Savage Nature
Page 71
“Off the top of your head, Remy,” Drake said, “who would be your first suspect?”
Remy’s gaze shifted just for a moment to Joshua and then he shook his head. “You know it doesn’ work that way.”
“Sure it does,” Joshua said. “My grandfather was a monster. Why your leader didn’t take him down years ago, I have no idea, but he beat my grandmother continually and then started on his sons. You know why my mother left, right?” He dared Remy to state the reasons out loud.
Remy frowned and shook his head. “I was gone for years. Most of us were. We only started hearing rumors about a daughter recently, and Saria met her in the swamp a time or two. Her name is Evangeline. We thought her mother had died in childbirth, not committed suicide. No one goes on the Tregre land. It borders Mercier land and even Charisse and Armande don’t go there.”
“And no one thought to check? Teachers? Anyone?” Joshua demanded.
“Check what?” Remy snapped back. “The boys went to school and no one thought they had any oer children. They kept to themselves and had a reputation for scaring off trespassers. They had the right to live the way they wanted.”
“Not like that,” Joshua snapped. “He abused those women.”
“And the men,” Remy said. “Yes, he should have been stopped, but no one knew it was goin’ on until after he was dead. Your father’s death was reported as a huntin’ accident. Here in the swamp, accidents happen all the time. No one liked the old man, and we made up stories about him, but he rarely came out of the swamp and none of his sons did. All pere ever said was to stay away from them. Mercier told his children the same thing.”
“So when Saria came home telling you there was a female child, a young woman no one knew about, you didn’t think it was worth investigating?” Joshua demanded.
Remy’s gaze was steady. “I did go see her. She’s twenty, and she told me she was homeschooled and that her brothers, father and uncle have watched over her. Yes, at times she’s lonely, but she said she had Charisse as a friend and that more and more they’re takin’ her out of the swamp. She’s nervous, but after meetin’ Saria, she thinks she’ll be fine. What more could I do? She claims no one has ever laid a hand on her. She saw the old Buford a time or two, but he never saw her. It was drilled in her to stay hidden from him.”
“And you believed her?” Drake asked quietly when Joshua made a derisive noise. “Old man Tregre was leopard. How the hell would they hide the scent of a leopard . . . ?” He trailed off, his eyes meeting Remy’s.
“How would they hide the scent?” Remy asked thoughtfully. “That’s a damn good question.”
“Could the Tregre brothers have found a way to hide the scent of a leopard from everyone? And what about DNA? Surely there had to be some saliva in the bites of the victims you found, something on the body to indicate a leopard attack,” Drake said.
Remy shook his head. “That was why I thought it was a simulated attack. How could a leopard deliver a suffocating bite without leaving either scent or saliva behind?”
“No one could do that, could they?” Lojos asked. “We have a tremendous sense of smell.”
“I think someone did do just that,” Remy said, “but how it’s possible, I have no idea.”
Saria shuddered and slipped onto the couch beside Drake. “Then it’s possible it wasn’t Armande who attacked me after all. It could have been anyone—the killer. Maybe that’s why my leopard didn’t accept him. She was confused with no scent or other identifying markers.”
Drake slipped his arm around her, making a determined effort not to wince at the movement. “Maybe the Tregre land should be our next visit.”
“I’ll take you,” Remy said. “We can go tomorrow. My brothers will come along with your team, just to make certain we have enough men to look thoroughly around.”
“I will take him,” Saria sent her brother a steady look. “He hired me and I do my job.”
“I don’ want you in the middle of this,” Remy growled.
“She’s already in the middle of this, Remy,” Drake said. Weariness crept in. All he wanted to do was get back to the inn and crash in a bed. “The killer knows she’s onto his dump site and half the men here have lost all good sense. She can stay right where I can keep an eye on her.”
“I don’ need protection,” Saria protested.
Drake laughed softly and brushed a kiss into the thick sun-bleached hair. “You can’t have it both ways, honey. Either you’re guiding me to the Tregre swamp or you’re staying home.”
“Of course I’m goin’,” Saria said.
“I’m keepin’ these pictures, Saria,” Remy said. “You did a good job on photographin’ the scene. I’ll get the bottles collected for prints if any are left.”
“Most of the places were in the marsh, with the ground impossible to walk on, but there’s tracts of land that are rich in soil and very solid,” Saria said. “I think the two men went there, shared a drink and then one killed the other and moved the body to the marsh.”
Drake shook his head. “The leopard dragged his victim to the marsh. There was a trail of blood from one site to the place where Saria found the body. I’m heading back to the inn. Let’s do this tomorrow.”
Remy’s gaze shifted just for a moment to Joshua and then he shook his head. “You know it doesn’ work that way.”
“Sure it does,” Joshua said. “My grandfather was a monster. Why your leader didn’t take him down years ago, I have no idea, but he beat my grandmother continually and then started on his sons. You know why my mother left, right?” He dared Remy to state the reasons out loud.
Remy frowned and shook his head. “I was gone for years. Most of us were. We only started hearing rumors about a daughter recently, and Saria met her in the swamp a time or two. Her name is Evangeline. We thought her mother had died in childbirth, not committed suicide. No one goes on the Tregre land. It borders Mercier land and even Charisse and Armande don’t go there.”
“And no one thought to check? Teachers? Anyone?” Joshua demanded.
“Check what?” Remy snapped back. “The boys went to school and no one thought they had any oer children. They kept to themselves and had a reputation for scaring off trespassers. They had the right to live the way they wanted.”
“Not like that,” Joshua snapped. “He abused those women.”
“And the men,” Remy said. “Yes, he should have been stopped, but no one knew it was goin’ on until after he was dead. Your father’s death was reported as a huntin’ accident. Here in the swamp, accidents happen all the time. No one liked the old man, and we made up stories about him, but he rarely came out of the swamp and none of his sons did. All pere ever said was to stay away from them. Mercier told his children the same thing.”
“So when Saria came home telling you there was a female child, a young woman no one knew about, you didn’t think it was worth investigating?” Joshua demanded.
Remy’s gaze was steady. “I did go see her. She’s twenty, and she told me she was homeschooled and that her brothers, father and uncle have watched over her. Yes, at times she’s lonely, but she said she had Charisse as a friend and that more and more they’re takin’ her out of the swamp. She’s nervous, but after meetin’ Saria, she thinks she’ll be fine. What more could I do? She claims no one has ever laid a hand on her. She saw the old Buford a time or two, but he never saw her. It was drilled in her to stay hidden from him.”
“And you believed her?” Drake asked quietly when Joshua made a derisive noise. “Old man Tregre was leopard. How the hell would they hide the scent of a leopard . . . ?” He trailed off, his eyes meeting Remy’s.
“How would they hide the scent?” Remy asked thoughtfully. “That’s a damn good question.”
“Could the Tregre brothers have found a way to hide the scent of a leopard from everyone? And what about DNA? Surely there had to be some saliva in the bites of the victims you found, something on the body to indicate a leopard attack,” Drake said.
Remy shook his head. “That was why I thought it was a simulated attack. How could a leopard deliver a suffocating bite without leaving either scent or saliva behind?”
“No one could do that, could they?” Lojos asked. “We have a tremendous sense of smell.”
“I think someone did do just that,” Remy said, “but how it’s possible, I have no idea.”
Saria shuddered and slipped onto the couch beside Drake. “Then it’s possible it wasn’t Armande who attacked me after all. It could have been anyone—the killer. Maybe that’s why my leopard didn’t accept him. She was confused with no scent or other identifying markers.”
Drake slipped his arm around her, making a determined effort not to wince at the movement. “Maybe the Tregre land should be our next visit.”
“I’ll take you,” Remy said. “We can go tomorrow. My brothers will come along with your team, just to make certain we have enough men to look thoroughly around.”
“I will take him,” Saria sent her brother a steady look. “He hired me and I do my job.”
“I don’ want you in the middle of this,” Remy growled.
“She’s already in the middle of this, Remy,” Drake said. Weariness crept in. All he wanted to do was get back to the inn and crash in a bed. “The killer knows she’s onto his dump site and half the men here have lost all good sense. She can stay right where I can keep an eye on her.”
“I don’ need protection,” Saria protested.
Drake laughed softly and brushed a kiss into the thick sun-bleached hair. “You can’t have it both ways, honey. Either you’re guiding me to the Tregre swamp or you’re staying home.”
“Of course I’m goin’,” Saria said.
“I’m keepin’ these pictures, Saria,” Remy said. “You did a good job on photographin’ the scene. I’ll get the bottles collected for prints if any are left.”
“Most of the places were in the marsh, with the ground impossible to walk on, but there’s tracts of land that are rich in soil and very solid,” Saria said. “I think the two men went there, shared a drink and then one killed the other and moved the body to the marsh.”
Drake shook his head. “The leopard dragged his victim to the marsh. There was a trail of blood from one site to the place where Saria found the body. I’m heading back to the inn. Let’s do this tomorrow.”
