The House on Prytania (Royal Street #2)(32)
Author: Karen White
He gripped his knees and looked down at the rug, his brows knitted. Eventually, he looked up and met my eyes. “I guess I’ll have to ask him.”
I felt my ribs expand, releasing some of the stress I’d been feeling ever since my conversation with Sam. “Thank you,” I said. “I really appreciate it.”
“Is there anything specific you’re thinking about?”
“Right now, I was just hoping he could look at the clientele book. Maybe with his professional eye he can figure out something we haven’t been able to.”
Jaxson surprised me with a wide grin. “You really are your father’s daughter, aren’t you?”
“Why do you say that?”
“Your attention to detail, for starters. And your tenacity at digging out crumbs that other people might dismiss as irrelevant. Or coincidence.”
“Because there’s no such thing as coincidence.” We turned at the sound of Jolene’s voice. Her hair had been brushed and sprayed, and her lips shone with a fresh coat of lipstick, but she wore the same jeans and flats. This, and the clientele book she carried, meant she’d probably been spending most of her time listening instead of primping. “I figured I’d save you some time and get this for you to take to Uncle Bernie.”
Jaxson immediately stood and took the book, then placed it on the coffee table. With a grin, he said, “You heard every word, didn’t you?”
Jolene looked offended. “Is a frog’s butt watertight? How else was I supposed to know what’s going on with the two of you whispering in here like two snakes in the grass?”
“I was hoping to spare you from getting involved.” I crossed my arms. “If I’d wanted you to know, I would have already told you.”
Smiling cheerfully, Jolene said, “Well, it’s too late now. I guess you can call me a coconspirator.”
Jaxson turned back to me. “There’s something else that you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”
“What makes you think that?” I swallowed as I pushed aside the memory of the creepy black shadow I’d seen in the video, not sure I could explain that to anyone. Except Melanie. Or Beau. And not sure I even wanted to. Besides Melanie’s love for organization, I seemed to have also acquired her tendency to ignore anything unpleasant in the hope that it would go away. Or until it exploded in my face. Unfortunately, I had to experience everything more than once before I learned the hard way.
“I’m a public defender—remember? I’ve acquired a sixth sense about people holding back information.”
“Fine. There is one more thing.” I looked between Jaxson and Jolene. “I’m pretty sure Beau’s grandfather is still around. We’ve both smelled his pipe smoke a few times at the house.” I would keep the anomaly I’d seen in the video to myself. For now. At least until I could talk to Beau and make sure I wasn’t imagining it.
Jolene rubbed her hands over her arms. “What do you think it means?”
“Either Charles is here just to keep an eye on Beau”—I paused—“or there’s still unfinished business that needs to be taken care of before he can move on.”
“But Sunny’s back,” Jaxson said. “And we know who was responsible. I can’t imagine that he’s wanting Beau to seek justice at this point. Not when it would put him and Mimi in danger.”
“That’s pretty much what I thought. Which is why I’m agreeing to have dinner with Michael, and also why I need Bernie’s help. I’m in way over my head here.”
Jolene put her arms around me and squeezed. “Don’t forget you’ve got us. And I think we make a great team.” She stepped back. “We should get going. I’m so hungry I could eat my own hand. But first I’m going to grab a heavier sweater. I’ve got chill bumps all over my arms.”
Jaxson picked up the clientele book. “I’ll go ahead and take this now. If it’s okay with you, I’ll go through it before I bring it over for Bernie—assuming he’ll agree to help. Which I’m pretty sure he will. I’ve never known someone to hate retirement as much as he does.”
I glanced over at Jolene’s half-open door to make sure she wasn’t eavesdropping again. “There’s something else I wanted to ask you about.”
“Sure.”
“Have you given Carly the ring yet?”
He didn’t drop his gaze. “Not yet. She’s been traveling a lot, so I haven’t been able to pin her down. But soon.”
I nodded. “All right. But I need to let you know that if you hurt Jolene, I will hunt you down along with all three hundred or so of her closest friends and extended family members. You understand?”
I had to admire his ability to hold my gaze. “I do. I have no plans to do anything that would hurt her.”
“Yeah, well, planning isn’t usually a part of the equation when it comes to matters of the heart. Maybe you need to think of Jolene as a fine bottle of bourbon, and you’re an alcoholic trying to stay sober.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good,” I said just as Jolene reappeared wearing a fluffy pale pink cardigan and another layer of hair spray.
“Keep what in mind?”
Jaxson’s eyes met mine again for a moment before he said, “That Pascal’s Manale can pack up a bread pudding to bring back for Nola.”
“And maybe some turtle soup, too.” She leaned down to give Mardi a kiss on his nose and a quick scratch behind his ears. “You be good for Mommy, all right? And make sure she shares some of her pizza with you.”
“Don’t worry about us—we’ll be fine. Just enjoy your dinner.”
I opened the door at the top of the stairs to let them through. We said our good-byes and I waited until I heard the door close at the bottom. Then I headed back to Jolene’s laptop and typed in her password, MARDI, before opening up the video. I sat down in one of the dining chairs and watched again and again as the dark shadow roiled from one side of the closet to the other. Even looking at it on video made my insides clench with terror. I’d never felt that when I’d been in the house with Charles and his pipe smoke. Or even when the ghost of Jeanne Broussard had pushed me down the stairs. This appeared to be a new entity entirely, its dark aura exuding evil. But if it wasn’t Charles or Jeanne, who was it? And why had it chosen now to make its presence known?