Dangerous Mercy: A Novel (28 page)

Adele sat in her chair in the bedroom, wondering how long it would take her to replace Isabel. She already missed her. And not just because Isabel helped her with things she found difficult to do. Isabel was pleasant company.

The phone rang, startling her. She glanced at the clock: 9:05. She reached over and picked up the receiver. “Hello.”

“Adele, it’s Danny. I know it’s late, but I’m just now getting back to my room, and I knew you’d still be up. I’d like to tell you what I found out today.”

“Wonderful.” Adele grabbed a pen and pad of paper. “Go ahead, Danny.”

“I’ve exhausted every means I have, and I can’t figure out where Noah Washington was after Katrina. There’s just a big blank there. The first record I have of him after Katrina is when he showed up there and went to work for the Langleys. He definitely didn’t file income tax in that time frame. I don’t know whether he didn’t work, didn’t earn enough to file, or just didn’t file. But I couldn’t find a record of him signing in at any of the designated shelters after Katrina.

“Prior to that, he was a model citizen. Good credit record. His business had a good reputation. I found a couple customers that he did landscaping for. They had good things to say about him. I’m not sure where else to take this. There are a number of blank years there, but he doesn’t have a criminal record. Are you satisfied, or do you want me to keep after it? Truthfully, I’m not sure I can find out anything else. A lot was lost after Katrina. Makes for a pretty cold trail.”

“I don’t need you to push this any further,” Adele said. “Thanks, Danny. You can go ahead and send me that report.”

“Wait … don’t hang up yet. I’ve got something on Murray Hamelin, too.”

“Oh, good. Go slow. Tell me everything.”

“Well, first off, his name is Robert Murdock Hamelin Jr. Murray is his nickname. You’re right about his age. He’s thirty—or will be. His birthday’s tomorrow, in fact. Was raised in Lafayette. His parents are both deceased. His father was a supervisor at the Fontaine Sugar Refinery for twenty-two years and then was laid off four years ago. His mother cleaned houses.”

Adele made notes as fast as she could. “Do you know how they died?”

“Let’s see … his mother had a heart attack. Three months later, his father died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

Adele’s heart sank. “How dreadful.”

“That’s all I could find out about the parents. Murray was some kind of computer geek for Aubry Computer Systems. As far as I can tell, that’s the only place he ever worked. I got someone to look into his personnel file for me. He was terminated three years ago after months of bad employee evaluations. The supervisor’s report indicated that his parents had moved in with him, which had created a lot of stress. His girlfriend broke up with him. Then both parents died. Bottom line: He couldn’t do his job, and he was terminated.”

“Poor boy,” Adele said. “Did it say why his parents moved in with him?”

“No. But both parents died the same year Murray was fired. They were both in their early fifties.”

Adele tried to take it all in. “So, if I’m hearing you correctly, Danny, Murray lost both parents, his girlfriend, and his job—all in the same year?”

“That about covers it.”

“Goodness. Did you talk to anyone who knew him?”

“One coworker who still works at Aubry’s Lafayette branch. She said he was a really nice guy, good at his job. Prior to the year his parents died, his career was going forward. And then it tanked.”

“Is he an only child?”

“Yes. Grandparents are deceased too. If you want, I’ll locate some relatives and get more information.”

“That won’t be necessary. This tells me all I really need to know. Thanks so much, Danny. Send your invoice with the report, and I’ll get a check right out to you.”

“Will do. Pleasure doing business with you. Call on me anytime.”

Adele hung up the phone, satisfied with Danny’s findings. Nothing he found on Noah contradicted what Noah had told her. He said he wandered homeless during those years after Katrina. Since Danny couldn’t track him, he was likely telling the truth.

As for Murray … no wonder he walked away from life for a while. If only she could get him to talk about it, maybe it would be less painful. But these were intensely private matters, and she had to give him space to open up when he was ready. She could never let him find out she’d hired Danny to look into his personal life. At least now that she knew
why
he was secretive, she could gently draw him out.

She laid her head back on the chair, her mind racing with this new information. She’d done her homework. Zoe and Pierce would just have to trust her with these two.

CHAPTER 29

Adele stood in the kitchen, fiddling with the timer on the coffeemaker she had set the night before to go on at 6:30 a.m. She never could make the fool thing work without it giving her a headache. She finally saw the red light go on and waited for a few moments until she heard it purring, the enticing aroma of freshly brewing coffee wafting under her nose.

A smile tugged at her cheeks. One more thing she could do by herself. All those years of having household staff to do everything for her hadn’t rendered her completely helpless. The coffee would be waiting for her when she came back.

She walked to the front door and opened it, then, holding tightly to her Black Forest cane, stepped into the humid,
honeysuckle
-scented morning. She slowly descended each of the four brick steps, then walked toward the blossoming crape myrtles that lined the sidewalk, eager to start day two of a healthy new exercise regimen.

She turned right and headed up Magnolia Lane, her Nikes seeming to grip the sidewalk, propelling her along. Was there any neighborhood in Saint Catherine Parish that had charmed her more than Lafayette Gardens? She loved the generous, manicured lots and the interesting architectural mix of homes: Georgian and French Colonials, French Eclectic, Colonial Revivals with magnificent wraparound porches—and Greek Revivals, like hers. The longleaf pines, hardwoods, and live oaks were mature and provided abundant shade. Nothing here had the sprawling splendor of Woodmore. But Lafayette Gardens had its own character and beauty and was as wide open as she was going to find in a residential setting.

She passed by the red-brick two-story next door and gave a polite wave to her neighbor Abe Nolin, who was out trimming the hedges. Tall, muscular, and white-haired, the widower looked enough like Alfred to be his brother. And wasn’t he fit as a fiddle for a man his age? She was sure he had tried to flirt with her after she first moved in. But her heart had room for only one man.

Thinking of Alfred just reminded her that she was alone and would have to deal with finding someone to replace Isabel. But today the most important thing on her list was her outing with Murray to go to Scoops and get a Banana Mountain.

She heard herself laugh as she thought of climbing into Murray’s old truck and crossing town. Only this time, she knew his secrets. She wasn’t entirely comfortable knowing that she had paid Danny to uncover things about Murray he hadn’t volunteered. But she didn’t intend to tell anyone what she had found out, not even Murray. And having the information would enable her to help him—and wasn’t that the point?

Zoe lay in Pierce’s arms, her heart still pounding, hoping their lovemaking hadn’t awakened Grace. She really wasn’t ready for this moment to end. She and Pierce hadn’t had a day off together in a long while.

Pierce gently stroked her hair, a smile of contentment tugging at his cheeks. “I think you’re prettiest first thing in the morning when you don’t have makeup on.”

“That’s because your desire is off the charts,
cher.
And you’re not wearing contacts.”

“I’m nearsighted, remember? I just prefer natural beauty. Thank God Grace has your facial features. No girl should get my nose.”

“I love your nose.” Zoe traced it with her fingers. “Decidedly French and befitting a true Cajun.”

“I guess. I’m just glad Grace’s features are feminine like yours.”

Zoe nestled in the warmth of his arms, glad the house was still quiet. Once Grace was up, she would have to shift gears from lover to mom.

“How are you doing on losing the ten pounds?” he said. “You look great to me, but I know you don’t want to get pregnant until you lose it.”

Zoe smiled. “I’ve lost five. It was easier than I thought. No beignets. No gumbo. No rice. I won’t have to do it forever, but it’s working.”

“Good.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m really serious about having another child. I think it would be better if we don’t have too much space between them.”

“If we have another girl, I hope you’re serious about stopping. I can’t handle three and keep working.”

“I’m fine with two girls or one of each. I like us running Zoe B’s together. I would hate for that to change.”

“Me, too,” she said. “Though I don’t think with two I can plop them down with Hebert and the guys every morning at breakfast, like I’ve done with Grace.”

“Or drop them off at Adele’s. She won’t be able to handle two.”

Will I? Z
oe tried not to feel overwhelmed by the thought of having two children under the age of three. “Grace will be in preschool by then. I’m sure it would work out, once we get our rhythm.”

“People do it all the time, babe. Two is doable. And you know I’ll help. We’ll hire a part-time chef to help Dempsey so I can take more time off.”

“Speaking of Dempsey, is he working your shift today?”

“Yes. He’s pulling a double so I don’t have to go downstairs and check on anything. I’m all yours. What do you want to do today?”

“I already promised Grace we would take her to the park. But other than that, I haven’t really thought about it. I’m thoroughly enjoying just lying here, not having to do anything.”

“Maybe this would be a good day to drop by Adele’s.” Pierce smoothed her eyebrows with his finger. “I haven’t seen her in a few weeks. We could take her some lemonade bread pudding. You know how she loves it. We wouldn’t have to stay long. But it would be nice to see her.”

Jude sat in on the morning briefing and then got a cup of coffee and went back to his office to tackle his overflowing inbox before Special Agent Kyle Duffy arrived from the New Orleans field office. He didn’t need to be distracted by Jeanette Stein’s funeral today. Aimee asked Chief Norman to request extra help from other police departments in the region. It was being handled. Why was it so hard to turn loose of it? Either he trusted his people or he didn’t.

A knock on the door caused him to look up. Aimee came in, carrying a file folder, and stood in front of his desk.

“Gil finished the comprehensive list.” Aimee handed him the folder. “It includes only those employees at Fontaine and Aubry who—in the past five years—either quit, were fired, or were laid off
and
lost their home to foreclosure by Roux River Bank.”

“Good work.” Jude opened the folder and thumbed through the list. “
Five
pages? Are you kidding me?”

“I’m afraid so. It’s easy to see why the resentment runs so deep in the community.”

“Anything stand out to you?”

Aimee shook her head. “Not yet. It’s a little overwhelming. It’s going to take time and manpower to follow up with each one of these. We’re already spread thin.”

“We don’t have a choice, Aimee. Do it. There might be someone who has a connection to each of the victims. Also”—he locked gazes with her—“I called the field office. They’re sending us a profiler. He should be here by early afternoon. I need you to work with Chief Norman’s people to make sure everything goes smoothly for Jeanette Stein’s funeral. I need to be here. You’re in charge.”

“I’ll handle it.”

Jude glanced down at the list of names. “Since their homes were foreclosed on, do we even know how to find these people?”

“The hard way. We can check with the post office and utility companies. But since many of them are dodging creditors, they may not have left a forwarding address. We’ll probably have to go back to the neighborhoods and see if anyone knows where they are. Like I said, I need time and manpower to tackle it.”

“All right. After we get today’s funeral behind us, I want you to turn your total attention to this list. Find these people, and see where it leads.”

Murray sat at the dining room table at Haven House, finishing up a hearty breakfast he hoped would hold him until his outing with Adele.

He looked across the table at Noah. “You need any supplies to start the paint job for the Millers?”

“Yeah, I’ll pick up what I need at the building center.”

Murray reached in his back pocket and took out his wallet. He flipped through a stack of bills and handed Noah a hundred. “I’m flush right now. Let me get it.”

“I’ve got money,” Noah said. “You’ve already forfeited what you would’ve made on this job. I can’t let you pay for the supplies, too.”

“Why not? I’ve got no real expenses right now. My truck’s paid for.”

“Yeah, but you’re savin’ for a new one.”

Murray took Noah’s hand and put the bill in it. “A hundred bucks isn’t going to make or break me right now. But it should take care of everything you’ll need. Let me do this, man. You’re going to have all kinds of expenses you hadn’t planned on.”

Noah played with the edges of the hundred. “Why are you bein’ nice to me?”

“Because you’re a decent guy who’s in a tight spot. I don’t know why someone is trying to make you out to be liar, and I don’t care. I just want to help, okay?”

Noah folded the bill and put it in his pocket. “Thanks. So what’ve you got on tap today?”

“I’m installing new kitchen sinks for several units in those old brick apartments on Ninth.”

“How’d you learn to do all this stuff?”

Murray shrugged. “I never really learned it, per se. Just always had a knack for it. I can figure out how to do most anything.”

“Same here.” Noah took a bite of a biscuit. “But landscaping … now that’s my passion. Though I’m thinkin’, if I have to start over, I might as well leave Les Barbes and go back to New Awlins. The city’s recovered enough from Katrina that I should be able to start up my landscapin’ business again.”

“Where would you live?”

“Father Vince could get me a place in a halfway house there.”

“You already talked to him about this?”

Noah shook his head. “But I got to be thinkin’ ahead. More and more it’s not lookin’ like I have much of a future here. Only reason I came
up the bayou
was to see where my ancestors were slaves. Only reason I planned to stay was because the Langleys asked me to be groundskeeper. I was honored to do it. I wanted to be a part o’ history. But the way things are goin’, I don’t think I’ll be workin’ at Langley Manor anymore.”