Page 3 of Kidnapped in Dark Waters
“The usual is exactly what I want,” he replied.
“I’ll have that out to you in just a few minutes,” she said and then left his table.
It was half an hour later when chief of police and future brother-in-law Daniel and two of his men sat in a booth in her section. Dominique knew how hard the lawmen were working to solve her mother’s murder, but so far it hadn’t happened.
“Hi, Daniel,” she greeted and then smiled at Luke Madison and Clay Caldwell. She had a bit of a crush on Luke, who she found ridiculously handsome, but she really didn’t know him at all.
“Hey, Dominique,” Daniel replied. “Your sister had a big morning.”
Dominique smiled. “Yeah, I was at the store earlier. It appeared to be a huge success.”
“It was, and Angelique is beyond thrilled,” he replied. When he said her sister’s name, his love for her was evident in his voice. Someday, Dominique would like to find a man who said her name with a wealth of love.
She took their orders and by the time they ate and left, the lunch rush hour was over and Annie sent her on a break. Instead of going into the break room where she usually took her breaks, she went out the front door, wanting to see her sister’s store again.
From the café she could see Mystique’s Magic in the distance. As she watched she saw two women walk out with shopping bags in their hands.
She was so proud of her older sister for working for and finally realizing her life’s dream. Dominique’s life’s dream was far less spectacular. Eventually she wanted to be a wife and a mother. But she wasn’t even dating anyone at the moment.
In fact, it had been almost a year since she’d had a relationship. At that time, she’d gone out on a couple of dates with Oliver LeBoeuf, who lived in the swamp and was a fisherman.
It hadn’t taken her long to recognize that she liked Oliver a lot, but there were no real romantic feelings for him, so after about half a dozen dates, she’d broken things off with him. Since that time there hadn’t been anyone.
She turned her gaze in the other direction, looking down to the popular dress shop, All That Jazz, where her younger sister Monique worked. And then she saw him. He was walking down the street toward the café.
Pierre Guidry. He had been her mother’s on-again, off-again lover for years, and he was the man Dominique believed had murdered her mother. She also knew that according to Daniel, he was the number one suspect in the case but so far there wasn’t any evidence to arrest him.
But Dominique had a plan to get the evidence required to get him under arrest. It would be dangerous, but she didn’t care. She was determined to get her mother’s murderer in jail and she would do whatever she could to make that happen, no matter how dangerous it was.
LUKEMADISON SATin the small interview room that had been designated the murder room. Everything inside was dedicated to Mystique Santori’s murder. His boss and good friend, Daniel LeCroix, was there along with Luke’s other good friend and coworker, Clay Caldwell.
The three of them had worked almost exclusively for a little over two months to find Mystique’s killer and get him behind bars. Their frustration with the case hung heavy in the air.
“I still think Pierre Guidry is the killer,” Clay said. “It’s the only thing that makes any sense. He went there on the night of the murder to get back together with Mystique. When she refused, he lost his temper and a fight ensued that resulted in him slashing her throat.”
“Knowing and proving are two different things,” Daniel reminded them.
They had interviewed everyone they could find who’d had dealings with the “voodoo queen,” and they’d come up with two suspects… Pierre and a man named Charles Lathrop. Charles had come to Mystique for a love spell and when the spell hadn’t worked, he’d been very angry with Mystique. But had he been angry enough to slash Mystique’s throat? Pierre was by far the more likely suspect.
“So, where do we go from here?” Luke asked.
Daniel frowned. “We have no place to go. The case has stalled and unless somebody comes forward with some new information or the guilty party confesses, we’re at a total standstill.”
“How’s Angelique taking it?” Luke asked. It had to be tough to be romantically involved with one of Mystique’s daughters as the case grew cold.
“She’s okay. She’s frustrated as we all are, but she knows we’re doing everything possible to catch her mother’s murderer,” Daniel replied. “Of course, she has her new store to focus on, which has helped.”
“From the traffic going in and out, it looks like her grand opening was a huge success,” Clay said.
“It was.” Daniel looked at his watch and then back at his two officers. “And now it’s time for you two to get out of here,” Daniel said as he stood.
Luke and Clay got up from the table as well. It was just after five and time to head home. The men all said their goodbyes and then Luke walked down the long hallway that would take him out the back door.
The early August sun was hot on his shoulders, and now that he was off duty, he was eager to get home. Home for Luke was a two-bedroom suite in the Cypress Apartments. He’d been lucky to get a place in the fifteen-unit building. He’d been there for almost two years.
Eventually, he wanted to find a wife, buy a house and build a family. But so far, he was stuck on thefind a wifepart. He wasn’t even dating anyone at the moment. In fact, it had been a little over a year since he’d had a relationship.
The apartment complex was only minutes away from the police station. When he reached it, he parked in his assigned spot and then got out of the car and went to apartment 107.
