False Pretenses - Kathy Herman [41]
“I didn’t want you to worry,” she said. “What a day. I’m spent.”
“Want to talk about it?”
Zoe buried her head in his chest. “Not really.” Not ever! “There’s not much to tell. The priest said a funeral Mass, and the church had a nice luncheon afterward. Shelby’s ashes will be put in the family mausoleum with her husband’s grandparents.”
“Shelby? You mean Annabelle.”
Slow down, Zoe, before you blow it. “Uh, yes, Annabelle. Sorry, it’s hard to think clearly right now. Shelby is Annabelle’s cousin, and she sort of took me under her wing for most of the day.”
“That was nice of her. Was Annabelle’s family glad to see you?”
“They seemed to be. But being with them was a bit sobering. Her death was such a loss to her husband and two children. It was hard to know what to say.”
“I’m sure you could’ve done without the tropical storm. I heard it rained five inches in New Orleans with sustained winds of forty miles per hour.”
“It wasn’t that bad in Morgan City, but the weather was definitely a pain.” Zoe left his arms and flopped on the couch. “How’d it go at the eatery?”
“Fine.”
Pierce sat next to her. At least she didn’t have to look into his eyes. She hated lying to him.
“Hebert and the guys stayed most of the morning,” he said, “rehashing the details of Remy’s murder. Even though the coroner says the blow to the head would have killed him almost instantly, it hurts us all to think of how Remy might have suffered before he died. He had to have been terrified.”
Zoe shook her head, anger heating her face. “Poor Emile. He must be heartbroken. I can hardly wait until they arrest whoever did it.”
“There’s talk of retaliation.”
“By whom?”
“I don’t know, but Dempsey knows some guys out at the sugar refinery who told him there might be trouble.”
Zoe turned to Pierce, his prominent nose a reminder of his French heritage. “Did he call Jude’s office and report it?”
“No, but I did. I called the police, too. Chief Norman has asked for reinforcements from the Lafayette and New Iberia PDs.”
“Good heavens, all we need is for someone to strike a match in this racial tension and set off a firestorm. That won’t bring Remy back.”
“Well, the police chief and sheriff have cruisers everywhere. Any trouble that starts will be ended quickly.”
Zoe’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I can’t bear to think of Remy being hanged. He was like a child. Why would anyone want to hurt him?”
“The authorities haven’t released any more details, other than to say they think he might have been chosen at random in the predawn hour when he was delivering papers. But the media hasn’t reported that any witnesses have come forward. As far as I know, no one saw or heard anything—except the creep who called the radio station, and nobody knows who he is.”
“For some reason Remy’s death hit me a lot harder than Annabelle’s. I just can’t believe he’s gone.” Zoe wiped a tear off her cheek.
“His obit was in today’s paper. No funeral date was given, since the autopsy isn’t completed yet and Remy’s body hasn’t been released to his dad.” Pierce took Zoe’s hand and held it. “This was a double whammy for you, babe. Sorry I told you right before you left this morning, but you would have been even more devastated to hear it first on the radio.”
Zoe nodded.
“Is there anything else about the funeral or your time with Annabelle’s family you want to talk about?”
No! “Honestly, Pierce, there’s nothing to tell, other than I’m glad I went and paid my respects. But I couldn’t get Remy off my mind. I’m exhausted.”
“Why don’t I crank down the air conditioner so you can take a nice hot bubble bath?”
A great place to hide! “That sounds wonderful, though I may never cool off again. I think it’s still ninety outside with a hundred-percent humidity.”
“I’ll crank it way down,” Pierce said. “It’ll help you relax.”
Zoe eased into the warm bath and stretched out under a thick blanket of white bubbles scented with honeysuckle. She closed her eyes, aware that her heart was beating too fast.