“And the men,” Remy said. “Yes, he should have been stopped, but no one knew it was goin’ on until after he was dead. Your father’s death was reported as a huntin’ accident. Here in the swamp, accidents happen all the time. No one liked the old man, and we made up stories about him, but he rarely came out of the swamp and none of his sons did. All pere ever said was to stay away from them. Mercier told his children the same thing.”

“So when Saria came home telling you there was a female child, a young woman no one knew about, you didn’t think it was worth investigating?” Joshua demanded.

Remy’s gaze was steady. “I did go see her. She’s twenty, and she told me she was homeschooled and that her brothers, father and uncle have watched over her. Yes, at times she’s lonely, but she said she had Charisse as a friend and that more and more they’re takin’ her out of the swamp. She’s nervous, but after meetin’ Saria, she thinks she’ll be fine. What more could I do? She claims no one has ever laid a hand on her. She saw the old Buford a time or two, but he never saw her. It was drilled in her to stay hidden from him.”

“And you believed her?” Drake asked quietly when Joshua made a derisive noise. “Old man Tregre was leopard. How the hell would they hide the scent of a leopard . . . ?” He trailed off, his eyes meeting Remy’s.

“How would they hide the scent?” Remy asked thoughtfully. “That’s a damn good question.”

“Could the Tregre brothers have found a way to hide the scent of a leopard from everyone? And what about DNA? Surely there had to be some saliva in the bites of the victims you found, something on the body to indicate a leopard attack,” Drake said.

Remy shook his head. “That was why I thought it was a simulated attack. How could a leopard deliver a suffocating bite without leaving either scent or saliva behind?”

“No one could do that, could they?” Lojos asked. “We have a tremendous sense of smell.”

“I think someone did do just that,” Remy said, “but how it’s possible, I have no idea.”

Saria shuddered and slipped onto the couch beside Drake. “Then it’s possible it wasn’t Armande who attacked me after all. It could have been anyone—the killer. Maybe that’s why my leopard didn’t accept him. She was confused with no scent or other identifying markers.”

Drake slipped his arm around her, making a determined effort not to wince at the movement. “Maybe the Tregre land should be our next visit.”

“I’ll take you,” Remy said. “We can go tomorrow. My brothers will come along with your team, just to make certain we have enough men to look thoroughly around.”