know we’re dealing with an urgent situation here, but I don’t think I can help and I did promise treats.”
Andrew was watching Nigel, who was already on the phone, but he told Raina, “Sure. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”
Raina headed to the kitchen with a quick, “Thanks.”
Axel stepped into Andrew’s bedroom to make his call; he wasn’t worried about Nigel or Andrew hearing him. He just didn’t want him and Nigel talking over one another.
He was glad he was able to reach Angela Hawkins quickly. He’d already reported the unusual abilities of Raina Hamish; but he hadn’t had a chance to speak with Angela or Jackson Crow since the fundraiser, so he went through the evening before telling her, “And thirty minutes back, Raina went out riding. She stumbled upon an old friend, Peg-legged Pete—”
“Living or dead?” Angela asked.
He glanced at the phone, remembering why it was so good to be a member of the Krewe of Hunters.
“Dead. But she actually ran into him as she made a discovery—a skull.”
“I see. Not a recent victim?”
“Angela, I really don’t think so. We’ve had some major league storms down here, but the skull was edging out of a mangrove root. I’m assuming it was part of a body buried there some years back, and who knows what has gone on over the years? Where it is, it’s pretty deep in the Everglades. Land that’s along a private road. Anyway, Nigel has a medical examiner and a couple of anthropologists from the university coming out.”
“Will you be there when they come?”
“Probably not. We have a lead on someone the last victim might have met. She was supposed to have had a date with him tonight, so we’re going to try to ID him from local surveillance cameras and possibly find him.” He hesitated. “Andrew knows what he’s doing, and there are a few cops who want this stopped as much as he does.”
“I know. Don’t worry. Andrew Osceola and Nigel Ferrer wrote to us here, asking for you and our help.”
“They saw the pirate ship,” he said. “I can say anything in front of them.”
“Right.” On the other end, Angela hesitated. “You think this is the young woman who went missing when you were eighteen?”
“It’s possible,” he told her.
“I started on the names you gave me. I’m checking out social media, legal records, all else. If anything is more definite—”
“Jordan Rivera,” he said.
“I have that name. So far, nothing criminal or suspicious. A stellar performance through law school, and an instant job with his best friend’s father. So far, he’s proving to be an asset. And he doesn’t even have any parking tickets. But I’ll keep at it.”
“Anything you do have?” Axel asked.
“Your friend Jeremy Gray had an assault charge against him. Did you know that?”
“No.”
“Eight years ago—you were still in the military. He got into a fight in the village. Apparently, someone was teasing ‘Big Ole Mac.’ That was his explanation to the police—the Miccosukee police. The charges were dropped so I don’t have much. Who is Big Ole Mac?”
“Big Ole Mac is an alligator. They do alligator shows, but the tourists aren’t usually dumb enough to tease the alligators.”
She was quiet.
“What?” Axel asked.
“Bear in mind, your suspect pool is largely compromised of the white and Hispanic population down there. You can’t be afraid to accept it if it proves to be a Native American. Good and bad come in all ethnicities, you know,” Angela explained.
“I’m not afraid to accept anything. I want this ended. Yes, I think it’s very possible we found the girl who disappeared when I was a kid. We’ll see what the medical examiner has to say. And find out what the anthropologists have to say, if he defers to them.”
“All right. I don’t have much else, but I’ll give you the tidbits I have,” Angela told him.
“Thank you. You got time?”
“I’ll email, too, but here goes,” Angela said.
* * *
Raina sat at the table with Andrew and Nigel.
Andrew reached for the pot, poured her a cup of coffee and pushed it toward her.
“He’s calling in to his headquarters. His field director’s wife, part of his unit, is brilliant when it comes to online research,” Andrew said.
“She’ll get background info and other basics on dozens of people in a matter of hours,” Nigel assured her.
“I see,” Raina murmured.
Andrew leaned forward. “A girl went missing years back,” he told her. “Her car was found by the casino. There was an investigation. Friends, family and neighbors were questioned.