“Mother Mary, did we just tie up an innocent man?” Belinda asked.
“No,” I said adamantly. “He’s been following us, or at least looking for Ronnie. And I saw him with Anya.”
“You’re sure it’s him?” Emma was studying the man carefully, her eyes narrowed.
“Yes, one hundred percent.”
“You hear that?” She nudged the man’s shin. “We know what you’ve been up to, so stop pretending to be out of it and start talking.”
The man’s eyes slid open. He regarded us coolly, then said, in a surprisingly calm voice, “I’m going to enjoy seeing the three of you—”
“Nope!” Belinda stepped forward and stuffed part of a silk scarf into his mouth. “I can’t listen to murderous bad-guy talk. I just can’t.”
“You got that?” Emma said to the man.
He glared at her.
“That was a question. Do. You. Understand?”
He nodded.
“Good.” She pulled the scarf out of his mouth. “Watch the attitude. Now, tell us who you are and what you want with Ronnie.”
“I could ask you the same question,” he snapped, anger sparking in his dark eyes like a flame.
“You could,” Emma said. “But you’re the one who’s tied up, so . . .” She spread her arms in a gesture that was both casual and callous.
Damn. My sister could be scary when she wanted to be.
We waited.
He glared, then finally said, “My name is Jason Broussard, and Ronnie is my friend. I’m looking for her because I’m worried about her.”
He didn’t sound worried. He sounded pissed.
“Malarkey,” I said. Definitely not as scary as my sister.
“It’s the truth,” he growled. “I’ve known her since we were kids.”
“Yeah? Then why were you talking to the people who want to hurt her?”
“Who?”
I walked over to the counter and returned with the photograph Kai had taken off Veronica’s fridge.
“This woman.”
He blinked at the photograph. “I don’t know her. Wait—I do remember talking to her the day I went to Ronnie’s apartment. She asked me if I lived there. Said she was interested in renting a place. I told her no and that was it.”
I tried to remember exactly what Coco had shown me.
“Grace?” Emma asked.
Slowly, reluctantly, I said, “It’s possible.”
The courtyard door opened and Hugh and the dogs clamored inside.
“Whoa,” Hugh said when he saw our captive. “What did I miss?”
I exchanged a glance with my sister, then looked at Belinda. None of us seemed to know where to begin.
Jason took care of that. “These women attacked me and are holding me against my will.”
“I can see that,” Hugh said. “I’m wondering what you did to deserve it.”
Emma beamed at him.
“Nothing.” Jason grated out the word through teeth clenched so tightly, I thought they might crack.
Kai opened the door a moment later. His reaction was not as flippant as Hugh’s.
“Grace, what’s going on?” he asked, eyes scanning the scene.
“I’m being kidnapped,” Jason snapped. “That’s what’s going on.”
“This is the guy we saw last night.” Kai didn’t seem impressed with that explanation so I added, “I thought he had a gun.”
“Which I didn’t,” Jason said.
“How was I supposed to know people carried around giant phones in aggressive-looking cases like this?”
I held up the phone like I was presenting evidence.
“Please tell me you’re not insane like these idiots,” Jason said to Kai.
“That depends,” Kai said, dragging a chair over to sit in front of him.
“On?”
“How well you answer my questions.”
“I’m an officer of the court. Check my wallet.” He gestured at me with his chin.
Reluctantly, I handed the wallet to Kai.
“Assistant DA Broussard,” Kai said, studying the ID.
“Yes.”
“Let’s confirm that. Emma”—he handed the ID to my sister—“a quick search on Louisiana’s State Attorney Office website should do the trick.”
She turned to her laptop and started typing.
“While we wait on that,” Kai said, “explain how you know Veronica Preaux.”
“I already told these lunatics—we grew up together. I’ve been looking for her because I’m worried.”
“Not according to his bio,” Emma said. “He’s a DA but it says here he’s a native of New Orleans, born and raised.”
Jason shook his head, seeming exasperated. “Yes, I was born here, but I spent my summers in Gallous with my grandparents.”
“We’re going to have to have more than that,” Kai said.
“Fine. Look at the messages on my phone—there’s one from Ronnie.”
I’d heard this song and dance from Anya. “Let me guess,” I said. “Telling you she’d be waiting where she got Coco?”
“How did you know that?”
“Anya, the woman you claim not to know, showed me the same message.”
“What?” Jason sounded bewildered.
“Not exactly the same.” Kai handed me the phone. “Look.”
I read the message. Then read it a second time.
“What?” Emma asked.
“He’s telling the truth,” I said, passing the phone to her.
“Finally. Now untie me.”
As Kai freed Jason from his bonds, Emma read the message aloud.
“This is going to sound crazy, but I need your help. You remember where I got Coco? Meet me there tonight at eight. Don’t tell anyone about this message. Make sure you’re not followed. I’ll explain when you get here. Please, Jase, I don’t know who else to ask.”
“I should have all of you arrested,” Jason said as he stood and took the phone from Emma.
“I think we can all agree this has been a big misunderstanding,” Kai said.
“Why didn’t you go to her?” Belinda asked quietly.
“What?” Jason said.
“You knew where she was, didn’t you? You knew she’d gotten Coco from her grandmother’s house.”
Jason crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you go?”
A muscle in his jaw twitched as he looked at her.
Instead of answering her question he said, “Save it.”
“Excuse me?” she asked, brows arching.
“Don’t act like you know something about me, because you don’t,” Jason said.
“I have an idea,” I said, aggravated by the way he was talking to Belinda. Sure, the guy had good reason to feel a little temperamental, but that was no excuse to be rude.
“Maybe you didn’t show up to meet Ronnie because she’s just a possédé Preaux. Don’t the folks in Gallous steer clear of that family?”
“Superstitious nonsense.”
“Then what happened?” I asked. “Why didn’t you go to Hattie’s?”
“I didn’t get the message in time. I went as soon as I saw it. Ronnie wasn’t there.”
“Did you see anyone else?” Kai asked.
Jason shook his head. “No. I started to leave her a note but wasn’t sure if I should. She was so cagey in the message, telling me to make sure I hadn’t been followed. I didn’t know what to think.”
“And she didn’t call you again?” Kai said.
“No. I tried sending her messages and called a dozen times. Nothing. I’ve been by her apartment. I talked to her friend Layla. She’d talked to Ronnie, but had no idea where she was or when she’d be back.”
“You didn’t report her missing?”
“Why would I? She left on her own. And I know how Ronnie can be.”
“Meaning?”
“She’s got a short fuse and doesn’t always think things through. I was going back to see if she’d been to her place the day I saw you two go in with the key,” Jason said.
“That’s why you started following us,” I said.
He shook his head no. “I tried to but thought you’d spotted me.”
“Why not just ask us if we knew where she was?” I asked.
“And expect you to tell me the truth?”
It was a good point.
“You weren’t following us last night?” I asked.
“Not until after I saw you at Hattie’s,” Jason said.
“How?” I asked, remembering that he’d run away.
“I waited in my car until you passed then tailed you here.”
“Weren’t you worried when Hattie didn’t come to the door the night you went to meet Ronnie?” Emma asked.
“She takes her hearing aids out at night, so no.”
“You know Hattie pretty well then?” Kai asked. “Have you been to her house often?”
“Often enough—why?”
“She’s missing,” Kai said.
I’ll say this for the guy, he might not have had much going for him in the sympathy department until then, but the look on his face when Kai told him Ronnie’s grandmother was missing made me feel sorry for him.
“I’d like you to take a look at something if you don’t mind.” Kai pulled his phone from his pocket. “We took a video of the kitchen earlier today while we were at Hattie’s. Someone who’s familiar with the house might see something I’ve missed.”
While Kai and Emma worked on uploading the video to her computer so it could be viewed on a larger screen, I asked Jason, “What happened in Gallous? Why did Hattie change her name?”
“I don’t really know the whole story. There was a falling-out in the family. Ronnie and I were just kids. I was about thirteen at the time. I didn’t ask. I got the impression Hattie moved to New Orleans to start again.”
“Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt her?” I asked.
“She hardly ever leaves her house,” Jason said. “Who would want to hurt her?”
“Maybe the same people who wanted to hurt Ronnie’s uncle,” Hugh said.
“You think this has something to do with Sean’s murder?” Jason asked.
“Can’t be a coincidence, can it?” Hugh said.
Jason was quiet for several seconds as he considered the possibility. “I don’t know what the connection would be.”
“Did Ronnie ever talk to you about her uncle’s murder?” I asked.
“No. Except to tell me that it was one of the reasons she came to New Orleans. She doesn’t have family in Gallous, aside from her brother—and he’s . . .”
“We met Max,” I said.
“Then you know what I’m saying.”
I nodded.
“Ronnie came here and asked if I could help locate Hattie. Though at the time we still thought her name was Arlise,” Jason said.
“They hadn’t been in contact?” I asked.
“Not for years.”
“Her uncle was a healer, right?”
“A traiteur, yes.”
“And her grandmother is a psychic. What about Ronnie?”
“What about her?” Jason asked.
“Does she have any ability?”
“Ronnie? No.”
Belinda nodded. “You might be onto something, Grace.”
Jason looked back and forth between us. “You’ve lost me.”
“I was just thinking that it’s possible Barry and Anya might be going after family members who claim to have some sort of psychic ability,” I said.
“Well, Ronnie doesn’t.” Jason shook his head. “She would have told me.”
“You sure about that?” Belinda asked. “Forgive me for saying so, but you don’t seem too open to the idea.”
“She would have told me,” he said firmly.
“It’s not always that easy.” Belinda’s lips curved into a sad smile. “A lot of times, you don’t understand it yourself. And trying to tell someone else, especially someone who wouldn’t be open to what you’re telling them . . .” She shrugged.
I turned my attention to Jason. “You said Hattie hardly leaves the house. Why not?”
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe she was afraid of someone,” Hugh suggested.
“I can believe it,” Belinda said. “If you’re not careful, this gift can turn on you.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, ignoring Jason’s eye-roll.
“The first time I knew something I had no business knowing, I walked up to my mother and said, ‘He doesn’t want you, not like you want him.’ It was at a party. My mother loved her parties,” Belinda said.
“My father, who was standing next to her, laughed and said, ‘Boy, you know I love your mama.’ I looked at him and told him, ‘Not you, Daddy, the other man.’
“I was five. I’ll never forget the look on his face. Ever. My father was a good man. He adored my mother. Showered her with gifts. Brought her flowers . . . He was devastated. I had devastated him.”
“No.” Emma, who’d finished helping Kai with the computer, came to stand at Belinda’s side. Her voice was somehow both gentle and vehement. “You were a child. The blame falls with your mother and her lover—not you.”
Belinda patted the hand Emma had placed on her arm. “My point is—this gift? It’s not something you choose. If you’re not careful, it can cause a lot of pain. You might not even realize you’ve hurt someone until it’s too late.”
“This could be about a reading Hattie gave someone,” I said. “Some secret she revealed.”
“Or,” Hugh said, “something she missed.”
It was an angle to consider. Though I wasn’t sure how it would help. Without talking to her we couldn’t know if Hattie had made an enemy during her career.
Kai waved Jason over to watch the video of Hattie’s kitchen, and Belinda walked over to open one of the upper cabinets. I noticed her nails weren’t painted as she took out a bottle of aspirin.
I wondered if she was spending too much time helping us and not enough time being Belinda.
“You okay?” I asked her. “I know this has been a lot to take in.”
“It’s not that. I just got a terrible headache out of the blue earlier. I hate taking this stuff, but I’m out of magnesium tea.”
I thought about how surprised she’d been at not having known something was off earlier when she walked in and saw we’d taken Jason out.
“Your headache,” I said. “Do you think that’s why you didn’t feel the Tingle?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never had this happen before. It’s like my head is stuffed with cotton balls. I’ve got a client lined up later and I don’t even feel like doing my nails.”
“Maybe you should go lie down. Voodoo is always ready for a snuggle.”
“That’s a good idea.” She nodded and tried to smile but it fell short of her usual mischievous grin. “I’ve got an hour before my appointment. Maybe I’ll go rest my eyes until then.”
I did a mental search for my kitten.
“Voodoo’s already napping on my bed if you want to grab her on the way to your room.”
“Thanks, cher, I’ll do that. If you need anything, holler.”
“Is she okay?” Emma asked after Belinda had gone upstairs.
“Headache. It interfered with the Tingle and she seems pretty stressed about it.”
I moved to where Kai and Jason were watching the video for a second time.
“Stop,” Jason said.
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Kai clicked the button to pause the video.
“Ronnie’s there.”
“How do you know that?”
“Chocolate.” Jason pointed at the screen. “See the wrappers? This is her favorite brand. She eats it when she’s stressed.”
“We looked all over the house. She’s not there,” Kai said.
“Did you check the attic?”
“We tried but the door had been locked for years.”
“There’s another way in. Come on, I’ll show you.”
CHAPTER 14
Emma and Hugh stayed at the B and B to continue working on the monkey map. And Emma had promised to keep an eye on Belinda.
Sometimes caretakers need care, too.
We took Jason’s car—a sporty SUV that made Bluebell look like the vintage tank she was—to Hattie’s. Jason hadn’t put up a fuss when I told him we were taking Moss with us. If Jason failed to get into the attic, my dog could at least tell us if he smelled someone.
We got out of the SUV and Moss took a moment to mark a tree or two. Jason walked to where the garden hose spigot sprouted from the house’s brick foundation. He grabbed the brass faucet and pulled. The spigot, and the brick it was attached to, slid out, revealing a hollow spot in the brick below.
“Really?” I asked and looked at Kai.
He lifted a shoulder in a half shrug.
“This place has all kinds of hiding places,” Jason said as he reached into the hole and retrieved the key.
We entered through a mudroom and then went into the kitchen. Jason paused to look around.
“I remember the plate,” he said, pointing to the wall where Kai thought the broken platter had hung.
Moss walked over to where the plate had smashed to the ground. He paused, sniffing the area. A ripple of unease fluttered through our connection. Sometimes, energy lingers. Intense emotions felt in a place leave their mark. Like a never-ending echo animals are tuned in to.
Easy, Moss. It’s okay.
Okay?
Yeah, we’re looking for someone, though. So keep your ears pricked.
Moss listen.
Good boy.
Jason led us out of the kitchen, down the hall, and into the library. I watched, with a growing sense of disbelief, as he walked to the bookcase and scanned the shelf.
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