Page 103 of The Shop on Royal Street
“You wouldn’t understand unless you came from a family like mine. They... tell you to do things, and you do them. It was my job. I just didn’t think it would be so hard to keep my personal feelings out of it.”
“I’m a real person, Michael. With real feelings. And to know that it was all a lie...” I stopped, unable to continue, my throat too tight to speak, but I was desperate not to show him any tears.
“I know. I know. I was falling for you in a big way, and I hoped that once I’d found what my uncle needed, we could see each other for real.”
“Were you planning on telling me then? That it was all some kind of a setup at first? Did you think that as soon as you acquired the door and whatever else they thought was here, you could just continue our relationship? I don’t know who’s a bigger idiot—you or me.”
He reached for me again, and I took another step backward, the banister pressing into my spine.
“Don’t make another move toward her”—Beau stood in the doorway, the hammer raised in his hand—”or I will shove this down your throat. Try explaining that to your uncle.”
Michael held up his hands. “I’m not here to hurt anyone.” He glanced at Beau. “Could you put that down, please, so I can explain?”
“Just do it quickly, because I’m short on patience where you’re concerned.”
I wanted to resent Beau for taking charge, but there was also a sense of relief that I wasn’t alone facing the enemy. At that moment I felt nothing but gratitude. My resentment would no doubt emerge tomorrow.
“Why are you here?” I asked, proud that my voice didn’t wobble.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry.”
“Oh, please.” Beau took a step toward him, and Michael stood his ground. “In the middle of the night?”
“Nobody can know that I was here. I knew that if the neighbors across the street saw a flashlight, they would call Nola and she would come. They’re easily annoyed.” He glanced at Beau, who adjusted his hold on the hammer before focusing on me. “I needed to warn you. About not searching for Sunny. You’re better off believing that she’s dead.”
“So you know that she’s not?” Beau’s eyes went wide, the streetlights making them glitter.
“I don’t know anything—I swear. I only know that this house or something in it is connected to her disappearance. That’s it. My uncle told me that I was supposed to get the door and anything else in this house that was connected to Jeanne and Charles. He didn’t tell me why. But then I overheard him talking on the phone to someone, and he said Sunny’s name.” His gaze moved to Beau’s face before settling on mine again. “And then he said, ‘Broken bone for broken bone, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ ”
“Leviticus,” Beau said.
Michael nodded. “Chapter twenty-four, verse twenty. I Googled it. Anyway, I put two and two together and figured out that my family might be involved with Sunny’s disappearance. And it’s somehow connected to what happened to Jeanne in this house more than forty years before.” He held up his hand as if he were about to take an oath. “But I swear that’s all I know.”
A cold breeze blew through the upstairs hallway, strong enough to make my hair sway and tickle my neck. I took a deep breath, the events of the last few weeks rushing through my memory. “You’re the one who’s been snooping around here after dark. And orchestrated the break-in at the used-clothing boutique.” It wasn’t a question. “And made sure I was out of the house when someone broke into my apartment.”
“Yes.” He at least met my eyes. “Nobody was supposed to get hurt. I’m sorry Jolene was there.”
“It’s a good thing she wasn’t hurt,” Beau said. “Because I don’t think I could be responsible for my actions right now.”
Michael faced Beau, and I heard him swallow. “I don’t blame you.”
“But that doesn’t explain why your uncle would need those things, or even know about them,” I said, the myriad questions swirling around my head, colliding with one another before bouncing back in the opposite direction.
“One of the workers you had on the site doing the demo does a lot of work for the Sabatier Group. My uncle asked him to let him know if there was anything unusual in the house. That’s how he found out about the door and the locked closet. If Mimi had just let him buy the property to begin with, we wouldn’t have had a problem.”
“Oh, no you don’t. Don’t youdaretry to blame your criminal activity on someone else. Your whole family should be locked away somewhere. Including you for breaking in. Did your uncle tell you why he wants those things?”
“No. And I was told not to ask. I’ve learned that when someone in my family says that, I listen.”
“So what do you know about Sunny?”
Michael held out his hands, palms up. “I swear—I don’t know anything. All I know is that anyone poking their noses into her disappearance is in grave danger.”
Beau tightened his grip on the hammer. “And all this time, you didn’t think this information would have been helpful? That maybe you didn’t need to mess with Nola’s emotions just to be your uncle’s minion?”
“Please believe me—I didn’t know the whole story until Nola texted me asking me if I knew that I was related to Jeanne. I knew that part, of course, but after Nola’s text I asked my uncle if I could tell her that I knew, and he told me to pack my bags, that we were going into the mountains, and not to say another word about it.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “I only did it so I could have time to think. To prepare for what I needed to tell Nola. I know it’s hard to believe. But I really need you to, because it’s the truth.”
“Of all the bull—” Beau didn’t get to finish his sentence. Michael stepped to the side to avoid Beau’s punch and I moved backward to getaway from Michael, forgetting that I was already pressed against the banister. Beau and Michael didn’t see me teetering on the top step until I’d already begun my backward descent over the railing toward the floor below.
