Polly Iyer - Diana Racine 03 - Backlash by Polly Iyer Read Free Book Online

that everyone could access. I hoped you’d let us look.”
    “That’s what I like about you,” Miss Kitty said. “You tell the truth.”
    Laughing, Lucier cocked his head toward Diana. “Can’t lie with her around.”
    Emile tried to turn the tic in his cheek into a smile. “No, I guess not.” He escorted Diana to the door. “Nice to meet you, Miss Diana.” He whispered in her ear, “Please don’t tell on me.”
    She played dumb, but she knew what he meant. “Same here, Emile. This is a cool place, and the shrimp is to die for. We’ll be back.”
    Lucier said his goodbyes and they left.
    “Did you expect to find anything?” Diana asked as they walked back to the district through the jostling New Orleans tourist crowd, where street musicians strummed and drummed, tooted and hooted. Mimes performed their immoveable statue acts.
    “No, but I had to try. Moran’s computer was smashed. Was the shooter looking for something or trying to throw us off track? Why didn’t he tear up the rest of the place?”
    “Because he knew what he was looking for was in the computer?”
    “Possible.”
    “Knowing Keys, he’d hide anything important behind so many trap doors, or however they do those things, only a master hacker like Keys himself could retrieve it. My guess is whoever trashed the hard drive knew that.”
    “The tech department couldn’t extract anything.”
    “Then your guess is as good as mine.”
    Lucier took her hand. “By the way, what did Emile whisper to you?”
    “Not to tell.”
    “Tell what?”
    “When I touched him, I saw something, and he knew it. Must’ve felt guilty.”
    “Are you going to tell me or tease me?”
    She debated. What good would telling Lucier do other than ruin the relationship between Emile and Miss Kitty? But she’d held back things from him before, and it always ended up biting her in the ass. “I saw him in an amorous situation with Keys.”
    Lucier stopped in his tracks. “Jeez. Isn’t anyone monogamous?”
    “Don’t tell, Ernie. I don’t know if their relationship was serious or a fling, but they had something.”
    Lucier put both hands on her shoulders. “I won’t unless I have to, and you knew that before you told me. Emile might have killed Moran to keep him quiet. Hell, Miss Kitty could have found out and killed Moran herself.”
    “Miss Kitty would probably kill Emile first, but ―”
    “No buts, Diana. For once, no buts.”

Chapter Nine
A Man for All Seasons
     
    D iana slid into the booth at the small French restaurant. Soft music, white tablecloth with roses in a crystal vase, and a bottle of estate Bordeaux, opened and ready to pour, confirmed again the special thought Lucier put into the evening.
    “Lovely,” she said. “You’re a romantic.”
    “Nothing’s too good for my lady,” he said.
    “Now I’m blushing.”
    A waiter brought a serving of brie en croute ; the sommelier poured the wine. Diana cut two pieces of the cheese pastry and put one on each small plate. “Who’s Denny Chenault?”
    “A cop with an ego the size of Texas,” Lucier said, once they had privacy. “He’s had affairs with more than a few women, including a couple of cops’ wives. Two divorces resulted from his cheating ways, plus his own.”
    “Sounds like his escapades would have preceded him.”
    “Being a cop’s wife isn’t easy, Diana. The divorce rate is high. Cops have breakdowns, commit suicide, PTSD, to name a few. Someone comes along and pays attention to a neglected wife, and, well, Chenault has a way of zeroing in on them. He’s usually successful, even with his womanizer’s reputation.
    “When I was married, I tried not to bring home the bad stuff, but some crept in anyway. In the eight years since my wife and kids died, I answered only to myself. If I’m in a mood, no one suffers but me.”
    “I’ve never seen your moods.”
    “Because we don’t live together. You can’t do this every day without stress taking a toll. You see