Page 7 of Wild Idol (Tyson Wild Thriller #82)

I stepped outside the practice room so I could hear. It was still loud in the hallway.

“She had cocaine, alcohol, and trace amounts of fentanyl in her system, mixed with some allergy medication,” Brenda said. “I’m going to list the cause of death as an overdose from multiple drug toxicity. Haley had depressed respiration. The diphenhydramine didn’t help anything.”

I frowned and shook my head. “Such a shame.”

“If somebody would have given her a dose of Narcan, she might still be alive.”

“You think she was still alive when they put her in the dumpster?”

“It’s quite possible,“ she said.

That gritted my teeth and flushed my cheeks. “So, it would have been impossible for her to send a text at 1:30 AM. ”

“Given her condition at the time, I would say that would be highly unlikely. If she wasn’t dead already, she would have been non-responsive.”

“That means whoever dumped her intentionally sent a text to her best friend to throw off the timeline.”

“That would be my guess, but I’ll leave the investigative work up to you. “

I thanked her for the information, and ended the call, then filled JD in on the details.

“I’m guessing she overdosed at the Pearl Room,” Jack said. “That would be a hell of a lot of bad publicity. With the number of celebrities in that VIP room, it could be any one of them, or it could be club management.”

“Somebody snuck her out of the back entrance and dumped her at another club, then loitered around Beats and sent a text to Taylor.”

It was as good a theory as any at the moment.

I called Jessica, a waitress allegedly on shift at the time. It went straight to voicemail. I left a message and asked her to call me back.

When I called Korina, she picked up. “Hello?”

I introduced myself and said, “I’d like to ask you a few questions about the night Sable Fox was in the Pearl Room.”

“Eddie told me not to say anything to anyone. Sorry.”

“Who’s Eddie?”

“My boss. He owns the place. ”

“Why doesn’t Eddie want you talking about it?”

“Look, I don’t know. I just serve drinks. He says don’t talk to cops, so I’m not talking to cops. Not without a lawyer.”

“Why would you need a lawyer?”

“See, this is why I don’t want to talk to you. You’re trying to make something out of nothing.”

She ended the call.

I called her back, but she wouldn’t pick up. I left a voicemail. “If you change your mind, please call me back. Haley was 17. She died of an overdose. We’re just trying to figure out what happened.”

I tried to get in touch with the celebrities that Logan had mentioned were present, but I didn’t get through to any of them. I wasn’t expecting a return call, either.

If anyone knew anything, they sure as hell weren’t going to talk about it.

We wrapped up the day and headed back to Diver Down to grab something to eat. We took a seat at the bar and chatted with Teagan. The teal-eyed beauty was always a sight for sore eyes. Her bubbly smile and cheery attitude were infectious.

We stuffed our faces, starting with lobster bisque. I ordered the center cut filet, medium rare, and Jack went with the blackened mahi-mahi.

Harlan sat at the bar, sipping a long neck. His month of free drinks had expired, and he was back on his own nickel .

After dinner, I went back to the boat and did as much research as possible about Solomon and his cult. Apparently, he was investigated for sexual misconduct charges in another state before he had fled the country. He was also under investigation for embezzlement.

I talked to Isabella, and she had been able to dig up quite a bit of information about the scumbag. The more I learned, the more I wanted to help Strathmore get his daughter back.

“Apparently, they’re running a new-age wellness clinic in Xaqualta,“ Isabella said. “Just off the coast of San Montego.”

“Wellness clinic?” I said, full of disbelief.

“You know, one of those places where you can go and trip on ayahuasca or some other substance to heal your inner child.”

“Sounds interesting.”

“It’s a retreat in the jungle. Part spa, part psychic healing. Are you interested in taking a psychedelic journey?”

I laughed. “I had one on our last adventure. I think I’m good for a little while.”

“You should make reservations. Go down there and see what it’s all about. Probably your best bet for infiltrating the cult. Or you could just storm the island and take the girl back.”

“I’d like to avoid kidnapping if at all possible,” I teased.

“Probably for the best.”

I thanked her for the information, then caught JD up to speed .

“When we get a minute, we should probably go down there and talk to Ivy. See if we can convince her to come home. Hopefully, she’s still got the idol.”

“Hard to say. A guy like Solomon might sell something like that on the black market. I’m sure it would command a hefty price. Then again, he seems like a typical narcissist. Perhaps he’s after eternal life himself. Not that I buy into that kind of thing.”

“There are mysteries of the Universe we do not yet understand,” JD said with a mischievous grin.

I knew a little about the mysteries of the Universe. We had certainly bumped into a thing or two that defied logic. Having had a near-death experience myself, I knew there was more to the Universe than met the eye.

It was around 11:30 PM when the sheriff called. Calls that late were never good.