Page 7

“Needing books is a perfect reason to get us into these homes. So are you really going to be my partner in all this?” Once again, she looked at him hopefully.

“That’s what I said.”

“I want us to get started as soon as possible, but I won’t be available tomorrow. I work until nine, and that would be too late to go to anyone’s home. But the day after tomorrow, I work the morning shift and get off at two. That will give us plenty of time to visit a few people. That is, if you’re available then,” she quickly added.

“I’m available. So day after tomorrow, I’ll meet you at your shanty around two thirty.” He scooted his chair back, indicating he was finished with the conversation.

She grabbed her purse from the floor and dropped her pen inside it, then stood and once again gripped her notebook close to her chest. The night had gone far better than she’d ever imagined. She couldn’t believe he’d agreed to team up with her.

Together they walked to his front door. Once there, she turned back to him. “Mr. Le… Jacque, I can’t thank you enough for agreeing to help me.”

“I would prefer you stay out of the investigation. But if you are going to do this, you need to have somebody with you,” he replied . He opened the door.

“Could you do me just one more favor before I leave?” she asked, hoping she wasn’t about to shoot herself in the foot.

“What’s that?”

“Could you smile?”

He looked at her in what appeared to be stunned surprise. “Why is that necessary?”

She smiled up at him. “Call me crazy, but I think people who are working as partners should smile at one another. You know, it isn’t hard to do. You just turn that frown upside down.”

He stared at her for a long moment, and then he grinned. It was a transformative smile, softening the hard lines of his face and warming up the beautiful green of his eyes. It lasted only a moment and then fell away. “I have a feeling you can be quite a handful,” he said.

“Trust me, I’ll behave.” Her own smile faded. “This mission is far too important to take lightly. Thank you again, Jacque, and I’ll see you day after tomorrow.” With that, she walked out of the door.

As she headed back to her cabin, a sweet anticipation swept through her. It was possible within a matter of days she would be able to name her mother’s killer.

However, there was no question that she had a bit of apprehension in working with Jacque. She knew nothing about the man or what had originally brought him to the swamp. She was trusting the word of a stranger.

She just hoped she wasn’t making a wrong decision in involving him. What she planned to do was already risky enough. She was on the hunt for a cold-blooded killer.

Jacque sank down in his easy chair and thought about the woman who had just left. There was no question that she was a pretty little thing. With her long dark hair and big dark eyes, she’d looked stunning in the yellow-and-red sundress she’d had on. And she’d smelled like a field of summer flowers with a hint of spice.

However, Jacque wasn’t moved by a woman’s beauty or the attractive scent of her skin. There was nothing about another woman that would ever move him again.

It had definitely surprised him when she’d asked him to smile. When he had, it had felt foreign to his mouth and had made him realize in the past four years he had rarely smiled.

Monique Santori was the least likely person to go after a killer. Most of the reason he’d agreed to help her was because he feared if left to her own devices, she’d wind up hurt or dead.

If she saw her mother’s book in one of the homes, there was nothing that would keep the killer from murdering her. As much as he didn’t want to get involved, he also didn’t want to see her get herself in trouble.

There had been a fierceness in the depths of her eyes, mingling with a wealth of grief that made him realize with or without him, she intended to follow through on her plan.

What he should do was take her intentions to Daniel. However, he didn’t think even a strong talking to from the chief of police would stop her. What she had planned wasn’t exactly illegal, so Daniel couldn’t lock her up to keep her safe.

He released a deep sigh. He still didn’t know why she’d come to him. They hadn’t been social with each other at all in the past. Hell, they hadn’t even been passing acquaintances.

Of course, everyone in the swamp knew of the voodoo queen, Mystique, and her three beautiful daughters. Mystique’s murder had definitely shaken up everyone in Dark Waters. It had been a particularly atrocious crime for the small town.

Some of the people in the swamp had feared the powerful Mystique dabbled in black magic and would come back to life with a vengeance and would curse all those who had come to her for a charm or a spell.

Then there were the others…the ones who feared that the secrets they’d spilled to Mystique under the cover of night would come to light now that she was dead. And those were the men Monique wanted to visit…and one of them was potentially a killer.

He was hoping that by the day after tomorrow she would change her mind about the whole thing. Maybe she would take the list they’d created and any other thoughts she had to the chief of police. That would be the smart thing to do.

Jacque knew how hard Daniel was working on the case. The lawman had come to speak to him right after the murder. He’d heard the rumor that Jacque knew a lot of what went on in the swamp.