Luke desperately wanted to protest Daniel’s words, but ultimately, he feared his friend was right. “Thanks, man. I’ll get over it.” He just didn’t know when he would get over her. He suspected it was going to take a very long time.
Daniel tore a piece of paper out of his notebook and handed it to Luke. “This is a list of the people I want interviewed today. Get together with Clay and decide who is doing who, and then as usual we’ll meet back here at noon.”
Luke stood. “Thanks, Daniel,” he said and then moments later he left Daniel’s office.
A call to Clay settled who each of them were interviewing and then Luke set off to interview Nola again. After that he would speak to Corrine Fortier and Helene Benoit, Jacob Benoit’s older sister. All three of the women lived in the swamp and were frequent visitors of Mystique.
Luke still had his doubts that a woman would be responsible for the heinous crime, but at this point nobody could be ruled out. These women went through fairly light interviews immediately following the murder. Luke intended to press them much harder now.
By noon he’d managed to speak to all of them. Corrine and Helene both had solid alibis for the time of Mystique’s murder, but the alibis would be checked to make sure they held up undertough scrutiny. Nola didn’t have a solid alibi. On the night of the murder, she had been in her shanty alone.
She would be the first on the new potential suspect list, although Luke couldn’t imagine the older woman murdering her best friend.
He checked in at noon and had a half an hour for a lunch break. Was Dominique working the lunch shift? It didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to eat there so soon after professing his love to her.
He drove through the burger place for lunch and ate in his car, his thoughts drifting back and forth between the woman he loved and the murder case.
For the next few weeks, they would be retracing footsteps they’d already taken in order to find a killer he suspected was hiding in plain sight.
He’d told the truth to Daniel when he’d said he felt as if in Dominique’s case this was the calm before the storm. He was sick at the very idea that the man who wanted to make her his own would succeed.
Stop seeing the lawman. You belong to me.
She’d stopped seeing him, although it wasn’t because of the note, but the perpetrator wouldn’t know that. He’d believe she had complied with his request. That thought definitely made Luke sick but there was nothing he could do about it.
All he could do was hope she remain vigilant when she was out and about. He knew she had her knife. He hoped she would use it if necessary to keep safe.
Chapter Twelve
It had been four long days since Luke had professed his love to her. Dominique felt as if she was just existing, but not enjoying life like she used to.
She went to work and then came home to the silence of her shanty…silence that had once been filled with Luke’s presence. She missed him. She just hadn’t expected to miss him so much.
So, she read each hour that she spent at home. She went to dinner with her sisters one night and even their chatter didn’t help the wealth of loneliness that was inside of her.
She would have liked to invite Luke over and cook for him again. But knowing his feelings for her, it just wouldn’t be right. A clean break was what they had needed and in the four days of working and eating out, she hadn’t seen him at all.
Aside from her unsettled feelings about Luke was the ever-present fear that somebody was going to snatch her up and carry her away, and nobody would ever see or hear from her again.
She kept her knife at the ready anytime she was outside and alone. There was no way she could forget that somebody was after her. There hadn’t been any more notes or anything to trouble her, but each day her fear grew more intense. Something was going to happen soon…something bad. The ominous feeling had grown inside her with each day that passed.
She now dressed for work. Tonight, she was on dinner duty. It would be a short night for her as she was only scheduled to work from four to eight.
Before she left her shanty, she grabbed her knife firmly in her hand and then set out walking. The skies overhead were as dark and dreary as her mood. The weather report was for storms moving into the area later this evening.
As she walked through the swamp, she thought about the last time it had rained. That was the night Luke had danced with her…the night he had kissed her with so much passion.
She snapped her thoughts away from the memory.Stay focused, she told herself.Watch your surroundings and listen for anyone creeping close to you.
She breathed a deep sigh of relief as she reached her car and slid in behind the wheel. She immediately pressed the button that would lock all her doors and then started up her engine.
It was only as she was driving toward the café that she allowed herself to relax a bit. And in that brief time of relaxation thoughts of Luke once again intruded into her mind.
She had a feeling she’d remember him long after she was married and had kids. She would remember the soft glow of his green eyes and the infectious nature of his grin.
She hoped to find a man who would make her laugh like Luke had, a man who would make her feel safe in his presence. Of course, he would have to be a man who could be relaxed and comfortable in her crazy schedule of no schedule.
She intended to live the lifestyle her mother had with no nod to conventional ways, and that was why Luke was definitely the wrong man for her.
