Page 9 of Sweaty Nights & Gator Bites

Phi took a step closer to cover her surprise at Kota’s question. “What my sister meant to say is that we’ve noticed some peculiar evidence near the sites of the attacks. We were hoping you might have some insight.”

Bouvier’s mask of confidence slipped further as a bead of sweat formed on his brow. “I’m afraid I can’t help you. Those tracks could be from any wild animal. The swamps are full of them.”

Dre must have sensed his unease because she increased the pressure. “Funny you should say that. Phi didn’t mention anything about tracks just now. How do you know about them if you weren’t involved?”

Bouvier’s face paled slightly, and he stammered, “I-I must have heard it somewhere. Rumors spread quickly you know. My company is not the only one building in the swamps.”

Dea tried a different approach. “Mr. Bouvier, we’re nothere to accuse you. We’re here to protect the community and the environment. If you know something, anything, it could help prevent further harm.”

Bouvier’s eyes darted around the room, searching for an escape. Finally, he sighed and muttered, “Fine. I’ve heard whispers about the shifters, but I have no direct involvement. I was told they’re reclusive and territorial. And that they don’t take kindly to outsiders meddling in their affairs.”

Lia nodded sympathetically. “How did you learn about mythical creatures? Unless there’s something different about you.”

Bouvier hesitated before replying, “It’s not me. There’s a man. He goes by the name of Arlen Voss. He’s a recluse and lives deep in the swamps. I have an... arrangement with him. He helps me and his home is secure. If anyone has ties to the gator shifters, it’s him. But be careful—he’s dangerous.”

“Thank you, Mr. Bouvier,” I said, knowing we weren’t going to get more information from him. “We appreciate your cooperation.”

As we turned to leave, Bouvier called after us, “Just remember, I had nothing to do with those attacks and certainly nothing to do with anyone’s death.”

My mind churned through the information we got from Bouvier as we climbed into Lia’s car. The lead about Arlen Voss felt like a breakthrough, but it also meant we had been wrong about who killed Melanie. One step forward, three steps back. Not an ideal place to be when we’d been asked to plan a family reunion for our archnemesis.

Kota broke the silence when she said, “Well, it looks like we have a new player in this game. I can’t see how Arlen would have told that guy anything about shifters. If he lives in the bayou then he would know that would be dangerous.”

Lia took a deep breath and looked over at Kota briefly. “I’d say you’re right. I didn’t sense anythingotheraboutBouvier, though. I think we need to pay Mr. Voss a visit because this just got a whole lot more complicated.”

I nodded in agreement. “It's a good thing we didn’t tell the police since it seems the culprit could be supernatural after all. While I don’t think he was behind this, we should still keep a close eye on Bouvier. He’s hiding something.” The others agreed and the car fell silent as we each worked through our thoughts.

The cool early evening air settled over Willowberry as we pulled into the parking lot. Cami and the guys were sitting around the outside tables, which were still covered in our spread of documents. “Did you learn anything?” Cami asked as we joined them.

Lucas grabbed Lia’s hand and pulled her into a chair as she started to update them on what we discovered. We each filled in some of the details while grabbing drinks from the outside fridge. Leaning into Noah, I asked, “Do either of you know Arlen Voss?”

Noah looked to his alpha and best friend, Lucas. Both men shook their heads. “Never heard of him,” Noah replied. “Have you looked into Bouvier more? You said you don’t trust him. You might find something if you do a deeper dig on him.”

“I was thinking the same thing on the way back. I have a few places I want to check,” Phi said as she took the lead. Her fingers flew over the keyboard.

“Can you cross-reference Bouvier's financial records with his communications, and known associates?” Lucas asked. “That might give us leads before you go back out to the bayou.”

Phi shook her head. “No without using magic. I’m not a hacker.”

I smiled at her. “No, but my son can get past firewalls and whatever else might keep the information hidden. I’ll askhim to come over.” I sent Ashton a message asking him to stop by the plantation. His response was quick. He and his new wife were already on their way and bringing my grandson. He was born a week ago and finally out of the hospital after a harrowing brain bleed. “Ash and Gabi are bringing Russel with them.”

Noah’s eyes went wide and he held me away from them. “When did Russel get out of the hospital? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I frowned at my mate. “Because I just discovered he was released. It seems as if the nurses there have finally forgotten about me. Ash wanted to surprise us and is almost here.”

Everyone added their opinion while Cami and Kota went inside and heated up leftovers for dinner. By the time they returned, Ashton and Gabi were there. After cooing over the baby and giving him love, I took my grandson and sat next to Noah again. Phi explained what we needed to discover about Bouvier.

Ashton cracked his knuckles and began typing on Phi’s computer. “Alright, let’s see what I can uncover.”

Running a hand over the swelling on Russel’s soft head, I inhaled his sweet scent. There was nothing like a newborn baby’s smell. Noah fed me bites of chicken while we waited for Ashton to find something. Phi leaned over and looked at the screen. “Did you find anything?” she asked.

"Plenty," Ash replied as he turned the screen. I got up along with everyone else and went over to see what he’d discovered. If I wasn’t mistaken, we were looking at a series of financial transactions.

Ashton pointed to the screen. “These transactions were all encrypted. As you can see, I've managed to decrypt a few. They point to substantial sums of money being transferred to an outside account. It could be your guy in the bayou. Thetiming of these transfers aligns suspiciously well with the recent attacks in Phi’s spreadsheet.”

Dre crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “I bet he's giving Voss money. The question is why? Did he pay the guy to attack? Is Voss part of getting the shifters out of the bayou for Bouvier?”

“He could be paying him for protection,” Dea suggested. “His workers would need it to do much in the swamps without being ambushed by gator shifters. Of course, there could be some other reason. Our focus should be on what he's getting in return. That will tell us if Voss was involved in Melanie’s death.”

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