Page 102 of The Cajun Doctor

“Out of the question,” Sonny insisted right back. “And, furthermore, if Ms. Starr is unable ta get the needed evidence in her meeting with Mr. Coltrane, we might need Mr. Starr ta set up his own meetin’, pretend ta be comin’ back ta work fer the good doctor.”

Angus groaned, no more an actor than she was an actress.

The calmer voice of Luc intervened. “Let’s set this aside for now. We can discuss Samantha’s involvement later. Or Angus’s. Go on, Sonny.”

“There’s a reason why we have ta act quickly with Dr. Coltrane,” Sonny said, still pursuing the same subject. “Under other circumstances, we could take our time investigatin’ and interviewin’ witnesses. But perps like Dr. Coltrane skip town the minute they get a whiff of the law on their tails. Doctors, no matter their backgrounds, are able ta relocate easily ta other countries that bar extradition. Besides, desperation makes even the sanest criminal do bad things, and Dr. Coltrane is desperate, and worried. We already know that.”

Sonny seemed to have an opinion of doctors similar to Samantha’s. But more important, what did he mean about Nick being desperate? That sounded ominous. What did he know that she didn’t?

“All the more reason not to involve Samantha,” Daniel persisted. “Or Angus, who has the brain of a computer and the common sense of a duck.”

“Hey!” Angus protested.

“I appreciate your concern, but I can speak for myself, Daniel.” Samantha patted Daniel on the arm to ameliorate her words.

He shrugged her arm away and glared at her.

“We haven’t had a chance to inform you yet, Ms. Starr,” the state trooper spoke up for the first time, “but Nawleans police reported a break-in at your house last night.”

Samantha gasped at that news.

“Not a lot of damage, but someone was clearly looking for something other than valuables. Broken window. Drawers pulled out. Pages ripped out of an address book. PC computer hard drive missing. Desk overturned. That kind of thing.” The trooper was reading from a small pocket notebook. Then, he looked up. “No fingerprints. The perp knew enough to wear gloves.”

Samantha frowned. It was probably Nick trying to figure out where she might be and whether she was hiding Angus. That theory proved true when the trooper added, “The only thing that seems to be missing is a picture that must have been hanging in your bedroom. Nothing but an empty hook on the wall.”

Daniel gave her a “See, I was right!” look.

“Definitely Nick,” she said. “The painting that hung there was a rather valuable, antique miniature by a Southern artist. A wedding gift from my mother that Nick wanted, but didn’t get in our divorce settlement.”

“Ya have photographs of the picture, yes?” Sonny asked.

She nodded. “For insurance purposes.”

“Well, if we find it in his possession, or discover evidence of its sale on the open or black market, we kin nail him fer that, too, guaranteed,” Sonny said. “And that’s another issue ya could discuss with him durin’ yer meetin’ . . . the break-in.”

Daniel made a sound under his breath that sounded like a growl.

For more than an hour, they continued to discuss the case, while Tante Lulu handed out cups of sweet tea and beignets she’d made early this morning, probably at the crack of dawn. She was in her element! Feeding the masses.

“These beignets, they are almos’ as good as the ones from Café du Monde, yes,” Sonny complimented her.

“Bite yer tongue, boy. I was making beignets before that restaurant opened.”

Which was highly unlikely . . . in fact, impossible . . . since that famous New Orleans restaurant had opened during the Civil War.

Lily Beth went up to take a nap, still distraught over the prospect of her brothers discovering the trouble she was in. And Angus went off with police officers in a van with blackened windows to check out some mug shots and give more details as he could remember on the Guenot compound. Luc insisted on going along with his client, which made Samantha anxious. Angus must not be safe from the law, yet.

Before he left, Luc took Samantha aside and said, “The Fibbies will try to talk you into meeting with Nick. Don’t agree to anything without me present. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it. Just don’t feel coerced. They need you more than you need them.”

She nodded, feeling a little shaky without him being there. But then, Angus must be feeling even worse, going to a police station.

John went out to show the police and several agents the property so they could set up a plan for surveillance.

Brad and Sonny stayed behind, presumably to discuss Samantha’s possible meeting with Nick. And Daniel wasn’t moving anywhere while that was still a possibility.

This whole debacle wasn’t as over as she’d thought it would be when the feds rode in on their white chargers.

One of the officers came back shortly to report, “There’s a freakin’ alligator farm next door. If the mob gets in here and breaks down that fence, we’re gonna be overrun with about two hundred of those gators.”