Free Jenn Vakey - Rilynne Evans 07 - Revenge with Murder by Jenn Vakey Page A

rubbed his hands over his face.
    As she dug through her clothes for a shirt to wear, Ben grabbed his own clothes.  By the time she was finished getting ready, he was sitting in the chair by the front door waiting for her.
    “Shall we?” she asked, reaching down to help him to his feet.
    The walk to the equipment rental store wasn’t as uncomfortable as Rilynne had expected.  A front had blown in that seemed to take most of the humidity with it, in addition to providing a cooling breeze.  She couldn’t have asked for better weather for a hike.
    Rilynne waited outside while Ben went in to grab the equipment they needed.  She was about to go in with him when something caught her eye.  When Ben looked over and saw it too, he slowly shook his head and entered without even asking if she was going to join.  In a large cluster of trees not ten feet from the door was a mother monkey picking bugs off her young child.  Rilynne took out her phone and snapped a few pictures before seeing just how close she could get to them.  She made it about four feet away before stopping, not wanting to push her luck by venturing any further.  The mother looked over at her, but she seemed unconcerned with her presence.  Rilynne wanted more than anything to reach out and pet them, but she knew better.  If there was one thing you never messed with, it was a mother with her child.
    “Why couldn’t I have the ability to talk to animals?” she muttered to herself.  “That would be so much cooler than my flashes.”
    The monkey looked over to her as she spoke, appearing to ready herself to move if Rilynne made a motion toward them, but returned to grooming her baby after a few moments.  Though she kept a conscious eye on Rilynne, she didn’t seem to view her as an immediate threat.  It wasn’t entirely surprising.  The store surely had decent foot traffic as it was the only supply rental on the island.  With tourists going in and out, Rilynne probably wasn’t the first human to approach her.
    “The guys will never let you live it down if you get yourself attacked by a monkey,” Ben said, walking out behind her.  “Come to think of it, neither will I.”
    “She’s not going to attack me,” she said, spinning around to face him.  “Did you get everything?”
    Ben nodded.  “I want to run by the station really quick before we head out, though.  Chaz said he didn’t mind processing everything, but I don’t really want to saddle him with it all.”
    “Will anything be ready before tomorrow?” she asked.
    “I should have the results of the blood work,” he said, handing her one of the backpacks that was in his hand.  “Well, at least the preliminary.  Since we know she was drowned, I’m not actually expecting to find anything in her blood or her hair.  I’m just checking to make sure she wasn’t exposed to poison prior to being killed.”
    “That would mean the difference between a heat of the moment killing and someone actually planning out her murder weeks or months before,” Rilynne added.  “If it’s not going to be in her blood, how are you going to find out what she was injected with?  I saw the syringe in the bag, so we know it was given after she died.”
    Ben nodded.  “I had Dr. Forrest collect samples of the tissue around the injection mark.  The needle didn’t appear to actually pierce a vein or artery, so there is a chance the poison is just sitting in her tissue.  That test is going to take a bit longer.  I’m hoping to have it back in a few days.  I’m working on a hunch, so hopefully it won’t even take that long.”
    Rilynne looked up at him curiously as they started down the road toward the station.  “A hunch?” she asked.  “What kind of hunch?”
    He seemed to be considering his answer for a moment.  “I’ll let you know if it pans out,” he said.  “Right now it’s a little out there.”
    She wanted to push him further, but decided against it.  Ben didn’t often