The House on Prytania (Royal Street #2)(87)
Author: Karen White

 

“Well, that makes this easy,” Sunny said, her excitement making her face glow. “No more need to hide stuff from Beau or try to dig up dirt on the Sabatiers. Do you want to tell Beau, or should I?”

 

“Hang on,” Cooper said. “What about what Michael did to you, Nola? Did they plead innocent about that, too?”

 

“No, actually. They admitted to being responsible, which made me like them even more. But their reasoning—which I will discuss later, when I’m not so hungry and can explain better—made sense to me. Not that it makes it any less warped, but there you have it.”

 

“So Michael’s off the hook, too?” Cooper asked.

 

“Not quite. I’m not sure what he did to me is forgivable.”

 

“I’m glad to hear you say that.” He smiled, and I felt that warmth in my chest again.

 

“But we’re done, right?” Sunny asked. “Chapter closed?”

 

Cooper was still looking at me. “Maybe not. I think there’s something else that’s bothering Nola.”

 

I looked at him with appreciation. He’d always been accurate when reading me, one of the reasons why when we were together we never talked a lot. We didn’t need to. “Yeah. Just a loose end, really. But it’s there kinda like a hangnail, you know? It’s not that big of a deal until you accidentally touch it.”

 

“What is it?” Sunny asked, her elation somewhat diminished.

 

Sarah had emerged from her room, where she’d been repacking for the flight home that evening, and joined the conversation. “The crying baby, right?”

 

I nodded, then turned to Cooper. “I didn’t hear it, but Sarah and Jolene did.”

 

“I tried to find out where it was coming from, but every time I entered a room, the sound moved. And we were too far away from the next house for it to have been coming from there.”

 

“Maybe it’s from one of Mrs. Sabatier’s miscarriages?” I asked.

 

Sarah screwed up her face, thinking. “It’s possible, I guess. Except I’m pretty sure it was just one baby.”

 

“It seems to me,” Sunny said, “that the baby might be connected to the property and not the Sabatiers. Didn’t you say they didn’t own it until nineteen hundred and something? I’m sure other houses have stood there. It probably has nothing to do with this.” She pulled out her phone. “I can call Beau now if you like.”

 

“Hang on,” I said. “I’d like to tell him myself. And we need to talk about the other problem, and how to get rid of it.”

 

“Do you mean . . . ?”

 

“Don’t,” Sarah and I shouted together. “Angelina Sabatier said it’s best not to say his name out loud.”

 

“Why?”

 

Cooper surprised me by responding, “Because he might be listening. It’s better not to summon a spirit unless you know what to do with it.”

 

I smiled my thanks, happy to know that he remembered the idiosyncrasies of our time together in Charleston involving true crime and restless spirits. His presence felt like having the best parts of my growing-up years sitting in my living room.

 

“And Beau does know what to do with it,” I said. “So let me talk with him first. I’m going to ask him to convince Mimi to invite the Sabatiers to the fund-raiser. I think you should do it together so it’s two against one. She’ll find it hard to say no. Meanwhile, I’ll talk with Christopher about doing some digging. I’ve already texted Sam with an update. She said she’s going to go to the chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe and light a candle to ask for this feud to be over. She must be desperate, because she’s not even Catholic.”

 

Sunny nodded enthusiastically. “Sounds like a plan. And I can help Christopher. I’ve been shadowing him at the shop to learn about the antiques business, so I see him every day.”

 

“Sure. Hopefully, if there’s anything to find, we’ll know before the party—good or bad.”

 

“Which reminds me,” Sarah said. “Sunny, did you bring back Jeanne’s clientele book? It’s not in my room, and I want to give it one last look before I leave. I realized that I didn’t look at it upside down. I know that’s a long shot, but I’m willing to try anything at this point.”

 

“Oh. Right. I think it’s still in my car. I haven’t had time to look at it yet. If you want, I’ll give it the upside-down look and let you know if I find anything.”

 

Sarah stood. “That’s all right. I’d like to do it myself. It runs in the family.” She looked pointedly in my direction. “If you want to toss me your car key, I’ll be happy to get it.”

 

“Sarah?” Jolene called from the kitchen. “Supper’s almost ready. Could you please come set the table?”

 

Before she could sigh heavily or roll her eyes, I stood. “I’ll help.”

 

“Whatever.” She looked back at Sunny, who hadn’t moved.

 

“My feet are killing me from shopping,” Sunny said. “Let me just rest them for a bit, and I’ll get the book before I leave—just remind me.”

 

“Fine,” Sarah said before heading toward the kitchen with the steps of a condemned person on the way to the gallows.

 

Sunny excused herself to use the bathroom, leaving Cooper and me momentarily alone.

 

“I don’t think I can thank you enough for, well, everything. For staying with Mardi, for one thing. And just for . . .” I shrugged, unable to fill in the missing words.

 

“For knowing you well enough that you don’t need to explain anything.”

 

“Yeah,” I said, smiling up at him. “I’m glad you’re here.”

 

“Me, too.”

 

We were standing close enough to each other that I could feel his warm breath on my face and see a small scar on his chin that I hadn’t noticed before. I touched it with my finger, the familiar feel of his skin warming my blood.

 

“This is new. What happened?”

 

His gaze moved from my lips to my eyes, the flicker of a shadow passing through it. He looked stricken, like a man searching for breath after being unexpectedly punched in the chest.

 

“Nola!” Sarah’s voice bellowed from the kitchen. “The table won’t set itself!”