Page 41 of Landry

“No.” Camille stepped out on the porch as the sheriff’s vehicle came to a halt.

Landry followed her, still holding Ava on his shoulder. “Would anyone have hidden something in your house?”

She raised her hands. “Why? Ava and I live a quiet life. I make candy at the store and come home with my daughter. We like it that way.”

“What about the people who lived in this house before you?” he persisted. “Would they have hidden something and come back to collect it?”

“They couldn’t have hidden it in my furniture or my dresser drawers. The house was empty when I moved in. The previous owner was an old woman whose family moved her into a nursing home. They had an estate sale and sold everything she owned. The house was a clean slate when Ava and I moved in four years ago.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense. If someone wanted something the old woman hid in her house, why would they wait until now to find it? And why would they look through my furniture?”

The deputy climbed out of his vehicle and approached the house. “Ms. Catoire, I hear you had a break-in.”

Chapter 8

Landry studied the tall, thin deputy as he made his way across the yard. He didn’t have much hope that the sheriff’s department would find the person who’d broken into Camille’s house. Unless they got lucky with matching fingerprints, the guy would remain a mystery. Until the next time.

“Deputy Clyburn, thanks for coming out,” Camille said.

The deputy came up the stairs and held out his hand.

Camille shook it and turned to Landry. “This is Landry Laurent, my...” Her gaze met his.

“Friend,” Landry offered. “Camille, Ava and I went for a late-evening boat ride and came back to find someone had broken into her home.

For the next thirty minutes, Landry showed the deputy the entry point and what Camille had noted was disturbed. The deputy dusted for fingerprints throughout the house, made notes, took pictures and promised to file the report and have the prints analyzed.

“Do you need a unit to drive by through the night to ensure your safety?” Deputy Clyburn asked.

Camille shook her head. “I think we’ll be okay.” Her arms were back around her midsection as if she was barely holding herself together.

Landry slipped an arm around her and pulled her up against him. “I’ll be here to make sure she’s okay. Thank you for coming.”

As the deputy drove away. Camille leaned against Landry. “It feels as if my house has been violated,” she whispered. “I don’t even want to put Ava in a bed some stranger has touched.”

“Do you have another set of sheets for her bed?” Landry asked.

Camille nodded.

“Show me where they are.” He followed her into the house to a closet in the hallway where sheets and towels were neatly stacked.

Camille stared at the items. “He could’ve touched these as well.”

“They look clean and undisturbed. Let’s pretend he didn’t.” He tipped Ava over and handed her to Camille. “Take Ava into the living room and sit with her in the rocking chair.”

As if on autopilot, Camille did as he said and sank into a wooden rocking chair that stood in the corner of the room. Once she was settled, Landry pulled sheets and a blanket out of the closet and went to work, stripping the bed in Ava’s room. Once he had clean sheets on the bed and pillow, he spread a soft pink blanket over them. He started to go back out to the living room and get Ava but figured it would be better to leave Camille and Ava where they were.

Quietly entering Camille’s room, he quickly stripped the sheets from her bed, put clean ones on and a fresh blanket. After he gathered all the discarded bedding and carried it into the laundry room, he hurried out to the living room.

Camille sat in the rocking chair, staring out the front window. Ava lay across her lap, sound asleep, completely unaware of the drama in her home. Landry took the child from Camille’s lap, carried her into her room and tucked her into her bed. He bent and pressed a kiss to her forehead and whispered, “Sleep tight, princess.” For a moment, he stared down at her, marveling at how much she looked like her mother. She’d break hearts when she got older.

When he turned toward the door, he was surprised to see Camille standing there.

“You’ll make a good father someday,” Camille said.

He stiffened. All his life, he’d sworn off marriage and children. Other guys did the whole family thing, but he’d steered clear. He knew nothing about being a good father, his own father being a cold, unloving example. And his mother had never been at all maternal. Yes, she’d given birth to him but had immediately handed him off to a nanny.

Hearing Camille say he’d be a great father didn’t fit with the life trajectory he’d chosen from the moment he’d left his father’s house to join the Navy. What did he say in response? He finally settled on, “Ava’s a great kid.”

“Thank you for taking care of us tonight.”

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