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

Git.”
    Quinn was certain that if she’d been holding a shotgun, she would have pointed it at them. He turned and headed down the dock with the other two men.
    But Beauchamp couldn’t let it go and turned back. “You’re sad, Selena Duarte. A sad old sack of a woman. Sorry to say, I’ll probably be the one picking up your bones when you die, holed up in your shack all alone, without anyone to give a damn.”
    Selena stared after them, startled and in silence.
    “Unless the rougarou gets you first,” Beauchamp muttered.
    They continued to the boat.
    Little else to do.
     
    * * * *
     
    “Danni?”
    She was down in the “basement” of the shop, in her father’s office, sifting through page after page in his book, hoping for another reference to the rougarou .
    The voice was Jake Larue’s.
    “I’m down here,” she called out.
    Larue descended the stairs and said, “You’re not alone down here, are you?”
    “Hardly.”
    Wolf lay at her feet.
    “Someone is playing tricks on us,” he said. “Those footprints at your place, the substance. It’s blood. Human. It came from the second victim, the young woman Quinn found in the swamp. I’m beginning to wonder if there is a rougarou running around.”
    “A very athletic rougaro u,” Danni said. “How does the creature make its way into the city? Does it have a chauffeur? In which case, we’re still looking for a living, breathing man. Has forensics determined the type of blood that was found in Byron Grayson’s office?”
    “They’re still trying, coming up with gator, raccoon, fox, and wild boar.”
    “A mixture?”
    “Hard to analyze, or so I’ve been told.”
    “Has anyone found Byron Grayson?”
    “No sign of him.”
    “But,” she asked, her words slow, “no more bodies, right?”
    “No more bodies. I tried to get Quinn. He must be out of phone range. I just wanted to tell you to make sure that you were careful. Someone, or something, was in your courtyard.”
    “I have Wolf,” she said. “But I promise, I’ll be careful.”
    He said good-bye and she returned her attention to the book. But no answers were there. She closed the cover, called to Wolf, and locked up the basement. Heading up to the shop, she told Billie she was going to the library. Wolf would have to stay at the house.
    She also shared what Larue had told her with Billie.
    “I’ll be on the lookout. And Wolf is the best alarm system in the world. He’s got an instinct that puts you and Quinn to shame,” he added with a grin.
    “Yes, he does. Anything from Natasha or Father Ryan?”
    “Natasha called a bit ago. She’s put some feelers out among her community. People are scared. Most believe that there is a monster out there, rougarou or other.”
    “And Father Ryan?”
    “He said that he’s checking into local records. No word among his parishioners that anyone knows anything about what’s been happening.”
    “I’ll be at the library on Loyola,” she said.
    She headed into the courtyard and across to the garage. Twenty minutes later, she was sitting in the public library. The librarian had been a tremendous help, supplying her with stack upon stack of information dealing with the Wolfman murders of twenty years ago. She was deep into her reading when she jumped, startled to see that someone had taken a seat in front of her.
    Father Ryan.
    She let out a sigh and sat back, smiling. “You startled me.”
    “What have you found?” he asked her.
    “Did you ever hear of or know a man named Jacob Devereaux?”
    “Sure. He was a realtor in town. Died years ago, though.”
    “Did you know that he was interviewed about the murder of Genevieve LaCoste?”
    “I did. He was a frequent visitor to her shop, if I recall. The supposition at the time was that he had a crush on her. But he also had an alibi. There was nothing that suggested he’d pulled off the crime. The police were looking everywhere. I think the belief at the time was that the murderer had been