The House on Prytania (Royal Street #2)(57)
Author: Karen White

 

When she didn’t say any more, I took a step toward the car.

 

“He didn’t kill her.” Sarah was looking at me now, her expression earnest.

 

I paused. “Is that what his wife said?”

 

“Yes.” Her gaze traveled back to the door through which Thibaut and Jorge had disappeared.

 

“Did she say who did?”

 

After a long moment, Sarah faced me. “No. She didn’t want to talk about when she was killed. Just that she loved her husband.”

 

I walked her back to Bubba and held the door open while she slid next to JJ in the backseat. Before I could close the door, she asked, “Is this the same swamp where Beau dumped the Maison Blanche door?”

 

“Yeah—why?”

 

“Great,” Sarah said. “I read that it’s haunted.”

 

“Just old rumors to draw tourists,” Jolene said. “There was supposedly an old voodoo queen named Julia Brown who cursed the area, and on the day she was buried the great hurricane of 1915 swept in and destroyed three towns around the swamp, killing just about everybody in its path, so naturally people thought she was responsible. Which is silly because no woman I know would cause a hurricane if there wasn’t a man involved, and Julia was a widow.”

 

Sarah leaned into the front seat. “You know that doesn’t make sense, right?”

 

Jolene grinned. “Of course. I was just trying to take your mind off the idea that the swamp might be haunted.”

 

Sarah sat back in her seat. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

 

Melanie turned around to look at Sarah. “What is it, sweetie?”

 

“I’m worried about that door floating back to the surface, and what else it might be bringing up with it.”

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 21

 

 

My dad and I sat at our table in the lush courtyard at the Elysian Bar inside the Hotel Peter & Paul nursing our seltzer waters with lime, feeling too full from dinner to get up and go to bed or, in my case, hunt down Jolene for a ride home. She’d excused herself to powder her nose at least twenty minutes before but hadn’t yet returned. Everyone else had gone to their room to pack, and I was grateful that I didn’t have to do any lifting or bending, as I didn’t think my stomach would comply.

 

For dinner, I had gorged myself on crab-and-ricotta gnocchi and then the rosemary panna cotta for dessert. I hadn’t wanted the whole piece, but only Melanie and I wanted something sweet to finish our meal, and neither of us believed in sharing food. Especially dessert. I was left with no alternative but to eat the entire thing.

 

For about the fifth time since we’d sat down I squeezed into the palm of my hand a dollop of the hand sanitizer that Melanie had left on the table, and I scrubbed my hands together.

 

“Aren’t you done eating?” my dad asked.

 

“I am, but I keep remembering I spent all afternoon in a swamp and actually touched a baby alligator. I don’t think my hands will ever feel clean again.”

 

“That reminds me. I should probably check JJ’s suitcase before we leave to make sure he hasn’t packed any swamp creatures to bring home.”

 

“He wouldn’t really, right?” I asked.

 

Jack responded with raised eyebrows before leaning forward and squeezing my hand. “I know we won’t get another chance to talk before we leave in the morning, but I wanted to tell you again how very proud I am of you. And not just where you are right now, but where you’ve been. You amaze Mellie and me with every success, because we know what it’s cost you.”

 

I stirred the ice in my drained glass. “Yeah, well, I think you mean what it’s cost you. You paid for my tuition—remember?”

 

He laughed. “Hard to forget. It gave me an incentive to sell my next book, that’s for sure.” He tugged on the two silver bracelets I wore, each with a four-leaf clover charm. They had been separate gifts for high school graduation from both of my parents, and I never took them off but kept them as a reminder that I was loved and cherished even at those times when I failed to love myself.

 

I leaned over and kissed Jack on his cheek, and he put his arm around me and squeezed. Sitting back in his chair, he said, “Is there anything you want to talk about while I’m here and we’re alone?”

 

“Besides my disappointment that we didn’t see that door bobbing up and down in the swamp today?”

 

“Why disappointment? I thought you’d be glad to put that behind you.”

 

“Oh, I am.” I’d decided not to tell my parents my plan of revenge involving Michael or about my upcoming visit to his family’s beach house. With Sarah. There were some things that were best shared after the fact. “It’s just that it would be nice to know where it is, just in case psychic evidence is ever allowed in a court of law. It would be a slam-dunk case for sure.”

 

“I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one,” he said, and drained the last of his water. “But I admire your enthusiasm.” He put his glass down with a small thunk. “And you’re okay with Sarah staying for the entire week?”

 

“I wouldn’t have said yes if I minded. It’s not like she’s a baby or needs a lot of hand-holding. Plus, we’ll have Jolene.”

 

Jack grinned. “Can’t wait to hear all the new phrases Sarah will pick up. I’ll probably have to call you to translate.”

 

“Text me. You know that anyone younger than thirty only texts.”

 

“Yeah, well, feel free to call me anytime. I miss hearing your voice.”

 

I blinked hard. “Same,” I said.

 

“But you would call me if there was something important you needed to tell me, right?” He was looking at me closely and I had to resist the need to squirm in my chair.

 

“Of course. I’m an adult, but you’re still my dad.”

 

“And everything is all right with you?”

 

“Yes,” I said. “Of course. Why are you asking?”

 

He leaned back in his chair, thrumming his fingers on the armrests, his eyes narrowed. “I’m a writer, which means I’m pretty observant. I noticed how you and Beau seem to have a mutual do-not-touch zone, and not because you don’t want to touch but because you probably shouldn’t. And I’m pretty sure Sam isn’t oblivious to it.”