Chapter Four #2
She hadn’t lied about a nap. That was definitely her plan for the afternoon. After that she would be ready for the night ahead and maybe this would be the night Pierre would dig up her mother’s book and the case would finally be over.
She got out of her car and headed in to her shanty. The walk seemed unusually long today. The late hours of the night before were definitely weighing on her, although she would never admit that to anyone.
Despite her exhaustion, the surrounding swamp comforted her with the fragrances and look of home. It smelled green with the underlying scents of various flowers in bloom. There was also the rather unpleasant smell of decay, which she had gotten used to a long time ago.
The white piece of paper on her front door was visible from the bottom of her bridge. What on earth? She approached her door and pulled the note off. It read YOU WILL BELONG TO ME.
The letters were written in bright red with the word will underlined several times. A shiver crawled up her spine. She quickly shot a look around. Who had left it for her? She didn’t see anyone lurking around.
She stared down at the note once again. What did it mean? With a chill flooding through her veins, she opened her door and quickly went inside. She locked the door behind her and then sank down on the sofa with the note still in her hand.
You will belong to me.
Even though the words themselves weren’t exactly violent, it felt like a prophecy of danger.
AS LUKE DROVE HOME, his head was filled with thoughts of Dominique.
She had looked so attractive in a brown sundress that was the exact chocolate color of her eyes.
Her hair had been pulled back at the nape of her neck, exposing gold hoops at her ears.
A gold necklace with a small locket had looked lovely against her medium skin tone.
There was no question that he had a smoldering desire for her. He hadn’t expected that he would like her as much as he did. She was very easy to talk to and he found many things about her so interesting. She was like no other woman he’d ever dated before.
He pulled himself up short at this thought.
But of course, he wasn’t dating Dominique, and he would never be interested in dating her.
He liked structure and routine, and she had said she had none.
He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to live with her.
All he knew for certain was she was definitely the wrong woman for him.
He got back home and decided to take a note from her book and catch a nap. If last night was any indicator, the night to come would be long and probably frustrating.
He went into the kitchen and set his keys next to his holster and gun and then went into the living room and got into his recliner chair.
It didn’t take him long to drift off to sleep and into dreams of his childhood.
The dreams were snippets, moving quickly from one vision to another.
His mother passed out on the living room floor…
his brothers crying with hunger when there wasn’t any food in the house.
Angry banging on the door with the landlord wanting rent.
He woke up two hours later, surprised by the dreams that had tortured his sleep. It had been years since he’d had those particular visions while sleeping. What had brought them all back to him now?
Once he was awake, he spent the next hour seated at the table while he cleaned his gun. It was a task he didn’t mind and one he did regularly. It hadn’t been that long ago that he’d had to shoot a man.
When a suspect in Mystique’s murder case was caught with meth-making materials in his shanty, he had wound up shooting Daniel and then Luke had shot him. Thankfully, Daniel had only been grazed in the shoulder and Luke had shot the suspect in the leg, making it an easy arrest and nobody had died.
Once the gun was clean, it was dinner time. He pulled a frozen Salisbury steak dinner out of the freezer and popped it into the microwave. Not exactly a delicacy, but he didn’t feel like cooking anything else.
When he was finished eating, he put on a clean pair of black jeans and a black T-shirt. Surveillance clothes, he thought with wry humor, although there was nothing humorous about what Dominique was doing.
By that time, he was ready to leave for Dominique’s. Even though he had spent his lunch time with her, he still looked forward to seeing her again.
While he’d been inside, the skies had become angry looking. He hadn’t heard the latest weather report, but it looked as if it might rain at any moment. Which wasn’t all bad.
He would assume if it was raining then the night’s activities would be canceled, and he could definitely live with that. It would be one less night he had to worry about Dominique’s safety.
It still wasn’t raining when he got out of his car at the swamp’s entrance, but the air smelled like fresh ozone, letting him know the rain was coming very soon. The dark clouds swallowed up any twilight that might have occurred.
He turned on his flashlight to traverse the narrow paths, eager to get there and get inside before the skies opened up. When he reached the shanty, he knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” her voice called out.
He frowned in surprise. Last night she’d opened the door without checking who it might be. “Dominique, it’s me… Luke.”
He heard the sound of the lock and then the door opened and she gestured him inside. Once he was in, she immediately locked the door after him.
She looked gorgeous in a billowing pale blue sundress. Apparently, she hadn’t changed yet into her night-stalking clothes. Unlike last night, there was no smile on her face as she gestured him toward the sofa.
“Is everything all right?” he asked with concern.
“I’m not sure. Would you like something to drink?”
“No, I’m fine. Sit here next to me and tell me why you aren’t sure that everything is okay.” He patted the seat next to him.
She walked over to the bookcase in the room and picked up a piece of paper, then sat next to him on the sofa. “This was taped to my door when I got back here from lunch.” She handed him the piece of paper.
He read it and a bit of concern washed over him. He set it down on the coffee table and then gazed at her. “You don’t have a clue who might have left it for you?”
“Not a clue,” she replied. “And I didn’t see anyone around, either. I don’t know if I should be afraid or not.”
“It could be a threat,” he said slowly. “It’s also possible it’s just a note from a secret admirer who plans to win your heart.”
A frown furrowed her brow. “Then I don’t like secret admirers.”
“If that’s all it is, do you have any idea who it might be?”
“I have no idea,” she replied. “I’ve never understood the whole secret admirer thing. If somebody is into me, then step up…be a man and talk to me in person.” Her eyes held his gaze. “This reminds me of what my sister went through.”
Less than a month ago, Angelique had gotten a frightening note on her door. Then she’d been attacked by a person wielding a knife. The first time she’d managed to escape with just some wounds on her arm.
However, she had been attacked once again with near deadly results. The attacker had been Angelique’s ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend. It had been solely based on jealousy and the belief that Angelique needed to die so the new girlfriend wouldn’t have her as competition.
Luke reached out his hand and took Dominique’s in his. “This is nothing like what happened to your sister, so get that idea right out of your mind.”
Her cold fingers twined with his, as if she was seeking his warmth and support. “Just tell me…should I be afraid?”
With her big, doe-like eyes staring into his and her hand so small in his own, he wanted to promise he’d keep her safe forever. Instead, he really considered the situation before replying.
“I don’t think you need to be overly frightened exactly, but I do think you need to be extra aware of your surroundings when you’re out and about. This might be nothing more than a love note of sorts.”
“Well, I’m not loving it,” she replied drily.
“Could you get me a baggie big enough to hold the note? I’ll take it into the station and see if we can lift some fingerprints off it. Hopefully that will tell us who left it.”
“Sure, I’ll be right back.” She got up from the sofa and disappeared into the kitchen area. She returned a moment later with the baggie in hand. He carefully slid the note inside it and then set it back down on the coffee table.
“Now, on to more pleasant things,” she said when he was finished. “Tell me what you did this afternoon.”
“Nothing too exciting. I took a nap and then I cleaned my gun,” he replied.
She raised one of her perfectly arched dark eyebrows. “Are you expecting a gunfight sometime soon?”
He was pleased that she appeared a little less tense than she’d been when he’d first arrived. “God, I hope not,” he replied. “There’s nothing a police officer hates more than having to shoot his gun.”
“That is comforting to know,” she replied. “I’m sure you all wish every conflict could be resolved easily and without violence. Speaking of conflicts, has anything happened in the investigation into my mother’s murder?”
“Unfortunately, nothing has changed. However, it looks like it might pour rain at any minute. If it’s raining, do you still intend to watch Pierre?” he asked.
“No. He won’t go out if it’s raining and so I think you’re probably going to be off duty for the night,” she replied. “And don’t look so darned pleased about it,” she added.
He laughed. “I can’t help it that I’m not upset that we aren’t going out to sit in a swamp for three hours or so.”
“You know you don’t have to do this.” Once again, her gaze held his intently. Her eyes were so beautiful with their rich color and long dark lashes.
“Oh, but I do have to do this,” he replied.
“Why? Because Daniel is making you?”