Chapter Three #2
Of course, she was nothing like the woman he eventually wanted to find for himself. She was far too…too spontaneous for him. She was right—his being here with her wasn’t a date or a social event at all. His sole job was to keep her alive during her nightly activities.
They finally reached the area in front of Pierre’s shanty where she crouched down behind a large thicket of brush and he crouched just behind her. It had been a very long time since he’d been with a woman and being so close to her awakened parts in him that had been dormant for far too long.
Her body heat radiated toward him and he could smell the heady scent of her. A couple of strands of her silky hair moved with a small breeze and caressed the side of his face.
He tried to stay focused on the shanty they were watching instead of the woman so close to him. Lanterns were lit in Pierre’s shanty and moving shadows indicated that the gator-hunter was inside.
If Luke was lucky, Pierre wouldn’t leave tonight. It would be far easier to keep Dominique safe if she wasn’t trailing the man who might hear them or see them and react in a dangerous fashion.
If what they believed about the man was true, then he had already killed a woman in a vicious way by slicing her throat. What lengths would he go to in order to save himself from prison?
Unfortunately, after about twenty minutes of waiting, the man left his shanty. He carried with him a long spear-like tool, a fishing pole and a large tackle box. He headed down a path to the right of his house and Dominique and Luke quietly followed.
They kept bushes and thickets and some distance between themselves and Pierre. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to be worried about how much noise he was making as he walked and so Luke figured it was less likely that he would hear their quiet progress behind him.
The going grew more difficult as Pierre continued on and the swamp became thicker and more challenging to travel. Luke lost track of time. There was only Dominique and the swamp and the man they were tailing.
Finally, they came to a large pool of water where Pierre set his things down and uncovered from the nearby brush a large pirogue. He put the shallow boat into the water, grabbed his items and added them, then he jumped in and took off, using the long tool to help him move away from the shore.
“Where are you, you bastard? I intend to get you tonight,” Pierre yelled into the night.
Within moments he was out of their sight.
“What do you want to do now?” Luke whispered, hoping this would be the end of their nightly activities.
She turned to look at him, her dark eyes shining brightly in the moonlight. “To wait. Eventually, he’ll come back to shore. If you want to go on and leave, I won’t blame you.”
“I’ll stay,” he replied.
So, they waited. Small animals rustled through the brush all around them. Mosquitoes and insects buzzed and whirred in the air and a bullfrog croaked his deep-throated song. Fish jumped in the nearby water, and occasionally from the distance they could hear Pierre curse.
Minutes ticked by. Occasionally, they would change positions to be more comfortable. An hour passed and then another one. Although Luke felt like this whole idea of hers was a wild-goose chase, he couldn’t help but admire her resolve in seeing it through.
They didn’t talk while they waited. Having any kind of conversation would be a risk. What he was finding the most difficult was remaining so close to her. There was no question he was physically attracted to her and it was an attraction he hadn’t expected to be so strong.
It was about two hours later when Pierre finally came back to shore. He got his items out of the pirogue and then hid the boat in the brush once again. He had a stringer full of fish and he immediately headed back to his shanty.
They followed some distance behind him. He made no stops and when he reached his shanty he went directly inside. As Luke followed Dominique on to her home, he could feel the disappointment that radiated from her.
When they reached her shanty, she turned to gaze at him. “Okay, so tonight was a big bust,” she said.
“I’m sorry we didn’t get what we needed tonight,” he replied. He wasn’t without sympathy for her. And of course, if she was successful in this quest, they would all get what they wanted…an arrest for the murder.
“Do you want to come in? I’m going to fry up some eggs and make some toast. You’re welcome to come in and eat with me,” she said.
“You’re going to eat now?” he asked in surprise. “But it’s the middle of the night.”
“It doesn’t matter what time it is. I’m hungry and so I’m going to eat.”
“Thanks for the invitation, but I always eat my dinner at around six each evening,” he replied. “So, I’ll just see you at the same time tomorrow night?”
“That’s up to you,” she replied. Her big brown eyes threatened to pull him in as the moonlight caressed her delicate features. God, she was so beautiful and for just a moment he wanted to pull her into his arms and take her lush lips with his.
The impulse shocked him and instead, he took a quick step back from her. “I’ll be here tomorrow so don’t leave without me,” he said.
She half smiled at him. “Then don’t be late.”
He returned the smile. “I’m a punctual kind of guy. Good night, Dominique.”
“Good night, Luke.” With that she went into her shanty and he turned to leave.
As he headed back toward the entrance where he’d left his car, his thoughts were filled with the woman he had just left. Maybe she was right. It wasn’t so much that she was stubborn, but rather she was determined.
No other women he knew would sit in the swamp for two long hours waiting for a killer to dig something up.
He felt the weight of the investigation on his shoulders.
If only the police could come up with the evidence they needed, then she wouldn’t have to be out in the swamp waiting for a killer to make a mistake.
By the time he got to his car he was exhausted. Thank God he didn’t have to show up early the next morning at the police station for his shift. He’d go in about noon to check in with Daniel and let him know about tonight’s events.
He certainly wouldn’t share with his boss or anyone else how physically attracted he was to Dominique. There was no reason for anyone else to know that. After all, nothing would ever come of it.
THE NEXT MORNING, Luke got up at eight and took a long, hot shower. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept this late. He dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark green polo shirt and then left his place and headed to the police station.
His plan was to check in with Daniel and then eat lunch at the café around noon. He had no idea if Dominique would be working or not, but he was vaguely surprised to find himself looking forward to seeing her again.
Daniel was in his office and after knocking on the door, Luke entered. “So, how did it go last night?” Daniel asked.
“It went.” Luke sank down in the chair across from his boss and then shared the events of his time with Dominique. “I’ll say this, she’s unlike any woman I’ve ever met before. She’s very strong-minded.”
“I have a feeling all three of Mystique’s daughters are strong-minded. I know Angelique is. I think they all had to be in order to grow up with their mother’s reputation hanging over their heads,” Daniel replied.
“Yeah, it had to have been tough for them,” Luke replied. He certainly knew how it was to grow up with people gossiping about a parent. He’d known from a very young age the terrible reputation his mother had around town.
“I know this isn’t a duty you wanted, but I appreciate you going full speed ahead with it. The last thing I want is another dead body and I really don’t know what Pierre is capable of if he were to catch Dominique spying on him.”
“I don’t want to find out,” Luke replied darkly. “Anyway, I just figured I’d check in and let you know how it went last night.”
“All I can say is keep doing what you’re doing,” Daniel replied.
“That’s what I intend to do. I’ll spend however much time in the swamp I need to in order to keep the lovely Dominique Santori alive.”
“‘The lovely’?” Daniel raised a dark eyebrow.
The heat of a flush filled Luke’s cheeks. “I think we can agree that all the Santori sisters are quite lovely.”
Daniel grinned and shook his head. “Take note, my friend. First, you notice how beautiful they are and then before you know it, they have you wrapped up in love knots and you can’t imagine being without them.”
Luke laughed. “That’s not about to happen with me. Dominique is nothing like the woman I intend to eventually marry. She’s just a job to me and she’ll never be anything more.”