Chapter 5 #2
One of the monitors in front of Xavier blinked, and a head with white-blond, short-cropped hair and ice-blue eyes appeared.
“Hey, Swede,” Xavier said.
“Xavier.” Swede gave him a brief nod. “What’s up?”
“I need you to check on a couple of locals in Bayou Mambaloa, the first being Ron Cormier. He’s supposed to be a mercenary for the mafia organizations around New Orleans and southern Louisiana.”
“Ron Cormier,” Swede repeated. “Got it. Who’s the second local?”
“Nub LeJeune. He’s supposed to be some kind of salvage resale guy.”
“Do I get some context to go with these two men?” Swede asked. “Like, why look them up? What have they done?”
Xavier told Swede what had happened with the stolen reliquaries, the looted tomb and, finally, Lissette’s attack.
Swede frowned. “Isn’t that the woman who tried to kill Shelby?”
“Yes, it is,” Xavier answered, wishing he hadn’t had to name her at this point. He needed the Brotherhood Protectors’ tech genius to delve into the identities of the men who’d attacked the ex-con without having any bias toward the woman.
“Shouldn’t you take this investigation through the local law enforcement?” Swede asked.
His lips twisted into a crooked smile.
“Oh yeah,” Swede chuckled. “The local law enforcement includes Deputy Sheriff Shelby Taylor Montagne. I see your dilemma.” The faint clicking of fingers on a keyboard suggested Swede was already investigating. “I’ll do some digging and report back.”
“I’d like to know why they’re targeting Ms. Gautier,” Xavier said. “Those two have to be working for someone.”
“Sounds like it. I’ll let you know,” Swede assured him. “In the meantime, I wouldn’t turn my back on the Gautier woman. She had ties with the New Orleans and Cajun Mafia. She might not be the most trustworthy.”
Xavier frowned. “She says she wants to make amends and show the town she’s changed.”
“Tigers can’t change their stripes,” Swede said.
Xavier’s jaw tightened. “It’s a good thing she’s not a tiger, then.”
“Look, I like giving most people a second chance to get it right. Just don’t be led down a garden path only to be caught in quicksand.
Those mafia people play for keeps. Whether or not Lissette Gautier is still working with them, you could get caught in the crossfire.
You’re one of us, and I’d hate to see you hurt. ”
Xavier wasn’t sure why he was defending the woman with a man who would do anything for his team.
Swede was right.
Lissette had a past and a reputation that would be hard to shake. For all he knew, she could be lying to him, setting him up for a fall.
His gut told him she wasn’t as bad as his team claimed. Perhaps prison had taught her a lesson, and she really was reformed.
Then again, even Lissette had warned him against her, claiming she was trouble.
He had no doubt she was correct.
What kind of trouble, he wasn’t certain. Was it self-inflicted or guilt by prior association?
Whatever kind of trouble she was in, he couldn’t bail on her now. They’d made a deal.
“I’ll keep your warning in mind,” Xavier said. “Let me know what you find out.”
“In the meantime, what’s your plan?” Swede asked.
“I think I’ll pay a visit to the cemetery and see what all the looting is about and who was targeted.”
“Sounds good. Let me know what you learn.”
“Will do,” Xavier promised. “For now, out here.” He logged off the computer and poked his head into Remy’s office.
Remy sat at his desk, staring at a computer screen.
“Got a minute?” Xavier asked.
Remy glanced up. “Always.” He waved a hand toward a chair. “Have a seat.”
“No, thank you,” Xavier said. “I won’t be long.”
“What can I do for you?”
“I know you and Shelby don’t care for Lissette Gautier, and I don’t blame you.
However, she is aware of a significant amount of theft and looting going on at the cemetery.
If you have any pull at the sheriff’s department,” he said, knowing Remy had a lot of pull, being married to one of the sheriff’s deputies, “could you check on the status of any ongoing investigations dealing with the thefts at the local cemetery?”
Remy’s lips pressed into a tight line. “Did Lissette ask you to do this?”
Xavier shook his head. “No. She didn’t want to ask, knowing how you and Shelby feel about her attempt to hurt Shelby. Any information you might have could help.”
“Help with what?” Remy asked.
“Help keep her from performing her own investigation and help find and return the items. Some people think the things taken protect them from bad luck. Whether I believe in bad luck or not, some people would feel better if the items taken were returned to the cemetery.”
Remy met and held Xavier’s gaze. “Some people being Lissette?”
“She’s worried that the reliquaries that have been taken were protecting the families of Bayou Mambaloa.”
“And she’s convinced we’re experiencing a string of bad luck because the protections are not in place,” Remy concluded. “Shelby had a call from Mrs. Fran Arnaud about her porch. You remember...the lady with the metal flamingo in her yard?”
Xavier nodded. “We were talking about her this morning.”
“She called the sheriff’s department. Shelby just happened to field the call and stopped by.” Remy sighed. “Mrs. Renaud claims the tree fell on her porch because someone had stolen her husband’s reliquary from the cemetery.”
Xavier sent a silent prayer of thanks to the superstitious old woman. “Again, whether you believe in protection reliquaries, magic or bad luck, there are people who swear by it all.”
“You can tell Lissette that the sheriff’s department is looking into the matter.” His brow furrowed. “They might not be happy if she’s doing her own investigation.”
With a snort, Xavier’s lips curled slightly. “Like that will slow her down. Not that it’ll do much good, but I’ll let her know. Meanwhile, I tapped into our tech team...aka Swede. He’s looking up the guys who set up and attacked Lissette recently.”
Remy’s eyes widened. “She was attacked? When?”
Xavier nodded. “Last night. Two men jumped her near her shop. I happened to be passing when it happened.” He told Remy everything, including Lissette’s desire to keep it from the sheriff’s department, afraid it would impact her parole.
“They should know,” Remy said.
“I promised I wouldn’t say anything.”
Remy’s lips pressed into a tight line and he frowned. “Do you think she’ll be attacked again?”
“I think so,” Xavier said with a grim nod. “They set her up by luring her with her family’s reliquary. They wanted her.”
“Does she have any idea why?”
“Maybe they want her to work with them again. Though that would be ridiculous since she has an ankle bracelet set to keep her in the vicinity of Bayou Mambaloa.”
“What did you give Swede to go on?”
“Nub LeJeune, the guy who acquired the reliquary for her. He delivered it to lure her out where the other men could attack her. She also recognized Ron Cormier, one of the attackers. Apparently, he’s connected to the New Orleans and Cajun Mafias.”
“Muscle for hire?” Remy asked.
“Looks like it,” Xavier said.
“Lissette’s not supposed to be in contact with the mafia or anyone connected to them.”
“She knows. That’s why I put Swede on it—and why I wanted to let you in on what’s going on.”
“Thanks,” Remy said. “I’ll try to get information from Shelby about the cemetery shenanigans.”
“Thank you,” Xavier said. “I know I’m only here for less than a week now; you could assign me to another project if you need to.”
“But I won’t,” Remy said. “You’re better where you are for now. Someone needs to keep an eye on Lissette. Trouble follows her, much of which she has brought on herself. I might never forgive her for trying to kill Shelby.”
“I don’t expect you to,” Xavier said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want to get back to her and continue to keep her out of trouble, if I can.”
Remy rose from his chair, rounded the desk and held out his hand to Xavier. “Good luck. If you need backup—which I suspect you will—don’t hesitate to call or text. You may be in well over your head.”
Xavier left the boat factory, Remy’s words echoing in his mind. He should have walked away while he could. He could have moved on to his next job, forgotten the dark-haired, mocha-skinned beauty and left Bayou Mambaloa as he’d planned.
Instead, he was marching into the swamp up to his neck with—as Lissette had put it—the most hated woman in Bayou Mambaloa.
Strangely, he suspected they had more in common than she’d expect.
They were both hated.
While Lissette was hated by the entire community, who wouldn’t cut her any slack, Xavier hated himself for his teammates’ deaths. He would never cut himself any slack. The weight of hatred was something he could understand whether self-inflicted or not.
The difference between him and her was that he could never shed his self-loathing. He wouldn’t allow himself to. In contrast, Lissette wanted to shed the burden of the hatred she felt from the community but couldn’t. It wasn’t hers to shed. They both had baggage.
He’d give her one week—make that six days, now. Then he’d move on.
Back in his truck, he drove down Main Street, stopped at Mimi’s Diner, ordered two burgers to go and waited at the bar. It was late for lunch, and there weren’t many customers in the diner.
When Mandy, the new Mimi, came out with his order, he paid and paused. “I heard you had a fire in the kitchen recently.”
“We did. It was the freakiest thing. When I bought the diner from Mimi, I had the electrical system updated.”
“As old as the diner is, it probably needed it,” Xavier said.
Mimi nodded. “This diner’s been around as long as anyone can remember. We put in all new wiring and a breaker box, had it inspected and everything.”
“Was the fire electrical?”