“Really? If Carter is so concerned about the residents of this parish, then why did he leave?”
I clenched my jaw. “Because unlike you, he has abilities that no others possess, and those who have them sometimes have obligations larger than themselves or their parish.”
Hermes shrugged. “His loss, my gain. Anyway, I just figured I’d stop by here on the way to Sinful and let you know your services are no longer needed.” He gave me an up-and-down. “If you’re interested in providing any services, you know where to find me.”
Blanchet grabbed my wrist and squeezed, and that was the only reason I didn’t clock him. Hermes gave me a smug smile and then headed out.
“Why didn’t you let me hit him?” I asked. “He was sexually harassing me, and he’s in a position of power.”
“He’s also buddies with the ADA. They play golf every Friday. And he’s a distant cousin of the governor.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! Although I don’t know why I’m surprised. He and the ADA are cut from the same cloth.”
Blanchet nodded. “Butt cloth.”
“What are we going to do?”
Blanchet shook his head, clearly miserable. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do. If the governor handed down the edict, then your mayor has been overruled. This is the last thing Carter needed. I feel horrible about it. If I hadn’t banged my head, none of this would have happened.”
“Maybe, maybe not. I mean, you just banged your head last night and Hermes has already got the slot. My guess is he was working that angle long before yesterday.”
He blew out a breath. “You’re probably right. As soon as he heard Carter was leaving, I’m sure he was in his cousin’s ear. But my situation hasn’t helped matters. It just made it easier for him to grab the seat. Let’s just hope the governor didn’t agree to anything more than a temporary fill for Carter.”
I bit my lower lip. “Do you think he’d replace Carter until the election?”
“I guess that depends on how much Hermes has on his cousin. No one holds a high political position without some skeletons.”
“God, I hate politics.”
Blanchet nodded. “I’m going to stick around even though I can’t officially do the job. I want to keep an eye on Hermes and be on hand to help with the investigation. But you and your friends need to watch your back. Warn Harrison. Hermes will be more concerned with getting the dirt on you to use against Carter than policing the parish.”
“Do you want Harrison to risk pulling the old case file on Maya and Lara?”
“No. Tell him not to go anywhere near that case for his own protection. I kept my own book, and it’s got everything the police file had plus my thoughts. We’ll work from that. Hermes will be watching, though.”
“He’ll have to find me first. I have a guy lined up who will do the DNA test. I just need your sample.”
“Okay, then let’s get that done first. Maybe we’ll find out all of this is nothing.”
I nodded but didn’t think that was the case. I had that feeling I got when something big was about to break loose.
That familiar and unsettling feeling that nothing was what it seemed.
Because he was stuck in the hospital until all the tests were completed, Blanchet gave me the keys to his house and combination to his safe, which was where the hair sample and his notebook were. I headed there straight from the hospital, calling Harrison on the way to fill him in on the situation with Blanchet and Hermes and warned him not to even peek at the old case file. Blanchet lived outside the city limits about twenty miles north of the hospital, so it was a good hour and a half before I made it to the lab and dropped both samples off to the Heberts’ guy.
He promised to put a rush on it and said he’d call as soon as he had results. I headed home, eager to crack open Blanchet’s notebook. I should have figured he’d have his own file, but he’d been so worked up the night before, I guess he hadn’t thought to mention it or figured I would assume he had one. Either way, I was glad to have it because there was no way I wanted Harrison sticking his neck out on anything now that Hermes had taken over.
I’d just sat down at my kitchen table with a water and the notebook when my front door opened and Ida Belle called out. Then I heard the stomping of multiple sets of feet down the hallway and seconds later, Ida Belle, Gertie, and Harrison walked in. I took one look at Harrison’s red face and clenched jaw and knew he’d met Hermes.
“I take it you’ve met our new sheriff,” I said.
“I swear to God it took everything I had not to shoot him where he stood,” Harrison said. “He’s put me on traffic duty and restricted my access to everything, so it’s a good thing you didn’t want those files.”
I shook my head. “If it makes you feel any better, he asked if I came along with the sheriff’s position. And I don’t think he wanted me for traffic duty.”
Ida Belle whistled and Gertie let out a strangled cry.
“I’m surprised you didn’t shoot him,” Harrison said.
“Well, I was in the hospital and there was oxygen. Plus, Blanchet grabbed my wrist before I could clock him. Blanchet also called him Herpes, which I appreciated.”
I filled them in on what Blanchet had told me about our new nemesis and his connections with our esteemed governor and the ADA. I was sure if anyone snapped a photo of the moment, we all looked like we’d just come from a funeral. I prayed that wouldn’t end up being the truth.
“This is the worst possible outcome,” Ida Belle said.
“Is there anything we can do?” Harrison asked.
“You are going to write traffic tickets and avoid me like the plague, at least for all appearances.”
I held up a hand before he could start shouting. “It only helps Carter’s case for the election if he can point out that Hermes reassigned a former CIA operative to traffic duty when you were far more qualified to handle serious crimes. It’s a gross allocation of human assets.”
“She’s right,” Ida Belle said. “And that’s a really good spin for Carter, especially if anything happens and Hermes isn’t able to handle it because he assigned everyone who was a threat to him to entry-level jobs.”
“Maybe we should commit some crimes that Hermes can’t handle,” Gertie said.
I stared. It was an absurd and totally Gertie suggestion.
Also, not the worst one I’d heard.
“I’m fine with it,” I said. “But I don’t think we’ll have to go out of our way to create trouble. It usually presents itself. So when it does, instead of attempting to defuse, we up the ante.”
“Given Nora’s party tonight, I’m sure opportunity will present soon,” Ida Belle said. “What about the Blanchet investigation?”
“Still moving forward, just obviously without any official help.”
I told them about the DNA tests under way and showed them Blanchet’s notebook.
“Did you even get to do your bayou search this morning?” I asked.
“We were out there when his lordship Hermes called me in and told me I was off the case,” Harrison said.