I added presents for Steve and Nadia to those that were already there. We planned to close for the holidays on the twenty-third and reopen on the second of January. Steve and his paramedic friend, Max, had reservations to go skiing at Sugarloaf and Nadia said she was spending the holidays with friends. She didn’t go into detail so I wondered who she was referring to. I was afraid that she had invented these “friends” so Steve and I wouldn’t feel bad about leaving her alone.

  “When are we going to open presents?” I asked as I approached the front desk where Steve and Nadia were working.

  “I thought maybe at the end of the day on the twenty-third,” Steve replied. “We could do a little potluck dinner here. Max and I aren’t leaving until the twenty-fourth.”

  “Jeremy and I are taking off the same day. A potluck sounds good. Put me down for a main dish – maybe lasagna?”

  Steve grinned. “I love Italian. I’ll bring a big salad and some garlic bread. What about you, Nadia?”

  “I could get a pie or a cake. Okay?”

  Steve smiled at her. “That would be great.”

  “How about l bring some eggnog, too?” I added. “Maybe we can do some caroling after dinner?”

  “That sounds like fun,” said Steve. “A real old-fashioned Christmas.”

  We chatted a bit more about the planned party then got down to the business as the first of our patients began to arrive.

  59

  Kate

  December 22nd

  THE HOLIDAYS WERE rapidly approaching. My workday the twenty-second was fairly normal – three scheduled patient visits and a couple of emergencies. The first was an eighteen-year-old, home from school, who’d fallen off a ladder while putting up Christmas lights. The boy, who was slightly inebriated, was transferred to the mainland with a broken collarbone. The other was a woman who had cut herself while making pies for Christmas dinner. A few stitches later, she was back to rolling out dough.

  I called it a day at five-thirty and hurried home. Jeremy was going to pick me up at seven for the party at the Morrisons’ and I needed to shower and get ready.

  Careful to double-lock the front door when I came in, I poured myself a glass of wine, took a couple of sips, then headed for the bathroom.

  I was putting the finishing touches to my makeup and hair when the doorbell rang. I checked my watch. It was too early for Jeremy.

  Curious as to who was stopping by, I peered out the spyhole.

  It was Nadia.

  What’s she doing here? I asked myself as I undid the chain lock and opened the door.

  “Hi,” I said. “Come on in and get out of the cold.”

  She smiled and walked inside.

  “What can I do for you?” I asked as I shut the door behind her.

  “You look beautiful, Dr. Pomeroy,” she said.

  I grinned. I was wearing the dress that Jeremy had been ogling. It was floor-length, made of shiny, gold satin and held up by spaghetti straps. The skirt had a slit on the right side
that came up to the thigh and, on my feet, I wore matching stiletto heels.

  “Thank you, Nadia,” I answered. “Now what brings you here tonight?”

  She was about to reply when my phone chimed. I glanced at the caller ID and picked it up.

  “Excuse me a minute. I need to take this.”

  I walked a few feet away and turned my back on the girl. The caller was Matt, my attorney.

  “Hi,” I said. “What’s up? I thought you’d be on a plane home by now.”

  He hesitated for a moment. “I’m at the airport but needed to talk to you before I get on that God-awful long flight.”

  “All right. What’s so urgent?”

  “Okay, first I need to say that I’m sorry. I screwed up.”

  “What? What do you mean?”

  I glanced over my shoulder. Nadia was just standing there, her eyes cast down. I turned my attention back to Matt.

  “Let me explain. I’ve came across some information, quite by accident, that puts a new light on some things.”

  “What things?”

  He was being evasive and that wasn’t like him. Something was wrong.

  “It’s the girl – Nadia.”

  Again, I glanced over my shoulder. She was still standing there, but now she was watching me. I made eye contact with her and smiled, then turned back to the phone and Matt.

  “What about her?”

  “Well, first off, Nadia’s not her name. Her name is Svetlana.”

  “So, big deal. She changed her name. I can understand that.”

  “No, you don’t get it. Let me finish. Her name is Svetlana Sokolov.”

  I gasped. Sokolov!

  “Kate, are you still there?”

  I took a deep breath. “Yes, I’m still here.”

  “She’s Vlad’s daughter and she’s neck-deep in everything he’s got his fingers into. You need to call the FBI.”

  “Dr. Pomeroy?”

  Nadia’s voice startled me. I turned. She was still standing in the hallway, but now something had radically changed.

  She was pointing a gun at me.

  “Say bye-bye and hang up that phone,” she ordered.

  I hesitated.

  “Do it NOW!”

  I looked down at the phone and could hear Matt calling my name. I put it back up to my ear. “I’m here, but I have to go now. It was good speaking with you. Merry Christmas.”

  I didn’t give him a chance to reply. I disconnected the call hoping that he would somehow realize that all was not well in Katy-land.

  “Give me that phone,” Nadia demanded.

  With my eyes trained on the barrel of the gun, I handed her my phone, which she slipped into her pocket.

  “Svetlana,” I said softly. “How’s your father?”

  Her eyes widened in surprise.

  “You knew?” she asked.

  I didn’t answer.

  She smiled. “Of course, that was your nosy lawyer on the phone. A bit of a surprise, wasn’t it? The poor little Russian girl that you took pity on isn’t exactly what you thought she was. Shame, shame.”

  “What do you want from me?”

  Svetlana laughed. “Your money, of course. All of it – every dollar from every account you have. We’d have it already, but we couldn’t find the book you keep your passwords in. You’re going to give it to me now.”

  “So, that’s why you’ve been haunting my house. And, the keys – you manipulated that, too – made sure I had patients so I couldn’t meet with the locksmith myself. You made copies or impressions, didn’t you?”

  Svetlana remained silent.

  “And, Tom – you manipulated him, too. Probably got all the information you needed on the cameras to hack into them to make sure no one knew you’d been here. Am I right?”

  She sighed. “Yes, Dr. Pomeroy, you are half-right. Actually, we exchanged that little camera here in the house for a spy camera, allowing us to see every move you made.”

  I nodded. “That’s how you knew I used the opium-laced Splenda, isn’t it? And, you changed my pills, too, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, we did. But you forgot one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  She grinned. “At the clinic when I was making that presentation. You heard something, didn’t you? A little bug noise?”

  I gasped. The chittering sound. She and her father had counted on my taking an anti-depressant that day. Then, when I was in the thrall of the drug, she must have played that sound on a recorder or off her phone. It acted as a trigger, plunging me into the depths of terror.

  “You should see your face,” she said with a laugh. “Now, enough of old times, I want that book and I want it now.”

  I took a deep breath. My only option was to stall hoping Jeremy would arrive in time to save me.

  I nodded. “Okay, but why all the hocus-pocus here at my home? Why waste your time terrorizing me? It would have been better spent looking for my book.”

  Svetlana smiled. “My father, he was getting bored. Nothing to do all day, but sit around and wait. He wanted a little fun.”

  The thought of Vlad having a little fun at my expense made me angry and I fought to keep a neutral expression on my face.

  “But where is he hiding? He isn’t living in the tunnels. Is he at one of the other manor houses?”

  Nadia-Svetlana grinned. “Right under your nose, Dr. Pomeroy.”

  I frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “At Stormview. In the tower room. He has been drinking your wine and eating your food ever since he escaped.”

  The tower room! The one I kept locked so no one would get hurt out on that widow’s walk.

  Svetlana continued to prattle on a bit about how stupid I was and how smart her father was. As she talked, I noticed she’d lowered the barrel of the gun a bit and, seeing a small opening, I took a step toward her.

  But she was sharp. When she saw me move, she again raised her weapon and shook her head. “Don’t try anything, Dr. Pomeroy. I’m a good shot and I won’t miss at this range. Now, where is the book?”

  I smiled. “It’s not really a book. It’s a program.”

  “Stop playing games. Whatever it is, I want it.”

  “May I?” I asked, indicating that I needed to move.

  “Show me, but don’t do anything funny. If you do, I’ll kill you then tear this place apart myself.”

  I nodded. “It’s in my desk. I’ll get it.”

  I walked slowly over to my office area. I could feel her right behind me, the gun pointed at my back.

  “I’m going to open the desk drawer,” I said.

  “Which one?”

  I pointed to the middle drawer.

  “Move aside,” she instructed. “I’ll open it.”

  I did as she asked. She kept the gun pointed at me as she slid open the drawer.

  She checked the contents, obviously looking to see if I had a gun or some other type of weapon hidden within.

  When she was satisfied, she looked back up at me. “Okay. Where’s the book?”

  I reached inside, pulling out my Kindle tablet. “It’s not a real book,” I explained. “It’s in a virtual book.”

  I opened up the Kindle to the first novel in my library. “On the first page of this book,” I said. “you’ll see I have made a note.”

  I pointed to a little square box over the first word in the first line. Inside that box was the number one.

  “Open it,” she commanded.

  I nodded and opened up the note. Inside, was a list of all my computer passwords.

  She smiled. “Very clever. Now hand me the tablet.”

  I did as she requested. “You know,” I said. “The banks may not just let you wipe out my accounts. They’ll probably want verification.”

  “Yes, I know. But we will do things slowly. Transfer your money over the next month or two into my father’s bitcoin account. And, if one of the banks does want verification, they will email you. Right?”

  I n
odded.

  “And, I have your phone. It is, as you say, easy-peasy.”

  I frowned. She was right.

  “What are you going to do with me? Jeremy will be here any minute.”

  She laughed. “Oh, didn’t I tell you? You had an emergency patient. You texted Jeremy that you would be late and that he should go on without you. You told him you would meet him there.”

  I nodded. She’d thought of everything.

  “Now, you’re coming with me.”

  She grabbed one of my jackets from the coat rack, checked the pockets, then tossed it at me.

  “Put that on. It’s cold in the tunnels and I wouldn’t want you to catch a virus. My father is so looking forward to seeing you. Like I said, he’s been bored.”

  60

  Mary & Terry

  The Morrison Mansion

  TERRANCE MORRISON STOOD in front of the mirror, admiring his reflection.

  “I do love black tie,” he said.

  Mary, wearing a long red velvet dress, sat on the bed, watching her husband.

  “You know,” she said softly. “We don’t have to do this. We could just have a simple party. A celebration of the season. Then we can leave in the morning. Let that old man rot.”

  Terrance frowned. “No, Mary. That will not do. We will proceed as planned. Everything will be over tonight. We’ll leave, but when we do, I will have the power.”

  Mary laughed sadly. “You really believe him, don’t you? You think that once he’s young and fit again, he’ll honor his promise – that he’ll pass all that mumbo jumbo on to you. God, you’re naïve, Terrance.”

  “And, what makes you so sure he’ll renege? Nothing. You have no evidence. Just your woman’s intuition, I suppose. Well, I do believe him. After all, it’s all part of the code of the enchanter or whatever. Once the power begins to wane, you pass it on. That way, it will never die.”

  “Sure and you think that nasty old bastard is going to adhere to this code of ethics? When did he ever do anything that was honorable? If you believe he will readily give up whatever power remains, then you’re more of a fool than I thought you were.”