Chapter Two
It was Monique’s day off. A blessing, since she’d been up half the night writing down every single thing she knew so far about the murder investigation and all the questions she wanted to bounce off Jacque.
Jacque. He was brusque and more than a little bit intimidating, but he’d surprised her by finally agreeing to talk with her last night. He’d agreed to meet her today at two.
Soon after Monique had gotten back to her own shanty last night, Angelique had called. Her voice was filled with joy as she told Monique that Daniel had indeed proposed to her. Monique had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before Luke proposed to Dominique.
Monique was thrilled that both her sisters had found their forever love, but she liked her quiet single life. She enjoyed her job and occasionally liked going to the Voodoo Lounge, a bar with a large dance floor. She’d always gone there with her sisters.
However, since her mother’s murder, she hadn’t felt much like dancing.
She ate a light lunch of salad and a handful of cooked shrimp.
As she cleaned up the kitchen, her nerves jumped in the pit of her stomach as she thought about meeting with Jacque once again.
She’d wished for this, and now that it was actually happening, she only hoped Jacque could help her get the answers and the clarity she sought.
It was close to two when she left her shanty. She wore a light yellow sundress with a bright poppy print. It was cool and comfortable as she walked the trail that would take her to Jacque’s shanty.
Last night when she’d first arrived at his place, she’d heard the sound of men talking and laughing inside. She’d stood in the deep shadows next to his shanty, and it wasn’t long after that when five men had left his place.
A social visit? That certainly didn’t fit with what she knew about Jacque. According to everything she had heard, the man was a loner. She definitely was curious why the other men had been there, but it was really none of her business.
As his shanty came into view, she clutched her notebook, where she’d written everything she knew about the murder, close to her chest. There was something they all were missing in the investigation, and somehow, she needed to figure it out.
At the moment she didn’t even have any suspects in mind, but she was hoping with Jacque’s help, she could identify a potential murderer.
With this thought in mind, she knocked firmly on his front door.
He opened the door and greeted her rather curtly. “I thought we could sit at the table for this brainstorming session,” he said and gestured her toward the kitchen area.
She noticed he already had a notebook and pen on the table. She also couldn’t help but notice that he looked quite handsome in a pair of jeans and a green-and-black-striped short-sleeved dress shirt. His hair was tied back, and the green in the shirt made the bright color of his eyes more intense.
She hadn’t really looked around his shanty the night before but now she took note of how attractive and spotlessly clean it was.
The sofa and chair were a dark gray with a couple of light gray throw pillows.
A potbellied stove stood in the corner of the living area with a large green plant spilling its vines and leaves over the top and down the sides.
A large bookcase stretched across one wall, filled with books of all kinds.
Beneath her feet, there was a large gray area rug with yellow flecks, a nice pop of color.
Everything was neat and tidy, a very attractive space.
“Can I get you something to drink?” His question broke through her thoughts as she sank onto a chair at the wooden kitchen table and set her notebook down.
“No, thanks, I’m fine.” She dug into her purse to retrieve a pen, then dropped the purse to the floor next to her chair. There was a back door near where she sat, and in a quick glance, she took in a neatly cleared path that led to a body of water in the near distance.
He sat across from her and looked at her expectantly. Instantly her nerves rose up inside her. “How are you this evening, Mr. LeBlanc?” she asked.
“I’m fine, but we aren’t here to small talk or socialize,” he replied curtly.
She cleared her throat and began. She told him everything she knew about the murder itself and then spoke about the fact that the police had initially fixated on a single suspect.
Pierre Guidry had been her mother’s lover for years.
They would break up for months at a time, but they always found their way back to each other.
However, at the time of Mystique’s murder, they had been broken up.
The authorities had believed Pierre showed up the night of the murder to get back with her.
Presumably, Mystique hadn’t wanted to resume a relationship with him, and law enforcement’s theory was that a fight had ensued, ending with Pierre killing her.
Unfortunately, they had no real evidence to prove this theory.
“I know he was finally cleared by Lucien Rousseau who saw Pierre out in the swamp fishing at the time of the murder,” Jacque said.
She nodded. “And since that time the investigation has completely stalled.”
“So what exactly do you want from me?” he asked with a frown.
She could smell his scent in the air. Shaving cream and soap mixed with a woodsy cologne she found quite appealing. “I want you to help me find some suspects. You do realize my mother’s client book was also stolen on the night of the murder,” she added.
“I heard something about that.” He frowned. “If it was my investigation, that would be where most of my energy would be focused. Who would want that book enough to be willing to kill for it?”
“That’s what I’m hoping you could help me figure out,” she replied. “I know Daniel has spoken to a lot of people who were seeing my mother for one reason or another.”
Jacque’s frown deepened, the gesture not taking anything away from his handsomeness. “I don’t believe the killer is anyone from the swamp,” he said. “Nobody who lives here has much to lose if their secrets got out.”
She looked at him in surprise. He was probably right, and this was the exact reason she needed his input. As far as she knew, nobody in law enforcement had thought about ruling out the people from the swamp…people who had so little to lose.
“So the killer is from town.” She opened her notebook and picked up her pen.
“And is probably fairly prominent,” he added. “Who do you know for sure is from town and visited your mother?”
“My mother often went to Lucinda Reese’s home to meet with her. Lucinda is wealthy and extremely well-respected. But there’s no way I believe that she killed my mother.”
“Why not?” His sharp gaze pinned her in place.
“For one thing she’s an older woman. The reason my mother went to her house was because Lucinda was too physically frail to make the trek to Mama’s shanty.”
“Do you know why Lucinda was seeing your mother?”
Monique shook her head. “No.”
“Does Lucinda have sons…or maybe some grandsons who would do her bidding?” he asked.
“She has two sons, but they don’t live here in town,” Monique replied.
“I’m still not convinced she had anything to do with this.
Maybe we just need to make a list of all the prominent men in town because I truly believe my mother was killed by a man.
” Pain once again stabbed through her as she thought of her beautiful mother’s throat slashed. It had been such a heinous killing.
Jacque picked up his pen. “Then let’s start with the mayor. Do you know if he was seeing your mother?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think anybody knows for sure who was seeing her.” She wrote down Ralph Dupree. The mayor of Dark Waters would certainly have a lot to lose if an embarrassing or political bombshell of some kind came out.
For the next hour, they threw out names of potential suspects. By the time they finished, she had fourteen names written in her notebook.
“This is a good starting place,” she said.
“Do you now intend to take the list to Daniel?” he asked. He leaned back in his chair, appearing to command the space around him, a strong masculine energy wafting from him.
“No, now I begin to do my own sleuthing,” she replied.
He immediately leaned forward, his green eyes glowing with the intensity of a laser as he focused on her. “What exactly does that mean?”
“I intend to go to each of these men’s homes and snoop around for my mother’s book. If I see it in somebody’s home, then I know that person is the killer,” she replied.
“Are you out of your mind?” he snapped and straightened in his chair. “A reckless stunt like that could get you killed.”
Warmth leaped into her cheeks and she raised her chin defiantly. “Jacque, I can be very sneaky when I need to be.”
His gaze turned skeptical. “And what ruse do you intend to use to get into these houses to snoop around?”
Once again, her cheeks grew warm under his penetrating scrutiny. Lord, but the man had beautiful eyes. She would love to see them lit up by his smile. But so far, he hadn’t offered her even a hint of one, and his eyes remained like hard emeralds.
“I haven’t quite figured that part out yet,” she admitted with a frown.
“It might take me a day or two, but I’ll come up with something.
Then once I’m inside, I’ll ask to use the restroom, and that’s when I’m hoping to do a little snooping in the bedrooms in search of my mother’s book.
I figure her book is either in a bookcase or in somebody’s bedroom drawer. ”
“It’s a bad plan,” he said.
“It’s a good plan,” she countered firmly.
“You should take this list to the police and stay out of things.”
“I’m tired of leaving things up to the police.
” She shut her notebook and looked back at him once again.
“I keep repeating that it’s been almost four months, and now they don’t even have a suspect.
” These words had become her mantra, her reminder of time passing with no relief in sight.
“I have to do something,” she said fervently.