by Tina DeSalvo
She might very well be playing him. Yeah, the Professor was smart. She wasn’t chatty about what her plans were, and she certainly didn’t trust him. Beau didn’t blame her for that. He’d made it clear when he added the clause to the contract which side he was on. And, it did feel like there were sides. Why was that? Did she see a reason to be his enemy? Elli and Ben’s? The Bienvenus? Did she just worry that if he were watching her too closely she wouldn’t be able to execute her con?
Why is she really here?
Beau walked into the barn, grabbed the cord and dragged it to the camper. To get his answers he could approach her in one of two ways…as a hostile witness and try to scare, threaten and intimidate the answers from her, or he could cajole, charm and entice the answers from her. He laughed softly. No way would the esteemed Dr. Duet scare or intimidate easily. His instincts, which were usually dead accurate in such matters, told him the good-cop approach would have to be it. Decision made. He’d turn on the charm and have her eating out of his hand.
***
“That’s really clever, Jewell,” Beau said, annoyingly complimenting her again, for the fiftieth time in the last ten minutes, on something mundane she’d done. “Did you paint those red wood wedges you placed under the tires to keep the camper from rolling?”
“Are you trying to inveigle me?” Jewell asked, hands on her hip, looking at the tall, lean, handsome Beau Bienvenu—still wearing his New Orleans Saints jersey like another man would wear an Armani suit. “Geez. Enough with the compliments on how well I set up the camper, take care of Mimi, handle the flashlight and the other dozen things you have been sucking up to me about. She shook her head. “Look. I get why you used the belt-and-suspenders approach with the restrictive clauses in the contract. I don’t like it but I get that you felt you were protecting Elli and Ben’s exposure, vulnerability. It was unnecessary, but you wouldn’t know that. I’m a stranger.” She sighed. “That is done. You did your job. This insincere complimenting on triviality is something else.” She looked at him directly in the eyes. “What, Beau? What’s this all about? What do you want? And, if you say sex, I want you to know, I have given you much more credit than to be so prosaic.” She shook her head, again. “No. I can tell this isn’t about that.”
She turned to face him. She might as well be direct with him if she had any hopes of getting Mimi into the camper and both of them to sleep that night. She could tell this man was tenacious. She knew what he really wanted, or at least she thought she did. Should she take a stab at it to see if she was right? An intelligent guess? Or wait for him to show his hand?
“I’m hurt, Jewell.” He leaned against the camper and crossed his ankles. Geez, the man was tall—he blocked the narrow path that led to the camper door alongside of where she’d parked her truck next to the camper. “I’m just being curious and friendly. Showing you southern hospitality.”
“Then offer me a glass of sweet tea and finger sandwiches, or coffee and beignets. Stop with the insincere compliments.”
She carefully walked around him, her body rubbing against her dusty truck so she didn’t rub against him. Then she sat on the camper steps and looked up at him. “It’s getting late. I need to get Mimi to bed. Let’s be direct. You've exhausted me with this nonsense. Just say what you mean.” She narrowed her eyes and looked at his easy, relaxed expression. He would stand out there with her all night until he got what he wanted. Forget that. “This is about Mimi finding that footstool in the hidden nook by the fireplace, right?
He squatted eye-level with her. “What the hell was that about?”
“I’m not sure.”
“I thought you were going to be direct with me,” he answered sounding annoyed.
“I am. I don’t know how she knew to find the footstool in the hidden nook.” She looked up at the sky and exhaled. If things were as simple as the multitudes of complex galaxies in the sky, it would have been easier. “I don’t understand a lot of what is happening with her these days. It’s the dementia.” She sighed. “It’s other things. I’m trying to sort it out.” She looked at him as she stood. “You can rest assured it will not affect my ability to do the job Elli hired me to do. I’m very good at what I do, Beau.”
“Maybe too good for what you’re doing. Maybe, not good enough.” He stood and looked down at her. “Don’t mess with my family. I may seem like an easygoing man, but when it comes to protecting my family, rest assured I am nothing but iron, grit and endless determination.”
“You don’t seem that easygoing to me.” She shook her head. “Dog with a bone.”
“Damn right I’m a dog with a bone.”
“No.” Jewell pointed toward the brown, black and white beagle carrying a large ham bone coming from the house. “There’s a dog with an extraordinarily huge bone coming toward us.”
Beau grunted. “That’s BJ. If BJ has a bone, you can bet…uh, know…that Jenny and Doe will be around fighting for it.” Just then, before the words had settled, the bloodhound and the Lab mix that had been nestled around Mimi earlier came running toward the beagle, tongues lolling to the sides of their mouths, ears flapping behind them. BJ put the bone down, sneezed once, picked it up and took off around the barn into the darkness. “Never a dull moment with those animals.”
“Should we be worried about the night crawlers harming them?”
“Nah. Just females that smell as good as you carrying riot-control flashlights.”
“You never let up, do you?” She walked away. It was time to bring Mimi to bed. The camper air conditioner had been on long enough to cool the inside of the small space and the beds were already made from the night before when they slept in the camper at the Simoneauxs’. She didn’t owe Beau a friendly good-night or any other explanation about Mimi. Frankly, she’d had enough of speaking with him. He’d made his position clear. He wouldn’t tolerate anyone, especially her, harming his family. And she was going to have access to expensive and private family items.
She also understood that he would continue to flirt with her if she hung around outside with him for no other reason than to get what he could from her. What that meant exactly, she wasn’t sure. Maybe it would be for his physical pleasure, like just about every man she’d ever known. Maybe it would be to try to gain information from her. Maybe it would be for both. The way she figured it, either-or-both were all for his benefit, not hers.
Her phone buzzed with a text. It was Elli. Come to the house ASAP, Mimi’s awake and upset. She started to run toward the house.
“What’s wrong?” Beau called from behind her.
She heard him, but didn’t answer. All she cared about was getting to Mimi. She knew how she acted when she was confused and upset. She could be argumentative, even a bit physical, or she could curl into a fetal position and cry like a child. She could also just be talkative, anxious, but fairly normal. In the worst of cases, there was usually something more than just the dementia causing the extreme anxiety or symptoms. Medical causes or a sundowning episode. She had to get to her to assess what was going on with her now. She raced into the house, not sure what she would find.
“Ma sucrée,” Mimi yelled as soon as Jewell walked into the kitchen. She was holding salt and pepper shakers tightly in her hands but acted as if she didn’t know they were there. “Tell this woman to call the doctor,” she said in English then slipped into French, “Twinnie is infirmed. She’s got a fever. Oh, mon Dieu. Not you.” She looked at Beau who rushed into the room. She hurried up to him, hugged him with the shakers still in her hands. “Monsignor Jacques,” she began speaking English again. “Please. Don’t give her the last rites. She just needs a doctor.”
Beau looked at Jewell. “What is she talking about?” His eyes were narrowed with concern. “Is she sick? Did she call me a priest or ask for one?”
Jewell shook her head no, but it was meant more to dismiss his questions than to answer them. She approached Mimi and spoke to her softly. “Mimi. Mignon. Come sit a moment in the kitchen chair.
Let’s talk.” She smiled gently, and waited for Mimi to release her arms from around Beau’s waist. She looked up at him as she stepped away and smiled a childlike smile.
“Monsignor Jacques, please say a prayer for Twinnie.”
“I will and I will say one for you, too.” He smiled a kind, genuine smile that seemed to calm Mimi enough for her to let Jewell lead her to one of the ladder-back kitchen chairs. She sat and Jewell knelt in front of her, unable to hold her hands as she wanted because she clutched the salt and pepper shakers in them. Jewell knew she was too upset to ask her why she held them. The reality was, it might or might not have any significance.
“Everything will be fine. Let’s think about how lovely the night is for a moment.” She waited for Mimi to nod in agreement. “It’s a warm night. Not too hot. The stars are bright and beautiful. The moon is out, casting a nice glow in the sky and on the trees, making them look silvery.”
Mimi nodded again and Jewell kept talking about familiar things that she knew. It seemed to comfort her as it always did. As she spoke, she looked at the back of Mimi’s hands, lifting the loose skin to check for skin turgor. The skin didn’t return back to its normal position for a few seconds. Because of that, plus how dry her lips looked, Jewell was convinced her grand-mère was dehydrated.
“Elli, would you mind if Mimi had a cool glass of water?” Dehydration with dementia, plus being in an unfamiliar place, could cause confusion. Additional confusion resulted in increased anxiety.
“Of course.” Elli poured some bottled water she got from the refrigerator into a glass and gave it to Mimi. “Would you like anything else, sweetie?”
“Yes,” Mimi answered in a childlike voice. “I’ll take madeleines.”
“I don’t think Elli has little butter cakes,” Jewell interpreted.
“I have other sweets, though,” Elli opened the pantry and filled a pretty blue flowered dessert dish with different store-bought and homemade items. She placed it on the table in front of Mimi. “There’s quite a variety there,” she laughed softly. “Chocolate chip and sugar cookies. A cinnamon oat granola bar, a MoonPie and a praline.”
“Praline?” Mimi said, looking at Jewell. “Here?”
Elli turned the dessert dish so the caramel colored sugary treat faced her. “Yes. Here it is.” She handed her a paper napkin. “You like pralines?”
Jewell didn’t give Mimi time to answer, “You like sugar cookies.” She turned the dish so the cookie faced her.
Mimi placed the salt and pepper shakers in the middle of the table with extra care. “I always take pride in doing my job just right,” she said, giving the pepper shaker an affectionate pat on the side of the pebbled glass. With a smile on her face, Mimi picked up a cookie and looked at Jewell as she chewed. “You like how I take care of the salt and pepper, ma sucrée?”
Jewell looked at the shakers which stood about three to four inches tall, with polished sterling silver caps on top. These shakers looked to be vintage and consistent with early 1900s designs. They were probably mass produced. Mimi could very well have had similar shakers in her home growing up. “Yes. I like the way you take care of them, Mimi.” She looked into her grand-mère’s tired eyes and noticed how pale her skin was. “You should drink the water, Mimi. You may be a little dehydrated from the long, warm day and not drinking enough. And, from the side effects of your medicines.” She glanced at Elli. “It would explain her anxiety.”
“Drink up,” Elli encouraged her.
She did. She drank all of the water in one long drink, and then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I was thirsty,” she laughed.
“Seems like things are under control now,” Beau said, reaching to take the praline from the plate.
“He took the praline,” Mimi whispered.
“Is that a problem?” Beau asked. “I love pralines. It’s a sweet temptation.”
“That’s for sure. Men like Praline,” Mimi said. “But, don’t seem right that a priest does.” Jewell just wanted the damn praline to disappear and all discussion to cease about it.
“It’s all yours,” she said, shoving the plate toward Beau.
“I feel like I’ve walked in during the middle of an intricately plotted movie and have no idea what is going on.” He took a bite of the praline. “Did I miss something?”
“It’s just a Mimi conversation,” Jewell said, hating to imply it was the dementia that was making the conversation sound so confusing. She just didn’t have anything else to say to explain what they were talking around. Nothing she wanted to share, anyway. She exhaled. “When you're finished with your cookie, Mimi,” she said, “we're going to turn in.”
“Turn into what?” she asked with all sincerity.
Jewell smiled. She was so darling and said the cutest things when she took things literally. The more advanced the dementia developed, the more she missed nuances and intent.
“Don’t turn into anything or anyone else, chère.” Beau told her, patting her on the shoulder. “I see absolutely no reason for you to do that. You are perfect just as you are.”
Jewell rolled her eyes. “You’re such a flirt.”
Elli laughed. “That he is. But he does it so well.”
“Damn straight, I do, darlin’.” Beau snatched another cookie from the plate.
Jewell stood. “Well, I think it’s time for Mimi and me to turn in…into sleeping women.” She helped her grand-mère stand. “Mimi, the camper is set up right outside. Your bed is ready for you.”
“Where is Monsignor Jacques going to sleep?” She looked at Beau finishing off the cookie. She cocked her head studying his smooth angular face. “You aren’t Monsignor Jacques. You’re too handsome.” She looked at Jewell. “Who is he?”
Jewell waved good-night to Elli as she led Mimi toward the door. “He’s the man you met earlier tonight, Mimi. Mr. Knucklehead.”
“Fire her,” Beau told Elli and Ben as he walked into their kitchen.
“It’s 6:45 a.m. Can we at least wait until seven?” Ben didn't glance up from whatever organic cereal concoction he was eating. He was dressed in his usual work jeans and black T-shirt with his pack of four dogs sitting at polite attention around the table, waiting for the handout that Ben wouldn’t give them. He would, however, signal them at the end of breakfast that it was time for a morning run with Elli. Except for his old dog, Lucky, who just wasn’t as capable of keeping up with the others, they all seemed to love the daily outing.
Once Elli left with the dogs, Beau knew Ben would dump the chunky organic cereal Elli lovingly prepared for him every morning into the trash and eat something sweet and unhealthy that he actually liked. It was a morning routine they had settled into that his cousin and his bride seemed totally happy with, though Beau didn’t find it appealing in any way.
“Good morning to you, Beau.” Elli handed him a cup of coffee. Black. Just as he liked it. The mug was from her favorite I heart MY DOG collection that each had a photo of one of their dogs on it. This one had a photo of Jenny, her sweet Lab mix. “You have court this morning?” She motioned to his navy suit slacks, pale yellow, athletic-cut dress shirt, gold cuff links and baby blue loosely-knotted tie. Elli would know his suit jacket was hanging in the car. She also knew that while he always dressed in a tie, dress slacks and sports coat for the office, he always went into the courtroom in a suit. Her question about his going to court was meant to distract him from what he was really there to talk about.
“Yes. Court's at 9:30." He gave her a pointed look. "This is more urgent.” She shook her head. He tossed a folder full of articles he'd printed from the Internet on the table in front of Ben. “It’s clear that Elli doesn’t want to get rid of the Professor. But I think after you read what’s in there, y’all will agree that it has to be done.” He pointed to the folder. “There's just cause to dissolve the contract.”
Elli leaned against the kitchen cabinet, dipped her tea bag into her cup, and shook her head. “I don’t want to dissolve the contract.�
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Ben opened the folder and started to read through its contents.
“She was charged with felony theft, Elli. She went to work for a prominent family in New Orleans. Although there’s a gag order, keeping their name from being released, I was able to find out from my sources that it’s the Monroe family.” He sipped the hot, dark coffee, keeping his gaze steady on his cousin-in-law. He knew exactly how tenacious and loyal Elli was, but he also knew that in the end she'd be reasonable. It just might take a while. By which time Jewell might very well steal them blind.
Elli stood across the room from Beau, holding her tea mug with the photo of Doe, the noisy bloodhound on it. “Ben told me you mentioned this to him last night. And I told him I knew about it.”
“You what?” Beau could have been knocked over with a feather. “And you still hired her? When did you find out?”
“Before I called to hire her.” Her eyes softened. “You don’t think I’d hire someone without checking them out first, do you, Beau?”
“What good is checking them out if you hire them anyway when you find out they’re a thief?”
“Alleged thief,” Elli corrected in a stern voice. “Jewell also told me. She didn’t know I knew. I hadn’t told her. I didn’t see any reason to.” She shrugged. “After you left last night, and before Ben got back from the kennel, she texted me, said she knew it was late but had something important to discuss with me. I met her at the camper and that was that.”
Beau looked at Ben. Was his cousin okay with this? Ben just lifted his brows in response. What in the hell does that mean?
“Did she tell you any more about her case?” Beau continued.
“No. She said she couldn’t because of the gag order.”
Fair enough, Beau thought. “Well, I did more digging.” He pointed to the folder. “You should know all of the facts, Elli.” She gave him one of those whatever expressions. He took it as an invitation to continue. “She was hired to catalog and value property for the Monroe family’s St. Charles Avenue estate after the matriarch died. As unusual as it is in our modern world of strategic inheritance planning, Mrs. Monroe had no declared heirs and no will.” Beau put his empty mug on the counter and folded his arms over his chest. “Her lone grandson subsequently inherited the property. Jewell was given full access to the property to appraise and recommend what to do with all of the movable goods.” He sat across from Ben. “Sound familiar? It’s exactly what she’s doing here.”