His Dark Desires

Chapter One

New Orleans, Louisiana

June 1874

As a child, whenever winter came to our grand home, La Belle du Temps, I'd slip away to the attic and stare at the black water of the Mississippi, just visible through the ghostly Spanish moss and live oaks. I'd huddle in the cold, watching the river rise, sure its greedy swells would some day steal all that I held dear. It was a childish fear, but one that set a precedent for shadows in my life.

Shadows that would never recede, I thought as I curled my hand around the warning telegram in my pocket, sent to me by Mr. Goodson, the investigator from Baton Rouge I'd secretly hired. "Mrs. Boucheron, You are in danger. Trust no one."

Though the river had never touched my family home, other ills had flooded my life, and La Belle had stood strong through them all. She gave breath to my fondest memories and held my deepest sorrows with gentle arms. She'd been the one constant in my life, stalwart during the occupation of Federal troops, solid throughout the war; and now she was the means by which I, my son, An ... read full excerpt from: His Dark Desires ebook