Thierry's Angel

13

Thierry sat back in the booth of the seedy bar contemplating whether he was brave enough to take a swig of the cloudy mug of beer before him. Judging by the sticky floor and the equally sticky table, the chances that the glass was even half clean weren't good.

"I wouldn't drink that."

Thierry raised his brow at the man who placed a unopened bottle in front of him as he slid into the opposite seat opening his own bottle, then handed his key chain bottle opener to Thierry.

"And you picked this place why?" Thierry asked, grateful for the bottled beer.

"Off the beaten track," the man offered.

"What did you find out?" Thierry asked.

Didier DeCapêt was Thierry's information man. He had no idea how the man found out all the things he did, he just knew that Didier could be trusted with the most sensitive assignments. Part of it may be the way the man looked. With lightly tanned skin, cool gray eyes, and midnight black curls, he could pass for a number of different nationalities and had the uncanny ability to blend in. It was strange that a man standing well over six feet with a powerfully formidable build could go about unnoticed, but he did. Possibly the air of danger that surrounded him made people look away quickly, not wanting to invite his attention so they failed to notice anything distinguishable about him. His uncle Boden had referred him to Thierry, and Boden Chevalier didn't trust lightly. He had worked faithfully for Thierry for going on ten years now.

"Your Grandmother visited the mayor's wife. The meeting didn't go well if her agitation was any indication. She has been trying to contact all your cousins but they have all been unavailable. Not long after she left the mayor's house your girl's cousin and aunt showed up, stayed for about an hour and a half, then left looking a great deal more assured than they came."

So Thierry was right about Charline, Solange and Anne. They were all working with Paul. Now he just had to make sure Paul was doing what he thought he was.

"I want you to check out my suspicions about lover boy," Thierry told him. "And if he goes to see the mother or the cousin again, get pictures."

"Did that," Didier said sliding a sealed manila envelope across the sticky table.

Thierry grimaced as he picked it up causing Didier to laugh out loud.

"When do you want to meet again?" Didier asked.

"I might be going out of town for a week or so," Thierry told him. "Call me as soon as you've got something."

"And your grandmother?" Didier asked.

"Keep an eye on her and let me know if she contacts anyone I should be concerned about."

*****

Angelique drove around for over an hour before she found herself at Thierry's office. She really hadn't intended on running to him, yet here she was. Laying her head on the steering wheel let out a heavy sigh. One month. She had been seeing the man for one month and here she was ready to share her family's dirty little secrets. She hadn't even considered going to Katrina, Jade or Regina; not with something this serious. Somewhere along the way she had come to trust Thierry implicitly. She should just drive away and drown her sorrow in a serious chocolate binge. She was probably ten kinds of a fool. After all, she never even suspected Charline wasn't her real mother. She should have. She looked nothing like Charline. The older woman was an only child but she had never even met Charline's parents when they were alive. Now she understood why her grandmother had left her all of her money and controlling interest in the family businesses and stipulated in the will none of the funds or stocks could be in any way administered by Charline. Angelique had thought all this time her grandmother had simply wanted her to assert her independence.