Sweet Mystery

by Emery, Lynn

  “Tante Ina, I wish I’d never come here. Wish I’d never heard of Simon St. Cyr.” Rae put her head on her shoulder and let the tears fall for the first time.

  “I know, I know,” Tante Ina said in a soft voice just above a whisper. “Come on and sit down. You gonna stay here with me for a while.” She held Rae in a maternal embrace and let her pour out the grief.

  *

  “You fools!” Marius paced back and forth across the concrete floor of the old garage. “I told you to make sure it looked like Rae Dalcour did it. Now they’re saying it could have been accidental.”

  Scruffy beard scratched his face. “Look, you wanted the place to burn. We done that. Ain’t I right, Sly-Man?” He glanced at his partner.

  “Yeah, Tyrone is right. We earned our money.” Sly-Man grinned at Marius. “Time to pay up.”

  “The job isn’t finished until they accuse Rae of arson,” Marius snapped. “Now what are you going to do about that?”

  Sly-Man’s grin never faltered as he advanced on Marius. “Looka here, one way or the other, we gettin’ our money today.”

  “I don’t think so,” Marius said in a tight voice.

  “Oh yeah? What’s it gonna be, slick?” Sly-Man held up both hands and took a menacing step forward.

  Marius pulled out a small, automatic pistol from inside his suit jacket. “I’ll tell you what it’s gonna be.” He mocked Sly-Man’s uneducated speech. “You two have half of what I agreed to pay, which is a helluva lot more than you’re worth, by the way. You were paid to make the evidence lead to Rae Dalcour. Finish the job or they’ll be digging up your bones on my family’s property years from now.”

  “Aw man, you mean that dude they just found…” Tyrone’s eyes grew even bigger as he stared at the gun. “D-damn!”

  “Say, looka here, ain’t no need to be gettin’ all hostile and stuff.” Sly-Man stood frozen in place, careful not to move in any way that might make Marius feel threatened.

  “Uh-huh. Don’t mess with me, all right?” Marius looked like he knew exactly how to use the gun and would not hesitate to do so. “We’ve worked well together before, but I expect results.”

  “Yeah, sure, man. We know.” Tyrone seemed eager to please.

  “We can’t go back over there now!” Sly-Man protested. “Between the sheriff’s deputies and the firemen, there’s always somebody hangin’ round there.”

  “He got a point, man,” Tyrone agreed.

  Marius gave a short grunt. “You’re the so-called professional crooks. You figure it out.”

  Sly-Man shrugged. “What do you care anyway? She’s havin’ money trouble. Insurance man givin’ her the runaround. I can tell ya, they’ll tie up payin’ so long, she’ll be broke.”

  Tyrone’s head bobbed up and down. “That’s true, too.”

  Marius was unconvinced. “They’ll have to pay if there’s no real proof she did it.”

  “And by then it’ll be too late. I’m tellin’ you, they ain’t payin’ nothin’ as long as their investigators ain’t satisfied. They gonna hold out long as they can.” Sly-Man did not look nervous now. He watched Marius digest his words.

  “Maybe, but I need some insurance myself.” Frowning, Marius stared past the two men. “If I can get that property, the old man will give me control.”

  Sly-Man stole a quick sideways glance at Tyrone. “Hey, Rone, didn’t we hear somethin’ ‘bout her leavin’ town?”

  “Huh?” Tyrone looked dumbfounded. He blinked at his partner. When Sly-Man nodded at him, he perked up. “Oh, yeah, right. Sure did.”

  “Man, you could be gettin’ that property sooner than you think,” Sly-Man said in an ingratiating voice. “You sure did plan this one right.”

  “On target, that’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout.” Tyrone was now into the game. He watched his partner for a cue.

  “She ain’t for hangin’ round here no more is the talk. Ain’t that what you told me, Rone?” Sly-Man moved closer to Marius.

  Marius stared out a grimy window behind the two men, deep in thought. “Grandfather won’t forgive or forget the way Darcy ignored his wishes. I’ll make a bundle with my own deal with one of those companies.”

  “Sounds like you all ready movin’ ahead. You smart,” Sly-Man said.

  Tyrone looked at Sly-Man and then fell to the floor. Marius turned fast to point the gun at him, but Sly-Man dealt a sharp kick to his arm. The gun flew from his hand and clattered across the concrete. Tyrone bounced up and punched Marius in the stomach three times in quick succession until he bent over double, groaning in pain.

  Sly-Man leaned against the rusty shell of an old, yellow Ford Fairlane. He waved the gun in his hand. “Now, I think we can talk better. Don’t you?”

  Marius spluttered for few moments. “I ought to–”

  “Looka here, I’m gonna be reasonable ‘bout all this. Maybe we can do somethin’ to tighten up this job.” Sly-Man lifted a shoulder.

  “Say what, Sly-Man?” Tyrone shook his head with vigor.

  Sly-Man motioned for him to keep quiet. He wore a predatory smile. “Hold up now. I got me an idea how to do it, so we don’t have to stick our necks out. Course we need some more of what they call incentive.”

  Marius was still on his knees, but he didn’t look the least bit intimidated. “No more money. Remember, I know where you boys live. You’re going to jail next week if you don’t pay up six thousand dollars of back child support.” He pointed at Tyrone.

  The man looked outraged. “How you know ‘bout that? Gettin’ all up in my business!”

  “And Sly-Man, Pookie DeLarousse won’t be happy when he finds out you’ve been making a profit at his expense. He’s not the forgiving type. Anything happens to me, he gets a phone call.” Though he was still in obvious pain, Marius smiled at the look of fear in Sly-man’s eyes.

  “What you gonna do, man?” Sly-Man licked his thick, dry lips.

  Marius stood up slowly with a wince. “I’m going to forget this little incident in the spirit of goodwill.” He reached out his hand and waited.

  Sly-Man gave him the gun. “Especially since we can bust your ass about several jobs in the last four years, including the one over in Morgan City.”

  “Only if you fellas live to tell the tale. Remember Pookie?” Marius tapped his temple with a forefinger. He chuckled. “Now that we’ve established that it’s my world, tell me this idea you have.”

  Chapter 17

  “Rae, I gotta tell ya…” LaMar sank down into one of the chairs on her front porch. “I just don’t think we’re going to find out exactly what happened to your grandfather. It’s been too many years.”

  “Nothing, huh?” Rae put down the tray containing glass mugs of root beer. “That’s my luck these days. Seems everything I do comes to nothing.” The stab of pain she felt had more to do with Simon than her grandfather or the dance hall. She pushed thoughts of him away.

  “If they went to Trinidad then I can’t find them. They could have gone anywhere in the Caribbean, east or west. Not to mention all of South America.” LaMar took a deep gulp of his cold soft drink.

  Rae sat down in the chair next to him. “Well, thanks for giving it your best effort.”

  “I’ve got one more lead that could–”

  “Forget it, LaMar. It doesn’t matter,” Rae broke in. “I’ve got enough dealing with the present, much less digging into the past.” She stared off at the bright green foliage that lined the rural highway.

  “Yeah, running a business can get hectic.” LaMar took another sip of soda.

  “Especially when it’s been torched and the sheriff thinks you did it,” Rae said with more than a trace of bitterness.

  LaMar’s dark eyebrows went up. “What? Tell me the details.”

  Rae was reluctant, but, at his urging, she described the events that had taken place since their last meeting. LaMar interrupted her several times to ask questions. He wanted to know all the details of how she’d opened the dance hall, the offers t
o buy the family land and her relationship with the locals.

  “So, that’s about it.” Rae rubbed her eyes. “It’s just as well you’re ending the search. I’m just about broke.”

  “Not to worry. You paid me for at least two more weeks.” LaMar was silent for several seconds. “I’ve got an idea. Let me look into the fire.”

  “What?” Rae looked up at him.

  “I could keep investigating what happened to Vincent, but finding out anything more is a long shot. You’ve got a more immediate problem. I’m paid for, so why not?” LaMar rubbed his hands together. He was all ready processing what he’d been told about the fire.

  “But, well…” Rae wondered truthfully if she should just get the money refunded. She might need it soon in the worst way. “The arson investigators are looking into it now.”

  “If they find evidence that seems to point to you, they’re not likely to look much further.” LaMar wore a slight frown. “And it sounds like there are several people who might definitely profit from the failure of your business.”

  Rae shrugged. “I didn’t feel a lot of pressure to sell.”

  “Maybe they had a plan B.” LaMar sat with his elbows on both knees, looking straight ahead. “It’s possible.”

  “Yeah, possible…”

  LaMar cleared his throat. “More than one person is interested in buying your land, right? Simon St. Cyr approached you first.”

  LaMar seemed to be suggesting that Simon’s main interest was to get his hands on Dalcour property. Could he have been using her all along? Rae did not want to believe that she’d been so gullible. Had her vanity blinded her? Had they played on her desire to get back at Toya? It seemed entirely possible that Simon, Toya and Darcy had coldly calculated how to use her need for revenge. What an idiot she had been! All her life, she’d known that upper-class Creoles were notorious for sticking together.

  “Until this moment I hadn’t seen the obvious.” Rae felt numb. This new pain was too much for her senses, but there were no more tears. “Simon showed up the night someone spray-painted the dance hall. I should have been suspicious when he didn’t bat an eyelid after I wouldn’t sell him our land.”

  LaMar watched her face for several moments. “Is there something more you need to tell me? This seems to have hit you pretty hard.”

  Rae steadied herself. “Simon St. Cyr and I… We were… seeing each other,” she said in a strained voice.

  “Damn! Look, I’m sorry. I could be off base here.” LaMar’s expression said otherwise.

  “Or you could be on target. I let my ego and a little down home charm from a good-looking man fool me.” Rae thought of how Simon had rushed back to the Joves after Mr. Henry’s stroke. “The ties that bind…” Rae barked out a laugh that was more contemptuous of herself than Simon.

  “Tell me what you want me to do.” LaMar waited with no sign of impatience or intent to sway her decision.

  “I’m not going out like that,” Rae said. She looked at LaMar with a hard expression. “Nobody is going to force me out of Belle Rose. We’ll look into the fire.”

  “Good deal.” LaMar started making notes at a furious pace.

  “If it was arson, I’m going to grind the bastard responsible into the dirt, whoever he is.” Rae blocked out all feelings, except the need for retaliation.

  For another hour, LaMar questioned her in depth about everything that had happened since her arrival in Belle Rose for her father’s funeral. The more she talked, the more certain she became.

  “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 ha
ve 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.