Chapter One #2
She finally made herself a cheese sandwich, added a handful of chips and grabbed a soda, sitting at the table to eat. When she was finished, she turned off her phone and slid it into her back pocket. Grabbing her keys, she left the shanty.
It was early enough she hoped to find the gator-hunter at home; most of the men in his business went out in the late evening.
The deeper she went into the swamp, the cooler it got.
Despite the comfortable temperature, she felt overly warm.
Just her nerves. She told herself that the worst that could happen was he’d tell her he wasn’t interested in brainstorming with her.
But that thought didn’t calm the nerves that jumped inside her.
She desperately needed somebody smart to talk to about her plans to get the evidence they needed to lock away a killer. That was the only way she could move forward in her life. As long as the murderer was out there walking free, she was stuck in the mire of her grief.
She passed a large pool of water where a gator swished its tail before disappearing from view. A red fox darted out, then scurried back into the brush for cover. It was as if all the animals around her felt her anxiety.
Jacque’s shanty was tucked away in the middle of trees and waist-high bushes and brush.
However, the immediate area around the shanty was clean and neat.
Monique approached the front door, and summoning courage, she drew in several deep breaths, then released them slowly.
With steely resolve, she knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” a deep voice called out.
“It’s Monique Santori.” She was appalled that her voice cracked due to her nerves. She cleared her throat and tried again. “It’s Monique, Mystique Santori’s daughter.”
The door swung inward, and Jacque LeBlanc gazed at her with curious green eyes. She’d forgotten what a big man he was. Her head only reached his shoulders. He was well-built with big shoulders and slim waist and hips.
“Miss Santori, what can I do for you?” he asked.
“Uh…could I come in and speak with you for a few minutes?” She couldn’t help but notice that his facial features were bold and chiseled, and his thick, long dark hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck, exposing his strong jawline.
The man was definitely hot—not that she cared a bit about what he looked like.
“Speak to me about what?” he asked.
He didn’t look particularly friendly and that made her even more nervous. Maybe this was all a big mistake. “I’d like to speak to you about my mother’s murder,” she said.
“I’m afraid I can’t help you. What little information I had, I gave to the chief of police,” he replied. “So I’ll just tell you good night.” He started to close his door.
“Please wait, Mr. LeBlanc.” To her horror, she burst into tears.
Jacque stared at the weeping petite young woman. He’d never been able to stand to see a woman cry. He had no idea what was really going on with her or what she wanted from him, but he opened his door wider to invite her inside.
He motioned her toward his sofa where she sank down and drew several audible deep breaths. He sat in a chair facing her.
“I’m sorry. I… I’m so embarrassed,” she said as she quickly swiped the tears from her cheeks.
“No reason to be embarrassed,” he replied. “I’m just not sure why you’re here or what you want from me. As I told you, I gave the police all the information I had concerning your mother’s murder.”
She gazed at him for several long moments.
There was no question that Monique Santori was a beautiful woman.
Long dark hair cascaded down her back, and her facial features were soft, yet well-defined.
Her eyes were a rich chocolate brown with long dark lashes.
She was clad in blue jeans that hugged her legs, and a red blouse that clung to her breasts and cinched at the waist. The color looked great on her.
But what the hell was she doing here?
“Mr. LeBlanc, I need a friend…an educated friend, and it’s obvious you are that.” She gestured toward his large bookcase, which held a variety of books on different topics.
He stared at her in stunned surprise. She was here because she needed a friend? “Miss Santori, I’m sure you have plenty of intelligent friends, including your two sisters.”
“But I don’t. My sisters are really the only friends I have, and I can’t take my thoughts to them. I need somebody to bounce some ideas off of, and I believe you are that person. And please, make it Monique.” There was a definite plea in her eyes.
“What kind of ideas are you talking about?” he asked rather gruffly. The last thing he wanted was to be pulled into some kind of family drama. He liked his relatively solitary life, and he certainly didn’t need a new “friend.”
“Ideas on how to catch my mother’s killer.” She leaned forward, and now her eyes filled with a fierce determination. “As I’m sure you know, nobody has been arrested for the crime so far, and right now there are no suspects. The case has stalled…it’s on its way to becoming a cold case.”
“Miss Sant—I mean Monique, you need to leave the investigation to the law enforcement officials,” he replied firmly.
“I’ve left it to them for almost four months, and now I’m tired of leaving it up to them. I have a plan, but I need to know if you think it’s smart. I need somebody to know what I’m doing in the event that something goes wrong.”
“If there’s even the smallest possibility that something can go wrong, then it’s not a good plan,” he replied.
“Go home, Monique. Go home and don’t get involved in all this.
” He got up from the chair where he’d been sitting and walked to the front door, letting her know not so subtly that he was finished with the conversation.
She frowned and slowly stood. “So you aren’t interested in helping me?”
“No, and you need to go home and forget whatever plan you might have,” he replied.
She walked to the door. She suddenly looked small and vulnerable, and he nearly broke down and told her to sit back down.
But he didn’t, and once she was gone, he released a deep sigh of relief and returned to his chair. Why on earth would she think he would be her new friend? They’d had no interaction at all before this evening. It was all very strange.
Besides, he didn’t do friends. Oh, he was fairly friendly with the other gator-hunters and fishermen in the swamp, but he had no real close friends, and that was the way he liked it.
The last thing he wanted to do was to care deeply for anyone. Been there, done that and got the heartbreak that had nearly destroyed him.
As memories of his past life threatened to rear up, he got up from his chair and grabbed the fishing pole and can of worms that sat on a table on his large back porch.
He needed to do something to keep the memories at bay.
Thankfully he could fish in a large pool of water mere yards from his back door.
He followed a narrow path down to the water’s edge and then sat on the bank and baited his hook.
He cast out and then settled in to wait for a bite.
When he was out here, it was difficult to think of anything else except the beauty that surrounded him.
The reflection of the tall trees in the water was perfect for an artist’s brush to capture.
A blue heron swooped in and plucked a small fish out of the water. Despite the competition for fish, Jacque couldn’t help but admire the big bird’s regal beauty as it continued on its low flight across the water.
His thoughts went to the conversation he’d had with Monique Santori.
How desperate she must be to show up at his shanty.
He wasn’t exactly known for his friendliness around town.
For the most part he kept to himself and didn’t invite conversations with others.
He was definitely an unlikely choice as a new friend.
He fished for about two hours and caught three nice-size fish, a bass and two catfish. He put them in a basket that floated just under the water’s surface. He would retrieve them some time tomorrow, still fresh, and they would make a nice dinner or two.
Most of the fishermen in the area sold their fish, but Jacque had no need for money.
The only recurring bill he had was for his cell phone, and the only other things he needed to pay for was gasoline for his generator and food.
He’d had a healthy savings account of his own when he’d left his home in Baton Rouge for the swamp.
Jacque had also inherited a sizable estate from his father, who had died a very wealthy man and named his only son as the sole beneficiary.
In truth, Jacque had more money than he would ever spend in his lifetime. He used a lot of it to support a couple of his favorite charities: one for children with cancer and another a no-kill dog shelter.