“I don’t roll with that anymore,” Herbo said, his jovial expression suddenly closed off.

  “I’m not interested in that. I only want to know how it works,” Skye added.

  Herbo rubbed his chin for a few seconds, weighing his options. He sighed and glanced at King Farah. “If anything happens, it’s on you, King.”

  “I’ll handle it,” King Farah replied.

  Herbo stood, gesturing toward the house. “Let’s go inside.”

  Inside his house was cooler. It was a simple house, with an out-of-place large-screen TV and a huge wall-to-wall sisal carpet, which they sat on after taking off their shoes. Once they got settled, information started pouring out of him.

  “It’s a wonder powder for those who want to dream in eternity, but I quit interacting with that long ago.”

  Skye knew he was referring to the dead, but she found his delivery chilling. As if he’d seen a lot of death. “What kind of blend kills?”

  “It’s a poison in its purest form. It’s pricey, so not many people go for it. The ones people use to get high is a softer version made by adding a diluting agent,” Herbo said.

  Skye wasn’t interested in the soft version. After all, the pure form was what killed Marge.

  “Why did you quit?” Skye asked.

  Herbo’s forehead creased. “Sometimes, you have to push yourself out before you’re pushed out.”

  “How did they take it?” Skye asked.

  Kris pinched her arm. Skye gave a look to say, I’ve got this.

  Herbo shrugged. “I don’t care. I’m not doing it anymore.”

  His curt answers made Skye suspicious about the truth of his statement. “I’d like to know if there’s someone who bought some of the pure type recently.”

  “I just told you that I don’t—” Herbo began but was cut off by the sound of running footsteps outside.

  Everyone froze.

  In a flash, Herbo shot up and made for the door, but he didn’t get there. The silhouette of an armed man met him.

  “Get back in there!” the silhouette bellowed.

  Skye’s heart raced and regret filled her heart. Coming here was foolish. Stupid! She was going to end up dead. Even worse, her curiosity had put Kris in danger. She had to find a way to save her best friend.

  Herbo backtracked slowly into the room. As the gunman followed, Skye could clearly see the intruder—Detective Bowe. Maybe he was her knight in shining armor, after all. She blinked the crazy thought away as two more detectives emerged behind him.

  “Get down!” Bowe bellowed. Everyone went down to their knees, with Herbo and King Farah placing their hands behind their heads. Skye and Kris followed suit.

  The detective scanned the room. “What’s going on here?”

  No one answered.

  “Nothing to say today, Herbo?” Bowe asked.

  Herbo stared back, poker-faced.

  “Take them out and wait for me there,” Bowe ordered. The two detectives lifted Herbo and King Farah off the floor and led them outside.

  Detective Bowe’s eyes turned to the two women. “Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

  Skye bit her lower lip. Detective Bowe squatted until he was at her eye level. “I want to know everything you know, why you’re here, right down to the last nugget of truth. Otherwise, I’m arresting you for murder.”

  18

  Skye could tell from the intensity of Detective Bowe’s eyes that he wasn’t joking around. She imagined he was angry to have found her there, an unarmed civilian playing detective, yet he had asked her to fill him in whenever she could. Nonetheless, she was breaking his trust and needed to address that. She scrambled to her feet.

  “Are you going to talk or not?” he asked.

  Skye glanced at Herbo through the open doorway as he was being handcuffed. He shot her a piercing look, and she looked away.

  Detective Bowe caught her gaze and shut the door.

  Skye asked in a low tone, “What do you want to know?”

  “Let’s start with the here and now. What are you doing here?”

  Skye sighed and knew her cheeks were flushed. It was all so embarrassing. “We were following up on a lead. A little bird told us that this area has several brown lace dealers, and we decided to confirm it first.”

  “The little bird has a name?”

  “I’d rather not say.” Skye crossed her arms.

  “You’re walking on thin ice, Skye,” he warned.

  “I know, but you know I’m only here because there’s a target on my back. We’re looking for the same thing—the truth.”

  Detective Bowe grunted, looking back and forth between her and Kris. “You ladies have no idea what you’ve gotten into. Don’t go chasing waterfalls you’re not used to.”

  “Sometimes you have no choice. You play the cards you’re dealt with,” Skye replied, lifting her chin high.

  There was a brief, tense pause.

  “And what have you found out from this little adventure?” he asked.

  “Well, nothing,” Skye replied. “But maybe he’d have said something if you hadn’t interrupted.”

  Detective Bowe scoffed. “You truly believe he’d have told you something? Old hands like Herbo know one thing—don’t snitch.”

  “We’ll never know,” Skye said. “There’s someone out there making or supplying this poison. That’s all that counts. Now that you have him in custody, I hope you’ll get the name and address of the mastermind.”

  “Oh, I’ll get him to talk. But you’ve got to stop doing this. The last thing I want to do is waste police resources saving you and your friend from danger. Do you want to end up dead or seriously injured?” Detective Bowe said.

  Skye gave him a small smile. It almost seemed like he truly cared about her, but he hardly knew her. She was just imagining things.

  “You’re right. And I’m sorry for all this. No more stunts.”

  “Good. Leave the police work to the professionals. Especially since you’re a suspect.”

  The man was infuriating. “I was doing it because I’m a suspect. I’m desperate to clear my name.” Skye stood a step closer and looked him in the eye. “I can’t still be one despite everything I just told you, right?”

  “The odds are stacked in your favor—for now,” the detective said as he walked to the door. “Let me see what Herbo has to say.”

  “Wait, you can’t leave us like this,” Skye said as she glanced at Kris.

  “What are you talking about?” Detective Bowe stopped and turned.

  “You need to arrest us,” Skye said. “That way, they won’t come after us.”

  “That won’t happen,” the detective replied.

  “Look, we didn’t come here to look for trouble. We don’t want these guys coming after us,” Skye insisted.

  After a moment of hesitation, he nodded and opened the door. “Boys, get me another pair of cuffs. These two aren’t talking either.”

  Soon, Skye and Kris had their hands cuffed behind their backs. Skye nearly laughed out loud at the strange turn of events. In all her wildest dreams, she never thought she’d be happy to be fake arrested.

  “Thank you,” Skye whispered.

  “Don’t mention it,” Detective Bowe replied.

  Moments later, they were led to the second police car, with Herbo’s eyes trained on them. Skye exhaled as they sat on the backseat, with one officer standing watch outside while the rest searched the house. Alone in the car, Skye turned to look at Kris, who was poker-faced. “That was close.”

  “Girl, I told you it was a bad idea!”

  “We’re still alive, right?” Skye asked.

  “For now. I’m not sure Herbo bought into the charade.”

  “It gives us cover. It’s better than walking past them and into the street.”

  “Did you call them?” Kris asked.

  “Who, the cops? No, I’m just as surprised as you are.”

  It wasn’t long before they were driven to the police precinct, where they were kept for an hour before being released. The detective was careful to keep them out of Herbo’s and King Farah’s line of sight.

  Later, they rode in a cab to pick up the van. When they arrived and got into the van, Kris started hassling Skye again. “That was a dumb thing to do.”

  Skye sighed. “In hindsight, you’re right. It didn’t play out the way I had hoped.”

  “That’s just the thing, it’s still playing out! We’ll have to watch our backs.”

  She nodded in agreement as she grabbed the steering wheel. “I’ll have Detective Bowe keep me posted on what’s going on.”

  “No. You have to stop now. No more playing Miss Detective.”

  “You know why I did it.” Skye gritted her teeth.

  “But you’re clearly not cut out for it! You have no tangible evidence and no clear suspect. You don’t know how to read the room and keep getting deeper and deeper into a mess you don’t need to be in.”

  Skye’s stared in disbelief. “You’re angry with me?”

  “Yes! Don’t you see? This isn’t a TV show. You’re not cut out for this. Relying on someone to say something, or waiting for some gossip, or watching for someone to make a mistake isn’t an investigation,” Kris said.

  “It’s part of it.” Skye lifted her chin.

  “It is, but it’s the only thing you’ve got. The cops don’t do it like that. They rely on other evidence.”

  Skye bit her lip and stayed quiet. As harsh as she sounded, Kris had a point. She turned the key in the ignition—thankfully, it started right away—and they rode in silence for a few minutes.

  “I’m sorry if that came off the wrong way. I just don’t want either of us to get hurt by pursuing this,” Kris said in a mellow tone.

  “I understand. I’ll back off. I promise.”

  Skye dropped Kris at the apartment and realized Tabitha had texted her with good news—she’d found the architect Skye was looking for.

  When she got to the Treasure Chest, she found Tabitha seated in one of the corner booths. An aged man, probably in his late sixties, sat next to her.

  Tabitha smiled. “Thanks for keeping time. This is Feroze. He’s the man you’ve been seeking.”

  “I’m glad to see you, Feroze,” Skye said. His face wasn’t familiar.

  “I’m told you’re from a family that had one of my designs,” he said.

  Skye beamed and slipped into the booth beside Tabitha. “Yes, I am. It was a lovely home, so I’m grateful that you designed it that way. Unfortunately, we moved to live elsewhere, and it was torn down. I’ve bought back the property and want to build on it, but first, I have to find something hidden near a load-bearing post. Do you have a copy of the designs you’ve done over the years?”

  Feroze smiled, reached next to him, and lifted a drawing storage tube onto the table. “I have a copy of all the plans I’ve ever designed, even the bad ones. Are your hands clean?”

  “Yes, they are,” Skye replied.

  “Help me hold down the edges.” Feroze rolled out the near-pristine architectural plan on the table. He pointed out the various posts that held the structure of the raised house together. “This was your home. These are all the load-bearing posts, which were plenty at the time due to the design of the house. Which one was closest to the spot you wanted to look in?”

  “Mom said it was at the foot of the staircase. I can’t remember where that was,” Skye said.

  Feroze’s age-spotted hand hovered over the drawing. He tapped his finger at two thick circles at the end of several parallel lines. “This is the foot of the staircase. If you can find the front porch posts, then you can track your way back to here. That’s where you need to dig.”

  Skye smiled, relief rushing through her. “I can’t believe this is finally happening. Thank you.”

  “No, thank you. I love seeing people who treasure my work.”

  Skye lifted her eyes to look outside the large restaurant windows, relishing the breakthrough. As she stared into space, her eyes were drawn to two familiar faces walking from the car park toward the restaurant. It was Nelson and Curilla. They were having an animated conversation. Curilla laughed at something Nelson said, and he drew her to him, holding her hand with unmistakable affection.

  Skye’s smile faded. What were they doing together?

  19

  Skye watched the pair walk in and disappear at the opposite end of the restaurant. Her mind raced, trying to figure out what this meant.

  “Did you hear what I just said?”

  Skye’s distracted mind was startled back into reality by these words, and she turned to look at Tabitha.

  “I’m sorry, I got lost in the moment. Memories came flooding back,” Skye said with a sheepish smile. “What did you say?”

  “I wanted to suggest going to the property tomorrow, since Feroze is still in town,” Tabitha replied. “He’ll help you look before he leaves.”

  “You don’t live here?” Skye asked.

  He shook his head. “I moved out of the town. I live in Malindi now. My retirement home is there, facing the ocean.”

  Skye smiled. She envied him. He looked content, having changed so many lives, including hers. It was possible he’d never know the impact he had on most lives. She wondered if she could get him out of retirement one more time—to design her motel.

  “That sounds beautiful,” Skye said. “Actually, I was thinking we could go today—if you don’t have anything else to do, of course.”

  Tabitha and Feroze exchanged glances.

  “There was the idea of going to see Carole,” Tabitha said.

  “Carole?” Skye asked.

  “One of my wives,” Feroze replied.

  Skye’s eyes widened. “Wives?”

  “A man like me comes rarely in these parts. I was in high demand, and I was willing to meet the challenge,” he said with pride.

  Skye was speechless for a few moments. “How many wives are we talking about?”

  “Three wives, ten children, and four grandchildren so far,” Feroze replied.

  “Oh my! I would’ve never expected that,” Skye remarked.

  “You’re not the only one. I get that reaction a lot. But it’s a blessing,” he said. “Will we be there long?”

  “At my place? No, not unless you want to. I don’t want to keep you waiting. I only need you to help me find the posts, that’s all.”

  “That’s fine. Let me call my wife and tell her I’ll be running late.”

  “Are you sure? You don’t have to shift things on my account,” Skye said.

  “It will be fine,” Feroze assured her.

  “Great. Let me get to the restroom as you make the call.” Skye rose from her seat.

  Skye walked slowly to the bathroom, scanning the restaurant for Nelson and Curilla. She spotted them at the far end of the restaurant. They were engrossed in conversation and didn’t notice her walk by.

  Skye walked into the bathroom and freshened up. After drying her hands, she stared at her reflection in the mirror—the freckles sprinkled up to her hairline, the mild acne that was nearly gone, and the dry lips, which had her applying another coat of lip gloss. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and stepped out.

  Instead of heading straight back to her table, she took a detour and walked up to where Nelson and Curilla sat. She found Nelson in mid-sentence, telling Curilla what seemed to be a humorous story.

  “So, he whipped this cheeseburger out of nowhere, and I had to ask him—who on earth carries a burger in his coat pocket in seventy degrees heat while…” Nelson’s voice trailed off as he caught sight of Skye’s approaching figure.

  “Sorry to interrupt your story. I saw you from across the room and couldn’t help coming to say hello,” Skye said with a broad smile.

  “Oh wow,” Curilla remarked as she digested Skye’s surprise appearance. “What brings you here?”

  “I was having lunch with a few old family friends,” Skye said. “Fancy seeing the two of you here. I had no idea you were friends.”

  Curilla shot Nelson a look, and he scrambled to respond. “Neighbors can have lunch once in a while.”

  “Especially if it helps them get to know each other,” Curilla interjected.

  “Yes, especially then,” Nelson replied.

  “Oh, there’s no problem with that. I was just curious,” Skye said. “Are you going to be here long?”

  Nelson and Curilla exchanged looks.

  “No, we’re not,” Curilla said. “Why?”

  “Just wondering if I could join you once I’m done on the other side,” Skye said. She didn’t actually want to join them. She just wanted to see their reaction.

  “I don’t think that will be necessary,” Nelson snapped. “I think we agreed you’d stay out of my business.”

  “Curilla is a mutual friend,” Skye began.

  “And you can meet her on your own time,” he said.

  There was a brief, awkward pause, broken by Skye’s giggle. “Sure, I respect that. I’ll leave you to it. Catch you soon, Curilla.”

  “See ya,” Curilla replied.

  As she walked back to her table, Skye hoped that Curilla was reeling him in so she could get a confession. That was the only reason they’d be together. If that was the case, then Skye found it an odd approach, because it was obvious they were not just getting to know each other as neighbors. Something much deeper was going on, and Skye hoped Curilla knew what she was doing. Although Curilla appeared slightly older, they didn’t make an odd couple. Oh well, time would tell. Skye planned to seek her out tomorrow to get the latest gossip.

  Back at the table, Skye found Tabitha and Feroze ready to go. As soon as they saw her, they stood.

  “Shall we?” Skye said.

  “Sure,” Tabitha replied. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, why?” Skye asked.

  “I just noticed you talking to yourself as you came back from that table,” Tabitha said.

  “Oh, don’t worry about that.” Skye waved. “It’s what I do when I’m excited.”

  Tabitha laughed. “Well, okay then. Shall we go now?”

  “Yes, yes,” Skye said. She settled the bill, and they left.