by Robin Caroll
“Grandmere!”
“It’s a fact, cher. He never dated the same woman more than a couple of times.”
“He never wanted to marry and have a family of his own?”
“That’s not for me to say.”
That’s right. He had a crush on her grandmother. CoCo shivered.
“Cooling off?”
“Yeah.” She stood and pushed the chair under the table, quieter this time. “I think I’m going to run out to the bayou for a while.”
“Uh-oh.” Grandmere struggled to her feet.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Whenever you run to your boat and go playing in the bayou, that means something’s stuck in your craw.” She laid a gnarled hand on CoCo’s shoulder. “I’m here if you want to talk about it later, ma chère.”
“Merci. I appreciate it.” She cast a smile at her grandmother before slipping back out the kitchen door.
Murder, confederate coins, strange relationships…and Luc. So many things occupied her thoughts, yet led to nothing but more questions. She chewed her lip and kept walking.
CoCo rounded the house, making a beeline to her airboat. A squeal of brakes brought her up short. She shielded her eyes with her hand, then her stomach and heart collided.
Luc.
Anger temporarily forgotten, she marveled that he’d come after her. To…wait, what was he here for? Her temper returned as she made quick strides to face him as soon as he stepped on the ground. “What’re you doing here?”
“I came to apologize. I had no right to jump to the wrong conclusion and try to demand something from you.”
His tone and words were so sincere… No, he had to be doing all this to find out what she’d kept secret. “Merci for coming all this way to tell me that.” She deliberately set her chin.
“CoCo…”
Now his voice took on the deep baritone which once made her heart flutter. Once? Who was she kidding? His voice still had that effect on her. She lifted her gaze to meet his stare. Mistake. Big mistake. The depth of his feelings flickered in those hazel orbs.
She. Could. Not. Trust. Him.
She took a step backward.
“I need to apologize for so much more.”
“Like?” She hated that her voice cracked on a single word.
He moved closer, invading her personal space. Yet, she didn’t step back. The spicy scent of his cologne hit her. So familiar, so comforting, so safe. She almost sighed, but dared not risk it.
“CoCo, I’m sorry I accused you of having anything to do with my father’s death. And my grandfather’s. It was an accident, and I was way out of line the way I spoke to you, treated you.”
Her hands trembled. How many nights had she awoken with the dream of this exact moment fresh in her mind? Now that the moment was upon her, she couldn’t think of one intelligent thing to say. “Luc, you need to understand how important my job is to me. Working to protect the wildlife of the bayou is part of who I am, not just what I do.”
His gaze still focused on her, Luc closed the remaining distance between them and laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I was a jerk. My behavior was unforgivable.”
She stiffened her back. “Let’s just forget it and move on.” She needed to restore balance, give herself a chance to regain her composure. “I’m about to make a run. Wanna come along?”
FIFTEEN
The airboat drifted on the bayou. Luc felt surprisingly calm.
“I wonder who killed your grandfather.” CoCo spoke the words softly, but they proved to him their thoughts were on the same wavelength. It was almost scary how she could always pick up on his emotions.
“You say you believe Dwayne Williams wouldn’t have. That he’d intended to get revenge with my grandfather by exposing him, yes?”
She made another entry in her log. “I know it’s hard to hear, but I really believe him. I think he wanted to publicly bring Beau down a couple of notches, not murder him.”
“Okay. That rules him out.”
“You said there’s no way Frank would have killed him because it would hurt Felicia.”
“Right.” He tightened his hold on the seat as she fired up the fan. “That brings us back at square one—your family and me as primary suspects.”
“There has to be someone we’re missing. Someone with an axe to grind.”
“As Uncle Justin said, who didn’t want Grandfather dead?”
“I don’t know.” CoCo ran her fingers through her hair. The simple gesture made him clench and unclench his fists. She steered the boat toward the LeBlanc plantation. “There has to be someone who threatened him in some way.”
She expertly banked the boat and hopped to the ground.
Luc pushed to his feet, energy pumping through his muscles. “The casino sent over some boxes of Grandfather’s personal belongings. Why don’t we go through them? Maybe we’ll find something there.”
“That’s a good idea. It can’t hurt.” She tied her boat around a stump, then led the way to the house.
“Allons.”
“Let me tell Grandmere I’m heading out.” She pushed open the door, leaving him alone on the porch.
He took note of the paint flecking off the wood. The place needed some heavy repair work, he thought as he glanced over the loose boards and skewed gutters. With precise movements, Luc moved to the side of the house and gripped one of the swaying gutters. Tall enough to reach, he tried to pop it back into place.
It didn’t hold.
With more strength, he tried again. The gutter clattered against the side of the house. Then two wood planks fell, hitting the ground with a plunk. Followed by tings as bits of metal hit the porch rail on their descent.
“What’re you doing?” CoCo pulled the door closed behind her. Her eyes widened as she strode to join him.
He faced her, watching the emotions cross her eyes. “I noticed the gutter hanging, so I tried to snap it back in place. I’m sorry, it pulled out a couple of boards, too. I’ll fix it this weekend for you.”
She didn’t answer. Her gaze wasn’t even focused on him. She stared over the rail to the ground below.
He looked to see what caused her face to pale so. And gawked.
Old coins, about six to ten of them, littered the dry and dying grass.
Jerking his gaze back to her face, he gently touched her arm. “CoCo?”
“Confederate coins,” she whispered.
“What?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she bolted off the porch and knelt in the grass. It crunched under her knees. She grabbed the coins and inspected them. “All of them. Confederate coins.”
Luc joined her. “What’re you talking about?”
She stood and held out a coin. “They’re Confederate coins. Valuable.”
He flipped one over in his palm and ran a finger over the raised design. Sure, he’d seen pictures of them in books, but never personally. They had to be fakes. “They’re probably replicas.”
“They aren’t.”
“Honey,” he said as he handed her back the coin. “I know it’s nice to think we’ve found a fortune in our own yard, literally, but that rarely happens.”
“I have.” She stared at him, excitement lighting her face. “I know. I found one under the rosebush and thought the same thing—it’s fake. I took it to a coin appraiser just to prove to myself I wasn’t caught in silly dreams. I was wrong. It was…is…a genuine Confederate restrike coin.”
“Are you sure these are just like the one you found?”
She studied them for a few seconds, before meeting his gaze. “Yes. I’m positive they’re exactly like the other one.”
“Can I see it? The one you had appraised?” Maybe there was some minor difference, something to set them apart.
“I put it in a safety deposit box, per the appraiser’s suggestion.”
“Smart thinking.” That still didn’t offer any explanation. “Any idea how these got behind those planks of woo
d?” He glanced up at the side of the house, but couldn’t make out anything unusual from where they’d fallen.
“Grandmere says during the Civil War several families hid their silver and money in the house and buried them in the yard.”
“Here?”
“She said several families hid out here from the Yankees.”
The magnitude of the find hiked his pulse. “Are there more?”
“I don’t know. I looked over the yard briefly, but didn’t find any.” She glanced at the fallen planks. “I would’ve never thought to look behind the wood.”
“So, there could be more?”
“I suppose.” She narrowed her eyes as she studied him. “We’re not tearing apart my house to see if there are more coins hidden.”
“I didn’t say that.” A fortune could be within these very walls. A fortune that could belong to his family, if Beau really had held the deed. Money for Felicia to get the medical treatments Frank told her about. For his mother, to build herself a life. As long as he was a suspect, anything his grandfather had left him would be tied up in court for a long time. Did Grandfather leave anything to Felicia or his mother? His grandfather had never been keen on giving a woman anything when a man could hold the purse strings and control. Luc tightened his lips into a thin line. According to the Louisiana police, if anyone in the will is a suspect, the settling of the estate can be held up for quite some time, which would put the Trahans in a financial bind, as their grandfather was the sole supporter of Felicia and her mother.
CoCo continued to scrutinize him with those deeply dark eyes. “You thought about it, didn’t you?”
Not even an hour back on even footing, and she could already read his mind again. He hung his head. “It crossed my mind, yes.”
Her penetrating glare brought his head up.
“It also crossed your mind that if my grandfather signed over the deed of this house to your grandfather, these coins might belong to you, yes?”
Guilty as charged. Did her voodoo training give her the ability to read his thoughts? “I would never d—”
“Has it ever occurred to you that if my grandfather did sign over this house, maybe Beau tricked him in some way?”
“What? Grandfather was a shrewd businessman. He wouldn’t have sunk to something so underhanded.”
“Are you certain about that, Luc? Really positive?”
There were a lot of things about his grandfather he didn’t know, Luc realized. He swallowed hard, keeping his mouth closed.
CoCo rested a hand against his forearm. “Luc, we’re working together. I’ll add these coins to the safety deposit box.” She let out a heavy sigh. “If, and that’s a big if, the court says you own this house, then we’ll discuss the coins.”
“I—”
“Technically, your family never lived here, never had possession of the house. So, I think all the contents would belong to my family.”
She had a point. But courts and lawsuits? No, that wasn’t what he wanted. Still, he couldn’t disregard his sister’s very real medical needs, either.
“Luc.” Her voice came out so wistful it tugged on his heartstrings. “I don’t want to be at odds with you anymore. It’s been a hard two years for me.” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I can’t do it again. I can’t.” Her words were barely a whisper.
He pulled her into his arms, trying to give her as much comfort as humanly possible. “Why don’t we wait and face that obstacle when we have to?”
She pushed away from him, reestablishing distance between them. “Let’s go look at Beau’s things.”
CoCo climbed out of the vehicle, smiling at Luc. Her emotions were in a tangle, but she couldn’t take time to analyze them. The raging confusion about the man she walked alongside pushed her determination into full swing. If they could just figure out who’d killed Beau, she wouldn’t have to communicate with Luc every single day, and maybe she could finally put the past to rest.
“Mom said she had the boxes put in the study.” He pushed the door open and motioned her inside. “Do you want something to eat or drink before we get started?”
She glanced at her watch—1:50, and she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. “I could use a little something.”
He smiled, so warm and gentle that her heart cracked. “I’ll see if Mom can throw some sandwiches together.” Luc moved toward the door. “You still like ham and cheese with lots of mayo?”
“Dripping is better.”
Chuckling, Luc headed down the hall. A soft whistling of a popular Zydeco beat reached her ears. CoCo wrapped her arms around herself. She’d missed hearing Luc’s music.
“So, he brought you back, yes?”
CoCo glanced to the doorway and found Felicia there, her face wreathed in a silly grin. “Yeah, he brought me back. We’re going to go through your grandfather’s belongings to see if we can find anything.”
Felicia moved into the room and clucked her tongue. “And that’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Felicia’s smile widened, if that was possible. “And you two are…?”
“Are trying to figure out who killed your grandfather.”
The younger woman’s face drew somber. “I can’t believe you and Luc are on the suspect list. That’s just ridiculous.”
Loyalty. Such a rare character trait these days. “I know. We’re hoping to find something in these boxes.” CoCo waved her hand over the four cardboard boxes stacked neatly in the corner of the room.
“What’re we waiting for?” Felicia wheeled herself nearer to the stack.
“You don’t have to do this, Fel.” Luc’s little sister could be described as emotional at best. “Luc and I will handle it. He’s just grabbing us some sandwiches first.”
“I’m not helpless, even if I am in this wheelchair.”
Horrors upon horrors. CoCo drew herself up. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
Felicia sighed. “I know, and I’m sorry for being snappy. I just want to help. To do something, anything.”
Understanding Felicia’s need to be a part, CoCo nodded and lifted the first box from the top of the stack. She set it on the floor before reaching for the next, which she set on the chair beside Felicia. “How about you take this one, and I’ll start on that?”
Two sandwiches, three boxes and seventeen paper cuts later they’d found nothing useful. Not one single clue.
CoCo stood and stretched, lifting her arms well above her head. With an absentminded hand, she rubbed at the knots in her neck. Luc moved behind her. His strong hands pushed hers out of the way and kneaded the bunched muscles. CoCo sighed and closed her eyes.
“Now, that’s what I like to see.”
CoCo snapped her eyes open and stared at Felicia, who grinned like the cat caught in the cream. “What?”
“You two. Together. Knowing what each other needs.”
Heat fanned CoCo’s face and she dropped her gaze.
“She’s just being sassy because Frank proposed,” Luc said before planting a peck on the nape of CoCo’s neck.
She sucked in air and moved out of range of his touch. How could a single kiss send her heart into such a tizzy? Hadn’t she made a vow not to let him get under her skin again? She needed to solve this murder mystery and get him out of her daily life before she took total leave of her senses.
“That’s right. I know true love when I see it, yes?” Felicia winked at CoCo before turning a cocky expression toward her brother.
“Brat.” CoCo laughed and winked back at her friend, her heart still racing. “Have you set a date yet?”
“Of course not! He hasn’t even given me a proper ring.” Felicia giggled.
Luc clapped his hands together. “Last box, y’all, let’s knock it out.”
CoCo squeezed in between brother and sister, drawing from their teasing and obvious love for one another. She missed that terribly with Tara and Alyssa. If only Tara would listen to reason. And if Alyssa wasn’t so…well, Alyssa.
Jerking her gaze to Felicia, CoCo watched her friend’s face pale as she read a piece of paper.
“What is it?” Luc asked, but leaned behind CoCo to read over his sister’s shoulder.
“A letter. I can’t believe this.”
CoCo strained for a better view. The letter was typed on regular copy paper, but the creases were smudged, indicating that it’d been folded and unfolded several times over.
Beau Trahan,
Does your hypocrisy know no bounds? You claim to be a supporter of all races, yet members of your own family were involved with the KKK. Proof of your brother’s rogue Klan activities were in the possession of Marcel LeBlanc, a fellow brother of the Klan. The evidence still exists. I will find it, and expose you for the fake you are. To prove I know the evidence is there, check out the etching at the bottom. Recognize this as identical to the one found there, Beau? I think you’ll discover there are many things hiding in the LeBlanc house along with the coins. Your reign of dominance is over. I’ll tell everyone about you, and your family. Let’s see if you can save your precious name this time.
CoCo took note of the header—no date and no indication of the sender. There was no closing, no signature. Most importantly, she recognized the pencil etching in the bottom right hand corner.
A Confederate coin.
Just like the ones she’d found at her homestead. Just like the one the appraiser told her the Klan stockpiled.
Could it be?
SIXTEEN
Considering they’d found more Confederate coins mere hours ago, the context of the letter couldn’t be more timely. Coincidence? No, Luc knew better. God’s fingerprints were all over the situation. Now he needed to figure out what to do. He studied CoCo. “Had my grandfather been to your house recently? Where he could have found a coin?”
“Not that I’m aware. Just when he served that stupid eviction notice.” She chewed her bottom lip, a sure sign her mind was working overtime.
Luc read the note again. “This letter implies Grandfather knew the coins were in your house.” He raked his hand over his face. “How else could he have known? Maybe he didn’t.”