Drop Dead Sexy(47)

“Interesting. And I have to say I’m on pins and needles to find out how the f*ck this relates to a snake-handling ministry.”

Zeke scowled at Catcher. “I’m getting there. Anyway, so after banging two chicks and being arrested, the guy is still hard as a rock. He tells me that it’s this male enhancement drug he’d been using. It could keep him going for hours, not to mention it gave him an extra inch.”

Catcher crossed his arms over his chest. “Really?”

“Yeah. Really. Since I’m curious about the product, I asked him where he got it. Said some guy he met at this nudist colony—”

“They actually prefer nudist resort,” I argued. Both Catcher and Zeke shot me a look. “Sorry.”

“Like I was saying, he’d been to a party at the nudist colony, and he met this guy who was a pharmacist and made his own drugs.”

Catcher cut his eyes over to me before looking back at Zeke. “Did he mention what the guy’s name was?”

“Yeah. He gave me his name and private number—Randy Dickinson.”

My breath hitched at hearing Zeke speak Randy’s name. I glanced at Catcher to see how he was going to handle this development. “Did you meet up with Randy to get some male enhancement?”

“I wasn’t just interested in that. It was more about what Randy could do for the ministry. You see, I figured if Randy could make a man enhancer, then he might be able to make an antivenin, so that Ezra could handle snakes but not get killed.”

Ah, now it was all starting to come together. “So Randy made you an antivenin?”

Zeke nodded. “The best part was he made it where it would be a preventative measure, not after the fact. That way Ezra never knew. I just slipped a few drops into his water every day, and bam, he was good to go. When he started getting bitten and not dying, word grew of his gift. The crowds at the tent meetings doubled, even tripled, overnight. We started collecting lots of money in love offerings.”

Catcher cocked his brows at Zeke. “I’m sure more money was spiritually rewarding for you.”

“It’s never been about the money for me—it’s about Ezra’s happiness.” When Catcher gave Zeke a pointed look, he held up his hands. “Fine. I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t admit that the money was an added plus. But let me assure you that Randy’s shit doesn’t come cheap either.”

“But if Ezra was taking the antivenin, why did he react the way he did tonight?” I questioned.

Zeke grimaced. “I ran out of antivenin two days ago. I’ve been trying to get ahold of Randy for two days, but he’s not answering his phone.”

“That’s because he’s dead,” Catcher dead-panned.

After staggering back, Zeke clutched his chest. “Randy’s dead?”

I nodded. “Murdered.”

Zeke ran both his hands through his hair as he shook his head. “Holy shit. I can’t believe it.”

It was pretty clear at that moment that Zeke wasn’t our killer. Neither was his brother considering Ezra had no idea who Randy was. Unless Zeke had any information for us, we were back to square one.

Zeke gave a mirthless laugh. “Without Randy, our ministry is screwed.”

“Your ministry was screwed the moment Ezra’s snake bite was called into law enforcement. They’ll be patrolling the fairgrounds now to ensure you guys are closed down. In case you missed it, snake handling is illegal in the state of Georgia.”

“Yes, I was aware of that. Ezra was always safe.”

“Yeah, what about the kids I saw there? Were they drinking the antivenin too?” Catcher demanded.

Zeke averted his gaze to the ground. “No. They weren’t.”

“You seem like a nice guy, so I’m sure you wouldn’t have wanted a dead kid on your conscious if one of the snakes had gotten away from Ezra.”

“No. You’re right. I get it. I guess I’ll have to tell Ezra the truth,” Zeke lamented.

With a shrug of one of his shoulders, Catcher said, “You could, or you could simply lead him to believe that the law will no longer allow him to handle snakes.” At both Zeke’s and my curious expression, Catcher added, “The man almost died tonight. Don’t kill his faith as well.”

While Zeke did a slow bob of his head in agreement, my amorous feelings for Catcher amped up a notch. How was it a good-looking, sex machine could have such a deep side? It was almost as much of a mystery as who killed Randy.

“Before we go, I need to ask if you know any of Randy’s other clients?”

“Nope. Randy was really good about maintaining your privacy, which was a plus for me. In fact, all the bottles of antivenin just came with a number. My name was never on the bottle, nor was it labeled antivenin.”

“And what number was that?”

“Seven.”

Catcher scribbled that down on his notepad. “So you don’t know anything about anyone else affiliated with Randy?”

After thoughtfully scratching his chin, Zeke replied, “There was this one time when I asked him how the hell he came up with all this stuff. He said he collaborated some with the Granny Witch Thornhill.”

“A witch?” Catcher questioned, stilling his pen.

“Not a witch, but the Granny Witch Thornhill.”