Chapter Eleven #3
But his boss had evidently seen Luke daydreaming instead of focusing on the job. Once inside Daniel’s office, Daniel sat at his desk and Luke sank down in the chair before him.
“I’m sorry, boss,” Luke said immediately. “I’ve been having a little trouble focusing lately.”
“Yeah, what’s up with you? You’ve seemed a bit off your game for the last few days,” Daniel replied.
Luke released a deep sigh and stared at his friend. “I made a mistake… I got too close to her. I… I’m in love with her, Daniel.”
Daniel’s eyes widened slightly. “And what does she have to say about all this?” he asked.
“Not much,” Luke replied with a wealth of sadness. “I want to believe she’s in love with me, too. But we both know it wouldn’t work between us. At our very core, we are two different people who have very different needs in a partner. So now, I’m just a damn fool nursing a very broken heart.”
“I’m sorry, man,” Daniel replied with sympathy. “I warned you not to get too close to her, but I could see this train wreck coming from a hundred miles away.”
“I got embroiled in my own thoughts a few minutes ago, but I swear I won’t let that happen again,” Luke replied.
Daniel reared back in his chair, his gaze thoughtful. “Maybe I should pull you off this case and put you back on regular patrol.”
“Please don’t do that,” Luke protested as he leaned forward. “I’ve already put in so many hours on Mystique’s murder case. I know the details and the people better than any other patrolman you might use to replace me.”
“I’m assuming nothing more has happened with Dominique and the man who is after her. Otherwise, I would have heard about it,” Daniel said, an obvious change of subject.
“No, nothing more has happened. My fear is that this is somehow the calm before the storm,” Luke replied, his worry rife in his tone.
Daniel leaned forward, his eyes burning with a sudden anger. “Two damn cases, and we can’t get a break on either one of them. I know I have smart men working for me. I know for sure we’re all fine lawmen, but I’m so frustrated right now with both these cases.”
“That makes two of us,” Luke replied.
“Actually, I can’t afford to take you off these cases, Luke. You’re right, you know the details and the people far better than anyone else on the force, and you’re one of my best men.”
“I swear I’ll be at the top of my game, Daniel. I feel like I’m personally invested in both these crimes,” Luke said.
Daniel offered him a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry about your love life, Luke. I know how much you want to find a good woman to marry. It’s unfortunate that the woman you fell in love with isn’t a woman who would be good for you.”
Luke desperately wanted to protest Daniel’s words, but ultimately, he feared his friend was right. “Thanks, man. I’ll get over it.” He just didn’t know when he would get over her. He suspected it was going to take a very long time.
Daniel tore a piece of paper out of his notebook and handed it to Luke. “This is a list of the people I want interviewed today. Get together with Clay and decide who is doing who, and then as usual we’ll meet back here at noon.”
Luke stood. “Thanks, Daniel,” he said and then moments later he left Daniel’s office.
A call to Clay settled who each of them were interviewing and then Luke set off to interview Nola again. After that he would speak to Corrine Fortier and Helene Benoit, Jacob Benoit’s older sister. All three of the women lived in the swamp and were frequent visitors of Mystique.
Luke still had his doubts that a woman would be responsible for the heinous crime, but at this point nobody could be ruled out. These women went through fairly light interviews immediately following the murder. Luke intended to press them much harder now.
By noon he’d managed to speak to all of them. Corrine and Helene both had solid alibis for the time of Mystique’s murder, but the alibis would be checked to make sure they held up under tough scrutiny. Nola didn’t have a solid alibi. On the night of the murder, she had been in her shanty alone.
She would be the first on the new potential suspect list, although Luke couldn’t imagine the older woman murdering her best friend.
He checked in at noon and had a half an hour for a lunch break. Was Dominique working the lunch shift? It didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to eat there so soon after professing his love to her.
He drove through the burger place for lunch and ate in his car, his thoughts drifting back and forth between the woman he loved and the murder case.
For the next few weeks, they would be retracing footsteps they’d already taken in order to find a killer he suspected was hiding in plain sight.
He’d told the truth to Daniel when he’d said he felt as if in Dominique’s case this was the calm before the storm. He was sick at the very idea that the man who wanted to make her his own would succeed.
Stop seeing the lawman. You belong to me.
She’d stopped seeing him, although it wasn’t because of the note, but the perpetrator wouldn’t know that. He’d believe she had complied with his request. That thought definitely made Luke sick but there was nothing he could do about it.
All he could do was hope she remain vigilant when she was out and about. He knew she had her knife. He hoped she would use it if necessary to keep safe.