Darkwater Truth

by Robin Caroll

  “I hear you. Just remember I’m only a phone call away when you’re ready to talk dollars and cents.”

  Dimitri disconnected the call and pocketed his cell phone. Malcolm Dessommes was tenacious if nothing else, he’d give him that.

  A sweet voice interrupted his thoughts. “Dimitri? Do you have a moment?”

  He smiled at the sound of her voice. “For you, Adelaide? Always, mon chaton.” He turned to Yvette. “Oversee, please.”

  His sous chef grinned and nodded.

  “Let’s go to my office.” He placed his hand in the small of Adelaide’s back and led her to the back corner of the kitchen that housed the large closet he’d transformed into a little office space. Once inside, he shut the door. She sat in one of the chairs facing his desk, so he sat on the edge of the desk. “What’s on your mind?”

  “I got a note that you were closing the restaurant during the dinner hour next Friday. That can’t be correct.”

  He let out a little sigh. It was silly to think she’d come see him because she was upset over her father’s identity being revealed on the news in correlation to what was happening at the hotel. During work hours, she was all business. He swallowed his disappointment. “It is. The restaurant has been booked for a private event.”

  “We’re booked at full capacity through the end of March. Closing the restaurant during the dinner hour on a Friday night means a lot of lost revenue, Dimitri.”

  He hadn’t considered that. Just another reason he should stick to cooking. “I’m sorry. I should have spoken with you before I agreed.”

  “It’s okay. I just hope that you charged enough for the private party to compensate for the loss of revenue.”

  Dimitri moved around to his seat behind the desk. “Well, actually, I didn’t. It’s a charity event.” Definitely charity on his end.

  “What?” She blinked.

  “I agreed to host an artist showing to help support the local arts. I thought it would be good for business.” He resisted the urge to squirm under her scrutiny.

  “An artist show?” She narrowed her eyes, her annoyance flashing.

  A minute passed. Two.

  Adelaide let out a long breath. “Are you doing this to help Zoey?” She knew him too well, which even though she was irritated at him at the moment, made him smile.

  “She begged and I know she needs this to be a success. It’s not just any artist. This is one she’s involved with.”

  “So naturally you want to help her. I get it.” She let out another sigh and stood.

  He got to his feet and moved around the desk, taking her hands in his. “Don’t be mad.”

  “I’m not mad. That you care and want to help others is one of your most admirable traits.”

  He squeezed her hands. “Really? And what other traits of mine do you so admire?”

  A knock rapped on the door.

  Adelaide startled, freeing herself from his hold.

  The door inched open and Dr. Chandler Broussard stood in the doorway. “Am I interrupting? I can come back if you’re busy.”

  “No, it’s fine. Come on in.” Dimitri smiled. “Have you met Adelaide Fountaine, the Darkwater Inn’s general manager? Adelaide, this is Dr. Chandler Broussard from the FACES unit in Baton Rouge.”

  Chandler and Adelaide shook hands.

  “It’s a pleasure, Dr. Broussard.” Adelaide’s voice sounded off…a little higher-pitched than usual. “Thank you for coming to help out on the case.”

  “Please, call me Chandler. Dr. Broussard is much too formal.” The anthropologist smiled widely at Adelaide, then turned that smile on him, sending little ripples in his gut. “That’s why I’m here. I was talking to Beau and we thought maybe you might be able to help with some records the hotel might have kept.”

  “Oh, you should talk to Adelaide about that. I’m just the cook.”

  Adelaide shook her head, her gaze going between him and Chandler. “He’s being too modest.” She looked at him. “Why don’t you and Chandler work on the details of what you might have, and I’ll send Vicky over to help locate whatever you might need. She found the other records, so I’m sure she could help you with anything else.”

  Dimitri shook his head. “This is more your thing, Adelaide, and I really need to finish the preparations for dinner.” He didn’t miss Chandler’s smile disappearing—or Adelaide’s noticing.

  Adelaide again looked between him and Chandler. “I’m sure Yvette can oversee that, right? I mean, we need to do all we can to solve this case.” Adelaide’s posture had straightened into almost a defensive mode. “For the sake of the hotel, of course.”

  “I suppose you’re right.” Of course Adelaide would put needing to solve the case for the hotel’s sake above dinner or personal feelings. That was just who she was, and part of what made her an amazing general manager. “Yes, of course.” He nodded. “Happy to see what we can do.”

  Adelaide’s smile seemed a little forced. “Perfect. I’ll go find Vicky for you.” She shook Chandler’s hand. “It was very nice to have finally met you, Chandler. Thank you, again, for your help.”

  “Of course. It’s my job. And it was great to meet you, too, Adelaide.”

  Adelaide gave Dimitri a curt nod, then brushed past him out of the office.

  Everything in him screamed that he should go after her, but he had no idea why. Somewhere deep inside his chest, he had the sinking sensation that things between him and Adelaide had just shifted.

  And he had no idea what, exactly, that meant.

  — The Compound

  “Did you hear?”

  Jacob looked up from his notebook at his brother Moses. “About what?”

  “Father says the demon is loose again.”

  “What is David planning?” Jacob closed his notebook, but his heart had begun racing. Oh, how he wished he was already sixty-five so he could take the reins of their family. This was the chance he’d waited all his life for.

  Moses shook his head. “According to what Saul told Levi, nothing. He wants to wait and see what happens. He has no plan of action.”

  Jacob’s hands curled into fists. He’d always known his older brother was too weak to lead like their father had. “This is unacceptable.” He stood and paced. He and David had already locked horns on many issues, so going to his brother wasn’t an option. “What does Father say?”

  “He has allowed David to talk him into watching. David says he has prayed and feels that the demon hasn’t been released or has no more power here anymore.”

  “And Father accepts that?” Someone had brainwashed his father. No way would he ever feel like a demon had lost power. Ever.

  “No, but Abel, Saul, and Noah all have taken David’s side. Father’s age has allowed him to be swayed by some of his sons.”

  Jacob shook his head. “But Father has always, always, been adamant about keeping the evil minions at bay. Now, when the one he despised the most has been set free, he sits back and agrees to do nothing?” This was unspeakably wrong.

  Moses nodded. “I know, but they’ve bent his ear and garnered his blessing to sit by and do nothing unless some sign shows differently.”

  A slow smile spread across Jacob’s face. This, this was the moment he’d been preparing for all his life. It was his moment. “Then we’ll just have to help show that now, won’t we?”

  — Addy

  What was she supposed to think about Dr .Chandler Broussard?

  Addy went back to her office after having instructed her assistant, Vicky, to check in with Dimitri and help in any way. She plopped down into her chair, willing her emotions and thoughts to stop going in a million different directions.

  Neither obeyed.

  She didn’t understand what she felt toward the anthropologist. Her knee-jerk reaction was that she liked Chandler. She seemed nice and more than capable of doing her job, which would help solve the case and help the hotel. But she also seemed to mesmerize both Beau and Dimitri. It wasn’t shocking, really, b
ecause the woman was quite beautiful and outgoing and clearly very intelligent. Who wouldn’t find her attractive and interesting?

  That was the crux of Addy’s confusion and raging emotions. How was it possible that the two men Addy had feelings for would both gather the interest of Chandler? That was what Addy sensed—the woman’s interest and access to both Beau and Dimitri.

  That was also what she had a problem with. A very serious problem.

  “Hey.” Tracey slipped into her office, shutting the door behind her. “I saw the noon news and thought you might need to vent.” Addy’s best friend always knew the right thing to do and say, and when to show up because Addy needed a friend.

  Addy sighed loudly, letting her emotions float away. She grinned at her friend. “Thanks.”

  Tracey Glapion had been Addy’s best friend for as long as Addy could remember. They both had long dark hair and dark eyes. They were both about the same height. Tracey’s skin was paler than Addy’s, though. Also, she was outgoing and unpredictable unlike Addy’s cautious personality, but they balanced each other out. They’d gotten into trouble in high school together, had more fun than they should have, and had taken their friendship into adulthood. After Addy had been raped in college, it had been Tracey’s sound advice that had gotten her in with a good therapist to deal with her emotions and heal from the trauma. And Tracey kept Addy’s secrets.

  “So, your dad got ratted out.” Tracey dropped into a loveseat in a sitting area near Addy’s desk.

  “Yeah, dad’s more than mad, but what can he do?”

  “That woman was rude to out him on the news. If she only knew what y’all had been through.” Tracey’s eyes flashed.

  Addy joined her on the couch. “Dad’s worried another stalker might pop up, but like I told him, he hasn’t gotten any freaky fan mail like that in years. I think he’s safe.”

  Tracey pulled her legs up onto the loveseat and sat crisscross, pulling one of the throw pillows onto her lap. “But you and I both know that your dad isn’t worried about himself being a target. He’s worried about someone using you to get to him.”

  “I don’t think that’s likely. I think the days of stalker fans are over. With the rise of writers publishing their own books and less promotion by publishers for their lead authors, fans aren’t as rabid as they once were.”

  Tracey nodded. “So…a skeleton behind a wall? And you didn’t even call me? That’s kind of my area, Ads.” Her perfectly-lined bottom lip puckered out in a pout. “I had to hear about it on the news, and that’s wrong on all kinds of levels.”

  It was kind of Tracey’s area. Locals claimed Tracey was a direct descendant of Louis Christophe Dominick Duminy de Glapion, the “left-handed husband” of renowned Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Marie Laveau.

  As history told it, de Glapion was a man of noble French heritage. In the 1830s, he was in a placage relationship with Laveau. Together, supposedly, they had at least seven children, but only two were reported to have survived—both daughters named Marie, one being the look-alike of Marie Laveau. This Marie purportedly embraced the darker side of voodoo in Bayou St. John. It was from this line Tracey supposedly descended.

  “I’m sorry, Trace. Everything just happened so fast and I didn’t have time to even think before that Allison Williams ran the story.”

  “So, tell me the details and I’ll see if I forgive you.”

  Addy grinned and shook her head, but told her best friend everything, even what her father had told her about the Axeman. “I haven’t even had a chance to research that angle.”

  “Hmm. I seem to recall something about that. I’ll do a little digging on my end and see what I can drum up for you.” While Tracey owned a New Orleans cemetery tour business, she wholeheartedly believed her ancestors had practiced witchcraft, voodoo, and hoodoo—all subjects that gave Addy the heebie-jeebies. Still, there was no denying there was information in the dark craft, and Tracey was one who could access that information.

  While the original Marie Laveau was said to have turned from voodoo practices near the end of her life and dedicated herself to the Catholic church, her look-alike daughter had gone deep into the dark side of witchcraft. Although not confirmed anywhere, it was said that the second Marie murdered her own older sister, the only other living descendant of Marie and Louis Christophe, Marie Philomene Glapion.

  It was from the murdered sister’s line that Tracey had been born, and she was proud of her heritage. Tracey had even inherited the house on St. Ann Street that was rumored to have been on the site of the original Marie Laveau’s home back in the 1830s, and still lived there today.

  “So your dad thinks maybe the skeleton was one of the Axeman’s victims?”

  “Maybe, but I don’t think the timeline would fit. The records of the hotel show the only remodeling that would have included masonry in that area, or thereabouts, were in either 1938 or 1958. Dad said the Axeman’s last attack was in 1919.”

  “Hmm. Let me see what I can find out. Maybe it was a copycat murder?”

  “It’s a possibility, I suppose.” Addy chewed the side of her mouth.

  “Okay, Ads, what else is going on with you?”

  Addy felt the blush hit her face. “It’s nothing.”

  Tracey stared at her, using that uncanny ability to look right into Addy. “Mmmhmm. Spill.”

  “The anthropologist from LSU that’s helping? She’s really pretty.”

  “Okay.”

  “And I think she’s snagged both Beau and Dimitri’s attention.”

  “Oh. My.” Tracey pressed her lipstick-red lips together.

  Addy shoved her friend. “Don’t you laugh at me. Don’t you dare.”

  Tracey held her hands up in mock surrender. “Look, I’m not laughing at you, but honestly, you know both men are gorgeous and special and quite the catch. Why on earth would you be surprised that another woman finds them attractive? And they’re men, Ads…they would notice a pretty woman, especially if she gave them all the signs that she was interested.”

  “I know, I know.”

  Tracey nudged Addy with her foot. “Jealousy isn’t fun, is it?”

  Addy shook her head. “And if this is what Beau and Dimitri feel toward each other…I can’t do this to them.”

  “It’s probably time for you to figure out which one you can see a future with and cut the other one loose.”

  Of course Tracey would hit the nail on the head. “I know, but how do I do that?”

  “Look, I know you’re working your way back with your faith. Maybe you should really go deep and pray hard about it. I have a feeling you’ll get your answer.”

  Before Addy could reply, a knock sounded on the door, then Geoff stuck his head in. “Oops, sorry. Didn’t realize you had company.”

  Addy and Tracey both stood. “Don’t be silly, Geoff. You remember my best friend, Tracey?”

  “Who could forget a women so beautiful?” He smiled and nodded at Tracey.

  “Oh, flattery will get you everywhere.” Tracey chuckled that deep, throaty laugh of hers. “Nice to see you back at work, Geoff.”

  “It’s nice to be back.” He turned to Addy. “Just wanted to update you that we’re keeping a security officer posted at the entrance to the renovation area. So many nosy eyes.”

  Addy groaned. “That reporter.” She shook her head. “It’s great that we don’t have a vacant room left, but it’s beyond frustrating that we have to go to such lengths.”

  Geoff nodded. “I know. I’m sorry, but wanted you to know we’ve got it under control. We might have a little more overtime for the next week or so to keep the area covered.”

  “That’s fine. Thanks for letting me know. And thanks for taking care of it.” Addy appreciated his initiative and decisiveness. Seemed those were traits that not everyone had these days.

  “Of course.” He turned back to Tracey. “It was nice seeing you again. You should hang out here more often. You brighten up the place.” Geoff gave a little tip of
his head, then sauntered out of the office.

  “Oh, that man is beyond gorgeous, girl. Forget Beau and Dimitri, that man is carved from the same mold of a Greek god.” Tracey fanned herself.

  Addy laughed. “What about Chuck?”

  Tracey plopped back down on the loveseat. “He got offered a promotion that he just couldn’t turn down.”

  “So?” Addy sat back beside her friend.

  “So, it’s in Lafayette.”

  “Permanently?”

  Tracey nodded.

  Addy grabbed Tracey’s hand and squeezed. “I’m sorry, Trace.”

  Tracey shrugged. “Yeah, well, I always wanted what was best for him, and this is. He deserves the promotion. We’d kind of hoped he’d be offered the same position here in New Orleans, but there’s no opening for that level.” She sighed. “He left two weeks ago.”

  “Two weeks? Now who isn’t telling their bestie important stuff?”

  “I know. I just needed to deal with it all myself first, you know?”

  “Yeah.” Addy leaned over and hugged her. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m good. I’m really happy for him. I just don’t do that long distance thing. It never works out, and you know how much attention I need on a daily basis.” Tracey laughed, even if it was a forced joke.

  “Is there any chance he could come back if that position opened up here?”

  “Who knows? I don’t want to tie him up or me. It’s not fair to either of us.”

  Addy nodded, thinking about how she’d kept not only herself but Beau and Dimitri all tied up.

  Tracey gave Addy a gentle shove. “But Geoff. I’m guessing by the vibes I picked up that he doesn’t have a girlfriend. Is he dating anyone?”

  Addy chuckled and shook her head. “I have no idea.”

  “Well, could you maybe help a girl out and find out?”

  “What? You want me to play matchmaker?”

  Tracey laughed. “Well, I think you owe me.”

  “Owe you?”

  “Yeah. Owe me.”

  “Okay, okay. I’ll see what I can do.”