“What?” Nat said as she and George looked over.
“Nothing,” said Roxy. “Just Johnson being his annoying self. Let’s go look someplace else for Charles. What about Dr. Jack’s botanica?”
“Good idea,” said George.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
WHEN THEY ARRIVED at Dr. Jack’s botanica, they found Sage at the counter. She was wearing long aquamarine linen robes and having an involved conversation about essential oils with a young couple. While smiley and attentive to her customers, there were dark circles under her eyes. Nat, George, and Roxy looked around the botanica as they waited for her to be done.
When Roxy had first arrived in New Orleans, this store had both charmed and intrigued her. It was so alien and beyond her experience. And now? Now she browsed the “love potion” perfume bottles, and “grounding” healing crystals, and powder that promised to “banish evil spirits” without blinking an eye. She took in the sights and smells of the small shop and looked carefully up and down the aisles. There was no sign of Charles.
Eventually Sage finished serving the couple, and they left, happily clutching a brown bag. She rushed out from behind the counter and greeted her visitors with a hug. “Good morning, good souls. I had a wonderful meditation this morning. How are things?” She looked at them, a hint of desperation in her eyes.
“Hi Sage,” said Roxy. “Has Charles come by?”
“No, why?”
“We can’t find him anywhere,” said Nat. “He’s left his phone in the hotel and disappeared.”
Sage frowned.
“We’ve just been to the Palace of Spirits,” George explained, “but he’s not there, either. I’m getting a bad feeling. This isn’t like him.” George’s forehead crinkled as he spoke. “We came here to see if you’ve seen him.”
“He’s not been here. I opened an hour ago. Perhaps he went for a long walk when he found he couldn’t sleep. Maybe he’s returned to the hotel since you left,” Sage suggested.
Roxy shook her head. “Sam’s there; he’s working on the loft conversion. The front door is locked, so Charles would need to ring the bell to get in. I told Sam to call us if that happened, and he hasn’t. Besides, if he went for a walk, he wouldn’t leave his phone behind, would he?”
“Oh. No. Probably not.” Sage went back behind the counter and sat down, looking thoughtful. Then she jumped back up, her eyes bright. “Do a reading, George! You’re the closest to him, you would be the best person to do it. Take whatever you want from the shelves. I have cowrie shells, or you can use cards, or…”
“I can’t,” George said firmly. “I’m not authorized.”
“Huh?” Sage said. “Authorized? What do you mean?”
“Meredith said I wasn’t ready,” said George. “She said the world and their grandmother’s cat thought they were qualified to read these days when it’s an art reserved for a select few. She said my spirit wasn’t perceptive enough yet.”
“Nonsense!” said Sage, shaking a pointed finger at him before taking a deep breath and biting her lip. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to burst out like that. She’s right in a way. Many people without intuitive abilities proclaim that they can read, and they shouldn’t. But anyone can tell that you’re qualified. It’s obvious!”
“Yes,” said Nat. “I agree. Go ahead.”
“No!” George said. “No, I won’t!”
“George?” Nat said softly.
“I’m not good enough!” He looked wildly about him and on the verge of tears.
Sage looked at him with concern. “Honey,” she said softly, clasping his shoulders and looking deep into his eyes. “I don’t mean to offend you, but this woman, Meredith—I don’t know much about her, but she sounds like she was trying to hold you down instead of lifting you up.”
“No, she wasn’t!” George said, tears falling freely now. “She loved me!”
Sage sighed. “Can I give you a hug, sugar?”
George nodded and fell onto her shoulder gratefully. After a few moments, Sage released him. “There, better?” George nodded mournfully.
“If everyone could get a hug from Sage, the world would be a much better place in my opinion!” Roxy smiled broadly at Sage who smiled back before turning to George again. He was still standing limply next to her, looking down at the ground.
“You don’t have to read if you don’t want to, George,” said Sage, her voice warm and soft. “But I think it would be a good thing. Tell you what, why don’t I get an oracle deck, and you pick the card? I’ll interpret. We’ll do it together. Sound like a plan?”
“Yes,” George said, sniffing and wiping his eyes. He looked up, but not at anyone in particular.
“Let me get this deck set up.” Sage reached into one of the long pockets in her robes and drew out three decks of cards. One set had a picture of an angel surrounded by golden light on the backs, the second deck had a woman looking into a crystal ball, and the third had birds, crocodiles, and monkeys decorating a picturesque jungle river scene. “Which one calls out to you the most?”
“The angels.”
“I had a feeling.” Sage winked at him. She went over to the counter and spread the cards across it in a long line. “Now, what are we asking about? Charles, or Meredith, or…?”
“Everything,” said George. His face crumpled for a second before he lifted his chin and stood a little straighter. “I want to know what’s going on.”
“Okay, good. Hold that question in your mind, and pick whichever card feels right,” Sage said. “Go ahead.”
George’s hand hovered over the cards, the light brown freckles that covered the back of it standing out against his pale skin. He pointed at a card. Sage slid it out from the pack and turned it over.
“Illusions,” she read. “Let’s read the interpretation, then I’ll offer my own.” She reached into the pockets of her robes again and pulled out a book with a navy blue, silver, and violet cover. The corners of the book were worn and creased. Sage flipped to the right page and took a deep breath. “You are a true master of illusion, especially when behind masks that you wear for others. This is a gift received through the hardships of your childhood. Your ability to adapt, to pretend, was essential for you to get the love you needed.”
George gasped.
“These masks can be helpful,” Sage continued. “You can bend to every situation and get along well with anyone. But they may hold you back from attracting situations and circumstances you desire. You sometimes fool even yourself with the personas you adopt. This card is telling you that you don’t need to rely on these false guises anymore.”
Roxy watched George carefully. Did this have anything to do with the murder? Was he the murderer, and his “good spiritual man” persona just that—a persona?
“Now is the time to let the real you flourish. You are free to be yourself,” Sage was saying.
“I’m not sure any of this is true,” said George. “Maybe this reading is for someone else.”
“Maybe, honey,” Sage said. “But let me continue to the end.” She glanced back at the book. “Often, you pretend that you do not know the truth. You play dumb, and let others enjoy feeling superior to you.”
“Oh, my gosh!” said Nat. “That sounds just like how you were with Meredith!”
“No, I wasn’t,” said George. “Was I?”
“George, a truth punch is coming,” Sage warned. “Inwardly, you can be smug, secretly indulging in the idea that it is you who are superior to others.”
“I didn’t think I was superior to Meredith.”
“But once you step into yourself and acknowledge your truth, you won’t have to play this game anymore. You will emerge as a true equal to others, both in the outer world and in your inner world. Accept the truth of who you are, and allow yourself to bloom.”
George sank into a chair. “I’ve got a headache.”
“I’m not surprised,” said Sage. “That was a heavy reading.”
“It wa
s.” George covered his face. “I’m embarrassed.”
“Do you want to hear my interpretation, honey?” Sage asked him.
“Only if it’s more positive than that.”
Sage closed her eyes and took on a calm, meditative expression. “All right.” She opened her eyes again. “Did you find any truth in the reading?”
“Maybe a little,” George said into his hands. “I did let Meredith act superior toward me. She could be overbearing. By keeping quiet, I thought I was doing the right thing.”
“Maybe you were, at the time,” Sage said comfortingly. “But it seems like—I could be wrong—but it seems like maybe she was intimidated by your talent, and she threw you shade so that she could shine herself. She was afraid you’d eclipse her.”
George broke down in tears. “I worshipped her.”
“I know, I know,” said Sage, rubbing his back. “It’s not a good idea to worship humans though, honey. No one is perfect. They can’t always have your best interests at heart, even if they want to. Do you get down on yourself a lot?”
“Yes,” he said.
“And she put you down, too?”
“Uh-huh.”
“You know what you need? You need some good friends to say positive, true things to you, to build you up. Encourage you.”
“I’ll go!” said Nat. “I think you’re great, George.” Nat took his hand and beamed.
George looked at her with a tear-stained smile. “Thanks, Nat,” he said wearily.
“You’re a genuine, kind, big-hearted person,” said Roxy. “Anyone can see that.”
“Thanks, Roxy.”
“And I can tell that you have enormous spiritual potential. You could be a great healer; of hearts, minds, souls, and even bodies. See?” said Sage. “Doesn’t that make you feel better? You don’t need the stress of someone putting you down all the time, especially in the name of ‘spiritualism’ or whatever Meredith chose to call it. That’s false prophet speak and not what this is about, at all.”
“So…you don’t think she was doing it for my benefit?” George said. “That’s what I always believed. That she had my best interests at heart. You think she was putting me down in a way that would make her look better?”
“Well, none of us were in her head, so we can’t know,” said Sage. “But her behavior toward you had the result of keeping you down. Of you thinking bad things about yourself. Of you thinking that you’re not even qualified to read an oracle deck!” She laughed, but not unkindly. “You’re one of the most qualified people to read one! You care so much about people. And that’s the most important thing.”
George wiped his eyes again. “You think so?”
Sage gave him an indulgent smile. “I know so.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
GEORGE SMILED, THIS time with more energy. He spread his arms out wide in a stretch. “Well, we’d better go look for Charles, then. I’m worried about him.”
“I’ll come with you,” Nat said.
“I’ll go back to the Funky Cat,” said Roxy. “Maybe he’s there somewhere and we missed him. Maybe he collapsed in a corner or something. Who knows? I just have the urge to go back there. It’s nearly lunchtime, too. Do you want to come back and eat quickly before you go out?”
“Thank you, Roxy,” said George, “but right now, I have no appetite whatsoever.”
“We’ll grab lunch from a street vendor if we get hungry,” said Nat. “It’ll be quicker that way, and we can spend more time looking for Charles. George, we should check the hospitals while we’re about it.”
George blew out his cheeks at the thought. “Yes, I guess you’re right.”
“Okay,” said Roxy. “Good plan.”
“Sage, please let us know if he comes by here,” said George.
“Sure honey, I’ll call Nat’s phone.”
“And thank you so very much for that reading. I feel like a weight has been lifted. I hadn’t realized how much of Meredith’s energy I’d absorbed into my own.”
Sage smiled. “You’re welcome, honey. And I expect payment for it! In the form of you doing a reading for me one of these days.” She winked at him. “May all the spirits guide you as you look for Charles. I’m sure he’ll be fine. I can feel it.”
“I sure hope so, and you can count on that reading!” said George.
“See you guys later,” Roxy called out. She set off for the Funky Cat and Nat and George went in the opposite direction. Sage’s talk had done George good. Roxy noticed a spring in his step, a light in his eyes, and a can-do attitude that hadn’t been there before. Feeling lighter herself, she jogged all the way back to the hotel.
When she arrived, there was a squad car parked at the end of the cobbled street on which the Funky Cat was located. Her heart quickening, she picked up her pace as she ran over the cobbles to the hotel. The door was open, and she rushed in to see Detective Johnson pacing the lobby.
“You!” he said as soon as she appeared in the doorway. He spoke with such force it was as if he’d tossed a dagger in her direction.
“Um…hello,” Roxy said. “How can I help you? Where’s Sam?”
“The guy with that stupid car?” Johnson said. “He let me in. He’s upstairs.”
“Right…” Roxy said. She waited for the detective to announce why he was standing in her lobby.
“You’ve kept me waiting for 10 minutes,” he barked.
“I didn’t know you were coming.”
“You were the one who called me! To alert me that Charles Romanoff was missing.”
“Yes, we were at the Palace of Spirits.”
Immediately Johnson looked suspicious. “What were you doing there?”
“Looking for Charles Romanoff.”
“Well, that’s what I’m here to do. Look for Charles Romanoff.”
“I thought you were going to put an APB out for him.” This was a very odd argument. Why was Johnson being so obtuse?
“Done that. But you may have overlooked something here. I’ve searched the common and service areas. Now I need to go through the bedrooms and the basement.”
The idea of Johnson poking around all the bedrooms—hers included—made Roxy feel very uncomfortable. “He won’t be in the basement. How could he get in? It’s locked.”
“If he was killed or apprehended, someone with a key…” Johnson squinted at her, “could have opened the basement and dumped him in there.”
Roxy took a step back. His idea was ludicrous but Johnson’s implication that she might have abducted Charles was chilling.
Five minutes later, Johnson came up from the basement. He hadn’t let Roxy accompany him. She’d waited at the top of the stairs, feeling jittery even though she knew Charles couldn’t possibly be down there. She had the only key. As Johnson took the last step he tripped over Nefertiti who he hadn’t seen waiting under Roxy’s feet.
“Darn it!” He nearly fell flat on his face and had to grab the wall to steady himself.
Nefertiti squealed and fled.
“Oh!” Roxy exclaimed. “Sorry!” She would have found it amusing if the situation hadn’t been so serious.
“That darned cat is a health and safety hazard!”
“I’m sorry,” Roxy said again. She gestured at the basement. “So…?”
“Oh yeah, he’s down there,” said Johnson, looking more annoyed than ever. He brushed out his suit creases. “Doing crochet with an alligator. They’re both coming upstairs now to have a cup of tea. Put the kettle on to boil why don’t ‘cha?”
“What?”
“He’s not down there,” Johnson snapped. “Obviously.”
“Johnson?” A voice floated from Johnson’s radio on his chest.
He pressed the button. “It’s Detective Johnson!” he hollered into it.
“Trudeau here, Detective.”
“What do you want?”
“Time’s up on Jack Lavantille.”
“Who?”
“Dr. Jack. We have to let him go. We d
on’t have enough evidence to charge him. Gun was clean, untraceable, and forensics said there was no way of identifying who shot it. The witnesses were bunched around a small table so close together it was impossible to work out the trajectory, apparently.”
Johnson turned away from Roxy and walked into the dining room so she couldn’t hear the the rest of the exchange, but she could see him muttering furious words into his radio. A couple of moments later, the detective came back looking like he wanted to break the whole world in two. “I’ll be in touch,” he growled to Roxy, brushing past her so fast that for a second, a gust of wind made her short hair stand up on end.
She hurried out to watch him stride up the alleyway and get into this squad car. “Are you releasing Dr. Jack?” she called out after him.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” he shouted back.
“But what about Charles Romanoff? Don’t you want to look in the bedrooms?”
Johnson glared at her and shrugged his shoulders before slamming the patrol car door. The engine roared into life and the car lurched forward as he drove it away at speed.
“Jeez!” Roxy said, as soon as he was gone. She felt the warm, tickle-y softness of Nefertiti press against her ankle. She bent down and picked her up, laying her cheek on the silky soft fur as she often did when she needed comfort. “The amount of frustration that guy generates could power the entire city, Neffi.” She let out a big sigh just as her cat gave a big yawn. “I’ll go and see Sam and update him on Charles. He’ll calm me down.”
When she reached the loft, Roxy saw the second round wheel-like window had been installed. The loft was flooded with golden midday light. “Wow!” she said.
Sam, who had his back to her and hadn’t heard her arrive, jumped. He turned around, laughing. “Man, you startled me.”
“I don’t blame you, what with all this craziness going on,” said Roxy. “That window makes all the difference, Sam. It lights up the whole place. This space looks wonderful.”
He beamed. “I’m glad you like it. I got that navy blue stain for the floorboards like you said. I’m going to tackle that next.”
Roxy Reinhardt Mysteries Box Set Page 43