A Marked Man

by Stella Cameron

  “I don’t think I could tell Roche and Max apart,” Joe said, stirring his coffee. “Except for their personalities. Roche seems so even-tempered.”

  “I pick him out because his hair’s curlier and he’s got a white scar through his right eyebrow. You can hardly see it,” Cyrus said. “He’s lookin’ a little irritable right now. And you know what they say—watch out for the quiet ones.”

  Kelly came in their direction. He passed without any sign of recognition, and stood, apparently waiting for the folks at the last table between Joe and Cyrus and the kitchens to leave. His brothers hung back.

  Cyrus felt badly for the party Kelly was encouraging to get lost, but interfering wouldn’t be a good idea.

  “Wow,” Joe said. “You’d think this was the only eatery in town.”

  From his vantage point Cyrus saw his housekeeper, Lil, bustle into the shop with Doll Hibbs behind her.

  “And here comes Lee O’Brien. I just bet you her recorder is runnin’. And she wouldn’t be here if she didn’t think she was goin’ to pick up somethin’ good—or juicy, I should say.” Cyrus frowned. “You know what I mean. It can’t be easy to fill a paper in a little town like Toussaint.”

  Lee, her blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, went straight to Roche and threaded both of her arms around one of his. “Mornin’,” she said, and from the way she gazed up into his face, Cyrus could tell they weren’t meeting for the first time. “I’m lookin’ forward to dinner. Don’t you be late now.” Lee tipped her chin up so far her ponytail hung straight down.

  Roche smiled at her and gave her ponytail a tug.

  “Well, well,” Joe said quietly. “They sure are broad-castin’ the news right here.”

  Chairs scraped and customers vacated the table Kelly had decided was his. He sat down before the last patron left her chair and Sidney ran out to gather up dirty dishes.

  Max left his twin’s side to join Kelly and did manage a nod when he saw Joe and Cyrus. Cyrus liked Max.

  “We should probably go,” Cyrus said. He didn’t relish the impossible task of trying not to listen to the Savage brothers.

  “Before you get your marzipan tarts?” Joe said. “You’d break Jilly’s heart. Sidney’s, too. And I’m workin’ my way toward some hush puppies.”

  “It’s too early for hush puppies.”

  “I’m an adventurous eater,” Joe said. He smiled with one side of his mouth. “It’s hot in here.”

  “Why do I get the feelin’ it could get hotter?”

  Joe made to turn the back of his chair to the wall but Cyrus shot out a hand and gripped his wrist. “Too obvious,” he said, and switched back to facing Joe.

  The three brothers got seated. Cyrus glanced over his shoulder to see Lee join Lil and Doll. “Is it just me or are you gettin’ any vibes that this town is all riled up?”

  “Trouble in the makin’,” Joe said. “I don’t like it.”

  Cyrus had never liked the combination of Lil and Doll. He liked it less with the addition of Lee O’Brien. Lil and Doll had that pinched-and-looking-for-trouble air.

  “It’s none of your damn business,” Max Savage said. He dropped his voice and although Cyrus could hear the rumble of his low register, he couldn’t make out any words.

  Just as well.

  “I’m glad we both came in,” Joe said. “I’m going to take it as an omen. Ellie and I have been tryin’ to decide if we should mention anythin’ to you—because we value your advice—or just keep quiet.”

  Cyrus smiled at Sidney who put his tarts on the table. He immediately chose one and took a bite that left only half of the pastry behind. If Joe and Ellie had to make up their minds whether or not to confide in him, Cyrus would rather not know.

  “We’re concerned about Annie Duhon.” Joe leaned way over the table. “When you brought her back the other night—or mornin’—she obviously felt safe with you and I heard you remind her to come back and talk to you. Did she do that?”

  “I wouldn’t tell you if she had. As you well know.”

  Joe gritted his teeth. “I’m stupid. I didn’t even think about that. Okay, Ellie and I really like her. I did some legal work for a friend of hers once. Someone who lived in Pointe Judah. Annie used to live there. That’s how I met Annie and I feel responsible for keepin’ a watch out for her because I helped her get the job at Pappy’s.”

  “They tell me she’s really good at it,” Cyrus remarked.

  “So I understand. But she’s on her own here and I don’t believe she’s happy. Cyrus, she was smilin’ all the time when she first came and for some time afterward, but now she’s tense. We can feel it. And I’ll tell you somethin’. You know how she said she thought Irene must have sneaked out of the door behind her that night?” Joe didn’t wait for a response. “It never happened that way because that animal won’t go outside. Ask Wazoo. She’ll tell you.”

  “You’re tryin’ to make me see somethin’, but I’m not gettin’ it.”

  “We think someone deliberately put Irene outside to make a point.”

  Cyrus finished the tart and wiped his mouth on a napkin. “I’m not followin’ you. What point?”

  “That they’d been inside Annie’s place while she was out.”

  “Was she robbed?”

  “If she was, she hasn’t mentioned it. Now that wouldn’t make a bit of sense, would it?”

  Kelly Savage’s voice rose just enough for Cyrus to hear him say, “Devol didn’t have the right to say that. He didn’t have the right to dig around, either. It’s a missing person case is all. There’s no reason to treat you like a criminal and keep you at that damn station most of a day.”

  “Keep it down,” Roche said. “He had to go back last night, too. I think Spike’s got him guilty and convicted. And you went again this morning early, didn’t you, Max?”

  “Since you already know everything,” Max said, “why should I repeat what you’ve said.”

  “I think it’s time we talked to Dad,” Kelly said.

  “Why?” Roche turned in his seat to look at Kelly. “Why do you always want to run to Dad?”

  “Why shouldn’t I?” Kelly said. “I respect his opinion and he is my father as well as yours.”

  Joe met Cyrus’s eyes.

  “Did Max or I ever suggest he wasn’t?” Roche said.

  “Stop it, you two,” Max said.

  “Dad won’t appreciate getting all this dropped on him with no warning,” Kelly said.

  Max glanced around and jutted his jaw. “I don’t run to my father with problems.”

  Kelly swore.

  “Calm down,” Roche said. “I agree with Kelly. I’ll talk to Mom and Dad. Kelly, you should let your mother know so she isn’t shocked if the press comes calling.”

  “Do what you like,” Max said but didn’t sound happy.

  “The search is on here—big-time,” Roche said. “We all know what’s going to happen eventually.”

  Max started to get up. “It doesn’t have to,” he snapped. He actually looked Cyrus in the face.

  “Sit down,” Kelly said. “You don’t get to have your own way all the time. You may be a great surgeon but that won’t cut any ice here.”

  “It’s a mistake to get involved with the locals,” Kelly continued and Cyrus smiled into his coffee at the man’s oblivious behavior. He had to know he could be overheard at least by anyone close enough who wanted to make an effort to listen. “Stay away from her, Max. We don’t need the complication.”

  “How do you know anything about it?” Max said.

  “Shit!” Kelly thumped the table. “Do you think we don’t know you’ve been having lunch with her for weeks? Nothing gets by the watchers around here. And while we’re on the subject—” He turned his attention to Roche. “—fucking the newspaper the whole town reads isn’t such a good idea, either.”

  “That’s enough,” Roche said and Cyrus heard how difficult it was for him to hold his temper. “Lee’s a nice woman. Fun. Bright. I enjoy her
company. You don’t know what our relationship is. And you don’t insult her. Got that?”

  Kelly muttered something.

  “The next negative thing you say about Annie will cost you,” Max said in a grating tone. “What is it with you? Fallen out with the latest…Forget it.”

  Kelly let it go. “I’ll be the one to contact Dad. He relies on me to keep a level head—and to keep him informed.”

  Cyrus was grateful that although the crowd had thinned considerably, there was still a lot of noise in the place. So Wazoo hadn’t been pulling information from the air when she talked about Annie being involved with Max Savage. She was probably right about most things she’d suggested.

  He wondered why the Savages sounded angry rather than upset over the recent disappearance.

  “Some people go missin’ and never show up again,” Joe said, as if tuning into Cyrus’s thoughts. “No body, no case—unless some really convincin’ forensics come into play.”

  “I know,” Cyrus said. “It happens too often. Means someone gets away with murder.”

  “That, it does.” Joe flinched and set his teeth together. The shop door had opened hard enough to swing back and rattle its glass.

  Things quieted down immediately.

  Cyrus swivelled to see the door. A craggy-faced man built like a short wrestler walked in. He wore a black polo shirt with short sleeves that showed off massive arms, and his thighs strained at the seams of his jeans.

  The door started to swing shut but he gave it another punch with a fist as big as a ham, reproducing the nerve-severing noise he’d managed the first time.

  “Good God,” Roche Savage said. “What’s Tom Walen doing here?”

  “If you can’t figure that out, I can’t help you,” Max responded. “I’m the one he’s looking for. I’ll get him outside.”

  “You won’t get him anywhere he doesn’t want to go,” Kelly said.

  The man stared around but Cyrus got the impression that anger was knocking everything out of focus for him.

  “Good mornin’,” Jilly said.

  Joe tensed, obviously ready to defend his sister.

  “I want Savage,” the man said. “Max Savage. I just got into town. The guy at the hotel said I might find him here.”

  “He was right,” Max said, raising an arm. “Over here, Tom.”

  Blood flooded the newcomer’s shiny face. “I’m not here for a tea party, Savage. I shouldn’t have let her come but she wouldn’t change her mind. She never had a bad thought about anyone. I’ll kill you for this.”

  Several small shrieks sounded before utter silence fell once more.

  “Outside,” Max said, edging behind Roche’s chair. “No point in upsetting everyone.”

  “Sit down!” Kelly yelled at his brother. “I’m calling the cops.”

  “That’s appropriate,” the man, Tom, said. “We’re gonna need ’em. Why aren’t you in custody, Max? You got away with two murders, but you won’t get away with a third.”

  “Let’s talk about this outside,” Max said, shrugging off Roche’s restraining hand and heading toward the newcomer. “Come on, Tom. We need to help each other out in this, not argue.”

  “My fiancée came to this town to see you and she’s disappeared and you were the last one to see her alive,” Tom said. “Why would I want to talk to you anyway?”

  “I didn’t ask you here,” Max said. “You came looking for me. You’ve changed your mind about wanting to see me, fine. Goodbye. Michele will be back and when she is I hope you’ll still work for us at Green Veil. We’re counting on you.”

  Without warning, Tom landed a punch on Max’s jaw and knocked him off balance. “Counting on us? You freak. I tried to stop Michele from coming here, but she’s so trusting. She always wants to believe people are good. She’s bought all the crap about you being framed before.”

  Max had caught himself against a pillar. “You don’t have to tell me the obvious,” he said. “Why do you think we want her with us here? She’s the best. And we don’t only want you because you’re a couple.” His jaw stung but he wouldn’t let himself touch it.

  Tom Walen raised his arm to strike again but Max was quicker. He blocked the other man’s wrist and pushed him off. Walen didn’t even stumble.

  “Back off,” Max heard Kelly say. “Max, get away from him. Watch your hands.”

  For God’s sake, his reputation and his life from here out were on the line and Kelly fussed about scraped knuckles.

  Tom lowered his head and charged Max.

  “Time to call Spike,” Joe muttered. “If we all get into it we’ll wreck the joint and hurt people.”

  Just as Tom would have head-butted Max in the sternum, Max stepped neatly aside, took Tom’s neck in an armlock and swung him around. Chaos followed. Tom’s feet slid out from beneath him and he fell, spinning as he went and cutting a path through the few gawking customers remaining at the counter.

  Joe Gable stood up, phone in hand, but slowly put it on the table. Max followed the direction of the other man’s gaze and found him looking at his sister, Jilly, who shook her head vehemently. The lady didn’t want the law to descend with sirens blaring.

  Tom, halfway to his feet, looked up at Max.

  “Stop now,” he told the man. “Outside.”

  Blood drizzled from Tom’s nose but the heat remained in his eyes. Hunched, he spread his arms, fingers cupped but open, and lined up on Max again.

  “Leave it.” Roche shot from the table and tried to muscle past Max. The two scuffled for a second or two before Roche threw himself around his brother and launched himself at Tom.

  “Shit, stay out of it,” Max said through his teeth when Tom body-slammed Roche on the hard floor. Max pulled him aside and kept on moving, shoulders curled, legs braced, and dropped below Tom’s center of balance. Hauling the man off his feet and carrying him, fireman’s lift style, he staggered toward the front of the shop. Zeb Delacour hopped to the rescue, opened the door and stood out of the way to allow the two men to explode onto the sidewalk.

  “Lookit, will ya?” a man yelled. “Neat as you please. I don’t want that Max Savage rearranging my nose, no, sir.”

  A few muffled giggles ensued.

  Max landed on the sidewalk on top of Tom Walen and made sure he kept the squirming, heaving man where he was.

  Vaguely, Max saw men’s legs gather around him. His brothers and one or two others. At the same moment, a cruiser screeched to a tire-scraping halt at the curb and Spike called out, “Don’t move. Keep your hands where I can see ’em and stay where you are.”

  “As if we didn’t have enough trouble,” Kelly said.

  “The guy attacked Max,” Roche said. “He came piling into the shop looking for a fight and making accusations.”

  “We’ll take it from here,” Spike said.

  Max said, “Can I get up, please?”

  “No,” Spike told him. “We’ll sort you out, then you can get up. And then the pair of you can come to the station for a chat. Another chat.”

  A deputy joined Spike and they both knelt over Max and Tom.

  “Jeez,” Joe said. “Are you arresting these men?”

  “I should think so.” Doll Hibbs interrupted. “Me, if I had a say, I’d put ’em in a cell and beat the truth out of them. That one—” she pointed to Tom “—said things about the doctor. You better find out about all that.”

  “Back inside, please, Mrs. Hibbs.” Guy Gautreaux arrived, skidding from the entrance to his office. He met Max’s eyes and gave a slight shake of the head. “Go now, Doll.”

  “We’re not deaf, y’know,” Doll hollered. “That poor man’s engaged to that poor murdered woman. And he thinks Dr. Savage had something to do with it. And so do I.”

  CHAPTER 14

  Cyrus remained in his chair toward the back of All Tarted Up. His thoughts confused him.

  Most of the patrons had slid out of the door and gone but Lil, Doll and Lee scurried back inside and stood close to th
e window where they had the best view of the chaos outside.

  Guy, working like the professional big-city cop he was, moved economically to help Spike get Max and Tom on their feet and check for weapons. Tom Walen had a pistol hidden in a leg holster.

  The women at the window sucked in loud breaths. “He coulda shot any of us,” Lil said.

  Here he sat, Cyrus thought, quiet and immobile, scarcely breathing and so quiet inside he felt hollow. Why hadn’t he gone with the other men as he would have in the past, he wondered. Had he lost all the fire he used to have?

  Max was the last to see Michele. As a concept, it sounded damning. But who was he to judge? He knew nothing.

  While male voices rose outside, Cyrus looked at his hands, front and back. The voices seemed very distant. He didn’t have soft hands, not priestly hands, but those of a gardener and handyman who happened to be a man of God.

  The old shadow darkened him inside. Feelings, a man’s feelings, battled with what he had chosen to become. He touched his forehead and felt sweat. This struggle was an old familiar. Eventually he would give in to it—the sooner, the better. The more easily he embraced his conviction that his personal choices were the right ones, the stronger he would become.

  “He’s another one.”

  Cyrus heard Lil but didn’t concentrate.

  “Oh, hush,” Doll said. “You shouldn’t say it.”

  “I will say it. Me, I’m glad Homer got his eyes opened. He needed takin’ down a few steps. All puffed up like a broody hen just because he’s engaged to that silly old Charlotte Patin who ought to know better at her age.”

  Cyrus heard that and took in the scene in time to see Lee O’Brien pushing a recording device back into the pocket of her skirt.

  “If Charlotte had given you that job you wanted at Rosebank, butter wouldn’t melt in your mouth, Lil Dupre,” Doll said. “You’d be as sweet as pie to her face and behind her back, too.”

  Lil raised her chin and her tidily lined-up bleached curls bobbed a little. “She was afraid I’d be too good in that kitchen,” she said. “That woman prides herself on runnin’ everythin’ and she plain isn’t ready to give up control. There. That’s all of it. She gets what she wants, and she didn’t want me. But she bought that old goat, Homer, just like Vivian bought Spike. Those Devol men got no pride.”