Page 12 of Carnival Queen

That’s when it hit her. These men were Irene’s sons. She should have known. The family resemblance was too much.

“I’m sorry about that. She was stressed and overreacted. But my daughter did not tear up those floats.”

“Well, if you’d be so kind as to speak with her about this when she gets home, it would be helpful to know if she knows anything about the incident,” said Rafe. They stood and left the woman behind them. When they were driving back, Baptiste looked at his brother.

“I don’t think the girl did it, but I do think she’s got issues and the wife as well. She was scared when she opened the front door.” Rafe nodded.

“Yep. And that’s a story for another day.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Wait a minute, you guys thought the wife was scared?” asked Tailor. Rafe and Baptiste nodded. “Antoine and I suspect there was something happening with the husband as well. He thought we were someone else at first. His assistant came in and said he had to take a call. That the man on the phone was angry he didn’t answer his cell phone. When we first got there, he said, ‘What do you want? I told them I would get it done,’ but wouldn’t tell us what that was about.”

“Jesus, we’ve got a whole ball of crazy wrapped up in one family,” frowned Gaspar. “Penn called before you guys got here. They spoke to Lottie, her real name is Charlotta. Anyway, she said she had nothing to do with it and would even volunteer to help put the floats back together.”

“Deanna got the whole court involved,” said Nine. “It was smart of her. They can really make headway on this if they work together and nothing breeds teamwork better than kids having buy-in to what they’re doing.”

“The security company they use is just a generic company for the warehouse district. They walk the perimeter and make sure no one is disturbing the warehouses. The guard that night said he never saw anything or heard anything. He even said it was a quiet night. The manager of the company said in all the years they’ve been building floats there, no one has ever broken in. They always want to look in the windows but don’t do anything other than look,” said Ian.

“Well, someone destroyed those floats. Some of the wives are going down to lend a hand, along with a few of our kids. We thought it would be good for them. We’ll take shifts on watching the warehouse at night,” said Nine.

“What do you think is going on with the Carvers?” asked Trak. “Do you think it has something to do with Deanna?”

“I’m not sure, but since he seemed to expect someone at his office, I have to think it’s something to do with his work,” said Antoine.

“He’s partner in a CPA firm, like Deanna,” frowned Trak. The men all nodded, looking at one another. It was a coincidence they didn’t like. Deanna’s father had also been a CPA.

“Maybe we need to ask a few more questions of Deanna as well,” said Jean.

“You don’t think…” started Ghost.

“No,” said Jean, raising his hands, “no, I don’t think she’s hiding anything or doing anything illegal, but she could have been caught in the middle of something and may not even know it. I’ll get with Ella and Charlotte to see if they can review the documents of her folks’ business as well as her own.”

“You think this could have something to do with that?” frowned Alec.

“I don’t know, brother. I don’t know what to think right now. I’m just reaching for anything that will help us figure this shit out.” There was a light tap at the door, and Irene walked into the room.

“Hey, Mama,” smiled Gaspar.

“Mornin’, son,” she grinned. “Y’all have a special guest this mornin’. Come on, child.” Lottie Carver walked into the room, her head down. They waited to see if her mother or father came in, but they didn’t.

“Good morning, Lottie,” said Razor.

“Hi. I mean, hello, sir.”

“You don’t have to call me sir but I appreciate the effort,” he smiled. “What can we do for you?”

“I-I’ve thought a lot about what you said. I didn’t destroy those floats. I swear to God I didn’t. But it’s awful that someone did. I heard that some of the other kids are helping to repair them. I’d like to help if that’s okay. I promise I won’t be any trouble.”

“Do your folks know you’re here?” asked Gaspar. He saw the look on his mother’s face, one of disappointment and concern. Not for him, but for the girl.

“No, sir. Honestly, they just want me out of the house right now. There’s a lot going on for my dad’s business. Can I help? I mean, can I help with the floats?”

“I think Ms. Deanna would appreciate that,” said Gaspar. She nodded, then looked right at Clay.

“I know you think it’s why I’m here, the sorority. But it’s not. You said ugly was on the inside. No one has ever called me ugly before,” she said with a sad face. “I’m not a bad person. It’s hard being an only child sometimes. I got used to my parents giving me whatever I asked for. When you get used to that, you start asking for more and expecting it.”

“I think we can understand that,” said Clay. “Sounds like you want to make some changes.”

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