Chapter Four
Daniel’s heart beat wildly as he got into his patrol car and headed for the swamp. Two patrol cars and an ambulance followed him as he raced to get to Angelique.
He had heard the raw fear in her tearful, quivering voice. The only information he’d gotten was that she was safe at the moment. It was two o’clock in the morning, and thank God the streets were empty, letting him speed faster than he normally would.
Why would somebody attack Angelique? Was this somehow tied to her mother’s murder? Why had Mystique been murdered? Who would have a beef with Mystique’s daughter?
He tightened his grip on his steering wheel as a wave of deep frustration swept through him. But the main emotion that rose inside him was a deep, nearly overwhelming concern for Angelique.
Finally, they arrived at the swamp’s entrance and Daniel quickly exited his car. There were three night duty cops with him as well as the two EMTs. They all had heavy-duty flashlights, and they quickly began the trek into Angelique’s place with Daniel in the lead.
Daniel moved fast, needing to get to Angelique as quickly as possible. He heard the others struggling to keep up, but that didn’t make him slow down.
The fact that she’d called told him she was safe, but he had no idea if she’d been hurt.
A deep worry pressed tight against his chest. Dammit, he should have asked her more questions while he’d had her on the phone, but she’d been crying so hard and his only thought had been to get to her as soon as possible.
Finally, the shanty came into view. Light spilled out the front window, a window where a pane by the front door appeared to be broken. He raced across the bridge and to the door. It was locked. “Angelique, it’s me…open the door. It’s me, Daniel.”
The door flew open and she stood before him. She was achingly pale and clad in a hot pink nightshirt. She had a white-knuckle hold on a fireplace poker. Her eyes were tear filled and blood ran down one of her arms. She appeared to be in a state of shock.
“Angelique, give me the poker,” he said softly. “Give me the poker, honey.”
She looked at the poker as if she’d never seen it before. She held it out to him and then began to cry once again. He handed the poker to Jeffrey Cookingham, one of the night duty officers, then he took Angelique by her elbow and led her to the sofa.
“It’s okay…you’re safe now,” he said softly and motioned for the two EMTs to approach her. “Angelique, I see you’re hurt on your arm. Do you have any other injuries?”
She drew in a deep breath and released it on a shuddery sigh. “No, it’s just my arm.”
Linda Farrow, one of the EMTs knelt in front of Angelique and then opened the first aid kit she’d carried in with her.
While Linda cleaned up the two cuts, Daniel directed his officers to head outside and check the area for any signs of the intruder, and then he began to question Angelique.
“Tell me exactly what happened?” he asked gently.
His blood chilled as she told him about awakening to the sound of breaking glass. If she hadn’t heard that, if she hadn’t awakened when she did, then she probably would have been dead…stabbed to death in her sleep.
“Was it a male or a female?” he asked.
“I just assume it was a man.” She winced as Linda cleaned out the wounds with alcohol.
“Are you certain it was a man?” he asked.
She released a tremulous sigh. “No, right now I’m not sure about anything.”
“Can you guess height…weight?”
She frowned. “I’m sorry, I don’t know. It was so dark and everything happened so fast. All I know is the person was dressed all in black and wore a ski mask and gloves.”
“Is there anyone you can think of who might want to harm you?”
“No, nobody I can think of. I spend much of my time either here or in the swamp alone or with my sisters,” she replied. “I honestly can’t think of anyone who might want me dead.” She looked down at her arm where Linda was applying antibiotic cream.
Linda smiled up at her. “You were lucky, Miss Santori. The wounds aren’t too deep and I don’t believe you need any stitches. I’ll just bandage them up, and then in a couple of days you need to reapply the antibiotic cream and then bandage them up for another few days.”
“Thank you,” Angelique replied.
As Linda and her partner Ramone left the shanty, all three of the officers checked in, stating they had found nothing unusual outside.
“Do you have any wood that we can use to board up the broken window?” Daniel asked her.
“Actually, there are several planks of wood in a variety of sizes on my back deck,” she replied. “They were left over when Mama had the deck built.”
“Do you have a hammer and some nails?”
“I do. I’ll just get them for you. They’re in the kitchen,” she replied. She got up from the sofa and Daniel and Officer Adam Kincaid followed her.
Minutes later a piece of plywood was in place over the broken piece of glass in the window.
Once that was done, the men checked all around the living room, where the fight had taken place.
They looked for any kind of evidence that might help to identify the intruder, but unfortunately found nothing.
Once that was done, Daniel dismissed his officers and they left to resume their nightly duties on the streets of Dark Waters.
Under normal circumstances Daniel would have had them attempt to lift prints from the front door lock and knob.
But Angelique had told him the perpetrator had worn gloves, so there was really no point.
Alone with Angelique, he sat down next to her on the sofa. Thankfully some of the color had returned to her face and she appeared calmer and more collected than she had been when they first arrived.
He couldn’t help himself. Although it wasn’t very professional, he took her hand in his. Her cold fingers immediately curled around his as if seeking his warmth.
“How are you doing?” he asked. He wanted to pull her into his arms and feel her heart beating against his. He wanted to hold her tight and assure himself she was really okay. This could have been a nightmare and she could have easily wound up dead.
“I’m doing better than I was when you first arrived,” she replied. “I’m afraid and I’m angry. I’m also utterly confused as to who attacked me and why.”
“I’m going to do my very best to get you those answers,” he replied. “In the meantime, I need you to think of anyone who might have a grudge against you, anyone you might have had words with in the last month or so, no matter how insignificant it seemed at the moment.”
“Trust me, I’ll be thinking about that until we figure this out,” she replied.
“There’s no we in this investigation. Angelique, I want you to think about it, but there’s no way I want you going off on your own to find answers,” he said firmly.
She offered him a half smile. “Now, why on earth would you think I’d do such a thing?”
A small laugh escaped him. “You know exactly why I would think such a thing.”
Her smile fell away and she appeared small and vulnerable once again. “Trust me, I’ll cooperate with you in any way I can, but I intend to leave the investigation up to you.”
“That’s my girl,” he replied. He squeezed her hand and then released it and stood. “Now, do you want to go to one of your sisters’? If so, I’ll wait for you to pack a bag or whatever, and then I’ll walk you out.”
She stood as well. “I’m not going to one of my sisters’ places or anywhere else. I’m not going to allow some creep to chase me out of my home. Trust me, I won’t be caught unaware again. Mama had a knife she kept for protection, and that knife will be my new best friend and bedmate from now on.”
She raised her chin and for a moment she looked like a strong, beautiful warrior. A wave of renewed attraction to her filled him.
“My back door has a good lock on it and now with the board in place nobody will be able to reach a hand in to unlock my front door. I’ll be just fine here.” She offered him another one of her half smiles. “It’s late, Daniel. Go home, and I’ll just see you tomorrow night.”
“If you’re sure?”
“I’m positive,” she assured him.
Together they walked to the front door. He was reluctant to leave her here all alone, but there was really nothing else he could do. He didn’t have the manpower to put a guard on her and at least for now the danger had passed.
When they reached the door, he turned back to look at her.
She was still clad in the pink nightshirt that now was stained with blood on one side from her wounds. Thank God she had only been sliced on her arm. It could have been so much worse. It could have been deadly.
She looked like a victim until he looked into her eyes. There was a strength there in the gorgeous light brown depths, and a deep admiration for her filled him.
He reached out and pushed a strand of her hair away from her face. She took a step closer to him, bringing with her the scent that half dizzied his senses.
For a long moment they stood intimately close to each other. A snap of energy filled the air and her lush lips parted as if in invitation of a kiss. Damn, he really wanted to kiss her, but in the back of his mind a voice of reason finally moved him a step away from her.
“Good night, Angelique. Call me if you need me for anything, and I mean anything. And keep thinking about who the attacker might have been. In the meantime, I’ll see you tomorrow evening,” he said.
“I’ll be here.” Her eyes appeared to darken. “I only have one request…if possible could you not tell my sisters about this attack on me tonight? The last thing I want to do is worry them.”
He frowned. “I’m sorry, but I can’t keep that request. To do my job right I need to speak with both of them. One of them might have valuable information about the reason for the assault on you tonight. Unfortunately, I will be talking to them tomorrow.”
She sighed. “All right, I understand. Then I’ll just see you tomorrow evening.”