Mistaking a Magnate for a Male Escort

“I didn’t understand a word of that,” Francesca said impatiently. “My snake bit him while he was in the middle of drawing blood. As the poison did not enter into the bloodstream right away, I assume that it wouldn’t show up in his toxicology report.”

“That’s not important.” Zachary waved a hand impatiently. “Didn’t you say that the symptoms will appear tonight? Will he die?”

“No, he wouldn’t. As members of the medical profession, we have a code of conduct to save lives, not end them. Otherwise, I would have done away with him the day your house was set on fire. Eliminate loose ends, you know.”

“What will the symptoms be?” Zachary persisted.

“It’ll look like the flu at first, then as it gets worse, it’ll…” Francesca’s eyes narrowed with suspicion all of a sudden. “Why do you ask?”

“Help me dial a number, will you?”

“Pay me first!”

phone to her ear. “What? Chris took a

had him watched closely. The report

fraud. I did that to drive a wedge between him and Jesse. Last night I had even left a smudge of green dye on his brow and made him think it was a symptom of his poisoning. He was frightened enough to head straight for the hospital in Fairlake to get tested, but Jesse stopped him. It didn’t

that’s what happened,” Raina said. “I had thought that Jesse

sure that Jesse would have already found out by now that Chris went and got himself tested. He must have let him go to let Chris see for himself. My

necessarily,” Raina said mysteriously. “What if he

mean?” Charlotte asked

him at the clinic,” Raina said carefully, “and had their snake give

Francesco?” Charlotte

coughed

contacted you?”

liberty to say. All I can tell you is that things