to wind down. Raina excused herself, walking to the back of the room where the ticket baskets had been set out on the tables with explanations of the donations. She’d seen the teenager who had won her services there, and she wanted to assure the girl they’d work it out on a timetable that fit both their needs.
The girl’s name was Eva Herrera and she looked shy at first, and then threw her arms around Raina. Raina caught her, hugged her back and smiled, then gave her one of her cards. “Just call me. What kind of pup?”
“A rescue. He was at the pound. Sweetest thing you ever want to meet, but I think he’s mainly pit bull, though you know our rescue guys. They called him a terrier mix. But he’s huge and he jumps and because he’s so big he can hurt people, but I love him and...”
“We can cure him of jumping. I look forward to meeting him.”
The girl’s parents were apparently ready to go; she saw the middle-aged couple waiting, smiling at their daughter and Raina, but ready.
Raina hugged the girl goodbye. As she watched her walk away, she leaned against the table.
That’s when it hit her. An overwhelming sensation of fear. She felt as if something touched her throat. Something cold and hard. Then it felt as if a trickle of hot liquid slipped down her chest. She saw darkness, but felt sudden terror and realized she was feeling what Jennifer Lowry had been feeling in those seconds before she had died. She smelled the earth and blood as she stood there, a wave of dizziness almost claiming her. She felt herself falling on soft, damp grass.
“Raina?”
She blinked. Jordan Rivera was standing near her, frowning with concern.
“Are you all right?”
“Jordan!” she managed. “I’m, uh, fine. Excuse me!”
She fled. At first she wasn’t sure where she was going. She couldn’t see properly, and people were everywhere.
She hurried back toward the stage and then around it, rushing through the wings and back to the green room.
Clive was there with Titan. The clown was out of his makeup. In real life, he was Clive Bower, a sixty-year-old, semiretired entertainer from St. Pete. He was lean and silver-haired with a shy and sweet disposition and he stared at her, quickly rushing to her.
Titan, of course, did the same.
“Raina? Raina? What happened, what’s the matter? You look as if you just discovered Mars was about to collide with Earth,” Clive said, catching her arm and leading her to one of the sofas to sit. “Raina, please...?”
“I—I’m all right.”
She was all right. She was away from the table.
“Can I get you something? Anything that will help? My goodness, what happened?”
“I—I don’t know,” she said quickly. She hadn’t been able to think at first. Now, she managed a smile. “Exhausted, I guess, and I hadn’t realized it. I’m fine. Honestly.”
“There are no more bottles of water in here,” Clive said. “I guess it was only you, me and Titan using this room tonight. I’ll run and get you some.”
He started to the door and turned back. “Are most of the people gone? Not that they’d recognize me, anyway, but you know me with crowds when the makeup is off.”
“It’s clearing out,” she said.
Titan was by her side, his nose on her knee, his large dark eyes expressive as he stared up at her, mournful and anxious.
“Thank you, Clive.”
He nodded and hurried out.
She stroked Titan’s head. “It’s okay, boy, it’s really okay.”
The door opened; she thought Clive was returning. Maybe he hadn’t found any clean glasses or water carafes.
It wasn’t Clive.
It was Axel.
She looked up at him and said, “He was here. You were right to want to come. The killer was here.”
Seven
Axel didn’t want to leave Raina that night, but he was worried her brother wouldn’t take it well.
Robert liked him, but he wasn’t sure just how much Robert would like him in the future if he thought he was making a move on his sister, especially while living and working in a different state.
Admittedly, he was fascinated by Raina. Attracted. Really attracted.
She had come to the function with her brother, so naturally Robert assumed he would drive her home.
Raina’s brother had shown up in the green room soon after an older man Axel quickly recognized as the clown—sans his makeup and costume—came back in bearing a cup of water.
Now, he teased his sister.
“Hey, you okay? What’s up? Is this just excitement over winning the Atlantis trip? You look pale,” Robert had