Sweet Mystery (36 page)

“I think I know how to flush the rats out of
their nest,” Rae said. “I’ll go to the source.”

“Maybe you should let me handle this. It
could get tricky,” LaMar offered. “These guys could be capable of
anything.”

“Just hear me out, okay?” Rae said.

* * *

Simon and Toya sat on the sofa in his office
having coffee. Nola stared at her with open dislike stamped on her
face as she handed Simon a phone message.

“You might want to call Mr. Hyde back soon,”
Nola said with emphasis. “It could be urgent.”

“Thanks, Nola.” Simon put the message down.
“But I doubt it. We finished that job last month.” He gave her a
pointed look.

“Oh. Just trying to help,” Nola said with a
sigh.

“I appreciate it.” Simon smiled at her with
affection.

He knew she was trying to help him get rid of
Toya, but deception was not his way. His lips turned down at the
thought of how Rae had used him. When the door closed behind the
secretary, Toya took up where she’d left off.

“Didn’t I tell you she was no good? Didn’t I
say Rae Dalcour only thinks about herself?” She wore a triumphant
smile.

“Let’s not get into this again,” Simon said
through clenched teeth. He tapped on the table with his
fingers.

Why did he even mention that he and Rae were
no longer seeing each other? Of course, she was bound to find out.
It was just a matter of how soon. Now he realized that a delay
would have been preferable.

Toya crossed her legs. “What happened?
Another man, I’ll bet. She was always loose.”

Simon resisted the temptation to correct her
assumption. “It doesn’t matter why.”

“Men are so sensitive about these things. Her
behavior with other men doesn’t reflect on your masculinity, dear.”
Toya leaned forward to put her hand on his arm.

“Toya–”

“I’ve known her a lot longer than you. She’s
no better than an alley cat. She mates and then moves on.”

“Don’t talk like that.” Simon had a sour
taste in his mouth.

“Sorry, darling, but you need to face the
truth. Oh, sure, she’s charming in her way. But she’s a wh–”

“Stop it right now!” Simon jerked his arm
free of her hand. “Rae and I had an argument, but it had nothing to
do with another man. She’s not at all like that. She’s...” A sweet,
hot memory seized him unexpectedly.

Toya pressed her lips together and studied
him. Resentment radiated from her. “Rae Dalcour still has some sort
of hold on you.”

Simon could not work up the will to deny it.
He wanted to, but why lie? It seemed like forever since he’d seen
Rae, though only a week had passed. The days were bad enough, but
it was the sleepless nights that really took their toll. For hours
he tossed and turned. Every caustic word spoken between them
replayed in his mind like a recording. Yet his body still felt the
traces left from being in her arms. He wanted to escape. Talking
about it would only prolong the agony.

“I’ve got a long day ahead of me.” Simon
failed to add the words, ‘Thank goodness.’ It meant that he could
put off going back to his empty house and loneliness. “Did you want
to talk about something else?”

“Things will be right in no time.” Toya moved
closer to him. “Just wait and see. Anyway, Darcy says maybe he’ll
talk to Rae about selling her property now. With the fire and all,
she might need money. For a good lawyer,” she added in a gleeful
voice.

“Rae would never set fire to Rockin’ Good
Times. It meant too much to her and her father.” Simon was not
defending Rae based on emotion. “She loved that man.”

“Whatever. Who cares? The point is we can get
that land for a song now. It’s perfect.” Toya inched closer until
their hips touched. “You can go forward with that park you
wanted.”

Simon did not share her excitement. “You
don’t know if Rae will have to sell.”

“Whether they prove she did it or not, she’s
losing money big time with every day that goes by. She won’t be
able to recover.” Toya looked pleased at the prospect.

“I hope she can. But if she wants to sell,
I’ll pay her a fair price.”

“That’s noble, darling, but don’t pay more
than you have to. Remember this is business. A fleeting liaison
shouldn’t make you forget that.”

“I’ll discuss it with Darcy when, and if, he
brings it up. Not before,” Simon said.

“But why wait? She’s getting desperate for
money, I just know it. All we’d have to do is make the least bit of
an offer and she’d have no choice.”

Simon felt a rise of revulsion. “Look at us,
sitting here like vultures, waiting for some poor animal to die so
we can pick over the bones.” He stood up. “I don’t want to discuss
Rae anymore.”

Toya stood up, too. “Fine. Don’t be upset
with me. Rae is saying the Joves and St. Cyrs are the real
crooks.”

“What are you talking about?” Simon glanced
at her sharply.

“She’s got that private detective looking
into the fire. He’s been poking around. It’s clear what she’s up
to.” Toya lifted a shoulder. “Of course, it won’t fly. Marius is
certain about that.”

Simon did not understand her last statement.
“What has Marius got to do with it?”

“Hmm?”

“You said something about Marius being sure.
Sure about what?”

Toya went still for a beat and then
recovered. “Oh, just that Marius doesn’t think she’ll be able to
wriggle out of what she’s done.” She gave a brittle laugh.
“Everyone knows what kind of woman she is.”

“Do they?” Simon was deep in thought as he
watched her fidget with her expensive handbag.

“Including Sheriff Thibodeaux. What can you
expect from a Dalcour, after all.” Toya patted her smooth hair,
wound tightly into a swirl on her head.

“I see.”

“Ahem, look at the time. I’m keeping you from
important things. I’ll see you later at Grandfather’s for dinner.”
Toya gave him a lingering kiss. “Maybe we can manage to get away
early.”

“Maybe,” Simon replied in a distracted
manner.

Toya wore a delighted smile. “Oh Simon, thank
you, darling. Maybe I’ll do a little special shopping at Deidre’s
in the lingerie section.” She tilted her breast forward to show
more cleavage.

“Sounds nice. Bye.” Simon did not hear what
she said.

“Goodbye, cher.” Toya swung her hips as she
walked out of the office. She glanced back at him with a seductive
smile to make sure he was watching.

Simon did notice. Only because he wanted her
to leave, so he could make a phone call. Toya walked past Nola and
out the front door.

“Spider Woman finally gone, thank goodness,”
Nola quipped.

“Yeah. Do you have Harold’s number handy?”
Simon stared at the closed door through which Toya had gone.

“The fire chief? Think so.” Nola began
flipping through the cards. “But we scheduled for him to inspect
the building on Joliette Road all ready. I’ll call him for you to
double check.”

“No, just give me the number.” Simon watched
her write the phone number down on a slip of note paper. “I’ll make
this call myself.”

* * *

Sheriff Thibodeaux was not a happy man. “Tell
me this again, Bob.” He sat staring at his friend as though it was
his fault.

State trooper Bob Bonnecaze sat in his dark
blue uniform, looking as though every hair was in place. “Look,
John, you got the report. The bones are from a black male, between
the age of eighteen and thirty-five, with a broken collarbone that
healed well.”

“And he’s been there fifty years. How did she
know that?” Sheriff Thibodeaux referred to Sarah Manley, the
forensic anthropologist used by the state police.

“There was an old, rusted watch, some buttons
and a belt buckle. Dr. Manley consulted with the Human Ecology
Department at LSU in Baton Rouge. Some lady there is an expert in
textiles, buttons and such. They got lots of books on clothes made
since way back before the Civil War.”

“So, from that stuff, she figures he was
buried about fifty years back.” Sheriff Thibodeaux dragged his
large hand over his face. “Lord, but if this ain’t a mess.”

“Aw, come on, John. You haven’t had a murder
around here in fifty years. That’s good news.” Trooper Bonnecaze
grinned at the sour look his pal shot him.

“I got a fire at the local dance hall that
might be arson, but we can’t pin it down. There’s grumblin’ that we
oughta arrest the owner, a woman, and now this.” The sheriff shook
his head.

“Who’s been missing for fifty years?”

“How should I know? I wasn’t even born!”
Sheriff Thibodeaux replied with a grunt of exasperation. “I’ll have
to do some digging to find that out.”

“Just ask some of the old folks around. They
ought to know.” Trooper Bonnecaze stood up and dusted off his
already spotless hat. “Let me know if I can help any. I was just
passing through on my way to a meeting in Lafayette on crime
scenes.”

“Yeah, thanks. Sure hope we’re on the
tail-end of this crime wave.” Sheriff Thibodeaux walked with him
out to the lobby.

“At least you get to test out those
investigative techniques you learned up in Virginia at the FBI
workshop. See ya.” Trooper Bonnecaze gave him a hearty clap on the
shoulder.

With a grim expression, the sheriff watched
the dark blue sedan with the state police emblem drive off. “Yeah,
right, I’m just tickled to death about it.” He winced at his
unintended pun.

* * *

Rae strode into the elegant office suite of
Jove Enterprises and stood in front of the receptionist. “I’m here
to see Darcy Jove.”

The young woman picked up the telephone
receiver. “Your name?”

“Rae Dalcour. And no, I don’t have an
appointment.”

The receptionist spoke low into the phone
while Rae glanced around at the prints and plush furnishings. She
was sure the murmured conversation included the best way to get rid
of her. When the woman put down the phone, Rae turned back to
her.

“Mr. Jove’s secretary says if you’d just
leave your name, she’ll let him know you came by.” The young woman
smiled at her warmly. “I’ll be sure he gets the message.”

“Lisa,” Rae said, reading the name plate on
her desk. “Darcy and I go back a long way. Just point me to his
office and I’ll wait. This way… right?” She headed toward a set of
oak double doors at the end of a wide hall.

“Well, he has a tight schedule and I… Wait,
miss, you can’t go in there!” Lisa bounced up to follow Rae, and
then ran back to call someone.

Darcy’s secretary darted down a side hall to
intercept her. “Miss Dalcour, Mr. Jove is not available.”

“He’s here. I can smell him,” Rae said in a
loud voice. “Come out here, Darcy!” she called.

Marius came out of his office. “What the hell
is going on?” His eyes widened with surprise when he saw Rae. But
he soon recovered and plastered a smile over his face. “Well, fancy
meeting you here.”

“Marius, right?” Rae gave him a head-to-toe
glance. “Yeah, I remember you. Out of prison so soon?”

Marius lost the smug smile. “What the hell
does that mean?” He shot a look around to see who was
listening.

“All those times Mr. Henry had to bail your
backside out of trouble. Didn’t you have to do time over that deal
in Morgan City a few years back?”

“I’ve never seen the inside of a prison.
Look, you seem to have made a wrong turn. This isn’t a
barroom.”

“No, it’s a snake pit. Now where’s the head
snake? Darcy, come on out of hiding!”

The doors to the conference room to her left
opened and two men walked ahead of Darcy. “Pantheon should be
pleased with the progress so far.” He paused when he saw Rae
glaring at him.

“No they won’t. Not when they find out what
crooks you all are,” Rae said.

“Should I call the police?” Darcy’s secretary
asked Marius.

“Good idea. Call them now,” Marius
snarled.

“Show these gentlemen out, please.” Darcy did
not show any sign of being upset. He murmured a few words to the
men, who were staring with frank interest at the scene. The
secretary bustled back and forth, and made bright chatter, hoping
to drown out any background noise from Rae.

Darcy straightened his tie and walked toward
Rae, wearing a charming smile. “Should I be glad you came to visit
me?”

“Which one of you did it?” Rae snapped.

“Come into my office.” Darcy opened the
double doors and motioned her in. “Now let’s talk in a reasonable
manner.”

“Sure, I can be reasonable. You tell Harold
Frey and Sheriff Thibodeaux how you torched my business. I’ll ask
them to go easy on you during the sentencing phase of your trial.
How’s that?” Rae glanced from Darcy to Marius.

“Get real. Let’s throw her ass out on the
sidewalk.” Marius stood with his arms down, both hands balled into
fists.

“You want me out of town, but first you want
me to sell my land. When sending Simon to romance me didn’t work,
you switched to the back-up plan. I know you too well, Darcy. Or
was it Toya’s brilliant idea? Yeah, she had a hand in it.” Rae did
not appear the least bit fearful.

“Not only will we have you thrown in jail for
disturbing the peace, but we’ll sue you for slander,” Marius
shouted.

“Judging from your reaction, I’d say you made
all the arrangements. Sure, you’re the one with criminal
experience.” Rae let out a short laugh when Marius flinched at her
words.

“You b–”

“Get out,” Darcy said, moving between Rae and
Marius.

“You heard him,” Marius spat.

Darcy looked at him. “I meant you! Go on.
I’ll handle this.”

“Are you going to let her accuse us of arson?
Grandfather would have her arrested on the spot.” Marius was puffed
up with fury.