Chapter Eleven
Dominique sat with her two sisters on the sofa in her shanty, waiting for Daniel to arrive with an update on their mother’s case.
It was the first time he’d called them all together and all three of them were hopeful that Daniel was bringing them good news. Of course, the best news of all would be that they had found the evidence they needed to get Pierre behind bars.
She was hungry for something good to happen. Since Luke had walked out of her house two nights before, she had been filled with a sadness she didn’t understand and couldn’t quite shake.
She missed Luke desperately. He’d taken a big piece of her heart with him and had left behind an aching emptiness she certainly hadn’t expected.
Angelique now looked at Dominique. “You’ve certainly been quiet this evening.”
“Yeah, you haven’t been your normal bubbly self tonight,” Monique added.
“I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep well last night and then I worked the early shift this morning,” Dominique replied.
“You haven’t mentioned your nightly stalking of Pierre lately,” Angelique observed.
“That’s because I gave it up a few nights ago,” she replied.
“Thank the lord,” Monique replied and placed a soft hand on Dominique’s. “I was so worried about you when you were doing that at night. Even taking Luke with you didn’t make me feel much better about it.”
“I felt completely safe with Luke by my side,” she said. Again, a pang of sadness shot off in her. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she straighten out her emotions? “Didn’t Daniel give you an idea about why he wanted to meet with us?” she asked Angelique.
“No, he didn’t. He just called me at the store and told me to meet him here,” she replied. There it was…that love she had for her boyfriend so rich in her tone.
Dominique wanted that for herself, but she didn’t feel like dating at the moment. Still, how was she ever going to find her person if she spent all her evenings alone in her shanty?
A knock fell on the door and Dominique hurried to answer it. Not only was it Daniel, but Luke and Clay were with him, as well.
Luke looked wonderfully handsome in his blue uniform, but she refused to let her gaze linger on him. She missed him so much. Her life just wasn’t the same without him in it.
“Gentlemen, have a seat,” she said. She gestured to the chair across from the sofa and then hurried into the kitchen to grab two more chairs.
Clay met her halfway and took the chairs from her and carried them into the living room. “My love, what’s up?” Angelique asked once everyone was seated.
“We’ve had a new development in your mother’s murder case,” Daniel said.
“A new development?” Dominique leaned forward, eager to hear the news. She kept her gaze fixed on Daniel. Maybe this was what they’d all been waiting for. Maybe they’d finally arrested Pierre.
Daniel frowned. “Unfortunately, somebody has come forward to alibi Pierre for the night and time of the murder.”
Dominique stared at him, as if he’d suddenly begun speaking a foreign language. She leaned back against the sofa, stunned by this unexpected news.
“What are you talking about?” Angelique asked.
“Who’s come forward and why now after all this time?” Monique asked.
Dominique looked at Luke as the floor beneath her feet fell out from under her. How she wished she could be in his arms right now as the world tilted and half dizzied her.
“The man’s name is Lucien Rousseau,” Daniel said. “Do any of you know him?”
They all shook their heads and listened as Daniel told him about the man working on an offshore fishing boats since the day after the murder until yesterday when he’d come in to speak to them.
“I looked into his story about spending time on the offshore boat. I spoke to the captain of the boat, who confirmed Lucien’s story,” Clay said.
“And I checked out the relationship between Lucien and Pierre and from everything I heard, the two men didn’t have much of a personal relationship,” Luke added.
“Therefore, we have no reason not to believe Lucien’s story that he saw Pierre out at his fishing hole on the date and time of your mother’s murder,” Daniel said.
“So that means you all are back to square one,” Dominique said in deep frustration. How many hours of her life had been wasted foolishly shadowing an innocent man? Still, she couldn’t regret that time, for it had given her Luke for a little while.
“Are there any new suspects in the case?” Monique asked.
“None, but we’re going to get there. I swear to God I’ll find the person responsible for Mystique’s murder,” Daniel said fervently.
Dominique knew he meant well, but now there was no real suspect in the case and justice for her mother might never come. Again, her grief welled up inside her.
What she wanted now was to collapse in Luke’s strong arms. She wanted him to caress his hands up and down her back in an effort to soothe the disappointment inside her.
But she couldn’t ask him to do that, and in any case, it wasn’t long after that the three men left, taking Angelique with them so she could go on home with Daniel.
“I guess we’ll all just be in limbo longer,” Monique said. She gave Dominique a quick hug. “I know how disappointed you must be. I know you truly believed Pierre was the killer.”
“I am terribly disappointed. I was so certain he was guilty and I know you’re disappointed as well,” Dominique replied.
“I am, but they still have another suspect…remember there’s Charles Lathrop,” Monique said.
“I just don’t believe Charles killed her in such a horrid way because he thought the love spell she cast for him didn’t work.” Dominique released a deep sigh.
“On another note, things seemed to feel a little tense and strange between you and Luke tonight. What’s going on with that?” Monique studied her.
“Nothing’s going on. Since I decided not to follow Pierre anymore, there’s really no reason for us to keep seeing each other.”
Monique’s gaze continued to hold Dominique’s. “And you’re good with that?”
“Of course. It’s time he get back to his life and I get back to mine,” she replied, even as she felt the hot burn of tears behind her eyes. What on earth was wrong with her? “I’m just sorry I wasted his time foolishly chasing after Pierre.”
“You were doing what you believed was right,” Monique replied. Monique stood. “Guess I’ll just head on home.”
Dominique got up and walked her sister to the door. “Are you going to be okay walking home?”
Monique released a small laugh. “I’ll be just fine. I’m not afraid of the dark and I’m far stronger than you and Angelique give me credit for. Besides, I don’t have a creep bothering me like you do. You stay safe and we’ll talk tomorrow.”
She opened the door and the two sisters said their goodbyes, then Monique disappeared into the darkness outside. Dominique closed and locked the door behind her.
She sank back down on the sofa and found herself once again fighting back tears. Why was she so emotional? It wasn’t like she was pregnant. She didn’t think she was having a mental breakdown, so what was bringing tears to her eyes so often?
Maybe it was just because there was so much going on in her life right now.
She had just learned that the man she’d believed had killed her mother was probably innocent.
She had a dangerous man trying to kidnap her and make her his own, and she still grieved for the mother she had lost. It was enough to make a grown woman emotional.
Even though she was working the dinner shift the next day and it was still early in the evening, she decided to go to bed. Only in sleep did she escape the tears that haunted her far too often lately.
She awoke early the next morning and turned on her generator so she could get some coffee brewing. Once the coffee was ready, she poured herself a cup and then sat on the deck to watch the sunrise.
It was always quite stunning at this time in the morning as the sun rose just enough to send golden rays across the landscape. The dark water beneath her lit up as if it had swallowed a lantern. Fish jumped, telling her good morning with their splashes.
Morning birds sang from the top of the tupelos and bald cypress trees. The waves lapped against the wooden stilts that held the shanty up, creating a pleasant, rhythmic sound that was as soothing as the squeak of a rocking chair.
She sipped her coffee, her mind filled with the beauty of the swamp and nothing more. The Spanish moss that draped from the trees sparkled in the soft glow from the sun.
This was what would be hard to leave behind if she ever decided to move into town. Granted, it would be far more convenient for her coming and going to work if she got an apartment in town. But it would be hard to leave the place that had cradled her since her birth.
She finished her coffee and then moved inside and got out the two-top cooking burners to make her breakfast. She had nothing on her agenda today until she had to go into work at two.
After she ate a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, she cleaned up the kitchen and then took a shower. She dressed in one of her housedresses and then sank down on the sofa with a book she wanted to read.
She needed to keep her mind occupied and reading was the perfect way to do that. It wasn’t long before she was captivated by the story unfolding in the book.
Time slipped by and before she knew it, it was time to get ready to go to work. As she dressed in her jeans and the official Dark Waters Café pink T-shirt, she congratulated herself on getting through the day without thoughts of Luke.
Surely it was just going to take some time, and then she’d eventually stop missing his presence in her life.
It had been a while since she’d worked an evening shift. When she’d been chasing after Pierre, she had requested to work only mornings and afternoons, but now she was back to her normal routine and that often had her working in the evenings.