“A Yankee woman, who never has visitors and no one cares about? Would anyone notice if she disappeared?”
“That land manager and his crew might.”
One corner of DeLille’s mouth lifted. “I can take care of them.”
“How?”
“He’ll get an offer of a better paying job somewhere north of here. She’ll be alone then.”
Guidry smiled. “Good. Let me know when the manager and crew are gone. When you do, I’ll get Jeffries and Walters to search everywhere in that house.”
“And the woman?” DeLille asked.
“They’ll have to take care of her.” Guidry said through clenched teeth.
“Are you certain they won’t leave a trail?” Casual disinterest colored DeLille’s voice.
Luc wasn’t fooled.
“I’ll make sure of it.” Guidry puffed out his chest, then his lips thinned. “Just one more question.”
DeLille sighed. “What?”
“What if we don’t find it?” The furrows in Guidry’s brow deepened. His shoulders fell.
“The treasure is there. I know it is.” the grocer stated with studied calm.
“How do you know? Show me the proof that makes you so certain,” the younger man insisted.
DeLille continued to smile. However, his gaze narrowed, and his brows lowered a fraction. “You don’t need to see that.”
“Don’t you trust me?” the tavern owner blurted.
The grocer sipped the last of his bourbon and stared into the empty glass. “Of course, I trust you. I’ve protected you, haven’t I? I made sure those first two bunglers you sent never said a peep.”
“Thanks for that. I still don’t know how you kept them out of prison. They sure were happy to go north and work for your kinfolk.”
Luc could see the smirk in DeLille’s eyes. If Guidry couldn’t, he was stupider than expected.
“I reward those who work for me. Even when their work is done.”
Luc sensed the increase in DeLille’s heartbeat. He was lying. Exactly what kind of a reward did he mean?
“Now, if you and I don’t get back to our wives, they’ll suspect we’re cheating on them,” DeLille said, his words wrapped in dry humor. “Don’t take any action until you hear from me.” He issued the hard order, without amusement.
“Don’t wait too long. I hear tell there’s floods up river.”
“I’ll be in touch soon.” The grocer stood, put his glass atop the crates and left.
As if deep in thought, Guidry remained for a while before he gathered the empty glass and exited into the tavern’s main room.
Luc followed DeLille. Was he really going home to his wife?
As Luc entered the apartment above the Emporium through the wall, he heard a woman’s voice.
“What did that fool Guidry want?” Mrs. DeLille sat on a sofa before a roaring fire, wrapped in a blanket. She was a petite woman, so the blanket nearly swallowed her. Her face was pinched and gray like someone in constant pain.
“You still cold, Edina?” her husband asked, concern swaddling his words. This was a different man than the hard one in the tavern’s stockroom. “It’s this rain. Makes my bones ache,” she whined.
