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“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a nap,” she replied and leaned closer to River and away from Johnny. She continued to visit with River for the next few minutes. At least the auditorium was cool even though Johnny’s close presence made her feel overly warm.

It wasn’t long before Beau Breaux walked on the stage and stopped behind the podium. The chief of police was a handsome man in his middle thirties. His dark hair fell over his forehead with a boyish charm, but there was nothing boyish in his grim expression.

Silence fell over the room as he began to speak. “As you all know by now, there’s a killer among us. Ron Compton was a businessman and day trader, and he was the first victim. The second victim was Alisha LaCour. She lived in the swamp and worked at the café. Finally, the last victim was Bill Brashear, who lived in town and worked at the tattoo shop.”

Several murmurs went up in the crowd, but then died down as Beau continued. “Since these victims are so different from each other, we have yet to find a connection among them. It’s been impossible for us to discern who might be next or what the motive might be. At this time it appears as if he’s hunting his victims both in town and in the swamp. We don’t know whether the killer is from town or from the swamp, but all the bodies were found in the swamp.”

He paused and cleared his throat, then continued, “This means you all need to be on notice. Stay aware of who is around you, carry something for self-defense and, if possible, stay in a group when you’re out and about. We will catch this man. It’s just going to take us a little time, but eventually we’ll get him,” he said with a fervor. “I know there are a lot of rumors floating around out there. Tonight, I would like to dispel as many of them as I can. Now, I’ll take your questions.”

As Beau fielded questions from the crowd, Mimi once again was far too aware of Johnny’s presence next to her. Why, after all these years and his utter betrayal of her, did her heart still flutter when he was near? Why couldn’t her heart flutter when she was close to River? Or any of her other male friends?

River was a good, kind man. He was handsome and had always been respectful. He adored Danny and would probably make a good addition to her family. And while she loved him, she didn’t love him in that way.

It was said a person never forgot their first love. Surely that was all that was going on with her where Johnny was concerned. He was not only her first love, but also her only love.

But she still wanted him to stay away from her and her son.

When the meeting was over, Johnny followed her and River out the doors and into the night. “It was nice meeting you,” River said to him, but River’s tone wasn’t exactly friendly. He took hold of Mimi’s elbow. “Come on, doll, let’s get you home.”

Thankfully as River steered her down the sidewalk toward his car, Johnny stayed behind.

“I don’t like that guy creeping all around you,” River said once they were in his car and headed back to the swamp. “He did you so wrong in the past, and I would think he’d be too ashamed of himself to show his face to you now.”

“He thinks he’s Danny’s father even though I’ve told him several times that he’s not,” she replied. Her friends knew the truth, but none of them would tell anyone, especially Johnny. It was a secret she knew her friends would keep.

“Is he trying to get back together with you?” River shot her a quick glance. “I mean, you wouldn’t really consider getting back together with him, would you?”

“Of course not,” she replied quickly. She would never get back together with Johnny…would she?

She shoved the question out of her mind, refusing to dwell on it. By the time River walked her to her shanty, she was tired of thinking. “Thanks for taking me tonight,” she said.

River smiled. “It was a real pleasure.”

“Good night, River.”

“Good night, Mimi.”

She watched as he walked down the bridge and then she went into the shanty.

Gramps sat in his chair, reading one of the mystery books he loved. He looked up and put the book aside as she half collapsed on the sofa.

“Did Danny go to bed okay for you?” she asked.

“He did,” Gramps replied. “You’ve raised him to be such a good boy.”

She smiled at him. “We raised him. I don’t know what I would have done without you, Gramps.”

“You would have been just fine without me. You’re a strong, capable woman, Mimi.”

“And that’s thanks to you raising me,” she replied with a grin.

“Enough of this mutual fan club stuff,” Gramps said with a laugh. “Now, tell me what the chief of police had to say.”

For the next fifteen minutes or so, she relayed to him what had gone on at the town meeting. “The only thing I learned was that the victims were somehow drugged before they were hung from the trees.”

“That makes sense. He would need them to be completely immobilized in order to get them hung. Other than that, it sounds like the police department doesn’t have any clue at all as to who the murderer is,” Gramps said once she was finished.

“It’s definitely scary to know there’s a killer taking lives and hanging their bodies from trees. The worst part is the killer could be somebody we know, somebody we might like. I might have scanned his groceries at one time or another.” She fought against a chill that threatened to fill her entire body. The town meeting tonight had made all the murders so horribly real.