Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 122440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 612(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 612(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
“So, just asking,” Stella said. “Harlow brought up the possibility that there is another serial killer in Knightly. We all kind of believed the odds were astronomical against it. And no one was in the car with the latest victims, but hear me out. Could they have been injected with something? If the person used a device that looked like a snakebite, could they be killed right in front of witnesses? The killer creates an accident, is there on scene, and injects his victims with the toxin that will kill them.”
Vaughn Miller, the headwaiter, placed several plates of food on the table. “Cheer Shabina up. We can’t have our boss looking glum.”
“I’m glum because we have no drinks,” Shabina said.
“I have my drink,” Vienna said, holding it up.
“That’s favoritism,” Zahra announced. “Vaughn, you can’t show favoritism like that. If Vienna has her drink already, we all should, meaning me.”
Vaughn saluted Zahra. “So sorry, Ms. Metcalf. I’ll personally bring your drink to the table.”
Zahra looked at him with grave suspicion while Harlow did her best not to laugh. Vaughn was their waiter. Of course he was going to bring the drinks personally to the table.
“Are you being a smart-ass?” Zahra asked.
“Yes, ma’am, I am,” Vaughn admitted readily, winking at her.
“All right, then. Just clarifying. You may carry on.” Zahra waved her hand as if she were a princess giving leave to her subject.
Vaughn’s eyebrow shot up, but he didn’t try to further engage Zahra. He recognized she was effortless at her dry wit, and he wasn’t going to outdo her with smart remarks. “To the master,” he said with a slight bow, and hurried off.
“He didn’t ask what I wanted to drink,” Zahra pointed out to Shabina.
“Every waiter in the café knows what you like to drink, Zahra,” Shabina said.
“I might want something different.”
Shabina rolled her eyes. “If he dared to ask you what you wanted, you would have informed him in your haughtiest tone that you’ve been here a million times and ordered the exact same thing every time. Then you’d ask him if he had brain rot or something equally as annoying, and you’d do it with a straight face.”
Zahra didn’t appear in the least bit fazed. She lifted one eyebrow elegantly and looked down her nose at Shabina. “I make your entire staff better waiters.”
“And, by the way, you show favoritism to Vaughn. Every other waiter in this establishment knows you prefer him to wait on you,” Stella said.
“He’s an amazing waiter and a good person.”
Harlow joined in the laughter that floated around the table, all but Zahra, who kept her straight face. She was so good at what she did. Harlow had to give her just dues for staying in character, no matter what was happening around her. She always acted as if the outrageous things she said and did were perfectly normal.
“I think we’d better get back to discussing accidents versus murder,” Raine said. “We could be on the Zahra train for the rest of the day and get nowhere.”
“While I always love the Zahra train,” Vienna said, “I think you’re right. I happen to know Rush is putting a time limit on you, Raine, and if we want to figure this out, we’d better get to it. I’m going to just come out and say it. I don’t see how these random people were killed by the same person,” she continued. “Giselle Gentry died a couple of months ago. What actual connection did she have to Helen McKay or Lawyer Collins? And we know Edith Shumaker and these last four victims were all strangers. I believe we’re so paranoid after the last two serial killers were in Knightly that we look for things like that.”
“You have a point,” Stella admitted. “A very valid one, but what about the nightmares I’m having? I don’t get those unless there’s a serial killer on the loose and I’ve somehow come in contact with him or her.”
Vienna sighed. “I honestly don’t know what to think about that, Stella. If you hadn’t come forward and told us you were having those nightmares, no one would have even considered that these deaths are in any way related.”
“True,” Stella said. “But I am having them.”
“Not true when it comes to the serial killer theory,” Harlow found herself admitting. “I don’t know why, but I’ve had a gut feeling all along that something isn’t right. Maybe it isn’t a serial killer like we’re used to, but if someone is experimenting on snakes or they’re injecting strangers to see if their venom kills and how quickly, to me, that’s still a serial killer. And weirdly, out of the blue, Alek mentioned the possibility. So we aren’t the only ones.”
“I’m on the fence,” Zahra admitted. “I don’t want it to be a serial killer again. Especially if it’s someone we know. Are we magnets for murder?”