Chapter Five
“That color looks absolutely gorgeous on you, and the fit is perfect,” Monique said to Nicole Adderman, a young woman who was a frequent shopper. She was trying on a deep emerald-colored blouse that looked terrific against her pale blond hair.
Nicole looked at herself in the mirror on the outside of the fitting room door. “It does look nice, doesn’t it?” She turned and smiled at Monique. “I’ll take it.”
Minutes later Monique was once again alone in the shop. She glanced up at the clock on the wall. She was working until close tonight, and she had three more hours to go.
For the last week, she and Jacque had been out doing their thing. They’d focused on prominent people who lived in one-story homes. Jacque now had a back seat full of donated books, but the one book they sought remained elusive.
Jacque continued to be an enigma. At times brusque and withdrawn and at other times a bit more open, there was just something about him that continued to draw her to him.
Aside from her simmering physical attraction to him, she sensed a deep pain inside him, one she wanted to root out and soothe.
It was odd, really. His silences drew her closer to him, and his brusqueness she met with a soft voice and an attempt to coax out one of his stingy smiles.
The bell tinkled over the door, and Nola walked in. “You used to stop by my house pretty regularly for a little girl chat. Now I have to come chase you down at work if I want to see you.”
Monique grinned. “I do miss our girl talks, Nola. So are you here to chat or to shop?”
“Definitely to chat. I’m out of money right now, so I’m not doing any shopping,” Nola replied.
“Do you need to borrow some money?” Monique asked in concern.
Nola had been a constant since childhood.
She was the favorite aunt who always had candy in her purse and a warm hug for all the Santori girls.
If she needed a little cash to tide her over, Monique would be more than happy to help her.
Nola had never married and had always considered Mystique and her girls, her family.
“Oh no, I’ll be just fine. I just need to watch my pennies right now. Besides, I hope to sell a lot of things at the fall festival next week, and hopefully that will put me right as rain.”
Nola painted on small logs and fallen bark and rocks, creating beautiful works of art. She sold many of them online and had recently worked out a deal with Angelique to sell some of her creations at Mystique’s Magic.
“Now, I know what’s going on in Angelique and Dominique’s lives, but you and I haven’t touched base recently. You’ve always been the quieter one, but I know still water runs deep, so tell me what’s been going on with you,” Nola said.
“You’re now looking at the new manager of All That Jazz,” Monique said with pride.
“Oh, honey, that’s wonderful. I know how much you wanted it.” Nola reached out and pulled her into a big hug. It felt familiar and almost as good as being hugged by her mother. “Your mother would be so proud of you.”
“Thanks,” Monique replied, thankful that the words hadn’t pulled forth the ever-present sorrow that could engulf her at any time.
“Now, tell me what’s going on between you and the very handsome Jacque,” Nola went on. “You’re spending quite a lot of time with him. I would think by now he has enough donated books to start a library.”
Monique laughed. “We are getting a lot of donations, but there are a lot of men and women in the swamp eager to participate in the literacy program.”
“It’s an admirable thing he’s doing,” Nola said.
“Yes, it is.”
“You like him,” Nola replied with a gleam in her eyes.
“Oh, Nola, I do like him very much, and I don’t know why,” Monique confessed. “I still don’t know a lot about him, but he just draws me in.”
“Just be careful with your heart, honey,” Nola said. “Don’t rush things and don’t give your heart away until you’re very sure of what you’re doing.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m in no danger of giving my heart away any time soon,” Monique said with a laugh. “I just like him, that’s all.” She wasn’t about to share with Nola her desire for Jacque to take her in his arms and kiss her until she was mindless with passion.
The two women visited for a few minutes longer, and then the conversation halted when a couple of shoppers came in. Nola said a quick goodbye and left while Monique tended to the customers.
It was nearing closing time when Jackson Scott, the district attorney, came into the shop. It wasn’t that unusual for the tall, good-looking middle-aged bachelor to come in to buy something for his latest honey.
“Ah, Monique, my dear,” he greeted her with a wide smile. “I’m so glad you’re the one working. You always steer me in the right direction when I’m buying something.”
“Thank you, Mr. Scott. I’m always happy to help you.” She kept a pleasant smile on her face even though she’d always found the DA to be rather slimy.
While he was handsome with blond hair, brilliant blue eyes and chiseled features, he thought he was all that and a bag of chips.
However, Monique knew that in truth he was a serial dater who initially love-bombed the women he took out and then quickly cooled off and moved on to another woman, leaving broken hearts in his wake.
“I’m looking for something nice for Ali Sanders. Do you know her?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I do,” Monique replied.
“She works at the laundromat and is a sweet, very attractive blonde. We’ve just started dating, so I don’t want to spend too much money, but I want to get her something nice,” he explained.
“How about a pretty silk scarf?” Monique suggested. “We have some really nice ones here, and I think any woman would like one.”
“That might work,” he replied and followed Monique to the table where the scarves were displayed.
As he picked through them, Monique suddenly realized that darkness had fallen outside, and she was alone with one of the men who was on her suspect list.
It gave her some comfort that on the shelf next to her purse at the register, her knife was open and ready to use. The knife was sharp enough to gut a man if necessary, although she hoped it would never come to that.
“This is pretty,” he said as he picked up a hot pink and bright yellow one. “Yeah, I’ll take it. Could you wrap it up real nice?”
“Of course,” she replied.
“Aside from working here, what have you been up to lately?” he asked.
“I’ve been helping Jacque LeBlanc.” As she wrapped the scarf box with pretty pink paper, she explained about getting donations of books for the people in the swamp.
“Yeah, I heard something about that. Feel free to come to my place, I’m sure I have some books I could donate,” he said.
“Thanks, we’ll do that.”
Minutes later he was gone, and it was time for her to close up the shop and head home. She locked the door and turned off all the lights except one spotlight that shone down on the register.
She counted the cash and added up the card transactions and then compared everything with the sales for the day. Satisfied that the numbers all matched, she wrote out a bank deposit slip. She would drive through the bank and make the deposit on her way home.
As she finished up, her thoughts went back to Jackson Scott. In the next day or two, she and Jacque would be visiting with the man to talk about Jacque’s program and give her a chance to search for her mother’s book in his home.
She was aware that her plan to catch the killer had flaws. Two-story homes were impossible to search. There was also the possibility that the book wasn’t even in a drawer at all.
However, she was hoping and praying that somehow, someway, she’d stumble on the book in one of the places they were searching and the murderer would be unmasked. She needed that to happen so badly. She desperately needed the closure.
She finally turned off the last light and then headed for the back exit, her knife gripped firmly in her hand. Her car was parked just outside the back door.
It was only after she was in the vehicle with all the doors locked that she set the knife down in the passenger seat next to her purse. She was taking her safety very seriously since receiving the note on her door.
The night was unusually dark with just a sliver of the moon visible. A layer of thick fog added to the lack of visibility, slowing her drive to the swamp.
She yawned and fought against a wave of exhaustion. It had been a long day, and she was looking forward to getting home and going to bed.
Tomorrow she was on duty to open the store and work until two, and then she and Jacque would continue their work. She always looked forward to spending more time with him. Each time they were together, she tried to find the key that would make him really open up to her.
She finally reached the swamp entrance and parked. She got out of the car with her knife once again gripped tightly in her hand. She walked briskly, listening to make sure nobody was on the path with her.
A few minutes later she breathed a sigh of relief as she reached her shanty door.
Once inside, she turned on a few of the lanterns in the living room and then carried one into the bedroom.
She placed the knife on her nightstand and then took off the clothes she’d worn to work and hung them in her closet.
She pulled on a hot pink nightshirt and then returned to the living room.
She was a bit hungry but didn’t want to cook.
But she hadn’t eaten all day and knew she wanted something.
She finally settled for some crackers and cheese.
She sat on the sofa to eat them, and as she did, her thoughts went over the past week.
She and Jacque had cleared another five houses without incident. There were only three names left on their list, although she’d already thought of a couple more to add.
Was she adding names to the list so she could continue to see Jacque? She knew once she quit going to homes the odds were good that she would never see him again except in passing.