Between Dusk and Dawn (29 page)

“
I ‘ll consider your
suggestion. We could get together to talk about it more.” Mr. Young
tilted his head to one side.

“
I’ll leave the information
with the social worker when I come back for a visit.” LaShaun let
her smile freeze in place.

“
After you call to check
with me first of course.” Mr. Young’s demeanor seemed a bit less
friendly.

LaShaun let a few beats pass before
she answered. “Of course. Goodbye.”

She nodded once at him and walked off.
LaShaun didn’t need to look back to know his scrutiny included not
only her body, but her motives. The man had a creepy, controlling
kind of aura about him. Before he arrived his wife might have told
LaShaun more. Yet Miss Flora Lee had given her clues, and so had
Manny. Now it was up to her to follow them.

“
I need to find out more
about the Young family,” LaShaun murmured as she got to her Honda
CRV and hit the remote to unlock the driver’s side door.

Chapter 16

Chase stood at the double wash basin
in LaShaun’s master bathroom shaving. He stopped every few seconds
to wipe steam from the mirror. LaShaun stood at the other end of
the long marble vanity. She rinsed with mouthwash and spit into the
toilet. They were getting ready leave for lunch with his parents.
The weather had turned warmer, and rain splattered against the
bathroom window. She hoped the gray clouds and storms weren’t a
sign of how her first meeting with the Broussards would
go.

“
Absolutely a bad idea,”
Chase said, and paused before swiping the last of the creamy lather
from his left cheek. “I don’t think driving over to see one of
Manny’s sisters will help at all. Plus Orin could influence Manny
not to talk to us again if he gets wind you’re digging up family
dirt.”

“
She lives in Beaumont,
Texas and doesn’t even speak to her parents anymore. That tells me
a lot. He won’t know. And no, I don’t want you to come with me,”
LaShaun said when he started to speak.

“
I wasn’t going to offer.
With all that’s going on I can’t be running down shadows a couple
of hundred miles away. The deputies over in Cameron Parish found
another body. Tuesday I’m driving over to Rockefeller Wildlife
Refuge to look at the scene.” Chase wiped his face with the fluffy
towel then tossed it into the wicker hamper. “I’ll load the washer
when we get back.”

“
My, my, a sexy man who
does laundry.” LaShaun eased up behind him and wrapped her arms
around his waist. She snuggled closer to him provocatively. “Now
why don’t you get your agitator working on me.”

Chase twisted around in her embrace
until they faced each other. He nuzzled her freshly washed hair.
“You smell delicious, and you feel even better.”

“
So do you.” LaShaun
wiggled in his arms.

“
But you haven’t distracted
me from the subject. I’m asking you not to take a trip to see one
of those sisters,” he whispered. “I might want to follow that lead
later on since one of those bodies was found in Texas.”

“
Mr. Smart-ass,” LaShaun
said with a scowl and slapped his shoulder lightly. “Besides, you
just said there wasn’t anything important to find out. So it’s my
time to waste.”

“
I need to get you married
and busy taking care of our kids.” Chase turned on the blow dryer
just in time to drown out LaShaun’s angry growl.

“
Oh no you didn’t just turn
into a cave man! If the phrase ‘barefoot and pregnant’ ever comes
from those hot lips I’m going to barbecue you.” LaShaun yelled to
be heard over the hum of the hair dryer.

Chase laughed and kept combing through
his thick black hair as the hot blast of air ruffed it, making him
look even sexier. LaShaun combed through her own hair, putting
jojoba oil on it to moisturize the thick curls. She glared at him a
few times in the mirror, but he simply grinned back. When he
flipped the switch the sound from the dryer died.

“
Are you still speaking to
me?” he said.

“
Let me think about it,”
LaShaun tossed back.

She brushed his hand away when he
tried to touch her arm. He tried again, and she didn’t stop his
long fingers from stroking her bare skin. Chase tugged at one strap
of the tank top that matched her cotton flannel pajama
pants.

“
Okay, we can’t go see my
folks not speaking to one another. We have time to make up,” he
said softly.

“
Smooth talking politician.
Those tactics won’t work on me.” LaShaun tilted her head back as
his lips trailed kisses down her neck.

“
Then let’s stop talkin’,”
he whispered.

Chase backed through the bathroom door
to the queen-sized bed. Not bothering to undress, he pulled down
her pajama pants but didn’t wait to take off her top. He managed to
kick free of his drawstring pajama pants as well. Like two college
kids rushing before being caught, they made love on top of the
covers. Fast and intense, Chase got right down to business. No
foreplay except a few nibbles at her breast through the soft cotton
tank top. The sensation sent her libido into high gear. For a long
delicious time he went fast until LaShaun gasped, then slowed
down.

“
More,” she
whispered.

His answer was a groan as he plunged
deeper inside her. They came at the same time gasping words of
love, and then lay wrapped together for ten minutes before
LaShaun’s head cleared from the rapture. Eyes still closed, Chase
had one long leg thrown across both of hers.

“
Now we have to shower
again,” she said finally.

“
Worth it,” he replied and
let out a sigh.

LaShaun kissed his forehead and then
pushed him aside. He grunted in protest. “We better get a move on.
I don’t want us looking like we’ve been foolin’ around just minutes
before we get to your parents’ house.”

“
We
have
been foolin’ around,” Chase
said. His eyes were still closed as he smiled.

“
I’ve got enough strikes
against me. I’m going to look as close to saintly as
possible.”

LaShaun hissed at his loud laugher and
padded into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Minutes later
she dressed in fresh lounge pants and a t-shirt. Chase took his
turn standing under the waterfall shower head. While he sang hard
rock songs from the eighties off-key LaShaun went to kitchen and
put on a pot of coffee. Then she cooked scrambled eggs and made
toast for a light breakfast. She gazed at the wall clock. Nine
o’clock. In an hour or so they would get dressed and drive to the
small town of Meaux, Louisiana where his folks lived. They were
going for lunch, but LaShaun felt like she was headed for a trial
of some sort. And honestly she felt unprepared and guilty as hell.
Having her fresh fingerprints all over their baby boy sure wouldn’t
help. Chase came in whistling. The ends of his dark curly hair were
still damp from his most recent shower. He sat at the table and
scooped up a serving of eggs from the still warm skillet on the
table.

“
Thanks for the breakfast,
babe. I would have fixed it when I finished getting pretty.” He
winked at her.

“
I needed to work off this
nervous energy.” LaShaun drank coffee and swallowed
hard.

Chase gazed at her. “You don’t have
any reason to be nervous. My folks aren’t going to bite. Besides,
they know to be on their best behavior.”

“
I’m not scared, much...”
LaShaun stared out of the bay window to the sun drenched lawn of
her backyard.

“
You’re the woman who faces
down dark forces from the other side. Surely two middle-aged Cajuns
don’t make you jumpy.”

“
No. I mean, well... yes.”
LaShaun gave him a weak smile. “I know it sounds silly.”

“
You’re going to be part of
my family. You’re already part of me.” Chase wore a serious
expression as he squeezed her knee beneath the table. “Case closed.
My parents will accept you.”

“
There’s so much baggage
attached to the Rousselle name, not to mention my bad rep.” LaShaun
sighed. “And it could cost you the election. That interview Friday
night was tense. Your opponent kept talking about how he’s a family
man, and believes in good Christian values. He might as well have
come out and said my name.”

“
We discussed facts and
issues.” Chase chewed on toast.

“
Yeah.”

LaShaun didn’t see it that way. Dave
Godchaux had taken every opportunity to imply that he was the good
clean man for the job of Sheriff. “What about that stuff he said
about being careful of his associations, and not giving even the
appearance of impropriety? I was the elephant in the room that he
didn’t mention, but kept nodding toward.”

“
I think it went well.”
Chase stuffed more toast in his mouth.

“
You did good.” LaShaun
smiled at him.

She had to admit Chase had been poised
and professional, every inch the lawman. He’d talked about hiring
more officers, getting the veteran deputies more training at the
Louisiana State Police Academy and the new equipment the office
could use. While his opponent had spent more time staking his claim
on being a solid good old country boy with down home morals. Chase
sounded like he was prepared for the job of being sheriff, young
and ready to do his best. LaShaun wondered if it would be
enough.

“
The election is in April.
I just hope nothing happens between now and then.” LaShaun chewed
on a thumb instead of the food on her plate.

“
Like what?” Chase squinted
at her. “What have you been up to?”

“
Nothing. Really,” she
added when his expression didn’t change. “Well, not much. I went to
see Manny’s grandmother at the nursing home. She didn’t seem all
that senile to me; more like she was full of remorse, sadness and
scared of her husband.”

“
Scared of Mr. Orin? That
doesn’t sound right. I’ve always heard he provided for the family,
and was a solid citizen. There’s old gossip about a few flings he
had with women back in the day. But...”

“
So you have been doing a
background check on him,” LaShaun said eagerly. “Mr. Clean has his
skeletons in the closet. Now that makes sense. He seems like a man
who likes the ladies.”

“
Whoa, slow down. I didn’t
say he was all that bad, and from what I hear that was a long time
ago.”

“
Yeah, you didn’t see the
way this middle-aged nurse at Shady Grove got all possessive.”
LaShaun squinted. “And Miss Flora Lee didn’t talk about how good he
was to her and the kids either. In fact, I got the impression that
she’d led a miserable life. She went on and on about how she should
have protected her daughters. At first I thought she meant from
their brother or even Manny, but maybe she was talking about
Mr. Orin
.”

“
I haven’t heard any such
talk,” Chase replied with a shrug.

“
Lots of family secrets
stay hidden for years when it comes to abuse.” LaShaun leaned
forward warming to her line of logic.

Chase started to object then stopped.
His expression darkened. “You’re right. I’ve seen enough in my time
on the job to know that’s the truth.”

“
Mr. Orin wasn’t happy to
see me at that nursing home talking to his wife. I got the distinct
whiff of dirty secrets. Which is why I’m going to go visit one of
their daughters in Texas,” LaShaun said casually and then took
another sip of coffee.

“
We’re back to that.
Naturally I can’t order you not to go to Beaumont,” Chase
said.

“
I wouldn’t advise it,
Chase Jules Broussard. You already walked across thin ice with that
crack about me being busy having babies,” LaShaun
warned.

“
My grandmother used to
call me by my full name when I was close to getting a whippin’,”
Chase quipped.

“
That’s what I’m talkin’
about,” LaShaun pointed at the end of his nose.

He raised both hands like a suspect
surrendering. “Fine, I give up. Just be very careful. Which
daughter are you going to see, and do you plan to call her
first?”

“
Verlena Joubert. I got the
name from Miss Clo.” LaShaun sprang from her seat and found her
smart phone. “She’s married to Guy Joubert. He took a job with a
trucking company about two years ago and they moved from Lake
Charles to Beaumont. Miss Clo says she always wondered why the
girls just disappeared. But everybody says Mr. Orin was real
strict. Verlena and her two sisters all left one by one home in
their late teens. Diane is the oldest, not that much older than
Manny. I think she was fourteen when he was born. Miss Clo says
they treated Manny more like a little brother.”

Chase sat with his arms folded at she
talked. “I wish y’all would leave the detecting to us
professionals. ”

“
She’s been real helpful.
Now would you have known all of that so fast? No.” LaShaun said
before Chase could take a breath to respond. When she sat at the
table again she brushed a hand over his thick curls. “I promise to
drive the safely, obey all traffic laws and watch my
back.”