Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 139934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 700(@200wpm)___ 560(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 700(@200wpm)___ 560(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
“Did you show him the house?”
She nodded. “He asked for a tour and I didn’t think anything of it. Lots of visitors ask for a tour.”
His eyebrow shot up. “Lots of visitors? Who comes here, and why the fuck don’t I know about it?”
Evangeline winced. Ashe glared at him, and Fyodor spun around and took a step toward him as if he might actually swing at him.
“The women. You know. Saria, Drake’s wife, came one day with him. They brought their son. Siena, Elijah’s wife, came with the triplets. I had Jake’s wife here one day when he was talking business with Fyodor. You were here at all times when they were. Emma, Jake’s wife, brought all three of her children. Catarina came with Eli and their son. He was here the same day as Elijah to talk with Fyodor.”
“Who else?”
“Jeff asked for a tour, but I told him not under any circumstances.” She tapped the arm of the chair with nervous fingers.
“What the fuck was he doing here?” Fyodor demanded. “And when did he show up?”
“You and Timur were out, and he wanted to talk. He’s actually very sweet, Fyodor. He didn’t ask a single question about you. He wanted someone to bounce things off of, and we get along very well.”
“Your husband doesn’t get along with him and I don’t want you alone with him in this house or anywhere else for that matter.” Fyodor all but hissed the words. Cold. Like a snake. Timur knew that tone. It wasn’t a good one. If Jeff didn’t leave Evangeline alone, he was going to disappear one day.
“I was hardly alone with him, honey,” Evangeline said. “I made certain Gorya stayed in the room with us every minute. He was across the room, but he’s leopard, he could hear every word said.”
“And why wouldn’t my cousin report to me or Timur, the head of security, that a cop had come to visit you?” Fyodor asked, his voice even colder.
“He did, and so did I,” Evangeline said. “We both referred to him as the detective. You asked if he was specifically questioning about anything and I said no. So did Gorya. Gorya said he had no idea why he came and I did as well, because neither of us did.”
“Don’t give me that load of crap,” Fyodor snapped. “If you’d said Jeff Meyers, I would have known exactly who he was and you know it.”
Evangeline shrugged. “I’m not getting a good man killed because you’re jealous.”
Fyodor turned away from her, his eyes on Timur’s face. Timur nodded without hesitation. He would be paying the cop a visit and one way or another, the matter would be closed.
“Let’s get back on track, Evangeline,” Timur said smoothly. He didn’t glance at Ashe because he had the feeling she saw the look that passed between his brother and him. “Who else came to visit recently that I might not know about?”
“Charisse Mercier is a friend of mine from when I was a teen. I was very alone, and Saria introduced us one day. After that, she would come to see me, and she brought books and food. She’s one of the few friends I have. She was in San Antonio on business and she came with her brother, Armande. That was about three weeks ago. You were visiting Mitya, and Gorya was on Fyodor when he went to see someone.” She waved her hand at him dismissively. “Vitaly was here and he watched very closely.”
“Was it an arranged visit?” Timur dug deeper, not liking all the suspects. He could dismiss Saria and Drake, Eli and his wife, Elijah and his wife, they were all allies. He knew Jake Bannaconni was also an ally. That gave him Charisse and Armande Mercier, Jeff—but he was a good cop and it was absurd to consider him—and Ambroise Tregre, Evangeline’s brother.
“No, as I said, she had business in San Antonio and she came to see me.”
“With her brother.”
“Yes, they often travel together. They’re good people, Timur.”
“Good people tend to drop friendships when they believe their friend is married to a gangster,” Timur pointed out. “That goes with the territory.”
“Not my friends. I only have four, aside from the women I’ve recently met through Fyodor. Those four friends, Saria, Charisse, Bijou and Ashe have stayed loyal to me. Bijou, by the way, is married to a cop. They came to visit as well, but you know that because you and Fyodor were both here.”
That was true. He’d discounted them because Remy, a detective, was Drake’s brother-in-law and a good man. They had ties to the swamp, but he couldn’t see Remy or his wife, Bijou, a very famous singer, being involved with the sale and distribution of opium.
“Then your brother Ambroise came to visit.”
Evangeline nodded. “It was the first time I’d seen him in two years. He said he wanted the chance to get to know me. He hated that he’d gone along with our father and pretended I was dead. He sounded very sincere and I couldn’t detect any lies. Although, Timur, I wanted him to be telling the truth, so maybe I didn’t listen as well as I should have.”