French Quarter Fatale, page 17
“And the rest is history,” Josette finished for him.
“No way. The beginning didn’t even get started until I caught a plane to New Orleans one Friday afternoon on my way to a wedding and I met the most gorgeous woman that ever brushed me off.”
Josette reached out to grab his hand and brought it up to her lips. She smiled as she kissed it. “But she was impressed by the effort,” she said sincerely. “Where is that very smart woman who led you into the FBI now?”
“At her house taking care of three kids and two dogs. She was a great partner, but just in case you’re wondering, she was never anything more than a partner.”
“I wondered. I didn’t ask. I know you must have had a few women along the way.”
“More than a few, but I never met anyone who affects me as you do.” He leaned in, pressing her against the car, and wrapped his hands around her waist. When he dipped his head and touched his lips to her neck, she sighed. “I want to make love to you, Josette. I want it more than anything.”
His lips were a breath away from hers when her phone rang. Her tongue swept across her mouth, leaving a wet trail that he longed to discover, but he knew she couldn’t let the call go unanswered. Not now.
“It’s Detective Hyde,” she said when she looked down at the screen. After a few moments, she filled him on what the lawman had to say. “There’s been no communication. No change in assignments, either. The two kidnapping experts are changing shifts now. But Hyde suggests we drive back to Antoine’s. Hyde’s meeting us there.”
“Why the change in plans?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure. All he said was Dad is getting increasingly nervous, and Hyde doesn’t want to risk him making a dangerous move, whatever that would be at this point.” Her brows knitted and her eyes looked troubled. He knew how difficult this had to be for her and he reached out for her hand.
She glanced down at their clasped hands. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, but for what?”
“For helping me make it through this nightmare.”
He wanted to thank her, too. For making it so easy to love her.
But that had to wait. They had a kidnapping to solve.
Chapter Nineteen
Keenan slowed and killed the engine in the parking area in front of Antoine’s house. “Looks like your dad has company.”
Two men were walking the deck of the shrimp boat. Two other men appeared from the hull. None seemed interested in her or Keenan.
Josette’s temper exploded. She’d taken about as much of this as she could stand. She jumped from the car and raced toward the ship. Keenan quickly caught up with her. She wasn’t sure if it was to protect her or the men.
“That ship is private property,” Josette called.
A blond, lean, tanned man wearing a fishing hat turned toward her. “We know,” he called back. “We just bought it, or rather our boss did.”
“I suppose you have proof of that sale.”
“As a matter of fact, I do, but what makes it your business?”
“I’m Antoine Guillory’s daughter.”
“Your name’s not on the deed but join us on the deck and you can check out the paperwork. It’s all legal. Nothing for us to hide.”
The man doing the talking seemed friendly enough, no sign of stress in his appearance or voice. Apparently, bearing the name of Guillory meant nothing to him, either.
Josette and Keenan approached the man on the deck. He handed Keenan a folder full of paperwork. Josette read over his shoulder as he checked it out.
She grew more anxious with each detail. The sale looked legit. The selling price was the shocker. Compared with prices Antoine had told her others paid for boats much smaller and less fancy than this one, Antoine had gotten about half of the boat’s worth—maybe less.
Why hadn’t her dad come to her? She would have given him the ransom money and he never would have had to practically give away the boat.
The man who’d done the talking reached for his pile of paperwork. “We’ll be leaving and taking the shrimp boat with us.”
“You stole this boat at this price,” she protested. “My dad loves this boat.”
“Reckon he needed the money more than he needed the boat.” The men pocketed the paperwork and started up the engine.
They had no idea how right they were, Josette thought. Antoine needed the money and he’d had only days to get the ransom together, so he’d jumped into action and did what he thought would be the best move. He sold the shrimp boat and who knew what else.
That was the real heartbreaker. He would have done anything to save Isadora if he believed she was in danger from crazy abductors. But, dear God, Josette prayed, don’t let her be in danger now.
From now on, Josette would have to make sure her father at least kept some extra emergency money on him. Josette knew for a fact that Isadora had tried many times to get Antoine to take a monthly alimony check or whatever he’d prefer to call it. He’d always refused, his pride not letting him take money from his multimillionaire wife. As much money as Isadora donated to dozens of charities, she wouldn’t have hesitated to write a check for whatever amount Antoine needed. Only this time, she couldn’t. And now, Antoine was doing everything he could to protect her and Josette, the two women he loved most in this world.
Josette started toward the house. Her feet felt as heavy as bricks as she trudged up the steps. The minute she and Keenan went inside, she knew the heaviness all around them was about more than Antoine being nervous.
“What’s going on?” Josette demanded as she ran to her father. “It’s the kidnappers, isn’t it? Did you talk to them?”
His shoulders slumped, Antoine nodded. “We talked but I’m not sure how much they heard. They said what they had to say and hung up.”
“Did you tell them you have the ransom money?” Josette asked, her voice trembling.
Antoine only nodded.
Detective Hyde ushered her into a chair at the kitchen table and sat down. “Unfortunately, we can’t be sure of anything right now,” he told her. “Mostly we don’t know if the people demanding ransom are actually holding Isadora. They’re for sure not the only people trying to cash in on The Winds of Scandal/Jill Hawthorne viral rumor. However, much of that has died down now that Mardi Gras is approaching an end.”
Antoine walked over and put his hand on his daughter’s shoulder.
“We’ve got a great team working on this, Boo. They’ll figure it out.”
“I asked you before—did you tell them we have the money? When they call back, tell them we’ll give them double what they asked for. I’ll bring the cash to them in person if they’ll just release Mother.”
Keenan sat beside her at the table and took her hand. His fingers brushed over hers in a comforting gesture. “Like the detective said, so far, we only have their word that they have Isadora.”
Max Hyde stood up. “From now on, no one leaves the house alone. If you go farther away than the front steps, let someone know. I think we can agree on that at this point, right?”
Keenan nodded. “Right there with you. If they do have Isadora or any record of contact with her, now would be the smart time to flaunt it. Otherwise, they’re just any John Doe in the alley looking for some fool to hand over some cash.”
“You make it sound as if you have a deck stacked with aces,” Josette said.
“Just trying to use every trick in my box,” Max said. “I’m in Homicide now, remember? Just so you know, all that time you complain that I spend investigating those unsolved crimes like Isadora Guillory, I’m doing the required legwork for success, not just driving down here to pick up fresh shrimp for dinner.”
“What do we know, Detective?” Josette asked. “I mean know, not guess.’’
“Their recent phone call lasted less than thirty seconds. We copied down every word. They want twenty-four thousand dollars in unmarked bills. From the time of their next phone call, we should be able to reach the exchange point in fifteen minutes. Antoine must be alone. Any sign of a cop and they say they’ll kill her. Her life and safety depend on us.”
Keenan looked to Antoine. “Did you recognize the voice?”
He shook his head. “It was distorted. No, more like muffled, as if whoever it was was speaking through something over their mouth.”
Detective Hyde looked at Keenan. “What do you read into the fifteen-minute exchange point?”
“I figure it’s their way of making sure the money is in Antoine’s hands when they call so that they’ll have instant access once they set up the exchange. Otherwise, we’d have trouble even getting the money into the car on time much less to an exchange point that we’d have to drive to.”
The men sat back down, gathered around the comfortable old table as if it was just a regular evening meal, yet the tension ran deep as they poured more coffee and analyzed over and over again what they thought would be the kidnapper’s next move—if they had one.
“Is there any problem with my sitting on the front porch?” Josette asked.
“Not at all.”
“Do you mind if I sit with you?” Antoine asked.
“I’d like that.”
Neither talked for fifteen minutes or so, the same length of time the abductors were giving them to get from this porch to Isadora. Antoine didn’t mention that, but Josette was certain he’d thought about it, too.
“I’m so sorry it’s come to this, Josette,” he said, finally breaking the silence. “I’m heartsick I didn’t go with Isadora or persuade her to come home with me that last night I saw her.”
“Don’t blame any of this on yourself, Dad. When Mother makes up her mind to do something, there is no stopping her. Everyone knows that, especially me. She invited me to come to New Orleans with her that trip, too, but I had a work deadline. Besides, I’d gone with her before on shorter publicity trips. She has a way of forgetting you’re there the moment the paparazzi and fans discover her.”
“I know, but this time was different. I knew it but I was so afraid of having my heart broken again. Well, now it may be broken for good.”
Hearing the agony in her father’s voice, she took his hand. “What makes you feel so strongly that something was different this time?”
“She asked me to go away with her. Not in the usual way, but as if she really needed me. At the last minute, I drove into town, needing to see her one more time before she left. When I got to the hotel, her fans were crowded all around her.” He paused and brushed the sleeve of his shirt across his nose.
“I had come prepared to change my mind and go with her but then I backed down, sure she could never love just me.”
“Do you love her, Dad?”
“I do. I finally realize how much. I spent too much time in the past worrying that I could never compete with what stardom could give her. I was hung up on holding to my roots instead of letting her feel free to go as far as she could in developing hers.” He shook his head, regret dripping from the motion. “If I could get just one more chance, I’d do it differently. I’d find a way to make us work somewhere between New York and New Orleans.” He turned to Josette and his sad eyes met hers. “If you ever find real love, Josette, don’t ever let it go.”
“I won’t, Dad.” It was excellent advice, she knew. Little did her father know she’d already found the love of her life. But could she find a way to not let Keenan go?
They sat in silence for a while as the skies turned a hazy gray. Just as she got up to go back inside, Lorraine’s truck drove up. Leaving Antoine to deal with the unwanted and likely uninvited guest, Josette decided it was time for her to find out exactly where the ransom was being held and by whom.
Keenan was in the family room just off the kitchen, sitting on the leather sofa, his left leg propped up on throw pillows, his cell phone to his ear, when Josette went back inside. Not wanting to disturb him, she walked down the hall to Antoine’s bedroom, even though she knew she’d just left him on the porch with Lorraine.
The door was locked. Strange, since she couldn’t remember the last time she’d known it to be locked. Perhaps that answered one of her own questions for her. That could well be the location of the ransom money.
Still curious, Josette walked down to the spare bedroom she used for rare overnight stays. It wasn’t locked and the blue duffel bag that had been in Antoine’s room was now here, lying on the top of the bed.
Josette unzipped the duffel. As before, it held the same folded, casual clothes and toiletries bag. Everything for a man ready to travel, a man destined to find his wife. At least that’s the way she chose to take it.
As she pawed through the items, she saw something shiny at the very bottom. She remembered the first time she’d seen the duffel, how she’d seen something glimmer in the duffel but she hadn’t had time to see what it was. Her father had been calling her and she didn’t want to get caught rifling through his stuff.
Now she pulled it out and her breath caught. The glimmering object was the silky, sequined sapphire fabric of the dress her mother had worn on her last night in the French Quarter. The gown she’d worn to the Mardi Gras ball. The last night she had been seen.
Over the years, Josette had created several stunning outfits for Isadora to wear for special occasions. Without fail, Isadora raved about the cocktail dresses, but this had been the first one she’d ever worn for a truly special occasion.
It ended up being seen all over the world as the mystery of Isadora’s disappearance became global news.
How had it ended up in her father’s luggage?
Josette held it up to her, running her hands over the shimmering fabric. Finally she turned for a look in the full-length mirror. Horror glared back at her.
Harley Broussard smiled at her, his fingers wrapped around the trigger of a black revolver.
“Nice dress, Josette.”
Chapter Twenty
Josette watched Harley Broussard close and lock the bedroom door behind him. Her instincts pressured her to scream, but she knew that would send Keenan rushing to her aid. Harley would be waiting on him, revolver in hand and ready to fire.
Her heart threatened to pound out of her chest, her mouth went dry, her throat tightened. Forcing in a breath, she said, “What are you doing here, Harley? What do you want?”
“You know what I want. Twenty-four thousand dollars. I’ll need it in cash as requested, and I’ll need it tonight if you want to live to see the sun rise in the morning. After that, neither you nor any of your rich friends and TV star family will ever have to see or speak to me again.”
“No, because you’ll be in prison,” she spat out. She marveled at her own bravado, though inside she felt as if she were falling apart.
“You’re wasting your time if you think you can frighten me off with that worthless, limping FBI agent you’ve got following you around like a puppy, pretending to be your protector. This will go much better for you if you keep Keenan and Antoine out of this. I know how you hate it when something or someone has to die.”
He flashed his revolver, treating it like a toy, and then pulled out a second gun from a holster at his ankle.
At the mention of Keenan and her father, she tried to pull herself together. Right now, she was all that stood between them and this crazed gunman. “How did you get in here?” Josette demanded. She had to keep him talking while she frantically planned her next move.
“Not that it matters, but your father’s girlfriend Lorraine drove me over. Antoine opened the door for me while your boyfriend was on the couch absorbed in a phone call. See what good that bodyguard has done for you?”
The bile in her stomach felt as if it were beginning to boil. “This was never a kidnapping or an abduction. You don’t have Isadora. You never did. You’re nothing but lies, lies, lies.”
It had never been about the money to Josette. It was Isadora who she feared for, the one who mattered. And now she realized that there was no plan for a ransom and no chance that Harley had Isadora. And no chance her mother would be coming home tonight. But Isadora was alive. Josette refused to believe anything else, no matter how many of her mother’s dresses Harley produced.
“How did you get her dress?” She may not make it out of this room alive, but she had to know.
“Easy enough,” he replied willingly. From the glimmer in his eyes, he was proud of himself. “I stole it from her hotel room.”
She remembered him saying he was working at the hotel at the time of her mother’s disappearance. “Why was it in my father’s duffel?”
“The better to frame him with.”
His smugness made her stomach roil. “What makes you believe anyone would—”
The glimmer disappeared and Harley’s face twisted into a visage of pure evil. “Enough! Get the money. Now.” He started to shake with rage. “Either I leave here with the money tonight or I die. And if I die, I won’t be going alone.” He waved his revolver again as if it were a victory flag. “I’ll be taking you and Keenan with me.”
* * *
KEENAN FINISHED HIS conversation with his FBI buddy. Dwayne Evans had been informative. While the agent hadn’t any news on Isadora’s whereabouts or Grant Gaines’s alibi, he’d shared interesting news about the drug cartel that had infiltrated Alligator Cove. The drug cartel that Harley Broussard now owed a cool twenty-four thousand dollars.
Keenan was eager to share the news with Josette, before he told Detective Hyde that he’d likely figured out their so-called kidnapper. He walked into the kitchen, where he found Lorraine spreading peanut butter on a slice of bread.
Evidently, someone with authority had added her to the list to be admitted into the house tonight. Most likely Antoine. It was his house.
“Tired of shrimp and crab?” Keenan asked.
“No way. The beginning didn’t even get started until I caught a plane to New Orleans one Friday afternoon on my way to a wedding and I met the most gorgeous woman that ever brushed me off.”
Josette reached out to grab his hand and brought it up to her lips. She smiled as she kissed it. “But she was impressed by the effort,” she said sincerely. “Where is that very smart woman who led you into the FBI now?”
“At her house taking care of three kids and two dogs. She was a great partner, but just in case you’re wondering, she was never anything more than a partner.”
“I wondered. I didn’t ask. I know you must have had a few women along the way.”
“More than a few, but I never met anyone who affects me as you do.” He leaned in, pressing her against the car, and wrapped his hands around her waist. When he dipped his head and touched his lips to her neck, she sighed. “I want to make love to you, Josette. I want it more than anything.”
His lips were a breath away from hers when her phone rang. Her tongue swept across her mouth, leaving a wet trail that he longed to discover, but he knew she couldn’t let the call go unanswered. Not now.
“It’s Detective Hyde,” she said when she looked down at the screen. After a few moments, she filled him on what the lawman had to say. “There’s been no communication. No change in assignments, either. The two kidnapping experts are changing shifts now. But Hyde suggests we drive back to Antoine’s. Hyde’s meeting us there.”
“Why the change in plans?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure. All he said was Dad is getting increasingly nervous, and Hyde doesn’t want to risk him making a dangerous move, whatever that would be at this point.” Her brows knitted and her eyes looked troubled. He knew how difficult this had to be for her and he reached out for her hand.
She glanced down at their clasped hands. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, but for what?”
“For helping me make it through this nightmare.”
He wanted to thank her, too. For making it so easy to love her.
But that had to wait. They had a kidnapping to solve.
Chapter Nineteen
Keenan slowed and killed the engine in the parking area in front of Antoine’s house. “Looks like your dad has company.”
Two men were walking the deck of the shrimp boat. Two other men appeared from the hull. None seemed interested in her or Keenan.
Josette’s temper exploded. She’d taken about as much of this as she could stand. She jumped from the car and raced toward the ship. Keenan quickly caught up with her. She wasn’t sure if it was to protect her or the men.
“That ship is private property,” Josette called.
A blond, lean, tanned man wearing a fishing hat turned toward her. “We know,” he called back. “We just bought it, or rather our boss did.”
“I suppose you have proof of that sale.”
“As a matter of fact, I do, but what makes it your business?”
“I’m Antoine Guillory’s daughter.”
“Your name’s not on the deed but join us on the deck and you can check out the paperwork. It’s all legal. Nothing for us to hide.”
The man doing the talking seemed friendly enough, no sign of stress in his appearance or voice. Apparently, bearing the name of Guillory meant nothing to him, either.
Josette and Keenan approached the man on the deck. He handed Keenan a folder full of paperwork. Josette read over his shoulder as he checked it out.
She grew more anxious with each detail. The sale looked legit. The selling price was the shocker. Compared with prices Antoine had told her others paid for boats much smaller and less fancy than this one, Antoine had gotten about half of the boat’s worth—maybe less.
Why hadn’t her dad come to her? She would have given him the ransom money and he never would have had to practically give away the boat.
The man who’d done the talking reached for his pile of paperwork. “We’ll be leaving and taking the shrimp boat with us.”
“You stole this boat at this price,” she protested. “My dad loves this boat.”
“Reckon he needed the money more than he needed the boat.” The men pocketed the paperwork and started up the engine.
They had no idea how right they were, Josette thought. Antoine needed the money and he’d had only days to get the ransom together, so he’d jumped into action and did what he thought would be the best move. He sold the shrimp boat and who knew what else.
That was the real heartbreaker. He would have done anything to save Isadora if he believed she was in danger from crazy abductors. But, dear God, Josette prayed, don’t let her be in danger now.
From now on, Josette would have to make sure her father at least kept some extra emergency money on him. Josette knew for a fact that Isadora had tried many times to get Antoine to take a monthly alimony check or whatever he’d prefer to call it. He’d always refused, his pride not letting him take money from his multimillionaire wife. As much money as Isadora donated to dozens of charities, she wouldn’t have hesitated to write a check for whatever amount Antoine needed. Only this time, she couldn’t. And now, Antoine was doing everything he could to protect her and Josette, the two women he loved most in this world.
Josette started toward the house. Her feet felt as heavy as bricks as she trudged up the steps. The minute she and Keenan went inside, she knew the heaviness all around them was about more than Antoine being nervous.
“What’s going on?” Josette demanded as she ran to her father. “It’s the kidnappers, isn’t it? Did you talk to them?”
His shoulders slumped, Antoine nodded. “We talked but I’m not sure how much they heard. They said what they had to say and hung up.”
“Did you tell them you have the ransom money?” Josette asked, her voice trembling.
Antoine only nodded.
Detective Hyde ushered her into a chair at the kitchen table and sat down. “Unfortunately, we can’t be sure of anything right now,” he told her. “Mostly we don’t know if the people demanding ransom are actually holding Isadora. They’re for sure not the only people trying to cash in on The Winds of Scandal/Jill Hawthorne viral rumor. However, much of that has died down now that Mardi Gras is approaching an end.”
Antoine walked over and put his hand on his daughter’s shoulder.
“We’ve got a great team working on this, Boo. They’ll figure it out.”
“I asked you before—did you tell them we have the money? When they call back, tell them we’ll give them double what they asked for. I’ll bring the cash to them in person if they’ll just release Mother.”
Keenan sat beside her at the table and took her hand. His fingers brushed over hers in a comforting gesture. “Like the detective said, so far, we only have their word that they have Isadora.”
Max Hyde stood up. “From now on, no one leaves the house alone. If you go farther away than the front steps, let someone know. I think we can agree on that at this point, right?”
Keenan nodded. “Right there with you. If they do have Isadora or any record of contact with her, now would be the smart time to flaunt it. Otherwise, they’re just any John Doe in the alley looking for some fool to hand over some cash.”
“You make it sound as if you have a deck stacked with aces,” Josette said.
“Just trying to use every trick in my box,” Max said. “I’m in Homicide now, remember? Just so you know, all that time you complain that I spend investigating those unsolved crimes like Isadora Guillory, I’m doing the required legwork for success, not just driving down here to pick up fresh shrimp for dinner.”
“What do we know, Detective?” Josette asked. “I mean know, not guess.’’
“Their recent phone call lasted less than thirty seconds. We copied down every word. They want twenty-four thousand dollars in unmarked bills. From the time of their next phone call, we should be able to reach the exchange point in fifteen minutes. Antoine must be alone. Any sign of a cop and they say they’ll kill her. Her life and safety depend on us.”
Keenan looked to Antoine. “Did you recognize the voice?”
He shook his head. “It was distorted. No, more like muffled, as if whoever it was was speaking through something over their mouth.”
Detective Hyde looked at Keenan. “What do you read into the fifteen-minute exchange point?”
“I figure it’s their way of making sure the money is in Antoine’s hands when they call so that they’ll have instant access once they set up the exchange. Otherwise, we’d have trouble even getting the money into the car on time much less to an exchange point that we’d have to drive to.”
The men sat back down, gathered around the comfortable old table as if it was just a regular evening meal, yet the tension ran deep as they poured more coffee and analyzed over and over again what they thought would be the kidnapper’s next move—if they had one.
“Is there any problem with my sitting on the front porch?” Josette asked.
“Not at all.”
“Do you mind if I sit with you?” Antoine asked.
“I’d like that.”
Neither talked for fifteen minutes or so, the same length of time the abductors were giving them to get from this porch to Isadora. Antoine didn’t mention that, but Josette was certain he’d thought about it, too.
“I’m so sorry it’s come to this, Josette,” he said, finally breaking the silence. “I’m heartsick I didn’t go with Isadora or persuade her to come home with me that last night I saw her.”
“Don’t blame any of this on yourself, Dad. When Mother makes up her mind to do something, there is no stopping her. Everyone knows that, especially me. She invited me to come to New Orleans with her that trip, too, but I had a work deadline. Besides, I’d gone with her before on shorter publicity trips. She has a way of forgetting you’re there the moment the paparazzi and fans discover her.”
“I know, but this time was different. I knew it but I was so afraid of having my heart broken again. Well, now it may be broken for good.”
Hearing the agony in her father’s voice, she took his hand. “What makes you feel so strongly that something was different this time?”
“She asked me to go away with her. Not in the usual way, but as if she really needed me. At the last minute, I drove into town, needing to see her one more time before she left. When I got to the hotel, her fans were crowded all around her.” He paused and brushed the sleeve of his shirt across his nose.
“I had come prepared to change my mind and go with her but then I backed down, sure she could never love just me.”
“Do you love her, Dad?”
“I do. I finally realize how much. I spent too much time in the past worrying that I could never compete with what stardom could give her. I was hung up on holding to my roots instead of letting her feel free to go as far as she could in developing hers.” He shook his head, regret dripping from the motion. “If I could get just one more chance, I’d do it differently. I’d find a way to make us work somewhere between New York and New Orleans.” He turned to Josette and his sad eyes met hers. “If you ever find real love, Josette, don’t ever let it go.”
“I won’t, Dad.” It was excellent advice, she knew. Little did her father know she’d already found the love of her life. But could she find a way to not let Keenan go?
They sat in silence for a while as the skies turned a hazy gray. Just as she got up to go back inside, Lorraine’s truck drove up. Leaving Antoine to deal with the unwanted and likely uninvited guest, Josette decided it was time for her to find out exactly where the ransom was being held and by whom.
Keenan was in the family room just off the kitchen, sitting on the leather sofa, his left leg propped up on throw pillows, his cell phone to his ear, when Josette went back inside. Not wanting to disturb him, she walked down the hall to Antoine’s bedroom, even though she knew she’d just left him on the porch with Lorraine.
The door was locked. Strange, since she couldn’t remember the last time she’d known it to be locked. Perhaps that answered one of her own questions for her. That could well be the location of the ransom money.
Still curious, Josette walked down to the spare bedroom she used for rare overnight stays. It wasn’t locked and the blue duffel bag that had been in Antoine’s room was now here, lying on the top of the bed.
Josette unzipped the duffel. As before, it held the same folded, casual clothes and toiletries bag. Everything for a man ready to travel, a man destined to find his wife. At least that’s the way she chose to take it.
As she pawed through the items, she saw something shiny at the very bottom. She remembered the first time she’d seen the duffel, how she’d seen something glimmer in the duffel but she hadn’t had time to see what it was. Her father had been calling her and she didn’t want to get caught rifling through his stuff.
Now she pulled it out and her breath caught. The glimmering object was the silky, sequined sapphire fabric of the dress her mother had worn on her last night in the French Quarter. The gown she’d worn to the Mardi Gras ball. The last night she had been seen.
Over the years, Josette had created several stunning outfits for Isadora to wear for special occasions. Without fail, Isadora raved about the cocktail dresses, but this had been the first one she’d ever worn for a truly special occasion.
It ended up being seen all over the world as the mystery of Isadora’s disappearance became global news.
How had it ended up in her father’s luggage?
Josette held it up to her, running her hands over the shimmering fabric. Finally she turned for a look in the full-length mirror. Horror glared back at her.
Harley Broussard smiled at her, his fingers wrapped around the trigger of a black revolver.
“Nice dress, Josette.”
Chapter Twenty
Josette watched Harley Broussard close and lock the bedroom door behind him. Her instincts pressured her to scream, but she knew that would send Keenan rushing to her aid. Harley would be waiting on him, revolver in hand and ready to fire.
Her heart threatened to pound out of her chest, her mouth went dry, her throat tightened. Forcing in a breath, she said, “What are you doing here, Harley? What do you want?”
“You know what I want. Twenty-four thousand dollars. I’ll need it in cash as requested, and I’ll need it tonight if you want to live to see the sun rise in the morning. After that, neither you nor any of your rich friends and TV star family will ever have to see or speak to me again.”
“No, because you’ll be in prison,” she spat out. She marveled at her own bravado, though inside she felt as if she were falling apart.
“You’re wasting your time if you think you can frighten me off with that worthless, limping FBI agent you’ve got following you around like a puppy, pretending to be your protector. This will go much better for you if you keep Keenan and Antoine out of this. I know how you hate it when something or someone has to die.”
He flashed his revolver, treating it like a toy, and then pulled out a second gun from a holster at his ankle.
At the mention of Keenan and her father, she tried to pull herself together. Right now, she was all that stood between them and this crazed gunman. “How did you get in here?” Josette demanded. She had to keep him talking while she frantically planned her next move.
“Not that it matters, but your father’s girlfriend Lorraine drove me over. Antoine opened the door for me while your boyfriend was on the couch absorbed in a phone call. See what good that bodyguard has done for you?”
The bile in her stomach felt as if it were beginning to boil. “This was never a kidnapping or an abduction. You don’t have Isadora. You never did. You’re nothing but lies, lies, lies.”
It had never been about the money to Josette. It was Isadora who she feared for, the one who mattered. And now she realized that there was no plan for a ransom and no chance that Harley had Isadora. And no chance her mother would be coming home tonight. But Isadora was alive. Josette refused to believe anything else, no matter how many of her mother’s dresses Harley produced.
“How did you get her dress?” She may not make it out of this room alive, but she had to know.
“Easy enough,” he replied willingly. From the glimmer in his eyes, he was proud of himself. “I stole it from her hotel room.”
She remembered him saying he was working at the hotel at the time of her mother’s disappearance. “Why was it in my father’s duffel?”
“The better to frame him with.”
His smugness made her stomach roil. “What makes you believe anyone would—”
The glimmer disappeared and Harley’s face twisted into a visage of pure evil. “Enough! Get the money. Now.” He started to shake with rage. “Either I leave here with the money tonight or I die. And if I die, I won’t be going alone.” He waved his revolver again as if it were a victory flag. “I’ll be taking you and Keenan with me.”
* * *
KEENAN FINISHED HIS conversation with his FBI buddy. Dwayne Evans had been informative. While the agent hadn’t any news on Isadora’s whereabouts or Grant Gaines’s alibi, he’d shared interesting news about the drug cartel that had infiltrated Alligator Cove. The drug cartel that Harley Broussard now owed a cool twenty-four thousand dollars.
Keenan was eager to share the news with Josette, before he told Detective Hyde that he’d likely figured out their so-called kidnapper. He walked into the kitchen, where he found Lorraine spreading peanut butter on a slice of bread.
Evidently, someone with authority had added her to the list to be admitted into the house tonight. Most likely Antoine. It was his house.
“Tired of shrimp and crab?” Keenan asked.
