Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
Rafael hustled Gisele out to the parking area, remaining hyper-aware of everything around them. He’d had a bad feeling about the man in her store that afternoon and could kick himself for not standing between them instead of to the side.
Had he been armed, Caney could have hurt Gisele before Rafael could have stopped him.
Once Gisele was safely buckled in the passenger seat, Rafael climbed into the driver’s seat, pulled out his cell phone and started to call Remy. Before Rafael hit send, he remembered his regional lead was on a project in New Orleans, as was most of the team.
He scrolled through his favorites, hit the number for Hank Patterson and put the call on speaker.
The founder of the Brotherhood Protectors answered on the first ring. “Romero. What’s happening? ”
“Got you on speaker with Ms. Gautier in the vehicle with me.”
“Ms. Gautier, Hank Patterson. I hear you had a break-in.”
“Yes, sir,” she said. “We’re up to two attempts now.”
“Okay, then,” Hank said. “I’m glad Romero insisted on sticking around as your protector. Any leads on the intruder?”
“We have a name we need your guy Swede to check into,” Rafael said.
“Hang on,” Hank said. “Let me get him online.”
A moment later, Hank was back. “Got Swede on with Romero and his client, Ms. Gautier. Talk.”
“I need you to find out anything you can about a Roland Caney,” Rafael said. “He’s an ex-con, convicted of robbery and aggravated assault, spent time in jail, recently released on parole and already skipped out on his parole officer.”
“Sounds like you’ve got the scoop on him. Are you looking for anything in particular?” Swede asked with a clicking sound in the background. The computer guru would already have the name entered in a search engine as he spoke.
“He showed up today at Ms. Gautier’s shop,” Rafael said. “He was asking about antiques that used to be in the store before Ms. Gautier purchased and renovated the building three years ago. ”
“Ballsy of him to show up in public when he’s violated his parole,” Hank said.
“Exactly,” Rafael said. “Anything you can find on him might help us understand why he’s targeting Gisele—Ms. Gautier and her store.”
Gisele leaned over the console and whispered, “Tell him about the two guys.”
Rafael nodded. “Also, two guys showed up in town asking about Ms. Gautier and her place. They are looking for Caney, claiming they sent him as either an agent of the Historical Society or a real estate broker. The ladies who spoke to the men described them as big and tough-looking like bouncers at a strip club.”
“Got any names on them?” Swede asked.
“No.”
“Would there be any video surveillance footage available in the area that might have captured them?”
“The auto parts store next to the bakery might have picked up the two guys,” Gisele said.
“I’ll look into it,” Swede said.
“Anything else?” Hank asked.
Rafael glanced at Gisele.
She shrugged.
“No, sir,” Rafael said.
“Let us know of any changes in the situation,” Hank said.
“Roger,” Rafael responded. “Out here.” He ended the call and turned to Gisele. “Are you okay? ”
She nodded. “A little unnerved, but okay.”
Rafael pulled out of the parking area and onto the road leading into town.
“I don’t understand why a man who violated his parole would show up in Bayou Mambaloa, asking about antiques from a store sold over three years ago.” Gisele shook her head. “Retail stores change hands, especially if it has been a number of years since you last went there.”
“Perhaps the same number of years Caney spent in jail…?” Rafael shot a glance toward Gisele.
“That would track.” Gisele’s brow furrowed. “He was asking about one item in particular. A vintage brass cash register. If Caney was the intruder both times, and he asked specifically about the brass cash register, do you think he was trying to get in to find it?”
“You told him you gave it away,” Rafael glanced her way.
“He seemed very interested in where he might find it.” Gisele’s frown deepened, and her face paled. “I didn’t tell him who I gave it to,” she looked across the cab at Rafael, “did I?”
“No.” Rafael returned his attention to the road ahead. “You went to help that group of girls that came in. He left while you were working with them. Why?”
“I gave that register to Grand-mère,” she said.
“Any idea what it was worth?” Rafael asked .
She nodded. “It was brass and came fully installed in a solid oak cabinet with drawers. It was in excellent shape. The unit was valued at anywhere between five and ten thousand dollars.”
“That’s a substantial amount of money,” Rafael said, “but it’s not an easy item to transport and even harder to sell. Does anyone else know who you gave that register to?”
Gisele shrugged. “I didn’t make a big deal about it. Everything else was auctioned off. I had the auctioneer transport the register to Grand-mère’s house and place it in her sitting room. It’s an odd piece for a house but strangely fits in with her eclectic style.”
Rafael’s cell phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket and glanced down at the caller ID.
Swede.
He answered the call. “Romero here. Going on speaker.”
“Got something on Caney. Not sure if it relates to what’s going on with Ms. Gautier’s store. Caney won big at the horse races. Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars on a long shot named Lucky Seven. He cashed in and disappeared. Three days later, he was arrested for aggravated assault at a convenience store. He had no money on him except for the amount he stole from the till at the convenience store. ”
“Did they find the two hundred fifty thousand dollars he’d won at the horse race?” Rafael asked.
“No. Sources on the dark web reported Caney as upside down in gambling debt.” Swede said. “He owed the New Orleans Mafia more than that, and it was compounding daily.”
“They would’ve wanted him to use that money to pay down or off that debt,” Rafael surmised.
“With that in mind, I got into the security surveillance database serving the auto parts store next door to the Bayou Bakery. I found the two big guys who asked about Mama Wamba, Ms. Gautier and Roland Caney. I ran their facial images through an online database search. Bingo. The two guys are members of theNew Orleans mafia.”
“Now it all makes sense,” Gisele said. “With the mafia on his heels, Caney hid the money somewhere, intending to get back to it after he lost his tail.”
Rafael nodded. “And it took him all this time to come back for it because he stashed all of it and didn’t save out any to live on.”
“So, he robbed a convenience store, got caught and was sent to jail,” Swede concluded. “That’s all I’ve got for now. Let me know if you need anything else. Out here.” Swede ended the call.
Gisele reached out and touched Rafael’s arm. “Turn around.”
He slowed at the urgency in her voice. “Where are we going now? ”
“I’m betting it’s somewhere in the cash register cabinet.”
“The one you gave to your grandmother?”
“Yes. Head south out of the opposite end of town,” she said. “We need to find that money before Caney and before the goons from the New Orleans mafia catch wind of its location.”
Rafael drove through town and took the road leaning south.
Gisele pulled her cell phone out of her purse and called her grand-mère. It rang four times and went to voice mail.
“Grand-mère, this is Gisele. I’m headed over to your place. Don’t go anywhere until we get there.” She ended the call and sat with her phone in her lap, her gaze on the road ahead. “I don’t like that she didn’t answer her phone.”
“Does she always answer her phone when you call?” Rafael asked.
“Not always. Her house is outside of town, perched on the edge of the bayou. Cell phone service can be sketchy at best.” She shook her head. “You don’t think they figured out where the cash register is, do you?”
“I doubt it. That was a few years back. People forget, especially if it doesn’t pertain to them directly.”
“Grand-mère should be there before us. She was scheduled to leave the festival right after we saw her.” Gisele leaned forward, her face tense. “After the next curve, slow down and look for a gravel road on the right.”
He eased into the curve and slowed coming out of it.
“There.” Gisele pointed to a narrow, one-lane gravel road.
He left the highway and drove the length of the gravel road beneath a canopy of interwoven limbs of the giant oak trees lining the drive. The road opened onto a sweeping lawn surrounding a two-story colonial with wraparound porches on both levels.
Rafael didn’t voice it, but the house wasn’t what he expected of a Voodoo Queen.
Gisele chuckled. “Not what you expected? Too often, people stereotype Voodoo practitioners as flamboyant and over the top with makeup and facial tattoos.” She grimaced. “Flamboyant like the grand-mère you saw this evening. That was all for show to play to what the audience expects. She works in her kitchen wearing leggings and oversized T-shirts, looking like an aging college coed.” She smiled softly and looked around. “Her car is here. Come on. Let’s get inside and warn her about what might be headed her way.”
Rafael slid from his seat onto the ground and hurried around to help Gisele alight. “The sooner we locate the money, the sooner we can get it away from here. ”
“If it’s even here.” Gisele leaned up on her toes to press her lips to his. “Thank you for insisting on staying in Bayou Mambaloa to protect me.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard. “I couldn’t walk away and leave you.”
“You could have had one of your other team members babysit me,” she said.
Rafael thought of Valentin and Landry staying with Gisele and shook his head. “No.”
She grinned. “Look at you committing to more than a day or two with one woman. You’re making progress.”
A frown settled across Rafael’s forehead.
Gisele touched his arm. “I’m just kidding. This is different. I’m a client. Once the threat is gone, I’ll be gone.”
His frown didn’t lighten. He didn’t want to think about what would happen after Gisele’s threat was neutralized. He’d move on to the next project or bodyguard assignment. She’d go back to her gift shop. They’d pass often since he lived next door to her. Maybe they’d become friends.
The problem was, he couldn’t see her as just a friend. He’d made love to her, experienced the magic of her passion and the beauty of her spirit. Walking away from all that she was would be harder than he could imagine.
She reached for his hand. “Come on, let’s find the stash. ”
They walked up the steps to the wide wooden porch. Rafael knocked on the front door.
“Grand-mère!” Gisele called out.
Silence.
She peered through a window. “Her car is here, but I don’t see anyone moving inside.”
Gisele walked around the side of the house.
Rafael followed.
She paused at the back corner, staring out at the bayou and the dock, bathed in silvery moonlight. The dock was empty. Her grand-mère’s pirogue wasn’t where it was usually tied. “She’s out on the bayou. Let’s go inside. I have a key to her house.” She led the way to the front door.
She pulled her keychain out of her purse, thumbed through the various keys and selected one. Moments later, the door was open, and they entered the house.
Gisele led Rafael straight into a room with an odd collection of antique furniture and modern art. On the far side, tucked into a corner, stood the brass cash resister perched atop a wooden cabinet, pushed up against the wall.
They hurried across the room and stopped in front of the antique.
Rafael hit the button that made the cash drawer pop out. It was empty except for an old bobby pin and a paper clip. He felt around the drawer and tugged on the dividers, looking for secret panels hidden beneath. When the cash drawer didn’t yield answers, Gisele worked her way down the front of the cabinet.
One by one, she pulled the drawers all the way out, inspected the slots and then slit them back in. When she reached the bottom drawer, she tried to open it, but it was stuck. No matter how hard she pulled, it wouldn’t open.
“Let me try.” Rafael worked on it for a few minutes and frowned. “We might need tools to dislodge that drawer.”
“Grand-mère keeps tools in the storage room beneath the servants’ staircase at the back of the house. What do we need?”
“I’ll find something that will work.” He hurried to the back of the house, where he located the storage room with built-in cabinets and a huge metal toolbox loaded with a variety of tools. He didn’t take long to find a hammer, chisel andcrowbar.
As he hurried back across the house, he heard voices. His heartbeat slammed to a stop, then raced ahead. He slipped into the shadows and listened.
The soft murmur was Gisele. The other was decidedly male.
Rafael checked his cell phone.
No service. He couldn’t even call for backup.
Squaring his shoulders, he inched forward, carefully placing his feet to avoid squeaky floorboards.
As he neared the room where he’d left Gisele, he paused behind a potted Ficus tree. From where he stood, he could make out what the man was saying and see into the room.
The man with the shaggy hair and gray jacket held a gun pointed at Gisele.
Caney.
“Of course, the drawer won’t open,” he said with a sneer in his tone. “I glued it shut to keep the contents safe until I could return.”
Holding a gun in front of him, he tried to move the drawer with his free hand. “I guess it’s a good thing it’s stuck. It kept people out all these years.” He rocked the top-heavy unit until it teetered precariously. With a final shove, the register fell, crashing to the floor, making the entire house shudder.
The brass register took the brunt of the fall, bashing into a nearby antique end table, shattering it. The wooden cabinet remained intact.
“You’re not going to make this easy, are you?” Caney grumbled. He raised his foot and stomped the cabinet.
Nothing broke free.
He stomped again.
All the while Caney stomped, Gisele’s gaze remained on the doorway into the hall.
Rafael tensed and bunched his muscles, preparing to rush into the room and overpower Caney before he could harm Gisele .
As he straightened, the front door slammed open, and two bulldozer-sized men clomped in.
Rafael shrank back into the leaves of the Ficus tree.
Bulldozer One called out in a thundering voice, “Caney!”
Caney muttered a curse from within the room containing the cash register.
The two mafia thugs made their way down the hall, carrying handguns at the ready and looking into room after room on either side until they found their guy, Caney.
“Gentleman,” Caney said. “You’re just in time.”
Bulldozer One pointed his gun at Caney. “The boss wants his money. Yesterday.”
“I was in the process of getting it.” Caney pointed his pistol at the cabinet lying on its side. “It’s in that.”
“Then get it out,” the bulldozer demanded.
“Apparently, they built furniture to last in the early nineteen hundreds.” Caney raised his eyebrows. “Happen to have a sledgehammer?”
Bulldozer One’s eyes narrowed.
Caney continued, “No? Then I’ll need to find one and break the wood. No one’s getting anything out of it until then.”
The more talkative man of the two tanks motioned for the other one to walk up to the cabinet.
One mighty stomp from the heavier-set guy and the base of the wooden cabinet splintered. A second effectively placed stomp broke the cabinet into pieces.
Caney dropped to his hands and knees and sifted through the splintered wood. The longer he searched, the more frantic his movements became.
“The money,” Chatty mafia guy pressed.
“It was in the bottom drawer.” Caney sat back on his heels, shoved a hand through his hair and stared at the damaged cabinet. “I sealed it. No one should’ve been able to get into it.” He looked at the men. “You have to believe me.”
“Tell it to the boss.” Bulldozer One motioned with his gun. “Let’s go.”
His partner pointed his gun at Gisele, standing quietly in the corner. “What about her? Maybe she knows where the money is.”
All three pairs of eyes shifted to Gisele.
She held up her hands. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The money that was in this cabinet,” Caney said. “There was two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars in that bottom drawer. What did you do with it?” He lurched to his feet, his eyes wide and slightly crazed. “I waited over three years to come back and get my money. Where did you put it, bitch?”
Caney backhanded Gisele so hard she staggered backward. He grabbed her by her hair and yanked her back to him, shoving the gun against her temple. “Where’s the damn money? ”
Rage exploded inside Rafael. He flung himself out from behind the tree. Never mind he was outnumbered, three guns to one. Nobody hit his woman.
Like a raging bull, he bent and plowed into the man closest to him, knocking him off his feet.
The big man fell against the chatty one, and the pair hit the ground, their guns flying from their hands to skitter across the floor, out of their reaches. Rafael rushed toward Caney. “Let her go!”
“Or what?” Caney said, positioning Gisele in front of him like a shield. “You’ll shoot?” The ex-con pointed his handgun at Gisele. “Go ahead. See who dies first.”
Gisele cried. “Shoot him!”
Rafael stopped, his gun pointed at Caney’s chest, which meant he was pointing at Gisele’s first. His hand slowly sank. “Don’t hurt her.”
“Put down your gun,” Caney commanded.
Movement out of the corner of Rafael’s eye alerted him that one of the men on the floor had untangled himself from the other. He dove for his weapon, rolled onto his back and pointed it at Caney.
Caney’s hand jerked around. He fired into the broad chest of Bulldozer One.
Bulldozer Two roared and threw himself at Caney.
Caney fired.
The second big mafia man dropped to the ground and lay still .
“Two down,” Caney said. “You want to be next?”
“Shoot him,” Gisele begged.
The desperation in her eyes hit Rafael in the heart. If he pulled the trigger and missed, he’d kill Gisele. He couldn’t risk it. He couldn’t lose her. Not now that he’d found her.
He wanted to wake up every morning with her by his side. To see her pad barefooted in her long skirts, her hair loose around her shoulders. To watch her run her business effectively with care and concern for the happiness of each customer.
He wanted the chance to make her love him like he loved her.
“Shoot him,” Gisele said. “He’s going to kill you, and then he’ll kill me anyway.”
“Drop the gun,” Caney said. “You don’t want her brains splattered across the floor. Do it now.”
Rafael lowered his weapon to the ground, moving a little closer as he did. He could take the man down without shooting him if he could get close enough.
“I don’t have his money,” Gisele said. “I never saw it. Maybe the antique dealer found it before I bought the place. I don’t know. Just don’t hurt my guy.”
“It was in there. You have it, and I want it back,” Caney said. “If you don’t tell me where it is, I’ll make you wish you had. I’ll start by shooting your fingers. One at a time.” He pressed the barrel of the pistol into her cheek. “Then I’ll shoot your toes. ”
“It won’t make a difference,” she said. “ I don’t know where your damned money is.”
Caney pressed the pistol into her cheek and snarled at Gisele. “You’d better know where it is, or I’ll shoot your boyfriend.”
“No,” Gisele cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Don’t hurt him. I love him.”
“Enough!” a voice said from the hallway.
All eyes turned to the woman wearing a flowing red kaftan, her hair wrapped in a matching scarf. Madam Gautier stood straight, her chin held high. “Release my granddaughter at once, and I will tell you where your money is.”