“Miss Santori—Dominique—I know how frustrated you must be with how long it’s taking us to get your mother’s killer behind bars, but the last thing you need to do is try to take the law into your own hands,” he said.
The woman must be completely out of her mind to even think about doing something like this. “You could be hurt or even killed,” he added.
“That’s why I’m here. I thought maybe you could act as my backup.”
He stared at her in disbelief. “Why me? Why didn’t you take this idea to Daniel?” Luke asked.
She flipped a strand of hair over her shoulder and frowned. Even with a scowl on her features, she was still quite lovely.
“I didn’t go to Daniel because he would tell Angelique about my plan and I don’t want to have a big fight with my sister.” She leaned forward once again. “So, are you going to help me?”
“No, and I don’t want you following through on this crazy plan,” he replied. “Seriously, Dominique, if Pierre is guilty, then we’ll eventually get him without you doing something so risky. Go home and leave the investigation to us.”
“Are you sure you aren’t going to help me?”
“Positive,” he replied firmly.
“Then I guess I’m done here.” She stood, her features radiating her unhappiness at his words. He got up from his chair and together they walked to his front door.
When they reached it, he opened it and then turned to her. “Good night, Dominique.”
She nodded and swept past him and then turned back to gaze at him once again. “So, you won’t help me,” she said, and then offered him a small smile. “But I wouldn’t be breaking any laws, so you also can’t stop me, either.” With that, she turned and headed toward the parking area.
“Dominque…wait,” he called after her. But she didn’t stop. She quickly disappeared into the twilight shadows of the night. Luke closed his door and returned to the recliner where his thoughts filled with what had just happened.
He’d always found Dominique to be incredibly beautiful with her long black hair and big brown eyes. He just hadn’t known she was reckless, for that was the only explanation as to why she would possibly think tailing a potential vicious murderer in the darkness of the night was a good idea. Hell, Pierre could kill her and bury her body someplace in the swamp and nobody would ever be able to find her.
He leaned his head back and tried to relax, but relaxation was the last thing that was happening. He didn’t know Dominique well. Had this idea of hers only been an attempt to motivate him and the team to work harder on the murder case? Or did she really intend to follow through on her harebrained scheme?
Chapter Two
There was no question that Dominique was disappointed that Luke wasn’t going to help her, but she certainly didn’t intend to let that stop her. Both of her sisters had always teased her about being impulsive, but this idea had been brewing in her head for the last two weeks or so. It was not an impulse…it was a plan.
She knew Pierre had a bad temper. She had grown up hearing the many fights Mother and Pierre would have. However, the arguments had never turned physical, at least not that she knew of. The two of them would fight and then make up, a pattern that had gone on for years.
When she and Pierre were off, then her mother would take another lover or two. However, she always wound up getting back together with Pierre.
But at the time of her murder, her mother had decided she was finished with Pierre for good, and Dominique believed that’s what had driven him to kill her. But Dominique had no doubt that Pierre had loved her mother deeply.
She believed he’d taken her mother’s client book in order to have a piece of her after death. And Dominique believed he would occasionally dig up the book and hold it tight against his chest as he mourned for the woman he had loved…the woman he had killed.
All she had to do was be there when it happened. Then she could tell Daniel about the book being in Pierre’s possession and that would be enough to get him behind bars. It was a good plan.
When she got home from Luke’s, she started her generator and then plugged in her phone to charge. She also got out a two-burner electric stovetop and for dinner she fried up a couple of pieces of fish and made a salad.
As she sat down to eat, an electric energy surged up inside her. It was very possible that tonight she could solve the crime and see Pierre arrested. That’s all she wanted. Justice would be served and her mother would finally be able to rest in peace. And Dominique and her sisters would finally be at peace, as well.
By the time she finished dinner, she was wired for the night’s events to come, but it was still a bit too early for her to get into place.
From years of knowing Pierre, she knew he did his gator-hunting and fishing a couple of hours after darkness had fallen each night.
While she waited for it to be time to leave, she changed into a pair of black slacks and a black T-shirt so that hopefully she could blend into the night without being seen.
Once darkness had completely fallen, she grabbed the pink-handled knife she carried for self-protection, then turned off her cell phone and slid it into her back pocket. Finally, she lit several of the battery-operated lanterns around the living room and then went out and turned the generator off.
It was time to go. Her heart beat a rhythm of nervous anticipation as she left her shanty. Just as she’d told Luke, she moved silently through the marsh. She’d grown up running these trails and knew just where to step and where to jump to avoid the pools of water that occasionally obstructed her way.
Spanish moss laid ghostly, delicate fingers on her as she ducked under it and small nocturnal animals scurried along the brush on either side of her.
