Chapter Nine #2
AS LUKE DROVE toward the swamp’s entrance, he felt great. Tonight, he’d decided to wear a pair of black dress slacks with a green-and-black short-sleeved dress shirt. He had his surveillance clothes in a bag to change into later.
He’d decided to dress up a little because tonight was a special occasion—Dominique was cooking for him and she was even feeding him on his time, at six o’clock. Oh, she’d cooked bacon and eggs for him, but this just felt special and so he’d decided to dress up a bit.
The past week and a half had flown by. They’d gone out every night to follow Pierre. Unfortunately, he still hadn’t dug up the missing client book.
Equally frustrating was the fact that Daniel and his men hadn’t been able to pin down the man who had left the note and tried to kidnap Dominique. Still, he was grateful that no other attempts had been made on her and in that it had been a fairly peaceful ten days.
After today, his vacation time was over. He’d spoken with Daniel earlier in the day and they had decided he’d come in to work at nine-thirty in the mornings and work until four-thirty.
It was going to be difficult to work and still be there for Dominique during the nights, but he was really hoping he could talk her into stopping the nightly trips through the swamp. They’d been surveilling for over two weeks now without any success.
He reached the swamp’s entrance and parked. He had stopped by the café earlier and had picked up a peach pie for dessert. In one of their many conversations she had mentioned she loved peach pie.
He grabbed the pie from the passenger seat and then picked up the bag containing his black jeans and black T-shirt. He then headed in, a rich anticipation rushing through him.
He was now quite familiar with the paths that would take him to her shanty. He walked quickly and it didn’t take him long to reach her place.
He stopped short at the sight of a dead bird in front of her door. What the hell? Had the poor thing flown into the door and broke its neck? He knew occasionally birds might fly into a window, but a door?
A sense of dread filled him as he stepped over the bird and knocked on the door. “Dominique, it’s me,” he called out.
The lock disengaged and she opened the door. She looked positively stunning in a red outfit. The top hugged her breasts and showed off her slender build while the pants swirled around her long, shapely legs. Her hair was loose, but the smile she offered him appeared a bit forced.
“You look absolutely beautiful,” he said.
“Thanks, you clean up nicely yourself,” she replied. She opened the door wider to allow him entry and then closed and locked the door behind them.
“I come bearing a gift. It’s a peach pie.” He held it out to her.
“Thank you. This is very thoughtful of you.” She took it from him and then led him to the kitchen, where she placed it in the center of the table.
“I couldn’t help but notice the poor bird,” he said as he sat in one of the chairs at the table.
“Yeah, I’m hoping maybe you could get rid of it for me, but we can talk about all that after dinner,” she replied.
“Something sure smells good,” he said. The air was redolent with the scent of cooking meat.
“That will be your dinner. We have smothered pork chops, crispy fried potatoes and honey-drizzled carrots. We also have corn bread with honey.”
“Wow, that all sounds absolutely delicious,” he replied. “Way better than a meal in a box that you zap in the microwave for five minutes.”
She moved in front of a skillet on the electric burners. “It will be on the table at precisely six o’clock so you have about ten minutes to wait.” She flashed a quick smile over her shoulder.
Despite the smile, he sensed a tension radiating from her, a tension he believed didn’t have anything to do with her cooking dinner. Was it because of the dead bird? Or was he just imagining something that wasn’t there?
The ten minutes passed fast as they small-talked about their days. She told him about shopping at All That Jazz and he talked about a book he’d been reading.
“If you’ll hand me your plate, I’ll fill it,” she said.
He picked up the plate in front of him and gave it to her. The table was already set with a platter of golden corn bread, butter and a bear-shaped bottle of honey.
She filled his plate with one of the chops, a healthy serving of the diced, crispy potatoes and the carrots. Once his plate was on the table, she filled her own and then sank down across from him.
“Dig in while it’s hot,” she said.
“It all looks delicious,” he replied.
“Let’s just hope it tastes delicious, too.”
It took him only a couple of bites to assure her that everything was delectable. For a few minutes they ate in a comfortable silence. That was one of the things he liked about her—silence didn’t intimidate or bother her.
When they were about halfway through the meal, they continued with their small talk. She offered him a second pork chop, but he was too stuffed to even consider it.
“I hope you saved room for a piece of your peach pie,” she said when they finished eating.
“Maybe I’ll have a piece a little later. Right now, I’m just too full,” he replied. He still felt like something was slightly off with her this evening, but he figured if something was going on, she’d tell him in her own time.
Perhaps it was the dead bird. It had to have been shocking for her to discover it on her doorstep. Before he left here tonight, he would use a paper towel or something to move the bird from her door to someplace in the swamp.
“At least let me help with the cleanup,” he said once they had finished eating.
“The best way you can help me is to stay out of my way. Just sit there and look pretty,” she replied.
He laughed. “I’ll sit here, but I don’t know about the looking pretty part.”
He watched as she efficiently cleared the table and then washed the dishes using a large bottle of water and detergent. It always amazed him when he saw how the people who lived in the swamp had adapted to a life with little electricity and no running water.
“Have you ever thought about moving into town where you would have the convenience of a refrigerator and a dishwasher?” he asked.
“Sometimes it crosses my mind,” she replied. She placed the last clean dish in the drainer and then they moved into the living room and sat on the sofa.
“I think more about it now, since Angelique has moved into town,” she said, continuing the conversation. “She loves it, and I’m not sure if the appeal is because Daniel is there or that she can now take long, leisurely showers and use a dishwasher.”
Luke laughed. “Maybe it’s a combination of all of that. I will say it’s nice to see Daniel so happy.”
“Same with Angelique.”
“I have a feeling Daniel is planning on proposing to her very soon, and I also have a feeling there will be a wedding before the end of the year,” Luke said. “I’m curious,” he continued. “When you get married, which sister will be your maid of honor?”
“Hopefully, by the time I get married Angelique is already married, then I’d have her stand with me as a matron of honor and Monique would be my maid of honor.”
“Good decision,” he replied. “Uh… I don’t know if you realize it or not, but today is the last day of my vacation time.”
She frowned. “Then you won’t be available anymore to be my bodyguard during the nights.”
“Daniel and I have worked my hours out so that I can still be here for you at night,” he assured her. “Although I wish you’d stop the nightly stalking. Seriously, Dominique, tell me the truth. Aren’t you growing tired of doing it?”
Her frown grew deeper, indicating a deep anguish. “But, my mother—”
“Wouldn’t want you out doing this,” he said, cutting her off.
She released a big sigh. “I’ll admit I’m a bit tired of it, but if I don’t do it, then how are you all going to prove Pierre is guilty?” Her doe-like eyes gazed at him intently.
God, he wished he had a good answer for her, but he didn’t. “I don’t know the answer to that right now,” he admitted.
“I saw Jacque LeBlanc at the grocery store today, and I wondered if maybe it would be a good idea if we talked to him. Rumor has it he knows things about what goes on in the swamp. Maybe he knows something about the attacks on me.”
“If he knows anything definitive, I believe he would have already come forward. Daniel and I spoke to him before about your mother’s murder, but if you think it might be helpful, you and I could go to speak to him again about what’s happening with you.
” He moved a little closer to her, wanting to be as supportive as possible.
She released a deep, heavy sigh. “Right now, I have more important things on my mind.”
“Like what?” He reached out and took her hand in his. “Dominique, I’ve noticed you haven’t quite been your sparkly self tonight.”
Her fingers tightened around his for a long moment and then she pulled away and stood. “The dead bird wasn’t the only thing left at my door this afternoon.”
As she walked over to the bookcase, his heart thudded into the pit of his stomach. She grabbed a piece of paper just like the last note that had been left on her door and then rejoined him on the sofa and handed it to him.
STOP SEEING THE LAWMAN. YOU BELONG TO ME.
“Dammit, who is this bastard.” He exploded with frustration.
“I don’t know who he is, but he can’t tell me what to do and I’m not about to stop seeing you whether we stop our nightly stalking or not.” Her stubborn chin rose upward. “I’ll see you as often as I want as long as you want to see me, too.”
While that part of the note concerned him, far more concerning were the words you belong to me. It was a reminder that somebody out there wanted her and still posed a very real danger to her.
“Could this mean that you’re in danger?” Once again, her gaze was intense as it held his.
“Don’t you worry about me,” he replied firmly. “I can take care of myself. I’ll take the note with me when I leave and we’ll check it for prints,” he said.