The House on Prytania (Royal Street #2)(12)
Author: Karen White

 

I was shaking my head before the name was even out of her mouth. “No. You don’t have to go any further. My answer is no where he’s concerned.” I leaned forward, pressing the heels of my hands into the edge of the table. “Did Beau put you up to this? Because he just asked me the same thing, and my answer was no then, too.”

 

“He didn’t—I swear. But that shows just how desperate he is to see someone punished. He’s also really angry. Having Sunny back has only reminded him of how many years were stolen from them. Desperation and anger are a combination that never ends well.”

 

“Then let’s go to the police. That’s what they do, right? Investigate crimes.”

 

“Nola,” Sam said with the patient voice Melanie had once used to explain to me that tofu wasn’t, in fact, an adequate substitute for steak. “The Ryans have tried that route—remember? And none of the case files survived Katrina, and what remains is circumstantial. Or paranormal, which doesn’t count. What’s missing is an ‘in’ into the Broussard family—and that would be Michael. Through you. Maybe even his parents. Did you know that they left New Orleans shortly after Katrina? They’re a huge missing piece in this puzzle.”

 

“A lot of people did,” I countered.

 

“True. But I don’t know many who still had their homes and livelihoods and chose to pack up and leave for the other side of the world. It’s curious, is all I’m saying.”

 

A coincidence. I mentally batted the word away. “Look. Even if I suddenly went insane and agreed to see Michael, I’m not even sure how I’d find out anything about his parents. It’s not like I could ask them.”

 

“No. But Michael could. Or his aunt and uncle. Someone knows something. And through Michael you might be able to find out what.”

 

I shook my head. “If his feelings for me were real and not manufactured, I could maybe imagine him doing that for me.”

 

“And you really believe that Michael didn’t have feelings for you?”

 

I looked away for a moment. “I really don’t know. I find it hard to believe that anyone can be that good of a liar. But his initial intentions were to deceive me, and he did. Completely. If he developed feelings for me, it doesn’t matter. He’s a lying snake and I want nothing more to do with him.”

 

“Not even if it means saving Beau’s life?”

 

“That’s not fair. And I think you’re being a little overdramatic. Besides, if you’re so worried, why don’t you approach Michael yourself?”

 

“Because I have a boyfriend.”

 

“Ouch.”

 

Sam clenched her eyes shut for a moment. “I’m so sorry—that’s not what I meant. What I meant to say was that Beau is my boyfriend, and it would look suspicious if all of a sudden I showed interest in Michael Hebert.”

 

“True,” I admitted. “But you have no idea what you’re asking.”

 

“No, I don’t. But could you live with the guilt if something happened to Beau? I know I couldn’t.”

 

“Great. So now you’re playing the guilt card.”

 

She grinned. “I’m Catholic. I can’t help it.”

 

I rolled my eyes. “Well, I’m not. Although I do have Melanie as a stepmother.”

 

“I don’t think I follow, but whatever. My point is I don’t think either one of us is the type to look the other way and let bad things happen. Not if there’s a chance we can do something about it.”

 

“What are you proposing? Joining forces with Beau?”

 

Shaking her head, she said, “Absolutely not. That would put all of us in danger. He can’t know.”

 

“Oh, I see. So we just lock Beau in his bedroom until we’ve figured all of this out.”

 

Sam’s mouth twisted in a half smile. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t seriously considered that.”

 

The waiter approached with the check and Sam took it. I didn’t fight her for it, since I felt at this point that she owed me and I should probably consider ordering a to-go bag for lunch, too.

 

“So what are you suggesting?”

 

She grinned, and once again I wished she weren’t dating Beau, because I thought we could be really great friends. “We have Mimi on our side. She doesn’t want him going after the Broussard family any more than we do. She’s just got Sunny back, and she doesn’t want to lose another grandchild now. She’ll help. I know she will. She’ll find projects for him that will take him out of town or just bog him down to such a degree that he won’t have any time to dig into things he needs to stay away from.”

 

“While we look for things we have no idea are what we’re looking for.”

 

“Maybe. But who knows what we might find while we’re searching for answers?” Glancing at her phone, Sam said, “It’s late. We both need to get going. We’ll talk later and come up with a plan of action, okay?”

 

“I haven’t agreed to any of this. I haven’t even said I’d think about it.” We both stood and walked toward the door.

 

“But you will,” Sam said as she returned her wallet to her purse. “I thought you might be a little more enthusiastic about getting back at Michael for what he did to you. I mean, do you really want to wait for karma to take care of him? You know, like him getting hit by a streetcar?”

 

I winced. Despite everything, I didn’t want anything bad happening to him. Just an attack of chicken pox. Or hemorrhoids. Or even a month of sleepless nights. I pulled the door open and held it for Sam. “Not really.”

 

“Yes, well, try to remember that some wise person once said that revenge is sweet. And I know you do like dessert.”

 

She promised to call me, and then we said good-bye. We began walking in opposite directions, my mind swirling over our conversation before finally settling on a remembered quote I’d once read on a poster on a dorm room wall: Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 5

 

 

Two nights later, on Friday, as I was dressing for dinner at Mimi’s, I was equally excited and worried that Jolene hadn’t come into my room once to hijack my getting-ready process and prolong it indefinitely. I could go from start to finish in about five minutes, something Jolene said I shouldn’t be proud of.