However, it wasn’t long before the hair on the back of her neck rose and a deep sense of disquiet filled her. She looked around the area, but saw nothing and nobody. Still, she felt as if somebody was watching her and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike again.
Chapter Five
Daniel left Angelique’s with the kiss they’d shared in the forefront of his mind. Her lips had been so soft, so pillowy and luscious. She had tasted delicious and he could have kissed her for hours if a little part of his brain hadn’t intervened.
Had it been wrong to kiss her? She certainly didn’t believe so. Still, the last thing he wanted to do was somehow take advantage of her. Was it her need for answers from him that made her kiss him so passionately?
He didn’t have the answer to that, and in any case even though he’d love to kiss her again, he was determined to rein in his attraction to her. Surely it was best to keep things strictly professional between them. Blurring the lines wasn’t a good idea. Still, he’d like to know what man had made her believe that all men lied.
By the time morning came, he was once again immersed in the two cases…one a murder and one an attempted murder. He contacted Judge Waylan Frankel to get a search warrant for Pierre Guidry’s shanty. The judge wasn’t in but his clerk took the message, and Daniel hoped to get the warrant before the end of the day.
At nine, with the sun bright overhead, Daniel took Clay and Luke with him back to the swamp in search of the elusive Jacque LeBlanc, the gator hunter who Angelique had told him about.
Their first stop was at George’s place to see if they could get directions to Jacque’s shanty. “To be honest, I don’t knowexactly where Jacque lives. We usually meet up at an old cypress tree down that way,” George said.
He pointed to a narrow trail Daniel had never been on before. “If you take that, you’ll eventually come to a fork. Take the left path and you’ll come up on the huge tree. You can’t miss it, and I would guess he lives someplace right around there.”
“Thanks, George. Hopefully we can find him,” Daniel replied.
The three men headed up the path where brush, vines and tree roots encroached. It was a hot day and humidity hung thick as mosquitoes and other insects buzzed lazily in the air.
They came to the fork in the path and went to the left, where the path was even narrower. Delicate spiderwebs hung in the bushes and trees they passed and appeared to sparkle in the sunlight that managed to peek through the leaves overhead.
Small animals ran on either side of the path, and in a large pool of water they passed several alligators gliding in the dark depths.
They finally came to a huge bald cypress tree. There was no question that this was the tree George had mentioned to them. It rose majestically on the side of a still pool of water, far bigger than the others nearby.
They continued on the path and eventually came to a sturdy-looking shanty tucked deep within the overgrown wilderness. “Jacque LeBlanc,” Daniel yelled out.
He had no idea if this was the right place or not. He was about to holler once again when the door opened and a tall, well-built man stepped out on the porch. “Jacque LeBlanc?”
“Who’s asking?”
“I’m Chief of Police Daniel LeCroix and these are two of my men, Officers Caldwell and Madison,” Daniel said. “We’d like to talk to you.”
“About?”
“Mystique Santori’s murder,” Daniel replied.
“You might as well come on in,” Jacque said and opened his door wide.
The inside of Jacque’s shanty was a bit of a shock. Not only was it neat and clean, but there was a large bookcase against one wall filled with books about a variety of subjects.
Jacque himself was also a bit of a surprise. His dark hair was long and tied at the nape of his neck like most of the men in the swamp. He was clean-shaven and clad in jeans and a navy-blue short-sleeved button-down shirt. He wore the air of the city about him instead of the swamp.
“Please, have a seat.” He gestured them to the dark gray sofa, while he sat in the matching chair facing them. “Now, what can I do for you?”
“Tell us what you know about Mystique Santori’s murder,” Daniel said.
Jacque sat back in the chair and raised a dark brow. “What makes you think I know anything about it?”
“Angelique Santori told us you know a lot about what goes on here in the swamp,” Daniel explained.
“I try to keep my ear to the ground,” Jacque replied.
“So, have you heard anything that might help us solve this murder?” Daniel leaned forward, hoping…praying that the man might know something that would be useful to their investigation.
“I can tell you Mystique’s death shook up most of the people around here. Some of them feared she was powerful enough to come back to life and worried that she would come back filled with a vengeance,” Jacque said. “Most everyone in the swamp was afraid of Mystique.”
