Rue Toulouse (22 page)

A black limousine sped down Canal toward the river.

“Were you able to contact him?” Charlotte asked.

The man next to her nodded.

“I know Elaine was lying when she said she hadn’t heard from Caterine. Neither of them makes a move without the other one knowing about it. They’re thick as thieves.” Charlotte covered her mouth and laughed. “Thieves, how appropriate.”

Without a word, the man handed her a rolled up hundred-dollar bill and a small mirror framed in gold.

 
Smiling, Charlotte spread a thin line of white powder on the mirror and inhaled.

When the man spoke, his voice was low with a dangerous edge. “I’ll give you all the candy you want, sweet Charlotte.” He ran his hand under her dress. “But all pleasure comes with a price. And I expect to be paid in full.”

“Oh, listen,” Caterine said as they headed up Royal. “I love this song.” A three-piece band in front of Rouses Market was playing a lively rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In.” They stopped and clapped along with the crowd. When the music ended, Caterine dropped a five-dollar bill into the open guitar case, and they headed for Toulouse.

Once they’d passed the partiers on Bourbon, the crowd thinned and the streets were quiet. They were on Toulouse and had just crossed Dauphine when Elaine grabbed Caterine’s arm and whispered, “There’s someone behind us.”

When Caterine turned, her blood ran cold. Only a few feet away, moving quickly toward them, was a man all in black. Unable to see his face clearly, Caterine yelled, “Elaine run.”

They’d only taken a few steps when something hard slammed into the back of Caterine’s head. As she fell, and everything began to go black, she heard Elaine scream.

“Let me go!”

Facedown on the sidewalk, her head reeling and bile burning the back of her throat, Caterine willed herself to stay conscious.

“Where’s your friend Caterine?” the man demanded.

“I don’t know!” Elaine cried. “Let go of me, you bastard. My husband’s a cop.”

When she heard the slap and Elaine’s gasp of pain, Caterine tried to rise, but blackness again threatened to take her under. She tried to call Elaine’s name, but it came out as a croak.

“Well, your hubby isn’t here, is he? So I’ll ask you one more time, then I’ll really make it hurt. Where’s Caterine?”

“Go to hell.”

No, Elaine, don’t
, Caterine inwardly cried seconds before she heard his fist strike. Elaine’s sob brought Caterine to her knees. Fighting back waves of nausea, she thought she heard the sound of running feet, then her world went black.

“Goddamn son of a bitch,” Remi roared as he flung the man from Elaine’s crumpled form.

Before Remi could remove his gun from his ankle holster, the attacker was on him. A hard punch to the bridge of Remi’s nose and another to his stomach sent him stumbling back.

“You’re a fucking dead man,” Remi growled as he lunged, tackling the attacker to the sidewalk. They rolled kicking and swinging until the assailant had Remi pinned and was about to bring his fist down on his bloodied face.

Suddenly the man was jerked away, landing hard on the curb. A Smith and Wesson revolver in his hand, Paul shouted, “Now you stay put, motherfucker, or I’ll shoot your balls off!”

“Good timing,
cher
,” Remi scrambled to his feet and grabbed the attacker by his jacket. Their faces inches apart, Remi yelled, “Who sent you?”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“I’ll ask one more time, then I’m going to pound your fucking face into pulp,” Remi said between clenched teeth. “Who are you working for?”

The man smiled, his split lip dripping blood. “Fuck you.”

“I warned you, asshole,” Remi said and slammed the man’s head down against the pavement.

“The interview might be over,” Paul said as he looked down at the unconscious man.

Chapter Nineteen

Remi used his sleeve to wipe blood from his nose. “Glad you showed up,
cher
.” He hurried to where Caterine lay.

“What the hell happened?” Paul asked.

“I don’t know. When I got here, the guy had Elaine, and Caterine was down.” Remi knelt next to Caterine as two police cars pulled up.

“What you boys up to?” Andre asked, jumping from one of the cruisers, followed seconds later by Vince.

Andre nodded toward the man Paul still held at gunpoint. “Who’s your friend?”

“This slimeball attacked my wife and her girlfriend,” Paul said. “Book him on assault. We’ll be in tomorrow to sign the papers.”

“Hey, this guy is out cold,” Vince said as he tried to pull the assailant to his feet.

“Yeah,” Remi said, “I think he tripped and bumped his head.”

Paul stepped back and crouched down next to Elaine, taking her into his arms. “It’s okay, baby, stop crying. How bad are you hurt?”

“Not too badly.” Elaine hiccupped through her tears. “How about Caterine?”

“I’m not sure,” Remi replied, his voice tight with fear. “Caterine, can you hear me?”

“Do you need me to call for a medic?” Vince asked, then pointed to the man still on the ground. “I guess I’ll have to get one for this asshole anyway.”

“Wait, she’s stirring. Caterine, it’s Remi.” When her eyes fluttered open, Remi relaxed for the first time since he’d arrived on the scene.

“Elaine?” Caterine murmured.

“She’s all right. Paul has her. Can you sit up?”

“I don’t know. I’m kind of dizzy and feel sick.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Remi, I tried to help Elaine, but I couldn’t move.”

He sat on the sidewalk and gingerly took her into his arms. “Shhh. It’s okay. We got him.”

“Is it the same man?”

“I don’t know, Princess. You’ll have to tell us. Do you think you can do that now?”

Her tears turned to sobs and her entire body shook. “No, Remi, I don’t want to look at him.”

“It’s all right. You don’t have to.” He rose with her in his arms. “Paul, I’m going to take her home.”

With Elaine by his side, Paul nodded. “How about you? You okay? Your face isn’t looking too good. How did he manage to get the drop on you anyway?”

“My gun was in my ankle holster. When I pulled the bastard off Elaine, he got me before I could get to it.”

“Are you two thinking this is the same guy who attacked Miss Doucette?” Vince asked.

Remi nodded. “Could be.”

“I’m going to run him through the system. Chances are he’ll have a record. If so, there’ll be mug shots. I’ll bring them by so Miss Doucette doesn’t have to come to the station,” Vince said.

“I appreciate that, Vince,” Remi said, watching as Andre handcuffed the unconscious attacker and went through his pockets.

“No ID,” Andre said.

“I’ll call you tomorrow, Remi, and fill you in on what I learned from trailing that guy,” Paul said. “I can’t go into it now.”

“No problem. I didn’t get shit off the black limo Charlotte and her friend got into except the plate number. They headed toward the river, and I couldn’t keep up with them on foot.”

As they stopped in front of Paul’s car, Elaine turned. “Tell me the truth, Cat, are you really all right?”

“I’m fine. Truly. Remi, put me down.”

Elaine left Paul’s embrace and with tears streaming down both their faces, the two girls hugged. “Cat, I was so afraid.”

“I tried to get up and help you, but I couldn’t,” Caterine said, choking back tears as she held Elaine close. “How bad did he hurt you?”

“Not bad, I don’t think. How about you?”

“My head hurts, but I’ll survive. I love you, Elaine.”

“I love you, too, Cat.”

Back in his apartment, Remi sat Caterine on the couch. “Let’s get that wig off so I can examine your head. If it looks like it needs stitches or I think you need an X-ray, I don’t want to hear any arguments. We’re going to the hospital.” Carefully he removed the wig and parted her hair. “You have a nasty bump, but the skin isn’t broken. You know what, Princess? I think that wig may have cushioned the blow. I’m going to get some ice.” When he returned, he gingerly pressed a towel to the back of her head.

“Ow.” Caterine winced.

“Sorry, but it will help the swelling. Do you remember what happened?”

Caterine took the towel from his hand. “If I tell you, do you promise not to be mad?”

He cursed long and hard. “You didn’t take a cab, did you?”

Tears trickled down her cheeks. “No. They said it would be at least forty-five minutes, and we didn’t want to wait. Remi, we thought since we were together it would be okay.”

Remi tried to hold down his temper. “Caterine, I told you to take a cab for a reason. That guy Charlotte was with is dangerous as hell.”

“I don’t think the man who attacked us was either of the men Charlotte was with in the restaurant.” She began to cry. “Oh, Remi, I could hear him hurting Elaine, and I couldn’t help. He kept asking her where I was, and she wouldn’t tell him I was right there.”

Remi let out a long breath and gathered her into his arms. “Come on, stop crying or you’ll make yourself sick.”

Caterine buried her face in his chest and sobbed. Stroking her back, he held her until finally, her tears spent, she sat up and wiped her eyes. “Remi, how did that man know who we were?”

“I think Charlotte must have arranged to have Elaine watched. Then when you left the restaurant, he followed.”

“But how could Charlotte do something like that?”

“Through her boyfriend, that’s how.”

Caterine knitted her brows. “But Remi, my family thinks I’m out of town. Why would Charlotte think otherwise?”

Remi shrugged. “There’re two possibilities. Either she saw through your disguise, or your family didn’t believe Miss Dauphine. Do you usually leave that suddenly?”

“No. I always tell my aunts when I’m leaving and how long I’ll be gone.”

“And if Charlotte is behind the attacks, she knows you got away and are probably hiding somewhere.”

Caterine rubbed her temples. “I’m tired and want to take a shower. Can we deal with this tomorrow?”

“Sure. Come on.”

Caterine stood, stared at Remi’s face and gasped. “Remi, your face.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine. Your nose is swollen and your eye is turning black. I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize how badly you were hurt.” She reached for the towel, damp with melted ice, and began to clean his face.

“
Merde
, Caterine, that’s cold.”

“Hold still and stop being such a baby. I’ve about got it. There, that’s better. You still look awful, but at least the dried blood is gone.”

He guided her toward the bedroom, where she removed her jacket and top and looked down at the holes in the knees of her capri pants. “Well, so much for my new outfit.”

Remi grinned. “I can’t say I’m disappointed,
cher
.”

As Caterine slipped out of her pants, she noticed the dried blood where the scabs on her knees had reopened. Without warning, her body began to tremble.

“Hey, Princess, what’s wrong?” Remi asked, putting his arm around her shoulder.