Dave straightened as he glanced at his watch. “Clock’s ticking, Nettle, so here’s the deal. You want to talk to Elliot, you’ll have to agree to my terms. Otherwise, when he gets here, he’ll find nothing but an empty cabin. A day or two from now, when he’s already made a deal with someone else, Titus here will march you into headquarters in handcuffs and leg irons. That won’t look so good on TV. That’s the kind of image that sticks in a prospective juror’s head.”
“No shit,” Titus said with a grin. “And no offense, but you ain’t exactly got what I’d call a sympathetic mug to begin with. You don’t want your veins pickled up there at the farm, you best hear the man out.”
“All you have to do is give me a name,” Dave said. “You tell me who placed those calls to my cell phone after my little girl disappeared, and you and me are done. You make your deal with Lee Elliot. I’ll stay out of it.”
Nettle turned his head and looked at Claire. “You sure you want her in here for this?”
“I’m not leaving,” she said, but her hands were sweaty and her heart had suddenly started to race.
He nodded toward Dave. “Why don’t you ask him why he brought you out here? I’m beginning to think this little dog-and-pony show he put together was just for your benefit.” He glanced up. “Ain’t that right, chief?”
“You’re a piece of shit, Nettle.”
The man laughed, his grinning face grotesque in the flickering lamplight. He cut his gaze back to Claire and lowered his voice. “You really want to know who made those phone calls?”
Claire nodded, her mouth suddenly so dry she couldn’t speak.
Nettle gave her a look that was half amused, half pitying. “It was your old man. Yeah, that’s right,” he said with a grin when Claire reacted. “Alex Girard made those calls. He thought it all up on his own. Said the kid was already dead, might as well use the kidnapping to our advantage.”
Claire felt as if she’d just been punched in the chest. She leaned against the wall, her breath suspended painfully in her lungs. And then her gaze went to Dave, and she could tell from the look on his face that Nettle was right. He’d already known about Alex. He just hadn’t had the guts to tell her himself.
Lee Elliot knew how to work a crowd, even the small group of cops that had gathered outside the cabin door to watch Clive Nettle’s perp walk to the nearest squad car. In his light-colored suit and silk tie, the Orleans Parish D.A. looked as if he’d just come from a Garden District soiree rather than a lengthy meeting with a cold-blooded killer. He had the charm and charisma of a natural-born politician, the breeding and manners of an old-fashioned Southern gentlemen, the lazy drawl of a pickup-truck redneck. In short, he was everything to everybody.
After Nettle was loaded into the back of the squad car, Elliot came over and clapped Titus on the back. Angelette was with him, but she didn’t say a word. She’d been keeping a low profile ever since she arrived. However, as she stood next to Elliot, Dave could feel her gaze, burning with its usual intensity.
“I appreciate that you boys wanted me out here to make sure everything went down by the book, but you would have made my job a lot easier if you hadn’t been quite so zealous in your pursuit of justice. Looks like you used Nettle for a punching bag. That won’t sit well with his defense attorney.”
“He resisted arrest,” Titus said.
“And you won’t have a problem swearing to that under oath, I don’t suppose.”
“No problem at all. You got a Bible on you, I’ll swear to it right now.”
“I don’t think we need to go that far.” Elliot’s gaze shifted to Dave. “And let me guess. You just happened to be in the neighborhood and offered your assistance.”
“Something like that.”
Elliot’s blue eyes twinkled in the flashing light from the nearest squad car. “You know, you’re a pretty impressive guy, Dave. I like how you operate. We could use a good investigator like you in the D.A.’s office. Have you ever thought about coming back to the force? The commissioner is a second cousin of mine. I could put in a good word for you.”
“Thanks, but I’ve burned too many bridges in New Orleans. I like it just fine where I am.”
“You ever change your mind, give me a call.”
He moved on then, and Dave looked around to find that Titus had also disappeared. He was left standing alone with Angelette. She wore a short black skirt and turquoise blouse that clung to her curves, and her black hair was pinned up, highlighting her long, smooth neck. When she caught his eyes, she gave him a slow smile.
Dave wanted to look around and see where Claire was, but he thought that might be a little too obvious.
“What’s the matter, Dave? You look a little nervous.”
“It’s been a helluva night.”
“Hasn’t it, though? And I guess congratulations are in order. Took you seven years, but you finally nailed Renee Savaria’s killer.”
“Not without your help. If you hadn’t been able to persuade Elliot to come out here tonight, I might have had to take matters into my own hands.”
“Nah, you wouldn’t do that. You might have roughed him up a little more, but you wouldn’t have inflicted any serious damage.”
“What makes you think that?”
Her smile gently mocked him. “You may be fucked up in the head, but you’re still basically a good guy.”
“And just when did you come to that conclusion?”
“Oh, I always knew it. You just used to piss me off so bad I never wanted to admit it.” She twirled a strand of dark hair around her fingertip. No one but Angelette could make such a simple gesture seem so suggestive.
Dave cleared his throat. “Let me ask you something, and I want you to tell me the truth. Whose idea was it to get me involved in all this? Yours or Elliot’s?”
Angelette leaned back against one of the cars and folded her arms. “What difference does it make? You got what you wanted. We all did. Why not just enjoy the moment?”
“I don’t like being played, that’s all.”
“Poor baby. Lee’s right, you know. Now that the herd at NOPD is about to be thinned, you could get your old job back if you wanted it. Be like old times.”
“I meant what I said, Angie. I burned my bridges in New Orleans. I’m not coming back.”
She looked on the verge of saying something, then changed her mind. “In that case, I guess all you’ve got left to do is figure out what to do about her.”
Dave turned his head in the direction of Angelette’s nod. He saw Claire then. She was standing in front of one of the squad cars, talking to Lee Elliot. In the harsh glare of the headlights, she looked pale and shocked, like the victim of a bad car crash. Dave’s chest tightened as he watched her, and for a moment, he had the strangest sensation of having just awakened from a dream.
“You’re never going to get over her, are you?” Angelette said softly.
“It doesn’t matter,” Dave said. “What we had is in the past.”
“I guess we are, too.” She reached up and brushed the back of her hand against his cheek. “So long, Dave.”
He waited until she was gone, and then he turned, his gaze meeting Claire’s. She quickly glanced away.
Another moment went by and then he went over to her. Even when he came up beside her, she didn’t turn, wouldn’t meet his eyes.
“I was just offering Claire a ride back to town,” Elliot said. “In fact, I insist. Charlotte would never let me hear the end of it if I didn’t see her sister safely home.”
Dave stared down at Claire. “Is that what you want?”
“It’s fine. There’s no sense in you having to make a special trip back to New Orleans.”
“I don’t mind the drive.”
“There’s really no point.”
“Okay, if that’s what you want. I’ll call you tomorrow about Savannah Sweete.” He turned and started walking toward his truck.
A moment later, Claire caught up with him.
“Dave?”
He turned.
She put a hand to her mouth, as if she wasn’t quite certain what had possessed her to follow him. “I just have to know one thing.”
