Desmond’s jaw dropped at the sudden accusation and he shot out of his chair. “What the hell are you implying?”
Kelsey stared at Josh, stunned. “Yeah, what the hell are you doing?”
Bain chimed in. “Where were you the past two months, Desmond?”
Josh sat back and crossed his arms. “That’s a valid question. Why don’t you answer it?”
Kelsey hissed at Josh. “You know exactly where he was.”
Bain piped up. “Well, I don’t and neither does his department, it seems. I’d like to hear.”
Josh glanced up at Desmond innocently. “Why don’t you tell us, Desmond? Why don’t you tell all of us where you disappeared to for the past two months when the hits happened in the Middle East? After of course, you finished your shifts monitoring the docks down by the piers all this past year?” He turned to Kelsey. “Are you aware that he used to work at a botanical nursery in his teens? First, he was just hauling soil and garden equipment, but they quickly moved him up to Plant Propagation and Breeding in the greenhouse for his entire senior year. Then he worked directly with the head horticulturist. After that, he was in charge of a community garden in college. Isn’t that right, Desmond?”
“So what?” Kelsey spit out, before Desmond could speak. “Why are you doing this? You know very well he’s not Misterio!” He’s pinning this all on Desmond? This can’t be happening. If I say anything, I’ll implicate Ari. Not to mention, I’ll get arrested for collusion in a terrorist act. Or did Josh not think of that yet, either?
Josh leaned towards her. “You think you know everything about him, don’t you? How do you know he’s not Misterio? Why, because you sleep with him? Maybe he has an accomplice helping him? Maybe it’s his partner, Sean. You ever think of that? Biggest Irish dope on the planet, though, so he’d just be cover. No offense, Kelsey, but you’ve known Desmond for less than a year and were fighting with him for most of the past six months before he strangely skipped out of town.”
She stopped herself from throwing her bread plate at him. “Stop this right now. I don’t know why you’re doing this, but we both know it’s not him.”
He raised his voice. “No, I don’t. Let me put it out there for all of us. Desmond was the one drawing all those crazy paintings with strange plants in them. Plants that no one seems to know where they come from and have never been seen before. Desmond is the one that fits the profile perfectly. He’s been the lead detective on the case for the past year, working down at the docks, exactly where everything has been smuggled in. Desmond is the one that has the botanical and educational background.” He turned to Bain. “And get this. You won’t believe it. He also has his Ph.D from Yale in Forensic Biology, a minor in Asian Studies, and a Masters in Chemistry from Harvard. And he’s dating the girl who has an abandoned property down by the docks.” He turned back to Kelsey, a smug look on his face. “How am I doing so far?”
Desmond threw his napkin on the table. “You’re railroading me. For what reason, I can’t possibly fathom. And by doing this, you’re implicating Kelsey, you idiot. What, you think they wouldn’t expect her to know what’s going on, or be involved somehow, since we’re dating each other?” He scratched at his cheek absently. A small red welt had appeared.
“Well, it’s no secret that you’re rich and have the means to do this, too,” Bain said. “The person needed to have a lot of money at his disposal. I dug into your records. Your net worth is close to ten million, if you include the brownstone in New York City.”
Desmond squinted. “You are treading a very thin line, Bain. That money I have was my deceased wife’s inheritance. She was murdered over ten years ago, not that it’s any of your business.” He turned to Josh. “I am not Misterio and you know this. For all I know, it was you, and you’re trying to frame me, just like you framed Mickie Laruso.”
Josh laughed heartily. “Yeah, sure, it was me now. Yes, I’m Misterio. Oh, by the way, I do have an alibi. I was with your girlfriend every single day for the past two months after you mysteriously skipped town. After she suffered that terrible ordeal that you oddly weren’t there to help her with. Or didn’t she tell you that?
“Shut up, Josh,” Kelsey seethed. “I swear to God.”
He shrugged. “What, it was a secret we were together during that time? Going to the gym early in the morning, out to those fancy dinners you love, and hanging out late into the night? Someone had to be there to support you after what you went through. Someone had to hold your hand… and other things.”
Kelsey turned to Desmond. “Nothing happened between us. Don’t listen to him.”
Josh shrugged. “Sure, of course nothing happened. Not really. Sure, don’t listen to me. I didn’t kiss you, right? Just like I didn’t say he was Misterio. I just said he fit the profile.”
The veins in Desmond’s temples pulsed, and his fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. His eyes widened as he realized something. “Wait a second. You work with Kelsey’s brother,” Desmond whispered. He sized Josh up and down. “Oh, my God, it was one of you that punched me in the jaw that time, wasn’t it? And now that I think about it, it was one of you that shot at me at that restaurant in the city that time, too, wasn’t it? The night Kelsey left for Egypt.”
Kelsey jaw dropped. “What are you talking about?”
Desmond turned to her. “The night you left to go to Egypt to help Armand, I went out to eat. Someone took a potshot at me at a restaurant. Missed me by inches.” He turned to Josh. “You’re a dead man.”
Kelsey’s stomach lurched and she turned to Josh in bewilderment. “You shot at him? Tell me that’s not true.”
Josh was about to answer when Bain chimed in.
“Where were you the past two months?” Bain asked again. “You haven’t answered the question.”
“Shut the hell up, Bain. I don’t have to answer to you.” Desmond wheezed suddenly and put his hand to his chest.
“Are you okay?” Kelsey asked.
“I’m fine.” He slurred the words slightly and Kelsey became alarmed. Desmond’s lips were swelling up.
Tooh brought over their salad course. No one made so much as a move to tell him to put the plates down.
Tooh glanced at all of them and then took a single step back. “I’ll bring these back in a little while.” He quietly left them alone.
Kelsey glanced around at the other guests, who all stared at them surreptitiously behind their water glasses. They were definitely making a scene. She really didn’t care. She wanted to pummel Josh for what he was doing, but one look at Desmond and she knew it wasn’t the time. “Des, maybe we should take a break. You don’t look so good.”
“No, I’m fine.” He turned to Josh. “So, how are you going to play this out? How many more lies are you going to tell to get this lawyer off your back? Tell as many of them as you’d like, because I’m going to take you down.” The threat would have come off more convincingly if he didn’t have red rashes popping up around his mouth and cheeks.
Josh laughed at him. “Take me down. You don’t know anything. Bain isn’t even a lawyer. He works for the FBI.”
“How do you know this?” Bain spit out, surprised.
“Because like I told you, knowing things is my job. My department has a higher authority and more jurisdiction than the FBI and we are working this case. Just walk away from this, Bain. The only casualty is Mickie Laruso and that’s not much of a casualty if you ask me. The government is willing to let him hang. They’ll make sure he doesn’t get the death penalty, and he’ll get set up in his own private cell with privileges. He’ll be happier in there than he will be on the street. And not for nothing, he should be in jail anyway for the past crimes he’s committed and in a few years he’ll be up for parole. Let it go.”
Bain bit his tongue. “Let it go when the responsible guy is most likely standing right here? Are you out of your mind? And for the record, Mickie will never see the light of day with these conspiracy charges against him. Th
ey’re asking for the death penalty and I doubt you’ll be able to stop that—so no, I’m not just going to just lie down. I don’t play chicken for anyone.”
Desmond jutted his chin at Josh and pointed at him. “You totally just framed me. Outside, right now. I want to talk to you. Alone.”
Kelsey stared at Desmond’s face. “No, not now, something’s going on with you. We need to get you to the doctor.”
He rubbed his mouth again. “Kelsey, listen to me right now. I’m going out with Josh to speak to him and you’re to stay here, you hear me?”
Her jaw dropped. Since when did he order her around?
Desmond put a gentle hand on her arm. “Please, just give me a few minutes.” His speech was slurred, and his breathing was becoming more shallow. Still, he turned and stalked out of the dining room.
Josh grinned and blew out a breath. “Well, I guess that’s my cue.” He stood and gave Kelsey and Bain a small bow. “Excuse me, Kelsey, Bain. It’s been a swell time.” He followed Desmond’s exit route.
Kelsey watched them go with dread. Bain interrupted her thoughts.
“Well, that got wrapped up nice and tidy, didn’t it?”
Kelsey glowered at him as she watched him pour himself another glass of wine. “You think so? He just accused my boyfriend of being Misterio and of being responsible for all the deaths in the Middle East. And of being “Most wanted #1” in the United States. No, I don’t think that got wrapped up nicely at all. None of it is true, by the way.”
Bain glanced towards the dining room exit. “How do you know, for sure? Where was he the past two months? Can you vouch for him? In a court of law?”
Kelsey sat back and crossed her arms. “I can vouch for him, but where he was is none of your damned business. I can guarantee you that he was as far from the Middle East as you can get.”
Bain smiled sadly. “But you won’t say where, will you? So now we’re just back to sparring in riddles. That’s not going to fly when the Bureau gets involved. The same way it’s not flying with his department if I read his records correctly. They’re about to either discharge him for his conduct or remand him to psychiatric care. You know, initially I had thought you were involved, but the more I think about it, you don’t have any idea and it’s been your boyfriend all this time, stringing you along. Isn’t love grand?”
Kelsey didn’t have time to answer. There was a commotion in the lounge area and Josh yelled out her name.
Chapter 11
Kelsey hurried into the lounge. Desmond was on his knees in front of the fireplace, vomiting into a garbage pail. Josh stood over him and held his shoulders, though Desmond did his best to shove him off. Elsa and Dooley were nearby and called for the staff to go fetch the house doctor.
Kelsey ran to Desmond’s side and bent down. “What’s wrong with you?” More welts and hives had popped up on his face and hands and he now had a full red rash surrounding his lips.
He heaved again and then sat back, wiping his lips with his sleeve. “I’m having an allergic reaction to something, but I don’t know what the hell I ate that would have caused this. I just need to get to our room, lie down, and pop a few Benadryl.” He rose, but he was unsteady on his feet.
Kelsey and Dooley held Desmond’s arms and began to escort him back to their room. Kelsey turned and craned her head back towards Josh. “I’ll talk to you later. Don’t even think of leaving. I am so not done with you.”
“I look forward to it, Kid.”
They were practically dragging Desmond by the time they got back to the room. Thankfully, the medic was already there, waiting with an epipen gripped tightly in his hand. Desmond barely made it to the trash can next to the bed. He fell to his knees and heaved again. Without waiting, the doctor plunged the pen into his thigh while Desmond was kneeling on the floor vomiting into the basket.
The medic held it there for ten seconds and then helped Kelsey get Desmond off of the floor to sit on the bed. “So what are you allergic to?”
“Just kiwi fruit. But I didn’t eat any of them today.”
Kelsey stared. She had no idea he was allergic to kiwis.
The doctor pursed his lips. “Kiwi allergies can be deadly and can be further triggered even more severely when you eat other foods with it. You have anything with mango in it? Or bananas?”
Desmond groaned. “I had some fruity shot her friend gave me. But I haven’t eaten anything with Kiwi fruit. I’d know it. Those seeds get in your teeth and the taste is unmistakable.” Desmond sat on the edge of the bed and wheezed.
“How’s your stomach feeling? Your breathing?” the doctor asked.
“The cramps are subsiding, thank god. My chest still feels tight.” He scratched his torso.
The doctor nodded. “The epipen should help, but I’m going to give you a steroid and an antihistamine as well. You’re going to be tired, so I want you to stay in your room where we can monitor you.” He examined Desmond’s neck. “Can you take off your shirt? It looks like the rash on your face has traveled to your chest.”
Desmond took off his shirt and Kelsey winced at the red hives covering his torso.
“God, this itches,” Desmond said.
The doctor reached into his bag and brought out a few pills, handing them to Desmond with a cup of water.
Suddenly, the lights flickered.
Dooley grunted. “Dr. Cragg, can you take it from here? I have to check on that. Damned storm keeps messing with the grid.”
“Yes, Dad. I’ve got this.”
Kelsey raised her brows in surprise. Dooley was Caucasian, but the doctor clearly was not. Adopted?
Dooley nodded and quickly left the room.
The doctor turned back to them and introduced himself. “I’m Dr. Gerald Cragg. Dooley is my father, though except for my long thin face and straight nose, I look like my mother, Jenella. She’s the head chef here.” He took out an ointment. “Mr. Gisborne, I’m not putting on latex gloves for this. People with Kiwi allergies have further reactions with latex as well.” He put hand sanitizer on and then worked the medication into Desmond’s skin with his bare hands.
“I didn’t know they were married,” Kelsey said.
“They’re not,” Dr. Cragg replied. “Let’s just say I was quite the surprise after a little fling they had when they were still in their teens. It caused quite the scandal within the families. Can you open your mouth please?”
Desmond complied while the doctor peered in with his penlight. “If you didn’t have any Kiwi, what else could this be? It looks like you’re having a systemic reaction to poison ivy or poison oak. I see that a lot over the summer from guests who like to wander through the woods surrounding the property. No matter how many times we tell them to stay on the paths, they don’t listen and this happens.”
Kelsey spoke up. “Wait, Desmond, we were in the woods this afternoon. Could you have contacted something during our hike?”
He shifted in the bed and tried to get comfortable. “How, Kelsey? It’s the middle of winter in a blizzard. Nothing’s blooming. And we stayed on the snow and were just in the shack. It wasn’t like I was crawling under the bushes or anything. And besides, I’m only allergic to kiwis. Nothing else that I know of. I’ve never had a reaction to poison ivy before.” He took a deep breath. “I’m feeling better, actually.”
Kelsey didn’t say anything about her swiping the Phurba weapon. But Desmond had touched it, albeit briefly. Was something on it? On her own hands?
Dr. Cragg glanced up from where he examined the rash on Desmond’s arm. “What shack are you both talking about? That old greenhouse in the back of the property where we grow herbs and vegetables for the kitchen?”
“No,” Kelsey said. “It’s this run-down building we found in the woods that’s pretty far off the property. Someone’s using it as a kitchen or temple or something.” She remained vague on purpose. It was definitely a temple. And not a good one.
The doctor pursed his lips and shook his head. “But you did go of
f the trails and it sounds like you went far from the hotel. This is what I mean. I don’t even know where that shack is that you’re talking about and I’ve lived here my entire life. Who knows what’s in there? I need to caution you that we’re in a very remote part of the mountains and it can be dangerous up here. You really need to stay on the paths. There are crazy people who live deep in the woods and exist on the very fringes of society. You have to be careful, or you’ll be one of those missing people you hear about on the news.” The doctor crossed his arms, thinking. “We have to figure out what you ate so you don’t have it again while you’re here.”
“The only thing I have ingested tonight, in the past two hours, were shots of whiskey and this fruity drink her friend gave me. But he assured me it didn’t have kiwi juice in it, and it didn’t taste like it, either. Elsa has it in my profile not to have anything served to me with kiwi.” He glared at Kelsey. “Of course, he’s an ass, and probably went out of his way to poison me. I wouldn’t put it past him. I’m seriously done with all of your friends, Kelsey. Even Julia. She’d probably turn on me in a heartbeat if I so much as said the wrong thing. They all have their own agendas, and I’m clearly not part of them in the least.”
Kelsey’s stomach sank. Did Josh purposely poison Desmond, too? He was already accusing him of being Misterio. No, he wouldn’t do that. It had to be something else that got Desmond so sick.
The doctor stood up. “I’m not sure what triggered this attack, but we’ll treat it this way in the meantime. I’m going to leave another epipen here. I don’t want to risk you going into anaphylaxis, so use it if you get this reaction again. I suggest you stay in bed and I’ll check on you every hour or so to make sure your breathing continues to be okay.” He then left Kelsey with instructions to keep him hydrated and to use the house phone to contact him immediately if things turned for the worse.
The Haunting of Cragg Hill House Page 12
