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long enough that he’d lost most of his contacts. The squealers who remained knew he had no clout, so there was no real reason for them to confide in him.
    By midafternoon Remy was hungry, frustrated and found it impossible to get Nicole off his mind. He drove to the Bucktown area and was pleasantly surprised to find that one of his favorite dives from the old days had been rebuilt.
    He parked and went inside. It was smaller than before but still smelled of frying seafood, hot sauces and oven-fresh French bread. He ordered a dressed oyster po’boy and a cold beer from the counter and then chose a table in the back.
    While he waited on the sandwich, he pulled out his laptop and started a search to see what he could dig up on Nicole Smith. Given a little time, on andoff the computer, he could and frequently did uncover things about a person that even their spouses didn’t know.
    By the time the waitress set his cold beer in front of him, he knew Nicole’s full name, her address, phone number and that she worked in the office of Dr. Rodney Cantrell.
    By the time he’d finished the giant slabs of French bread, stuffed to overflowing with crispy oysters,tomatoes, lettuce and onion and dripping with mayonnaise and hot sauce, he’d begun to suspect from her spotty records that Nicole Smith might have gone to great lengths to hide her past.
    If anything, that intrigued him more than ever. He finished the sandwich, put her current address in his GPS and started toward her residence. Two blocks from the restaurant, he realized he was being followed.
    Good old Lee. He didn’t miss a trick. Remy ditched the tail long before he pulled up at the entrance to an exclusive, gated town-house complex. He followed a car inside and parked in Nicole’s driveway. When she didn’t answer her doorbell, he went back to his truck and tried to honestly examine his own motive for being there.
    Was this only an excuse to see her again? Or did he really thinkit was necessary to warn her about Lee? Was it that he just couldn’t bear to think of Lee Barnaby in a relationship with a woman who reminded Remy so much of Carlotta?
    Memories of Carlotta pushed from the crevices of his subconsciousness and took over his mind. Without warning, Nicole’s image merged with that of Carlotta’s.
    What the hell was wrong with him? Coming here had been a stupid,libido-driven mistake. Nicole was not Carlotta. Who she dated was none of his business, and there was no reason to think she was in any danger from Lee.
    Remy shoved the key into the ignition and brought the motor to life. A red sports car pulled up behind him before he could switch the gear from Park to Reverse.
    Nicole stepped out of her car. The sight of her stole every ounce of hisresolve. Any thought of leaving flew from his mind.
    * * *
    N ICOLE GULPED IN a steadying breath of air that did little to settle the unnerving excitement of seeing Andre standing in her driveway.
    “This is a surprise,” she said, trying for nonchalance but unable to block the pleasure from creeping into her voice.
    “I hope you don’t mind my just showing up,” he said. “Say the wordand I’ll cut out.”
    “No, I’m glad you stopped by, though I can’t imagine how you found me.”
    “All it took was a little research. Did I fail to mention that I’m a private detective?”
    “Yes. But our conversation was brief. You never even got around to telling me your last name.”
    “Then let’s start over and do this right. I’m Remy Comeaux. Pleased to meet you, Nicole Smith.”
    “I thought you said your name was Andre.”
    “That was when I was trying to keep anyone from telling Lee that I was there and spoiling my plan to just walk up and surprise him.”
    “And did you?”
    “Absolutely. That’s part of the reason I’m here.”
    And now that Lee’s name had come up, this encounter felt a bit clandestine. She wondered if he were aware that she and Lee were dating.
    He walked beside her on the narrow