Page 77 of The Lady on Esplanade
I braced myself.“Yeah?”
“When they pulled up the rug in the upstairs room, it, um…” He scratched the back of his neck.“It revealed a large rusty stain.Itcould be paint.Or it could be…something else.They’re going to get it analyzed.I called Uncle Bernie to see if he could put a rush on it.I know it’s a cold case, but what happened in your car makes it urgent.Not that I can explain that to the police.”
“Because it might affect your ability to sell the house to Cooper, or anyone else.”
He met my eyes briefly.“Of course.This is our first murder-house flip.It needs to be a success if we want to make it into a viable project for a TV series—or for Mimi to invest in another house.”
I wasn’t sure what I’d hoped his motivation was, but his answer wasn’t what I wanted to hear.“Right.So, the bloodstain on the floor was discovered upstairs, and not in the room where Sybil was found?According to Joan Wenzel, there was lots of blood in Sybil’s room.She said they had to throw out the rug and bedclothes because there was so much.But nobody said anything about the upstairs room.”
“Which could be why the bloodstain upstairs was missed,” Beau said, his eyes serious.“The detectives at the time weren’t looking for it.”
Sarah’s phone, in her purse, began to ring with an old-fashioned landline ringtone.She gave me a panicked look before pulling it out and holding it to her ear.
I couldn’t hear a voice on the other end of the line, only a hollowwhooshsound like air moving through a pneumatic tube leading to nowhere.Sarah’s eyes widened as she listened, sharp pops and crackles leaking from her phone along with what I had at first thought might be an errant wind.The sound unwound itself, materializing note by note, until I recognized the song.“Rolling in the Deep.”
A thick leather-bound book flew off one of the shelves lining the wall, landing on its spine with its pages splayed like the wings of a felled bird.Sarah’s phone dropped the call, the eerie song silenced as we looked at each other.
Jolene picked up the book from the floor, carefully keeping it open to the page where it had landed.“It’s the Holy Bible.Not sure howit could have fallen like that, but the binding isn’t broken, thank goodness—although the spine is creased, so it looks like someone really enjoys the book of Luke.”She tried to smile.
Mimi took the Bible from Jolene and stared at the page as if waiting for it to speak to her.After a long moment, she replaced the Bible on the shelf and turned toward us.“I have a lot of details to take care of for the funeral and reception, so if you will excuse me…” On her way out of the room, she paused by the bed to kiss the top of my head.“Maybe it’s a good thing that you’re going back to your apartment now.”
I regarded her closely, waiting for an explanation, but she turned to go.She’d barely made it out of the room when my phone began to vibrate and ring with “Rolling in the Deep.”Mimi kept going even when her own phone began to play the same tune.I opened my mouth to call her back, only to become suddenly aware that the temperature in the room had plummeted, my breath swallowing the unspoken words in one single ghostly wisp.
CHAPTER 23
Later that afternoon, Beau helped me into his truck, along with two large containers of Camille’s chicken soup and a small cosmetics bag for my meds.The bag had been borrowed from Jolene, which meant it was monogrammed with her initials and, on the reverse side, had a bedazzled depiction of Dorothy’s red shoes.
Despite assurances that Beau didn’t need help, Camille deemed it necessary to come with us so she could hold the soup and sit in the back to make sure I didn’t slide off the seat.Considering how unassuming her personality was, I was surprised that she could muster a fierce forcefulness when she wanted to get her way.She’d probably mastered it from living with Henry for so long, as he didn’t seem to be the kind of person who was good at compromising.
Mimi had stopped insisting that I stay, and she handed me a printed list of phone numbers—including hers, Beau’s, Christopher’s, the nearest hospital’s, the police’s—for me to give to Sarah, “just in case.”I assured her that Jolene would be gone for only a few days and that she didn’t need to worry, but her troubled expression didn’t soften.Iknew that she was thinking about the Adele ringtone playing on our phones, the same unanswered question in both of our minds.Why is Adele still here?I had no doubt that the answer lay with her wedding rings and what had happened to Buddy.All we could do was wait until Mimi was ready to hold the rings or for Beau to ask Adele directly—whichever came first.It felt like we were watching a tightly wound jack-in-the-box, knowing a big reveal was coming but still unprepared for the surprise.
Jaxson’s car was parked at the curb in front of my apartment when we pulled up.After a quick introduction to Camille, he helped Beau pull me out of the seat and then up the stairs.We were all panting by the time we made it to the top, even after pausing on the landing.
The scent of something delicious cooking in the kitchen wafted toward us as Sarah appeared along with Jolene, who was holding Mardi.The small dog did a mad scramble to reach me as soon as the men set me down on the couch.He quickly asserted his place, pressing against my side like a furry comfort blanket.Jolene had already set up pillows for my foot and head, and draped blankets over the back of the couch, with the TV remote on a tray table within reach.A collection of magazines includingSouthern Living,Garden & Gun,People, andAllurewas fanned out next to my laptop on the coffee table.
I scratched a happy Mardi behind his floppy ears, noticing that he was wearing a new fall-themed sweater.“Thanks, guys.And thank you, Jolene—this all looks wonderful and cozy.I know I’ll be more than comfortable.”
“I helped pick the magazines,” Sarah said.“Well,People, anyway.I know you deny any interest in celebs, but that’s always the magazine you pick up in doctors’ offices.Allurewas a compromise, since Jolene thought there might be something useful for you to learn inside and I figured I could learn something, too, but I vetoedVogue.I can’t see you or anyone we know wearing metallic conical breast plates to the grocery store or to walk the dog, you know?”
“Good call,” I said.My gaze fell on an exuberant floral arrangement set on a tall pedestal table directly across from me, filled with fans of brightly colored blooms.“Where did that come from?”
“The table came from my bedroom.It’s where I keep a framed photo of my grandmama and me standing in front of her funeral home, but I’ve moved that to my dressing table because we need to display these gorgeous flowers.Of course, I had to do a little bit of tweaking—my mama taught me how to properly arrange flowers, and I don’t know what the florist was thinking—but aren’t they just spectacular?”
“Yes, they are.But who are they from?”
She beamed at me and handed me a small white envelope.“Cooper.”
Beau cleared his throat, then reached for the soup that Camille was still holding.“Here, let me take that to the kitchen.”He quickly disappeared into the other room.
Jolene tucked the corner of a blanket around my injured ankle.“What do y’all say we give Nola a bit of privacy for a minute?Sarah and Camille, I could use some help setting the table.And, Jaxson, could you please help me get my nice dishes from the top shelf?Sometimes being petite is a real disadvantage.”
“I think you’re perfect just the way you are,” Jaxson said.
Jolene’s cheeks reddened before she turned away.
The note was brief, but it still managed to send a tingle down to the toes I could still feel.
I wish I could be with you.I promise to make it up to you when I get back.And I’m not talking about a rousing game of backgammon.
