Authors: Stella Cameron
O
na's Out Back wasn't meant to hold a hundred people, but Nick figured about that many had squished in. The overflow filled Out Front where people listened to Mayor Damalis and Matt through a speaker Buck rigged up to the microphone setup.
Patrick Damalis didn't need a mike but took no notice of how many fingers were pressed into ears each time he bellowed.
Sarah stood between Delia and a potted philodendron. The plant climbed a long stake and made its way to the corrugated, semitransparent roof. Ona was proud of her many thriving plants.
The regular tables and chairs had been cleared in favor of folding seats set out in narrowly spaced rows. By the time Delia and Sarah arrived there wasn't a remaining place to perch and they'd had difficulty working their way along the wall to get close to Nick and Aurelie.
Sarah had given herself a pep talk about not reading things into Aurelie and Nick often being together. It was just working out that way at the moment; nothing more sinister than that.
Matt had started the presentation with an explanation of where they stood in the investigation of Baily Morris's murder. The audience hadn't seemed to move or even breathe throughout that. Then Patrick took over and repeated exactly the same facts.
The rustling and whispering started then and hadn't stopped, even though Patrick, darkly debonair and European in manner, continued to talk.
Sarah pressed Delia's arm and indicated that she wanted to squeeze past and get next to Nick. “Hey.” She leaned toward his ear and rested a hand on his bare arm. “Patrick's making an idiot of himself.”
Nick smiled.
“Why didn't they hold this at the town hall?”
“Something about the plumbing,” Nick said.
Standing beside him comforted Sarah. He was the kind of man who inspired courage and she needed that tonight. She had a plan and very soon she'd put it into action. Her decision was to ask Nick out on a date.
“What you're sayin' then,” a man shouted, “is that we've got a killer wanderin' loose and you don't know any more about him than you did when you found the body.”
“Calm down, Dan,” Patrick said. “We've got a lot more than you think.”
Sarah tried to comfort herself with the likelihood that Baily's death could have been an accident. If not, why wouldn't Aurelie and Ed have been killed, too? Criminals followed patterns, didn't they? She shuddered but felt better when she thought about Nick's description of Angel, their new bodyguard.
“Are you cold?” Nick asked. “It's got to be a hundred degrees in here with humidity to match.”
“I'm not cold,” she said, “just creeped out.”
He put an arm around her shoulders and spoke to Aurelie, who leaned to smile at Sarah. “We've got to hang in, sis. We can do it.”
Sarah caught a woman's eyes, an older woman with a bright, interested stare. Immediately, the woman turned away, but there were others taking surreptitious glances in the Boards' direction.
“They're looking at us,” Sarah said evenly.
Delia said, “That's because we're the best-looking people in the room.”
Sarah giggled and passed the comment on until they all chuckled. Many more looks came their way.
“Finn Duhon's a looker,” Delia whispered, inclining her head toward Sarah, who pressed a hand over her mouth. “Do you suppose the stud with him is our new bodyguard?”
“Stud?” Sarah hissed. “Very nice. Very mature. He is studly, though, isn't he?” The man standing with Finn and Emma Duhon resembled a modern-day warrior to Sarah, all toned muscle on hard bone and a face that had only improved with experience.
“Excuse me,” a woman said clearly. Rosa Valenti, Betty Valenti's sister-in-law, stood up. “We all have a lot of confidence in our police department. Thank you for your efforts.”
Someone nearby said, “She worked for the police for years. What else is she going to say?”
Sarah thought it a mean comment.
“Could you please tell us about all these other things the mayor says you know?” Rosa Valenti said. Her voice and manner were very firm.
The man beside her stood up and said, “I'm Rosa's husband, Bob. It does seem we're wasting time. We understand the crime and what you're doing to track the killer. What else do you have to tell us?” The couple remained standing until Matt acknowledged their questions, then sat down.
“In a way, this is the really hard part,” Matt said. “I'll tell you up front that there are some confusing elements in this case. But we do have suspects. I hope that makes you all feel better.”
With Buck Dupiere standing slightly behind Matt and looking in his direction, Nick didn't feel one bit better. Until now he hadn't taken Matt's prickly attitude toward him as more than frustration. If they'd settled on him as a suspect, the trouble was only getting deeperâfor everyone.
“Now, I want to be able to rely on each of you to be calm and keep your eyes open,” Matt said. “I don't want anything I tell you to make you panic, but there are those other developments we hinted at and they may be tough to take.”
Delia caught Nick's eye and shook her head. “I like that boy,” she said, “but his idea of calming the folks down could send them into hysteria.”
People within hearing distance turned toward Delia and nodded significantly.
“Everything's under control,” Matt continued. “There have been two more attacks but both victims survived.”
“Way to go, Matt,” Nick said, a general outburst making sure few heard him. “Make sure people go into shock.”
Aurelie was concerned to see Frances Broussard from the salon get to her feet. On one side of her, Lynette, whose specialty was fantastic nails, chewed on her own long extensions. Sabine sat on the other side of Frances with Ed next to her. Aurelie hadn't noticed him there before, and given the bump he'd evidently taken on his head earlier, she was surprised.
Finally Matt pointed to Frances and asked, “You've got a question, Frances?”
She flipped back her intricate crystal-decorated braids. “What do you mean by attacks?” she asked, and remained standing.
“What I said,” Matt told her. “Two people have been roughed up. More than that, attempts were made to scare 'em badly. We don't want to give out too much detail about our operations. I'm sure you understand why.”
“So you won't tip off the maniac?” Frances asked, her dark skin shining in the humid atmosphere. “Is he stalking women until he gets them on their own? Is he raping them? Someone said that's what's happenin'.”
An awkward pause followed.
“Absolutely
not,
” Patrick Damalis boomed out. “Nothing sexual at all. Any more than there was with Baily Morris, so put your minds at rest about that.”
“Did he try to kill these others, then?” Frances asked.
“She won't put up with any wishy-washy excuses for information,” Aurelie said. She liked both Frances and Lynette.
Questions poured in and the same answers came back. Aurelie didn't want to discuss what had happened to her but she still didn't think it wise to pretend the attacks they referred to had been little more than a poke in the back.
“Who are the victims?” Lynette asked clearly. “You shouldn't hide anything from us. We need to know how these things happened and what we can do to prevent them from happening again.”
Aurelie caught Matt's eye and nodded. He looked toward the ceiling as if making a decision before he said, “Aurelie Board had an unpleasant encounter in some woods. It doesn't matter exactly where because we've got similar woods all over. My advice is to stay out of them.”
“There,” Lobelia Forestier announced triumphantly, rising to plant her feet as a solid base. “I knew it, but would anyone listen to me? Oh, no. It's all to do with the Boards. They're not like the rest of us, they live a different kind of life. They must know the kind of people none of us would know.”
“Lobelia,” Matt said.
“Don't you try to stop me from having my say,” she told him. “First someone's murdered out at the Wilkes and Board lab. Then Aurelie gets attacked. Talk about all in the family. They're putting us all in danger.”
Nick clamped his teeth together. Losing his cool with Lobelia Forestier would be a waste of energy, but he'd like a simple way to shut her up.
“It could be a coincidence,” Frances said, surging to her feet again. Her black eyes flashed in Lobelia's direction. “And if it's not, the Boards need help from all of us.” She shook back her hair and the crystals in her braids sparkled. “We've got to show this freak he's picked on the wrong people. He wants us scared and it's not going to happen.”
Applause spattered across the crowd, and echoed at a pass-through from Out Front.
Aurelie elbowed Nick and said, “She's got a lot of spirit.” She looked up at him and their eyes met. Desire was there, but something much more than that, a familiarity in the best way, and tenderness. With a heart that beat too hard and fast, Aurelie turned her face away.
He found her hand and pressed it. “I'm happy,” he murmured. “Can't help it. I just want to catch up with our crazy friend and rip his throat out. Then we can get on with what's important.”
She gave him a fake scowl but couldn't keep the laughter out of her eyes.
Order was slow to settle in again. Once again Lobelia was shushing and waving for quiet, or rather for control of the floor. When she could be heard, she said. “I never suggested we don't look after our own around here.”
“No,” Delia said under her breath. “Only that the Boards aren't your own.”
“We all have to watch out for ourselves, is all,” Lobelia went on. “That's one of the attacks you talked about, Chief. What about the other one?”
Matt frowned toward Ed. Nick studied the man and saw no reaction.
“Ed Webb got pretty shaken up, too,” Matt said. “A good bump on the head, a scraped-up back and more threats, right Ed?”
Ed didn't say anything.
“Pushed him around, the guy did,” Matt said.
“It was the heat,” Ed said, staying in his seat. “I got heat-stroke, is all, and lost my bearings. Fell into a bunch of brush and thumped my head. Thing like that can make you imagine things. I fell in the pool and scraped up my back.”
“Is he kidding?” Aurelie said. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. “Why would he say that?”
Nick's features turned hard. “Scared. Can't think of any other reason. Pretending it didn't happen won't help him or any of us now.”
Things had gotten quiet.
Buck moved beside Matt and they both nailed Ed with disbelieving stares.
“You heard Ed,” Sabine said. “It was the heat and he got disoriented. Did it all to himself, he did. So I guess there was just what happened to Aurelie.” By the time she finished, her arms were crossed and she faced the floor.
“Right,” Matt said, suddenly brusque. “Well, folks. The mayor here and I have brought you up to date. We don't want anyone bein' afraid, but lock your doors, and if you're worried about anything, contact us and we'll be right out.”
Aurelie turned to Nick and waited until he bowed his head. “What about the guy asking Ed about having something that wasn't his? We've both been thinking that was the ruby. Nick, Ed's changed his story.”
He drew a line with his toe. “Covering up and trying to stay safe. I still say that's what it is.” For a moment he rested the back of his head against the wall, then he leaned toward her again and said, “Could be there was something completely different, something he was worried about, and he thought coming up with a fake attack connected to yours would be a good idea. Then he changed his mind when he thought about everyone asking him questions.”
“What could Ed have done that he'd have to cover up?” Aurelie asked. “He wouldn't go in to Delia's safe, would he?”
“Damned if I know. But it's one explanation.”
The crowd thinned quickly, amid grumbling and some worried faces.
“Time to go,” Nick said.
“You're coming back to Lafource?” Delia asked.
“No,” Aurelie said. “I'm safe in my place.”
“You know I'm going home, too,” Nick said, and Aurelie felt guilty. “But this is a good time for you to meet Angel. Outside. We don't want to bend Matt any more out of shape that he already is.”
Finn, Emma and Christian DeAngelo were already on their way toward the Boards. Finn arrived first and shook Nick's hand. “The closest parking slots clear out first,” he said. “Let's meet up there just for a few minutes. That way we'll have plenty of light to see who's coming and going, too.”
“You've got it,” Nick said.
“Hi, Aurelie,” Emma Duhon said.