Page 81 of The House on Prytania
Cooper was speaking when I walked back into the room. “I don’t know how it works, but even to me, that sounds strange.”
“What sounds strange?” I asked, settling myself back onto the couch next to him.
“Sarah was just telling me about how Thibaut’s wife spoke to her and wanted Sarah to tell Thibaut that his wife loved him.”
“Outside of a dead person speaking and a woman declaring her love for the man who supposedly killed her, what sounds strange?”
Cooper smiled while he pretended to think. “Good point. But we were actually talking about Adele, and how she appears to Beau a lot.”
“And calls him on an unplugged landline phone that Adele has asked me to stop hiding,” I added. Cooper didn’t even raise hiseyebrows, which reminded me of yet another reason why I liked him so much. He knew my history and my family, so there was never any need for explanations.
Sarah said, “So, I told him about Thibaut’s wife, which made me think of Sunny and her adoptive mom and dad. They died in a car crash, right?”
I nodded. “Right around the time Sunny discovered who she really was.”
My gaze met Cooper’s, and I knew we were both thinking of the same word: “coincidence.”
“I know, it does seem like perfect timing or whatever you want to call it, but Beau and Mimi verified that everything she told us was true. Sadly. The good news is that her parents didn’t seem to be in on the illegal parts of the adoption. They brought Sunny into their family in good faith.”
Sarah had screwed up her mouth to one side, an expression I’d seen a thousand times on Jack as he sifted through clues in his head. “What is it?” I asked.
“Well, I’m not an expert at this—not like Mom and Aunt Jayne, anyway—but I was just thinking it was kind of weird that her mom and dad haven’t come to me to pass on a message to Sunny.”
“Maybe because they’re new at the being-dead part and they’re not exactly sure what to do, either?”
Sarah scrunched up her face. “You think? Could be. I haven’t seen a rule book anywhere that explains it, so who knows?”
“They could just need more time to learn the ropes of the afterlife,” Cooper suggested. “Although I’ve always hoped that after we die we can just rest and relax, nothing more strenuous than floating on clouds.”
“I think you’ve seen too many Renaissance paintings,” I said, elbowing him.
“Oof.” Cooper exaggeratedly rubbed his arm. “Maybe your likeness to Wonder Woman isn’t just rumor.”
The sound of gagging came from across the room, where Sarahwas pretending to throw up. “Is that supposed to be flirting? I’m only twelve and even I think that’s lame.”
“It might not be all that strange,” I said, ignoring her. “Sunny is happy and back with her family. Her adoptive parents can rest in peace now. It’s not like every person who dies comes back to haunt the living. There’s usually a reason.”
“True,” Sarah said. “Like Adele and Beau. I’m not really sure what’s going on, or why she dragged me to the Broussard mausoleum, but there’s definitely some unfinished business there. It’s too bad he won’t talk to her. Maybe that’s all he needs to do so she can rest.”
“Could be,” I said. “I really thought she’d head for the light as soon as Sunny came back. Which brings me to another question: Why isn’t she leaving footprints around Sunny, too?”
Cooper leaned back, stretching out his long legs and crossing them at the ankles. “What about Thibaut’s wife? Nola said that his dead wife spoke to you just that once, right? She wanted him to know that she forgave him. If there were a rule book, that could fall under the heading of ‘unfinished business.’ ”
“Yeah,” Sarah said. “Except she didn’t say anything about forgiveness. She just wanted him to know that she loved him.”
“That’s so heartbreakingly beautiful,” I said.
“A love that transcends death,” Cooper added.
“Like a Hallmark movie,” we said in unison, making us both laugh.
Sarah stood. “Before I lose my appetite, I’m going to go back through the clientele book and look for clues that Uncle Bernie and his friends might have missed. I talked to Dad, and he and I agreed that of all the things Beau’s dad hid away in the closet, that’s the one item that isn’t obviously a clue, you know? It’s not a hair ribbon or tie clasp or film negative. So there has to be something hidden in the clientele book. I guess I’ll just have to keep looking until I find it. Maybe we should talk about my hourly rate first.”
“How about room and board?”
Before she could respond, Jolene called from the kitchen, “Sarah, sweetie? Could you please come slice lemons for the iced tea?”
My little sister let out a big sigh. “Do I have to do everything around here?” She began dragging her feet with each step until she reached the kitchen.
