Free Blood on the Bayou: A Cafferty & Quinn Novella by Heather Graham

Accuse a neighbor and the land was taken and then it went up for sale. None of that came about this time until David and Julian opened their business. I’m going to see who is doing what.”
    “Byron Grayson wanted the land,” Quinn told her. “And Grayson has gone missing.”
    “Be careful,” she said.
    He gave her what should have been a quick kiss good-bye for the day.
    She caught the anguish in his eyes and the kiss became something deeper.
    A loud “ahem” made them break apart and laugh.
    Bo Ray had apparently followed Billie in, because he said, “See, when life is good, you just don’t think the way some others might. That came out wrong. That doesn’t mean that all single people are sex fiends. I just…okay. Bo Ray, time to just shut up and get your foot out of your mouth.”
    Quinn looked at Bo Ray and shook his head with amusement. “Keep in touch all day, everyone.”
    Billie nodded.
    “Go,” Danni told Quinn. “You two have coffee. Enjoy your breakfast. I’m going to take that display down before I take off with Natasha.”
    Quinn exited out the kitchen door to the courtyard and the garage. He paused there, looking back at her. She smiled. He nodded and kept going. Danni headed down the hallway and into the store. Moving a few props, she reached the store side of her left facing display window. The mannequin wasn’t heavy, just a little awkward. She picked it up first and set it down, staring at the creation. It was damned good. She’d bought it from a friend in Louisiana’s booming film business.
    The eyes almost seemed to follow her.
    She wagged a finger at the mannequin. “Sick murderer, playing on legend. How could you kill that beautiful young woman who never hurt a soul? Or kill anyone. Look at the legacy you’ve left.”
     Crawling back into the window, she hurriedly gathered the rest of the items that had made up the display, tossing them into the shop. Then she looked around, trying to decide what she was going to put up in place of the display on Count D’Oro and the rougarou .
    Billie came into the shop.
    “Egyptian,” she announced. “We have that mannequin of Cleopatra. We can add a lot of the local jewelry. There’s a really beautiful ankh and then, to the side, we can add in a display of those fleur-de-lis pendants. Not Egyptian per se, but for now it will do.”
    “Aye, lass, got it. I’ll need Bo Ray to help.”
    He turned and left her, heading back down the hallway.
    The mannequin of Count D’Oro suddenly fell over.
    The cane rolled across the floor and landed at Danni’s feet, the silver wolf’s head seeming to stare up at her. For a moment, she froze. The way the mannequin had landed, it seemed to be staring at her too. She trembled despite herself, then walked over and glared down at the mannequin, kicking the cane to the side.
    “We will end this,” she said with determination.
    And it almost seemed like the mannequin disagreed.
    Challenging her to do so.
     

Chapter 5
    Quinn met up with Detectives Beauchamp and Deerfield and they headed out on a police boat, stopping by properties in Honey Swamp, briefly speaking to those they found along the way. Everyone seemed to think that the rougarou had awakened, so they were all staying armed and close to home.
    “I’m going to have a bunch of shot-up tourists on my hands soon enough,” Deerfield said, looking a bit like a disgruntled bulldog.
    They saved Selena Duarte for the next to the last and planned on visiting Julian Henri’s property last. Quinn hopped up on the dock at Selena Duarte’s rustic wood home on the water. He knocked at the door several times, peered in the window, and knocked again.
    No answer.
    He headed back down to the dock to speak with Beauchamp and Deerfield.
    “She’s not there,” he said.
    “Selena’s there,” Deerfield said. “She’s just being an old pain in the ass.”
    Deerfield hopped to the dock and left Beauchamp and Quinn to tie up the boat.
    “Selena, you ornery