Brian moved cautiously toward the bed, clearly assessing the situation. “Okay, Ms. Roberts, this is going to be difficult as I can’t see the snake to tell if it’s venomous, and it’s obviously right up against you. So, what I’m going to do is real quick-like stick this sheet of metal,” he held up what looked like a cookie sheet, “between you and the snake. That way if it strikes, it won’t hit you, right?”
I nodded very slightly. It seemed risky, but what else could I do? Not a lot of options as far as I could see.
“Minute that happens you roll out of bed and onto the floor quick as you can. Then I can contain the snake. Ready?”
Another slight nod. As I’ll ever be.
Without further ado, Brian slammed the thin sheet of metal right down between my leg and the snake until it hit the mattress. I didn’t wait. I rolled so fast I hit the floor hard enough to leave bruises. Brian dropped the metal sheet and whipped up the duvet, catching the snake in it like a sack, before hauling it unceremoniously from the room. I followed him in time to watch as he dumped it into a bucket and slammed down the lid.
“Oh my word, that’s a coral snake,” I gasped. I knew that coral snakes were super venomous. I would have died if it had bit me.
Brian grinned. “Naw, ma’am. It’s just a little ole king snake. Get mistaken for corals all the time, but they’re totally harmless.” He lifted the container. “I’ll take this little honey out to the wild and set him free. Don’t you worry.”
Frankly, I was less worried about the snake than about me. “How’d it get in my bed? Surely they’re not just wandering around hotel rooms at random.”
“No, ma’am,” he said grimly. “Somebody had to have put him there. You’re lucky, if they’d have gotten a real coral snake—”
“I know,” I interrupted him. It would have been ugly, to say the least.
“Of course, maybe whomever it was knew the snake was harmless and just wanted to scare you. Either way, looks like you got yourself an enemy.” He looked very grim as he said it.
Seriously. He had no idea.
The minute he was gone, a whole entourage tumbled into my room. First came Cheryl followed by Lucas, Maggie, Lu, and finally a strange man I’d never seen before. Cheryl was babbling incoherently and crying, not that I blamed her. I felt like crying myself. Lucas was stony eyed. The strange man was wringing his hands and muttering sympathetic nonsense. Maggie was barking out orders, which no one was listening to, while Lu quietly poured a very large glass of whisky from a flask she’d dug out of her floral beach back and shoved it in my hand. I downed it in two gulps, feeling immediately better.
“Everyone, shut up!” I shouted over the melee. Everyone shut up. I turned to the stranger. He was wearing a rumpled white shirt with a ghastly green and yellow tie. His reddish-brown hair was sprinkled with gray, thinning on top, and his freckled face had seen an unfortunate amount of sun. “You first. Who are you?”
“George O’Malley. Manager. I can’t apologize enough, Ms. Roberts. This has never happened before. Not in the history of the resort. Shocking. Truly shocking. Do you need a doctor?”
“No. As you can see I’m in one piece. I could use more booze though.” I gave a mournful look at my empty glass.
“I shall take care of it immediately. And the rest of your stay will be comped.” He gave me an eager look.
“Okay. Thanks.” It wasn’t his fault. Obviously someone was out to get me, but hey... free stuff is always good.
With more assurances this wouldn’t happen again and overly flowery apologies, George finally left. Thank goodness. I turned to my friends.
“I’m fine, everyone. Really. Just a bit of a surprise.”
“I’ll say,” Maggie said dryly. “Kind of surprise a body could do without.”
“I think maybe someone is trying to kill you,” Cheryl said soberly.
“Well, they didn’t do a very good job since they used the wrong snake,” Maggie pointed out.
“Unless they used the right snake,” Lucas reminded her, “and were going for the scare not the kill. It could have been a warning.”
Maggie snorted. “After the first attempt on her life? I don’t think so.”
I sighed. “Either way, we really need to find out what is going on. I’m betting whoever left the snake is the same person who pushed me down the stairs. And whoever that is had something to do with both Natasha’s and Andrea’s deaths.” I sank down on the couch, my glass magically refilled. I tossed it back, feeling the pleasant numbness steal over me. It was better than the sheer panic I had been feeling. “What I really need to find out is: who was Andrea’s boyfriend and who was the last person to see Andrea alive?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Cheryl said with a grin. “It was that bartender. Kyle.”
Chapter 20
Confronting Evil
“WHAT?” I SHRIEKED. “How long have you known this?”
“Since last night,” she said calmly. “Max told me. He saw them together when he first arrived at the resort. They were kissing. And then again right before Andrea’s death. That time they were arguing. Andrea slapped him across the face.”
“When were you going to tell me?” I demanded.
“This morning. Except the whole snake thing sort of got in the way.”
She had a point. I drew in a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. Let me think this over...” Things were definitely clicking now. Little pieces that hadn’t made sense until now were finally falling into place.
“Interesting development,” Lucas murmured. Maggie and Lu nodded in agreement.
“It still doesn’t make sense,” Cheryl said.
I blinked. “What doesn’t?”
“What does Kyle being Andrea’s boyfriend have to do with Natasha getting killed? Maybe the two murders aren’t related after all.”
Maggie snorted.
“Oh, they are,” I said. “They most definitely are.” I grabbed my maxi dress from the chair
