Her honey-colored eyes held his in an intense gaze. Lordy but her eyes were gorgeous with long, dark lashes. “Did you believe him?”
“He’s on my potential suspect list. He couldn’t provide a good alibi. He said he was home alone on the night of the murder. By the way, just for my own curiosity how does a love spell work?”
A quick smile lifted the corners of her lush lips. “The love spells my mother did certainly didn’t involve any magic or voodoo, although she had a whole routine she did. She took a lock of hair from the client and then had them write the name of the person they wanted to charm on a small piece of paper. She wrapped the paper and the hair in a silk cloth. She then said some mumbo jumbo over it and then told him to bury it in his yard.”
Her eyes appeared to darken with pain. She took a drink of her coffee and then continued. “You have to understand that the real power of a love spell is to give that person theself-confidence to make a move or whatever on the person they want. That’s what it’s all about. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but in the end, it’s really all up to the client.”
“Interesting,” he replied. So, it was all about empowering the client to act on his love interest. “Anyway, that now brings us to Pierre.”
He paused as she took another drink of her coffee and then set the cup down on the coffee table. She leaned forward slightly. “What did you find out from him?” she asked.
“I would guess that your mother’s relationship with him was quite tumultuous.”
“You would guess right. They fought and made up dozens of times. My mother was a very headstrong woman, and Pierre is a very stubborn man. But I believe he loved my mother very much.”
“He told us that she was his soulmate, and right now he’s also my number one suspect.”
“Really?” Her eyes widened in surprise. “So, you believe he killed my mother?”
“It’s easy to speculate that Pierre came here that night to try to make up with your mother. Things didn’t go his way and your mother told him she didn’t want to get back with him. They fought and things got out of control and in a heat of passion, he slit her throat.”
“But that’s just speculation,” she said.
“Correct. But given their personal relationship and the fact that Pierre has no solid alibi for that night puts him at the top of my list of suspects,” he replied.
“How many people are on your list of suspects?” she asked.
It was his turn to take a drink of his coffee. He set the cup back down. “Two. Right now it’s Pierre and Charles, but we’re still investigating. By the way, did you find that book?”
She frowned once again. “No, and I looked everywhere Mama would have kept it. I think maybe it was stolen on the night of the murder.”
He frowned as well. “That adds a whole new layer to the investigation. Who would want that book badly enough to kill for it?”
“I have no idea, but it had to be somebody who knew about the book’s existence, and I’m sure my mother didn’t tell too many people about it.” Tears suddenly shimmered in her lovely eyes. “I would have gladly given that book to somebody in order to save my mother’s life.”
The tears spilled over onto her cheeks. She swiped at them but they kept on falling. Daniel couldn’t stand it. He had never liked to see a woman cry.
He stood and held out a hand to her. She looked up at him and then slid her hand into his. He pulled her up and into his arms as she began to cry in earnest.
She held herself stiffly against him for a long moment, and then she raised her arms, encircled his neck and melted against him.
As she sobbed into the crook of his neck, he caressed her slender back in an effort to comfort her. Despite the circumstances, he couldn’t help but notice that she fit perfectly against him.
Her hair smelled clean and with the faint scent of strawberries, and then there was that floral, spicy scent that emanated from her. She definitely smelled good.
She cried for only a couple of minutes and then stepped back from him. “I’m sorry,” she said as she quickly swiped at her cheeks, obviously embarrassed. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to cry.”
“Please don’t apologize,” he replied. “You obviously needed a good cry.”
She took another step back from him as she wiped the last of the tears from her face. “I’ve tried to be so strong, especially for my sisters. They need me to be strong.”
“But, sometimes you just need to allow yourself time to grieve and to cry,” he replied softly.
“I know. I just didn’t expect to cry now,” she said.
“It’s okay. Well, I’ve caught you up on everything we’ve done, so I’ll just get out of here now,” he said.
She nodded and walked with him to the front door. When he reached the door, he turned back to look at her once again. “Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked.
