by Polly Iyer
“Besides,” Lucier continued, “Compton lassoed you as soon as you got through the door.”
“I think they followed a divide and conquer agenda.”
“They won’t the next time. When you’re not reading one of them, I’ll be right by your side.”
* * * * *
Getting through to Dione Compton was like tracking down the President of the United States on his Blackberry. Lucier convinced the operator at Compton International that he was an old friend from Tulane in town for the day and wanted to surprise Dione. She took the call.
“Very sneaky, Lieutenant.” Dione said when Lucier identified himself.
“Sorry, I didn’t think it was a good idea to leave my name.”
“That depends. What can I do for you?”
“I’d like to talk to you about your sister.”
A beat of silence. “Maia is in the Middle East taking care of a problem for the company.”
“I don’t believe she is, and I don’t believe you think so either.”
“I really have to go, Lieutenant. I shouldn’t be talking to you. If you think Maia is in trouble you need to speak to my father.”
“You know that’s exactly who I shouldn’t speak to, Ms. Compton. Maia’s life could be in danger.”
A longer silence. Lucier thought she hung up.
“Café du Monde, nine-thirty tomorrow morning.”
The line went dead.
* * * * *
Lucier strolled through Jackson Square, teeming with tourists even at the early hour. He arrived at the Café du Monde before the arranged time, took a chair outside, and ordered coffee and a beignet. After dusting off some of the powdered sugar and sinking his teeth into the doughy confection, he spotted Dione Compton striding toward the café. She was a little shorter than her sister and possessed the same good looks―long blonde hair, lovely figure. The man following her never let his eyes wander from his prey. Lucier tossed a bill on the table, sprang up, and headed in her direction to ward off any obviously planned contact.
He spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. “Why, Ms. Compton, how nice to see you again.” Without changing expression, he said sotto voce, “You’re being followed. Say hello and go inside the restaurant as if nothing unusual happened. Don’t turn around. I’ll be in touch.”
“Nice to see you, too, Lieutenant…Lucier, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” He tipped his head. “Time to go to work. Bye now.”
“Goodbye,” Dione said, and went inside without missing a beat.
Lucier clicked a mental photo of Dione Compton’s shadow. Six feet, thinning hair, average looks, medium build, off-the-rack suit―nothing to set him apart from hundreds of others. Unfortunately, there was nothing average looking about Lucier. His mixed-blood skin, hazel eyes, and light brown hair left an image easily remembered. The Shadow returned the same scrutiny as he passed.
Damn. The last thing he wanted was to get Dione Compton in trouble. Best to go on the offense. When he got back to the station, he called Silas Compton.
Lucier’s name must have been on a list of acceptable callers because the operator transferred him to Compton’s private line.
“Lieutenant, what can I do for you?” Compton said.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay with me accompanying Diana to your house for the reading. Between you and me, she’s been a bit clingy since her nightmarish experience. I’m sure you understand.”
Compton let his prolonged silence answer. No, he didn’t understand. More specifically, he didn’t like someone trapping him, but he wouldn’t say so.
“Of course,” Compton said, “although I can’t imagine why she’d be uptight around us. Actually, I assumed you’d be with her. Since each reading will be private, you’ll have plenty of company. If the men bore you, Selene will see you’re entertained.”
I’ll bet. “Great. Thanks. Is Edward Slater coming?”
“I invited him, but he declined. Even though Edward’s interests are eclectic, he’d never let himself be exposed in that way. He keeps his life pretty close to his vest.”
Lucier presumed that Compton executed a complete background check on Brother Osiris before he parted with his money.
“Oh, by the way, I bumped into your daughter this morning at Café du Monde. You have two beautiful daughters, Mr. Compton. You must be pleased with their accomplishments. I’m sure you rely on them.”
“I do. They’re exceptional young women. I’m proud of them.”
“Any idea when Maia will return?”
“She’s still in negotiations. Maia hasn’t taken a vacation in a couple of years and mentioned traveling a little after she settles our business. She may be gone for a few months. Dione will take care of her duties.”
“I see,” Lucier said. “I never asked, and if I’m out of line, just say so, but I don’t recall you and Mrs. Compton mentioning children. Do you have any together?”
Compton’s voice lowered. “My wife miscarried a few times. We decided not to pursue trying further due to the risk on her health. It’s our greatest regret. Any children of Selene’s would be quite special.”
“I’m sure. She’s a beautiful woman.”
“And an incurable flirt. I hope you didn’t take her attention too seriously.”
“I was flattered, but Diana is enough for me to handle.”
Compton laughed. “We both have strong partners, Ernie, but doesn’t that make life more interesting?”
“Most definitely.”
“Until the fifteenth, you take care of yourself.”
“In my business that’s the best anyone can hope for. See you on the fifteenth, Silas.”
He did it again, called Compton by his first name. It was as if a little gremlin inside his head took over, and he couldn’t help himself. The man was as slick as black ice.
Now if he could only secure a meeting with Dione Compton without her father’s tail.
* * * * *
“Let the two boys go, Sam,” Lucier said. “We’ve kept them here too long. They don’t want to leave. Why should they? Three squares and a bed. We can charge them with unlawful entry, but they’re the only ones claiming they entered Compton’s house unlawfully. Even the guard who supposedly pulled a gun had no idea what I was talking about when I questioned him.”
Lucier made a sound that crossed a whistle with a sigh. “Without Maia Compton we can’t get them for anything more.”
“Betcha even if she was here, she’d say she never saw them before,” Beecher said. “It was a sting gone bad, and these two con artists were the dupes.”
“Right, and if I pursue the matter further, I’d be calling Compton a liar. He said Maia left two days before this happened, and I have no doubt he could prove it. I hate to think money can buy anything, but that’s the way it is, isn’t it? The rich get away with murder.”
“Kidnapping babies, too,” Beecher said.”
Lucier hated to agree. If Compton hosted a satanic gathering, it was over twenty seconds after those two so-called art thieves fled the scene. “As abhorrent as the idea of a satanic ritual is, it’s not illegal. We need to connect Compton and his group with the kidnappings. The key is Dione.”
Lucier tried to get through to her again, using the old school chum front, but Ms. Compton wasn’t taking any calls today from anyone, her secretary said. Sorry. He hung up the phone feeling trapped.
The fifteenth was a few days away. Whatever they had planned for Diana and him, he’d better be one step ahead.
Chapter Thirty -Three
A Tearful Reunion
Maia clutched the three children in her arms while Seth watched. In less than six months they had grown and changed.
“They’re more beautiful than I remembered.” Phillip, named for his grandfather, held back, reserved. Why wouldn’t he? He hardly knew her. A few times a year for a couple of days was a second in time to a ten-year old. He was a clone of his father―tall for his age, with eyes as black as onyx,
olive skin and black hair. She spoke to him, but he answered in one-syllable words. When she pulled him close, he resisted.
“Have you forgotten me already?” she asked.
He looked toward his father, as if asking permission to speak. “No,” he said softly.
“You’re not afraid of me, are you?”
Again, a furtive glance at Seth. “No.”
That’s all she could get from him. He backed away, but he didn’t go to Seth either. He stood as if disconnected from all the others. It wasn’t shyness but something else. Something she couldn’t put her finger on. Her heart broke.
Iris responded more effusively. At six, she was a heartbreaker, with slightly lighter coloring, blonde hair, and eyes that matched her name―a combination to make hearts flutter. She was all girl, and Maia could see the indoctrination in full nurture. She played her father like a woman, batting her long lashes and cajoling to get what she wanted. Oh, yes, Iris was the perfect little temptress.
Three-year old Leo—a mixture of both parents, had the blackest hair and bluest eyes and Maia’s pale skin. She named him Leo because he fought with the strength of a lion to be born, in spite of her fighting against his conception. Unlike the others, he clung to her fiercely, and she held him, caressing his soft velvet skin, breathing in his little boy scent.
Maia’s eyes filled with tears from the emotional response, which convinced her even more that the stolen babies must be returned to their birth parents.
A beautiful young girl around the age of twelve came into the room and beckoned the children to follow for their lunch. Maia knew she was the granddaughter of Martin Easley. The rule was never before sixteen, so this adolescent, already showing the buds of puberty, would enjoy a few years of innocence before she was with a child of her own. Still too young, unless, in desperation, the rules had changed. Maia had been nineteen, Dione eighteen before they gave birth the first time. Brigid and Nona were younger. She clung to Leo as long as she could before he was tugged away. Tears now fell without shame as she crouched empty-armed.
She needed her children to be part of her life.
Seth came up behind her, lifted her, and pulled her close, cupping her breasts. He spoke, breath hot in her ear. “Seeing you with the children convinced me you belong here, with them and with me. Can’t you see how right it is?”
She literally fell back into his arms, weak with despair. Everything here was so far from right. Why had she never seen it before?
Seth turned her around into his arms. She felt safe with his strength wrapped around her. How could she find comfort with him? But she did. She always had. He pressed against her, and the ache of need overwhelmed her. She tightened her hold.
“I want you so much, Maia. Just breathing you in fills my senses.” His lips covered hers.
She parted them to let his tongue touch hers at the same time he unbuttoned her blouse and reached around back to unsnap her bra. As much as she wanted to fight against him, she couldn’t ignore the sparks his caress ignited. Gently, his fingers grazed her body. Desire filled her. This was what she was groomed for, willingly or not, wasn’t it? she asked herself as he led her to her room, to her bed. She was a fertility goddess in his hold, without choice, without will.
“You’re still the most beautiful.” He undressed her as if she were made of fine porcelain, removing each article of clothing with tenderness, stroking her skin. Free from her restrictions, her training took over, and she caressed herself because she knew it made him want her more. He shed his clothes in the golden light, his dark skin glistening, a man whose confidence rippled in his lean, muscular body. His erection pressed hard against her thigh as he lay down beside her.
From the beginning, Seth’s control amazed her. She’d never been with another and could make no comparisons, but her sister spoke of other men’s eagerness. Seth always took his time, pleasuring her first before satisfying himself. He fulfilled his training, too, for men were taught to give as much as they received, lest a woman wouldn’t respond.
He kissed her neck and bit the lobe of her ear. “I’m sorry about the last time, Maia. At risk of sounding like a wartime underling, I was only following orders. I hated taking you and fought against the deception, but it was your fertile time. Will you forgive me?”
“I’ll never forgive you for not standing your ground, Seth. It was beneath you.”
“I know now. Forcing you changed me forever. Please believe me.”
“I believe you because it makes no sense for you to lie. You have me in bed, where you want me.”
“Let’s put the past behind us. This is another time. I love you, Maia. I always have.”
She flung her leg around his middle, moving into his power. “Make love to me, Seth.”
Yes, she loved him, but she would never bear him another child. She’d made sure of that.
Chapter Thirty- Four
An Unthinkable Conclusion
As much as Lucier tried to concentrate on his work, all he could think of was Diana. The desk phone’s ring brought him back to the present, to his office and the ongoing cases strewn across his desk.
“I’m calling from my cell phone, Lieutenant,” Dione Compton said. “I don’t believe my father fell for your story of running into me at Café du Monde because I’m still being watched.”
“Can you lose your tail?” Lucier asked.
“Not without raising suspicion. Ever since Maia pulled that stunt on July Fourth, I’ve been chauffeur-driven. My father is treating me like a child and I don’t like it. Not at my age.”
Did she realize she just verified the break-in? Forget it, Ernie. She’d deny she said it. “Is only one person following you?”
“I think so. He’s the same man you saw the other morning. Do you think any harm has come to Maia?”
“You know your family better than I. What do you think?”
“She’s not on a business trip. She would have told me.”
“Any idea where she is?”
Dione hesitated. “Um, yes…and no.”
“What does that mean? You either know or you don’t.”
“It’s more complicated. I’ll have to think about this. If my father finds out I’ve talked to you, I’ll be sent away too.”
“Sent away where?” Lucier persisted. She didn’t answer. “What they’re doing is wrong, Ms. Compton. Practicing the occult is one thing; kidnapping babies is something else entirely.”
“Oh, God.”
“Ms. Compton?” He waited.
“I knew nothing about the babies. They’ve been suspicious of Maia for some time, and because we’re close, they’ve excluded us from their plans. Now, because of what she did, they’re circling me like buzzards over road kill.”
“Your father is looking at a long prison sentence. So is everyone else involved.”
A long silence hung in the air before Dione Compton spoke. “My father isn’t in charge.”
“Then who? Your stepmother?”
“I’ve said too much already. Give me time to think. I will tell you this. Something is in the wind. Watch out for Ms. Racine.”
Lucier’s nerve endings went on full alert. “What? What are they going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can you find out?”
“I’ll try, but I doubt I’ll be privy to the information. They don’t trust me now. That’s evident by my bloodhound.”
“If you feel you’re in danger, I’ll pick you up and put you in protective custody.”
“Not yet, Lieutenant. Let me see what I can find out. I’ll get back in touch.”
“Ms. Compton.”
“Yes?”
“I’m going to give you my private number. Memorize it and then empty the numbers in your cell.”
He did, and she clicked off.
* * * * *
“Don’t leave the house, Diana,” Lucier said when he called. “You’re on Compton’s agenda, but Dione doesn’t know what the agenda is.”
“We’ll find out in a few days, won’t we?”
“I’ll be over after work.”
“I’m trying out a new recipe. Pork chops, apples and sweet potatoes.”
“Sounds, um, interesting. Like I’ve always said, home cooking is better than a frozen dinner.”
Diana hung up the phone and went back to the kitchen. Except for a couple of minor tiffs, she and Lucier fit together like two pieces of the same puzzle. She loved having him around, loved their intimate moments.
The only drawback was whether she’d transferred from one over-protective man to another. From the shelter of her parents to the safety of Lucier. She’d never experienced true independence. Love came along and she’d have been foolish to cast it off for…for what? Being alone? Is that what independence was? Why would she? She’d done everything she wanted. Traveled the world, experienced things few women, single or partnered, had the opportunity to experience. What more was there?
She laughed out loud when she faced the two sweet potatoes on the cutting board. Learning to cook, that’s what. Number one on her personal list of things to do. Hopefully, she wouldn’t poison her lover in the process. She picked up the peeler and attacked the rough skin of the sweet potato with single-minded determination.
Hmm, the doorbell. I’m not expecting anyone. She wiped her hands on the towel and fingered open the window blind. Her heart rate accelerated. She opened the door.
Edward Slater held out a small bouquet of flowers. “Peace offering?”
Chapter Thirty- Five
A Little Background Music
Lingering over coffee at the dinner table that evening, Diana noticed Lucier’s distraction. Something was on his mind he seemed unwilling to share. She didn’t prod. He’d get to it eventually. When he read the fax Jason sent with the information about the group’s backgrounds, he did.
