Read Relentless Pursuit: A Novel (Secrets of Roux River Bayou) for Free Online Page B

can use all the help we can get. Be gracious about it.”
    “You know I will. Anything else?”
    “Have we finished interviewing the families of the victims?”
    Aimee nodded. “Immediate family. We’re getting their statements into the computer so you can review them.”
    “I want hard copies too. It’s easier for me to compare them that way. So what’s your assessment?”
    Aimee pursed her lips. “Overall, they seem devastated.”
    “Any anger? Threats to sue?”
    “Some. But I think it’s just grief talking. Most are still stunned. I imagine the anger will come later. Leo Marcotte was so stressed he started hyperventilating. His son took him to the ER, and they sedated him. Poor guy. He started the Market from the ground up and has run it himself for over fifty years. He’s horrified that something like this could originate from there.”
    “Have we checked to see if any family member of the victims works in an industry that has access to cyanide?”
    “We’re in the process. So far, that hasn’t yielded anything.”
    “Well, lots of people had access to that food bar. What do we know about the great-nephew, Adam Marcotte? He certainly could have moved about freely in the store without drawing suspicion.”
    “The kid’s only sixteen. He seemed pretty upset—and scared. He knows he’s a person of interest. But truthfully, I think he’s just a high school kid making deliveries. There’s nothing in his background to suggest he’s capable of this or had access to cyanide. His home life seems stable. Dad’s an attorney. Mother’s a stay-at-home mom. He’s an honor student. On the swim team. And captain of the debate team.”
    “Did he deliver groceries to all the victims of Gaudry water?”
    “Yes. Three homes. Five victims. The kid said he took the water off the shelf to fill the orders. According to the stockroom records, that water arrived by Loo-Z-ana Transit Thursday afternoon and was checked in just after midnight on Friday, then put out on the shelves or in the cooler after three p.m. More than a dozen employees on several shifts had access to the water, and we’ve questioned all of them. None of them look good for this.”
    “I want you to take a closer look at Adam Marcotte,” Jude said. “See what he does in his spare time. Who his friends are. What contacts he has on social networking sites. The kid seems a little too perfect to me.”
    “We will. Is that everything?”
    “Make sure you take the DHH officials down to Chief Norman’s office and introduce them. He knows they’re coming.”
    “Will do—and I’ll be gracious.” She flashed a manufactured grin.
    Aimee got up and left Jude’s office, and he sat quietly, listening to the bustle in the detective bureau.
    No new poisoning cases had occurred since early afternoon when the food bar at Marcotte’s was closed down and the public advised of the contaminated bottled water. Was the threat over? Or was the person or persons behind this evil action just regrouping, preparing to attack somewhere else? The public had been called to vigilance. But if the killer was determined to poison more food or water, could he really be stopped?

     

Chapter 6
     
    Sax Henry drove his silver PT Cruiser down Cypress Way, eyeing the lovely mansions and massive live oaks draped with Spanish moss. From the moment he entered the city limits, he could see that Les Barbes was as charming as the travel brochures claimed. Why hadn’t his jazz band ever done a gig here?
    He spotted Magnolia Lane and turned left, stopping in front of the one-story frame house on the corner—white with green shutters and a dark slate-shingle roof. He checked the address he had written on a Post-it note. This was it. Nice place.
    Why did he suddenly feel foolish? Even if this woman turned out to be the right Adele Woodmore, would she even know where his sister was? Every lead he’d followed in the past three years had led nowhere. If this turned out to be another