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Flynn laughed. “If you came up here to lecture me, save it.”
    “You got a lot o’ nerve threatenin’ Murray.”
    “I was just messing with him, man. Get your stinking hands off me.”
    “Everybody here’s had it with you.”
    “So?”
    “So you’d better watch your back.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Anything you want, Flynn. I’m just sayin’ you can’t keep tickin’ everybody off and expect them to roll over.”
    “I’m here to stay. Get used to it.”
    “Yeah, well. We’ll see about that.”

CHAPTER 5
     
    What was that horrible ringing noise? Sheriff Jude Prejean lay dazed for a moment, then groped the nightstand for his cell phone. He stared at the lighted screen until he could make out the words Chief Detective Gil Marcel. His clock radio flashed the numerals 5:57. He remembered it was Wednesday morning.
    Jude cleared his throat and put the phone to his ear. “Yeah, Gil.”
    “Hope I didn’t wake you, Sheriff.”
    “That’s all right. My alarm was just about to go off. What’s up?”
    “You’re not going to like it.”
    “Let’s hear it.”
    “Our killer claimed another victim : Peter Gautier .”
    “Gautier? That’s huge .” He looked over at his wife, Colette, who lay on her side facing him, her eyes open wide. “Same MO?”
    “Looks that way. Gautier was drowned in the bathtub. Fully clothed. The medical examiner says he shows signs of being drugged. The pound sign and numeral two were spray painted on the tile behind the tub. His safe was cleaned out. The ME puts the time of death between five and seven last night. The killer must have caught him coming home from work.”
    “Any sign of forced entry?”
    “A broken window in a back bedroom.”
    Jude sighed. “Who called it in?”
    “Anonymous male caller on a prepaid cell. Spoke barely above a whisper, and said six words, ‘Peter Gautier is dead. That’s two.’ The 911 dispatcher sent deputies out to Gautier’s lake house, where they discovered his body. We retrieved a message his wife left on his answering machine. She’s out of town, visiting their daughter. The area code is Providence, Rhode Island, and we’re trying to reach her now. I imagine the entire parish will know within the hour that the president and CEO of Fontaine Sugar Refinery has been murdered.”
    “And I don’t need to tell you that we can’t afford any mistakes.” Jude rubbed his eyes. “Make sure the crime scene isn’t contaminated and everything gets done by the book. And get me a list of every employee, living or dead, who was laid off, fired, or who quit in the past five years, cross-referenced with the list of foreclosures by Roux River Bank. I also want to take a look at the security cameras at the sugar plant, especially the ones in the parking lot. Let’s see if anyone followed him. I’ll be out there in thirty minutes.”
    Jude laid his cell phone on the nightstand and turned his alarm off.
    “I could hear what Gil told you.” Colette fluffed her pillow. “Horrible as it is, you’ve been expecting the other shoe to drop.”
    “At least now we can see a logical connection between the two victims. The killer could be someone who was laid off at the sugar refinery and then lost his home to foreclosure. We should be able to narrow down those names.” He kissed her on the cheek. “I need to shower and get going.”
    He started to get out of bed, and Colette clung to his arm.
    “Jude, this is scary. What if the killer has a long list of people he’s after?”
    “I think that’s a real possibility. I’m putting the executives and support personnel at all five branches of Roux River Bank and the sugar refinery on high alert. My department can work with police to help beef up security at each location, but it’s impossible to keep them all safe twenty-four/seven.”

     
    Adele sat at the bay window in the kitchen, her hands wrapped around a cup of coffee, her heart relishing the streaks of blazing pink and