Chapter 4 #2
Cooper finished his drink with a large gulp before placing the glass on the table with a thunk. The pretty paisley-patterned tablecloth was covered thoughtfully with a sheet of glass, which I, for one, was especially thankful for, since Melanie said I still ate like a toddler.
“So, what was that all about?” Cooper asked. “Is that another ghost attached to the house, or something else?”
Beau stared down at the ice in his glass. “I’m not sure—”
“It’s his mom,” I interjected. “I’m pretty sure she’s the woman you saw at the Ryans’ house, the one who told you to go to the attic the night Beau almost died.”
Cooper leaned back in his chair. “I know you keep saying that, but the woman I saw wasn’t a ghost. I mean, she wasn’t transparent or anything, and she spoke to me.”
“But she was soaking wet,” I said, “and it wasn’t raining. I’m no expert, but I know that spirits appear in many forms, and that night Adele needed help to save her son’s life.”
“Adele?” Cooper’s gaze flicked over to Beau.
The muscles in Beau’s hand flexed. “Yeah. Like the singer. But that doesn’t mean…”
I opened up the photo album on my phone and flipped through the pictures until I found the one I was looking for. I had snapped a photo of a framed picture of Adele with a much younger Beau the last time I was at Mimi’s house. “Is this the woman you saw?”
Cooper took my phone and stared at the screen, his face blanching. “Yeah. That was definitely her.” He gave me back my phone, with an apologetic glance at Beau.
“It was dark—remember?” Beau said. “And if her hair was wet—”
I squeezed Beau’s arm. “Stop, okay? Cooper’s a friend. He’s also pretty good at solving puzzles; just ask my dad. Sometimes it helps to get a fresh perspective on a problem—”
“There’s no problem, Nola, no mystery to be solved here. I wish you would just drop it.”
The server appeared to take our order, before discreetly backing away at the tone of Beau’s voice. I smiled at her, hoping she wouldn’t take too long to return, because I was starving.
“I’m sorry, Beau. I know you don’t like to admit it, but your mom is still here.” I slid my chair closer to him, placing my hand on his arm. “Do you remember when you came to see me right after you got out of the hospital? After you left, I saw the wet footprints.”
He stared at me in stony silence.
“But before the footprints appeared, I had another visitor. Madame Zoe. She’s a fortune teller in Jackson Square.”
Beau shook his head. “I don’t—”
I cut him off. “She said you wouldn’t know her. But she knew Buddy. Your father.”
“Then why wouldn’t she come to me first?” He raised his empty glass and signaled to the server to bring him another drink.
“Because, according to her, you’d fight the information that she would tell you—but it’s something you need to know.”
“That’s ridiculous. Why would she tell you first?”
“Probably because Nola is one of the few people who could actually knock some sense into you and make you listen.” Cooper folded his hands on the table and smiled.
The server cautiously approached the table again and delivered a second round of drinks, but now she stood next to Cooper instead of Beau. “Ready to order?”
Beau glowered at her. Instead of asking her to come back again, even though we hadn’t yet opened our menus except to look at the drinks, I gathered them up and handed them to her.
“We’ll all have today’s lunch special. And water for the table.
” I gave her my friendliest smile as she backed away from the table and headed toward the kitchen.
Beau took a sip from his drink. “So, what did this Madame Zoe say?”
Unable to meet his eyes, I studied the paisley pattern beneath the glass table topper.
“She said you’d need my counsel after hearing what she has to say.
I don’t have a clue what this is all about.
All I do know is that Sunny’s been found but your mom’s still here.
We all believed that was the reason why Adele was hanging around, but we were wrong.
I’m guessing Adele’s still being here has something to do with your dad.
If she has information on what happened to him, or if he’s still alive, don’t you want to know? ”
Glancing up, I met his eyes but had to look away quickly.
His expression was too much like that of a lost child who suddenly found himself alone in the middle of a city sidewalk.
“For the record, Grandmother Sarah called my sister to impart the same information about you going to see the fortune teller. I’m thinking that maybe we should go talk to Madame Zoe. ”
“ ‘We’?”
I shrugged. “Grandmother Sarah and Madame Zoe’s idea, not mine. You can go it alone if you want, but she said you’re stubborn, like your dad, so if I have to drag you, I will. You’re kinda big, but I bet if I need help, Cooper will be happy to volunteer to assist me.”
Cooper gave me a lopsided grin. “Anything I can do to help, Nola.”
The waitress, still leery of Beau’s glowering expression, appeared with the soup course.
We ate in silence until Beau cleared his throat and slid papers out of the satchel he’d brought from his truck.
“So, if the two of you are done ganging up on me, let’s talk about the house on Esplanade and the renovations.
I’ve got a lot of great ideas but would welcome your input.
” He paused, then looked up at Cooper. “From both of you, assuming you’re serious about buying it. ”
“As a heart attack,” Cooper said, meeting Beau’s eyes.
“Fine. And for the record, Louisiana law doesn’t require me to tell you that there was a death on the property, but you seem to be already aware. Just Google the address if you want to know all the sordid details.”
“I already did. There’s a great site called . It’s only eleven dollars and ninety-nine cents per search. Didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. Except…”
“Except?”
“The running feet. Nola said it’s a little boy, but the child who’s been missing since the murder was a girl.”
Beau nodded. “Yep. My guess is that whoever the boy is predates the murder. You might be able to find out more from the previous owners, Joan Wenzel and Honey Meggison. The house has been in their family since it was built. They might have an idea.”
“I just might do that,” Cooper said. He slid back his chair. “If you’ll excuse me just for a moment, I need to visit the restroom before we get into this. I don’t want to interrupt once we get started.”
After he had left the table, Beau turned to me. He seemed to be waiting for something.
“What is it?” I asked.
He paused as if measuring his words. “Can I ask you something?”
For reasons I couldn’t explain and didn’t want to examine closely, my cheeks flushed. “That depends. About what?”
“Cooper.”
“Cooper?”
“Yes. How well do you know him?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why? Jealous?”
“Why would I be jealous?”
I decided to overlook the hidden insult in his question. “His sister is one of my best friends and she tells me everything, so I’d say I know him pretty well. We also dated for a minute when I was in high school and he was at the Citadel.”
Beau’s eyes shifted from me to the direction in which Cooper had headed. “Does his sister really tell you everything, or just what Cooper has told her?”
“I guess. I mean, Alston and Cooper were pretty close growing up, so I imagine he tells her everything.” I sat back in my chair, feeling an uneasiness creeping over me. “What are you getting at?”
His gaze moved to a spot behind me. “Did she ever mention if Cooper had a significant other?”
“Like a girlfriend?”
“Probably something more serious, like a fiancée.”
Icy chills tiptoed across my bones. “No, she didn’t, maybe because she knows my history with Cooper and how devastated I was when he left.”
“Uh-huh.” His eyes didn’t return to my face.
“Beau—what are you trying to tell me?”
He seemed reluctant to meet my eyes. “There’s a woman here. I’ve been trying to ignore her, but she’s very persistent. She’s been standing behind Cooper’s chair since we sat down.”
“Okay,” I said slowly. “What makes you think she’s a significant other?”
Beau eyed me steadily as he spoke. “She’s wearing a big diamond on her left hand and she definitely wanted me to notice it. She’s also…” He stopped. Frowned.
“She’s also what?”
“Angry. Maybe at Cooper. I’m not sure.”
“Can you ask her who she is and why she’s here? Ask her why she’s angry.”
His face seemed to close, like a curtain being drawn across a stage. “I’d rather not.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Excuse me?”
“I don’t want to engage. It gives unrestricted access to other spirits, who think they can just barge in and talk to me at any time, and unless you want me to burst out singing an ABBA song and slap my hands over my ears, you should respect my wishes.”
I leaned forward so the server couldn’t hear me hissing at him.
“If by ‘other spirits’ you mean your mom, all I can say is that you should be ashamed of yourself. She saved your life, or have you already forgotten? And excuse me for pointing out the obvious, but maybe if you’d been listening to her all along, you wouldn’t have almost died, and maybe—just maybe—you would have known about Sunny when she first showed up, and you probably would have found out what happened to your father by now. ”
His face darkened, his expression almost like a slap. “You have no idea—”
He stopped abruptly, shifting his focus back to his renovation notes when Cooper returned to the table.
“So, where were we?” Cooper asked.
I picked up my water glass and took my time emptying it.
Beau cleared his throat. “We were just saying that if you’re really interested in the house, you might want to talk with the sellers. Since they’re related to the original owners, they might be able to give you a bit of background on who lived there before and how the living spaces were utilized.”
“Sounds great to me,” Cooper said. “I share Nola’s passion for old houses and appreciate that they’re not just places where people live.
They’re vessels of history, really. And the sisters might be able to shed some light on who the barefoot little boy might be.
I’m okay with sharing the house with him”—Cooper moved his chair closer to the table—“as long as he’s friendly. ”
Cooper jerked his head, glancing behind him as he rubbed his neck—the kind of thing people do when they sense someone standing behind them.
While I watched, a thin line appeared on his jaw, starting as a dot and then expanding to something darker and wider—a red scratch that could have been caused by an unseen fingernail.
“Cooper…” I began, my words forgotten before they left my mouth, as a loud clap of thunder shook the restaurant and the vase on our table fell over and shattered, scattering water, flowers, and glass onto Cooper.