Blood Orchid (Holly Barker 3)

Then her thoughts returned to the night before. She hadn’t heard from Grant today. She called a florist and sent a dozen yellow roses to his house, with a card reading, “Hope you get well soon.”

25

The following day, in the early afternoon, Pedro Alvarez called.

“Hello?” Holly said. She hoped he was ready to talk to her.

“The FBI was here in my shop this morning,” Pedro said, his voice trembling. “Why are you persecuting me?”

“Mr. Alvarez,” Holly said soothingly, “I run a small police department in Indian River County; I don’t run the FBI.”

“Then how did they know about me?”

“When a person involved in criminal activity is murdered, that information passes to different law enforcement agencies.”

“Carlos wasn’t into criminal activity!”

“I told you that he committed burglary and wiretapping in my jurisdiction.”

“How do you know this?”

“It came out in my investigation of his death. Tell me, did you ever see Carlos driving a rented Chrysler van?”

Pedro was silent for a moment. “It was rented?”

“Did you think he had bought the van?”

“I thought he had borrowed it.”

“From whom?”

More silence.

“Pedro, what you don’t seem to understand is that the more you hold back, the more this is going to be investigated. You’re bringing all this attention on yourself, and there’s going to be more.”

“I don’t know anything; what is it you think I know?”

“Who was Carlos dealing with that might have gotten him into trouble?”

“Why would I know this?”

“You were his business partner, his cousin, and his friend. Who else would know more?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then perhaps the girl will know. Have the FBI talked to her yet?”

“I have to go,” Pedro said, then hung up.

Holly called Harry Crisp. “Thanks for moving so fast on Pedro Alvarez. What did you find out?”

“How did you know we’d talked to him, Holly?”

“He just called me, all upset. Somehow, he thought it was all my fault.”

Harry laughed. “Then he’s smarter than we thought.”

“Did your people get anything out of him?”