Chapter 11 #3
“Hard to tell,” Xavier said. “The places are in shambles. Looks more like whoever did it wanted to make a point.” He shook his head. “And Johnny’s missing.”
“Johnny?” Anton frowned. “They took Johnny?”
Xavier’s lips twitched. “I doubt it. He’d have taken fingers. His cage was open, the door was open and he’s gone. Hopefully word will spread, and the whole town will be on the lookout for him.”
“He doesn’t know how to survive in the wild,” Lissette said.
Jacques nodded. “Especially with a hurricane bearing down on us. We’ll keep our eyes peeled.”
“Speaking of the hurricane,” Anton said. “Have you heard it’s up to a Category 4 now, and they predict it’ll hit a day earlier than previously projected?”
“That’s four days instead of five,” Xavier said. “Which means the outer bands will hit possibly a day before the eye comes ashore.”
Anton nodded. “The governor is calling for voluntary evacuations. I think they’ll make it mandatory tomorrow.”
“People are buying up all the plywood at the hardware store,” Jacques said. “Everyone who can is pitching in to board up windows and help those with mobility issues to pack up and leave early.”
“Wow. It’s getting real,” Lissette said. “I guess I’ll be cleaning up and then boarding up the shops. You’ll let us know what you find out about the reliquary you found…?”
“We will,” Jacques said and pushed himself to his feet.
“You don’t want to stay and have breakfast before you leave?” Lissette asked.
Anton shook his head. “We called in an order to go. We’ll take it with us.”
Mimi arrived with Xavier and Lissette’s breakfast. As she set the plates of eggs, bacon and toast in front of them, she turned to Anton and Jacques. “I have your orders ready if you want to come to the counter.”
“Great,” Jacques acknowledged. To Xavier and Lissette, he said, “We heard about the run-in last night. Call us if you need backup. I hate that you’re leaving us soon.”
Xavier rose and shook his hand. “Thanks.”
Anton held out his hand. “Same. Hey, if things don’t work out at your new gig, you’re always welcome back here.
Once part of the Brotherhood, always part of the Brotherhood.
” He gave Xavier’s hand a firm shake. “Now, we’d better get to work if we want to nail the thieves before the hurricane washes away the trail. ”
Anton and Jacques paid for their food, grabbed the bag and left with a wave.
Xavier ate in silence, a growing sense of urgency building inside him.
Lissette only made it halfway through her plate of food before she laid down her fork. “I can’t eat any more. I’m torn on what to do first,” she said. “Do I start the cleanup and hurricane preparations first or continue to pursue the case of the missing reliquaries?”
“First thing is to meet with the sheriff’s deputy to report the vandalism in the two shops.”
She nodded. “We can’t do anything until that takes place.
We’ll need to take photos of the damage for the report and for the insurance companies.
” She shook her head. “I need to clean up after that. I can’t leave it like it is.
Gisele makes her living with her store, and my grandmother put a lot of herself into setting up Remedies and Roux.
I can’t let whoever did that to us win.”
“I’ll do whatever you want me to,” Xavier said. “Sounds like at least cleaning up the damage is first.”
“We need those reliquaries back,” Lissette said and sighed.
“But that’ll have to wait. I need to go out to my grandmother’s place to check in with her and let her know what’s happened.
She might need me to pick up any deliveries for house calls she planned to make and help her board up her house before the storm hits. ”
Xavier was as anxious as Lissette was to get started. He pushed his plate away, took one last sip of his coffee and tossed bills onto the table. “Let’s go.”
On the walk back to the shop, Xavier made a point of scanning the trees and rooflines, searching for a flash of blue. He hated that Johnny might be lost and confused—even worse, that Johnny might have to weather the storm before he was found.
When they arrived at the shops, Xavier checked inside the Mamba Wamba before letting Lissette enter. He followed, but a flash of light reflecting off metal caught his attention out front.
Through the window, he could see a sheriff’s vehicle pull up to the curb. Good, the sooner they could file the report and take photos, the sooner they could set things to rights.
Expecting the tall, lanky Deputy Cleyburn from the day before, Xavier was surprised when a blond-haired female deputy climbed out of the vehicle and stood with her fists on her hips, staring at the buildings.
His gut clenched. There was only one blond-haired deputy on the force.
Before he could warn Lissette, she came to stand beside him.
“Could this day get any worse?” she murmured.
Based on the look of dread on Lissette’s face, Xavier could guess what was going through her mind.
The sheriff’s department could have sent anyone.
Why had they sent Deputy Shelby Taylor?