Chapter One #3
It was late afternoon the next day when Jacque pulled six children’s books from his book case and set them on the table.
Four years ago, if anyone would have told him he would be living in a swamp and teaching reading to five big, burly men, he would have told them they were positively out of their mind. Yet, here he was, doing just that.
It had started when George Trahan, a fellow gator-hunter had confessed to Jacque that he didn’t know how to read or write and he wished he could. Jacque had offered to help him and George had readily agreed.
When George had arrived for his first lesson, he’d brought with him Louis Theriot, a fisherman who was also eager to learn to read.
Within two weeks, there were a total of five men who showed up once a week.
Jacque had ordered a bunch of supplies, including workbooks and flashcards for the lessons.
He was surprised by how fulfilling he found it.
In a life with no real purpose, he felt as if he was at least giving a little something back to the place where he lived.
He retrieved the fish he’d caught the day before, cleaned them and fried a couple of pieces for dinner. While he ate, he played music on his phone.
Where once there had been conversation and laughter during meals, there was now only an endless silence that sometimes proved to be too much for him.
That was when he would turn on his phone and listen to instrumental music.
He’d tried country and western and rock, but the last thing he wanted to hear about was unrequited love or loss.
Off and on all day long, his thoughts had been of Monique. What kind of a plan did she think she had to catch the cold-blooded killer who had slashed her mother’s throat? How desperate was she to come to him, of all people, for help?
He just hoped she didn’t do anything to get herself into trouble.
It was a little while before dusk when his “students” began to roll in. George was always the first to arrive. He was an affable man dealing with the heartache of finding out that, almost three months before, his fiancée had nearly murdered Angelique Santori in a fit of jealous rage.
George had briefly dated Angelique, and when the two of them broke up, George had fallen in love with a woman named Desiree Augustine. However, he continued to hold Angelique in high regard, something Desiree couldn’t stand.
Unbeknownst to George, one night Desiree had gone to Angelique’s shanty and tried to stab Angelique to death. It was only when Daniel arrived at the shanty that the attack was halted and Desiree arrested. However, since that time George had become a bit more subdued.
He’d just taken a seat at the table when Louis Theriot and Oliver LeBoeuf, both fishermen, arrived. Minutes later Bill Stanger, a busboy at the café, and Abe Moberly, a dishwasher at the same café arrived, making it a full house.
The men were not only interested in learning how to read but also wanted to learn how to write. They had all admitted that there had been times they’d been embarrassed by their lack of knowledge, and they all wanted to better their lives.
Once they settled in, Jacque handed them each a piece of lined paper. At the top of the paper, Jacque had written their names, and he set them to work copying their names over and over again.
They did that for a little while and then moved on to reading out loud from the children’s books.
In total, they worked for a little over an hour and a half, and then the men lost their focus and were done for the evening.
Besides, twilight had fallen and night quickly approached.
The fishermen in the group would be ready to leave and get to their fishing holes.
He walked them all to his front door and stepped outside to see them off. As they all disappeared into the twilight and before he could go back inside, Monique surprised him by stepping out of the deep shadows next to his shanty.
“Mr. LeBlanc, could I please speak with you?” She approached where he stood.
“I don’t think we have anything to talk about,” he replied, shocked that she was here once again.
She stopped walking when she was right in front of him. She stood close enough to him that he could smell her scent. It was the fragrance of fresh flowers with a hint of something spicy, and it was extremely appealing.
She was clad in a pair of jeans and a navy blouse that cinched at her slender waist and clung to her full breasts. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and she looked quite lovely, not that it mattered. In truth, the fact that he had even noticed her attractiveness at all irritated him.
“I didn’t get a chance last night to tell you that I have a little money saved up, and I actually want to hire you.
” Her beautiful eyes held not only a plea but also a profound grief that touched something deep inside him despite his desire not to get involved.
“It would just be for brainstorming purposes,” she added hurriedly.
“All you would need to do is talk with me, and I’ll pay you for your thoughts.
Please, Mr. LeBlanc, won’t you help me?”
“You wouldn’t have to pay me,” he replied gruffly.
It was at that moment, against his better judgment, he realized he was going to help her.