to do some good. Anyway, it’s all worked out for me.”
“And you’re here now,” Raina said.
Kylie nodded. She looked at Raina. “I was like you—everything was just normal. Four of us...we were just spending time doing what the bride loved to do, which was explore Salem, Massachusetts, something we’d all done together dozens of times. And we’d done tarot and palm readers several times—mainly just for fun—so we went to this man who had a reputation for past-life regressions and, just like that, my life was suddenly different. I’m no hero of any kind but I felt like you did. That I had to stop what was going on. Make a difference. And now, of course, I’m hoping to use my experience to help you. Of course, you don’t have to do this. If you feel—”
“Oh, I do have to do this! I want to do this,” Raina told her. “And I hope I’m smart enough to be frightened and wary, the kind of frightened that makes me careful and watchful.”
Kylie smiled at her. “I like it.” She was quiet a minute. “I think whoever is doing this knows you or Axel or maybe someone in law enforcement. How has Titan been acting around everyone?”
“Titan was around a lot of people. He was at the fundraiser with me. But he didn’t behave oddly around anyone. Of course, that night, there were hundreds of people there. He also knew he was ‘on duty,’ more or less. The only thing was a strange feeling I had after Jordan had been at my house. And then, finding Jordan and remembering the way he had behaved.” She looked at Kylie. “Think there’s any possibility Jordan will come out of his coma and tell us everything we need to know?”
“There’s always the possibility. And there’s the possibility others who know something or suspect something might disappear quickly, as well—and not be found alive. It’s pretty amazing Jordan escaped whoever had taken him.”
She was right. Raina looked around the stables. For a moment she thought about how great Andrew’s house was—modern, sitting on the edge of an ancient world. She loved the history of Florida’s Native Americans, their run deeper and deeper into a no-man’s-land, conquering it to survive. The Everglades, deadly, yes. Beautiful, too, and unique.
“I’m anxious to get started—with whatever we’re going to do.”
“The dress.”
“Yes, the dress is the key. Let’s see if Axel is ready to join us. He’s not going to be happy if we start without him!”
* * *
“We’re lucky that DNA testing can move so swiftly and we have priority with all this,” Nigel said. “Not that long ago, we’d have been waiting for weeks to get anything on the flesh you found.”
Axel studied the papers they had on the missing man whose DNA had matched up with the piece of thigh left in Raina’s yard.
“Humdrum job,” Andrew said, reading a dossier. “Computer tech with a big company. No records suggest he’d driven or flown down this way, or been in the Greater Miami Area or even Broward County. Credit card statements for the last six months keep him in his own area—St. Pete, Tampa and one drive down to a restaurant in Sarasota. His girlfriend reported him missing. They’d been together about a year and a half when he disappeared.”
“We’ve found the remains of Fran Castle, dead thirteen years, most likely,” Nigel said. “Dr. Carlysle can’t say, but it’s likely she was killed when she went missing. Then, Hermione Shore, rich widow, but again, known for being a kind humanitarian. Next, we have the man who was found, throat slit, first in our recent history—Peter Scarborough, separated and living here while his wife was far away in South Dakota. He’s liked by all his coworkers. No one can think of anyone who would want to harm him. Then, Alina Fairfield, a clothing designer who traveled a lot. It took several months to identify her. Then, quickly discovered, Jennifer Lowry. And now, we believe we’re going to find Brandon Wells, another victim. Loved by his girlfriend, who again, according to all records and reports, never left home in the days before he was reported missing. They’d all been living here—or working here—except for Brandon Wells. The only thing they seem to have had in common was that they were nice, well-liked people. No criminal activity in any of their backgrounds.” He looked at them, frustrated. “Maybe this last incident—the human meat meant to kill a dog—does give us what we