“Thank you, Raine. I really appreciate what you’re doing for me.”
“Just because those two men were Canadian doesn’t mean Lefebre is involved,” Raine cautioned. “The men traveled extensively and were often in countries setting up for Lefebre’s arrival weeks before he arrived.”
A shiver went through her body. She wasn’t much closer to knowing Scorpion’s true identity.
“Just get some sleep, Shabina. You aren’t going to be able to function if you don’t sleep. I’ll work on identities and also to find out if anyone has infiltrated your security feed. I don’t think it’s possible without alerting us, but I’m not taking chances. Sleep.”
Shabina watched Daisy leaping into the car and going into her crate before the lights faded as Raine drove down the drive and out the gates, once more leaving her alone. She paced long into the night and finally fell into a fitful sleep.
Shabina woke choking back a cry. One didn’t ever make a sound and draw the attention of the guards, or worse, Scorpion or his cruel cabinet members strutting around camp shoving others out of their way and spewing orders right and left. Most of those Scorpion took on his raids were men like him, sadistic and cruel, but not all of them. Still, even those raiding with him were afraid of Scorpion and his cabinet.
She rolled off the bed, heart pounding. Sitting on the floor, pressing herself against the wall, drawing up her knees, she made herself as small as possible. The dogs pressed close to her on either side. Malik made the rounds, both at the bedroom windows and then throughout the rest of the house. When he was finished, Sharif took over patrolling and then Morza. They traded all night. She didn’t move until the alarm went off to tell her it was time to go to the café to bake the day’s pastries.
—
The main topicof conversation in the café was the murder. She couldn’t blame the locals or the tourists for their curiosity.
“I feel terrible,” Vaughn greeted. “I was pretty flippant the other day after he went missing. This should teach me to keep my mouth shut.”
He looked so glum Shabina couldn’t help but try to cheer him up. “You didn’t mean anything, Vaughn. You certainly had no idea he was dead.”
“I know, but I shouldn’t have said anything at all.”
“He hadn’t been very nice. Sean had encouraged him to act like a hostile, belligerent jerk, and you were just defending me. You can’t get down on yourself. Let’s just try to keep our customers happy. We don’t want them thinking they’re going to get murdered if they go to Yosemite.”
Patsy picked up two plates. “But they might. Who knows? I heard maybe there’s a coven of satanic worshipers or something making human sacrifices.”
Shabina was horrified. “I hope you aren’t repeating that. Who in the world told you that? Because it wasn’t the sheriff.”
Patsy looked slightly ashamed, but a small grin hovered. “No, Nellie did. She’s very gullible. Sonny Leven, you know, one of Stella’s security guards up at Sunrise, was in this morning teasing her. I think he has a crush on her.”
“Great. That’s all we need. That Sonny has more tales than anyone I know,” Shabina said. “He’ll feed her all kinds of nonsense.”
Vaughn scowled. “He’d better not lead her on. Nellie’s pretty innocent, and he’s older than she is.”
Shabina winced. Rainier was older than she was by more than ten years. She knew her parents would object just on the agedifference—let alone the work he did for Blom. Rainier couldn’t see her as anything but a child. Part of that was her fault. Every time he came around it was because she was falling apart.
“There isn’t anything wrong with an age difference, Vaughn,” she countered. “And Sonny isn’t that much older than Nellie. He’s a good man. He’s local, born right here in Knightly. He had a full scholarship to attend Davis, from what Stella told me, but his father had a stroke and couldn’t work. He stayed home and supported the family.”
“He flirts a lot,” Vaughn pointed out.
“You think everyone flirts,” Patsy said.
“They do. The entire world revolves around flirting.”
Shabina shook her head and picked up the next order to carry it out to her customers. Business, as always, was brisk. She found the murmur of conversation and low laughter comforting. She loved the way the blend of locals and tourists came together, the locals often giving the tourists advice on where to shop for the best gear, or where the easiest boulders were if they were new to bouldering. Sometimes they asked Shabina where they could go to find really great coffee after her café was closed. Or where to go for nightlife.
It felt good to be able to turn conversations away from the murder and put the focus back on everyone having a positive time. Her crew delivered meals and drinks with smooth efficiency, busing tables and serving new customers, so the lines outside that always gave her a bit of anxiety lessened quickly. She knew she should be grateful that customers were willing to wait for openings, and she was, it was just that she wanted everyone to feel welcome. She didn’t take reservations. It was always first come, first served. She found that was the best way to get the most people served.
Stella and Raine came in just before closing and indicated they preferred to sit at one of the tables in the back that seated four. Shabina quickly cleared one for them. Vaughn shouted the phone was for her and it was urgent.
Paul Rafferty was the local sheriff. After closing, he wanted to bring two FBI agents to the café to meet with her to identify the feathers found at the crime scene. Rafferty hoped she would agree to aid the FBI in the capacity of the local ornithologist. There were petals from flowers there as well. Rafferty knew she was considered an expert in the local flora and fauna and hoped she might aid them with identifying the flowers that were used in the ritual. Stones had been on the altar. Shabina frequented obscure trails few others, even park rangers, hiked, and Rafferty hoped she might have seen these stones before.
Shabina seated herself at the table with Stella and Raine. “That was Paul Rafferty, the local sheriff, on the phone. He told me he was bringing two members of the FBI with him to ask me to identify feathers and flowers for them. They also have rocks, but I did tell them that isn’t my strong suit.”
She studied her friend’s face. “Why don’t either of you look surprised?”
“I knew Rafferty was going to ask you,” Raine admitted. “You are the acknowledged expert here in the field. It wasn’t much of a leap that they’d come to you. I’ve asked one of our lawyers to join us, just to be on the safe side.”
