by Sala, Sharon
He smiled. “Yes, I hear you.”
“So sleep now, my good son. I know there’s more to be told, but not tonight. Just remember that the worst has passed, and everything after will be a day closer to perfect healing.”
She leaned down and hugged him close.
“I’m ashamed to say this because a mother shouldn’t have favorites, but I think tonight you need to know that you’re my favorite son.”
He managed a half-hearted smile. “I thank you, Mama, but I think we’ll keep that between us.”
“Absolutely. Now go to sleep and remember what I said. No getting up before noon.”
“Yes, ma’am. And you get off your feet.”
Delle smiled. “Yes, sir.”
She slipped across the hall, and after a brief check on her daughter, she crawled back into bed. But instead of trying to sleep, she began praying. She was still praying when the sun came over the horizon.
****
Anson woke at daybreak and turned on the television as he began dressing for the day. He was hoping to catch the latest on the fire from the local newscast.
Adelaine’s had finally evacuated their restaurant and he’d been on his way home before midnight, well aware that March’s guard dogs had followed a half mile behind.
He was dressed all but for his boots when he sat down on the side of the bed and began flipping channels before finally finding one broadcasting the event.
A wicked smile spread across his face when he heard the scope of the damage. Not only had Frenchie’s burned to the ground, but so had The Black Garter. That was a two-for-the price-of-one deal he hadn’t expected and wondered how the cocky bastard felt about the world this morning.
What he didn’t know until now was that March’s daughter had been kidnapped during the chaos, only to be rescued hours later. He scratched his groin and began putting on his boots, wondering how his high-and-mighty son was faring now. By the time he added his own brand of payback, there wouldn’t be enough left of Brendan Poe to bury.
Anson eyed the remodeling still in progress as he headed downstairs. The house smelled of fresh paint and new flooring. Soon, there would be new curtains and draperies at the windows, and when that happened, he would be ready to reclaim his wife.
He was eating a piece of beef jerky and making coffee when his cell phone rang. It was Sam.
“You’re late,” he said shortly.
“Chance and I aren’t coming out today,” Sam said.
Anson frowned. “Like hell.”
Sam wouldn’t budge. “It rained four inches. We can’t get into the fields, there’s nothing to ship, and nothing to deliver. We are going to spend the day with Mama and Linny.”
Anson’s first instinct was to argue, and then he realized this played in perfectly with his plan.
“Yeah, okay. So tell them how pretty I’m fixing up the place for when they come home.”
“I will,” Sam said and disconnected.
Anson smiled. The day was starting off even better than he had hoped. He sat down to breakfast with a better attitude than he’d had in days, and it was still holding true when the Parish police rolled up in his front yard.
****
Anson was in the shed unpacking a shipment of new pots they used for the bamboo when he heard an engine. At first, he thought Sam and Chance must’ve changed their minds and come anyway. Then he stepped out, saw a police car driving up to the house, and went to meet them. Seeing Detective Royal from the New Orleans P.D. behind the wheel somewhat eased his concerns. Royal was already in his pocket. The other cop with him was a different story.
“Hey! Are ya’ll lost?” he asked.
“Morning, Poe,” Royal said. “You know Detective Early.”
Anson noticed a coffee stain on the front of Early’s blue short-sleeved button-down as he nodded.
“What can I do for you?” Anson asked.
Royal loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons at the collar. “It sure is hot out here today.”
“It’s July. It’s hot here every day,” Anson said.
“I guess you’d be right about that,” Royal said.
They stared at each other for a few seconds and then Royal shifted focus.
“Reckon you heard about the fire in the Quarter last night?”
“I was at Adelaine’s eating dinner when it started, why?” Anson asked.
Royal frowned. He didn’t want to have to arrest this man, considering the amount of money Poe paid him every month.
“So, you were in the city?”
Anson frowned. “Did I not just say that? What’s the deal?”
“The report this morning is that it appears the fire at Frenchie’s was arson.”
Anson grinned. “Wow, wonder which one of the city bigwigs’ wives finally figured out what was going on upstairs?”
A muscle twitched at the corner of Early’s mouth, a small clue to the fact that he agreed with the comment.
Royal pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat beading on his forehead. “Miss Branscum was questioned this morning as to that very thing.”
Anson frowned. “Who’s Miss Branscum?”
“Lisette,” Early said.
Anson chuckled. “Well hell, all these years I been poking her and her girls and I never knew her last name.”
Again, the fact that he readily admitted being a customer took them off guard.
“So you were a client?”
Anson’s chuckle spread to a laugh. “So she’s calling us clients? Damn, that’s a good one.”
Sweat was running down the middle of Early’s back and into his pants. He wanted done with this follow-up and back in the air-conditioned car.
“Look. We’re just going to come right out and say why we’re here,” Royal said. “Lisette named you as a possible suspect in the arson.”
Anson offered a look of humorous disbelief.
“Man! She’s been servicing big shots all around the state for nearly twenty years and running her girls along with it. She’s bound to have pissed off a few people a lot more important than me in the process. Look, we parted company less than friends a few months back, but I can’t imagine why on earth she’d think I’d do something like that? And why now, after our beef was so long ago?”
Early decided it was time he asked a couple of questions. “Miss Branscum said you were there only a week or so ago, and she turned you away at the door.”
Anson sighed and then shook his head in sudden understanding. “Ah, so that’s why she named me. To be honest I was testing the waters to see if all was forgiven yet, but she wouldn’t let me in. Hell, I been turned down by women before and I haven’t set one on fire yet. I can’t imagine why she’d think I’d be all that hot under the collar since there are whores to be had all over the city. Besides, I already told you I was in Adelaine’s eating dinner.”
“When did you first get into the city?” Early asked.
Anson paused, as if considering the timeline. “I’d guess it was somewhere around 9:30 or something close to that. I checked in at the hostess stand, found out I’d have about a twenty minute wait, and was at the bar until they called my name. I’m sure the hostess can attest to when I went in, and plenty of others were at the bar who can verify that as well.”
“You would still have had time to—”
Anson slapped his leg, as if he’d just remembered something. “Oh! Hey! I have some people you can talk to who probably know the exact time of my every move for the past several days.”
“Like who?” Early asked.
“Go talk to Grayson March. We pissed each other off a while back, and he’s had two of his boys tailing my every move since. They can verify everything I told you and then some.”
Detective Royal’s lips parted slightly, shocked Poe would even bandy a name like that around.
“Grayson March?”
Anson grinned. “Yeah. Surely you know the little son of a bitch? Short. Cocky. Rich as sin.”
Royal dropped his notebook back into his pocket.
“We’ll have to verify your alibi,” he said.
“Yeah, I know how it goes. I watch TV,” Anson said, and then he stuffed his hands in his pockets and waited for them to make the next move.
“So, thank you for your cooperation,” Royal added.
“Happy to assist in any way that I can,” he said and watched until their car disappeared from sight. “And that takes care of that,” he added and went back into the shed.
****
It was just after 11:00 in the morning when someone knocked at Brendan’s door. Linny jumped at the sound and glanced toward her mother. She had wanted her brother up hours ago, and this seemed like a good an excuse as any.
“Want me to go wake Bren?”
Delle shook her head. She had yet to mention anything about what had happened last night, but knew it wouldn’t stay secret long.
“Go stand by the door and ask who it is.”
Linny frowned. “What if it’s Daddy?”
A little shiver of fear rolled across Delle’s shoulders, but before she could answer, they heard someone call out with a hint of laughter in the voice.
“Hey, in there, I can hear you talking. Someone let us in.”
Delle smiled. “It’s Sam! Go unlock the door.”
Linny flew across the room, giggling with every step. She hadn’t seen her other brothers since her mama got burned, and the moment she let them in, Sam swooped down and picked her up, spun her over his head like a helicopter blade while she screeched her delight.
Chance came in behind him, shut the door, and headed for his mother.
“Hey, Mama,” Chance said as he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “How ya’ll doin?”
Delle couldn’t quit smiling. They both looked so much like her daddy it made her homesick for the days when she’d been a child. They were tall like Anson, but both had reddish brown hair and square jaws, while Brendan had his father’s black hair, finer features, and blue eyes.
“We’re good, we’re good. I’m so glad you came. I’ve been missing you both.”
“Here,” Sam said, handing Linny off to Chance.
Linny squealed all over again as Chance tucked her under his arm like a football and started galloping toward the kitchen.
Delle laughed as Sam sat down beside her.
“Such nonsense,” she said.
He smiled. “How are your feet feeling, Mama? Are they healing up okay?”
“The bottoms are way better. I can walk around on them now if I don’t stay up too long. The tops are not healing as fast.”
Sam laid a hand on her head, noticing how much gray was in her hair now. He could remember a time when that would’ve bothered her.
“We would’ve been here sooner, but Daddy’s been keeping us pretty busy. If it hadn’t rained so hard last night, he would’ve sent us back to work today.”
“Then I’m thankful for the rain,” she said.
“Where’s Brendan?” Chance asked as he dropped Linny down into Brendan’s recliner on her head.
She was still giggling when Brendan walked into the room, scratching the whiskers on his jaw.
“I thought I heard an awful lot of fun going on in here without me,” he said, pointing at Linny.
She stuffed her head underneath the throw pillow in the chair to smother the sound, but it was too late.
Delle frowned. “I’m sorry, son.”
Sam laughed. “Don’t be sorry. The lazy ass needs to be up. It’s almost noon.”
“He didn’t get to bed until 5:00 this morning,” Delle said.
Chance frowned. “Because of the fire?”
Linny came out from under the pillow. All she’d known was they had to be quiet to let Brendan sleep, but not why.
“What fire? What burned up?” she asked.
“A big part of the French Quarter,” Delle said.
Linny gasped. “Did the place where you work burn up?”
“Yeah it did, among other things,” he said briefly and gave his brothers a warning look not to push the issue in front of her.
They got the message.
“Hey, Mama, did you make extra coffee this morning?” Brendan asked.
“In the pot, honey. There’s enough for all of you if you want.”
“I’m in,” Chance said and headed for the kitchen.
Brendan and Sam followed. Brendan heard their mother send Linny to the bedroom to play, which gave them time to talk.
Chance handed Brendan a cup of coffee, then leaned against the cabinet with his hands in his pockets, waiting for the caffeine to go down.
“What aren’t you saying?” Chance finally asked.
Brendan took another drink then set it aside. “I take it you haven’t watched any local news today.”
“No, not really,” Sam said.
“Neither did I,” Chance added. “What did we miss?”
“While the Quarter was burning, someone kidnapped Juliette right out of the bar,” Brendan said.
They both jerked like they’d been slapped.
Sam put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Jesus, Bren. Have they gotten a call for ransom yet?”
“We already got her back,” Brendan said and reached for the cookie jar.
“Who did it, one of her daddy’s enemies?” Chance asked.
Brendan shook his head and returned the lid without a cookie, knowing his stomach wouldn’t hold it.
“She had a stalker at the bar. We knew he was weird, but we didn’t know he was crazy. While we were evacuating everyone out through the front of the bar, he took her out the back. Caught it all on the security camera.”
“Don’t make us ask you for every fucking detail,” Sam snapped. “Talk to us, brother, because you look like you’ve been through hell.”
Brendan shoved shaky hands through his hair, willing himself to maintain his dignity.
“The bastard had about a twenty-minute lead on us by the time we knew she was missing. We called the cops. It took a while for them to get there, so I went after her.”
Chance looked at his brother with new respect. “After her?”
Brendan nodded. “I headed to the streets. We knew he’d taken her out the back, so I started asking questions, thinking someone had to have seen something. I ran all over the place, chasing down possible witnesses, and I finally found someone who saw someone, who saw someone else, and got a good lead. Cops found her.”
Sam slapped the table with the flat of his hand in delight. “That’s damn amazing. I’ll bet her Daddy’s patting you on the back. You’ll be getting yourself a raise once they build the bar back.”
“March blamed Daddy, then me when it happened. I quit.”
Chance frowned. “What the fuck? Daddy, I can understand… but you? Why you?”
Brendan shrugged. “Blood tells, brother. You know the score. We’ve heard it all our lives.”
“The son of a bitch,” Sam said. “Well, at least your girl is safe.”
A muscle jerked at corner of Brendan’s mouth.
“No. She’s alive, but I don’t know if she’ll ever feel safe again. The guy beat her near to death with a cat-o’-nine-tails before they found her. We don’t know if she’ll be able to see again. I need to call the hospital and check on her condition. Keep Linny occupied for me for a few minutes, okay?”
“Jesus wept,” Chance whispered.
Brendan shrugged. “Probably. I know I did.”
He downed the rest of the coffee and left them on their own.
Sam looked at Chance and then wiped a hand over his face as if trying to wipe away the shock of what they’d heard.
Chapter Ten
A nurse was settling Julie back into bed after a trip to the bathroom when the phone in her room began to ring.
“Want me to get that for you, hon?”
“Please, ask who it is first,” Julie said as she tried
to settle into a comfortable position. Every inch of skin on the front of her body felt like it was on fire.
“Hello, who’s calling?” the nurse asked.
“Brendan Poe.”
“One moment please,” the nurse said and covered the phone. “Brendan Poe?”
Julie reached blindly for the receiver.
The nurse put it in her hand and left the room.
“Bren?”
He heard uncertainty and wondered what was going on. “Hello, sweetheart. How’s it going?”
“I feel like I’ve been beat half to death.”
He was surprised that she’d made a joke, however morbid. “That’s because you were, but every day will be a day closer to being well, okay?”
It was the confidence in his voice that stayed her anxiety. “Okay.”
“So what have they told you? Has that specialist been by to look at your eyes?”
“Yes, but I don’t remember much. I know I could see light this morning, which he said was good, considering how swollen they still are.”
“Oh, honey, that’s wonderful. Best news today,” he said softly. “So I want to come, but not while your parents are there.”
“Come any time you want. They aren’t allowed visitations.”
He frowned. “Why not? What happened?”
“I’ll tell you when you get here.” Her voice was shaking again, and he wondered what else could’ve possibly gone wrong. She was alive. Surely that would have been enough for her parents.
“I will be there as soon as I shave and dress. Do you want me to bring you anything?”
“It hurts to eat. I tried breakfast and just made a mess.”
“Can you drink through a straw?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll bring you a vanilla shake.”
The gentleness in his voice when she’d been so certain she’d never see him again was all it took to start her crying again.
Brendan heard. Her despair broke his heart. “Don’t cry, baby.”
“Oh God, Bren! I can’t seem to stop. Just when I think I have my act together and how blessed I am to still be alive, it falls in on me again.”