Murder On Loan

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Murder On Loan - book excerpt

Chapter 1

Troy Arceneaux loved his two children, eight-year-old Tony, and six-year-old Bill. He did not like the latest Walt Disney movie, but he was at the multi-cinema theater off Millervile Road to see it. Once a month, Troy offered this treat to his sons. Boys night out. He did it as much for his wife, Sandy, as he did for the boys.

Both Troy and Sandy worked full-time. He was the loan officer manager at one of the leading banks in Baton Rouge. She was a blackjack dealer at a casino boat harbored in the Mississippi River. Between them, they pulled down almost two-hundred thousand per year.

Her hours were late and erratic. His were considered normal banking hours, and the most excitement he ever had was when one of its customers passed out in his office. He had told the woman he was calling in her loan.

Troy spent most of his evening hours tending to his sons while his wife was at work. He begged her to quit her job. They could easily pay the few bills they had on his salary alone. But to Sandy, her job was more than a way for her to earn money. It was independence. She did not want to rely on Troy or any other man for her health and survival.

Troy and the boys were late getting to the theater. Bill, the six-year-old, spilled his chocolate malt in the fast-food restaurant and they had to make a quick trip back to the house for a clean shirt and pair of pants.

Previews of upcoming flicks were already scrolling across the screen when they got seated close to the front. Troy would have preferred a seat farther back, but none of the aisle seats were available. With two boys full of soda and malt, he would need easy access to the bathrooms.

"Dad, since I dropped my malt," Bill said, "can I get a Coke?"

"And I want some popcorn," Tony chimed in. "And get extra butter. All you got to do is ask them, and they'll put more."

Troy smiled. It was not like he had not gotten extra butter every trip they made to the movies. But Tony made sure to remind him every time. "Do you want anything else in addition to the popcorn?"

"I want some M&Ms, the ones with peanuts," Bill replied with a grin.

"And I'll have a cherry Dr. Pepper," Tony added.

Troy cautioned them to stay in their seats and not to get into a fight with each other. Then he disappeared. 

Chpater 2

"Sandy, how can I help you?" NikiDupre, the most acclaimed private investigator in Louisiana, asked her friend.

She and Sandy had gone to the same high school in Central. Sandy’s husband, Troy, was a couple of grades ahead of them, but Niki knew him. She had dated him a couple of Saturday nights.

"I don't know, Niki," Sandy replied. "He just vanished. He left the boys at the movies and drove away."

"Was his car missing from the lot when you got there?”

Sandy nodded. "I looked all over the place. Me and the fat guard. Boy, is he useless. He said he never noticed Troy leaving the building. I'm betting he was asleep."

"Did he say anything to the boys? Was he meeting someone or going to run an errand?" Niki quizzed.

"Tony and Bill wanted a snack, even after eating at Burger King. Those boys have bottomless pits for stomachs. He told them to be quiet and walked up the aisle. That was the last time either one of them saw him."

"Don't take this wrong, Sandy, but how is your relationship with Troy? Are you guys going through a bad stretch?"

"Oh God, no." Anger flashed from the brown-haired woman. "We are just as much in love today as the day we got married. If anything, we're closer now than we were then."

"Was Troy seeing anyone else? Maybe someone from work?"

"Good heavens, no." Tears flowed down Sandy's cheeks. "Troy was always faithful. Too much so, sometimes. He cared for me too much. It got kind of smothering."

"Was he sick? Anything bad from a health standpoint?" Niki asked.

"He's healthy as a horse. After he puts the boys to bed every night, he works out for a solid hour. Just like you do."

Niki did not bother to correct her friend. The strawberry blonde spent two to three hours every day perfecting her skills in the ancient martial art of Kempo. An hour a day was not nearly sufficient to maintain her remarkable skills. Even with three hours, the long-legged private investigator fell short of time.

"I'll look into it. If you think of anything that might help, let me know. I don't know Troy that well."

"Thank you, but I can't afford to hire you full time. If something's happened to Troy, I'll have to use all of my resources to raise my boys. I know about what you charge these days."

"Don't worry about it, Sandy. Consider this my graduation gift to you … only about a decade too late." 

Chapter 3

Niki started with Regional Bank. With their work schedules, his coworkers spent more time with Troy than did his wife. Niki knew men sometimes shared secrets with them that they would never whisper at home.

The loan department was down a glass-lined hallway off the main lobby. Every office had a glass wall facing the hall. Niki never understood the logic of this. When she was broke and begging for money to keep her fledgling investigative business afloat, she did not care for anyone to see her. But almost every bank was designed this way, and Regional was no exception.

The receptionist directed her to Mary Robertson, the next in command of the loan department under Troy Arceneaux. The woman sitting behind the desk was so skinny and frail, she looked malnourished. Niki did not know if the look was on purpose or medically induced, but it was not a good one.

"Are you a friend of Troy's," Mary asked.

"I knew him in high school, but I'm a lot closer to his wife, Sandy. We were good friends then."

"Hmmph," Mary snorted. "How well do you know her now?"

"Occasional holiday cards," Niki answered. "Both of us have been busy with our careers and haven't stayed in close contact."

"Do you know what she does for a living?"

"I believe she's a blackjack dealer at the boat," Niki replied.

"Do you know the story of Jeremiah in the Good Book? Do you know everyone referred to him as the Weeping Prophet?"

Niki tried to think back to her days in Sunday School. "Wasn't he the one that kept telling Israel that they were doomed because of their infidelity to God, but then they would repent, and God would forgive them? I believe that made Jeremiah mad."

"That's the gist of the story. Let's say that your friend is much like Israel. She needs lots of forgiveness."

"Are you sure about that? I just left Sandy, and she swears their marriage is perfect. No problems at all."

Mary clicked her long crimson-red nails on the scarred desk. "She would. I guess, in her mind, it was perfect. She had Troy pay all the bills and take care of those two rugrats she has. And then, she gets to go to the boat and play all night."

"She works those nights," Niki defended her friend.

"You might want to verify that. From what Troy said, he found out she only works three nights a week, yet she goes to the boat six. Why does she go the other three?"