And well need some time before you do that, Evangeline said.
Sure thing. Just holler when youre finished. His eyes glinted with amusement as he added, Have fun, Ghoul Girl.
Evangeline didnt bother getting irritated. What would be the point? Instead, she turned back to the dead man.
The swelling and discoloration around the wounds was a good indication that he hadnt died quickly. The venom had had time to spread, and what the poison had done to the body was ghastly.
Looks like something from a horror movie, Mitchell muttered.
Yeah. Or a nightmare.
Evangeline couldnt help wondering who the dead man had left behind. A wife? Kids?
She knew something about the anguish and loneliness that faced his loved ones in the coming weeks and months.
For the longest time, shed tried her damnedest not to let the victims and their families get inside her head, but no matter what she did, no matter how thick she built her defenses, they still found a way in.
They whispered to her in her dreams, screamed at her in her nightmares. And when their silent pleas tugged her from sleep, she obligingly rose in the middle of the night to go over and over the minutiae of their case files, hoping, always hoping, she would find something previously missed. Shed found that the young ones were especially tenacious.
This victim was no child, but what had been done to him was obscene and Evangeline knew it would haunt her.
It already did.
What do you think? she asked Mitchell.
I think weve got ourselves an interesting case here.
Thats one way of looking at it.
Mitchell glanced over his shoulder, then lowered his voice. Jesus, Evie. What the hell are we dealing with? Some kind of voodoo shit?
I dont know. Could be, I guess. But in spite of how the media tried to play up sensational cases, ritual murder was rare, even in New Orleans.
Evangeline moved to the victims feet and examined the soles of his expensive shoes. Take a look at this, Mitchell.
He came up beside her. Whatd you find?
The bottoms of his shoes are caked with mud, but I dont see any muddy footprints in here, do you?
Which means he didnt walk in here under his own steam.
No big surprise there. Evangeline glanced around. Whoever dumped him probably figured itd be a while before he was found.
Question is, was the poor bastard alive or dead when they left him?
There should be evidence of lividity somewhere on the body.
A movement in the corner of the room gave Evangeline a start, and it took all her willpower not to retreat from that filthy, ramshackle house as fast as she could. For all she knew, the serpents that had attacked the victim were still slithering around somewhere in the piles of rubble.
Great. Just great.
Coming face-to-face with a pit viper was all she needed to make her day complete.
All right, get a grip. Its not a snake. Probably just a rat. Or a big old cockroach.
But Evangeline had a sudden mental image of the victim, hands and feet bound, a gag in his mouth to stifle his screams as sinewy bodies crawled all over him, up his pant legs and down the collar of his shirt.
She imagined his agony as the razor-sharp fangs sank into his soft flesh and the poison spread through his bloodstream, making him weak and sick and maybe even blinding and paralyzing him.
She stood so abruptly, a wave of dizziness washed over her and she put out a hand to steady herself.
Mitchell rose and looked at her in surprise.
You okay?
Yeah, I just dont like snakes.
Who the hell does?
No, I meanIve got a real phobia about them, she admitted reluctantly.
A slow grin spread across Mitchells face. Well, Ill be damned. Detective Theroux has a weakness after all. Who wouldve thunk it?
Evangelines answering smile was forced. Okay, so now you know my secret. Snakes are my kryptonite. No need to let that get around, is there?
Mitchell kept right on smiling. He was definitely enjoying himself. Oh, hell no. We wouldnt want anyone thinking youre human, now would we?
Im serious, Mitchell. Its like you said earlier. Its different for a man. Different set of rules. But for someone like meyou know Id never hear the end of it.
Plus, it wouldnt be above some of the guys to plant rubber snakes in her desk. Or even real ones, for that matter. She could just imagine the kick theyd get out of her reaction. Some of the more juvenile cops lived for that kind of crap.
Now dont you worry, Evie girl. Ive got your back on this one, Mitchell said, but he was still grinning from ear to ear and she had a bad feeling it was only a matter of time before word got out.
So why dont I trust you?
Beats me. His amusement faded and his expression turned serious. Hey, no joke, you dont look so hot.
She swatted a mosquito from her face. I just need a little air. What do you say we get out of here and go knock on some doors?
Three
As they stepped out on the porch, the humidity almost took Evangelines breath away. There wasnt a lick of breeze, and the palm fronds and banana trees in the side yard stood motionless in the heat.
Her striped cotton blouse clung to her back as she stood in the warm shade of the porch, and her clammy black pants felt as if they weighed a ton. She thought of the shower shed have when she got home. Cold at first, then hot enough to scrub away the dark, smelly nightmare inside that house.
Her gaze lit on an unmarked gray sedan parked across the street. Two men in dark suits and dark glasses leaned against the front fender as they watched the house.
Evangeline poked Mitchells arm, her nod toward the newcomers almost imperceptible.
He followed her gaze and she felt him tense. Feds. His voice dripped scorn, the same oozing tone he might have used to designate a boil or a blister.
Evangeline swore under her breath. What are they doing here? This is a homicide investigation.
NOPD rarely crossed paths with federal law enforcement because typically the big boys went after a different kind of prey. Plus, even though they tried to deny it, certain agents from a certain bureau had a nasty habit of looking down their noses at the locals, and their altruistic superiority bred a fair amount of antagonism among the rank and file.
Not too hard to figure why theyre gracing us with their presence, Mitchell said. The victim is Sonny Bettss attorney. Looks to me like the Fibbies are still trying to nail his rusty hide.
Evangeline made a face. I dont give a damn what theyre trying to do. Our jurisdiction, our case. They try to muscle their way in, I say we go womp-womp on their smug asses.
Mighty big words for such a little girl, Mitchell teased.
But Evangeline barely heard him. Her gaze was still on the men across the street. They were both tall with broad shoulders, polished loafers and closely clipped dark hair. She might have found their similar appearance comical if she hadnt been so annoyed by their presence.
One of them suddenly took off his sunglasses and his gaze locked with hers. He said something to the man at his side, but his gaze never left Evangeline and she decided real fast that she would sooner pass out dead from heat stroke than break eye contact. No way would she let that arrogant so-and-so think hed intimidated her.
His suit coat was unbuttoned and the whiteness of his shirt was almost blinding in the bright sunlight. Evangeline guessed him at six-one or -two, maybe one hundred seventy pounds. A little taller than Johnny and probably at least ten years older.
As he continued to stare at her, she was tempted to walk across the street and suggest a little come-to-Jesus meeting with him.
Instead, she folded her arms and stared back at him.
If he took her openly hostile demeanor as a challenge, so be it.
Special Agent Declan Nash had recognized her straightaway when she came out of the house.
Detective Evangeline Theroux looked much the way she did in the candid shot he had in his office. The blond hair and the pretty facethose things hed expected, along with the wide blue eyes, which, even from across the street, he could tell were intense.
What he found surprising was her size.
From his vantage, she looked tiny. So slight, in fact, he wondered if a strong puff of wind might give her a problem. He knew from her file that she was five feet four inches tall and weighed one hundred and twenty pounds, though he thought the latter was an exaggeration because she looked much smaller to him.
But in spite of her petite frame, there was an air of toughness about herin the way she carried herself and in the way she interacted with her fellow cops.
And in the way she challenged him, Nash admitted. She exuded confidence and he admired that about her.
In fact, as hed studied her file, hed come to the conclusion that, under other circumstances, Detective Theroux was someone he would very much like to know.
Nash respected people who did their jobs well, and Theroux had one of the highest arrest records in the department. Her evaluations were stellar, her commendations glowing. From all accounts, she was a strong asset to the New Orleans Police Department.
But of her personal life, Nash knew very little, only that she was Johnny Therouxs widow.
And that was all he needed to know.
That was why he was here, after all.
Beside him his partner, Tom Draiden, made a wisecrack, but Nash ignored him. He didnt want to lose concentration or break eye contact because he suspected if he looked away first, Detective Theroux would view it as some sort of triumph on her end and a sign of weakness on his.
Considering her hostile stance, she seemed to labor under the misconception that she was in a position of power, and Nash didnt think fostering that impression would be advantageous to either of them.
That her? Tom asked.
Yeah.
Damn, that is one fine-ass Sarah Jane.
Very professional observation, Nash said dryly.
Well, yeah, but you might have at least warned me about the eye candy.
I guess I didnt notice.
What the hell? Check her out, man.
Seems to me youre doing enough checking for the both of us, Nash said.
Tom smirked. No harm in that, is there?
I dont know. Maybe you should ask Laura.
Youre a real buzz kill, Nash. You know that?
So Ive been told.
So whats our strategy? Tom drawled.
Hed been born and raised in Macon, Georgia, and despite a stint in the navy and bureau assignments in Denver and Salt Lake City, hed never lost his drawl. He had a knack for dealing with people, and he wasnt above pouring on the Southern charm when it suited his purposes. His laid-back charisma often came in handy when dealing with the local good ol boys.