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Two
independent cases involving missing women vie for the attention of
psychic Diana Racine and her life partner in crime, NOPD Lieutenant
Ernie Lucier. In the first case, Diana and Lucier search for the missing mother of a street boy they've taken under their wing. In the process of finding her, they expose the secret underbelly of crime and corruption among some of the city's most upstanding citizens, while putting Diana's and the boy's life in jeopardy at the same time. An eccentric socialite pressures Diana to rid her mansion of her twin sister's ghost in the second case. With no clues to go on, Diana and Lucier must first prove the missing sister is dead. Amazon |
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Read the first chapter
Chapter One
Téo
Ernie Lucier breathed in the warm
summer air, more humid than usual due to the past few days of
unrelenting rain. Tourists mingled with New Orleanians, jamming Jackson
Square, intent on enjoying the beautiful evening. Lucier wrapped his arm
tightly around Diana’s waist, drawing her close. God, he was happy. Diana struggled to keep up. “Hey, put on the
brakes, will ya?” He slowed his pace. “Sorry. I forgot you take
girly steps.” She came to an abrupt stop, hands on her hips.
“Wait one minute. You’re six-two; I’m a foot shorter. They’re not girly
steps, they’re five-feet-two steps. Plus, I’ve just filled my belly with
exceptional Cajun cuisine. If I walk any faster, it’ll wind up all over
the sidewalk. What’s your hurry, anyway?” He nuzzled her and whispered, “I’m in the mood.” “For what?” “For cuddling with this cute little psychic gal I
know who―” “Stop, thief! That kid stole my purse.” Lucier and Diana turned to see a woman dressed in
leopard leggings, screaming at a scrawny kid sprinting through the
dawdling masses. “Oh, shit. Wait here.” Lucier took off in
pursuit. The kid turned on the speed, darting in and out
of the crowd. He should have been no match for the man, but the residual
effects of Lucier’s recent health problems showed in his sluggish pace.
Come on, Ernie. You can do it.
He got a second wind and forged ahead, regulating his breathing and
settling into a rhythm. He needed to get his hands on the little bandit. Rather than blocking the kid’s way, the crowd
opened a path for him to soar through. Lucier raised his arm to attract attention.
“Police. Stop that boy.” “Stop him yourself,” someone said. “Don’t shoot him,” another yelled. The last comment pissed Lucier off, as if he’d
shoot a kid for stealing a purse. He dug into the inner breast pocket of
his linen jacket, pulled out his badge case, and waved it in the air as
he ran. By the time anyone saw it, the kid had scooted past them. At
least Lucier had worn jeans and running shoes for the casual evening
out. Huffing, his heart on the verge of exploding, he
yelled again, “Stop!” Damn if he was going to lose ground to a pre-teen
purse-snatcher. An extra burst of speed brought him almost within reach.
One lunge forward and he grabbed the rascal by the shirt and lifted him
clear off the ground. “Leave me alone,” the kid shouted to anyone who’d
listen, his legs pinwheeling in the air. “He’s trying to kill me.” A few in the gathering crowd tried pulling the
boy away from Lucier. Barely able to breathe, he sputtered, “I’m a
police officer.” He raised his badge. “This boy stole a woman’s
handbag.” The kid, slightly less winded than his
apprehender, waved his free hands in the air and shouted, “I don’t have
a handbag. See? Nothing. He’s a perv.” With an angry mob leering at Lucier, he raised
his hand. “Don’t do anything stupid. This kid took a woman’s handbag and
ran with it. He must have ditched it.” “Your word against his,” someone in the crowd
said, championed by a few others. “How do we know you didn’t steal the badge?”
another voice chimed in. With all the recent national news coverage about
overzealous cops, he understood the crowd’s concern. He moved his jacket
aside to display his weapon. A woman pointed. “Look, he has a gun.” As the crowd moved toward Lucier, he settled the
boy on the ground with a firm grasp on his arm. “Anyone try to stop me
and you’ll be assaulting an officer of the NOPD.” “If he took a handbag, where is it?” “Right here,” Diana said, breaking through the
angry mob and clearly out of breath. “That’s Diana Racine,” a voice called out. “Yeah, and that’s her cop boyfriend.” “I recognize him now.” Lucier suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, but
for once, he appreciated that he was recognizable. He glanced at Diana,
who grinned. “I saw him toss it inside a trash barrel on the
corner,” she said. “That’s my purse.” The leopard-clad woman with
huge dangling earrings approached with the noisy clickety-clack of her
high heels. “That little punk took it. If I weren’t a lady and wearing
four-inch heels, I’d have gone after him myself. And if he wasn’t a
minor, I’d kick him where it hurt.” From the way her low-cut top left half her chest
exposed, Lucier doubted she was a lady, but he kept the thought to
himself. Whether she was a lady or not, the kid stole her purse. “You
want to bring charges?” “I needed money to eat,” the kid said, his body
trembling, “I was hungry. I asked people for money, but no one would
give me any.” “Yeah, right.” The woman moved in on the boy.
“You’re a lying little thief, that’s what you are.” Wriggling in Lucier’s hold, he started to cry.
“I’m not.” Lucier knew crocodile tears when he saw them. Still, what if
he really was hungry? “What’s your name, son?” “I’m not your son,” the boy said defiantly,
wriggling even more in Lucier’s grasp. “I don’t have a father.”
Oh, Jeez. When it came to
kids, Lucier knew he was the softest touch on the force, but he couldn’t
cave now. “Name,” he demanded. The child, a mix of ethnicity typical of New
Orleans, clamped his mouth shut and went limp. He couldn’t have weighed
sixty pounds. “Name, and you better give it to me.” For the first time, fear twisted the kid’s face.
“Matéo. They call me Téo.” He pronounced the name Tayo. “You’re not
going to arrest me, are you? The money was for food.” “You stole this woman’s purse. What do you
think?” He took the purse from Diana’s hand. “Hold on to him.”
She grabbed the boy’s arm, winced, and stepped back. The kid didn’t try
to wriggle from her hold.
Lucier had seen that look on Diana’s face before. “What?” Diana shook her head. “Not now. Later.” He
could only imagine what electrical charge she got from the boy. With a
backward glance, he approached the woman in the leopard tights with her
recovered purse and pulled her aside from the throng of people that had
gathered. He extracted his card. “You can file a complaint; that’s up to
you. But if the kid’s homeless and hungry, I hope you consider dropping
the charges. Can you hold off? You got your purse back.” The woman looked to the boy. She grabbed her
purse and pulled out a card from inside. “I own Trixie’s Toys on
Bourbon. I’m Trixie. If the kid’s lying, I’m coming in tomorrow to file
a complaint. Lemme know.” “Thanks,” Lucier said. “I will. Give me a chance
to check his story.” She looked him up and down, flashed a seductive
smile. “You can come and tell me in person, you know. I can set you and
your girlfriend up with a few toys. Or for you with, you know, whoever.” “I’ll bring her in and buy her a sexy nightgown.
How’s that?” Trixie shot Diana an appraising nod. “Hard to
make a little thing like that sexy, but I’ll see what I can do.” Diana was a whole let sexier to Lucier’s eye than
Trixie would ever be, but he wasn’t about to offer his opinion. “Thanks,
Trixie.” She batted her false eyelashes and walked off, tossing a
flirtatious grin over her shoulder and shaking her backside for all she
was worth. Diana looked like she was going to burst when he
turned back to her. He’d bet his adorable, unpredictable girlfriend had
seen something when she touched the young purse snatcher, something she
couldn’t wait to impart. To her credit, she said nothing. She didn’t
have to. “What are you going to do with me?” Téo asked. “If you’re telling the truth, then the first
thing we’ll do is get you something to eat.” “No jail?” Lucier didn’t know whether the kid was lying, but
something about the boy got to him. Maybe it was his big dark eyes, the
smudge on his cheek, or the dirty clothes. Whatever, he’d clearly been
through some hard times. “We’ll see.” He winked at Diana. He knew she
couldn’t eat another thing, but he hoped she’d play along. “Hungry?” “Ah, dessert for sure.” They were near one of Lucier’s favorite
restaurants, The Camellia Grill, where the servings were plentiful and
the service couldn’t be beat. Someone moved over a seat so the three of
them could sit together at the u-shaped bar. “What do you want to eat,
Téo?” Looking over the menu, his eyes wide, Téo said,
“Everything, but I’ll settle for a burger and fries.” Lucier ordered for Téo. “Coffee for me.” “I’ll have a slice of that wonderful cheesecake,”
Diana said, “but I’ll need help eating it.” “I’ll help,” Téo said. Lucier’s heartstrings plucked. Téo looked a
little like one of his sons. He tried not to think of that right now. He
needed to keep emotions out of this. What had Diana seen when she
grabbed the boy’s arm? “What’s your last name, Téo?” When the boy didn’t
answer, Lucier said, “Last name.” “Jackson,” he mumbled. “Matéo Jackson?” Téo nodded. “How old are you, Téo?” “Ten.” “Where do you live?” “Here and there. Depends.” “On what?” He set those big soulful eyes on Lucier. “On
wherever looks safe.” That stopped Lucier. “Where are your parents? No
fudging the answers; I need to know.” Téo leaned back in his chair. “I don’t know what
happened to my mother. Last I saw her, she had company, but when I went
home, she left a note saying she’d be back. It didn’t look like her
writing. She never came home. I looked everywhere for her. This time
when I got home, the door was padlocked. The landlord wouldn’t let me
back into the house unless we paid the rent.” The boy’s eyes filled with
tears. “She has a drug problem. No telling where she is.” Lucier knew the lure of drugs, the dependency,
and physical desire. No, more than desire, need. During a recent
investigation, the bad guys hooked him on heroine when he got too close
to exposing them. The addiction worked and almost killed him in the
process. He’d have done anything to get his next fix. “Who’s her supplier?” Téo stiffened. “I … I don’t know.” Was he was too scared to say? “I waited at the house, but she never came home.
The landlord let me pack some things and told me when I paid the rent
he’d let me back inside. I’m ten years old. Where would I get rent
money?” No kid should ever be in that position. “Where
did you live?” Téo told him. Lucier recognized the area. Not a
bad part of town. In fact, it was a middle class neighborhood, and that
confused him. “What’s your mother’s name?” Téo sipped his soda. “Shaleen. Shaleen Jackson.” “So you’ve been living on the street?” Tears filled his eyes. “Sometimes. There was no
place else to go.” “Did you steal before tonight?” The boy looked away. “Did you?” “I was hungry.” Tears cascaded down his cheeks.
Real tears this time. When the food arrived, Téo dove into his burger
with a gusto Lucier hadn’t seen since he was in the army. The kid took a
huge bite, then crammed a couple of fries into his already overstuffed
mouth. “Hey, take it easy. We’re not in a rush.” He
caught Diana brushing away a tear. “Stay right here.” He put his hand on
Téo’s shoulder. “You’re not going to take off, are you?” Téo chewed and swallowed. “You’ll only come after
me. But I don’t know, you might not have another run in you.” Lucier almost laughed. “Might not, but I’ll call
a patrol car, and when they pick you up, they’ll take you to juvie, and
they won’t feed you.” Téo scrunched his face and added a nod. “I’ll be
here.” He dug back into his burger. Lucier moved to Diana’s side and whispered in her
ear. “What did you see?” She whispered back. “He sleeps in a crack between
buildings on a piece of cardboard.” Lucier felt ill. What
had happened to his mother that this boy slept on the street?
Wherever it’s safe. He was
going to find out. He’d track down his mother, dammit. He went outside
and called Beecher, who was working late tonight. “Sam, check on a woman
by the name of Shaleen Jackson. She has a son, Matéo, ten.” He gave
Beecher Téo’s address. “That’s all I know right now. Find out as much as
you can. See if the kid is in school, and check who’s dealing drugs in
that area. Mother’s a user.” “What’s with the kid?” “Caught him stealing a woman’s purse so he could
buy something to eat. I’m feeding him now. Diana said he sleeps in an
alley on cardboard.” “Old kindhearted Lucier. Next thing you’ll be
taking him home with you. Remember, he’s a thief.” “I’ll keep that in mind.” “I’ll get on it right away. Nothing much going on
here anyway. Oh, by the way, Miss Rousseau called again after you left.
She’s begging to meet Diana. I don’t know what to tell her anymore.” Lucier let out a long sigh. “I’ll make an
appointment to see her tomorrow, and I’ll talk to Diana. But right now,
find out about the kid’s mother.” “Will do. I’ll have something in the morning.” Lucier cut the connection and went back inside
where Téo was now polishing off Diana’s cheesecake. Diana saw what she
saw. He had no illusion about that. “Are you going to put me in jail?” Téo asked. Diana leaned in. “No, you’re coming home with us
tonight. Maybe the lieutenant can find your mother, get her help.
Maybe.” Diana didn’t even look at Lucier when she
announced her decision. Not even a glance. What could he say now? One
night. That’s all. Then tomorrow he’d figure out what to do. He’d talk
to Child Services and find the boy’s mother. One night. “Where do you keep your things?” he asked the
boy. “My backpack? It’s safe.” “Let’s go get it.” |