Free 2 Lady Luck Runs Out by Shannon Esposito Page B

together."
      Now, that did scare me. "Okay." I stood up, willing my legs to hold me. "Thank you. I'll..." I backed up. "I'll keep that in mind." I backed around the corner and almost stumbled into Frankie's arms.
    "Hey, Sugar, you okay?" Frankie asked. "You're trembling. Pretty intense, huh?"
    "Yeah," I breathed, taking my drink from her hand and downing it. Danger? Face it together? No way! I was going to stay as far away from that man as humanly possible.
    She half-smiled, still looking worried. "Better?"
    "Better." I nodded, still aware of the energy drain. Now I just felt weak.
    We made our way back down the stage stairs and into the party crowd. I still felt Zach with me, his presence stuck in my mind like a burning ember. I was so confused. I just wanted to not think about him. To go back in time and never meet him. Tears pricked my eyes. How did he know about my father?
    We reached Mallory, who was in a conversation with a young blond guy dressed like a fireman. Now that was poetic.
    "Hey, Mal," I said. "Frankie and I are going to go get a refill." I shook my empty glass.
    Her smile faded as she looked at me. "You all right? You're white as a ghost."
    "Yeah, I'll fill you in later." I gave her a hug which deepened her frown. "Later," I assured her.
    At the bar, we waited in line behind a man dressed as a pirate, complete with a real live parrot on his shoulder. He looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place him. He was chatting with another man wearing a red shirt that said "Devil". Not a very original costume.
    As I talked with Frankie, I kept glancing at the pirate. He seemed so familiar. Had he come into the pet boutique? I tried to place him with a pet other than the parrot.
    The parrot tilted its head and sidestepped down the pirate's arm. With a graceful hop, it landed on my forearm. I made a little yip sound, startled by the sudden vision of a snake. Just a small jolt of energy accompanied it, so I shook my other arm frantically to dissipate it.
    Frankie laughed as the parrot reached for the cherry on the end of the plastic stick in my cup.  The snake vision helped me remember where I had seen this man. "Duncan, right?" I said aloud. "The trapper?"
    He turned around, saw his parrot on my arm and grinned. "In the flesh. Peaches, where are your manners?" He held his hand under the bird's belly and it stepped onto it, my cherry in its beak. "Sorry, Sugar, not very good with faces and I think I'd remember you. Have we met?"
    "Oh, well, not officially. I'm Darwin Winters. I was there the night you got that rattlesnake out of Rose Faraday's condo."
    "Oh, right." He shook his head slowly. "Poor woman, very unfortunate for her. You look different in that cat costume." He eyed me appreciatively and motioned to his friend. "This here's my buddy McGillis. He actually ended up with her."
    "Her?" I asked.
    "The rattler."
    "Oh!" I turned my attention to McGillis. "So, like as a pet?"
    "More as an educating the public thing. Me and my partner, Sammy Harris, we opened up the Serpentarium over on 6th Street. Got over thirty poisonous species in there right now. You should come by."
    Over thirty poisonous snakes in one place? I shivered and forced a smile. "Sure." Walk right into a big den of snakes. On purpose. Who wouldn't think that was a good idea?
    While Frankie was introducing herself to the guys, I decided I should befriend these two, since I was trying to solve a murder with a poisonous snake as the weapon of choice.
    "So, this snake place, is it open to the public?" I asked McGillis.
    "Yep, Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday nights get pretty busy."
    "Guess I can check it out next Saturday." I turned to Frankie and smiled. "You up for coming with me?"
    She shook her head. "Sorry, Darlin'. Not too fond of snakes. Saw my share of 'em at Pirate City."
    I nodded my understanding. Pirate City was St. Pete's local homeless camp. Frankie lived there before she won the lottery a few years back. I'd get Mallory