Page 4 of Kidnapped in Dark Waters
He went inside and walked through the living room and into the kitchen. He dropped his keys on top of the counter and then stripped off his gun and holster and placed them next to the keys.
He then headed down the hallway to his room. The neatly made-up queen-size bed was covered in a navy-blue spread, and matching curtains hung in the window. There was a dark walnut dresser and two matching end tables with small silver lamps on each one.
It took him only minutes to undress and get into the shower. The warm water didn’t even begin to wash away the frustrations of Mystique’s murder case. More than anything, they all wanted the guilty party to be caught and placed behind bars.
Once he got out of the shower he dressed in a pair of jeans and a gray T-shirt and then he went back to the kitchen. He grabbed a chicken dinner from the freezer and popped it into the microwave.
As he waited for it to cook, he sank down at the table. Lately, the silence in the evenings really pressed in on him. It was in the evenings that he wished he was married and had somebody to talk to…somebody to share his day with. So far, at thirty-one years old he hadn’t found that special woman.
The microwave dinged and he ate. After cleaning up the kitchen, he went into the living room and sank down in a recliner chair.
It was Saturday night and time for him to call and check in with his brothers. Jerry was twenty-six years old and Brandon was twenty-four. Growing up, their father hadn’t been in the picture and their mother had been a raging alcoholic. Luke had wound up being both mother and father to his two younger siblings.
Jerry now lived and worked in a warehouse in Shreveport and Brandon lived in New Orleans and worked as a waiter in a high-end restaurant. Their mother had passed away four years ago from acute alcoholism.
Luke made the calls, pleased that both of his brothers were doing well and sounded happy. Once that was done, he turned on his television. He tuned it to a crime drama and figured he’d watch a couple of episodes before going to bed.
He’d only been watching for a few minutes when a knock fell on his door. He frowned, wondering who it could be. Daniel used to drop by occasionally for a beer, but now the chief spent all his evenings with Angelique, the woman he loved—and Luke certainly didn’t blame him.
He got up from his chair and went to the front door. When he opened it, he was surprised to see Dominique Santori. As always,she looked positively stunning. She was clad in a pair of jeans that hugged her long legs and a fitted pink blouse that enhanced her dark eyes and hair and showcased her slender waist and full breasts.
“Uh… Miss Santori, what can I do for you?” he asked curiously.
“Hi, Officer Madison. Could I come in and talk to you for a few minutes?” she asked.
“Of course, come on in.” He held the door open wider to allow her inside and as she swept past him, he caught a whiff of her perfume. She smelled slightly mysterious and spicy, a scent he found very attractive. “Please have a seat.” He gestured toward the sofa.
Once she was seated, he sat back down in his recliner facing her. She must have questions about the investigation, he thought. Before now, Angelique had always been the point person they all spoke to about the case. Maybe with Angelique busy with her new store, the sisters had decided Dominique would be the point person. Still, if that was the case, he wasn’t sure why she’d ask him questions instead of going to Daniel.
“Uh…would you like something to drink? Maybe a soda or some iced tea?” he offered. Her black hair was loose and fell over her shoulders and down her back. The silky-looking strands only added to her attractiveness.
“No thanks, I’m fine,” she said.
“What can I do for you, Miss Santori?”
“Please, make it Dominique.” She smiled at him and the power of her beautiful smile formed an unexpected ball of warmth in the pit of Luke’s stomach.
“Okay, Dominique, what can I do for you?” he asked, definitely intrigued by the unexpected visit.
“It isn’t what you can do for me, but rather what I can do for you,” she replied, intriguing him even more. She leaned forward, her chocolate-colored eyes flashing brightly.
“I think everyone is in agreement that Pierre Guidry killed my mother, and there just isn’t enough evidence to arrest him,” she continued. “We also believe that whoever killed my mother stole the notebook she kept of her clients.”
“Yeah, but we checked out Pierre’s shanty and we didn’t find the notebook there,” Luke replied.
“Pierre is no dummy,” she scoffed. “He wouldn’t keep the book in his shanty where a police search would easily find it. He’s smarter than that.”
“Then where would he keep it?”
She sat back on the sofa. “He’d bury it. He once told me he buried all his important things all around the swamp. I believe he has my mother’s book and he’s buried it someplace. I also believe if I tail him, he’ll eventually lead me to it.”
“Whoa.” Luke stopped her in alarm. “What do you mean by tailing him?”
“I’ll secretly follow him when he’s out of his shanty at night,” she replied.
“Are you totally out of your mind?” Luke stared at her, appalled by what she apparently intended to do. “Pierre isn’t some cream puff. He’s a tough, strong gator-hunter and if what we believe is true, he’s also a stone-cold killer.”
Her cheeks flushed with color. “I know what he’s capable of. I grew up with him in and out of our shanty. That’s why I said I’d secretly follow him. I can move through the swamp like a ghost when I want to.”
