Read Online Under the Cajun Moon by Mindy Starns Clark - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Mindy Starns Clark
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won’t have to split this one fifty-fifty or fight over how to deal with it.”
“I doubt it, for two reasons. First, that land has been gone over with a fine-tooth comb many times since the treasure was found in the hopes of discovering more, all to no avail. Nothing else is out there. More important, the laws are designed to protect the seller in situations like this. Even if your dad bought the land and then found more treasure, for a certain number of years half would still revert back to Naquin even though he didn’t own the land anymore.”
“Okay, tell me about Naquin. What was his reaction when you told him my father’s offer?”
“Unfortunately, Alphonse Naquin is out of town on a fishing trip and can’t be reached. He doesn’t know yet.”
“I bet he’ll be shocked when he finds out.”
“Are you kidding? To my knowledge, no one has ever won a battle of wills against Julian Ledet. I’d say Naquin is going to be dumbfounded.”
It occurred to me that if Naquin was currently out of town, my father’s urgency in completing this transaction was moot. I said as much to Kevin.
“I know. But once I do find Naquin, having the signed contracts with me will definitely speed things along. Your dad wants me to hurry, and the best way I know how to do that is to handle this end of things first.”
I asked to see the contract I had come to sign. Reading it through, it seemed fairly standard to me. I was no lawyer, but I had been involved with enough business transactions to be familiar with the paperwork.
“Is there any reason I shouldn’t sign this?” I asked, looking up at Kevin.
“Not really,” he replied. “Although, now that your father’s been shot, and he left your mother that strange message, I would understand if you feel you need more information first.”
“Maybe I can help with that,” a deep voice suddenly said from the doorway.
Kevin and I both looked up, startled. It was Sam, my father’s closest friend and one of the brightest spots in my whole life.
“Sam!”
As I rose from the table, I realized he looked older than when I’d seen him last. The hair at his temples was grayer, the line of his posture more stooped.
“Hi, baby,” Sam replied, the smooth brown skin of his face crinkling into a smile as he opened his arms. I moved around the table to rush into them, thinking that on this difficult day it was about time that someone somewhere gave me a big hug.
Sam was there, and he always made everything all right.
“Sam,” I whispered now, still sitting on the couch in the empty hotel room, my long fingernails shorn, my heart suddenly aching with fear.
If Sam had been there last night, where was he now? Was he okay? If so, could he explain what was going on? My cell phone was in my pursein the room next door, so I grabbed the telephone on the table next to me and, without asking for permission from my guard, dialed nine and then the number of Sam’s apartment. There was no answer, so when it went to the machine I simply left a message saying it was Chloe and that I was at the Maison Chartres hotel and needed him to come right away if he could. I wasn’t sure where on Chartres Street we were, but given that Sam’s apartment was between Royal and Bourbon, it shouldn’t take him long to get here once he got the message.
If
he got the message.
Hanging up, I knew Sam also had a cell phone, but I had never committed that number to memory. I had programmed it into my cell a few years ago, but it wouldn’t have mattered now anyway, I realized, as the cop was glaring at me sternly and telling me to stay off of the phone.
“I need to call my mother,” I protested. “I need to find out about my father.”
“Not right now. Maybe later.”
What was I going to do? Where was Sam? Had I really killed Kevin?
Before I had a chance to go back again to the events of last night, Detective Walters suddenly entered the room, sat across from me again, and apologized for taking so
“I doubt it, for two reasons. First, that land has been gone over with a fine-tooth comb many times since the treasure was found in the hopes of discovering more, all to no avail. Nothing else is out there. More important, the laws are designed to protect the seller in situations like this. Even if your dad bought the land and then found more treasure, for a certain number of years half would still revert back to Naquin even though he didn’t own the land anymore.”
“Okay, tell me about Naquin. What was his reaction when you told him my father’s offer?”
“Unfortunately, Alphonse Naquin is out of town on a fishing trip and can’t be reached. He doesn’t know yet.”
“I bet he’ll be shocked when he finds out.”
“Are you kidding? To my knowledge, no one has ever won a battle of wills against Julian Ledet. I’d say Naquin is going to be dumbfounded.”
It occurred to me that if Naquin was currently out of town, my father’s urgency in completing this transaction was moot. I said as much to Kevin.
“I know. But once I do find Naquin, having the signed contracts with me will definitely speed things along. Your dad wants me to hurry, and the best way I know how to do that is to handle this end of things first.”
I asked to see the contract I had come to sign. Reading it through, it seemed fairly standard to me. I was no lawyer, but I had been involved with enough business transactions to be familiar with the paperwork.
“Is there any reason I shouldn’t sign this?” I asked, looking up at Kevin.
“Not really,” he replied. “Although, now that your father’s been shot, and he left your mother that strange message, I would understand if you feel you need more information first.”
“Maybe I can help with that,” a deep voice suddenly said from the doorway.
Kevin and I both looked up, startled. It was Sam, my father’s closest friend and one of the brightest spots in my whole life.
“Sam!”
As I rose from the table, I realized he looked older than when I’d seen him last. The hair at his temples was grayer, the line of his posture more stooped.
“Hi, baby,” Sam replied, the smooth brown skin of his face crinkling into a smile as he opened his arms. I moved around the table to rush into them, thinking that on this difficult day it was about time that someone somewhere gave me a big hug.
Sam was there, and he always made everything all right.
“Sam,” I whispered now, still sitting on the couch in the empty hotel room, my long fingernails shorn, my heart suddenly aching with fear.
If Sam had been there last night, where was he now? Was he okay? If so, could he explain what was going on? My cell phone was in my pursein the room next door, so I grabbed the telephone on the table next to me and, without asking for permission from my guard, dialed nine and then the number of Sam’s apartment. There was no answer, so when it went to the machine I simply left a message saying it was Chloe and that I was at the Maison Chartres hotel and needed him to come right away if he could. I wasn’t sure where on Chartres Street we were, but given that Sam’s apartment was between Royal and Bourbon, it shouldn’t take him long to get here once he got the message.
If
he got the message.
Hanging up, I knew Sam also had a cell phone, but I had never committed that number to memory. I had programmed it into my cell a few years ago, but it wouldn’t have mattered now anyway, I realized, as the cop was glaring at me sternly and telling me to stay off of the phone.
“I need to call my mother,” I protested. “I need to find out about my father.”
“Not right now. Maybe later.”
What was I going to do? Where was Sam? Had I really killed Kevin?
Before I had a chance to go back again to the events of last night, Detective Walters suddenly entered the room, sat across from me again, and apologized for taking so
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