Sweet Mystery (40 page)

Simon settled back against the pillow. “What
happens now? I mean about the arson.”

“I’ve taken care of it. Sheriff Thibodeaux
has the info he needs to arrest those two clowns. I told him where
to find the evidence they planned to plant on Rae’s property.”
LaMar grinned. “They are in deep doo-doo, to say the least.”

“And eager to spread some on Marius I’ll
bet.”

“You know it. Things are about to heat up in
Belle Rose.” LaMar took a swig of orange juice.

“That’s the truth.” Simon looked thoughtful.
“A lot of people were willing to believe the worst about Rae. Now
they’ll have to eat their words.” He took a deep breath.

He wanted to tell Rae how sorry he was for
being such a judgmental snob. Maybe they would not be able to make
a relationship work, but he at least owed her respect.

LaMar studied him in silence for several
moments. “Well, I think Rae will understand. We all make mistakes.
She said even she is a quick to fly off the handle and... What am I
doing? I’m dipping in your business again.” The corner of his mouth
lifted when he saw Simon’s faraway expression.

“People should at least tell her they’re
sorry,” Simon mumbled to himself.

“Uh-huh.” LaMar smiled. “Things are going to
pop in the old town more than you know.”

Simon blinked at him. “What does that
mean?”

“The skeleton they found is from a very
prominent person’s closet.” LaMar’s eyes shone brightly at the
prospect of being at the center of action again.

“Say what?” Simon leaned forward without
feeling the sharp jab that the movement caused.

“Those bones are fifty years old. I think
we’ve found Vincent Dalcour. At least that’s what I told the
sheriff.”

Simon let out a long, low whistle. “Damn!
Does Rae know?”

“Not yet, but I need to tell her soon. You
know how fast news travels around that parish, much less the
town.”

“Now I know I’ve got to get out of here.
She’ll need me.” Simon pressed the button to call a nurse. “That
doctor has got to release me.” He pushed back the sheets and swung
his legs down.

“Say man, Doc Vidrine should be here any
minute. He’ll probably let you go. Just take it easy.” LaMar moved
to the closet to get Simon’s clothes.

A pretty nurse with café au lait skin entered
the room. “What you need now, cher?”

Simon wrestled with his pants. “To go
home.”

Chapter 19

Rae stood inside the dance hall. Work was
going well, she was receiving encouragement from her suppliers and
even getting cards from customers expressing hope that Rockin’ Good
Times would be back soon.

It was a gorgeous day. She and Andy were
making plans to open in just a couple of weeks. Tony, her insurance
agent, had even called to say her claim would go forward. Still,
Rae did not feel the soaring joy that she should. It seemed a
hollow victory, despite all the good news. With a sigh, she went
out to sit on the porch.

Andrew gave a satisfied sigh as he sat down
in the rocking chair next to her. “Looks like we’re right on
schedule, darlin’. Things are movin’ along real fine.”

“Yeah.” Rae stared out at the bright green
leaves waving in the warm air. She barely noticed the rainbow of
colors of the wild flowers that normally brought her pleasure.

“And Jamal and Wes are going to be here to
kick it off. That compact disc y’all put out is doin’ well. We can
sell some of those.”

“Um-humm, you’re right,” Rae said in a
listless voice.

“Lord, you look like you lost your best
friend. Cheer up,” Andrew said and then grimaced. “Sorry. My mouth
works faster than my brain sometimes.”

“Forget it. I’m just tired, that’s all. A lot
has happened in the last couple of weeks.” Rae gave a brief,
half-hearted smile, which faded quickly.

“You could call him.” Andrew stopped writing
and put his clipboard down on the small table between them.

“Not after the things I said. The worst part
is he was right. I did plan to use him to get back at Toya.” Rae
pressed her lips together. “It’s my fault.”

What she had not foreseen was the strong love
that would grow with every hour she spent with Simon. That was her
punishment then: to know the ecstasy of a love so true and potent,
only to lose it because she could not let go of bitterness. A harsh
sentence indeed, yet one she deserved. Rae thought she was
following in Lucien’s footsteps when it came to destroying
relationships.

Andrew rubbed the stubble on his chin. “I
think you’re beatin’ yourself up too hard, cher.”

“I’ve done a lot of stupid things in my life,
Andy. This was just one more.” Rae’s voice trembled. “But you’re
right. I shouldn’t sit around feeling sorry for myself. Come on,
let’s get the bar set up.” She went back inside with a grim
look.

“Nah, that can wait until later,” Andrew
called after her. He grinned widely, adding, “Much later.”

“What? Get your butt in here, Andrew Vincent
Dalcour! We’ve got a million things to do.” Rae stomped out onto
the porch again with both hands on her hips. “If you think you’re
going fishing today–” She came to a sudden halt at the sight of
Simon standing in the sunshine.

He gazed at her with a mixture of caution and
desire. “Hello.”

Rae could feel her heart speeding up. “Hello.
How’ve you been?”

“Good.”

LaMar strolled up. “Except for that flesh
wound from a gunshot. Oops, I wasn’t supposed to mention that.” He
did not look the least bit sorry.

Rae noticed the white bandage wrapped around
Simon’s upper left arm. “My God! You were shot? How? When?” She
rushed down and gently put her arms around him.

“He was just solving the crime that someone
tried to pin on you by tracking down the real arsonist. Right?”
LaMar smiled in spite of the dark look Simon gave him.

“LaMar really did the hard work. I just sort
of bumbled into things.” Simon shrugged and then grimaced at the
movement.

“Sit down. Let me get you something. Jackson!
Bring us three crème sodas,” Rae yelled over her shoulder while
leading Simon to a chair. “What happened? No wonder Tony called
this morning saying the claim would not be a problem after
all.”

“Really, Rae, I wasn’t hurt that bad.” Simon
clearly enjoyed the fuss she was making, despite his protest.

“Yeah, these two knot-heads were hired by
Marius Jove to torch the place and frame you for it.” LaMar took
the tray from Jackson. “Thanks, my man.” He passed the frosty mugs
around. “Simon here followed Marius to their stank hangout.”

“Simon, you could have been killed! What were
you thinking?” Rae felt a shiver of fear at the thought of him
lying dead in the street. “Should you be up and around anyway?
Maybe I should take you home now. You look so tired. Oh, Simon.”
She touched his face.

LaMar grinned at the wink Andrew gave him.
“Ahem, anyway, Tyrone started talking and then shut up fast. My
guess is either old man Jove has made him an offer or Sly-Man has
threatened him. Either way, Marius is sweating heavy these
days.”

“He wanted to put you out of business, so
you’d be desperate for money and sell your land.” Simon frowned.
“The sleaze bag better hope they send him to jail.”

“If I know Henry Jove, he’ll have a
smooth-talking lawyer all ready working to make sure he doesn’t,”
Rae said. She felt anger flash up like a lit match; not for herself
but for Simon. She’d like to get her hands on Marius right now.

LaMar chuckled. “Jail or not, he’s scared
spitless from what I hear. Don’t know if granddaddy can save his
rump. Under the law, he’s as responsible as the guys who set the
fire.”

“And Mr. Calvin got hurt,” Simon added.

“Right. All in all, the Joves have a lot more
on their mind now than snatching your property.” LaMar looked at
Simon. “Uh, you want to tell her?”

Simon nodded at him. “You found out, so I
think you should.”

Rae sat still. “Tell me what?”

“If you think so,” LaMar said. He did not say
anything more.

Simon shrugged. “Go on. I don’t think–”

“Somebody better start talking.” Rae glanced
at Simon, then LaMar, and waited.

“Looks like the skeleton they found on Jove
land is the remains of your grandfather.” LaMar squinted. “It was
buried at least fifty years ago, and he didn’t die of natural
causes.”

“Rae, I’m so sorry.” Simon spoke in a
soothing tone. “I know what a shock this must be.”

The two men watched her: LaMar with interest;
Simon with concern. Rae rocked back and forth in the chair a few
times, staring out over the bayou.

“I’m not real surprised,” she said after a
while.

“What?” Simon’s mouth hung open.

“Uh-huh.” LaMar nodded slowly.

“He vanished without a trace. It was like
they jumped on the mother ship and flew off to another planet.
Nobody disappears so completely unless...” Rae lifted both hands.
“And then there’s Monmon Marie’s diaries.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that myself.”
LaMar gazed at her with an odd look on his face.

“Have you? My mama brought this up to me a
few days ago, but I didn’t want to believe it. But the truth is, I
started to suspect Monmon Marie knew more than she ever told.” Rae
shook her head.

Simon shook his head in amazement. “You think
Miss Marie killed them? That little old lady?”

“She wasn’t always old and she had a temper,”
Rae replied. “LaMar, did they determine the cause of death?”

“Repeated blows to the head. The skull was
cracked in two places at least, from what I gather.” LaMar took a
sip from his mug. “Somebody hit him hard more than once.”

Rae gripped the arms of her chair. “Someone
in a rage, like a betrayed wife.”

“This just keeps getting worse for you.”
Simon put a hand on Rae’s arm and squeezed it gently.

“I’ll be okay, Simon. At least we can give
him a decent burial,” she said softly, “right beside Daddy.”

“But it’s not definite that the bones are
your grandfather’s remains. Maybe it isn’t him.” Simon tried to put
a hopeful note in his voice. “He could still be on some tropical
island, surrounded by a dozen grandchildren.”

“It’s Pawpaw Vincent. I can feel it.” Rae
smiled at him. “But thanks for trying.” The compassionate light in
his handsome face touched her heart.

“Well I gotta go.” LaMar stood up and bounced
from the porch down to the ground in one smooth movement.

Rae forced her gaze away from Simon with some
effort. “Don’t rush off. It’s almost lunchtime. Jackson’s got a
fresh shrimp po-boy with your name on it.”

“Yeah, and you haven’t told me all the
details on how you got onto Marius,” Simon added. His hand was
still on Rae’s arm.

“Hey, I’m still on the case. I’ve got four
days left to find out all the facts on Vincent and Estelle.” LaMar
put on his Perry Ellis designer sunglasses. He grinned at the
baffled looks his words caused.

“But they’ve found Pawpaw,” Rae blurted.

“I hate to say it, but Estelle was probably
buried in those same woods somewhere,” Simon said.

“Or dumped in the bayou, more likely, which
is why they won’t find her body.” Rae shook her head. “Of course,
we will never know for sure if Monmon Marie killed them both.”

“Exactly. We still have unanswered
questions.” LaMar took a deep breath. “I hate unanswered
questions.”

Simon shrugged. “Everybody who could tell us
the whole story is dead. You’re not going to get all the answers on
this one.”

“You don’t mind if I keep looking?” asked
LaMar. “We might find out a few more details.”

Rae struggled with a vague stirring at his
comments – there was something, but what? “Sure,” she murmured with
her brows together. “Keep looking.”

“Great. Now you two proceed with the
kiss-and-make-up process,” LaMar said.

“I, uh...” Rae felt the heat from Simon’s
touch heighten at his words.

“You’ll see he gets a ride home, right? Sure
you will…” LaMar winked at them and strode off, whistling.

Rae and Simon exchanged embarrassed looks at
his words. The engine of LaMar’s Grand Jeep Cherokee roared to life
as he drove away. Simon took his hand away and Rae felt a return of
that hollow feeling.

“I just came by to make sure you would be
okay once you found out about your grandfather.” He did not look at
her.

“That was nice of you. But you didn’t have to
come way over here.” Rae pressed her lips together.

All the words Rae wanted to say so crowded
her mind and heart that she was speechless. She thought she had no
right to expect more than kindness from this man. He was decent and
caring, yet she had taken it for granted. Her bad temper and need
for petty revenge had damaged their love before it had a chance to
bloom; to become deep-rooted and enduring.

“I wanted to,” Simon said, “for my sake as
much as yours. I’m selfish that way.” He wore a shy smile.

“No, you’re not the selfish one,” Rae blurted
out. I don’t blame you for being disgusted with me.”

“Rae, I’m not disgusted–”

“I am. You were right. I flaunted our
relationship to make Toya miserable. I wanted her to suffer the way
I’d suffered.”

“Well, that’s kind of natural. I mean we’re
all human and have–”

“And then when the dance hall was successful,
I was able to show up everybody who had ever trashed the Dalcours.”
Rae looked out over the grassy fields to the woods. “Guess you
should have listened to what folks said. But I never pretended to
care about you.”

“Will you shut up for one minute?” Simon
stood up and raised Rae from her chair. He wrapped his right arm
around her. “I love you, Rae. I shouldn’t have gone off on you that
way. I should never have doubted you.” He punctuated this last
sentence with a lingering kiss. When they finally stopped, she
pressed her cheek to his chest.