by Mallory Kane
When Adrienne stood, she swayed, the edges of her vision darkening. "I'm sorry. I'm not feeling well."
One of the hard-edged prisoners laughed harshly. "Didja hear that? Miss Hoity-Toity is 'not feeling well.' Well, I'm 'not feeling well,' too, guard. Can I get a beer?" She and the other older woman laughed.
Adnenne's head swam and acrid saliva filled her mouth. She reached out to steady herself. "I'm going to—"
"Oh, hell," the guard said. "Out of the way, you two." The woman grabbed Adrienne by the back of her orange overalls and hoisted her bodily toward the toilet.
Adrienne fell to her knees just in time.
The other women groaned and shrieked.
"Ugh!"
"Eww!"
"Get us outta here, guard. That's nasty!"
But as soon as Adrienne's stomach stopped heaving, the guard pulled her upright Adrienne coughed and for lack of any other choice, wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her jumpsuit.
"Come on, honey, your lawyer's here."
"My lawyer?" Adrienne croaked, still nauseated, although her stomach had stopped heaving. She prayed it was the lawyer Seth had promised her. Maybe she could finally find out what was happening to her.
The guard shrugged and pushed her ahead of her. The walk to the interrogation room was difficult, because Adrienne's head was swimming and her vision was still black around the edges.
The guard sat her down in a hard, straight-back chair.
"There you go, honey," the woman said, not unkindly. "You want something to drink?"
Adrienne nodded gratefully. "Water, please?"
The guard nodded and left.
Adrienne pillowed her head in her arms and closed her eyes. She felt a little less sick that way. What was the matter with her? She was never sick. It was probably nerves. She felt like crying, too, and she couldn't stop her hands from shaking.
The door opened. Adrienne looked up, her dry mouth craving the water, but it wasn't the guard. It was Detective Freeman and her partner.
"Mrs. DeBlanc, I hope you don't mind if we ask you a few questions."
Adrienne shook her head and licked her dry lips. "I thought my lawyer was here."
"We're just wondering how Category Five ended up in your wedding album."
Adrienne stared at the woman, trying to make sense of her words. Nausea still pressed at the back of her throat and her mouth was dry. "What's Category Five? I don't understand."
"Come on, Mrs. DeBlanc. The drug was hidden in the silver wedding album in your husband's study. The money was hidden in that chest. You had a nice little setup going. I know you owned the Cajun Perks, but you didn't run the whole business, did you?"
The drug. The money. Cajun Perk. Adrienne swallowed against the bitter nausea that tickled the back of her throat. She had been set up by the best. The mob couldn't be beaten. They'd made her the scapegoat for their drug operation.
"You found drugs in my house." She didn't even bother trying to make it a question.
"You must have been working with someone. Come on, tell us. It could go lighter for you if you identified the source of the drugs."
Adrienne sat up straight. She wiped her eyes and pushed her fingers through her hair. "I'm not saying anything else until my lawyer arrives. I was told he was here."
The door opened and a medium-sized blond man in a light tan suit came in.
"I'm Brad Guilford, Mrs. DeBlanc. Your lawyer. Mr. Lewis sent me." He offered his hand.
Adrienne shook it briefly, embarrassed that the mention of Seth's name caused grateful tears to spring to her eyes. She blinked.
"Mrs. DeBlanc and I need to talk, Detectives."
The detectives looked at each other, and Freeman crossed her arms.
"Privately."
With exaggerated sighs, they stood and left the room without another word.
Adrienne was confused and scared. The police had found drugs in her house. She pushed the wooden chair back and stood, pacing back and forth in the small room. She still didn't know whom to trust.
"How do 1 know you really were sent by Seth?" she demanded, her voice hoarse from her bout of vomiting.
Guilford turned around in his chair. "Come and sit, Mrs. DeBlanc, so we can talk." He nodded his head toward the mirror on the opposite wall. She looked at it, understanding that the detectives were probably behind it watching their every move.
She perched on the edge of the chair opposite Guilford. "Can they hear us?"
Guilford faced the mirror. "Turn off the microphones." He turned toward her, his back to the mirror. "Seth said to tell you that your mother is safe. She's being guarded by the good guys."
Adrienne let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding. "Thank God," she said. Relief stung her eyes. "Where is Seth? Is he connected with the police?"
Guilford shook his head. "There are some things I can't tell you, Mrs. DeBlanc."
"Then tell me this," she said. "Can you get me out of here?"
"I'm afraid not. You need to understand that this may be a long process."
"But I don't have any knowledge about drugs. If drugs were found in my house, then someone put them there."
"Who?"
She considered his question. It didn't surprise her that someone had planted falsely incriminating evidence in her house. It could have been Tony. It could have been Jerome, the night of the charity auction when he'd used Marc's study to talk with District Attorney Primeaux.
Jerome had set her up. It was just his good luck that not only had the police found the drug, they'd found her stash of money. Drugs plus money equaled guilty. She shuddered.
"I want to talk to Seth. Where is he?"
"You need to listen to me, Mrs. DeBlanc. Refusing to cooperate could get you locked up for a very long time."
The familial fear inside of her grew. She nodded. "I know."
"What about the money?"
She swallowed, wishing for the water the guard had promised her. "The money is mine. I was trying to save enough to get away."
Guilford sent her a questioning look.
"It's a long story."
The attorney smiled kindly. "I'm paid by the hour."
The thought of telling anyone about the Cajun mob, explaining how Jerome Senegal had ruled her life with threats and the intimidating presence of Tony Arsenault terrified her. But she couldn't see any other way to break free of the Cajun mob.
She needed to see Seth. The only times in her life she'd ever felt truly safe were with Seth. Nausea rose in the back of her throat. "Could you please find me some water?" she whispered, rubbing her temples. "And call Seth?"
Guilford stood. "Of course. I need to check in anyway. I'll be back in a few minutes and we can talk about what's going to happen next."
He left the room. Feeling light-headed, Adrienne pillowed her head in her arms. But that didn't help.
Acrid saliva filled her mouth. Desperately, she looked around for a trash can, but there wasn't one. She moaned and cupped her hands over her mouth. But since she hadn't eaten, all she did was heave. She coughed and wiped perspiration off her face, just as the guard entered the room bringing a paper cup filled with water.
"Oh, thank you," Adrienne said, sitting down again and sipping carefully. The water soothed her throat and eased the nausea.
The guard dug into her pocket and handed Adrienne a crumpled tissue. "You coming down with something?" she asked, peering closely at Adrienne's face.
Adrienne shook her head. "I never get sick. It must be all this." She made a vague gesture.
The other woman made a noncommittal sound. "You been feeling nauseated for a few days?"
Adrienne started to shake her head automatically, but paused. She'd felt queasy a couple of times before today. "I've been under a lot of stress lately."
The guard nodded sagely. "When was your last period?"
"My last—" Adrienne gasped as the woman's meaning sunk in.
"Honey, you sure you ain't pregnant?"<
br />
Seth paced while the lawyer gave Burke the high points of his conversation with Adrienne and her arraignment.
"She's wants to see Seth," Guilford said. "She won't tell me anything that we can take to court."
"She's scared," Seth said. "Let me see her. I'll convince her to talk to me."
Guilford shook his head. "Well, you'd better hurry. They're planning to move her to St. Gabriel to await trial. The mob almost certainly has contacts on the inside."
Seth hurried.
He was led into a room with a glass wall dividing a table and phones on either side. He'd barely sat down when a door on the other side of the wall opened and Adrienne came in.
She paused when she saw him, her dark blue eyes huge in her pale face. She looked thin and small in the ill-fitting orange jumpsuit. Her hair was pulled back with a rubber band. At least they didn't have her in shackles.
He swallowed hard against an unfamiliar tightening in his throat as the guard led her to the chair opposite him. She sat and the guard backed off a few steps.
Her lips moved, forming his name. Her expression begged him for reassurance.
He couldn't help it; he reached for her, knowing his hand would encounter the glass barrier. He splayed his fingers against the glass and picked up the phone.
For an instant, Adrienne didn't move. Then her eyes sparkled with tears and she put her small hand on the glass opposite his. A single tear spilled slowly down her cheek as she picked up the telephone handset.
"Hey, princess," Seth said. "Your mother is safe."
Her face nearly crumbled. More tears followed that first one. "Thank you," she murmured almost too low for him to hear.
"How're you doing?"
"I'm—okay." She lifted her chin.
He knew she wasn't okay. She looked small and frightened and sick. His fingers on the glass curled into a fist. If he could smash the barrier and swoop her up and away like some swashbuckling hero of legend, he would. But this wasn't a fairy tale and he wasn't a hero. He was just a man with a promise to keep.
"Adrienne, you've got to talk to the police. We can't get you out of here unless you can give us proof that someone set you up."
She took her hand off the glass and wiped her cheeks. "We? Seth, who do you work for? I'm so scared. I don't know who to trust."
"You can trust me. I'm working with the police. I swear to you, princess, with your help we're going to get Senegal."
Her knuckles whitened around the telephone receiver and her face grew even paler. She reached out toward the glass, then stopped herself.
"Hey, what's going on? Are you sick? You look like you're going to faint."
She licked her lips and Seth's gaze followed her tongue as his body tightened with familiar, aching desire. Even through glass, he thought wryly.
"Seth, there's something—" She paused.
His pulse sped up. "What is it? Give me something I can work with to get you out of here. You've got to tell what you know."
A shadow crossed her face, gone so quickly he wasn't sure if he'd imagined it. Then she nodded. "I had no idea that Cajun Perk was being used to distribute drugs."
"How did you end up as the owner?"
She looked at him and Seth saw her decision etched on her beautiful, wan face. She'd decided to trust him. He didn't know what had made the difference, but he was light-headed with relief.
"Tony. He brought me the papers and made me sign them."
"Arsenault?" The name lit a fire in Seth's chest. "Tell me."
"Since Marc died, Tony has handled my money." Her eyes never left his face and she squeezed the telephone receiver as if she were squeezing his hand. He could feel her fear and her courage through the phone line.
"He monitors every purchase. He tells me what investments to make. He came to my house with a folder and had me sign a stack of forms."
"Did you read them?"
She nodded. "I tried to, as much as I could. But Tony was in a hurry, and he can be persuasive."
Seth grimaced as he remembered the bruises on her arms.
"I know the franchise was Cajun Perk, and mine was the only name on the contract. Tony signed as witness, but not with his own name."
"Did you see what name he signed?"
"No, but it wasn't Arsenault. It was much shorter."
"Where are those papers?"
"In Marc's safe-deposit box. I have a key. It's in my jewelry box, on a silver chain. Tony has the other key."
This was exactly what they needed. Tony held the second key to Adrienne's safe-deposit box. And his fingerprints would be all over the box and the contract. "We just might be able to put Tony away and prove your innocence with this. How do I get into your house?"
"One of the rocks in the koi pool is fake. There's a house key inside it."
"Does Arsenault know that?"
She shook her head. "Nobody does. Jolie gave me the fake rock several years ago, after I locked myself out one day."
"Good. Now listen to me, princess. Guilford will come back and talk to you about your trial. Tell him what you told me. Make an official statement."
He touched the window again. "Adrienne, you may be taken to St. Gabriel."
"The women's prison?" Adrienne swayed. She grabbed the phone with both hands. "Can't you get me out of here?"
"As soon as I can. But in the meantime, you've got to be brave. I'll come back to see you soon, okay?"
She nodded hesitantly.
"Don't give up on me, princess. I've got a lot of things I want to show you."
"Seth? There's something else."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the guard glance at his watch and start toward Adrienne. "Hurry. The guard is coming." He put his mouth close to the phone.
"Seth, I—"
The guard touched her shoulder. She froze. He leaned over and said something to her. Reluctantly, she hung up the phone. As she stood the guard gripped her arm.
Don't hurt her! Seth wanted to rip the phone out of the wall, crash through the glass and take the guard down. But as much satisfaction as that would give him, he knew it wouldn't help Adrienne.
At the door, she twisted back to look at him. He kissed his fingers and touched the glass. His last glimpse of her was her white, frightened face and her hand reaching out toward him as if to catch his kiss.
Seth left the police station and drove directly to the Garden District. He parked around the corner from Adrienne's house and started off down the sidewalk as if he were out for an afternoon stroll. But he stayed alert and ready, in case he needed to reach for his weapon.
Adrienne's house was cordoned off with police tape. Seth jumped it and went around to the patio. He ran his hand over the rocks stacked in and around the koi pool, until he found one that wasn't a rock just under the surface of the water. It felt like fiberglass, and there was an almost invisible seam around the middle of it. He twisted it open, revealing a key.
Sure enough, the key fit the kitchen door. Quickly he slipped inside. The house was a mess. The police had turned everything upside down and left it that way.
Seth winced as he entered Adrienne's room. Her mattress was pulled off the bed, and all the bedclothes and curtains were piled in the middle of the floor. All her dresser drawers were overturned.
The floor was littered with dainty bits of colorful satin. They made him think of her lying atop him dressed only in lacy scraps of royal blue.
He wiped his face and looked around. Her jewelry box was half-open on the dresser. He remembered noticing how small it was. He'd figured most of her jewelry was locked up, because the little teak box couldn't have held more than a few items.
He was right. There wasn't much in it. An antique amethyst pin, the diamond tennis bracelet he'd seen her wear before, a few pairs of earrings and several gold and silver chains. He spotted the key and picked it up, untangling the silver chain attached to it. As he did, something colorful caught his eye. It was the worthless bead bracelet he'd given her at
T-Jean's Crawfish Shack.
Carefully, Seth picked up the little string of beads, sliding it over three fingers. He stared at it until his vision became hazy.
He'd never had a close relationship with a woman. He hadn't had time. As soon as he'd graduated from high school, he'd joined the army, and military life didn't encourage settling down.
Bull. Who was he kidding? He'd never had a relationship because he'd never wanted one. What if he ended up being like his father? What if the woman he fell in love with died, like his mother had? He'd never allowed himself to think about the future. Instead, he'd devoted himself to caring for his sisters.
No wonder he'd been so lost when the army had sent him home. He hadn't known what to do with himself.
He touched the beads with his thumb and smiled. It was the luckiest day of his life when Conrad Burke saw his accidental foiling of a bank robbery—had it only been a couple of months ago?
His princess had sure turned the tables on him. He'd planned on seducing her. Instead, she had captivated him with her beauty and sexiness and her vulnerability and courage.
He started to put the beads back into the box. Instead, feeling a little bit silly, he slid the elastic band over his left wrist and headed for the door.
Somehow, wearing the bracelet made him feel closer to her.
Seth entered the secret offices of New Orleans Confidential and turned the safe-deposit box key over to Burke, with the information Adrienne had given him about Cajun Perk. If they were lucky enough to lift a print from either the box or the contract, they could prove Arsenault's involvement with Cajun Perk and therefore with the drags. They still needed something concrete that linked Arsenault to the mob, though.
"How about I find Arsenault and tail him," Seth suggested. "He's up to his neck in all this. We just need to catch him in the act."
Burke didn't disagree. He studied Seth for a moment, then spoke. "Take Jones with you. If Arsenault is involved as deeply as you think, then maybe he can lead you to their lab. When we find out where they're refining the drug, then with any luck we can cement the case against Senegal, not to mention shut down the operation."
