Page 36 of Kidnapped in Dark Waters
“I don’t know.”
“That doesn’t help me help you,” Monique replied.
“How about I just browse for a few minutes,” Dominique said.
“Browse away.” Monique stepped back toward the register, and at that moment a couple of young girls came into the store.
While Dominique began flipping through the clothes on the sale rack, the girls went straight to the section of tops featuring tiny straps and cropped length. The style certainly wasn’t for Dominique.
Monique helped them by telling them who would look good in what color. She had an eye for such things, which was why she was such a good salesperson.
Dominique moved from the sale rack to the loungewear, where she found a red two-piece outfit. The top was sleeveless and sleek and the pants were a bit wide and flowy. She loved it and it would be perfect for her to wear this evening before she changed into the boring dark clothes she wore to stalk Pierre.
She threw it over one arm and continued looking. By the time she was finished, she had the red loungewear and a cute emerald-green blouse that matched Luke’s eyes. The girls had left empty-handed amid much giggling.
“Good choices,” Monique said as she rang up the items for Dominique.
“Thanks. Maybe some of your fashion flair is finally rubbing off on me,” Dominique replied.
“Dom, you’ve always had good taste,” Monique replied. Dominique paid and Monique placed the items into a sack. The two visited for a little while longer and then Dominique left to head to the grocery store.
It was another hot, humid day without a cloud in the sky. Thank goodness it was always cooler in the swamp. Dominique’s shanty rarely got hot and there was often a slight breeze coming off the water.
It took her only minutes to arrive at Howard’s Groceries. It was a relatively small place but it was the only food store in town and Howard stocked nearly everything a shopper would need.
She walked in and grabbed a basket and headed toward the meat section. As she looked at the pork selection, she couldn’t help but notice Jacque LeBlanc standing nearby and looking over the steaks.
Jacque was something of a mystery. He was a tall, well-built, handsome man who lived deep in the swamp. He was a gator-hunter, but nobody knew much about him. Still, he supposedly knew a lot about what went on in the swamp.
Dominique made a mental note to herself. Maybe he was a man she should talk to concerning the attack on her. Maybe he knew something that would help them find the culprit.
Before she could approach him, he turned and wheeled his basket in the opposite direction. Maybe it was better that she and Luke talked to the man together. She made another mental note to herself to mention it to Luke when she saw him later that evening.
She found a package of three nice-looking pork chops and put it in her cart, then headed to the canned vegetable aisle where she grabbed a can of carrots. She then went to the produce aisle where she got a sack of potatoes.
The last thing she bought was a large block of ice. Since there were no refrigerators in the swamp, most people used a bigcooler with the ice as a refrigerator of sorts. The ice would last about a week and then she would have to buy another block.
She checked out and then got back in her car and headed home. She was actually looking forward to cooking for Luke tonight. From what he’d told her in one of their many conversations, most nights he simply zapped dinners in the microwave. Tonight, he would eat far better and that made her happy.
Happy. It was funny that she would feel happy. She was stalking a man she believed murdered her mother, she had some obsessed person stalking her and yet spending time with Luke had given her a happiness she hadn’t felt for a long while.
It was going to be difficult to tell him goodbye when this was all over. She would miss their conversations and their laughter. Her evenings would become boring and lonely once again and she would be no closer to finding the man of her dreams, the one who would give her a happily-ever-after.
The physical chemistry between her and Luke still burned hot and bright but they hadn’t made love again—even though she would have liked to have him once again in her bed.
She pulled up and parked at the swamp’s entrance. She’d have to juggle her bags or make two trips because she wanted one hand free to hold her knife as she walked home.
She got out of the car and pulled the bag with the ice over her left arm. She then grabbed the small shopping bag and her clothes bag and managed to get them over her left arm as well. Finally, she got her knife out of her purse and held it firmly in her right hand.
This was better than making two trips. She began the trek in, staying acutely aware of everything around her as she listened for any sounds of somebody approaching her.
Even though nothing had happened over the past week, she remained vigilant whenever she was outside by herself. She was determined she would not be a victim a second time.
As she reached the bottom of her bridge, she saw the piece of paper tapped to her door. Instantly, all her muscles tensed and her heart beat wildly as her gaze shot all around.
Seeing nobody lurking about, she hurried across the bridge and nearly screamed at the sight of a dead bird in front of her door. It looked as if its neck had been broken. The bird wouldn’t have flown into her door and died accidentally. Its death looked deliberate. She grabbed the note from the door, stepped over the bird and went inside.
She immediately locked the door behind her, dropped all her packages on the floor and collapsed on the sofa, the note held in her trembling hand. The back of her throat closed up and she felt as if she couldn’t draw a breath.
